8th Annual Summit Point Cyclefest Michelin Pro Series Qualifying Summit Point, WV May 24, 2009 The forecast was for possible thunderstorms at the 8th Annual Summit Point Cyclefest but the only rumble came from the ThunderBikes as they took their shot at Michelin Pro Series qualifying today. With former champion and current point leader Dan Bilansky, last year’s Cyclefest winner Bryan Bemisderfer and defending series champion Nate Kern on hand, it was a perfect storm when the class rolled out for its one qualifying session. First it was Kern on the BMW who sat on the provisional pole with a 1:18.521, then Bilansky pushed his Buell to the pole position, but Bemisderfer trumped them all with his knowledge of the Summit Point Circuit on the fourth lap with a 1:17.983. Bemisderfer, sponsored by Harley Davidson of Frederick, took the pole by .534 seconds on his Buell XB12 over Kern on the big BMW. Jeff Wood, the four time champion in the Michelin Pro Series SuperBike and Factory Pro Series SportBike, showed both fields why he is the man to beat in the series. From the first lap to the last lap of the qualifying sessions, Wood was consistently fastest and showed no sign of letting up. In Factory Pro SportBike, Wood’s 1:14.227 aboard his Bettencourt’s Kawasaki was .4 seconds quicker than Jason Palmer’s Shenandoah Honda sponsored R-6. The Michelin Pro Series SuperBike pole wasn’t really even close, as Wood posted a 1:13.617 to capture another pole point while Palmer stayed in second, but 1.4 seconds back of the defending champion. The SuperStock class continues to be the hardest to predict. With three different winners in the first three events, it’s still anyone’s guess who will move into the championship favorite position, and qualifying didn’t make it any clearer. The top four riders were only .04 seconds apart, with Arnold Hastings capturing his first Michelin Pro Series Pole with a 1:15.857 on his SMI Signs Suzuki 750, followed by Antal Halasz on a Suzuki 1000, Summit Point veteran Tim Bemisderfer on his Jeff Atwell Racing Kawasaki and Terry Taylor on his Suzuki 750. Hastings, a former CCS Mid-Atlantic Champion, was pleased with the result but knows he has his work cut out for him trying to keep the talented trio of Halasz, Bemisderfer and Taylor behind him in tomorrow’s final. For more information and complete qualifying results, please visit us at www.asraracing.com .