Mladin takes pole at Laguna Seca

Wild-card rider Mat Mladin will start the eighth round of the World Superbike championship on pole with championship leader Neil Hodgson relegated to the second row of the grid.

Mladin continued his hot pace from the qualifying sessions to set the fastest lap in the Superpole session. Regis Laconi and Franci Chilli take second and third on the grid followed by Mladin’s Yoshimura AMA Superbike team-mate Aaron Yates.

Gregorio Lavilla put in the fifth fastest lap in the session followed by James Toseland, while the Ducati 999 of Ruben Xaus is in seventh and Hodgson in eighth.

Neither of the factory Ducati riders have been able to find a good setup for the bike all weekend. Xaus admitted that he had made mistakes on the Superpole lap while Hodgson said he just failed to get in to the rhythm after continuous problems with grip.

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