James Ellison finished the opening day at Assen in thirteenth position, just four tenths of a second off the provisional second row, and is confident of making further strides forward tomorrow ahead of the third race of the World Supersport Championship on Sunday.

His Polish Bogdanka PTR Honda teammate, Pawel Szkopek was 23rd in the first qualifying session following a crash that cut his session short.

The team's up-and-coming FIM Superstock 1000 Cup rider, Marcin Walkowiak, was 24th today.

James Ellison:

"I'm losing a bit of time in the fast sections but we know what do to for tomorrow to improve that. Assen is a flowing track and it's very easy to make up time here so we're closer than the times might suggest. I'm still understanding the bike and there is more to come."

Pawel Szkopek:

"I'm still learning my way around Assen. It's a very difficult track to master and you need perfect lines in the fast sections to get a good lap, but we're getting there.I should've been faster in the end but had a low-side on my fastest lap. I am OK but missed one third of the session."

Marcin Walkowiak:

"I'm already faster than last year by half a second so I'm positive. We'll make some adjustments to the bike for tomorrow and I know where I can improve my riding too."

Simon Buckmaster:

"James has disappointed with 13th but we know what to improve and I am sure he will be challenging much higher up the grid tomorrow.

"Unfortunately Pawel crashed in qualifying and missed a large part of the session. We'll be studying the data and looking for big improvement tomorrow.

"It is Marcin's first day with the team and he is starting to gel well. He will be pushing harder tomorrow as we want a points scoring finish in our first outing."

First Qualifying - Supersport

1. Florian Marino 1'38.945 Honda CBR600RR (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda)

2. Luca Scassa 1'39.121 Yamaha YZF R6 (Yamaha ParkinGO Team)

3. David Salom 1'39.191 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Kawasaki Motocard.com)

4. Sam Lowes 1'39.291 Honda CBR600RR (Parkalgar Honda)

5. Chaz Davies 1'39.519 Yamaha YZF R6 (Yamaha ParkinGO Team)

6. Broc Parkes 1'39.569 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Kawasaki Motocard.com)

7. Robbin Harms 1'39.766 Honda CBR600RR (Harms Benjan Racing Team)

8. Fabien Foret 1'40.247 Honda CBR600RR (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda)

9. Gino Rea 1'40.273 Honda CBR600RR (Step Racing Team)

10. Massimo Roccoli 1'40.344 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Lorenzini by Leoni)

13. James Ellison 1'40.697 Honda CBR600RR (Bogdanka PTR Honda)

23. Pawel Szkopek 1'42.698 Honda CBR600RR (Bogdanka PTR Honda)


First Qualifying - Superstock 1000

1. Davide Giugliano 1'39.538 Ducati 1098R (Althea Racing)

2. Sylvain Barrier 1'39.915 BMW S1000 RR (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock)

3. Danilo Petrucci 1'40.053 Ducati 1098R (Barni Racing Team)

4. Lorenzo Baroni 1'40.054 Ducati 1098R (Althea Racing)

5. Andrea Antonelli 1'40.100 Honda CBR1000RR (Team Lorini)

6. Roy Ten Napel 1'40.178 Honda CBR1000RR (Domburg Racing)

7. Fabio Massei 1'40.965 BMW S1000 RR (Team Piellemoto)

8. Eddi La Marra 1'41.014 Honda CBR1000RR (Team Lorini)

9. Luca Verdini 1'41.049 Honda CBR1000RR (Ten Kate Junior Team)

10. Lorenzo Zanetti 1'41.061 BMW S1000 RR (BMW Motorrad Italia Superstock)

24. Marcin Walkowiak 1'43.090 Honda CBR1000RR (Bogdanka PTR Honda)