WSS: Lowes flies flag in FP1

Sam Lowes has sent out a warning signal to his World Supersport Championship rivals by dominating the first free practice session on home soil at Donington Park. The Bogdanka PTR Honda rider was never troubled at the top of the timesheets as he steadily lowered his best marker, Lowes completing the session with a lap of 1min 31.925secs, more than a second faster than his closest competition. That competition came from the unusual source of Glen Richards, the wild-card rider lifting the Smiths Gloucester Triumph into an impressive second position to hint that he will be a reckoned force on familiar ground this weekend. Following a disappointing early exit last time out in Italy, Ronan Quarmby was an encouraging third fastest on the PTR Honda, ahead of championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu and Monza race winner Jules Cluzel. Another rider looking for better fortune having failed to score in Italy, Broc Parkes was sixth best, ahead of Honda counterpart Imre Toth, while Fabien Foret, Vladimir Leonov and Roberto Tamburini completed the top ten. Further back, Richards' team-mates Billy McConnell and Luke Mossey were 12th and 14th fastest respectively, though the pair were among 11 riders to go off course or crash on the dry, but slippery track surface. Mossey's fellow Brits Martin Jessopp and Kieran Clarke were 13th and 15th best on their respective PTR-prepared Hondas.