Superpole three

Sylvain Guintoli 1'22.683

Eugene Laverty 1'22.728

Aprilia Sylvain Guintoli bagged his second-ever World Superbike Superpole at Laguna Seca, edging out title rival Tom Sykes by fractions of a second with his final lap of the Monterey circuit as team-mate Eugene Laverty crashed out.

The Frenchman nipped in front of Mr Superpole Sykes with a 1'22.683 compared to the Kawasaki man's 1'22.698 and both will start on the front row, alongside Laverty who was the first rider to break the 1'23s barrier this weekend earlier in the final session.

But the Irishman went back out for another go after scrapping a lap where Sykes was following. He got as far as turn three and lost the front into the fast right and his team now have only a couple of hours to re-build the RSV4 before today's first race.

Alstare Ducati's Nico Canepa has used his Panigale's new tank and subframe assembly (click here) to bag fourth place with Chaz Davies fifth and Davide Guigliano in sixth place. Marco Melandri and Jules Cluzel round out the top eight.

Superpole two

Chaz Davies 1'23.056

Pata Honda's Leon Haslam didn't get a single flying lap in the second session after coming out of the pits late and then cruising round with an electronics problem so will start today's first race from 12th place on the grid.

Davies set the quickest time with his last circulation and got ever-closer to the 1'22s barrier, topping Guintoli's time set on the Frenchman's first flying lap after he held up Sykes early on.

The Hudderfield man re-grouped and went third fastest, just two on-thousandths slower than his championship rival. Jordan Motorsports AMA rider Danny Eslick looked like he would just squeeze through but he was plunged into the drop zone by Guigliano.

ELIMINATED

Danny Eslick

Roger Lee Hayden

Leon Haslam

Superpole one

Eugene Laverty 1'23.234

Tom Sykes 1'23.515

Canepa was fastest out of the blocks in the first session and set the quickest time of the weekend so far with a 1'23.561 but he was soon shuffled down the order, first by Davies with his fastest lap and then by Laverty, who just edged out the Welshman for top spot.

Red Devils Roma rider Toni Elias, who has MotoGP experience at Laguna, started the weekend well but couln't string a lap together in the first timed session and finished dead last. Pata Honda's Michel Fabrizio was sitting on the edge of drop zone and was then firmly pushed over after a lap by Eslick which was enough for seventh place and faster than Haslam.

Fellow AMA star and Jordan Motorsports team-mate Roger Lee Hayden held on to 12th place by the skin of his arse.

ELIMINATED

Michel Fabrizio

Mark Aitchison

Toni Elias

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