Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) came good on his Friday promise to find improvements in his overall set-up and scored his third Superpole win of the year as a result.
Tom Sykes lifted his career Superpole total to 41 with his 1’22.476 second best lap of Laguna, set in blistering temperatures.
Only just second, and running wide into the Corkscrew chicane at one stage, was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) leaving Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) third after his potent Friday leading performances.
Marco Melandri (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made it to the top of the second row for race one in fourth place, with Eugene Laverty (Milwaukee Aprilia) fifth and continuing his improved form this weekend on a new chassis set-up. Leandro Mercado (IodaRacing Team Aprilia) had to get through Superpole 1 before he went out in SP2, but he still finished up sixth on the race one grid.
Xavi Fores (Barni Racing Ducati), Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) made up row three after Superpole.
Davies, US WSB 2017.
Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia) got from SP1 to tenth, with Jordi Torres (Althea BMW Racing Team) and Alex De Angelis (Pedercini Racing Kawasaki) competing the top 12 grid qualifiers.
Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team) just missed out in qualifying for SP2 and finished up 13th on the grid.
Sykes, Rea, Davies, Kenny Roberts, Superole, US WSB 2017.
One-off Laguna weekend WorldSBK rider Jake Gagne (Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team) was 18th in SP1.
Race one takes place at 14.00 local today, and race two at the same time on Sunday.
Melandri, US WSBK 2017.
By Gordon Ritchie