Leon Haslam, with the fastest ever lap of the Thruxton circuit, claimed pole start for the Easter Monday double race third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

The Airwaves Ducati rider dominated a session run in blustery conditions during which some riders experienced tyre wear problems, but Haslam had no worried, setting a series of consistent laps, and then upping the power to break the three year old record.

He put a 1m 14.851secs lap midway through the 50 minute grid deciding session, but had even more in reserve, returning to the 2.356mile Hampshire circuit, having fitted new tyres, to clock a lap of 1m 14.626secs, at an average speed of 113.65mph.

That ensured he topped the qualifying leaderboard for the first time, and also put him into contention for the Audi Performance Award, a season long competition that rewards speed during qualifying and rewards the fastest overall rider with a £50,000 limited edition Audi S4 Cabriolet.

“That was just perfect,” smiled Haslam as he reflected on his ultra-fast lap. “Finally we’ve got there, having battled all weekend. We have good race tyres and have been running consistently, with the bike well set-up so I am feeling confident for the races.”

Karl Harris, riding the HM Plant Honda, closed within half a of a second of him – the Sheffield rider is aiming to take a career first Superbike victory at the circuit where he enjoyed his first success in Supersports, en-route to three British titles in that category.

Series leader, and defending champion Gregorio Lavilla was just a split second down, aboard the second Airwaves Ducati, having also run a number of consistently fast laps, while Dean Thomas aboard the Hawk Kawasaki completes the front row of the grid.

James Haydon rewarded the hard work of the Rizla Suzuki technician to rebuilt his and Shane Byrne’s bikes after a series of crashes in the rain at Donington Park the previous Sunday as set fifth best time, just ahead of Michael Rutter, Stobart Honda, and Ryuichi Kiyonari, who grabbed seventh best time with a late charge, to finish just ahead of Jonathan Rea on the Red Bull Honda.

James Buckingham, the defending British Superbike Cup Champion, set eleventh best time aboard his Quay Garage Honda, emabarassing an number of factory riders, among them Scott Smart, who gave the Vivaldi Suzuki team their first ever victory in at Donington Park. But, he took a bruising as he crashed in the last couple of minutes of the session, to qualify twelfth fastest, and with it a third row start.

Suzuki Report

Rizla Suzuki’s James Haydon will start from fifth place, his best qualifying position of the season to date, with Shane ’Shakey’ Byrne right behind him at the top of the third row in ninth for the double header Bank Holiday Monday third round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton in Hampshire.

Sunshine and warm weather helped the Rizla Suzuki racers to push their GSX-R1000s to the limit with both showing impressive pace on race tyres. It was James who made the most of his qualifying tyres in the final session while Shakey’s attempts at a fast lap were disrupted by two red flags in the last six minutes. Ducati’s Leon Haslam took pole position.

Legendary F1 commentator Murray Walker will be joining Rizla Suzuki at Thruxton this weekend to cheer on the boys in blue. Superbike racing starts at 13:30 on Bank Holiday Monday, April 17th. You can catch all of the action on ITV1 at 15:00 and then again on Sky Sports 3 on Tuesday morning at 11:30.

James: “It’s a shame I was just edged off the front row but fifth place is good and I want to thank my mechanics for all their hard work and support today.

“I am comfortable on my Rizla Suzuki and feel if I can get away with the leaders I’ll be able to stick with them and compete. We have built up steadily over the weekend to get to this point and it feels like it is starting to come together – I can’t wait for the races.”

Shakey: “I can’t believe my bad luck in qualifying this year. A qualifying tyre will only last one lap around Thruxton because of the high speed and I had just started my final fast lap when the red flags came out with six minutes to go. I tried nursing the tyre home for another go but it didn’t work out and I ended up ninth.

“I am pumped for tomorrow’s races and we have a very quick bike. Through the speed traps our bike is one of the fastest and that will help me to overtake the riders in front of me. I’m not planning on taking any prisoners in the races.”

Niall Mackenzie, Race Operations Manager: “James has been consistent and fast all weekend and thoroughly deserves his best qualifying position of the season so far in fifth. He’s a good starter, is confident on race rubber and if he can get away with the leaders you can be sure he’ll have a go for the podium places.

“Shane was a bit unlucky today as his final qualifying tyre was wasted when a red flag ruined his lap. On race rubber he remains one of the front runners and he needs a good start tomorrow if he wants to be in the final reckoning.”