Michael Laverty claimed pole position ahead of the penultimate round of the British Superbike Championship.
Swan Yamaha rider pips series leader Hopkins in qualifying
Michael Laverty claimed his second pole position start of the season on Saturday ahead of the penultimate round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone.
The Swan Yamaha rider needs winning rides this weekend to put his title hopes back on track and made the best possible start with a lap of two minutes 05.056 seconds on the Arena GP circuit.
Even so, Laverty's lap was only 0.077secs quicker than that managed by series leader John Hopkins (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki), who was riding through the pain barrier of a badly-injured finger.
Australian Josh Brookes on the Relentless Suzuki and Michael Rutter aboard the Rapid Solicitors Bathams Ducati complete the front row with Laverty's team-mate Tommy Hill fifth fastest overall.
Hill, who goes into Sunday's races hoping to peg back his three-point deficit on Hopkins, starts his Swan Yamaha from the second row ahead of Jon Kirkham (Samsung Crescent Racing Suzuki), Martin Jessopp (Rapid Solicitors-Bathams Ducati) and Peter Hickman (Tyco Honda).
However, the HM Plant Honda duo of Shane Byrne and reigning champion Ryuichi Kiyonari will both have to start on the fourth row of the grid after struggles with machine set-up during qualifying.
