Carlos Checa claimed conditional pole in the 12th round of the World Superbikes at Magny-Cours as he bids to seal the title this weekend. The Althea Racing Ducati rider, who needs just four points to top of his leading season with the crown, shaped a near record-pace lap to pip Yamaha's Eugene Laverty into second place.
France's Sylvain Guintoli was third fastest on his Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati with England's Tom Sykes implementation the top four on his Kawasaki. Jakub Smrz ended in fifth on the second Effenbert-Liberty Racing Ducati, while Honda's Jonathan Rea, a winner at Imola, was in sixth.
BMW's Leon Haslam took seventh and Pata Aprilia rider Noriyuki Haga finished off the second row by maintain eighth in the opening qualify session.