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2011 British Superbike
The American John Hopkins piloted his Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the pole at Outon Park Saturday for Round 7 of the 2011 British Superbike Championship.
Hoplins rode inside the lap record with a spectacular final lap of the Cheshire circuit where earlier in the year he had taken his first race win in 11 years as he chalked up his maiden success in the British series.
Hopkins placed his Suzuki just ahead of the Swan Yamaha team, taking Tommy Hill by 0.105 of a second and Michael Laverty by 0.388 of a second.
John Hopkins (Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike) says: "We’re really, really happy! This place is something special to me. I loved it the last time here – taking my first win – and coming into this weekend I knew we’d be faster again. Even in the wet we’ve had the situation covered; the Samsung Crescent Racing GSX-R is everything I want right now.
"Qualifying wasn’t easy, though. I was pushed all the way in that last session, but there was no way I wasn’t going to take Pole after sitting on top of the table all weekend. I had to take some time out, figure where I could go faster.
"I got that in my mind and then just pulled the pin. I was on an old tire, sliding everywhere, popping out of the seat a few times and in that last corner I couldn’t have been any more on the limit than I was – but it did the trick. And all of this for no points! Tomorrow’s when it counts, so I’ll just look to keep the momentum up. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to tomorrow – rain or shine!"
2011 Oulton Park: Round 7 Qualifying Results:
1. John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing) 1m:35.142s
2. Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) +0.105s
3. Michael Laverty (Swan Yamaha) +0.388s
4. Shane Byrne (HM Plant Honda) +0.794s
5. Ryuichi Kiyonari (HM Plant Honda) +0.920s
6. Loris Baz (Motorpoint Yamaha) +0.930s
7. Alex Lowes (MSS Colchester Kawasaki) +1.224s
8. Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda) +1.390s
9. James Westmoreland (Motorpoint Yamaha) +1.455s
10. Josh Brookes (Relentless Suzuki) +1.484s
11. Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing) 1m:36.770s
