Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam ended final qualifying and Superpole for tomorrow's third-round World Superbike Championship round at Valencia in Spain with the fourth-quickest time and will start the two 23-lap races from the front row.

Practice and qualifying at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo had been intense and at one stage the top 18 riders were separated by less than a second! Superpole qualifying was just as frantic with the lead changing hands several times during the three sessions, but Haslam stuck to his task and was rewarded with a front-row place.

Guintoli was going well also, but ended up a tenth-of-a-second adrift of a front row place and sixth overall. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) took Superpole with local favourite Carlos Checa (Ducati) second and Max Biaggi (Aprilia) third. Troy Corser's fifth place on the BMW means that five different manufacturers fill the top five places.

Leon Haslam - 4th, 1:33.961:

"I'm pretty happy how today went, though there's still work to do. The biggest problem for us at the moment is the temperature, because that is affecting how the bike works. Generally, I'm happy with the bike on race rubber and I'm also happy with the balance and set-up of the bike. Normally twins go well here, but when the four cylinder bikes have good grip, then they are a match for the twins and that's what we've seen today. We'll make a few minor tweaks to the bike in the warm-up tomorrow morning and see if we can improve the bike further. I'm feeling pretty confident that we're going to get some good results tomorrow and hopefully leave here still leading the championship."

Sylvain Guintoli - 6th, 1:34.073:

"I think I've got back into my rhythm this weekend - perhaps even better than Australia - and I'm feeling good. I am a little disappointed with my last qualifying tyre but that's because I made some small mistakes and even the tiniest of errors can cost you dearly because the lap times are so close together. This track is not an easy one for overtaking so it's important to get good starts and be with the leaders if you want good results. If the weather stays like today, it's going to be two long, hard races tomorrow for all of us."

Final WSB Qualifying and Superpole: 1 Crutchlow (GBR-Yamaha) 1:33.615, 2 Checa (ESP-Ducati) 1:33.840, 3 Biaggi (ITA-Aprilia) 1:33.860, 4 Leon Haslam (GBR-Suzuki Alstare) 1:33.961, 5 Corser (AUS-BMW) 1:34.059, 6 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA-Suzuki Alstare) 1:34.073.