James Toseland tops the timesheet in Monza

Noriyuki Haga set the second fastest lap time of the day

© HANNspree Ten Kate Honda. It took series leader James Toseland less than a day to beat the previous circuit best at the classically designed Monza circuit, setting a 1'45"953 lap on race tyres. He becomes the first ever rider to break 1'45 on the current circuit layout, which this year features new and smoother tarmac in various sections, but an identical layout to previous years.

Noriyuki Haga was some 0.363 seconds behind Toseland on day one, as his team-mate Troy Corser, the previous track record holder, finished only 12th overall out of 25 riders. Alto Evolution Honda rider Karl Muggeridge is a competitor who loves the challenge of Monza and thanks to his pace and a machine that was both fast and sweet handling, he went third today. To add to the joy in a team that had a disastrous Assen race two weekends ago, Muggeridge's team-mate Josh Brookes was fifth fastest, at a track he is competing at for the first time. Just in front of him was a former Monza race winner, Regis Laconi (PSG-1 Corse Kawasaki), who made the provisional front row a cosmopolitan place with his Kawasaki's green paintwork.

© Suzuki Racing. Ruben Xaus proved to have the early advantage over the official factory squad members on day one, as he pushed Troy Bayliss to seventh place. Lorenzo Lanzi struggled to get on form and finished 16th, the last rider in the provisional Superpole qualifying slots.

The progress of Roby Rolfo in recent races was once more underlined when he set the eighth fastest time at Monza, only just one second from his team-mate Toseland, making him the fastest of the nine Italian riders on show. Yukio Kagayama was the fastest rider on a GSX-R, down in ninth place, with Fonsi Nieto rounding out the top ten.

Max Biaggi had a harsh introduction to the high-speed corners at Monza, finishing day one 1.2 seconds from pole, but ready to improve on day two. Max Neukirchner was 13th, and Michel Fabrizio 14th. Marco Borciani was 15th in his return to SBK action.

Qualifying Times:

1- J. Toseland (Honda) 1'45.953

2- N. Haga (Yamaha) 1'46.316

3- K. Muggeridge (Honda) 1'46.482

4- R. Laconi (Kawasaki) 1'46.548

5- J. Brookes (1'46.686)

6- R. Xaus (Ducati) 1'46.775

7- T. Bayliss (Ducati) 1'46.918

8- R. Rolfo (Honda) 1'46.960

9- Y. Kagayama (Suzuki) 1'46.972

10- F. Nieto (Kawasaki) 1'47.125