Tom Sykes made the most of the new-look grid deciding session as he put his Rizla Suzuki on pole for a second time this season ahead of the Holiday Monday ninth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Cadwell Park. The Yorkshireman had been on the pace throughout free practice and he was ready for the challenge of the F1 style ‘shoot-out’ style for the Swan Combi 50 Roll for Pole introduced at the Lincolnshire circuit. Sykes, who is aiming to take over second place in the title stakes, at the expense of HM Plant Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, outpaced his rival by a quarter of a second but his attempts to open up a bigger advantage ended in the final seconds as he slid off. “The other boys really kept me on my toes in that session. I had put a decent lap time in but thought that I was still second so I just went out there and was riding on the limit,” reflected Sykes. “I just tried a little bit harder on the final attempt and tried something different going in to the chicane – it didn’t work and I ended up on the floor. I hardly went down it was one of those things, but I enjoyed the new look session, putting in a lot of laps, and I am good and ready now for the races. “It was a pretty good qualifying session and I have to be happy – the new qualifying format certainly makes it all-action and we didn’t have much of break to think, it was a case of get out on track and give it your all,” added Sykes who had been among the front-runners throughout the F1 style ‘shoot-out’ grid decider. “It was key to be on the front row for these races and if I can make a good start we should get another good result. It would be fantastic to get another win here,” he added Sykes had put in a best lap of 1m 27.495secs to move ahead of Crutchlow while Shane Byrne, who goes into these races with a commanding 110 points lead in the standings, ran his Airwaves Ducati third fastest, with a lap of 1m 27.870secs, to ensure a front row start. Leon Haslam, the race winner last time out at Knockhill, had to be content with a second row start, fourth fastest, with a three by three grid line-up in use for this round. Leon Camier and Michael Rutter lined up alongside him. Karl Harris ran seventh on the Rob Mac Yamaha with Atsushi Watanabe, enjoying his best qualifying performance of the campaign just adrift with a time of 1m 28.860secs. Simon Andrew completed the third row on the Lloyds British Jentin Yamaha. Michael Laverty, the last of the ten riders to make the final ten minute segment of the three part qualifier, had a fourth row start for his Relentless Suzuki ahead of top Daily Star Cup qualifier Gary Mason riding the Quay Garage Honda who ran two tenths up on MSS Discovery Kawasaki’s Billy McConnell. John Laverty, the clear points leader in the Daily Star Cup, qualified over a second, and seven places down on Mason but just ahead of Martin Jessopp on the Riders Honda and Chris Burns, riding the STP MV Agusta. Top ten qualifiers 1. Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 1:27.495s 2. Cal Crutchlow (HM Plant Honda) +0.221s 3. Shane Byrne (Airwaves Ducati) +0.375s 4. Leon Haslam (HM Plant Honda) +0.422s 5. Leon Camier (Airwaves Ducati) +0.933s 6. Michael Rutter (North West 200 Ducati) +1.007s 7. Karl Harris (Rob Mac Racing Yamaha) +1.349s 8. Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) +1.365s 9. Simon Andrews (Lloyds British Yamaha) +1.505s 10. Michael Laverty (Relentless Suzuki) +1.731s More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service: Rizla Suzuki’s Tom Sykes followed up his top of the time-sheets in practice yesterday by taking a dominant pole-position in the new Formula-1 style qualifying session at Cadwell Park in Lincolnshire today – while team mate Atsushi Watanabe posted a season’s best eighth. In the new three-tier qualifying system, Sykes was always in contention at the top and easily made it through to the final 10-minute shoot-out contested by the 10 fastest riders. In warm sunshine he saved his best to last, setting the fastest lap of the weekend on his penultimate effort – nearly a quarter of a second ahead of the next rider – before sliding off unhurt at the chicane on his final lap. It is his second pole-position of the season, repeating his feat from Mallory Park in June. Watanabe got into the final 10 by finishing ninth in the second eliminator and he posted his best lap of the weekend in the final session, taking him up to