The six Title Fighters hit the track in anger for the first time this morning at Oulton Park as the tension builds ahead of the season Showdown and HM Plant Honda's Josh Brookes got off to a flying start to top the opening free practice session.

Brookes led the majority of the opening session and was the only rider to dip into a 1m:36s lap time; but speaking afterwards the Australian, who currently lies second in the standings knows that there is still much more to come.

Brookes said:

"It was a perfect start to the weekend for me to finish the opening practice session first, but free practice is only the start so you can't be complacent and we are obviously still looking for further improvement. My approach is the same as ever and it goes without saying I want to win and be the best on track to get the results to win the championship."

It was his team-mate Ryuichi Kiyonari who was second fastest; he lies third in the championship standings ahead of tomorrow's opening race and he admits that this morning he wasn't pushing as hard as he could, knowing that he can find the extra pace ahead of tomorrow's qualifying and opening race.

Kiyonari said:

"This morning I was just getting into the rhythm and it wasn't anything special for me. I know that there are some areas we can improve with the machine balance so that we can go faster and improve the times and I know we can do that. Josh was fast this morning but we will keep trying as we need to be ahead."

Michael Rutter was third fastest on the Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati; he got edged out in the closing moments of the session by Kiyonari but is determined to close the gap to try and elevate himself from his current fifth place in the standings.

Rutter said:

"It was good to be back out there and I think we have made a good start this morning with the Ducati. We had a good race here earlier in the season and I think with some tweaks here and there this afternoon we should improve our pace and be ready to try and get back on the podium tomorrow."

Michael Laverty was fourth fastest on the Relentless Suzuki and currently fourth in the standings he knows that he needs a repeat victory in tomorrow's opening race.

Laverty said:

"It wasn't a bad opening session as this is a tough track and there is always room for improvement. I felt comfortable straight away and we are only going to make slight suspension tweaks this afternoon to give more stability over the crests here that can really unsettle the bike. I know we can drop the lap times further so the aim is to close on the others this afternoon."

Championship leader Tommy Hill was seventh fastest this morning and is eager to protect his eleven point advantage in the standings in tomorrow's opening race.

Hill said:

"We had a steady start this morning and we know what we need to do. I love the track here and we have had a good debrief after that session so with some changes for this afternoon we want to be back up at the top and ready for tomorrow's qualifying session."

Alastair Seeley is the sixth of the Title Fighters both in the standings and on track and admits he had a tough opening session at the Cheshire circuit to end thirteenth.

Seeley said:

"I am not happy to be where I am that's for sure and I don't know why but I just couldn't do the times I needed to this morning. We are having a good look at the data and we are going to try some radical changes this afternoon to see if it can lift us up there. Once we have done that I will be ready to come out fighting."