Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin was only seventh-fastest as he tried to set up his brand new 2009-model GSX-R1000 during AMA Pro American Superbike “basic” qualifying Friday afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park, but the six-time class Champion put his head down during the Superpole session and claimed his fourth consecutive pole position of the season and the 59th of his legendary career with a 1:25.652. “We went around the ballpark today,” Mladin told reporters. “The morning session felt pretty good. Then we tried a bunch of stuff [in basic qualifying], the sort of stuff we would do normally to the old bike and also the Superbike from last year, and this bike didn’t like it. So we came back to what we had this morning, and we have a direction now. So tomorrow morning hopefully we’ll get some dry track time and keep heading in the same direction.” Mladin said the difference in feeling between the 2008-model and the 2009-model GSX-R1000 is the greatest between any two generations of GSX-Rs he has ridden. “The bike feels pretty good right now,” he pointed out. “It’s not bad. I mean, there’s obviously a lot more to come out of the motorbike. The lap times are not exactly super fast, two seconds a lap slower than last year. We should not be two seconds a lap slower at this racetrack. I think there’s a lot more to come from the motorbike.” Mladin’s teammate Blake Young was fastest in basic qualifying with a 1:25.769 and backed that speed up in Superpole with a 1:25.827, which earned him the second spot on the front row, his best American Superbike qualifying result to date. National Guard Suzuki’s Geoff May said a rear end slide may have slowed him a couple of 10ths of a second, but overall he was happy with his Superpole lap (1:26.253) and his new 2009 GSX-R1000. Noting how difficult it is to jump on a Superbike and rip off a single fast lap, Josh Hayes said he was pleased that he went faster on his factory Yamaha YZF-R1 during his Superpole lap (1:26.317) than he had during basic qualifying (1:26.540). The top 10 grid positions were locked in during Friday’s Superpole session. The remainder of the grid will be set during Saturday morning’s “final” qualifying session. AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama May 1, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.652 2. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.827 3. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.253 4. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.317 5. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.586 6. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.679 7. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), 1:26.774 8. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:27.072 9. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:27.260 10. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:27.882 More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports: NATIONAL GUARD JORDAN SUZUKI ON THE FRONT ROW AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 2, 2009) In his first race on the new 2009 GSX-R 1000, Michael Jordan Motorsports rider Geoff May placed his #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki on the front row Friday at Birmingham’s Barber Motorsports Park. May, from nearby Gainseville GA, continues his impressive start to the 2009 campaign and has now put his #54 Suzuki on the front row for the third straight round. Basic Qualifying for Aaron Yates of the #23 Jordan Suzuki team proved interesting. With 4 minutes left in the session, Yates was on his hot lap and well on his way to a top eight, when two-thirds of the way through the lap, the red flag was displayed. As Yates was navigating around the track, Canadian geese made their way onto the racing surface and the session was cut short. As a result, the Milledgeville, GA resident finished the session in P12 and is looking to improve upon that position during Saturday’s Final Qualifying. Geoff May 3rd 1:26.253 – National Guard Jordan Suzuki #54 “Anytime you’re on the front row with these guys, you’re doing well,” May said. “I had a relatively clean lap and it felt like where we were in practice this morning. I had a little moment down there in Turn 2, right before the rise. I got a little cocky with it, thinking, ‘Oh man, this thing is gripping good!’ Then, right about that time, I had a big, almost high, side down at the bottom of the hill. I just tried to stay in it and salvage what was left of the lap. We’re happy. We’re in third and the race is what matters, so we’ll see tomorrow.” Aaron Yates – 12th 1:27.208 – Jordan Suzuki #23 “We had some trouble today getting the bike dialed in and making it turn,” said Yates. “It’s really important at this track to have a bike that turns well and we’ve been working on figuring out the new 2009 all day. We’re going to make some changes and we’ll get it going tomorrow. We’ll be there.”