Factory Aprilia's Eugene Laverty may have just missed out on his debut World Superbike pole position at Motorland Aragon, but he starts second and says he found some race pace solutions today.

The Irishman was pipped at the post by Tom Sykes in the final qualifying session but his chronological analysis from second free practice showed he can run in the 1'57s bracket for long periods.

“Our goal is always to qualify on the front row and we managed to do that here at Aragon as well. Today we worked quite well, especially in the last free practice session where we found some good solutions for our race pace," said Laverty.

"Superpole went according to schedule. Second place is an excellent position to start from. Tomorrow will be difficult because there are at least four other riders other then myself who are quite capable of making a play for the win. There have always been some great battles on this track, we'll definitely be in the game and we'll have our sights set on the top step of the podium."