A virtually non existent Superpole placed the Aprilia RSV4s ridden by Leon Haslam and Jordi Torres respectively on the first and third row of the starting grid for tomorrow's races which will launch the 2015 World Superbike Championship on the Australian track.

After two days of testing where the Aprilia Racing-Red Devils riders were consistently among the top contenders - yesterday they finished the final session in first and second place - the Italian team was preparing to battle for the top spots.

A crash by Jordi Torres during the morning sessions forced the young Spaniard to skip almost the entire free practice session but he was ready for Superpole. Haslam, on the other hand, was consistently strong in the morning with the third best time.

When Superpole started all the big names took to the track with race tyres, ready to mount their qualifiers at the last minute. But an accident involving David Salom convinced race marshals to first suspend and then cancel the session. At that point they validated the times from the first few minutes, when no one thought they were fighting for positions on the grid yet. Haslam, consistently fast anyway, found himself with the third best time and a spot on the front row, which is definitely a good result.

Jordi Torres gave it his all, with times that were consistently up there with the front runners throughout the Australian weekend in practice sessions to make everyone forget that this is his absolute début with both the bike and in World Superbike. The third row, earned with the seventh best time, is an excellent placement to start from in his new adventure with Aprilia Racing-Red Devils.


Leon Haslam:

"Superpole is all about getting used to the flying lap quickly. All the work on the race tyre doesn't count for much, so using one to take the third best time is a good sign. I'm sorry about David's bad accident. Fortunately I heard that he is conscious and moving. For the race we have made some progress, especially improving in the third sector. I'm sure the high temperatures will force us to change a lot in terms of setup, but my team has been working very well and I'm confident. The conditions will be the same for everyone in any case, and I'm pleased with my race pace. Tomorrow should be fun."

Jordi Torres:

"This morning we did a good job and we were fast. Maybe in the last free practice I should have taken a few less risks. I actually still need to better understand how the rear tyre slides. The slide that made me crash took me completely by surprise and I didn't have time to react, most likely because we are still in the first round and I don't have the right feeling yet with the bike, but I'm getting there. Obviously I was banking on Superpole to improve, in spite of the fact that I still have never tried the qualifier tyre. Looking toward tomorrow I'll be expecting two hard races in this heat, but I have a good race pace and if I'm able to build some more confidence and look after my tyres we'll be able to set our sights on a good result."