Pata Honda rider Leon Haslam will start tomorrow’s two fifth-round World Superbike championship races at Donington Park in the UK from the front row of the grid after setting the second-fastest time in today’s Superpole.

The 30-year-old, who lives just half-an-hour’s drive from the 4.023km circuit set a time of 1m45.009s, just 0.1s from pole-setter Davide Giugliano, after heavy and persistent rain had left Donington wet and slippery.

Haslam’s Pata Honda team-mate Jonathan Rea crashed out in the wet conditions at Donington’s Melbourne hairpin after looking comfortable for a front row start for tomorrow’s two 23-lap races.

The 27-year-old from Northern Ireland had been in a provisional front row slot and was on target to set the fastest time before sliding off with just three minutes of the session remaining.

Leon Haslam - P2

Since breaking my leg last year we haven’t had the best of times, or been where we want to be in terms of results, so for me it’s good to get my season started on the front row here at Donington. We’ve still got a little bit more work to do for the dry set-up but I had a good feeling with the bike in the rain at Assen and we’ve made a lot of steps over the winter. Fingers crossed I can get the start that’s needed and we can be in there with the front guys tomorrow.

Jonathan Rea - P8

It was a tough Superpole for me to finish up eighth, and I don’t think we’ve started from the third row this season. So a really good couple of starts have to be on the menu tomorrow for me to get away with the front guys. I made a really costly mistake in the latter stages in a pivotal moment in the session, just when everybody was starting to go really fast. I was feeling really comfortable and setting a really good pace. I’m quite happy with our bike in the rain conditions like we had but with the weekend schedule we’ve really struggled with dry time. With three dry sessions on the bounce we weren’t able to spend the evening analysing data from the day to come back strong. I think we’re a little under prepared for the race tomorrow but I have confidence that my guys will give me a C BR to battle at the front tomorrow, regardless of the conditions.

Pieter Breddels - technical co-ordinator

Jonathan was riding really well in the wet and was the fastest guy on track until his small crash. That left him in eighth because the others were able to continue to improve. For tomorrow, we have a plan for the dry and he’s next to Tom Sykes on the grid so I’m sure he’ll not let Tom get away! I’m really happy that Leon kept it together during the wet session and ended just a tenth off pole. After a long struggle, everything has come together and it’s fantastic to see him at the front. He has a confidence boost in case it’s dry too, but to see him starting from the front row is inspiring and I wish him two good races.

Qualifying position

1 Davide Giugliano 1'44.903 ITA DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team
2 Leon Haslam 1'45.009 GBR HONDA Pata Honda
3 Marco Melandri 1'45.111 ITA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
4 Alex Lowes 1'45.258 GBR SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
5 Sylvain Guintoli 1'45.839 FRA APRILIA Aprilia Racing Team
6 Loris Baz 1'46.058 FRA KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
7 Tom Sykes 1'46.241 GBR KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
8 Jonathan Rea 1'46.306 GBR HONDA Pata Honda
9 Toni Elias 1'46.326 SPA APRILIA Red Devils Roma
10 Eugene Laverty 1'47.963 IRL SUZUKI Voltcom Crescent Suzuki
11 Chaz Davies 1'50.099 GBR DUCATI Ducati Superbike Team
12 Ayrton Badovini 1'29.999 ITA BIMOTA Team Alstare
13 Christian Iddon 1'49.541 GBR BIMOTA Team Alstare
14 Claudio Corti 1'49.961 ITA MV AGUSTA MV Agusta RC-Yakhnich Motorsport
15 Alessandro Andreozzi 1'50.509 ITA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
16 Niccolo Canepa 1'51.062 ITA DUCATI Althea Racing
17 David Salom 1'53.656 ESP KAWASAKI Kawasaki Racing Team
18 Leon Camier 1'29.684 GBR BMW BMW Motorrad Italia SBK
19 Fabien Foret 1'31.195 FRA KAWASAKI MAHI Racing Team India
20 Jeremy Guarnoni 1'31.583 FRA KAWASAKI MRS Kawasaki
21 Roamin Lanusse 1'32.032 FRA KAWASAKI Team Pedercini
22 Sheridan Morais 1'32.064 RSA KAWASAKI IRON BRAIN Kawasaki SBK Team
23 Imre Toth 1'32.667 HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
24 Aaron Yates 1'32.615 USA BIMOTA Team Hero EBR
25 Geoff May 1'34.194 USA BIMOTA Team Hero EBR
26 Peter Sebestyen 1'34.519 HUN BMW BMW Team Toth
27 Bryan Staring 1'35.916 AUS KAWASAKI IRON BRAIN Kawasaki SBK Team

.