Championship challengers inside the top five places
The final pre Tissot-Superpole qualifying session took place at Magny-Cours in perfect weather conditions this morning, a factor in allowing Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) the chance to head the combined qualifying times.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was unable to improve his previous best time and went second overall as a result. A variety of machines filled the top five places, with Carlos Checa (Althea Racing Ducati) third, Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) fourth and the current championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) fifth.
The final qualifying session was interrupted by a red flag when Alex Lundh (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) fell.