Samsung Honda's Alex Lowes set a stunning pace to claim pole position for the fifth round of the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship at a scorching Snetterton as he dived ahead of title rival Shane 'Shakey' Byrne.

Lowes set the standard in the opening session as Byrne and James Ellison completed the top three, but the Samsung Honda rider continued to push the pace and when it came to the final Q3 session he was able to set the fastest lap of the 2.96-mile circuit to record his third pole start of the season.

Lowes had led the pack into qualifying and after some big changes following yesterday's sessions he had the edge over standings leader Byrne despite the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki rider attacking hard for the pole position. Josh Brookes was pushing the Tyco Suzuki but he was forced to settle for third whilst Ryuichi Kiyonari celebrated his first front row start of the season in fourth.


Milwaukee Yamaha's James Ellison made steps forward to head row two from Chris Walker and Tommy Bridewell, who equalled his best qualifying start of the season for Bathams Honda. Jakub Smrz headed Jon Kirkham who finished ninth fastest despite a technical problem at the end of Q2. James Westmoreland completed the top ten whilst Keith Farmer will be assessed tomorrow ahead of the races to decide whether he will line up on the grid after his crash in free practice three when he suffered a leg injury.

MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship, Snetterton, Datatag Extreme qualifying:

Alex Lowes (Samsung Honda) 1m:48.106s
Shane Byrne (Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki) +0.387s
Josh Brookes (Tyco Suzuki) +0.966s
Ryuichi Kiyonari (Samsung Honda) +0.984s
James Ellison (Milwaukee Yamaha) +1.177s
Chris Walker (Quattro Plant Bournemouth Kawasaki) +1.212s
Tommy Bridewell (Bathams Honda) +1.273s
Jakub Smrz (Padgetts Honda) +1.307s
Jon Kirkham (Buildbase BMW) +1.500s
James Westmoreland (Buildbase BMW) +1.547s

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