Colin Edwards (second) and Troy Bayliss (third) will line up next to Hodgson on tomorrow’s grid. The pair of world champions were simply unable to match the devastating speed of the #100 HM Plant Ducati.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic to be on pole,” said Hodgson, “and to have done it so convincingly makes it all the sweeter. I feel totally at one with my bike at the moment and would like to thank the HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing team for all their hard work. A lot of the credit also has to go to Dunlop. They’ve dedicated a lot of time to me for this round and the fantastic tyres that I now have at my disposal complete the awesome package that we now have. For the first time this season I feel like I’m in a position to take race wins and I’ll be giving it everything to make sure that that’s exactly what I do.”

James Toseland’s sixth-placed start tops-off a glorious day for the HM Plant Ducati/GSE Racing team. The young Sheffield-based star excelled around the ultra high-speed 5.79km circuit, putting himself firmly among the front-runners for tomorrow’s competition.

“I feel really strong right now and I think that my qualifying performance reflects that. My confidence in the HM Plant Ducati is at an all-time high and I feel like I’m in a good position to make my presence felt during the races. I truly believe that this is my best chance yet of making it onto the podium.”

Should the British pairing realise their aims, it would be the first time in SBK history that both riders from a non-factory team have made it onto the same podium.