Muggeridge tops the times but the attention will be further down the grid in the race as the championship reaches its conclusion. Series leader Paolo Casoli is in second place on the grid, the Italian hitting back after a crash at the final chicane. Ten Kate Honda's Fabien Foret took third and Ducati's Vittoriano Guareschi fourth.

James Whitham - Casoli's team-mate - leads the second row after the British Yamaha rider took fifth with Stefano Cruciani sixth and Andrew Pitt - Casoli's nearest challenger in the title chase - seventh.

Andrew Pitt - "We went much quicker today, as I thought we would and being on the second row is okay. This weekend we've made good progress improving the bike set-up. I'm confident the Kawasaki is as competitive as it's ever been, and we've been able to do consistent lap times on race tyres. Today I ran with (Jamie) Whitham for a few laps and it was good to see how the Yamaha is going. Even though the championship is at stake I'm thinking more about trying to win this race. We've had a good season with seconds and thirds, so it would be good to finish off with a win. If I can do that it would also help with the championship. The run to the first corner will be important and then we'll see how things unfold. Passing isn't going to be easy, but there are places if you pick your spots. These races have been close all season and it won't be any different tomorrow."

Ten Kate Honda's Pere Riba will start from eighth place, bouncing back from a crash in the early stages of the session. Katsuaki Fujiwara, in ninth, and Vittorio Iannuzzo complete the top 10.

Castrol Honda's Chris Vermeulen took 17th place - "It was really difficult for me to change direction but I tried as hard as I could," admitted Vermeulen. "I was hoping for a third row start but I suppose it wasn't to be."

"Tomorrow's race will be different though, I'll get some treatment and will definitely be in better shape. It's all a shame really because we've got a really good setting with the machine and the Michelin tyres are working well.

"My legs are hurting the most after the crash but I'm ready to go through the pain barrier to end the season with a good result tomorrow."

Adam Fergusson was 22nd on the Alpha Technik Honda. The BKM Honda's of Kevin Curtain and Cristiano Migliorati are 24th and 28th respectively with Alpha Technik Honda's Steve Plater 31st.

1. Karl Muggeridge Suzuki 1m53.554
2. Paolo Casoli Yamaha 1m53.559 0.005
3. Fabien Foret Honda 1m53.590 0.036
4. Vittoriano Guareschi Ducati 1m53.690 0.136
5. James Whitham Yamaha 1m53.937 0.383
6. Stefano Cruciani Yamaha 1m53.943 0.389
7. Andrew Pitt Kawasaki 1m54.023 0.469
8. Pere Riba Honda 1m54.027 0.473
9. Katsuaki Fujiwara Suzuki 1m54.074 0.520
10. Vittorio Iannuzzo Suzuki 1m54.365 0.811
11. Fabrizio Pirovano Suzuki 1m54.443 0.889
12. Piergiorgio Bontempi Yamaha 1m54.467 0.913
13. Christian Kellner Yamaha 1m54.555 1.001
14. Iain MacPherson Kawasaki 1m54.584 1.030
15. Jorg Teuchert Yamaha 1m54.787 1.233
16. Werner Daemen Yamaha 1m54.855 1.301
17. Chris Vermeulen Honda 1m54.937 1.383
18. Antonio Carlacci Ducati 1m55.064 1.510
19. Dean Thomas Ducati 1m55.097 1.543
20. Camillo Mariottini Yamaha 1m55.139 1.585
21. Shannon Johnson Honda 1m55.368 1.814
22. Adam Fergusson Honda 1m55.512 1.958
23. Christer Lindholm Yamaha 1m55.540 1.986
24. Kevin Curtain Honda 1m55.559 2.005
25. Franco Brugnara Yamaha 1m55.839 2.285
26. Oriol Fernandez Yamaha 1m56.080 2.526
27. Jan Hanson Yamaha 1m56.283 2.729
28. Cristiano Migliorati Honda 1m56.293 2.739
29. Ivan Clementi Yamaha 1m56.430 2.876
30. Augustin Escobar Yamaha 1m56.502 2.948
31. Steve Plater Honda 1m56.649 3.095
32. Rob Frost Yamaha 1m57.244 3.690
33. Davide Bulega Yamaha 1m57.459 3.905
34. Markus Barth Ducati 1m57.827 4.273
35. Kyro Verstraeten Honda 2m00.026 6.472