Pata Honda’s Leon Haslam qualified for the World Superbike Superpole sessions in spite of his ongoing rehabilitation from his double leg-break at Assen in April, and the Brit progressed to Superpole two to set the eleventh-fastest time and a third row start. But the rider is frustrated that he is still finding it difficult to change direction out on the Imola circuit.

Haslam and his team are making progress with the bike, but the Derbyshire rider’s biggest issue is the fact that he can't weight the pegs on his machine, but on a positive note his leg continues to get stronger everyday.

“I’m feeling OK but I’m frustrated that I’m still struggling to change direction, and Imola is one of the worst tracks for that with about five chicanes per lap. It’s hard work but we’re making progress,” said Haslam.

“We’ve had a few issues over the weekend but we’re making the right steps with the bike and it’s working OK now. It’s doing everything I want it to do but I can’t weight the pegs the way I want and that’s my biggest issue. My leg is getting stronger every day but it’s something I need to keep working and pushing to build the strength back up. We’ll just have to see how things go tomorrow.”