Lorenzo Lanzi takes pole position in rain hit Magny Cour World Superbikes qualifying

In a rain hit first qualifying session Lorenzo Lanzi was the surprise pole position man onboard his Xerox Ducati 999 F07. Like the majority of riders Lanzi elected to wait in the pits for the majority of the session to allow the track to dry following a heavy shower, before putting in a sequence of ever improving laps.

Troy Bayliss made it a one-two for the Xerox Ducati squad even though he was 0.4 seconds behind his outgoing Ducati team-mate.

Noriyuki Haga jumped up the leader board with just a few minutes remaining to take third with Kawasaki man Fonsi Nieto in fourth.

Troy Corser was the first of the top men to take to the track and after sitting in provisional pole dropped to fifth at the end of the session.

Britons James Toseland came out on track with approximately 13 minutes to go and after completing eight laps ended up in seventh place 0.8 seconds off pole.

Tomorrows weather forecast predicts a 20% chance of rain meaning that today’s times set in damp conditions may stand.