Troy Bayliss powered to his second Superpole of the year at Assen and his 20th in career with a time of 1'38.428, just a fraction slower than the new best lap he had previously set in the final minutes of free practice.
Second place on the grid went to Valencia winner Noriyuki Haga (Yamaha Motor Italia WSB), just a tenth away from Bayliss's pace, with Sterilgarda Go Eleven Ducati's Ruben Xaus right behind in third. The Spanish rider had been a lowly seventeenth in Friday qualifying, but was able to make major gains today and should also be a contender for victory in tomorrow's two 22-lap races.
"It's the first time here for us on the new 1098" said Bayliss. "We had a pretty good base setting, we've been working towards a better set-up and we've achieved that. I was really surprised with the 38.3 time I did in free practice, so I thought maybe it was possible to do a flat 38 or high 37. It wasn't to be but it was just enough to give me the pole and this is a great position to start tomorrow. Regarding my bicycle injury, there are always some niggling problems that you have being a motorcycle racer, it's not very often that you are fully fit but I'm feeling OK and there are no problems at all."
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