By Glenn Le Santo

A short rain shower at Oschersleben ruined the exciting spectacle of World Superbike Superpole this afternoon. After only four riders had completed their flying Superpole laps when the skies opened and a short, but heavy rain shower brought the red flag out. Superpole was then declared wet, meaning that the Superpole qualifiers all had a further 50 minutes to complete a maximum of 12 laps after the restart.

Despite the session being declared wet, by the time the riders got back out on the track the rain had stopped and the track was completely dry. A cat-and-mouse battle ensued with several riders enjoying provisional pole, including Ruben Xaus, Neil Hodgson and Troy Corser. In the end, with only a few minutes left on the clock, British rider Hodgson clinched the pole, deposing Corser from top spot.

It will be the fourth time this season that Hodgson lines up on pole on his GSE Ducati. Ruben Xaus now lines up third behind Hodgson and Corser. Reigning Superbike World Champion Colin Edwards finished the session in fourth, with on-form Ben Bostrom fifth in front of Championship points leader Troy Bayliss. Regis Laconi and Akira Yanagawa complete the second row.

Corser suffered bad bruising to his ankle in a crash in free practice prior to Superpole and was forced to ride Superpole in considerable discomfort.

Superpole best times:

1. Neil Hodgson, Great Britain, Ducati, 1:27.325
2. Troy Corser, Australia, Aprilia, 1:27.442
3. Ruben Xaus, Spain, Ducati, 1:27.480
4. Colin Edwards, USA, Honda, 1:27.738
5. Ben Bostrom, USA, Ducati, 1:27.808
6. Troy Bayliss, Australia, Ducati, 1:27.844
7. Regis Laconi, France, Aprilia, 1:28.074
8. Akira Yanagawa, Japan, Kawasaki, 1:28.266
9. James Toseland, Great Britain, Ducati, 1:28.512
10. Tadayuki Okada, Japan, Honda, 1:28.517