EMS Racing's Craig Coxhell took the European Superstock paddock by storm after qualifying in second position despite it being his first visit to the awesome Assen circuit. Out of all the tracks on the World Superbike calendar, Assen remains one of the most technically demanding due to its long length (5.997KM) and fast flowing corners, but that didn't stop Craig putting in a brilliant qualifying performance to secure a place on the front row of the grid.

Knowing it would be a hard circuit to learn, Craig and the team got to the Dutch circuit early so that he could spend time running and cycling around the track. The young Aussie even got some advice from WSB series leader Troy Corser as to the best lines around the circuit. His progress initially started slowly and at the end of first qualifying on Friday Craig was down in eighth place, but for the final session the team worked hard to improve the bike and Craig was able to reward them with a front row start.

"It's working well so far. We had a few dramas with the bike early on but we worked hard to get them sorted for today. The bikes how I like it and I was able to do that qualifying time pretty easy. I actually made a couple of mistakes on my best lap so I'm confident for tomorrow." explained Craig.

"It's been a tough weekend already because I'm having to learn the track from scratch. I've been watching videos from Assen for the last couple of weeks and since being here I've done about a million laps on the scooter, cycling and running. Its a great track as its so fast and flowing but its really hard work. Its very demanding because of the amount of direction changes and we've been working to get the bike easier to turn, which should help us tomorrow." he continued.