Three-time and defending Champion Josh Hayes topped provisional qualifying Friday at Mid-Ohio to secure the provision AMA Pro National Guard Superbike pole position. Hayes’ teammate Josh Herrin grabbed the top spot with a lap of 1:26.316 in the final 10 minutes of the session, but Hayes responded with a lap of 1:25.986 on his Monster Energy Yamaha YZF-R1 to claim the top spot in the session. Herrin went faster with a 1:26.218 but ended up second-best. Jordan Suzuki’s Danny Eslick caught a tow off of Hayes in the final four minutes and was able to record a time of 1:26.222 on his GSX-R1000 to finish third-fastest. Eslick’s teammate Roger Hayden claimed the final spot on the provisional front with a lap of 1:26.272 on his National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas (1:26.859), KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore (1:27.135), Team Hero EBR’s Geoff May (1:27.580) and Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Yamaha’s Larry Pegram (1:27.661) earned spots on the provisional second row. Team AMSOIL/Hero EBR’s Aaron Yates (1:27.817) and Motosport.com/Motul/Fly Racing’s “Aussie Dave” Anthony (1:28.005) rounded out the top 10 riders in provisional Qualifying. The final qualifying session for the AMA Pro National Guard Superbike class takes place Saturday morning and the first of two races for the class happens Saturday afternoon. Buckeye SuperBike Weekend/GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio July 12, 2013 Provisional Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.986 2. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.218 3. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.222 4. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.272 5. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.859 6. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), 1:27.135 7. Geoff May (EBR 1190RS), 1:27.580 8. Larry Pegram (Yam YZF-R1), 1:27.661 9. Aaron Yates (EBR 1190RS), 1:27.817 10. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.005 11. Taylor Knapp (KTM RC8R), 1:28.339 12. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:28.657 13. Dustin Dominguez (EBR 1190RS), 1:28.920 14. Cory West (EBR 1190RS), 1:29.017 15. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.184 16. Huntley Nash (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:29.978 17. Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.077 18. Ryan Kerr (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.255 19. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.917 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Hayes Earns Provisional Pole At Mid-Ohio; Teammate Herrin Second Lexington, OH – July 12, 2013 – Continuing his rapid climb to the top of the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Championship standings, Josh Hayes–the three-time defending title holder and rider of the #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1–was the fastest rider on the track in Friday’s first qualifying session at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which netted the Mississippi Madman the provisional pole. Meanwhile, his teammate and rider of the #2 R1, Josh Herrin also ran fast laps on the 2.4-mile, 15-turn natural road course and put himself right next to Hayes on the provisional starting grid. After earning the provisional pole, Josh Hayes said, “It’s been a decent day for us. The DSB guys were breaking track records, and we’re a little bit off that (in the SuperBike class), but it’s going well. I was out there trying to get in as many laps as possible and keep putting that Dunlop rubber down. Everything felt good out there. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s final Q session and, of course, the race.” Josh Herrin said, “I was really excited that I was in first for a while, and I did that time on a used front and new rear. We put on a new front, but it didn’t seem to help me go any faster. I’m hoping to improve my laptimes tomorrow morning, but it seems like this track needs heat in it, to go fast. If it’s cooler in the morning, that may not help. I felt really good out there today. I think the training that I’m doing with Greg Direnzo is helping me. It’s giving me a lot of confidence to go faster earlier in the weekend.” Final qualifying for SuperBike is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:40 AM EST, and Race 1 will go green later tomorrow at 3:00 PM EST. 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 Geiger Media on behalf of Erik Buell Racing: AMSOIL EBR riders making solid progress at Buckeye SuperBike Weekend LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 12) – AMSOIL’s riders in the National Guard SuperBike class got the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire off to a solid start Friday after Geoff May put his EBR into the seventh spot and Aaron Yates is provisionally ninth. May’s Team Hero/AMSOIL EBR ran a best lap of 1 minute, 27.580 seconds, and he said the team will continue to peck away at the bike to go faster before Saturday’s racing gets under way. “We’re still fine-tuning the motorcycle,” May said. “I’d like to be in the top five, so we’ve got a little bit of work to do. We came out of here with a fifth-place finish, so that’s something I’d like to repeat.” May’s team has been working on improving the geometry of the bike to help it keep up with the constantly changing track. “We’re also working on the optimum setting for the rear shock,” May said. “This place is an anomaly. The grip level keeps coming up constantly. It’s kind of like a dirt track with the way the ‘blue groove’ gets laid in. So every time we go out the track has more grip, and we’re trying to stay in front of that.” Yates, who ran a best lap of 1:27.817 on his AMSOIL/Hero EBR, was working with a completely different setup than his teammate, but the previously untested configuration shows real promise. “Every time I am riding the bike, I’m making big changes,” Yates said. “We’re changing around the geometry, the injection system, and are really trying to make this stuff work at the racetrack. “We’re not getting a lot of testing time, and the guys have been doing a lot of good development work at the shop. Ultimately you’ve got to get the thing running right on the race course.” Yates said despite all the changes he has been impressed with the way both halves of the team have been progressing. “The thing is coming