Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty will start the World Superbike races from the front row for the tenth consecutive time, but a small mistake during Superpole cost the Irishman that coveted pole position.

Laverty's attempts brought him within a shout of his first World Superbike pole position. A slight error in turn seven relegated him to second place, but only one thousandth of a second behind Kawasaki's Tom Sykes. Laverty is now aiming for a solid finish tomorrow and feels confident out on the Portuguese circuit.

"You can't get any closer to the pole than that. In any case I'm happy to be on the front row. I made a small mistake on my fast lap and I thought I had compromised my performance,” said Laverty.

“When I went past the straight stretch and saw that my RSV4 instrument panel was showing the time the guys in the garage had told me was the best, I figured that there wouldn't be much of a difference.

“It's a shame for that thousandth of a second, but in any case we're ready for the races tomorrow, in the hopes that the weather conditions will be good."