From a press release issued by Monstermob Ducati:

MONSTERMOB DUCATI BRITISH SUPERBIKE TEAM
Round 13 – 2002 MCN British Superbike Championship, Donington Park

Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th September 2002

DOUBLE POLE FOR MONSTERMOB DUCATI

MonsterMob Ducati riders Steve Hislop and Stuart Easton will start Sunday’s final round of their respective championships from pole position after a scintilating performance during today’s qualifying at Donington Park.

MCN British Superbike Championship leader Hislop scorched to a fastest time in practice of 1m 31.457s in this morning’s session to become the fastest ever rider around the 2.5 mile GP Circuit, almost two full seconds under the lap record currently which stands at 1m 33.470s and set by Troy Corser in 1996.

The 40-year-old Scot maintained fastest position aboard the Ducati 998 Testastretta throughout the second qualifying session before following it up with a blistering Superpole lap, which means he will start from pole position for the fifth time this season in readiness for tomorrow’s final showdown.

“It was a good lap but not perfect as I made a couple of mistakes otherwise I reckon I could have got into the low thirty ones but I’m happy enough. I’m focussing on tomorrow and feel very confident of gaining a couple of great results” said a jubilant Hislop.

Hislop currently holds a 37 point advantage over close rival Sean Emmett, who starts from the second row on the grid, which means that he only needs to score 13 points overall from the two races tomorrow to win the Championship.

Meanwhile MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Stuart Easton also secured pole position aboard the 748 Ducati after posting a lap of 1m 37.079 on his way to his seventh pole of the season.

The 18-year-old from Hawick has already clinched the Championship title and is looking forward to tomorrow’s race without any pressure.

“I too made a couple of mistakes on my fast lap and I’m disappointed I couldn’t get into the thirty sixes. But we have a good race set up and hopefully we can round off the season with a win” said the Scot.

Team Boss Paul Bird was delighted with his team’s performance:

“You can’t do any better than pole position and this is what we needed today. We just need a repeat performance and I’ll be a happy man tomorrow night” said the Penrith businessman.

Superpole Result:
1. Steve Hislop (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:31.627
2. Michael Rutter (Ducati) 1:32.025
3. Shane Byrne (Ducati) 1:32.325
4. John Reynolds (Suzuki) 1:32.949
5. Sean Emmett (Yamaha) 1:32.965
6. Paul Brown (Ducati) 1:33.354
7. Glen Richards (Kawasaki) 1:33.466
8. Dean Ellison (Ducati) 1:33.923
9. Gary Mason (Honda) 1:33.963
10. Karl Harris (Suzuki) 1:33.995

Supersport Qualifying:
1. Stuart Easton (MonsterMob Ducati) 1:37.079
2. Scott Smart (Honda) 1:37.269
3. Simon Andrews (Honda) 1:37.506
4. John McGuinness (Honda) 1:37.826
5. Danny Beaumont (Yamaha) 1:38.116
6. James Buckingham (Yamaha) 1:38.935
7. Pete Jennings (Kawasaki) 1:39.128
8. Gary Haslam (Honda) 1:39.172
9. Jeremy Goodall (Suzuki) 1:39.263
10. Les Shand (Honda) 1:39.265