Reigning World Superbike Champion Tom Sykes has broken Troy Corser’s long-standing outright lap record at Misano this afternoon to take pole position for tomorrow’s double-header in Italy.
The Kawasaki man also equalled Carl Fogarty’s tally of 21 pole positions and it is the third time in a row that Sykes has taken top spot at Misano, bagging pole in 2011 and 2012 as the series was absent last year.
Sykes set a 1’34.883 to duck under Corser’s 2010 time of 1’35.008 and was the only rider to duck under the 1’35s barrier to edge out Ducati’s Davide Giugliano who had been top with two minutes to go on a 1’35.079.
Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli completes the front row on his works Aprilia and he was only 0.027s behind the Panigale and said he made a few mistakes on his fastest lap. Sykes’ Kawasaki team-mate Loris Baz ended in fourth place with a 1’35.254 while Marco Melandri is fifth with a 1’35.316.
The Italian towed round his compatriot Toni Elias into sixth place but the Red Devils Roma rider had fought his way into the session from qualfying one with a lap that had been the quickest of the weekend so far at that point.
Chaz Davies headed a gaggle of Brits in seventh with Jonathan Rea and Eugene Laverty completing row three with Nico Canepa and Alex Lowes in 11th. Leon Haslam was 12th after first running off track and then crashing unhurt at turn four on his last lap.
