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Broc Parkes will begin the quest for his first and only World Supersport Championship win of the season at Magny-Cours from pole position after carrying his practice pace through to Q2.
The Australian ended Q1 in a provisional second place, but hinted at a pole position run after setting the pace in second free practice. And so it proved, Parkes jumping to the top of the timesheets in the closing stages with a best lap of 1min 41.545secs.
His third pole position of the season, it is Parkes's final opportunity to score a win before he is replaced by Lorenzo Zanetti and Michael van der Mark in the new PATA-backed squad for 2013.
Local favourites Fabien Foret and Jules Cluzel line up alongside Parkes in second and third place, while Kenan Sofuoglu will look to end his championship-winning year on a high from fourth on the grid.
Sam Lowes, who is tussling with Foret for third in the standings, heads up row two, alongside Gabor Talmacsi, Sheridan Morais and Vittorio Iannuzzo on the top Triumph.
Massimo Roccoli and Alex Baldolini round out the top ten, just ahead of Dan Linfoot, who qualified 11th despite suffering a fall from the MSD RN Kawasaki.