Gregorio Lavilla became the fastest ever motorcycle racer around Oulton Park as he claimed pole start for the double race eleventh round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship.

His performance piled the pressure on his two rivals for the crown, Michael Rutter who again had a struggling time, and Ryuichi Kiyonari who made a late, fast recovery to snatch a front row start.

Lavilla, the 30 year old Spanish rider lapped the 2.629 mile Cheshire circuit in a time of 1mm 36.312secs, at an average speed of 100.62mph to claim his first ever pole start in the series and with a time almost a second inside the record.

He takes a slender lead of two points into the races, and though the Airwaves Ducati rider is confident, he is still seeking improvements to his bike: “I am not completely happy with the race settings, I am always trying to improve.

“Everyone is going much faster - I am 2.2 seconds faster already than I was when we raced here earlier in the year. Pole is good, but the races are what matter and we need to work hard.

“My big worry was that I should qualify good - the races will be very hard, very fast and it will be important to make a good start.”

Tommy Hill, the Virgin Mobile Samsung Yamaha rider who enjoyed his first ever victory in the championship last time out at Cadwell Park, moved alongside him, at the front of the grid, running just 0.085secs down, while Ryuichi Kiyonari, third in the title stakes put in a late flyer.

That moved the 22 year old Japanese rider seven places on the grid, upto to third, with a time of 1m 36.435secs, belying his comments that he finds this a difficult circuit: “I will be trying hard to win these races - very important.”

Reigning champion John Reynolds, aboard the Rizla Suzuki, completes the front row, while the rider who looked most likely to claim the `number one' plate, until a run of poor results in the last month, Michael Rutter, was again having a miserable time.

He was eleventh fastest, starting from his HM Plant Honda from the third row of the grid and facing an uphill struggle in his scrap to regain the lead in the points from Lavilla. Rutter gained no benefit from his qualifying tyre, but is content with his race tyres, and plans a fight-back.

Rutter had gone out late in the session, bidding vainly to improve his starting position, which leaves him sitting behind an experienced second row of both Hawk Kawasaki riders Glen Richards and Dean Thomas, along with Leon Haslam and Karl Harris.

James Buckingham, riding the Quay Garage Suzuki, looks set to continue his domination of the British Superbike Cup, having headed off the challenge of Steve Brogan in qualifying.

ends