Source: Honda Racing.

Honda’s Jonathan Rea has notched up his third career World Superbike pole position, continuing his strong showing at the Imola circuit.

Rea headed the leaderboard after Friday free practice, and sought further improvement from his Pata Honda machine on day two after a series of interruptions cost riders valuable track time.

Early in the piece it was the all-Italian combination of Davide Giugliano and Ducati giving passionate home fans something to cheer about, but Rea’s form would come to the fore once more in the crucial stages of Superpole.

A handful of riders would have their time on top but it was Rea who rose to the occasion at the close of the 15-minute stanza, his best effort of 1m46.289 enough to deny Aprilia’s Sylvain Guintoli who was 0.265 seconds in arrears.

Giugliano held up the home fans’ hopes in third, completing the front row just 0.001 seconds off the pace of the factory RSV4.

The strong showing for Ducati continued on row two, with Chaz Davies slotting his Panigale into fourth. Marco Melandri ran fifth on the second Aprilia Racing Team mount, while Tom Sykes lacked his customary qualifying firepower, finishing sixth on the first Kawasaki home.

Sykes’ teammate Loris Baz was seventh from Voltcom Crescent Suzuki’s Eugene Laverty, while the Althea Racing EVO-spec Ducati of Niccolo Canepa crept onto row three.

Bookending the top 10 for the factory Honda effort was Leon Haslam, close to two seconds off the pace of teammate Rea.

MV Agusta Yakhnich Motorsport rider Jules Cluzel claimed pole position in the World Supersport class after a late charge in qualifying paid dividends.

Cluzel displaced Mahi Racing Team India Kawasaki’s Kenan Sofuoglu from top spot on the final of his 17 laps, a margin of 0.216 seconds separating the pair at the close of the session.

Lorenzo Zanetti was a further tenth behind, maintaining Pata Honda’s front row presence from the premier class, while Kev Coghlan, Roberto Tamburini and Michael van der Mark – Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Honda – took respective second row grid placings.

Beyond row two it was PJ Jacobsen, Florian Marino and Vladmir Leonov in seventh, eighth and ninth, with Roberto Rolfo making it three Italians in the top 10.

Italian riders shone in the Superstock 1000 qualifying session, with EAB Ducati Team’s Fabio Massei claiming a career first pole position ahead of Pedercini Kawasaki’s Lorenzo Savadori. Barni Racing Team rider Ondrej Jezek was a small margin behind in third.

San Carlo Team Italia Kawasaki’s Marco Faccani was a convincing winner in the 12-lap Superstock 600 race, never headed from pole as he rode to a comfortable 3.270-second win.

Niki Tuuli made a solid march forward to take second, with Stefano Casalotti claiming the final step on the rostrum.

Australia’s Adrian Nestorovic was in the thick of the battle, eventually claiming a pointscoring 14th for MVR Yamaha after starting from 10th on the grid.

2014 World Superbike Championship
Round four – Imola, Italy

Superbike qualifying results:
1. Jonathan REA 1m46.289
2. Sylvain GUINTOLI 1m46.554
3. Davide GIUGLIANO 1m46.555
4. Chaz DAVIES 1m46.678
5. Marco MELANDRI 1m46.740
6. Tom SYKES 1m46.767
7. Loris BAZ 1m47.014
8. Eugene LAVERTY 1m47.715
9. Niccolo CANEPA 1m48.240
10. Leon HASLAM 1m48.242

Supersport qualifying results:
1. Jules CLUZEL 1m51.110
2. Kenan SOFUOGLU 1m51.326
3. Lorenzo ZANETTI 1m51.443
4. Kev COGHLAN 1m51.524
5. Roberto TAMBURINI 1m51.711
6. Michael VD MARK 1m51.840
7. PJ JACOBSEN 1m51.914
8. Florian MARINO 1m51.961
9. Vladmir LEONOV 1m52.416
10. Roberto ROLFO 1m52.643

Click here for detailed results