Source: Supplied.

Josh Brookes maintained his blistering pace during the Datatag Qualifying session to claim the pole position for the eighth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park.

The Aussie powered his Milwaukee Yamaha inside the eight-year-old Lincolnshire circuit lap record with an impressive time of 1m 26.433s to top qualifying for the third time this season.

Brookes holds a 12-point advantage in the standings ahead of tomorrow’s two races and is pushing to add to his run of four consecutive race wins.

His arch rival and nemesis Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne continued to have a tough weekend with the defending champion missing out in the final seconds of Q2 and he will start on row four in 11th place.

MCE BSB rookie Danny Buchan celebrated his best ever qualifying performance in the series, pushing Brookes all the way to the end of the session. The Be Wiser Kawasaki rider will start second on the grid after continuing his strong performance this weekend.

The battle for the final position on the front row was just as intense with Tommy Bridewell and Luke Mossey going head-to-head in the closing seconds. Bridewell on his last lap managed to power the Tyco BMW just ahead to have the edge.

Peter Hickman, like Bridewell a winner in the corresponding round of last year, set the fifth fastest time on the RAF Reserves BMW ahead of Aussie Billy McConnell who escaped unscathed from a spectacular crash in this morning’s free practice.

Michael Laverty, James Westmoreland, Martin Jessopp and Jack Kennedy completed the top ten with the latter pair securing their best qualifying performances of the season.

Bennetts Suzuki rider Josh Waters was 19th on the grid, while countryman Jed Metcher (PR Racing Kawasaki) will start out of position 22.

The MCE BSB event at Cadwell Park continues with race day tomorrow with a program of two MCE BSB races plus a further six support classes, including the thrilling Motorpoint British Supersport Championship.

Click here for detailed results