30-year-old Walker, who has been at the front of the field throughout practice and qualifying this weekend, was more than a little frustrated with his final qualifying position.

'It's a bit disappointing to finish twelfth after being right up there at the front all weekend,' commented Walker. 'But, it's easier to be on the pace in the wet than it is in the dry, especially at a new circuit and, although we ran a wet Superpole, the track was actually dryer than it’s been all weekend. Looking at the times, we're only about half a second off the group in front and we've got some changes to make which should make it possible to bridge that gap in the race tomorrow.'

'I have a good race tyre and I don't think there's as much of a difference between the Dunlop qualifiers and race tyres as there is with the Michelin's, so in the race it should level out a little bit. I just need another Stalker start,' he added.

For Alex Hofmann, just qualifying for Superpole on his World Superbike debut was an impressive feat. The former European 250GP Champion shaved over 1.5 seconds off his previous best lap time during Superpole to finish 16th fastest, and claim a fourth row start for his first ever World Superbike race.

'I cannot compare myself with Bayliss or Edwards; instead I can look at Chris who is just 1.5 seconds in front of me. I see myself as a racer and not so much a qualifier and I like to get into a race, and from there, hopefully the fast times will come,' said Hofmann.

'I did not notice too much of a difference between the qualifiers and the race tyre, so I think I will be able to run the same sort of times in the race tomorrow. I practiced a start today and it was very difficult to keep the front wheel of the Kawasaki on the ground; so I guess I'll be practicing a few more during morning warm-up tomorrow,' he continued.