Bayliss (Ducati Infostrada) set a time of 2'02.964 in his 21 laps but was confident he could still grab that all-important front row grid position tomorrow for Sunday's two races. "Fifth position is not exactly where I wanted to be on Friday, but I don't want to risk going for a really quick lap around here until I feel 100% confident with the bike" declared Troy. "We're not so good in the new part of the circuit at the moment, where there are a lot of changes in direction and where we're missing a bit of grip, but I feel sure that we can get some more off the time tomorrow and secure a front row grid position, which is important for this race. It was important to set a good time today, because although the weather was OK, it doesn't look too good for tomorrow and I don't want to be caught out if the rain comes".

Xaus (Ducati Infostrada) was right on the pace throughout the session, ending up second in 2'02.012, just a fraction off Edwards' time. "I got some traffic so I lost a little bit of time but being in second position is good" declared Ruben. "If tomorrow is wet we can't get anything else out of the set-up so we're just waiting and hoping that the weather will be as OK as today. I had a problem with my knee-slider coming loose again and this made me lose a bit of time, so I only did a few laps with my race tyre. I'm feeling very positive about this weekend, I like the track, I've got a good set-up and feel confident on the gas so we're already looking forward to the races".

Bostrom (Ducati L&M) found things tough going in the early part of the session, but bolted on a softer tyre towards the end to notch up seventh quickest time in 2'03.414. "Qualifying was tough today, for some reason this is a difficult track for me" commented Ben "I'm looking for a good result and we're just having to keep working at it all weekend. It's important to get the bike dialled in early because it's a real physical track and we didn't really do that today. If you're off just a little bit at this circuit, you have to work real hard during the race. We've still got some way to go on the set-up before we can get things sorted out and push for a front-row grid position".

GSE Report

HM Plant Ducati riders Neil Hodgson and James Toseland have qualified comfortably for the penultimate round of the Superbike World Championship at Assen. Hodgson set a best time of 2:02.402 to claim an overnight position of third on the grid. Team-mate James Toseland made a solid start to his Dutch campaign by qualifying eighth fastest.

The only riders to go quicker than Hodgson were factory riders Colin Edwards (Honda) and Ruben Xaus (Ducati). Edwards claimed provisional pole with his 17th lap of the session. This provoked Hodgson on the HM Plant Ducati to up his pace for the final few circuits.

“The new track layout has actually made it a lot harder to lap Assen quickly,” explained Hodgson. “It takes a lot more effort to get the bike to change direction and I had a few scary moments out there. It took me a while to get to grips with the place again but I’m really beginning to attack the track now. I still have a few more tyres to try out before the race but I clocked a strong time and third on the grid is a good place to build from. I can tell that there’s still more to come from me here.”

James Toseland’s initial qualifying performance has placed him on the second row of the provisional grid but only 0.3secs separates him from fifth placed Noriyuki Haga.

“I’m pretty happy with my time but realise that there’s still room for improvement,” said the 21-year-old Yorkshireman. “The only riders faster than me so far are Neil, the full factory guys and Frankie Chili, who’s a bit of an Assen specialist, so I can’t really complain.”