Bayliss heads Superbikes field

Series leader Tory Bayliss produced a fine lap to take pole position for Sunday's World Superbikes round at Brno.

The 39-year-old had not topped the timesheets all weekend in the Czech Republic but produced a lap of one minute 58.345 seconds in superpole to put his Xerox Ducati at the head of the field.

Fellow Australian Troy Corser was second on his Yamaha Italia with Bayliss' team-mate Michel Fabrizio in third.

Home favourite Jakub Smrz was fastest on Friday but could only manage eighth in superpole, with Max Neukirchner - Bayliss' nearest challenger in the championship - down in ninth on his Alstare Suzuki.

Bayliss is 49 points ahead of the German as he searches for his third title but he has not won a race since April.

Corser admitted that he was struggling for grip at times and predicted a difficult day for the pack if the weather turns.

"Today was not so bad and we did a lot of work on the bike from the first to second sessions," he said.

"We tried different gearing and changed the front fork springs to improve the feel of the bike in the afternoon. Initially, the bike felt a bit like it felt at Miller in America a few rounds ago, so we will alter the balance and see if that improves it."

"The track feels a bit dirty and probably needs more (bike) rubber down on it to improve the grip."

"The new asphalt is giving us all a different feeling to last year and we need to understand what is happening with the grip in order to set up the bike properly."

"It's not ideal but it's the same for everyone. I think it'll be OK for race day as long as it doesn't rain."

Superpole times
1. Troy Bayliss (Ducati Xerox) 1:58.345
2. Troy Corser (Yamaha Motor Italia) 1:58.451
3. Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1:58.853
4. Max Biaggi (Sterilgarda Go Eleven) 1:59.069
5. Ryuichi Kyonari (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) 1:59.318
6. N Canepa (Ducati Xerox) 1:59.324
7. Fonsi Nieto (Team Alstare Suzuki) 1:59.360
8. Jakub Smrz (Guandalini Racing) 1:59.451
9. Max Neukirchner (Team Alstare Suzuki) 1:59.497
10. Yukio Kagayama (Team Alstare Suzuki) 1:59.537
Also:
15. Karl Muggeridge (D.F. Racing) 2:00.306