Barber SunTrust MOTO-ST 500K Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama July 19, 2008 Qualifying Results (all on Pirelli tires): 1. Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing (Shawn Higbee/Mike Smith), Buell 1125R, SuperSport Twins, 1:32.040 2. Touring Sport Ducati 75 (Ryan Gordon/Ryan Elleby/Frank Shockley), Ducati 848, SuperSport Twins, 1:32.313 3. Aprilia USA 1/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports (Ty Howard/Mike Himmelsbach/Zac Chapman), Aprilia RSV1000, SuperSport Twins, 1:33.035 4. Aprilia USA 6/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports (Henry Wiles/Zac Chapman/Ty Howard), Aprilia RSV1000, SuperSport Twins, 1:33.354 5. CrozierMotorsports.com (Mark Crozier/Nathan Dressman), Ducati 848, SuperSport Twins, 1:33.951 6. National Precious Metals (Marco Martinez/Calvin Martinez), Ducati 848, SuperSport Twins, 1:35.145 7. Rightsforbikers.com (Justin Filice/Armando Ferrer/Rodolfo Ramirez), Ducati PS1000LE, Grand Sport Twins, 1:35.536 8. Team Hooters Aprilia (Andy Deatherage/Ben Carlson/Mike Luke), Aprilia RSV1000, SuperSport Twins, 1:35.615 9. Touring Sport Ducati 77 (Pete Friedland/Brad Phillips/Frank Shockley), Ducati PS1000LE, Grand Sport Twins, 1:36.792 10. M4 AVTEQ Racing 66 (Dane Westby/Kyle Martin/Russell Wikle), Suzuki SV650, Sport Twins, 1:36.994 More, from a press release issued by MOTO-ST: > Higbee fastest in SunTrust MOTO-ST qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (July 19, 2008) Shawn Higbee earned his second consecutive SunTrust MOTO-ST Series pole position on Saturday morning, when he posted the fastest time during qualifying in advance of Sunday’s Barber 500K at Barber Motorsports Park. The Oconomowoc, Wis. racer converted his ‘Destination Daytona Pole Award’ into a Buell Motorcycle Company Super Sport Twins (SST) class victory in early June at the MOTO-ST event in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and is hoping for a repeat performance on Sunday at the scenic Barber circuit, located near Birmingham, Ala. Higbee’s No. 8 Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing Buell 1125R lapped the 17-turn, 2.38-mile road course in 1 minute and 32.040 seconds, at an average speed of 89.960 mph. The effort was more than a quarter of a second better than that of second-fastest qualifier, Ryan Gordon of Clemson, S.C., whose No. 75 Touring Sport Ducati 848 posted a lap of 1:32.313 (89.694 mph). Saturday’s schedule consisted of a 90-minute practice session, which was immediately followed by a 10-minute break and the 20-minute qualifying session. Higbee was pleased with the result and with the way his team tweaked the No. 8 Buell during the limited track time. “Our practice time was cut a little short because we came in and swapped shocks on the bike. We wanted to come in and make some changes,” said Higbee, who took part in an AMA race at Barber several years ago. “I think tire conservation is going to be a big part of the race; it’s so hot that the track is really hard on tires. The bike is oversteering a bit right now, so we might make some changes to try to improve it”¦ or else we’ll be out there flat-tracking it.” Asked about the significance of starting up front on Sunday, Higbee deadpanned, “It’s just a pole position, but hopefully it’s a good indication of how things will go in the race tomorrow. It’s going to be interesting. We feel like we’ve got a bit of momentum going after our win at Road America.” On Sunday, Higbee will be teamed with Mike Smith of Canton, Ga. Ryan Gordon will start Sunday’s Barber 500K from the second position. The No. 75 Touring Sport Ducati team earned runner-up finishes in the season’s first two races (at Daytona and Virginia) and are hoping to get back on form following a fourth-place showing in Round 3 at Road America. Gordon is teamed with Ryan Elleby (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Frank Shockley (Greenville, S.C.). Ty Howard of Weatherford, Texas will line up third on Sunday on the No. 1 Aprilia USA / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Aprilia Tuono 1000R. Howard is pleased with his spot considering today’s practice and qualifying sessions were the first time this particular bike has been pushed to the limit on the racetrack. “We struggled out there a little bit; we don’t quite have the right setup yet,” said Howard, whose team enters the weekend as the series’ points leader on the strength of wins in the first two rounds. “With just one practice session and the time split between two riders [teammate Mike Himmelsbach of Quakertown, Pennsylvania] it makes it hard to get the setup dialed in. Going into qualifying we weren’t sure about how fast our setup was”¦ and it wasn’t. We just worked through it and it’s also the first time this bike has really been ridden at race pace, so we know we have some stuff to do for tomorrow.” The No. 6 Aprilia USA / Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Aprilia Tuono 1000R will start fourth on Sunday (ridden by Zac Chapman of Weatherford, Texas and Henry Wiles of Blanchard, Mich.) in front of the No. 55 Crozier Motorsports Ducati 848 (ridden by Mark Crozier of Fort Valley, Ga. and Nathan Dressman of Clarkston, Mich.). Leading the way in BMW GrandSport Twins (GST) class qualifying on Saturday was Justin Filice on the No. 59 RightsForBikers.com Ducati PS 1000LE. The Modesto, Calif. racer lapped the Barber circuit in a time of 1:35.536 (86.668 mph), which was seventh fastest overall of the 25 teams (in the three divisions) that took to the track during qualifying. Filice set his fast time on the team’s 10th and final qualifying lap of the session. “On that last lap, I was behind one of the ST bikes and my tires were starting to go off and get a little slippery, so I backed it off a little. Then one of the ST bikes went around me and I said, ‘I’ll give it another shot,’ and followed him around for a little bit and ended up clicking off a [one minute and] 35.5. My team didn’t even tell me until I came into the pits.” Filice feels comfortable heading into Sunday’s Barber 500K. “I’m riding with Armando Ferrer and Rodolfo Ramirez. They both did a great job today, getting down into the [one minute and] 37s, I believe. I think we’re going to be very competitive tomorrow. I’m going to start and try to get a little bit of a gap. The plan is for them to maintain and I’ll ride the last 40 minutes or so.” The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati PS 1000LE (ridden by Pete Friedland of Columbia, S.C., Brad Phillips of Greer, S.C. and Frank Shockley of Greenville, S.C.) was second fastest of the GST teams during qualifying, ahead of the No. 23 Motocorse Bimota DB5 of Chris Boy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Greg Melka (Tampa, Fla.) and Kevin Mendez (Davie, Fla.). The No. 66 M4 AVTEQ Suzuki SV650 was the class of the field in the Sport Twins (ST) division during qualifying. Rider Dane Westby of Tulsa, Okla. toured the Barber circuit in 1:36.994 (85.366 mph). Westby heads into Sunday’s feature race with an open mind, in terms of strategy. “I’m not really sure what our plan is; I’m just getting on it and riding it until they tell me to get off.” The points-leading No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650 of Jimmy Filice (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Jay Springsteen (Lapeer, Mich.) were the next-fastest of the ST qualifiers, timing in at 1:38.432 (84.119 mph). Behind them were the No. 67 M4 AVTEQ Suzuki SV650 of Ryan O’Donnell (Dallas, Texas) and Russ Wikle (Huntsville, Ala.). The Barber 500K gets the green flag at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning. The race is scheduled for two hours and thirty minutes. The SunTrust MOTO-ST Series is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com.