Top qualifier Tarran Mackenzie revealed he wasn’t banking on scoring his first Bennetts British Superbike pole position today, but feels he laid down a near-perfect lap.

With the fastest ever time around the National circuit, a 53.549, the Scotsman bagged his best ever qualifying spot, beating team-mate Jason O’Halloran for a McAMS Yamaha one-two.

But after reverting to a Friday setup and simply aiming for the front row, Mackenzie admitted he’s confident ahead of tomorrow’s two races.

“I felt like I was running on the limit in Q1 and Q2 and then we made a change back to what we were running on Friday, which gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.

“I just wanted to be on the front row, I didn’t expect to get pole so it’s a bonus really. It’s quite hard to do the perfect lap, but it felt as close to a perfect lap.

“It’s always a bit of a four or five-man battle for the podium here so it’s going to be tough, but I feel ready for it and I’m in the perfect position to start it.”