 Vermeulen has plenty to do to keep in the title race |
Chris Vermeulen boosted his faint hopes of the World Superbike Championship title by taking pole position for Sunday's two races at Imola. Vermeulen must cut Corser's 60-point lead by at least 10 if the title race is to go to the final round in France.
And his lap of one minute 48.075 seconds was enough to keep Corser behind him on the grid.
Corser will start the race third, while Regis Laconi separated the title rivals on Saturday's timesheets.
Reigning champion James Toseland, who can now finish third at best in the title race, completed the front row on his Ducati Xerox.
Leading positions after qualifying:
1. Chris Vermeulen (Aus) Honda one minute 48.075
2. Regis Laconi (Fr) Ducati 1:48.506
3. Troy Corser (Aus) Suzuki 1:48.649
4. James Toseland (GB) Ducati 1:48.867
5. Lorenzo Lanzi (It) Ducati 1:48.923
6. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 1:49.094
7. Yukio Kagayama (Jpn) Suzuki 1:49.271
8. Ben Bostrom (USA) Honda 1:49.300
9. Andrew Pitt (Aus) Yamaha 1:49.601
10. Karl Muggeridge (Aus) Honda 1:49.845
MMIX
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