Source: Superbike World Championship

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Tom Sykes has edged out fellow factory ZX-10R pilot Loris Baz to claim pole position for Sunday’s Superbike World Championship (WSBK) races at Aragon in Spain.

Overnight storms in the vicinity of the circuit threatened to play havoc with day two of the second round but a vast improvement in conditions saw the track dry in time for the final free practice.

Qualifying specialist, Britain’s Sykes got the nod over his French teammate Baz by a 0.196-second margin at the conclusion of a frenetic 15-minute session.

Championship leader Sylvain Guintoli was third for factory Aprilia, a measure of consistency as he aims to build upon a handy 10-point lead gained at the Phillip Island opener.

Row two is bookended by Ducati’s Davide Giugliano, who made in-roads with a clear lap on his qualifying tyre, and Chaz Davies, who recovered from a late crash. Honda’s Jonathan Rea, the pacesetter on Friday, couldn’t match his early pace and will start from fifth.

The second factory Aprilia of Marco Melandri will start from seventh after the Italian admitted making a mistake in the early stages of his only flying lap.

Voltcome Crescent Suzuki teammates Eugene Laverty and Alex Lowes will start from eighth and ninth respectively after a troubled day.

Laverty’s progress was hindered by technical problems in free practice, leaving him inadequately positioned ahead of the Superpole session. Lowes, meanwhile, made progress upon his Friday efforts but admitted he has plenty to learn as he looks to make his first European start in WSBK.

The top 10 was completed by Red Devils Roma Aprilia rider Toni Elias who was one of two riders to advance from Superpole one.

Further success for British riders was highlighted by Kevin Coghlan’s efforts in the World Supersport category, with the DMC Panavto – Yamaha claiming a career-first pole position.

Starting alongside Coghlan on the front row will be American PJ Jacobsen, who brought his Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres machine home less than two-tenths off pole pace.

Yakhnich MV Agusta rider Jules Cluzel was just 0.009 shy of Jacobsen in position three, with Florian Marino in fourth for Kawasaki and Michael van der Mark fifth for Honda. Kenan Sofouglu was sixth, with rows one and two to be separated by just 0.381 seconds at the conclusion of qualifying.

In the Superstock 1000 class it was Barni Racing Ducati teammates Leandro Mercado and Ondrej Jezek who took pole and second place respectively in qualifying, with Christoffer Bergman completing the front row.

The first Superstock 600 race of the season was won by Italian rider Marco Faccani who led home his Kawasaki teammate Andrea Tucci over the 11-lap dash. The final place on the podium went to Suzuki-mounted Wayne Tessels.

Aussie Adrian Nestorovic opened his points account with a solid 10th place for MVR Yamaha, the identical placing to which he qualified.

Rounding out track activity in Spain was the European Junior Cup class, with local rider Mike Perez claiming pole position.

2014 Superbike World Championship

Round two – Aragon, Spain

Superbike Superpole two results:
1. Tom SYKES 1m56.479
2. Loris BAZ 1m56.675
3. Sylvain GUINTOLI 1m56.769
4. Davide GIUGLIANO 1m56.825
5. Jonathan REA 1m56.972
6. Chaz DAVIES 1m56.977
7. Marco MELANDRI 1m57.063
8. Eugene LAVERTY 1m57.736
9. Alex LOWES 1m57.975
10. Toni ELIAS 1m58.180

Supersport qualifying results:
1. Kev COGHLAN 2m01.662
2. PJ JACOBSEN 2m01.800
3. Jules CLUZEL 2m01.809
4. Florian MARINO 2m01.992
5. Michael Van Der MARK 2m02.035
6. Kenan SOFUOGLU 2m02.043
7. Lorenzo ZANETTI 2m02.370
8. Vladimir LEONOV 2m02.476
9. Ricardo RUSSO 2m02.525
10. Ratthapark WILAIROT 2m02.596

Click here for detailed results