"Well we struggled in the regular timed qualifying sessions, so we decided to try some completely different in the free practice just before Superpole. And I guess it worked! We had to do something radical, because I wasn't happy with the bike at all and two 21-lap races would've been a real struggle. There might be a problem tomorrow because I've heard that it could rain. That would mess up everybody's plans, because we haven't had any wet practice here. Hopefully, it will not rain, but the forecast is not that good. It's been an up and down season and I'm really happy to have won Superpole again. I'm also happy to be back on the front row of the grid! At the start of the year, at Valencia, I began the season with a win that's how I'd like to end this season."

Corser leads an Aprilia 1-2 after his team-mate Regis Laconi took second place.  "I'm honored to know that Troy made use of my work on getting the right set-up for this track," said Regis Laconi. "There are some team-mates who do this but won't admit it. Not even a word of thanks. So I can only have respect for Troy. As for me, I worked really hard and the bike's a bomb. I'm on the front row and now I just need a super start in tomorrow's races. Then I'll go for my "target"...the podium I've been waiting for so long."

Newly-crowned World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) will start the final round of the season at Imola, Italy from third on the grid after an exciting Superpole session. The 32-year-old Australian powered his silver Ducati 996R round the 4.933 km Imola track in a time of 1’49.146” to start tomorrow’s two races from the front row of the grid. “My qualifying lately has not been up to scratch and I was confident I was going to be fastest today because everything has being going well”, declared Bayliss. “It felt like a good lap but it wasn’t, but anyway I’m happy to be on the front row. Imola is a strange place, with a chicane up the top which will make things a bit difficult for everyone because if you hit the green patch then you’ll get a stop-and-go. It’s quite a bumpy circuit and you really need to work on the set-up a lot. We tested here a couple of months ago and I didn’t do so well but this time round all the adjustments we made are looking really good. We’re looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully there’s no rain”.

Castrol Honda's Colin Edwards will also start from the front row after taking fourth place.  "I was happy enough with my lap but it was nervous watching the last two or three riders on the TV monitor as they did their laps. I'm always aiming just to be on the front row so I'm happy about that plus, we've got a good race set-up for tomorrow."

Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) will start from row 2 of the grid after setting fifth-quickest time in Superpole. The 27-year-old Californian, who has been right on the pace all weekend, was at a loss to explain his Superpole lap. “I don’t know why I was so slow on that last split”, declared Bostrom. “The whole lap didn’t feel fast and the changes we made didn’t seem to work. My race tyres are good, I did 49.5 on them, the bike is a bit of a rodeo ride but it’s not so bad. I’m just mad because we’re on the second row. Now I’ll just have to be really aggressive in the first turn, because I wanted to be first into there tomorrow”.

Aprilia's Alessandro Antonello sixth, Britain's Neil Hodgson took seventh.

Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) set provisional pole position in this morning’s second and final qualifying session but then crashed out of Superpole on the final corner of his quick lap as he tried to better the 1’48.694” mark set by Corser (Aprilia). The 23-year-old Spanish rider, who lost the front of his 996R as he powered out of the curve, slid harmlessly into the air fence and will start tomorrow’s races from eighth position on the grid. “I was only pushing it in the last part of my Superpole lap”, said Xaus. “I went over the limit and the tyre went away from under me. I was already looking at the finish-line when I crashed. Tomorrow I want to win, I’m happy with the set-up and I’ve got nothing to lose. The race tyre is good, this morning’s qualifying was perfect so I’m feeling really confident”.

The Superpole ruling means Xaus can be relegated no further than a second row, eighth place. Castrol Honda's Tady Okada will start from ninth with Hodgson's team-mate and fellow-Briton James Toseland 10th.