The 5.9km long Silverstone circuit has not brought the qualifying outcomes that Tom Sykes and Joan Lascorz had hoped for, with Sykes starting 16th on the grid, while Lascorz was 19th.

Sykes had been in the mix until he crashed at turn six during the pre-Superpole free practice session. He had been 11th after regulation qualifying, but was unable to set even a single lap in Superpole as he received treatment for a swollen right ankle and various other bangs and bruises. He will undergo a fitness test on Sunday morning to determine whether he will race or not.

Lascorz could not get his machine set-up to work the way he hoped it would when exiting corners and now starts 19th on the grid, from the fifth row. He too missed out on Superpole, but found some pace in his set-up to go eighth in the final free practice session this afternoon.

Pedercini Team rider Mark Aitchison was top Kawasaki qualifier, putting his Ninja ZX-10R 12th after getting into Superpole 2. His team-mate Roberto Rolfo was 20th in qualifying.

Tom Sykes:

“We are not sure if I have chipped a bone on my ankle but it has swollen up a lot. There is no one who wants me to ride tomorrow more than I do, but we will see how things are in the morning after a good night’s sleep. We really have to wait until I get checked out again on Sunday. It was a very big crash and I hit the ground pretty hard. There is some kind of damage to my ankle but I would like to ride if I can and put some points on the board. It is a shame to have fallen because in Superpole I think we could have gone into the top seven or eight places on the grid.”

Joan Lascorz:

“It has been difficult to get the chassis set up to work the way we want in the exit of the corners and I cannot find good lines around the circuit because of that. It has been difficult in some ways but the entry to corners is good. I was not happy earlier in the weekend but we have found improvements in the afternoon session today and we have some ideas to improve things for the races tomorrow.”