BSB: Ellison disappointed with 'unacceptable' tenth place

James Ellison was left disappointed having qualified for tomorrow’s opening MCE British Superbike race in just tenth place after missing out on a spot in the final qualifying session.

The JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider was sixth quickest in Q1 but as the heavens opened ahead of Q2, he struggled with a lack of rear end grip with his ZX-10R while fighting for a spot in Q3.

Putting the problems down to using a different rear shock to team-mates Leon Haslam and Peter Hickman, who qualified third and fourth respectively, the Cumbrian is hoping for dry conditions in warm-up in order to make a step forward.

“When I tipped in the rear was stepping out on me so I came in towards the end of Q2 but my crew chief waved me out as there wouldn’t have been enough time, I managed to go a  bit quicker but I nearly got spat off three times,” he told MCN.

“I’m disappointed, we had a good set up in the wet at Oulton Park and ran a similar set-up here but on a different shock and I don’t think it’s working in the wet or the dry. We’ve been struggling with grip but the other side of the garage hasn’t. We’re going to switch the shocks tomorrow and see if we can get any more out of that. We aren’t a 10^th place team and I’m not a 10^th place rider so we’ll just have to see if we can change that tomorrow. For me it’s not acceptable not to be in Q3, I haven’t forgotten how to ride and the bike is capable, it’s just all down to set-up so warm-up will be important tomorrow.”