Three-time and defending GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Champion Josh Hayes had a bittersweet day Friday at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Hayes dominated the first practice session with a time that was 1.2 seconds faster than anyone else. Then in the provisional qualifying session, Hayes broke Tommy Hayden’s 2010 lap record of 1:20.624 with a time of 1:20.536, giving him the provisional pole position. But at the very end of qualifying Hayes suffered a crashed that destroyed one of his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbikes. “It was the last lap of qualifying,” Hayes told Roadracingworld.com. “Coming out of Turn One Josh [Herrin] sat up in front of me and stuck his leg out. I was trying to figure out what he was going to do, but I watched him a little too long and dropped a wheel off the edge of the track and crashed. You know how we use the chicane at Turn Three? Well, I crashed straight down the section of track that we don’t use and I destroyed my bike.” Hayes, who is currently third in the Championship point standings, 16 points out of the lead, was uninjured in the incident, he said. Herrin, the current Championship point leader and Hayes’ teammate, was second-best in the session with a time of 1:21.192. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, who is second in the Championship point standings, led the session with 20 minutes to go with a 1:21.463 on his GSX-R1000. But the Colombian rider went no faster and slipped down to third by the end of the session. Roger Hayden earned the final spot on the provisional front row with a 1:21.517 on his National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000. New Jersey Lottery Devil’s Showdown/GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey September 13, 2013 Provisional Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:20.536, crash 2. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 1:21.192 3. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:21.463 4. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:21.517 5. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:21.778 6. Geoff May (EBR 1190RS), 1:21.882 7. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), 1:22.178 8. Taylor Knapp (KTM RC8R), 1:22.433 9. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:22.584 10. Larry Pegram (Yam YZF-R1), 1:22.678 11. Aaron Yates (EBR 1190RS), 1:23.268, crash 12. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:23.330 13. Huntley Nash (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:24.012 14. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:24.139 15. Cory West (EBR 1190RS), 1:24.521 16. Ryan Kerr (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.399 Hayes Throws Down At The Showdown As Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Champ Breaks Track Record In Friday Provisional Qualifying At New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, NJ – September 13, 2013 – In the first on-track salvo at New Jersey Motorsports Park, three-time defending AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes made a strong statement by breaking the track record during today’s provisional qualifying. Meanwhile, current Championship points leader and Hayes’ Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin was the second-fastest rider on the track. After the opening qualifying session, Hayes said, “It’s been a pretty good day for the most part. We’re heading in the right direction, and I’m having fun riding the motorcycle. I’m glad to be back on my Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1 after the break, and I really like riding on this track.” Herrin said, “We tried a tire in the beginning, and it just wasn’t working for me. So, we changed that, and it made a huge difference. Towards the end of the session, I was finally able to put some fast laps together, but not quite enough to catch Josh (Hayes). Tomorrow morning, we’ll start out (final qualifying) with the setup I ended today’s session with, and we should be in good shape. I’m glad that I have another session to improve my laps.” Tomorrow morning’s final SuperBike qualifying session will begin at 9:40 AM ET, and SuperBike Race 1 from Miller Motorsports Park will go green at 3 PM ET. For more news, results, and other team info, be sure to check out Yamaha’s Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @YamahaMotorUSA. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: NASH QUICK IN NEW JERSEY’S OPENING AMA PRO SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING SESSION MILLVILLE, NJ (September 13, 2013) — Huntley Nash went faster than he ever has at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Friday as the young racer continued to show the potential of the Neyra Racing Superbike program, a new team looking to make a splash in the world of AMA Pro Superbike. Nash was up to spped quickly after the team opted to develop their bike away from the track instead of racing at the last two AMA Pro events. “I was really surprised how quick we were after not racing the last two rounds. I thought it might make some time for us to work up to speed but we seemed to pick right up were we left off,” said LTD Racing’s Nash, who switched to the Superbike program full time in 2013 after a successful race at Road America. “I was never in the ‘25s at New Jersey but once maybe on a 600, so I was happy to be going a second and a half faster than I have usually gone around here almost immediately.” Nash was timed at 1:24.012 in the afternoon session, good for 13th provisionally as he continued to make in roads on the powerful Kawasaki. “The bike works a lot better out of the box than it did at Mid-Ohio. I am starting to get the hang of riding the bike how it needs to be ridden. It seems to respond to point-and-shoot riding, which is fine with me. The bike is really powerful and the team has done a great job of improving the bike, even though our full electronics package isn’t ready yet.” Nash’s goal for the weekend is to close out his season with a high