Hodgson pulls a fast one at Oschersleben.

Neil Hodgson set the best lap of a 'wet' Superpole session, but only after a last gasp scare when he had to overcome an off-track moment to dig deep and usurp Frankie Chili from top spot.

Sitting in pole position with only minutes remaining, Hodgson was a spectator in pit-lane when Chili (PSG-1 Ducati 998RS) snatched pole after a magnificent last attempt at putting himself in prime position for the start of Sunday's two Superbike races.

Spurred into action by the sight of his name on second place on the timesheets, Hodgson went out once more, but missed a gearchange during his first push for a quicker lap, and ran off the track. Almost falling as he ran onto the grass, the Fila Ducati rider collected his thoughts, regained the circuit and, one lap later, posted the fastest time in any qualifying session of the weekend.

His 1min 26.907secs was only a whisker ahead of Chili's 1min 26.942secs, but was good enough for his fourth pole in five attempts this season.

The Superpole session was run under 'wet' rules, as a reaction to the imminent possibility of the morning rains returning. A monsoon of epic proportions just after the track was opened delayed and hampered the progress of allcomers in the morning, leaving qualification for the Superpole competition between the same 16 who topped Friday's dry official qualifying session.

The wet rules give each rider a maximum of twelve laps in which to set their single fastest lap, and this lap time ultimately determines their starting order. Behind Hodgson and Chili, James Toseland (HM Plant Ducati) won the internal battle of the GSE Racing 998 F02 riders, with his team-mate Chris Walker just behind in fourth place, the last man on the front row of the grid.

Regis Laconi (NCR Ducati 998RS) qualified fifth, Steve Martin in sixth on the first of the DFX Ducati Pirelli machines. Gregorio Lavilla, a force in each qualifying session on his four-cylinder Alstare Suzuki, was a disappointed seventh, while Hodgson's team-mate Ruben Xaus (Ducati Fila 999 F03) put in visible effort, but secured only eighth best time, taking the last place on the second row.

SBK rookie and Lavilla's team-mate Vittorio Iannuzzo impressed many in ninth, with Juan Borja (DFX Ducati) rounding out the top ten, despite suffering from a broken coccyx. Troy Corser (Foggy Petronas FP-1) rode his triple into twelfth place, improving from 16th after regulation qualifying.