Josh Brookes and PJ Jacobsen will start from rows one and two in tomorrow's opening British Superbike Championship encounter at the sixth-round Brands Hatch GP in Kent.

Brookes topped the opening two qualifying sessions aboard his Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 and eventually slotted into third place in Q3 as Jacobsen overcame his free practice struggles to finish in a very strong eighth place.

Taylor Mackenzie posted his strongest qualifying to date in the British Supersport class, putting his Tyco Suzuki GSX-R600 on the second row of the grid in seventh position.

Josh Brookes:

"I'm not disappointed with today. I'm just deep in thought to figure-out what the next step is going be: if it's in gearing or spring rates in suspension; or riding position. What's going to bring another couple of tenths for me to be able to better or equal the guys I'm trying to rival? I don't want to settle for second or thirds. I want to win. Everyone has done a great job and we've made great improvements throughout the weekend so far, and the bike is running brilliant - we've just got to keep making that progress."

PJ Jacobsen:

"We had a difficult start to the day, pretty much losing the first two free practice sessions, but I've been here before, so I was still smiling inside my helmet. We got some steady laps in and got the bike all dialled-back in after some changes. In qualifying I just put the hammer down. I did get caught behind someone in Q3 or my lap time could have been a bit quicker, but we've a small change to make before tomorrow, so we will be sweet for the races."

Taylor Mackenzie:

"I'm really happy with how things went today. I've struggled in qualifying all year so to be on the front two rows is great and I can't wait for the races tomorrow. I'll be looking to get away in that front bunch and hang in there as long as possible. Thanks to Derek, Danny and the rest of the team for the big effort, as my GSX-R600 Suzuki is flying."

Philip Neill - Team Manager:

"Even without a pole position today I couldn't be any happier how things have gone so far this weekend. We had a difficult start to the weekend with various little issues. The boys did a great job - all three of them. Taylor has captured his best qualifying position, which is excellent in the Supersport class. PJ had a very difficult start, missing the first Superbike session, so it's quite amazing that he's been able to finish qualifying in eighth place. Josh is beating himself-up a little looking for that extra tenth, but as I'm trying to tell him: qualifying is one thing and racing is another and the progression that he and his crew have made this weekend is phenomenal. It's time to now think about race consistency. But all good."

British Superbike Championship - Qualifying:

1. Shane Byrne (Kawasaki) 1m: 25.672s
2. Alex Lowes (Honda) +0.123s
3. Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.169s
4. James Ellison (Yamaha) +0.284s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (Honda) +0.327s
6. James Westmoreland (BMW) +0.370s
7. Chris Walker (Kawasaki) +0.997s
8. PJ Jacobsen (Tyco Suzuki) +1.012s

British Supersport Championship - Qualifying:

1: Graeme Gowland (Yamaha) 1m 28.380s
2: Jason O'Halloran (Honda) +0.203s
3: Jake Dixon (Yamaha) +0.229s
4: Alastair Seeley (Kawasaki) +0.236s
5: Billy McConnell (Triumph) +0.419s
6. Stuart Easton (Yamaha) +0.422s
7. Taylor Mackenzie (Tyco Suzuki) +0.479s
8. Ben Wilson (Kawasaki) +0.607s


Sunday's Race Schedule:

10.15am - British Supersport Race 1 [10 laps]
1.30pm - British Superbike Race 1 [18 laps]
3.40pm - British Supersport Race 2 [16 laps]
4.30pm - British Superbike Race 2 [18 laps]

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