Alstare Suzuki rider Leon Haslam scored the first Superpole of his SBK career, claiming the front spot for tomorrow’s season opening races at Phillip Island. Joining the GSX-R pilot on the front row will be Xerox Ducati's Michel Fabrizio, SBK rookie and Sterilgarda Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow, and the top-flying privateer at the Island, Althea Ducati’s Carlos Checa.

Haslam took the top position in a new Superpole format, which takes the top 20 riders in qualifying through three sessions lasting 14, 12 and 10 minutes. Four riders get knocked out after the first Superpole session, with eight riders eliminated from the second, leaving the final eight to vie for the front rows.

Heading Row 2 is the only other Suzuki on the starting grid, Haslam’s Alstare teammate, Sylvain Guintoli. Pata B&G Racing’s Jakub Smrz was sixth-fastest in the final session, followed by Hannspree Ten Kate Honda’s front man Jonathan Rea and Sterilgarda Yamaha’s presumptive title contender, two-time SBK champion James Toseland.

Leading Row 3 and narrowly missing the final Superpole session is DFX Corse Ducati’s Lorenzo Lanzi, with the second factory Ducati and championship favorite, Noriyuki Haga, starting in 10th. Alitalia Aprilia’s Max Biaggi will start right next to Nitro Nori, with Tom Sykes the fastest qualifying Kawasaki rider 12th.

Troy Corser begins the BMW S1000RR's 2010 campaign from 13th on the starting grid. Australian Chris Vermeulen will lineup next to his countryman aboard the Kawasaki, with Corser’s teammate, Ruben Xaus in 15th. Current British Superbike Champion and SBK rookie, Leon Camier was 16th-fastest on the Aprilia RSV4.

Honda’s second big name, Max Neukirchner, failed to advance past the first Superpole session. As for Roger Lee Hayden, the lone American in SBK continues to stay well off the pace and did not make it into the Superpole 20.

2010 World Superbike Phillip Island Superpole Results:
1. Leon Haslam (Suzuki) 1'31.229
2. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) 1'31.245
3. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1'31.642
4. Carlos Checa (Ducati) 1'31.671
5. Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) 1'31.696
6. Jakub Smrz (Ducati) 1'31.757
7. Jonathan Rea (Honda) 1'31.912
8. James Toseland (Yamaha) 1'32.019
9. Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati) 1'32.205
10. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) 1'32.229
11. Max Biaggi (Aprilia) 1'32.293
12. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki) 1'32.398
13. Troy Corser (BMW) 1'32.430
14. Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) 1'32.561
15. Ruben Xaus (BMW) 1'32.842
16. Leon Camier (Aprilia) 1'32.895
17. Max Neukirchner (Honda) 1'32.782
18. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1'32.823
19. Andrew Pitt (BMW) 1'33.207
20. Roland Resch (BMW)
21. Joshua Brookes (Honda) 1'33.901
22. Vittorio Iannuzzo (Honda) 1'34.248
23. Matteo Baiocco (Kawasaki) 1'35.297
24. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 1'35.614

Rider Quotes (Courtesy of Press Release):
Leon Haslam, Alstare Suzuki - 1st: “You can get caught out quite easily in Superpole so we went out to go fast early in each session. We used a soft option race tire for the first Superpole, didn’t have any slides and felt really comfortable. When I put my first qualifier in I was sliding, so I was not sure which tire to use in the final session, but we managed to go out there put a qualifier in and we put in a little bit of a quicker time. Sitting in the pit garage watching these guys go out to try and beat my time was probably more nerve-wracking than being out on the track. But it all ended up good and I got my first Superpole win.”

Michel Fabrizio, Xerox Ducati - 2nd: “The second qualifying tire we used worked the best of all the ones we had been trying and that was the one I scored the best time with. I am fairly happy in the hot conditions if that is the way things turn out on raceday.”

Cal Crutchlow, Sterilgarda Yamaha - 3rd: “We made a good final lap but we made a small mistake in the second session, which made me run off the track. I had to use the two qualifying tires we are given, which we could have used in the finals session. I then had to use a soft race tire and we made it work, but I was pushing, no doubt about that. I hope I can maintain that position in the race and a front row start always helps.”

Sylvain Guintoli, Alstare Suzuki - 5th:
“I thought I had done enough to get on the front row, but then I lost the position right at the end of final Superpole. It’s a bit disappointing because it would’ve been nice to be on the front row near my team mate and it would’ve been great for the team. But row two is OK, and as long as I get good starts, I think I can get good results. The important thing though is that I am really happy with the bike and how everything is going at the moment. I used race rubber in Superpole 1 and then qualifying tires in Superpole 2 and 3. I feel very comfortable on race tires and I am enjoying myself here."

James Toseland, Sterilgarda Yamaha - 8th: "I was annoyed with myself for the highside yesterday, we had some issues with the electronics which caught me out so today was damage limitation for that. The balance and the bike itself has improved a lot over the weekend but the electronics now need to catch up a bit. I hurt my hand in the fall which is quite painful, especially as this is a really physical circuit and you need your strength to get round it. I made a mistake on my first tire in Superpole this afternoon which forced me to use the qualifier in the first session, so I had to use a race tire for the last session. I knew if I could get into the last eight then I'd be happy with the second row. We've got quite a lot more to do with the bike, but to see where we were before the weekend and to now be Cal on the first row and me on the second just shows you what a good job the team has done. They've put us in a position where we can have a go."

Troy Corser, BMW Motorrad - 13th:
"It would’ve been good to have got a bit higher up the grid, but now that I feel happy and comfortable with the bike I can really push a lot harder. We’ve done a lot of work these past two days and during the tests last week and I have only become really comfortable today and that is a good and positive feeling. Before, I felt a bit nervous on the bike and that’s why I haven’t been pushing hard, as I didn’t want to crash. In normal qualifying we were very close to the top guys and we were looking for tenths of a second only and that was good. It was only in Superpole that the gap widened and a lot of that is down to how our bike works differently with qualifying tires. It’s something that we have to learn to manage and if we can do that, then we would be consistently much further up the grid. I am confident that we are progressing, but the level of competition is so high that a tenth of a second makes a big difference. I did a full race distance on race rubber today and am pretty happy how they behaved, so let’s hope that conditions will be good tomorrow - hopefully cooler like today - and we can go for a couple of good results."

Chris Vermeulen, Kawasaki Racing - 14th:
“We have come forward a long way, and today was the first time I had ever had the chance to use a qualifier. We ran one in the first of the Superpole sessions and it worked reasonably well. We went out again and made a couple of mistakes on the other qualifier, then used a soft race tire after that. My early split times were improved, but we had a small problem with the bike and we couldn’t complete that quick lap. Top seven or eight is possible tomorrow, but I do not know who is doing what with their tires, and there will be a lot of guys in there. We still have to decide on a final tire choice, it just depends on the weather.”