Tommy Hill's stunning form on Friday continued into qualifying as he took pole position for Sunday's opening BSB race at Knockhill.
The Swan Yamaha man coped best with the damp conditions which caught out championship leader Shane Byrne, to set a 52.867s to edge out John Hopkins, with Gary Mason and Michael Rutter joining them on the front row.
Hill is wary after what happened at Oulton Park that the job isn't done yet, and is concentrating on having two clean races on Sunday.
“We've had a good start, but now we need to finish the weekend off, getting out and getting stuck in to these races. I felt comfortable although it was a bit of a gamble and it was a case of staying composed and doing the job though there were a few worrying moments when several riders were looking at slick tyres. Now we need to focus on wins and points.”
Hopkins will be a threat alongside, and the American enjoyed the challenge of lapping the Fife circuit in changeable conditions.
“Qualifying was good and in these conditions it is about how much you risk pushing that bit too hard and risk crashing. You are riding on the edge but when you get it right, it is fun. Wet or dry, they have the bike awesome for me – it would have been nice to have taken pole but it is the races that matter. We get the points then.”
Crescent Suzuki teammate Jon Kirkham will head the second row ahead of Josh Brookes while the fastest Honda, incredibly, was the EVO rider Glen Richards for Team WFR ahead of James Westmoreland.
Richards will start ahead of the HM Plant Honda duo after Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and Ryuichi Kiyonari had difficult sessions. The championship leader slid of the track in Q3 and couldn't get any higher than ninth, while Kiyonari didn't get that far and will start 12th.
