'Terrific' time fails to satisfy Hislop

Steve Hislop set a lap record in superpole to clinch pole position for today's opening round of the British Superbike Championship at Silverstone.

The Scotsman took his Monstermob Ducati to a lap of 1min 21.180sec to blitz his rivals and claim top spot. However, Hislop, whose championship hopes last year were dashed by a serious accident at Rockingham, was convinced he could have gone even quicker.

"It was a terrific lap," he said. "But to be honest I was a bit disappointed in the time I did. I was hoping to be a little bit quicker but the track was a bit slower. We have worked hard to get where we are."

Hislop's nearest challenge came from the IFC Ducati rider Sean Emmett. The reigning champion John Reynolds, on a Rizla Suzuki, looked destined to slip down the field after a mediocre start to his superpole lap but a stunning final section saw him through to third.

John Crawford's ETI Racing Suzuki made impressive progress to move from ninth in qualifying to the front row. Crawford clocked 1min 22.461sec.

Renegade Ducati rider Shane Byrne fell during the afternoon's free practice which kept him out of superpole and relegated the Sittingbourne ace to the fourth row of the grid.