Gregorio Lavilla claimed his third pole start of the season, at the expense of his Airwaves Ducati team-mate Leon Haslam, in a high speed duel for supremacy on the short, but demanding Mallory Park circuit that hosts the sixth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

The defending champion, and current leader in the title stakes, took charge of the qualifying session with an early, but effective lap of the 1.41 mile circuit, with its revised configuration that includes a new chicane at the exit of Gerrards.

Lavilla powered in a time of 55.375secs, an average speed of 91.66mph, and try as he might, Haslam could not deny him top spot on the qualifying leaderboard. The young Derbyshire rider had to settle for second best, despite powering in 26 laps, the best of which came in a time of 55.440secs.

“I am very pleased. After the morning practice session, we changed some settings and that gave me better performance,” explained Lavilla. “It was very important for me to ensure I was on the front row of the grid because overtaking here can be very difficult, so to take pole is very good, not just for me, but also for the team who work so hard for me.”

It was a lap that also keeps the Spaniard in the driving seat for the Audi Performance Award, and the end of season prize of a £50,000 limited edition A4 Cabriolet, that rewards consistent speed in qualifying.

Jonathan Rea, who had topped free practice during the morning, was third in the grid decided aboard the Red Bull Honda, with Ryuichi Kiyonari, riding the HM Plant Honda completing the front row of the grid.

The 23 year old Japanese rider is currently third in the rankings and is keen to taste the winner’s champagne for the first time since the opening round, especially as he wants to show what might have been at this Leicestershire circuit where last season he had a heavy crash, ruling him out of four races and effectively spoiling his title chances.

Michael Rutter, who took the victories then, is eager for an action replay to kick start his season aboard the Stobart Honda. He ran fifth best, with a time of 55.680secs, to head up the second row ahead of Karl Harris, Michael Laverty and former champion Shane Byrne, who will be the only Rizla Suzuki rider in this round.

His team-mate James Haydon has been forced to pull out, having sustained arm injuries in a heavy crash at Gerrards during Friday practice – he rode in the Saturday morning session, but in obvious pain decided against futher participation.

Dean Thomas, riding Hawk Kawasaki, the two Hydrex Honda riders Glen Richards and Gary Mason, together with Vivaldi Suzuki’s Scott Smart start from the third row while James Buckingham, the fastest of the British Superbike Cup contenders, was fifteenth overall.

He clocked a lap of 56.799secs aboard the Quay Garage Suzuki, little more than a tenth of a second up on rivals for his title Chris Martin and Gareth Glynn.