NEIL Hodgson will today aim for a hat-trick of pole positions in the World Superbike championship.

And the Burnley rider is poised to do just that finishing fifth after yesterday's first qualifying session at Laguna Seca.

But, although he knocked more than a tenth of a second off the fastest time in last year's Superpole competition for grid positions, he was still nearly a full second behind his nearest rival in the world championship, Ben Bostrom.

The Californian, who was first and second at Misano last month, is riding at his home track and was joined at the top of Friday's times by his brother Eric.

But Hodgson has consistently come from down the field when it comes to today's one-lap shoot-out and has parked himself on the front row in the last two rounds.

"So far everything is coming together well," said Hodgson, who is sixth in the championship," he said.

"I really enjoy riding at Laguna Seca. Yesterday, we were setting the bike up - finding the right suspension, gearing and tyre combination, so we can improve on our lap times and aim to put the perfect lap together for Superpole."

The GSE rider was also boosted by the performance of his young team-mate, James Toseland, who was 10th fastest.

Troy Bayliss, who is stretching his lead at the top of the championship, was in third place on his Ducati.