Brands Hatch (UK), Friday 3 August : Both Ducati Xerox Team riders were in top 5 positions in the first qualifying session for the Brands Hatch round of the World Superbike Championship. Troy Bayliss went quickest on three occasions during the one-hour session but was eventually edged out by points leader James Toseland (Honda). Team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi was also well up and the Italian finished just eight-tenths down on the provisional pole in fifth place.

"It's all going OK" said Troy. "We're a bit limited with tyre choice at Brands Hatch this weekend, but I did 16 laps on my race tyre and managed to get that sorted out. We'll do a bit more work on the setting tomorrow and get a good lap time together. The track feels good but it's a bit bumpier than last time we raced here. It could do with a resurface but better not as that'll make it faster and more dangerous. The usual guys are up at the front, James is right there, Troy also and Nori is not far behind, but it's been a good day and I'm happy with the race tyre".

"Today went well, apart from the eight-tenths of a second I was slower than James " declared Lorenzo. "I am already lapping in the same times as last year so I'm pleased with that. I've got a good feeling with the bike, but we made a small error in the choice of tyres and I varied the set-up a bit too much which slowed us down. It was important to understand our limit however and tomorrow we'll make a few modifications for the morning session. After this first session I'm pretty confident for the rest of the weekend".