eighth. Normally that would be the second row of the grid but the riders will line up only three abreast because of the narrow nature of the 2.18-mile picturesque track and he will be on the third row. A bumper crowd is expected for the Bank Holiday Monday race schedule, with Superbike race one starting at 1345 and race two at 1630. Tom Sykes: “That was a pretty good qualifying session and I have to be happy with my second pole position of the season. The new qualifying format certainly makes it all-action and we didn’t have much of break to think; it was a case of get out on track and give it your all. “We did a bit of work on the steering and brakes during the first eliminator as we were safely through and found a little bit of an improvement. To be honest, my Rizla Suzuki is working well and I am confident, I can’t wait for the races to start and I want to see if we can add to the tally of wins.” Atsushi Watanabe: “I am happy with my lap time but made some mistakes. I’m still learning this track; it is not the easiest with many hills and narrow Tarmac but I like it anyway. “I feel recharged for racing after my podium at the Suzuka eight hour race and visit home to Japan. I want a strong finish to the season – to show British fans what Atsu can really achieve.” Jack Valentine – Rizla Suzuki Team Manager: “I am chuffed to bits with Tom’s performance. He is riding really well, supported by a fantastic team and riding a well-sorted Rizla Suzuki race bike. This is the real Tom Sykes – and the real Rizla Suzuki that everyone is seeing right now. “Atsu I am really pleased with; he is showing his best form at a difficult technical track and his potential is clear. He has a great starting position and we will be looking for fireworks from him in the races. “The new qualifying format was a breath of fresh air for riders, the team and fans. It certainly kept us on our toes and I think it was really exciting, I hope it continues for the rest of the season.” Qualifying Results: 1: Tom Sykes (Rizla Suzuki) 1:27.495 2: Cal Crutchlow (Honda) 1:27.716 3: Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1:27.870 4: Leon Haslam (Honda) 1:27.917 5: Leon Camier (Ducati) 1:28.428 6: Michael Rutter (Ducati) 1:28.502 7: Karl Harris (Yamaha) 1:28.844 8: Atsushi Watanabe (Rizla Suzuki) 1:28.860 9: Simon Andrews (Yamaha) 1:29.000 10: Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 1:29.228. More, from a press release issued by GSE Racing/Airwaves Ducati: AIRWAVES DUCATI THIRD AND FIFTH FOR ROUND 9 The Airwaves Ducati team will start from the 1st and 2nd row of the grid for round 9 of the British Superbike championship following a new-look qualifying format at Cadwell Park today. Shane Byrne and Leon Camier comfortably made it through the first two knockout qualifying sessions to secure guaranteed top 10 starting positions. During the final 10 minute qualifying session both Shane and Leon posted their fastest times of the weekend so far. Shane’s time of 1:27.870 places him 3rd for tomorrow’s two races with Leon’s time of 1:28.428 placing him 5th. After qualifying Leon commented, “I’m pleased with how today has gone and the improvements we’ve made since practice yesterday. My race pace on the Airwaves Ducati isn’t too far away from the rest so tomorrow should definitely be interesting. In an ideal world it would have been good to have had a dry practice session this morning but we’ve still got warm up tomorrow to kick up a gear ahead of the races.” Pleased to have continued his 100% record of starting on the front row for every race so far this season, Shane said, “I’m really happy to be on the front row for Airwaves Ducati and to get under 1 minute 27 for the first time this weekend. I owe it to everyone in the Airwaves Ducati team who have worked so hard. I could go full gas on the limit the whole time and that’s why I’m here and why I love my job! I’m feeling confident about tomorrow as we know we have a good race pace, but how well we do will be down to how fast the rest of the field can go and for how long.” Round 9 of the British Superbike championship kicks off tomorrow at 1345 with race two scheduled to start at 1630. Qualifying Results: 1. Tom Sykes Rizla Suzuki 1:27.495 2. Cal Crutchlow HM Plant Honda 1:27.716 3. Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati 1:27.870 4. Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 1:27.917 5. Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati 1:28.428