British wildcard entrant Tommy Hill claimed pole position for Sunday's two races in round five of the World Superbike Championship at Silverstone. The Yamaha racer clocked one minute 38.001 seconds to finish two-tenths of a second clear of championship leader Troy Bayliss of Ducati.
Fellow Briton Chris Walker of Kawasaki was third while reigning world champion Troy Corser was 10th on a Suzuki.
Honda's James Toseland, the 2004 champion, finished in 14th place.
After a morning washout, the qualifiers for the Superpole session were determined by Friday's times, meaning that Bayliss' Ducati team-mate Lorenzo Lanzi will start Sunday's races in a lowly 17th place.
Britain's other competitor, Foggy Petronas rider Craig Jones, failed to make the Superpole cut and starts 24th of the 28 runners.
Elsewhere, Corser's team-mate Yukio Kagayama was stretchered away following a heavy fall at Copse Corner and is a doubt ahead for Sunday's races.
Hill opted to take to the track in the early stages of the session rather than waiting until the closing moments like other riders.
"I'm completely shocked, I can't believe I'm up there," he admitted.
"To get pole, it's just not sunk in yet. I'll probably wake up in the morning and it will be true that I'm on the front row, but I'll probably be dead scared on the first few laps.
"I'm there now and I've got to make the most of it. Hopefully I'll stick in there and get a top eight or top 10 result."
Leading positions
1. Tommy Hill (Gbr) Yamaha 1min 38.001secs
2. Troy Bayliss (Aus) Ducati 1:38.254
3. Chris Walker (Gbr) Kawasaki 1:38.265
4. Noriyuki Haga (Jpn) Yamaha 1:38.546
5. Michel Fabrizio (Ita) Honda 1:38.899
6. Alex Barros (Bra) Honda 1:39.082
7. Ruben Xaus (Spa) Ducati 1:39.388
8. Karl Muggeridge (Aus) Yamaha 1:40.023
9. Regis Laconi (Fra) Kawasaki 1:40.042
10. Troy Corser (Aus) Suzuki 1:40.181
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