around great,” Yates said. “Every change we make seems to push the bike forward. Geoff is really riding his bike well and getting around the track quickly. My guys have been doing an outstanding job. “The goal is to get my bike comfortable so I can push (the envelope) the way I want. We’re getting closer to that every time we get on the track.” The second SuperBike qualifying session will get under way at 9:40 a.m. EDT on Saturday with Race 1 rolling off at 3 p.m. The second race of the weekend starts at 3 p.m. on Sunday. CBS Sports Network will broadcast the races starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 12, 2013) – AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike champ Josh Hayes continued his perfect record in 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing qualifying sessions today to open the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Hayes actually found himself in the unfamiliar position of chasing the leader with less than ten minutes remaining in the session, but the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha ace threw down a 1:25.986 lap to lay claim to provisional pole. Despite the unusually stiff resistance, everything went pretty much to plan on Friday according to the Mississippian. After qualifying Hayes said, “No complaints — it’s been a decent day… The 600 guys are breaking their own track records; we’re still a little bit off of that. I’m feeling pretty good though. “I got in a good string of laps — right close to race to race distance — at the beginning of qualifying. It’s our fourth race of the year but I still feel a little out of practice, so I just kept doing laps. I didn’t really know what I would change on the motorcycle so I decided to stay out and use the opportunity to do as many laps as possible. I was trying to come up with some good marks, be repetitive, and put in a good string of laps. I think did 10-12 laps all within three or four tenths, so that was good. I feel good on the bike and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin was the man Hayes had to overcome to put his name atop the leaderboards. The SuperBike sophomore’s strong Friday pace bodes well for the weekend ahead as the developing star is more accustomed to playing catch-up after getting slow starts in FP1 and QP1. Herrin actually had to claw his way back into second after holding down first minutes earlier. After Hayes knocked him down off the top of the charts, Jordan Suzuki’s resurgent Danny Eslick stole second from Herrin, sneaking in a quick lap while running on Hayes’ heels. Herrin countered in short order, lowering his time to a 1:26.218 to edge ahead of the Oklahoman’s 1:26.222. Meanwhile, National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden also demonstrated promising pace on the opening day of action. The Kentuckian ran in second over the session’s first half before ultimately winding up as the final man on the provisional front row, just 0.05 seconds behind his Michael Jordan Motorsports teammate. Big things are expected from Hayden this weekend, who came up a combined 0.466 seconds of taking two wins last time out at Barber Motorsports Park, led momentarily on the final lap at Mid-Ohio one year ago, and beat Hayes to the checkered flag here two years back to earn his first-career AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike podium. Points leader Martin Cardenas was fifth quick on Friday aboard the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Colombian was followed by Chris Fillmore, another rider under the spotlight this weekend at Mid-Ohio due to his impressive premier class debut aboard the KTM/HMC Racing KTM RC8R at the roller-coastering circuit in 2011. Team Hero EBR’s Geoff May and Ohio-native Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing Yamaha) completed the provisional second row with Team AMSOIL/Hero EBR ‘s Aaron Yates and Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing’s David Anthony rounding out the Friday top ten. Hayes will now look to lock down his 26th career AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike pole position tomorrow morning ahead of his quest to score a 38th career SuperBike race. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Cameron Beaubier earned provisional pole in the AMA Pro Go Pro Daytona SportBike class on Friday. Beaubier, winner of four of the five 2013 series races, was able to outdistance his rivals by a surprising margin of 1.379. Beaubier broke the track record in the progress. “I think I just have a little confidence and I’m rolling from the last round. I felt really good at Barber and just came here and tried to pick up where we left off. My bike’s been awesome,” said the Californian. “We have some things to work on for tomorrow morning but we’re in good shape for the race.” Beaubier and the Yamaha Extended Services/Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha team might have been out in front by a wide margin, but a close group of riders followed. Less than half a second separated the next six pilots. Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff was second on the day, followed by JD Beach of RoadRace Factory/Red Bull. Meen Motorsports’ Jake Lewis rounded out the provisional front row. Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing) was fifth, backing up his resurgent performance in Alabama. Jake Gagne was largely recovered from his Barber crash but the Road America race winner was sixth on Friday. National Guard /Celtic Racing’s James RIspoli earmned seventh spot. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Miles Thornton earned provisional pole in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-SuperStore.com SuperSport class on Friday. CTR Racing’s Thornton topped Tomas Puerta (RoadRace Factory) Hayden Gillim (Team 95) and Travis Wyman (Harv’s HD) on the provisional front row. Thornton has been competitive in the class and also qualified on the front row at Barber. “Every round is getting better and better. The top ten is nice but I am ready to get that win,” said Thornton. “I think this weekend could be it. I’ve trained very hard this month. My confidence is at its peak.” Thornton was 0.262 faster than Puerta around the 15-turn course on Friday in pleasant weather conditions. The top seven riders were separated by a little more than a second, with 2013 winners Stefano Mesa of Motosport.com RSRacecraft and National Guard Celtic Racing’s Corey Alexander on the provisional second row. TV Broadcast Schedule This weekend’s GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular. The coverage will begin Saturday, July 13 at 1:30 p.m. ET/ 10:30 a.m. PT with the weekend Preview Show, followed by AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Race 1 at 2:00 p.m. ET/ 11:00 a.m PT and then LIVE coverage of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET/ 12:00 noon PT. Televised coverage of the event will pick back up on Sunday, July 14 at 2:00 p.m. ET/ 11:00 a.m. PT with GoPro Daytona SportBike Race 2 and will conclude with a LIVE broadcast of National Guard SuperBike Race 2 at 3:00 p.m. ET/ 12:00 noon PT. Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder at http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder. Live Streaming Schedule In addition to the live 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. Streaming will begin with coverage of the weekend’s practice and qualifying sessions on Friday, July 12 at 11:00 a.m. ET/8:00 a.m. PT at http://www.amaprolive.com. High Definition streaming of National Guard SuperBike Final Qualifying will begin on Saturday, July 13 at 9:40 a.m. ET/6:40 a.m. PT. Social Media Channels All weekend long, stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing. Tickets Tickets for this weekend’s Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire start at just $30 and are available for purchase on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course website at http://www.midohio.com/Schedule/Buckeye-Superbike-Weekend-2013. 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 LTD Racing: NASH AND NEYRA RACING SHOW PROMISE IN OPENING MID-OHIO SESSIONS Lexington, Ohio (July 12, 2013) – Huntley Nash opened the Mid-Ohio AMA Pro Superbike round in proper fashion on Friday, putting in solid laps on the Neyra Racing Kawasaki ZX-10. It was the best opening day yet in Nash’s brief three-event Superbike career as the young racer built upon the momentum of his previous experiences on the quick Neyra Racing machine. “We started out okay, but the plan is still to improve on Saturday like we did at Barber and cut some more time off the laps,” said LTD Racing’s Nash. “We’re starting out closer and that’s a good thing. The Neyra Racing team has done a great job of preparing the bikes and I continue to learn each time out. We are going to make some changes for tomorrow. The bike really likes to wheelie around this track. We’ll see what we can do in final qualifying and the races. We’re all trying our best to keep getting faster as we develop the bike.” Nash was 14th in the morning session and went quicker in the afternoon, breaking into the 1:29-range. Huntley, who had never raced a Superbike before last month’s AMA Pro round at Road America, was able to get 47 laps in during the two sessions. The SuperSport race winner will have another shot to better his time in final qualifying before this weekend’s two AMA Pro Superbike races. Huntley’s goal for the weekend is to improve on the 13th place finish he earned at Elkhart Lake, a tough task for the 21-year old in America’s premier roadracing class. Tomorrow’s race is scheduled for 3 PM local time. More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer PR: Steady Progress For Chris Ulrich And M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing At Mid-Ohio Team Hammer opened the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Mid-Ohio with a promising opening day in both the AMA Pro Superbike and Daytona SportBike categories. M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing’s Chris Ulrich continued to build upon the recent progress he and his crew had made with the squad’s Honda CBR1000RR Superbike on an idyllic Friday at the undulating circuit. The Californian lopped nearly two seconds off his free practice time in qualifying to post a best effort of 1:28.657, good enough for 12th and just a few 10ths away from a spot in the provisional top 10. Ulrich said, “Today is positive — it’s probably the best Friday we’ve had all year. Six 10ths would put us several positions up so we’re sniffing the second row. We want to be closer and our goal here is to be closer than we were at Barber and Road America. “It’s all positive things — we’re chugging along here. It’s still not the best situation in terms of electronics but we’re making strides with the chassis and learning things every day. We’re also learning every day with the electronics and we’re working to improve our situation. We came with another configuration on the engine braking here and we’re looking to clean that up. We’re doing what we can and the big positive is that we’re the closest we’ve been on a Friday all year and that’s a good thing.” Dane Westby entered the Mid-Ohio weekend with history on his side. The Oklahoman has charged to victory at the circuit the last two times the AMA Pro series has visited the venue and he’s hoping to make that three in a row this weekend. Westby got off to a convincing start in the morning practice, guiding his GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing Honda CBR600RR to the second-fastest lap of the free session. But despite upping his pace as the track came in the afternoon, Westby found himself caught out as the conditions changed more than he was expected and he was relegated to ninth provisionally with a qualifying best of 1:31.088. Westby was followed immediately on the time charts by M4 Broaster Chicken Racing’s Benny Solis, who made it two Team Hammer pilots in the Friday top-10. The teenager ranked 10th on the day at 1:31.324. Broaster Chicken/MPH Racing’s Melissa Paris got her weekend off to a nice start as well, ending the day in 17th at 1:33.781 aboard her Team Hammer Contract Services-prepared Honda CBR600RR. On Saturday morning the Team Hammer riders will claim their final grid positions before turning their attention to the weekend’s opening races in the afternoon. About Team Hammer: In 2013, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 33rd consecutive racing season, and is marking its seventh year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on Team Hammer-prepared racebikes have earned 56 AMA Pro National race wins; 132 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 5 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships and assorted other race wins and titles.