Tom Sykes claimed his third Superpole victory in a row although he was made to work hard for it by the factory Aprilia riders at Monza. The Kawasaki rider didn’t enjoy the usual level of dominance over a single lap but Tom still had enough to edge out Eugene Laverty while championship leader Sylvain Guintoli completed the front row.
Sykes had started to assert his authority in SP2 but the Aprilia riders went faster than that at the beginning of SP3 with Laverty half a second clear of the competition. The Englishman had expected a strong challenge from the RSV4 but his 1:41.223 was enough to sneak him ahead of Laverty by 0.085s
“I did not know the time Eugene had set but I knew that the Aprilias would be fast here”, admitted Sykes. “I am looking forward to tomorrow because we all have good race pace. In some areas we have an advantage and we got a new circuit record in Superpole, and the ideal starting position for tomorrow. I am looking forward to two exciting races. I like racing at Monza because the spectators are crazy like me! The fans are very enthusiastic and Monza is a very fast circuit. I hope to be very strong tomorrow.”
Jonathan Rea had initially taken third after his first run but Guintoli had enough time and tyres to have a second crack, pulling out a 1:41.542 in the dying seconds to push Rea off the front row. With Leon Haslam out injured, PATA Honda’s victory hopes rest solely on the Ulsterman’s shoulders and he will be a contender from fourth on the grid, joined on row two by Marco Melandri and Davide Giugliano, the leading home-based riders.
Jules Cluzel shone to take seventh having risen as high as second in SP2 while Leon Camier qualified eighth on the second FIXI Crescent Suzuki. Chaz Davies was left to rue an error at the Roggia chicane which left him with no new tyres to attack the track with. Ninth was the only likely result from there.
Ayrton Badovini is the leading Ducati rider in twelfth but the Alstare squad will be without their leader in Carlos Checa after the former champion pulled out on Saturday morning with a shoulder injury.
| 2013 eni Superbike World Championship – Round Four: Monza | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superpole Result | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Team | Best Time |
| 1 |  Tom Sykes |
Kawasaki | Kawasaki Racing Team | 1:41.223 |
| 2 |  Eugene Laverty |
Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team | 1:41.308 |
| 3 |  Sylvain Guintoli |
Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team | 1:41.542 |
| 4 | Jonathan Rea |
Honda | PATA Honda World Superbike | 1:41.798 |
| 5 |  Marco Melandri |
BMW | BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK | 1:41.819 |
| 6 | Davide Giugliano |
Aprilia | Althea Racing | 1:41.926 |
| 7 | Jules Cluzel |
Suzuki | FIXI Crescent Suzuki | 1:42.680 |
| 8 | Leon Camier |
Suzuki | FIXI Crescent Suzuki | 1:42.808 |
| 9 | Chaz Davies |
BMW | BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK | 1:42.955 |
| Eliminated In SP2 | ||||
| 10 | Michel Fabrizio |
Aprilia | Red Devils Roma | 1:42.469 |
| 11 | Loris Baz |
Kawasaki | Kawasaki Racing Team | 1:42.726 |
| 12 | Ayrton Badovini |
Ducati | Team Ducati Alstare | 1:43.801 |
| Eliminated In SP1 | ||||
| 13 |  Max Neukirchner |
Ducati | MR-Racing | 1:44.246 |
| 14 | Fabrizio Lai |
Kawasaki | Pedercini Team | 1:44.883 |
| 15 | Federico Sandi |
Kawasaki | Pedercini Team | 1:44.889 |
| Failed To Qualify For Superpole | ||||
| 16 |  Mark Aitchison |
Ducati | Team Effenbert Liberty Racing | 1:46.523 |
| 17 |  Kosuke Akiyoshi |
Honda | PATA Honda World Superbike | 1:46.631 |
| 18 | Vittorio Iannuzzo |
BMW | Grillini Dentalmatic SBK | 1:46.827 |
| Withdrawn Due To Injury | ||||
 Carlos Checa |
Ducati | Team Ducati Alstare | ||
