Manxman Conor Cummins will start the Dundrod 150 Superbike race in Northern Ireland from pole position on his Tyco Suzuki GSX-R1000 after setting the fastest time of 129.429mph during Wednesday's opening practice session.
The event is part of Ulster Grand Prix Bike Week with Saturday's Ulster GP the final international road race of the season. His team-mate Guy Martin will join him on the front row in the Dundrod 150 after taking third position in qualifying with a lap of 128.948mph.
It's a remarkable achievement for Cummins who has fought back from career threatening injuries to be back in the hunt for honours at the Ulster Grand Prix. This pole position time comes off the back of five podiums at the Southern 100 on the Isle of Man in July. Cummins currently holds the fastest Superbike lap around Dundrod, set in 2009, at a staggering 133.284mph.
Conor Cummins:
"Today was absolutely mint. I love the Dundrod circuit and I've been looking forward to coming here all year with the Tyco Suzuki boys. It's only day one and there's plenty more to come, but pole position on the Superbike is not a bad way to start. I've always said it's the class to perform in but we won't get carried away. The top five are covered by a second, so with great weather forecast for Thursday, the Dundrod 150 could turn into an epic."
Guy Martin:
"Steady away today but all good and we're going in the right direction. Front row for tomorrow is good and we can build on that in the morning qualifying session for Saturday's Superbike races, as I'm sure the times will get quicker from everyone. We'll sleep on that one, but a good start overall."
Philip Neill - Team Manager:
"Obviously it's early days but it's great to see both Conor and Guy get off to a positive start. It is especially nice to see Conor achieve his first pole position since joining us this year and having some horrible luck so far. If the weather remains dry and sunny, as is forecast, we are certainly in for some very close racing, and with our riders in the mix, we are obviously hopeful of putting the Tyco Security Products' GSX-R machinery on the rostrum in Thursday and Saturday's races."Superbike Qualifying Results [Lap length - 7.4011 miles]:
1 Conor Cummins [Tyco Suzuki] 3mins: 25.858sec - 129.429mph 2 Michael Dunlop [Honda] +0.678sec 3 Guy Martin [Tyco Suzuki] +0.768 - 128.948mph 4 Bruce Anstey [Honda] +0.990sec 5 William Dunlop [Honda] +1.046sec 6 Gary Johnson [Honda] +2.189sec
