Aprilia Racing’s Eugene Laverty did not let the wind and rain affect his performance at Assen today, after he ended the opening World Superbike qualifying practice session with the third fastest lap time, just behind team-mate Sylvain Guintoli. The Irish rider was happy that he finished both the free practice and qualifying practice laps without making any mistakes.

“Today the most important thing was not to make any pointless mistakes since it would seem that the rest of the weekend will be dry. This was our first real test with the 17 inch rain tyres and we are in the top three, so if it rains for any of the coming races we know we'll be ready," said Laverty.

“If the weather forecast bears out tomorrow we'll begin working in view of the races. So on our long distance pace we will be aiming for a good result in Superpole, so that we can do well on Sunday."

Team-mate and England-based Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli was also another rider who excelled in the wet conditions. He finished the last practice qualifying session of the day in second, but however hard he tried he could not go faster than Kawasaki Racing’s Tom Sykes.

"I'm pleased with our work today since we are in second place without really trying for a quick time. This is the second time for me on the RSV4 in the wet and these sessions will probably not be much use to us for tomorrow and Sunday, but it is always good to gain experience in all the different conditions," said Guintoli.

“I had the same good feeling in the wet that I already had during the tests at Jerez, and even though the rest of the weekend will be a completely different story I'm happy with these two sessions."