Sylvain Guintoli took advantage of an error from Loris Baz to claim pole position for Sunday’s World Superbike races in Malaysia. The Aprilia rider looked set to lose his quickest time to Baz in the dying seconds but a crash for the Kawasaki swung the battle Sylvain’s way.
Guintoli had been the dominant force throughout free practice with the Aprilia looking competitive on the long straights of Sepang and his first timed lap of Superpole lifted him straight to the top of the pile. Sylvain set a 2:03.581 to go half a second clear of compatriot Loris Baz but with many riders still to use a set of qualifying tyres, the session was still very much alive.
Marco Melandri was the first to stake his claim but fell four tenths short of his teammate’s time, a gap that would soon increase to a second when Sylvain improved himself. Both Kawasakis were on flying laps and Loris Baz looked certain to snatch pole position only to lose the front end of his ZX-10R at the final corner. Instead, his teammate Tom Sykes grabbed second with a 2:03.108 with Davide Giugliano taking the final place on the front row.
Toni Elias took a fine fourth on the Red Devils Aprilia with Melandri demoting Baz to sixth. Eugene Laverty will start seventh for Voltcom Crescent Suzuki with teammate Alex Lowes ninth behind Chaz Davies’ Ducati. The PATA Hondas had a terrible afternoon with Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam over a second and a half off the pace, qualifying tenth and eleventh respectively.
| 2014 eni SUPERBIKE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 6 – SEPANG | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TISSOT SUPERPOLE RESULT | ||||
| POS | RIDER | BIKE | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 |  SYLVAIN GUINTOLI |
APRILIA | APRILIA RACING TEAM | 2:03.002 |
| 2 |  TOM SYKES |
KAWASAKI | KAWASAKI RACING TEAM | 2:03.108 |
| 3 |  DAVIDE GIUGLIANO |
DUCATI | DUCATI SUPERBIKE TEAM | 2:03.137 |
| 4 |  TONI ELIAS |
APRILIA | RED DEVILS ROMA | 2:03.160 |
| 5 | MARCO MELANDRI |
APRILIA | APRILIA RACING TEAM | 2:03.971 |
| 6 | LORIS BAZ |
KAWASAKI | KAWASAKI RACING TEAM | 2:04.027 |
| 7 |  EUGENE LAVERTY |
SUZUKI | VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI | 2:04.263 |
| 8 | CHAZ DAVIES |
DUCATI | DUCATI SUPERBIKE TEAM | 2:04.343 |
| 9 | ALEX LOWES |
SUZUKI | VOLTCOM CRESCENT SUZUKI | 2:04.433 |
| 10 | JONATHAN REA |
HONDA | PATA HONDA WORLD SUPERBIKE | 2:04.514 |
| 11 | LEON HASLAM |
HONDA | PATA HONDA WORLD SUPERBIKE | 2:05.202 |
| 12 | DAVID SALOM |
KAWASAKI | KAWASAKI RACING TEAM | 2:06.388 |
| ELIMINATED IN SUPERPOLE 1 | ||||
| 13 | NICCOLO CANEPA |
DUCATI | ALTHEA RACING | 2:05.771 |
| 14 | CLAUDIO CORTI |
MV AGUSTA | MV AGUSTA RC-YAKHNICH MOTORSPORT | 2:05.859 |
| 15 | CHRISTIAN IDDON |
BIMOTA | TEAM ALSTARE | 2:06.012 |
| 16 | LEON CAMIER |
BMW | BMW MOTORRAD ITALIA SBK | 2:06.184 |
| 17 |  SHERIDAN MORAIS |
KAWASAKI | IRON BRAIN KAWASAKI SBK | 2:06.631 |
| 18 | AYRTON BADOVINI |
BIMOTA | TEAM ALSTARE | 2:06.808 |
| 19 | FABIEN FORET |
KAWASAKI | MAHI RACING TEAM INDIA | 2:07.081 |
| 20 | JEREMY GUARNONI |
KAWASAKI | MRS KAWASAKI | 2:07.220 |
| FAILED TO QUALIFY FOR SUPERPOLE 1 | ||||
| 21 | ALESSANDRO ANDREOZZI |
KAWASAKI | TEAM PEDERCINI | 2:07.544 |
| 22 | ROMAIN LANUSSE |
KAWASAKI | TEAM PEDERCINI | 2:07.628 |
| 23 |  BRYAN STARING |
KAWASAKI | IRON BRAIN KAWASAKI SBK | 2:07.926 |
| 24 |  IMRE TOTH |
BMW | BMW TEAM TOTH | 2:08.211 |
| 25 | PETER SEBESTYEN |
BMW | BMW TEAM TOTH | 2:10.317 |
| 26 |  GEOFF MAY |
EBR | TEAM HERO EBR | 2:10.761 |
| 27 | AARON YATES |
EBR | TEAM HERO EBR | 2:11.191 |
