Sterilgarda Yamaha's Ben Spies has equalled the consecutive pole position record set by countryman Doug Polen in 1991 after scoring his sixth-straight Superpole victory at Kyalami today.

Spies, who is still a class rookie, snatched the pole away from Ducati's Michel Fabrizio by 0.001 of a second, crossing the line behind the Italian rider when both riders were on their final lap and qualifying tyres.

“It was a good Superpole session, we got down to some fast times on race tyres in the first two heats which was great. It wasn’t perfect at the end, I didn’t feel I used the qualifiers as well as I could have, they were so grippy I didn’t take full advantage of them," said Spies.

"The bike is working really well but we need to find a bit more for the race so we’re now going to concentrate on tomorrow. Michel Fabrizio has been riding well all weekend, I think the Ducatis will be up front and it’s going to be a tough race. It’s a long one and everyone will be sliding around at the end so it should be a great one to watch.”

Fellow Texan Polen posted six straight poles from Zeltweg to Hockenheim in 1991, riding the Ducati 888.