Yamaha factory rider Josh Hayes claimed his second AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike pole position of the 2009 season with a Superpole win Friday at VIRginia International Raceway. Hayes was the fastest rider in the Basic Qualifying session with a 1:24.788 on his YZF-R1, and even though he didn’t match that time on his single Superpole lap the 1:25.014 he turned was good enough to claim the top spot. Six-time AMA American Superbike Champion Mat Mladin did match his Basic Qualifying performance in Superpole, but the 1:25.103 he recorded on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000K9 was only good enough for second best. National Guard Suzuki’s Geoff May was the only rider to go faster in Superpole (1:25.721) than he did in Basic Qualifying (1:25.744) and ended up third on the front row. Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates earned the final spot on the front row with a time of 1:26.127 on his GSX-R1000. Larry Pegram, the double race winner at the last round at Heartland Park Topeka, finished fifth in Superpole with a 1:26.391 on his Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R. Corona Extra Honda’s Neil Hodgson said his injured shoulder was less of a hindrance than it has been in races past, leading him to place sixth in Superpole on his CBR1000RR. Mladin’s teammate Blake Young moved up from 10th in Basic Qualifying to seventh on the grid with a 1:26.654 in Superpole. Privateer racer Jeff Wood made a strong debut in AMA American Superbike Superpole competition, posting the eighth-quickest time (1:26.783) on his Higgins Powersports/Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000K8. Tommy Hayden, Mladin’s other teammate, was not happy with his Superpole performance, a 1:26.825 that netted him ninth on the grid. Hodgson’s teammate Jake Holden said he struggled with bike set-up Friday, including in Superpole, resulting in a lap of 1:26.980, which placed him 10th out of the 10 riders in the competition. Hayes’ teammate Ben Bostrom (1:26.356) was 12th in Basic Qualifying, behind Ridersdiscount.com’s Taylor Knapp (1:26.326), and failed to make it into Superpole. AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Presented by Parts Unlimited VIRginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 14, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.014 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.103 3. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.720 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.126 5. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), 1:26.391 6. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:26.431 7. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.654 8. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:26.783 9. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.825 10. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:26.981 More, from a press release issued by Pegram Racing: TOP FIVE FOR PEGRAM IN VIRGINIA SUPERPOLE Alton, VA (Aug 14, 2009) — Foremost Insurance Pegram Ducati’s Larry Pegram barely missed the front row in Superpole at Virginia International Raceway on Friday, earning fifth-best in the one-lap shootout qualifying format. Pegram’s best lap was just 0.05 behind the fourth starting position in the AMA Pro American Superbike race at the 2.25-mile circuit. Larry, who won pole at Kansas, was disappointed he did not make the front row again. “It’s a problem we’ve had before this year in that I made a little mistake in Superpole,” said Larry. “We lost some time and it cost us the front row but we’re still excited about our chances this weekend. We’d been fighting for grip all weekend and we got the bike better for Superpole, but that little mistake cost us. We’ll come back tomorrow morning and try to keep improving. We’ll look to get a good start in the race and fight with the lead group and hopefully for the win. We’ve done well lately and I’ll do my best to give a good result to all the Ducati fans here at the track.” Saturday’s race begins at 3:00PM local time, with same-day television coverage on Speed. For more information on Team Foremost Pegram Racing please visit www.pegramracing.com. To learn more about Ducati’s line of racing inspired motorcycles and the 1098R that Larry piloted to victory at Road America and Kansas, please visit www.ducatiusa.com. More, from a press release issued by Team Higgins Powersports/Roadracingworld.com: Higgins Powersports / Roadracingworld.com’s Jeff Wood makes his debut AMA Superpole appearance and puts his 2008 Suzuki on the second row at Virginia International Raceway Higgins Powersports / Roadracingworld.com’s Jeff Wood makes his debut AMA Superpole appearance and puts his 2008 Suzuki on the second row at Virginia International Raceway Team Higgins Powersports / Roadracingworld.com’s Jeff Wood gave fans something to talk about Friday at Virginia International Raceway by out-qualifying multiple factory superbikes in only his fourth AMA Pro Racing appearance over the past two years. Wood, battling a severe top speed disadvantage (16th fastest trap speed), did so by capturing a spot inside the prestigious Superpole session that took place late Friday afternoon at VIR. The Northeast-based rider set an impressive time of 1:26.102 during Basic Qualifying on his 2008 Superstock-spec bike which had him in third position for the early part of the session, eventually finishing eighth overall. That eighth overall Basic Qualifying time meant Wood would be taking part in his first ever Superpole session, limited to the top ten riders from Basic Qualifying. In Superpole, each rider is given one-flying lap to set their best laptime. That laptime then determines the starting position for those ten select riders in Round 10’s feature National Guard American Superbike races. As a Superpole rookie Wood wasn’t quite sure what to expect during his run and went for the conservative strategy, which may have hampered his final split more than was intended. Regardless Wood put a solid lap together and placed his Higgins Powersports / Roadracingworld.com Suzuki on the second row and set a AMA Superbike-career best 8th place starting position for Saturday and Sunday’s races. After Superpole Wood’s motorcycle was randomly selected by the AMA (along with three others) for a post-session dyno run where the true privateer machine came in at 167hp. Jeff Wood – 8th 1:26.783 “Definitely can’t complain about starting from the second row at the AMA National” said Wood. “I really wasn’t sure what to expect during Superpole and honestly was just pretty stroked to make it in. Based off our times earlier today I knew we were doing okay and I just wanted to get the bike home in one piece and get ready for tomorrow’s races. I think I left a few tenths out there in that last split but again we’re still on the second row and ahead of a few of the factory guys so that’s cool. I know those guys are going to come out swinging tomorrow morning however and it’s going to be a battle ever lap of the race. Come race time the plan is to get a good start, hammer out 23 laps, and we’ll see what happens.” About Jeff Wood: Jeff Wood is a second-generation roadracer based out of the New England region. From 2005 to 2008 Jeff won an astounding and unprecedented 11 National American Sportbike Racing Association (ASRA) Championship titles and is current National #1 plate holder for the Championship Cup Series (CCS). Wood is also the co-owner of the Penguin Roadracing School, the United States’ oldest motorcycle roadracing school. For more information on Jeff Wood please visit: ~http://www.facebook.com/jeff.wood.racing~