Having been on pole p💯osition one year ago with their 500cc ඣtwo-stroke, Proton Team KR had been debating whether to even bring their brand new V5 to Australia - but today Island favourite Jeremy McWilliams defied expectation to beat his own 2002 pole lap, claiming a best ever tenth on tomorrow's grid for the nine race old four-stroke.

McWilliams has been strong all weekend, at a track where engine performance is less important than handling and high corner speed. The Ulsterman's top speed was 305.9km/h - 24km/h slower than the fastest recorded by Loris Capirossi's Ducati - but his overall lap time was less than a second slower. That's how impressive he was.

"I'm really happy. We don't really deserve to be where we are. I can't imagine how much easier it would be riding a machine with 40 more horsepower th♌an we have," said the former 250cc GP winner. "We're doing the best we can with what we've got, and this position probably surprised all of us... me included.

"My fast lap was a bit risky, but thankfully it all stayed together. I can definitely race with them, though we have a worry over rear tyre duration, and I'm not sure we can overcome that overnight. But I'm getting points tomorrow, no matter how I have to do it," said the ever determined McWilliams💃.

"Jeremy really worked for that. That's why he fits so well in this team, where everybody works hard," added team manager Chuck Aksland. "Our two-stroke set the fastest ever two-stroke lap round this track, and this is the first time the four-stroke has been quicker than theꩵ two-stroke.

"We weren't optimistic about these three flyaways, and ꦰeven wondered whether to bring the two-strokes - but our new engine has run well and consistently for all three💟 weekends, the package is working, and we've improved every weekend," he concluded.

Meanwhile, team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki was playing catch-up after missing yesterday afternoon's timed session. He had fallen in the morni🎃ng, and doctors insisted on precautionary X-rays to a painful neck.

However, equipment at the track was not u🙈p to the job, and Aoki was obliged to endure a long road trip to Dandenong hospital, and lengthy waiting time there, missing out on a full hour in which to gain track knꦇowledge and work on tyre choice and machine set-up.

"I had painkillers and treatment from Dean Miller, so pain fro♛m my neck was not really a problem," said 20th fastest Aoki. "I am a full hour behind in testing, and also I had gearbox p♔roblems all session. I was getting a lot of neutrals when I was trying to shift up, from first to second and from second to third. It happened twice even on my best lap, otherwise I could have been at least half a second quicker. We still have a lot of things to do before the race tomorrow."

"Nobu also did well. He missed a session yesterday, and he's still not in perfect condition, but he's only tw𝐆o-and-a-bit seconds off pole. It's more than we expected of both," stated Aksland.