HM Plant Honda Josh Brookes edged ahead of his BSB rivals in the second free practice session at Brands Hatch this afternoon ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session and opening race of the weekend.

Brookes set his time early in the session, as areas of the circuit had a brief drizzle of rain, however it was short lived and despite several riders able to make improvements, the HM Plant Honda rider was able to maintain the position.

Tom Sykes was one of the riders that left it until the closing stages to move from third to second, displacing Michael Rutter in the final minutes. Rutter then got pushed back a further place as Ryuichi Kiyonari third on his last stint on track, to put both HM Plant Hondas inside the top three.

Michael Laverty and Alastair Seeley were fifth and sixth fastest respectively, with Seeley closing in on the final lap to move up the order. James Ellison on the leading Swan Honda was seventh as team-mate Stuart Easton was outside the top ten in 14th.

Championship leader Tommy Hill was another rider to have a challenging session; he was 19th on the Worx Crescent Suzuki as team-mate Yukio Kagayama was eighth fastest.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Brands Hatch, free practice two result:

Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) 1m:26.582s
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki World Superbike) +0.139s
Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.235s
Michael Rutter (Ridersmotorcycles.com Ducati) +0.262s
Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.478s
Alastair Seeley (Relentless Suzuki by TAS) +0.480s
James Ellison (Swan Honda) +0.535s
Yukio Kagayama (Worx Crescent Suzuki) +0.630s
Gary Mason (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +0.823s
Ian Lowry (Kawasaki World Superbike) +1.090s