Josh Brookes topped the final MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship free practice session at Thruxton this morning, again dipping under the lap record to claim the top spot for the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha team.

Brookes had been upping the pace during the session and he had moved ahead of JG Speedfit Kawasaki’s Luke Mossey; however the final practice ended prematurely for the title contender as he crashed out on the start line although he held second place on the timesheets. He was conscious and was taken to the medical centre for further assessment.

Shane 'Shakey' Byrne was third fastest for the Be Wiser Ducati team, narrowly ahead of John Hopkins who moved up the order in the final five minutes of the session for the local Moto Rapido Ducati team

Jakub Smrz edged ahead of Leon Haslam and Peter Hickman for fifth place with Andy Reid delivering an impressive performance to finish eighth for Tyco BMW. Jake Dixon and Martin Jessopp completed the top ten.  

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, Free Practice 3:

Josh Brookes (Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha) 1m:14.657s
Luke Mossey (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.352s
Shane Byrne (Be Wiser Ducati) +0.436s
John Hopkins (Moto Rapido Ducati) +0.589s
Jakub Smrz (Lloyd and Jones PR BMW) +0.754s
Leon Haslam (JG Speedfit Kawasaki) +0.830s
Peter Hickman (Smiths Racing BMW) +0.955s
Andy Reid (Tyco BMW) +0.973s
Jake Dixon (RAF Reserves Kawasaki) +0.979s
Martin Jessopp (Ridersmotorcycles.com BMW) +0.996s