2020 Jerez World Superbike Superpole Result: "Yee Haa!" On A One Lap Tyre

World Superbike qualifying took place in a twenty-five minute session at 11am, before the weather really heats up, but was still hot enough to limit the longevity of the Pirelli Superpole tyre.

Toprak Razgatlioglu set a 1'39.208 as the target time while Alex Lowes had a slow crash and eased his bike back to the pits. Jonathan Rea, Michael van der Mark and Loris Baz were the other three into the 1'39s before everyone pitted in for the qualifying tyre. Alex Lowes and Marco Melandri had not set a qualifying time at this point. 

Tati Mercado was the first rider back out, only to crash out at lap four before he could improve on his seventeenth place. Alex Lowes also slipped out while everyone was on their tea break, making for lost laps earlier in the session. Chaz Davies was out early and put himself into sixth place, and with seven minutes left, riders on qualifying tyres started to fill the track.

Macro Melandri, fresh from a retirement that lasted one race weekend, eventually set a qualifying time that put him in the top fifteen. Five minutes from the end, the sticky tyres started to show up near the top of the sheet, with riders starting to record 1'39 laps. 

Loris Baz put a 1'39.214 in to just miss taking pole position, only to be knocked down to third place from Tom Sykes with a remarkable 1'38.776, a time that looked unbeatable right up to the point Scott Redding set a blistering last sector to steal pole with a 1'38.736. Jonathan Rea very nearly caused another upset, splitting the leading two. Jonathan Rea got another two sectors of pole position pace from his rear tyre, but the heat eventually got to the tyre and he had to settle for second place.

The flag came out with Scott Redding on his debut World Superbike pole position ahead of Jonathan Rea and Tom Sykes. Michael van der Mark, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Loris Baz made up an all-Yamaha second row ahead of Chaz Davies, Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam. 

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