Image: Russell Colvin.

DesmoSport Ducati’s Mike Jones is unfazed by starting from row three for tomorrow’s Motul Pirelli Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) decider at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Jones, who’s landed on pole in the past four rounds and was fastest in FP3 this morning, qualified an uncharacteristic seventh as track temperatures soared during today’s Q2 session.

Currently ranked third in the standings, 4.5 points behind leader Troy Herfoss (Penrite Honda Racing), the Queenslander is thankful the additional championship point for pole wasn’t awarded to a title contender, while he’s optimistic that starting behind his rivals could serve as an advantage.

“Obviously, qualifying this afternoon was quite a tough one for myself and the DesmoSport Ducati team,” Jones explained to CycleOnline.com.au. “Our goal was to qualify on pole position, and we certainly missed that starting seventh on the third row on the grid.

“There are some positives to take away from qualifying, and that is that our main championship contenders didn’t take pole position and score that extra point.

“That’s certainly a positive, and in my opinion, it’s probably a good thing for me starting behind, because I feel like there’s less pressure for me – you’re starting from the behind, and the guys in front of you have got to set the pace and do the work – you can follow them. I obviously really wanted pole position to make it five in a row, unfortunately it wasn’t the case today.”

Yamaha Racing Team’s Daniel Falzon scored a surprise pole position in Sydney, set to be joined on the front row by Herfoss and Cru Halliday (Yamaha Racing Team).