Triple-M Racing rider Marco Faccani will start his home STK1000 Race at Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli from pole position as the local rider beat Cup rivals Raffaele de Rosa and Leandro Mercado to keep his Panigale R at the top of the timesheets.

De Rosa suffered an early crash but closed the session in P2 in the middle of the front row, keeping a positive day for Althea on course for another tomorrow as the BMW rider prepares to defend his points lead from chasing Leandro Mercado. Argentine rider Mercado completed the front row in P3 for a little more Italian glory at home on his Aruba.it Junior Team – Ducati machine. Teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi, normally a rookie frontrunner, suffered technical problems and was unable to set a laptime.

Kevin Calia heads up row 2 for Nuova M2 Racing, just ahead of his teammate Roberto Tamburini as the Aprilia pairing get ready to race at home. Turk Toprak Razgatlioglu finished off Row 2 to break the Italian dominance, with Mantovani beginning the charge of home talent once again in P7 on his Yamaha.

The Pata Yamaha of Lucas Mahias will begin from P8 as the Frenchman continues his return, ahead of Pedercini Racing Kawasaki compatriot Jeremy Guarnoni. The final top ten spot was taken by Fabio Massei for Team Trasimeno.

The STK1000 Cup race begins on Sunday at 14:20 (GMT +2).