Ducati rider Leon Haslam scored pole position at Brands Hatch with HM Plant Honda Racing's Ryuichi Kiyonari alongside him after the Japanese pilot recorded the second fastest qualifying time at the 1.2 mile Indy circuit.

Kiyonari had been fastest in yesterday’s two free practice sessions and this morning’s first official qualifying period. However, his nearest challenger Leon Haslam took the initiative in the closing stages of this afternoon’s final session to deny the 22-year-old Japanese star the first pole position of the 2005 season.

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “I found Brands Hatch to be one of the most difficult tracks to learn last season. However, this year I have arrived here with a good set-up and worked very hard with HM Plant Honda Racing to find the best settings for race distance. My lap times have improved a lot from last year, but I’m not too confident for the races. There are a lot of fast riders on this circuit and so I’ll just have to see if I can get a good start from the front row – that will determine how my race goes.”

Rizla Suzuki's Scott Smart will start from third on the front row while his injured team mate John Reynolds qualified in an amazing 12th place for tomorrow's opening round of the 2005 British Superbike Championship at the Brands Hatch Indy circuit in Kent.

Smart spent both of today's 50-minute long sessions testing race tyres before slotting in a Dunlop qualifier and leaping up to third on the front row of the grid in the dying minutes. He was one of only three riders to break the 46-seconds barrier - more than half a second faster than he has ever lapped at Brands Hatch before.

Scott Smart: "We did nothing to my Rizla Suzuki race bike, but the big difference today was simple - I got my head into gear and I stopped trying so hard. Once I relaxed I was able to slash my lap times and lap consistently quickly.

"My qualifying lap was a revelation - I entered Clearways thinking I was going far too fast but turned in as normal and my GSX-R held the line perfectly. I am building trust in the Rizla Suzuki and starting to reveal its true potential. Third is a front row start and I'm happy with that, in fact I am more than happy, I am ecstatic!"

Rutter had also been in a provisional front row starting position, but slipped down the running order in a thrilling final five-minute dash to the chequered flag. The 31-year-old runner-up in last year’s championship was unable to respond and so will start tomorrow’s races in unfamiliar territory on the second row of the grid.

Michael Rutter: “The pace was hot out there today and I’m frustrated not to have qualified on the front row. There was a lot of traffic in the second qualifying period and the conditions didn’t improve as much as we would have hoped between sessions. There’s very little between the top eight riders, so I’m not that worried about tomorrow’s races. I’ve got a good set-up on the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade and I’m confident that I can make up the difference over race distance.”

British Superbike Champion John Reynolds started qualifying in determined mood and slashed nearly 1.5-seconds from yesterday's best lap time to get within half a second of the front row - despite riding with an injured right leg that he broke in five places during testing just 38-days ago. He will start from 12th and the third row of the grid behind pole sitter Leon Haslam on a Ducati, with the top 17 on the grid separated by just one second.

John Reynolds: "My Rizla Suzuki is working beautifully and my injured right leg isn't bothering me when I'm riding. Last night I was disappointed but today we have got our act together and are within striking distance of pole position with a competitive race pace.

"We are going to move the gear lever down because I missed a couple of shifts during my qualifying lap. My only other concern is my right toe-slider, I am grinding it down pretty quick and the team is going to reinforce it this evening so it will last 30-laps."

Back-to-back British Supersport Champion Karl Harris has made a promising start in his return to the Bennetts British Superbike Championship. The 25-year-old Yorkshireman will start the first round of the series in eighth position on the grid for tomorrow’s two 30-lap Superbike races at Brands Hatch.

Harris powered the Honda-Racing.co.uk Fireblade around the 1.2-mile Indy circuit in a time of 0:46.115. This impressive lap was only 0.3 seconds behind the pole position time set by Leon Haslam and fractionally inside defending British Superbike Champion John Reynolds’ lap record. This is indicative of the competitive nature of the 2005 Superbike class.

However, the Sheffield star is approaching his Honda-Racing.co.uk Superbike debut in typically determined fashion. His pre-season test schedule on the CBR1000RR Fireblade has prepared him for what is sure to be a challenging season against the established Superbike hierarchy.

Karl Harris: “I’m a bit frustrated with how things turned out for me in final qualifying. I was determined to challenge for a front row position but it wasn’t to be. I was up there until the closing stages but we ended up running out of time. It’s so important to get a good start here on the Indy circuit at Brands Hatch and so I’ll have to get off the line quickly from the inside of the second row. The Honda-Racing.co.uk CBR1000RR Fireblade is working well and I’m hoping to be in the mix for a podium place tomorrow.”

Tom Sykes scored pole position for the Supersport race and will start alongside ex GP rider Jay Vincent with 18-year-old Ulsterman Eugene Laverty on his Red Bull Honda CBR600RR also alongside them after qualifying third overall in today’s two official qualifying sessions.

It will be Laverty’s debut in the British Supersport series. His only previous competitive Supersport outing was last year on a Red Bull Honda CBR600RR at an end of season non-championship meeting at Castle Combe. The Toomebridge teenager won a race at that event, but realises that it will be much more competitive during the first round encounter at Brands Hatch.

Eugene Laverty: “I’m really happy already with how things have been going with Red Bull Honda. We’ve made good progress during pre-season testing and that has helped us to prepare for the first round here at Brands Hatch. It’s a big jump from the British 125GP class up to Supersport, but thanks to Red Bull and Honda Racing I’ve got the best package for the Supersport class. The set-up on my CBR600RR is good and I’ve been running consistently on my Dunlop race tyres. So it’s fingers crossed for tomorrow and what should be the closest race of the day.”