Melandri beats Rea for Aragon pole, Davies falls

Click here for full qualifying results from Aragon

Marco Melandri has claimed pole position for the opening race at Aragon narrowly ahead of World Superbike championship leader Jonathan Rea while Chaz Davies tipped off on his final qualifying lap.

Melandri beats Rea for Aragon pole, Davies falls

Click here for full qualifying results from Aragon

Marco Melandri has claimed pole position for the opening race at Aragon narrowly ahead of World Superbike championship leader Jonathan Rea while Chaz Davies tipped off on his final qualifying lap.

The Italian rider lost the championship points lead to Rea last time out in Thailand but looks set to strike back at Aragon having edged the defending World Superbike champion during free practice and following it up with pole position.

Melandri’s final flying lap of 1m 49.543s bumped off Rea from provisional pole by just 0.031s but both looked set to lose out to Tom Sykes who was the last to set his final lap. Sykes was over two-tenths up at the final sector split time compared to the Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider but lost out down the back straight which forced him to settle for third on the grid.

Despite six race wins to his name at Aragon, Davies will have it all to do from 11th on the grid after crashing out of his final qualifying lap in a low-side fall at Turn 2, one of three riders to suffer the same off at the corner in Superpole 2, which means the Welsh rider will need to attack from the middle of the fourth row.

Barni Ducati’s Xavi Fores heads up the second row in front of Pata Yamaha pair Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark who were split by just 0.010s to continue their intensely tight intra-team battle.

Jordi Torres impressed for MV Agusta to take the front of the third row ahead of World Superbike debutant Michael Ruben Rinaldi, with the Aruba.it Racing Ducati junior rider contesting all the European races in 2018, as Red Bull Honda’s Leon Camier takes ninth in qualifying.

Row four consisted of the three Turn 2 crashers Lorenzo Savadori (Milwaukee Aprilia), Davies and Vladimir Leonov (SPB Racing Kawasaki).

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