Alstare Ducati's Carlos Checa stand-in Nico Canepa has finally found something with the Panigale's setup which has allowed him to take provisional second place on the grid for today's opening World Superbike race at Laguna Seca.

The little Italian, who raced on the Monterey Peninsula with Pramac in MotoGP, was a little under two-tenths behind fastest man Eugene Laverty as the pair edged away from Tom Sykes in third. Canepa's team-mate Ayrton Badovini is not quite so quick down in tenth, but stilll ahead of Toni Elias and Roger Lee Hayden, who have done a lot of laps at Laguna.

'I’m extremely happy! To come to a track as difficult as this one, and considering this isn’t my category, finishing second today is a great result," said Canepa.

"I’m also confident because I know we still have room for improvement and so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Our pace is looking good and so, all things considered, I’d say we’re in a good place. Thanks to the team for all their hard work so far; I hope we can improve further tomorrow.”