McGuinness on pole for Macau GP

John McGuinness will start Saturday’s Macau Grand Prix from pole position after dominating qualifying and setting a time over three-and-a-half seconds faster than second-placed man Roger Bennett.

Riding a Honda FireBlade, the 27-year-old set the fastest ever lap of the armco-lined street circuit at 91.97mph on his final flying run.

Bennett, riding John Reynolds’ British championship-winning Red Bull Ducati, remains confident of running with McGuinness in the race. He found it hard to get a clear run on the crowded track but was still able to carve two seconds from the time he set in the cooler morning session.

David Jefferies, winner of the race in 1999 and current lap record holder, had to ride teammate Jason Griffiths’ spare V&M Yamaha after blowing an engine in Thursday’s free practice session. Despite the efforts by his team, it has not been possible to rebuild a second bike and Griffiths will stand down to allow Jefferies to race.

World Endurance Champion Brian Morrison completes the all-British front-row, a fraction of a second slower than Jefferies.