Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) posted the fastest lap of the first qualifying session at Silverstone in 2 minutes 06.115 seconds, heading off Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) in the process. The session was held on a basically dry track, with the fastest lap times just over two seconds from the absolute best.

Third place in the early rankings went to new Pata Racing Team Ducati signing Sylvain Guintoli while local favourite Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) pushed himself to fourth place and was followed home by another British competitor Chaz Davies (ParkinGO MTC Racing Aprilia). Jakub Smrz (Liberty Racing Team Effenbert) was sixth and Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) slotted into seventh. The provisional front row was completed by Guintoli’s Pata team-mate, Lorenzo Zanetti.

With weather conditions expected to be changeable over race weekend, qualifying inside the top 16 today may prove important if the second and final session on Saturday morning finally proves to be wet. Many top names ended up down the order on day one, with Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) 12th and Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) 17th, one position up on Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team).

World Supersport – Silverstone 1st Qualifying

1. Sykes (Kawasaki) 2’06.115 average 168.475 kph;
2. Checa (Ducati) 2’06.148;
3. Guintoli (Ducati) 2’06.576;
4. Camier (Suzuki) 2’06.617;
5. Davies (Aprilia) 2’06.684;
6. Smrz (Ducati) 2’06.795;
7. Laverty (Aprilia) 2’06.851;
8. Zanetti (Ducati) 2’06.869;
. Berger (Ducati) 2’06.967;
10. Hopkins(Suzuki) 2’07.007;
11. Badovini (BMW) 2’07.089;
12. Melandri (BMW) 2’07.244;
13. Haslam (BMW) 2’07.401;
14. Canepa (Ducati) 2’07.404;
15. Baz(Kawasaki) 2’07.499;
16. Fabrizio (BMW) 2’07.658;
17. Biaggi (Aprilia) 2’07.723;
18. Rea (Honda) 2’07.740;
19. Giugliano (Ducati) 2’07.810;
20. Aoyama(Honda) 2’07.996;
21. Salom (Kawasaki) 2’09.438;
22. Johnson (Kawasaki) 2’10.043;
23. Brignola (BMW) 2’11.645;
24. McCormick (Ducati) 2’13.730.

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