mark. “I’m hoping to get my best result, hopefully a top ten,” said Nash. “It was a promising day for us.” More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: The Devil Made Him Do It: Josh Hayes On AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Provisional Pole Despite Crash On Friday at New Jersey Motorsports Park MILLVILLE, N.J. (September 13, 2013) – Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Josh Hayes is attempting to make GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing history by becoming the first rider to claim four consecutive AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike titles. An outstanding performance in this weekend’s New Jersey Lottery Devil’s Showdown doubleheader is absolutely crucial towards those aims as Hayes — who is currently ranked third, 16 points back of the title lead — needs to conclude the season in nearly perfect fashion to ensure that he accomplishes that monumental achievement. Fortunately for Hayes, he’s been pretty much unbeatable at New Jersey Motorsports Park as long as the track has been on the schedule. He’s scored seven of the eight National Guard SuperBike wins at the venue prior to this year’s visit with the sole exception being a clutch runner-up ride in the 2011 season finale to lock down a narrow championship victory. The Mississippian provided further evidence of his NJMP mastery today, pacing the opening free practice by well over a second and then establishing a new lap record in qualifying. Hayes broke the three-year-old mark of one-time archrival Tommy Hayden, slicing under the Kentuckian’s existing time of 1:20.624 with a quick lap of 1:20.536 on Friday afternoon. But the day ended with a tough break for Hayes, who crashed in turn two on the last lap of qualifying. Hayes was fine, although his motorcycle needed some attention. After the session, Hayes said, “For the most part, it’s been a pretty good day. Things have clicked off well; the first session was pretty fast compared to last year, and it feels like everything is pretty much heading in the right direction and I’m having fun riding the motorcycle.” Hayes then described his record lap, stating, “I felt like I had pretty good grip all the way around the racetrack. I had fresh tires and everything happened like it’s supposed to. There wasn’t anything spectacular about it. The area I got over better than I expected was Turn 2, and the rest of it I just felt like I put my best pieces together. I did it smooth, no mistakes, hit my marks, and put in a pretty clean lap.” Asked to explain his NJMP expertise, Hayes admitted, “To be honest, I don’t know why. I don’t feel like I’m particularly good at any one part of the racetrack. I feel like my best section is getting on the front straightaway, which I guess is the fastest turn on the track, so I guess if you get that right it usually pays some dividends in your favor a little bit, but it’s not like I’ve made passes between there and the finish line to get the wins. Typically, I’ve been able to have a pretty good pace. I really don’t know what it is — it just seems to suit me well.” Title leader Josh Herrin was second best on the day, circulating at 1:21.192, just a tick less than seven tenths back of Hayes. The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider has a history of slow starts on Fridays but tends to pick up pace as the weekend progresses. Friday’s P2 start represents a promising opening day for the championship hopeful despite the healthy gap separating first from second. Meanwhile, the current points race runner-up, Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Martin Cardenas, put the three primary title contenders in the top three today with a best time of 1:21.463. The Colombian actually held down the top spot for an extended period during the middle of Friday’s qualifying session before the Yamaha runners stepped up their pace late. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden and his Michael Jordan Motorsports teammate, Danny Eslick, rounded out the provisional top five. Hayden was just .054 seconds back of Cardenas at 1:21.517 and stood as the last man on the lead second. Eslick wasn’t too far removed from that mark, just 1.242 seconds off Hayes’ record pace with a time of 1:21.778. Team Hero EBR’s Geoff May was relegated to sixth in the late shuffle but factored heavily during the session. The Georgia native ranked near the top of the charts deep into qualifying and wound up just another tenth in arrears at 1:21.882. Eslick and May are joined on the provisional second row by KTM/HMC Racing teammates Chris Fillmore (1:22.178) and Taylor Knapp (1:22.433), while Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing’s David Anthony (1:22.584) and Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram (1:22.678) complete the Friday top ten. On Saturday, Hayes will attempt to extend his season-long run of pole positions ahead of the afternoon’s critical 23-lap National Guard SuperBike contest. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Cameron Beaubier broke the New Jersey Motorsports Park lap record on the way to provisional pole in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike on Friday. The Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy.Graves/Yamaha pilot could clinch the series championship tomorrow after winning nine races in 2013, but he is more concerned with going fast after his first crash of the season slowed him in the first session. “Towards the end of practice, we went out with five minutes to go and the second lap I crashed in the second corner, which was a bummer,” sad Beaubier. “My team did an awesome job fixing my ‘A bike’ so that was really cool. I put in some really good laps and felt really consistent. I did some low ’22s, which I was really happy about. We found a good setting with the soft tire. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out tomorrow — I think the temp is going to be a little cooler so I don’t think we’re going to be able to run that for the race.” Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff was second, having led late. Gerloff, a Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport winner at New Jersey, topped Meen Motorsports’ Jake Lewis and Bobby Fong of D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph. Provisional row two consists of RoadRace Factory/Red Bull’s Jake Gagne, National Guard Celtic Racing’s James Rispoli, JD Beach on the second RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha, and former DAYTONA 200 winner Joey Pascarella on the Riders Discount Racing Triumph. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport National Guard Celtic Racing’s Corey Alexander got off to a great start in defending his AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport East points lead as he was quickest in the opening qualifying practice. The Californian topped recently crowned 2013 Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West and Overall National champ Tomas Puerta (RoadRace Factory) in the final minutes. “I think this will be a good weekend for us. We’ll give it all we’ve got for the championship; it’s me and Hayden (Gillim) and there’s a few other guys I’m a little bit worried about but mostly just Hayden,” said Alexander. “As for the race, we’ll just see what happens. SuperSport is so unpredictable, you really don’t know what’s going to happen — who’s going to crash, what bike is going to break. Hopefully our stuff is good, our stuff is set and don’t have any more mechanicals like Miller.” Gillim was third on his Team 95 Yamaha, bettering fellow championship hopeful Stefano Mesa (Motosport.com RSRacecraft). Veteran Jeffrey Tigert (Baby Appleseed CM Motorsports) heads provisional row two, with young rider Travis Wyman (Harv’s H-D) and fast local rider Alex Shaw (Mob Racing) close on his tail. TOBC pilot Nick McFadden was eighth. For tickets to GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing’s Round 8 at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 13-15, 2013, please visit http://store.njmp.com/store/category/9/69/AMA-SUPERBIKE/ or call 856-327-8000. How to Catch the Action This weekend’s GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular. This weekend’s coverage consists of four straight hours of programming on September 15, including LIVE broadcasts of Sunday’s AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike and GoPro Daytona SportBike finals. The four-hour block will begin on Sunday, September 15 at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT. Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder at http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder. In addition to the race broadcasts on CBS Sports Network, AMA Pro Live will be live streaming multiple channels of behind-the-scenes video of the weekend’s activities alongside Live Timing & Scoring. AMA Pro Live puts fans in the director’s chair, allowing them to choose from a variety of viewpoints including track cameras, paddock cameras and a press conference channel at http://www.amaprolive.com/rr/. Stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing. About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing: GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The 2013 schedule consists of nine rounds of competition on the country’s finest road courses. The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of AMSOIL: May looking to put AMSOIL EBR on front row in New Jersey MILLVILLE, N.J. (Sept. 13) – After qualifying a provisional sixth on Friday, Team Hero/AMSOIL EBR rider Geoff May can’t wait to sink his teeth into Saturday’s second National Guard SuperBike qualifier at the New Jersey Lottery Devil’s Showdown, which is this weekend’s stop in the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series. “I didn’t get to put in a true qualifying lap today,” May said. “I went out with eight minutes to go after putting fresh rubber on it. When I was trying to make a fast lap, a guy went down in front of me and then Josh Hayes went down in the middle of the track and messed up two laps in a row. After that, I tried to go strong and lost the front. Nothing came together at the end like it should have. “I think we ran a really good pace and we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings.” May’s best lap came in 1 minute, 21.882 seconds, only .4-second off the pace of the third-quickest bike in the field. “We’re doing the best we’ve done all season,” May said. “We’ve got the best shot at a good result here so far. All the hard work and adjustments we’ve made are paying off. We got better and better all day today and there’s no reason to think we won’t continue that trend tomorrow. “We came in here with a really good baseline and plan to just keep building on it.” May’s teammate Aaron Yates had a more difficult day. He qualified a provisional 11th with a best lap of 1:23.268 but had to go to his backup bike after suffering a tip-over late in the qualifying session. “We thought we had something going pretty good but got off the bike,” Yates said. “I slowed down a little trying to get some clear track, then I took off. I don’t know if the tire got a little cool on the left side, but it’s pretty bumpy through that section of the track. “I went into a corner, lost the front, and slid off the bike. Luckily we didn’t tear up anything too badly and I didn’t get hurt.” Despite some major differences in setup on the two bikes, Yates found a silver lining after getting on his backup ride. “It’s the first time I’ve been on that bike in a long time,” Yates said. “It has a totally different setup; engine, power characteristics, it’s just way different. I actually went a little bit quicker on that bike than I did on my A bike. “I think we learned something. We’ll make some changes to my A bike and go back at it in the morning.” The second qualifier begins at 9:40 a.m. EDT on Saturday from New Jersey Motorsports Park. Race 1 of the weekend will start at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Race 2 will be at 4 p.m. on Sunday. CBS Sports Network will air Race 1 at 2 p.m. EDT on Sunday and Race 2 live at 4 p.m.