Spies does it again as rain falls at Donington

But the shock of the session was the Aprilia duo of Max Biaggi and Shinya Nakano, who will line up on the grid in second and fourth places respectively, while Shane 'Shakey' Byrne will start from third.

Byrne was the only Brit to make it through to Superpole Three, after Stiggy Motorsport's Leon Haslam was knocked out of the top eight in the dying seconds by Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio.

Fellow Brits Tom Sykes, Jonny Rea and James Ellison also departed in Superpole Two, while Ellison's team-mate and BSB championship leader Leon Camier was knocked out in the first session.

Spies remained his usual calm self, setting just a couple of laps in each session and going straight to the top of the timesheets before heading back to the pits to keep tabs on what his rivals were up to.

"It was a good qualifying session for us, we set a good one before the rain came bad...which was lucky for us.

"I'm happy with this result because of the weather, but we are aware of what may happen tomorrow...we have a good dry set-up but it will all depend on what the weather does tomorrow...I guess we need to wait and see."

Biaggi, meanwhile, was back to 'happy Max'. "We make very good progress over this weekend. We were pleased to be in the top eight and then to get second, it was very good.

"I think we can go well in the races. I like Donington, it's a good circuit, a track I like very much so I am looking forward to starting here on the front row."

Shakey, a man who knows the UK weather conditions only too well, admitted it could play a major part tomorrow. "Ideally, I'm hoping for a dry day, but this is the UK afterall," he joked.

"I have no idea what the forecast actually is, but no doubt it will be sunny intervals and showers just to cover everything and make everyone's job harder!

"I'm pleased with my position. We've got a tough job tomorrow, as we need to capitalise on third so I'm looking forward to getting out there and doing the best job we can."

Nakano was thrilled with his best qualifying position to date since joining the championship. "Everyone has worked really hard and the bike is getting better and better everytime we go out.

"I know this track well so am looking forward to tomorrow's races to see if we can get on the podium."

Full World Superbike Qualifying times:

1 19 Spies B. (USA) Yamaha YZF R1 1'29.846
2 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'30.080
3 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 1'30.535
4 56 Nakano S. (JPN) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 1'30.671
5 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'30.734
6 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 1'31.023
7 7 Checa C. (ESP) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.342
8 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Ducati 1098R 1'34.797
9 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'30.159
10 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'30.229
11 121 Hopkins J. (USA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'30.272
12 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 1'30.387
13 36 Lavilla G. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 1'30.612
14 27 Ellison J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'30.816
15 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 1'30.916
16 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 1'31.120
17 22 Camier L. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 1'31.176
18 71 Kagayama Y. (JPN) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'31.215
19 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 1'31.217
20 9 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 1'31.260
21 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'31.874
22 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'31.887
23 25 Salom D. (ESP) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'32.183
24 14 Lagrive M. (FRA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'32.243
25 2 Hacking J. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'32.245
26 117 Andrews S. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 1'32.343
27 53 Polita A. (ITA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.584
28 79 Young B. (USA) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'32.735
29 94 Checa D. (ESP) Yamaha YZF R1 1'32.811
30 88 Resch R. (AUT) Suzuki GSX-R 1000 K9 1'33.374
31 77 Iannuzzo V. (ITA) Honda CBR1000RR 1'33.408

*Images by Mic Archbold...No reproduction without permission.