The last Superpole before the summer break, characterized by a red flag due to a harmless fall of Loris Baz, bears the signature of Jonathan Rea. In Laguna Seca, the reigning World Champion prevails in the qualifying session, stopping the clock on the 1'21 ”876 and monopolizing the first box on the starting grid. No one succeeds in undermining him, only the Ducati approach his time and complete the front row for Race 1.
It is a reborn Chaz Davies to take second place, after a turn in which he is among the great protagonists. The Welshman seems to have found the right feeling with the Panigale V4 R on the California track and pays only 9 thousandths from Rea, author of a stratospheric time. Ducati looks decidedly fit on this qualifying Saturday and also flies with Alvaro Bautista, third on the grid at 172 thousandths from his direct rival in the standings. The Spaniard fails to undermine the British rider from Kawasaki, but will start in Race 1 from the front row.
Tom Sykes opens the second row, which confirms BMW's progress after a third opaque free practice session. The English, however, grabbed the fourth time in the final, despite accusing a little more than half a second from the former team-mate and holder of the Superpole. Behind Sykes we find Leon Haslam, who in the early stages enters the leading positions and tries to undermine the neighbor of the box. However, he must be satisfied with the fifth position, at 573 thousandths from Rea. Still Kawasaki to close the second row, with an excellent Jordi Torres, who won the sixth box in a qualifying that sees him decisively protagonist.
The Spanish rider from the Pedercini team is the first of the independent riders and precedes the most favorite Toprak Razgatlioglu, who in this Superpole preceding the summer break does not go beyond the seventh position. Yamaha also struggles, appearing to be in great difficulty: Alex Lowes is the first driver of the Iwata House but he is only eighth, at 1.2 seconds from the top. Behind him we find Loris Baz, whose fall at the beginning of the round caused the red flag. The French of Ten Kate still manages to re-enter the top ten, with the ninth time.
Closes the top 10 Eugene Laverty, returned to Laguna Seca after being forced to stop at Donington. The Irishman brings the Go Eleven team's Panigale V4 R to tenth position, 1.3 seconds from the top. Markus Reiterberger is also back on track, finishing 11th in front of Leandro Mercado, 12th.
All the other Yamaha's are struggling a lot: Sandro Cortese is thirteenth with a fall, as is Michael van der Mark. The Dutchman ends up on the ground in the resumption of qualifying, but fails to go beyond the fifteenth position. Marco Melandri is very late, only seventeenth.