Conor is staying grounded after his Superbikes pole
CONOR Cummins secured a tremendous pole position for tomorrow’s Superbike races at the MCE Ulster Grand Prix, recording a 134.138mph lap on his Padgetts Honda.
The Manxman was just under a second faster than Dean Harrison
(right), who put in a 133.531mph lap on his fourth effort of 12.
Cummins said: “I’m happy with that, but it is in the race that counts. There are no prizes for pole position.”
David Johnson, on his Tyco BMW debut, was third fastest yesterday at 132.135mph, but his session was cut short when he crashed at the Lindsay Hairpin uninjured.
Peter Hickman, who was third fastest in the combined times on Wednesday evening, only managed three laps yesterday on the Smiths BMW due to a technical issue. Davey Todd entered the 130mph-plus club with a lap of 131.890mph on the Cookstown BE Suzuki, while Lee Johnston on the Honda Racing Fireblade will set off from sixth position on the grid after clocking a 130.807mph lap during yesterday’s 45-minute session.
On his debut on the Dafabet Devitt Racing Kawasaki, Paul MCE Ulster Grand Prix results Supersport: 1st C. Cummins avg. speed 122.974mph, 2nd A. McLean 122.203, 3rd D. Harrison 121.733, 4th D. Todd 121.505, 5th P. Hickman 120.410, 6th J. Thompson 118.491
Fastest Lap: Cummins – 3m 32.149secs – 125.591mph
Supertwin: A. McLean avg. speed 111.784mph, 2nd C. Elkin 111.248, 3rd I. Lougher 108.284, 4th M. Sweeney 108.275, 5th D. Todd 108.267, 6th J. Thompson 106.575
Fastest Lap: McLean – 3m 54.821secs – 113.465mph
Lightweight: 1st N. Kernohan avg. speed 110.873mph, 2nd S. Anderson 110.121, 3rd D. Tweed 108.221, 4th S. Morrison 107.681, 5th G. Keys 107.667, 6th P. Gartland, 102.903
Fastest Lap: Kernohan - £m 57.580secs – 112.147mph Ultra-Lightweight: C. Elkin avg. speed 107.712mph, 2nd M. Dokoupil 105. 019, 3rd N. Moore 101.888, 4th M. Kennedy 101.752 5th L. Tiveron 101.680 6th S. Boyes 95.065
Fastest Lap: Elkin – 4m 03.890secs – 109.246mph
Second MCE UGP Qualifying Superbikes: C. Cummins avg. speed 134.138mph, 2nd D. Harrison 133.531, 3rd D. Johnson 132.135, 4th D. Todd 130.890, 5th L. Johnston 130.807, 6th P. Jordan 129.374
Superstock: 1st D. Harrison avg. speed 132.776, 2nd P. Hickman 132.353, 3rd D. Todd 131.436, 4th C. Cummins 131.119, 5th D. Johnson 130.609, 6th L. Johnston 129.761
Supersport: 1st D. Harrison avg. speed 127.457mph, 2nd C. Cummins 126.904, 3rd A. McLean 126.729, 4th P. Hickman 126.566, 5th L. Johnston 126.063, 6th D. Todd 125.245 Jordan will start from an encouraging seventh position after a 129.374mph lap.
Harrison made it a double pole position in the Superstock and Supersport classes, heading Hickman, Todd, Cummins and David Johnson — the only riders to clock 130mph-plus laps.
Lee Johnston will set off from sixth position ahead of the impressive Jordan and his near neighbour Adam McLean.
In Supersport, Harrison was almost a second clear of Cummins with the impressive McLean third fastest on the McAdoo Kawasaki, 0.25 seconds clear of Hickman, who had over a second to spare over Lee Johnston and Todd.
Jordan bounced back from a first-lap mechanical issue on Wednesday to go seventh fastest yesterday. Speed man: Conor Cummins set the pace in the Superbikes