Twenty five minutes of qualifying would determine the grid for the first race this afternoon. Scott Redding was quickest in all three sessions, wet or dry, and is favourite to take pole on his debut Superpole. Leon Camier didn't take part and would sit the remainder of the weekend out.

Jonathan Rea waited in his garage as everyone else headed out on their regular tyres. Loris Baz was the first to set a lap time, but Alex Lowes was quickest after the first lap, with a 1'30.212 and a top speed of 322kmh. Jonathan Rea nipped out as other riders started returning to the pits, and set a 1'30.025 to take the top spot with eighteen minutes remaining. Rea headed Alex Lowes, Scott Redding and Michael van der Mark into the tea break, with the top fifteen riders within a second of Rea's quick lap.

After Xavi Fores's fairing exploded down the start/finish straight, dumping fancy carbon fairing on a fast bit of the track, the red flags came out with fourteen minutes left. No geese were involved.

After the track was cleared, Alvaro Bautista crashed out at turn nine on his Honda, running wide into the turn and watching his bike tumble in the gravel. With only nine minutes left, his session was over. Two minutes later, riders started heading out on their yellow-stickered qualifying tyres, with Scott Redding and Tom Sykes out first.

Tom Sykes set a 1'29.230 while Scott Redding lost time catching a bunch of Kawasakis on his fast lap. Leon Haslam was second quickest only to be knocked to third by Jonathan Rea and fourth my Scott Redding, getting second quickest on the second lap from his fast tyre.

Tom Sykes took pole position with a new outright lap record, ahead of Scott Redding and Jonathan Rea with a second row made up of Toprak Razgatlioglu, Leon Haslam and Michael van der Mark. All five manufacturers had top five positions. Tom Sykes cemented his reputation as the top qualifying rider setting a record of an unprecedented fifty pole positions.

Results: