Easton denied win by rain 15 | 06 | 2013
HAWICK'S 'COMEBACK KID', Stuart Easton, was denied a memorable first win at Knockhill today when the opening British Supersport race was stopped because of torrential rain.
The 29-year-old, racing at the Fife circuit for the first time since his horror crash two years ago in Ireland, was like a man possessed on his MarTrain Yamaha.
Forced to start from 15th on the grid after crashing out during qualifying when he held provisional pole, Easton effortlessly carved his way through the field.
By the end of lap 12 of the scheduled 18, the Scot was third, 2.3secs off the rear of Alastair Seeley's Kawasaki.
A lap later, and with five laps remaining, the gap was down to 0.8s, with leader Ben Wilson only 2.1s further up the road.
But at the end lap 13, the race was red flagged and stopped as the conditions deteriorated.
"It was a pity, because I definitely had the pace to catch and pass the two guys in front," Easton, a four-time winner already this season and Steve Hislop protege, said afterwards, "but I can fully understand the decision to stop the race.
"We've shown though that we have the pace to win here, and hopefully we can finally deliver the first win here tomorrow."
Defending champ Shane Byrne, meanwhile, put himself in pole position to grab the lead in the British Superbike Championship.
The Kawasaki rider, just one point adrift of the Honda of championship leader Alex Lowes coming into the weekend, took pole position after clocking a new lap record of 48.33secs.
Lowes — who crashed in Friday's free practice — had to content himself with third place on the grid for the opening race in todmorrow's double-header.
It was the Suzuki of Australian Josh Brookes which pushed 'Shakey' Byrne hardest in the slippery conditions, eventually finishing just 0.010secs off pole. Lowes, from Lincoln, was a further 0.306s adrift.
"I've achieved our primary goal today, which was to get on pole position," Londoner Byrne, who averaged 94.69mph round the circuit, said afterwards.
"We came into the weekend a bit on the back foot because, unlike several of the other teams, we hadn't tested here earlier in the year.
"Knockhill's always a tough place to race, so I know tomorrow's going to be difficult, especially if conditions don't improve."
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Jim McGill