Jon Kirkham stole pole position and £250 from Ben Wilson's clutches as a dramatic qualifying session for the third round of the The Henderson Yamaha R1 Cup drew to a close at Oulton Park (4 May). Gary Mason headed the timing sheets at the end of the earlier 25-minute Free Practice session. Veteran Superbike rider, Sean Emmett had stolen into an early lead posting a successive string of laps in the 1:54s bracket. However, with the rain diminishing, and a relatively dry line forming, Mason upped the ante to post a time of 1:50.862s on the ninth of his ten laps.