Leon Haslam grabbed pole start for the eighth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Snetterton at lap record breaking pace as he headed off the threat of the title chasing HM Plant Honda duo of Ryuichi Kiyonari and Michael Rutter.

The Airwaves Ducati rider smashed half a second off the record, lapping the 1.953 mile Norfolk circuit in a time of 1m 05.403s, an average speed of 107.44mph: “I am feeling really confident for the races now – the bike is going well and I see no reasons why I cannot win here.”

Haslam, currently fifth in the title stakes, has won once this season, but is planning to add to that: “We have a really good set-up for the bike, and everything is in place. Now it is down to me to provide the results.”

He was just 0.032 seconds faster than Kiyonari, the eight times race winner who is determined to make inroads into the 43 points advantage held by Rutter, third fastest with a lap of 1m 05.653s, and that despite taking a heavy tumble in the morning session that left him battered and bruised.

“I’m a bit sore, but OK for the races which I need to win – I was pushing on, possibly a bit too hard when I crashed. The bike just came round on me, and that was it,” Rutter explained.

Michael Laverty, riding the Stobart Honda, completes the front row of the grid, his best ever qualifying performance in Superbikes. “I’m really delighted with that and now I am aiming for at least a second place here. I know that I can stay with Rutter.”

James Haydon, sore from two tumbles, heads the second row aboard the Rizla Suzuki, with Steve Plater marking his debut with the Hydrex Honda team sixth fastest, and just inside the record.

Gregorio Lavilla, the Airwaves Ducati rider who is currently third in the title rankings, set the seventh best time, ahead of John Reynolds, the reigning champion.

James Buckingham, the Quay Garage Suzuki rider, who heads the British Superbike Cup points, topped the qualifying for the race within a race for privateer teams and riders, but only by a tenth of a second from Danny Beaumont.

HM Plant Honda Report

Ryuichi Kiyonari and Michael Rutter will start tomorrow’s two 25-lap Bennetts British Superbike Championship races side-by-side from second and third places respectively on the front row. The HM Plant Honda of Kiyonari was consistently fast at the 1.952-mile Norfolk circuit throughout free practice and qualifying sessions.

The 22-year-old dominated the morning session and the early part of the afternoon before conceding pole position to Leon Haslam by just 0.03 seconds in the closing stages. However, Kiyonari cannot be ruled out for a third consecutive victory in the ultra-competitive championship.

At every event where the Japanese rider has completed race distance, he has finished on the podium and visited the top step eight times this season. He consistently put in 1:05 laps aboard the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade at Snetterton today.

Rutter was not far off his team-mate’s pace during the morning session. However, he was relegated from second to fourth after a crash in the closing stages. Despite feeling the effects of the spill, the Midlander was back out on track in the afternoon and proved to be one of the most consistent riders during an exciting session. He settled for third place and his sixth front row start of the season.

Michael Rutter: “I feel that there is a definite pattern to each round of the championship this season. Kiyo has been setting a hot pace and Snetterton has been no exception this weekend. I had a good run here last year, which included the lap record, but this will be under threat in tomorrow’s races. I’ve still got a good lead in the points table, but I’ve got to stop Kiyo’s relentless run of victories if I’m to realise my ambition of winning the championship.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari: “I’m very happy with the performance of the HM Plant Honda Racing CBR1000RR Fireblade, especially after taking a double win at Knockhill two weeks ago. I’m hoping to repeat this at Snetterton, but it will be difficult to beat Michael and some of the other riders over race distance. I have to push hard with the championship in mind, while remembering that it is important to finish every race.”

Rizla Suzuki Report

RIZLA SUZUKI'S James Haydon will start from fifth and John Reynolds from eighth as they bookend the second row of the grid for tomorrow's double-header eighth round of the British Superbike Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk.

James set a stunning lap time during the morning qualifying session that placed him provisionally third on the grid. In the afternoon he crashed on his first out-lap on a qualifying tyre after spending much of the session fine-tuning the handling of his Rizla Suzuki. He rushed back to the garage and remounted his spare bike but failed to improve his lap time in the dying minutes.

JR was fifth in the morning session and spent the afternoon pushing the limits of his bike in race trim. He improved his lap time fractionally in the session but was baulked by traffic every time he went for a new personal best. He is confident he will be in the reckoning tomorrow. Ducati's Leon Haslam took pole position.

Superbike racing starts at 1:15pm on Sunday, July 10th, at the 1.95-mile long Snetterton Circuit in Norfolk. The action will be covered live by Sky Sports. Channel 4 will broadcast a highlights package of the race action one week later.

James: "My Rizla Suzuki was great this morning and this afternoon we made small changes that improved it even further. I am devastated that I lost the front end on my out lap at the Coram Curve. After that I wasn't able to attack using a qualifying tyre.

"We think the front tyre may not have been up to temperature and I was pushing pretty hard for my out lap. It's unfortunate but I'll take the positives from today - I'm on the front of the second row, have a bike setting that is strong and on race rubber can match just about anyone. I'm a bit battered and bruised but that's not going to stop me going for it tomorrow."

JR: "We made significant improvements to my GSX-R today and in the second session I was putting in lap times on race rubber as quick as anything I could do on qualifiers in the morning. I couldn't believe it when every time I went out on a qualifier this afternoon I was hampered by slower riders pulling out in front of me.

"I am on the second row and I am confident of getting a good start tomorrow as that is something I have been working on. I'm angry at being denied the chance to have a clear qualifying lap and I'll hone that anger tonight and focus it into my race effort tomorrow."

Niall Mackenzie, Team Performance Co-Ordinator: "I am happy that both guys are on the second row and particularly pleased with JR's pace on race tyres - I think he will be fighting for the podium tomorrow.

"James has shown a great turn of speed all weekend but is gutted he crashed on his out lap with his first qualifier this afternoon. He's sore now but he's a determined racer and tomorrow you can expect the adrenaline to kick in and he'll be going for two podium finishes."

Dean Thomas

"I've not had the best of days today and I've ended up in 9th place on the grid, the main problem is the fact that we are slightly down on power and Snetterton is certainly one of the fastest tracks in the country. The bike feels pretty good but just down on BHP compared to some of the other bikes. I just have to get my head down tomorrow and try and stay with the leading bunch, it's going to be tricky but I'll be giving it my best shot.

"I'm looking forward to the race and still hoping to get a handful of good results, we knew this would be one of the tricky circuits for us to contend with and lets hope that we'll be ok for the rest of the season. There has been a few big crashes today and I can see the same happening tomorrow, but hopefully none of them will include me. I'm just planning on keeping my head down and getting on with it. Glen won't be riding tomorrow due to the crash he had yesterday and he is feeling very bashed up and bruised."