There was a rush for lap times at the start of qualifying at an overcast Brands Hatch, rain looked likely and all the main players went out very quickly to get in 'banker' laps in case it rained.

Byrne, quickest in every session so far, set a time early on that matched his efforts from Friday's session.

He later set a time nearly as quick as Greg Lavilla's race lap record and that was to be the pole time as the expected rain came down with five minutes of the session remaining.

“It was colder today so I really wasn't expecting to go any quicker than yesterday,” said the 31-year-old.

“We did set a very quick lap later on and that shows we are really on the pace because we're a whisker away from the lap record Lavilla set last year on works Dunlop tyres.”

Looking forward to tomorrow's races Byrne is a clear favourite: “The team have shown great faith in me and it would be great to get a double, but if it rains we might be in trouble. We have had no wet tyre running so far.”

Second and continuing the form he showed in the earlier session today is Cal Crutchlow on the HM Plant Honda.

The 2006 Supersport champion's efforts all the more creditable considering his throttle hand is still painful following a crash testing in Spain.

Part of the problem for Crutchlow though is that on the bike the hand is fine, it's when people shake his hand that causes the pain!

“I was talking to a guy earlier and he shook my hand so hard it almost bought me to tears,” revealed Crutchlow.

“It's fine on the bike though and we are looking good for the race, the times we have set are all on race tyres, no special qualifying efforts. It's going to be hard to beat Shakey, but I'm going to try and get in front from the start and control the race.”

Third after another impressive run was Karl Harris on the Yamaha UK R1. The Sheffield rider has been quick and consistent all weekend so far and finished up only half a second behind the leading pair.

HM Plant's Leon Haslam was quick early on but was unable to hold the pace of Byrne and team mate Crutchlow, but the team are confident of their race pace and Haslam will start as a favourite for a win tomorrow.

Tom Sykes for Rizla Suzuki improved markedly over his practice times to start from the second row of the grid after working hard on bike setup with the new Showa forks the team are using for 2008.

Alongside Sykes in sixth is the injured Leon Camier, setting superb times despite a very painful shoulder injury.

Completing the second row is Lloyds Jentin Yamaha rider Simon Andrews, continuing his superb round one form and Michael Rutter on the North West 200 Ducati.

Qualifying Times BSB Round 1 Brands Hatch

1. Shane Byrne Airwaves Ducati 1m25.832s
2. Cal Crutchlow HM Plant Honda 1m26.155ss
3. Karl Harris Team Yamaha 1m26.364s
4. Leon Haslam HM Plant Honda 1m26.552s
5. Tom Sykes Rizla Suzuki 1m26.641s
6. Leon Camier Airwaves Ducati 1m26.833s
7. Simon Andrews Lloyds Jentin Yamaha 1m26.926s
8. Michael Rutter NW200 Ducati 1m26.974s
9. Atsushi Watanbe Rizla Suzuki 1m27.893s
10. Michael Laverty Relentless Suzuki 1m27.937s
11. Billy McConnell MSS Kawasaki 1m28.206s
12. Stuart Easton MSS Kawasaki 1m28.244s
13. Steve Plater AIM Yamaha 1m28.858s
14. Guy Martin Hydrex/Bike Animal Honda 1m28.873s
15. Adam Jenkinson SMT Honda 1m28.880s
Cup James Buckingham Quay Garage Honda 1m28.921s