It's crunch time and the weather doesn't get much better than this!

It is real lap record conditions and after Bayliss went quicker than even KRJR's race record lap OF 1:32.7, the way things are shaping today, Max Biaggi's 500cc qualifying lap record of 1:31.9 is under threat.

One Superbike time that has been overlooked, however, is Troy Corser's 1999 Superpole lap record of 1:32.193 and it may not be Bayliss that breaks it as many here are expecting.

The Texan Tornado (Colin Edwards II) went round Phillip Island faster than he has ever has before when he set the second fastest time (1:33.064) yesterday. But he was balked with a yellow flag at the critical ultra-fast Turn One after backmaker Yann Gyger (counter) went face-down.

"We were point four down on Bayliss," explained Edwards' guru Adrian Gorst, "but we lost point four in the first split with a bike down at Turn One, and then he held is own in the second two splits, so basically he could've done what Bayliss done, that's our feeling because he lost it all in the first (turn). He said he had to tip-toe through there, and got on it after that."

With all the who-haa that goes on about fastest lap and such, to put it in perspective speak to a techo and not a rider as Gorst explains, "You've gotta remember here, it ain't about who can go quickest on a qualifier, this place, your fastest lap will always be miles quicker than a race time because of the fact that to get a race tire to last 25 laps around here you're not going to have the sort of grip that your qualifiers have got.

"Around the top part of the circuit is where it builds all the heat and you're on the side of the tire for a very long time probably half an kilometer."

So, for Gorst and the Castrol Honda team, Superpole is also not the be-all-and-end-all. "What we generally aim for is to be on the front row. Superpole is risk, you're putting it all on the line for one lap. Our main aim is just to make sure we're on the front row, we're not worried if we're not quickest, we just want to be on the front row. Sure it's nice to be quickest but there is no point in taking too much risk and throwing it down the road."