FOURTH POLE POSITION FOR HARRIS
19 June 2004 - Honda Racing

HM Plant Honda Racing’s Karl Harris has taken pole position for the seventh round of the 2004 British Supersport Championship at Brands Hatch. The 24-year-old Yorkshireman dominated qualifying in the ultra-competitive Supersport class to take his fourth pole position of the year on the CBR600RR. His best lap of 1:29.269 was a fraction outside the existing lap record set by Stephane Chambon in last year’s Supersport World Championship race over the 2.6-mile Kent track.

The defending British Supersport Champion is currently leading the series by four points from Michael Laverty who will line up in eighth position on the second row for Sunday’s 18-lap race. Such is the competitiveness of the class that the top 12 riders, from Harris down to his Red Bull Rookies Honda team-mate Jonathan Rea, are only covered by one second.

Rea has continued to show gradual improvement in what has been a steep learning curve during his debut Supersport season. The 17-year-old Ballyclare rider will start the race on the outside of the third row and will be aiming to continue where he left off at the last round at Thruxton, where he achieved his best result of the year in sixth.

Karl Harris: “It’s business as usual for me here this weekend. This is one of my favourite tracks and we’ve got a really good race set-up. The speed and handling characteristics of the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR600RR are well suited to the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Last year I missed out on victory at the same event after being slipstreamed over the line. I haven’t forgotten that and I’m aiming to set the record straight tomorrow.”

Jonathan Rea: “We achieved a breakthrough with the Red Bull Rookies Honda at the last round at Thruxton and have continued the good work here this weekend. I’ve been running at a strong race pace on the CBR600RR and I’m confident that I can keep up this level of consistency tomorrow. I need to get a good start and then maintain this momentum in the early part of the race.”

Qualifying times: 1. K. Harris (HM Plant Honda Racing) 1:29.269; 2. S. Andrews (Yamaha) 1:29.406; 3. P. Riba (Kawasaki) 1:29.651; 4. P. Young (Honda) 1:29.753; 5. M. Llewellyn (Ducati) 1:29.765; 6. L. Camier (Honda) 1:29.772; 7. J. Vincent (Honda) 1:29.772; 8. M. Laverty (Ducati) 1:29.932; 9. A. Coates (Suzuki) 1:29.963; 10. L. Quigley (Suzuki) 1:30.041; 12. J. Rea (Red Bull Rookies Honda) 1:30.274

www.honda-racing.co.uk

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