Defending champion Tommy Hill set a sensational pace in drying conditions at Thruxton to secure pole position ahead of tomorrow's second round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship as some of the leading contenders dramatically missed out on the front two rows.

The qualifying session began in wet conditions, with Q1 extended to 25 minutes with the final two stages unchanged. The international contingent dominated the early stage as Luca Scassa led Noriyuki Haga at the chequered flag ahead of the first British rider, Michael Rutter third. Dramatically, Josh Brookes looked set to miss the cut after Q1; he was outside the top 20 until his final lap before just making it inside the safe zone in 19th.

Q2 was even more remarkable as some of the leading contenders were outgunned by the young pretenders as Michael Laverty (13th), Shane 'Shakey' Byrne (15th) and Noriyuki Haga (16th) missed out on the top ten. Brookes again cut it fine to move inside the top ten as champion Hill topped the session from Rutter and Lowry.

As some of the protagonists were eliminated after Q2 it gave Hill the chance to show he is back to make amends for Brands Hatch, although his crash in Q1 last weekend was playing on his mind. Hill said: "It is fantastic to be back on the pole position and there was a lot more pressure here on me this weekend after what happened at Brands Hatch. It was looking like it might have been a gamble but we just went for it and it was a big shock. The only thing for me was I forgot my ear plugs so my ears are ringing now and I will be hearing the Swan Yamaha for a bit tonight!"

Ian Lowry who topped the free practice yesterday was second, giving Padgetts Honda their first front start with Rutter and James Westmoreland completing the front row. Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki's Walker heads Scassa on row two with Brookes and Alex Lowes completing row two.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Thruxton, qualifying result:

Tommy Hill (Swan Yamaha) 1m:15.260
Ian Lowry (Padgetts Honda) +0.475s
Michael Rutter (MSS Bathams Kawasaki) +0.604s
James Westmoreland (WFR Honda) +0.645s
Chris Walker (Pr1mo Bournemouth Kawasaki) +0.676s
Luca Scassa (Padgetts Honda) +0.676s
Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.685s
Alex Lowes (WFR Honda) +0.773s
Jon Kirkham (Samsung Honda) +0.852s
Patric Muff (Supersonic BMW) +1.808s

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