Gregorio Lavilla begins the defence of his Bennetts British Superbike crown from pole position after setting the fastest ever motorcycle lap of the demanding Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

The Spaniard was inch perfect as he headed off the challenge of his Airwaves Ducati team-mate Leon Haslam around the tight, twisting 1.2262, taking half a second off the record in a time of 45.533secs, at an average speed of 96.94mph.

“I am very happy – now I have the records on both the short and the long circuits – my fast lap was very good, and smooth, but importantly, I have been putting in consistent lap times using race tyres, so I am feeling confident,” said Lavilla as he enjoyed a performance that puts him into the lead in the Audi Performance Award.

This rewards speed in qualifying over the whole season with a £50,000 limited edition Audi A4 Cabriolet: “The present, it is very nice to win, but there is a long way to go,” smiled Lavilla.

Haslam, who had been on the pace throughout, enjoyed a best lap of 45.581secs, kept the pressure on his team-mate, underlining his own determination to begin the campaign on a winning note. “Second is not good enough for me – I want to be out front and to win the title.

Karl Harris, the former triple British Supersport Champion, was third fastest for HM Plant Honda with a lap of 45.818 secs, while Dean Thomas, Hawk Kawasaki, completes the front row of the grid, only marginally down.

Shane Byrne, returning to the domestic series after two years in World MotoGP, was eighth fastest on the Rizla Suzuki: “I’m as happy as I be with that, but seriously, we are making a good solid start and as the weekend has gone on, I’ve got happier and happier – the boys have done a good job for me.”

Honda riders Jonathan Rea, Michael Rutter and Ryuichi Kiyonari were all ahead of Byrne on the leaderboard as they start from the second row of the grid, while adrift of them James Haydon, on the second Rizla Suzuki, Glen Richards on the Hydrex Honda and the Vivaldi Suzuki duo of Scott Smart and Ben Wilson are on the third row.

Marty Nutt, nineteenth fastest overall, was the best of the British Superbike Cup qualifiers, ahead of Chris Martin, Malcolm Ashley, Zak Barry and Gareth Glynn.

Lincolnshire rider Steve Plater missed the opening round having sustained a knee injury in a fall at Hailwood during qualifying.