Leon Haslam powered to his first ever pole start in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship and he did it in record breaking speed - the Airwaves Ducati rider clocked the fastest ever lap of the Brands Hatch to head off the challenge of Ryuichi Kiyonari.

The Japanese rider had been the dominant force throughout two days of practice and qualifying but Haslam, with an inch perfect lap of the 1.2262 mile Indy circuit in a time of 45.784secs, half a second inside the record, charged ahead.

“I am feeling good now, really confident,” smiled Haslam as he began his career with the GSE team on a high. “This is the first time that I have ridden this circuit on a Superbike so I am well pleased.

“This ride is everything that I ever wanted - I intend to have a good shot at the title, but the championship is really strong so it is a case of being consistent in every race,” smiled Haslam who is well aware that the team powered both Troy Bayliss and Neil Hodgson to the domestic crown.

Kiyonari starts alongside him, just 0.043 seconds down, with a front row of four different makes of bike - Scott Smart moved into third place with a late charge aboard the Rizla Suzuki while Sean Emmett, despite taking a bruising in a second high-side of the weekend, was fourth fastest on the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha.

Less than a quarter of a second separates the top four, with the second row starters Gregorio Lavilla, who is deputising for the injured James Haydon, Michael Rutter, Glen Richards and Karl Harris barely a further tenth of a second down.

Jeremy McWilliams, the 40 year old Ulsterman, who is back in the championship after a dozen years and 186 grand prix races, was ninth fastest aboard the Stobart Honda, while defending champion John Reynolds starts from the third row of the grid.

He remarkably is racing just 38 days on from shattering his right leg in five places in a high speed crash during testing in Valencia: “the verdict is that I feel fine - I'm not sure that I will be running with the leaders, maybe the top six. I am just desperate to get on and race.

“That was my intention an hour after crashing - the championship needs to be kicked off from the start and I am feeling good.” He will ride with both a specially made cast and boot to protect his leg.

James Buckingham, riding the Quay Garage Suzuki, was the top qualifier for the British Superbike Cup, ahead of Marty Nutt, Danny Beaumont and Steve Brogan.

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