Izutsu claims second row start at Kyalami.

Hitoyasu Izutsu knocked over half a second off his previous best qualifying time on his Superpole lap at Kyalami this afternoon, securing a sixth place, second row start for tomorrow's two 25-lap Superbike races.

Having struggled all through practice and qualifying to find a set-up he was happy with, Izutsu and his pit crew eventually managed to get his Kawasaki ZX-7RR dialled in during the Superpole warm-up - just 20 minutes before he lined up in pit lane to start the flying lap that would decide his final grid position.

'I am happy with my Superpole time, and more than a little relieved that we managed to get the bike sorted out in time,' declared Izutsu. 'We've faced an uphill struggle this weekend but we've managed to work our way through the problems, which will stand us in good stead for tomorrow. We've identified a good race tyre and, as always, I will be trying hard in both races.'

For Chris Walker, Kyalami has been something of a turning point in his season. The 30-year-old British rider has suffered more than his fair share of misfortune since joining the Fuchs Kawasaki team, but in South Africa, Walker has started to recapture some of the form that has made him so popular with race fans worldwide. Consistently in the top ten during regular qualifying, Walker secured a third row start for tomorrow's races, after posting the twelfth quickest time during the Superpole shootout.

'I'm happy enough with my qualifying position, but I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't manage to go any faster on qualifiers than I had on race tyres,' said Walker. ' If you discount the laps done on qualifying rubber, then I'm not that far off the leading group of riders, but I guess I'll have to get off the line pretty sharpish tomorrow if I'm going to come through from the third row of the grid. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's races and, if I do get away cleanly, then I'll definitely be looking for a good result in both.'

World Superbike - Superpole Times
1. Colin Edwards (Honda) 1'41.321
2. Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 1'41.412
3. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 1'41.453
4. Noriyuki Haga (Aprilia) 1'41.625
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 1'41.825
6. Hitoyasu Izutsu (Fuchs Kawasaki) 1'42.453
7. Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) 1'42.475
8. Lucio Pedercini (Ducati) 1'42.547
9. Juan Bautista Borja (Ducati) 1'42.671
10. James Toseland (Ducati) 1'42.841
11. Ruben Xaus (Ducati) 1'43.054
12. Chris Walker (Fuchs Kawasaki) 1'43.853