Bayliss was the third fastest rider at the end of the two qualifying sessions and held that position during the ‘Superpole’ qualifying session this afternoon. Arch rival Colin Edwards (Castrol Honda) will start from pole position for tomorrow’s event after setting the fastest time during Superpole with a 2-min 01.743-sec lap of the recently revised 6.027km Dutch circuit.

Spaniard Ruben Xaus (Infostrada Ducati) had been the fastest rider overall in qualifying, but was unable to repeat that performance during Superpole and will start from position two after recording a time of 2:01.752. Bayliss improved on his qualifying time set earlier in the day, but his time of 2:01.913 placed him third on the grid. Rounding out the front row was Britain’s Neil Hodgson (HM Plant Ducati) with a time of 2:03.958, the only other rider in the 2:01 lap bracket.

Bayliss bounced back after a crash early in the one-hour free practice session prior to Superpole, escaping with minor bruising. His lap times today were over a second faster than in the opening qualifying session yesterday and has put the Australian in a strong frame of mind in preparation for tomorrow’s races.

“I ended up third overall which wasn’t so bad, but I had a crash during the free practice before Superpole, so I’m a little bit sore from that,” said Bayliss. “We made a bit of progress today and things aren’t too bad today, just a little sore. We’ll just have to wait and see what the weather will bring tomorrow now. It was supposed to rain today but it didn’t, it was a bit cooler today and a bit breezy, but not too bad. I’m more confident for tomorrow than I was yesterday. I was faster on a race tyre this afternoon, which was good, so it’s shaping up as a battle between Colin, Ruben and myself I think. I expect Neil (Hodgson) and Noriyuki (Haga) to be there early, but I’m not sure if they hold the pace.”

With just four races remaining in this year’s championship, the battle between Bayliss and Edwards looks set to climax at the final round of the series at the Imola circuit in Italy on September 29. Just 29-points separates current championship points leader Bayliss from Edwards as they head into tomorrow’s round of the championship. The pair have been in dominant form all season with Bayliss scoring 14 race victories, while Edwards has a total of seven from the 22 races held to date.

Row two will be headed by Italian veteran Pierfrancesco Chili (NCR Ducati, 2:02.106) who set the fifth fastest time, followed by Japan’s Noriyuki Haga (Playstation2 Aprilia, 2:02.127), James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati, 2:02.619) and Spaniard Juan Borja (Spaziotel Ducati, 2:03.202. Tenth fastest was Australian Broc Parkes aboard his Parmalat NCR Ducati with a 2:03.991.