Leon Haslam re-wrote the Oulton Park record books to claim pole start for the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship and then warned his Airwaves Ducati team-mate Gregorio Lavilla that he intends to take the crown away from him. The 22 year old Derbyshire rider put in a scorching lap towards the end of the 50 minute session to eclipse both Lavilla and HM Plant Honda rider Karl Harris who had fought out a high speed duel for supremacy at the top of the leaderboard.
Both had powered in sub-record times, with Lavilla setting an early standard, with a time of 1m 36.230, which was quickly beaten by Harris. Lavilla returned to the Cheshire circuit, reducing the time to 1m 35.490secs, but again the Honda rider responded, clipping a further 0.021secs off.
That seemed to be enough to end the Ducati stranglehold on pole starts so far this season, but Haslam who had been on the pace throughout, had other ideas, putting in a breathtaking lap of the 2.692 mile circuit in 1m 35.120secs, at an average speed 101.88mph, to ensure his second consecutive pole start.
“I’m over the moon with that – we’ve been pretty strong all weekend but Greg and Karl had set a blistering pace and I was struggling to match it. But, there was a chance with a bit of clear track, although I thought that I had blown it when I ran a little wide at the last corner,” explained Haslam as he reflected on the lap that had earned him the fourth pole start of his career and put him in the driving seat, by a single point from Lavilla, in the Audi Performance Award.
“The car would be good, very good, but first I need to convert this speed into the races. My main aim is strong points in the championship and I am going out here for the double win.”
Harris starts alongside him, with Lavilla, the current leader, by 36 points, in the title stakes, third fastest, ahead of James Haydon who completes the front row of the grid, at the expense of his Rizla Suzuki team-mate Shane Byrne who crashed spectacularly late on in the session as he tried to improve on his best lap of 1m36.023secs
Michael Rutter, sixth fastest on the Stobart Honda, also tipped off, but remained a split second up on Jonathan Rea (Red Bull Honda) and Hawk Kawasaki’s Dean Thomas.
Tommy Hill, riding the Virgin Mobile Yamaha, heads up the third row, ahead of Glen Richards (Hydrex Honda), James Buckingham – the leading British Superbike Cup qualifier aboard the Quay Garage Honda and Gary Mason (Hydrex Honda), while Ryuichi Kiyonari riding the factory backed HM Plant Honda, starts from the fourth row, with a disappointing time of 1m 37.442secs.
Leading Qualifying Times For Round Four1 L Haslam Airwaves Ducati 1m 35.120s
2 K Harris HM Plant Honda 1:35.469
3 G Lavilla Airwaves Ducati 1:35.490
4 J Haydon Rizla Suzuki 1:35.641
5 S Byrne Rizla Suzuki 1:36.023
6 M Rutter Stobart Honda 1:36.166
7 J Rea Red Bull Honda 1:36.179
8 D Thomas Hawk Kawasaki 1:36.679
9 T Hill Virgin Mobile Yamaha 1:36.688
10 G Richards HydrexHonda 1:36.708
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