HM Plant / GSE Ducati

Neil Hodgson and James Toseland will line up for the 11th round of the Superbike World Championship at Oschersleben in first and eighth positions respectively. The HM Plant Ducati riders will start Sunday’s two races from the first and second rows of the grid after contrasting fortunes in the one-lap Superpole qualifying session at the tight and twisty German circuit.

Hodgson was in superb form to claim his second consecutive pole position. The 28-year-old Isle of Man resident, currently third overall in the series with three rounds remaining, moved into second in the morning’s qualifying session, before setting the fastest ever Superbike time around the 3.667km Oschersleben track.

“I was held up a bit in traffic for my fastest lap on Dunlop qualifying tyres during practice, so I knew that I could further improve my time,” said Hodgson. “Having the track to myself seems to suit me and it is particularly advantageous here. I was lucky to have an almost faultless lap, while the others seemed to be making mistakes.

“In contrast to last year, I have managed to find a good set-up for the HM Plant Ducati. This has given me the confidence to clinch pole position and I’ll hopefully be able to carry this form into tomorrow’s races. The key will be to get a good start and hope that Bayliss and Edwards will be too busy battling for the title to follow me!”

HM Plant Ducati’s other British rider failed to live up to his own high expectations after nearly coming to grief in Superpole. “After being in fifth position at the end of practice this morning, I have to be disappointed with my performance in Superpole.

“I had a massive slide on the exit of the first right-hander, which had me out of the seat. I made the mistake of transferring my body weight at the same time as opening the throttle. Luckily, I landed back on to the HM Plant Ducati and was able to complete my lap after losing some invaluable time. That was the difference between the first and second rows.”

Ducati Infostrada

Championship leader Troy Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) could only manage sixth quickest time in the Superpole qualifying session for the German Round of the World Superbike Championship at Oschersleben, as Britain's Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) smashed the outright circuit record to grab pole. Ben Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was the quickest factory Ducati rider today in third, closely followed by Ruben Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) while Troy's chief rival Colin Edwards (Honda) will line up on the grid directly ahead of the Australian on the front row.

Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) was third quickest after the two qualifying sessions, but put his Ducati 998's wheels on the grass in the first split and then hit the ripple-strip immediately after, which ruined his Superpole lap. The Australian set a time of 1'27.664 and will line up on the second row, alongside Haga (Aprilia) and directly behind Edwards. "Row 2 is obviously not where I wanted to be for the race tomorrow and I find myself in a position similar to last year. I've still got a few more things to try in the Sunday morning warm-up, which is a bit of a pain, but you can't have it all your own way. These things bring out the best in you, so hopefully we'll come up with something in the morning. I'm not entirely satisfied with my race set-up, all I can do is try and improve and keep Colin within striking distance tomorrow".

Bostrom (Ducati L&M) was unfazed by a late crash in the afternoon's free practice session to move up from fourth in qualifying to an impressive third in Superpole with a lap time of 1'27.166. "Every time we're on the front row I'm happy" declared Ben. "This is a good spot, the boys did a great job after I crashed in the session before Superpole. The lap was good, the bike felt great and tomorrow's a new day. At the start of the week I had a lot on my mind, but I've been getting more confident as the days go by. Now I realise I just have to ride the bike, a big thanks to the guys in my L&M team because it is just getting better and better all the time."

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) also moved up the starting-grid with an excellent time of 1'27.391, which earned him the outside slot on row 1 for tomorrow's two races. "My Superpole lap was quite good, the quickest I have been all weekend, so it's better late than never and it's good to be on the front row" commented Ruben. "My long-run times were not perfect but not bad and I think I can gain some places in the race. In my last laps of my long-run I was doing the same times as in the early laps so that means that in the races I can try to ride at the end like I will at the beginning. The start will be important and I will try and follow Colin like last year and try to push him as much as possible, maybe even try to win!".