Two-time and defending AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Josh Hayes took pole position during a qualifying session held in challenging weather conditions Thursday afternoon at Miller Motorsports Park. It started raining shortly after the start of the 60-minute qualifying session, which allowed a handful of riders to put in a fairly quick time while the 4.486-mile track was still relatively dry. The rain continued until the track was completely wet, forcing all of the riders to come in and re-evaluate their tire choice. Some riders went back out on a variety of treaded tires, but the rain stopped and the track dried out very quickly. Riders then changed back to their dry-weather tires for the final 25 minutes of the session. When the dust settled, Hayes had earned his second pole position of the season thanks to a new lap record of 2:52.777 on his Dunlop-shod Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR. “The way I thought it would play out would be whoever got the last lap on the racetrack was gonna be the guy who went fastest because of changing conditions,” Hayes told reporters. “The wind’s picked up. The track was drying out. I thought it was going to be more of an issue with the track drying out. “We got together one good lap and two not-so-good laps. I thought Jake [Zemke] would have a real good shot at us, and it sounds like it was more to do with the clock than anything like who was capable of going fast. Luck was on my side for once.” Hayes’ teammate Jake Zemke, the current Championship point leader, actually put in a faster lap of 2:52.4, but it was ruled that Zemke did not start his lap before the checkered flag came out and the time was disallowed. Zemke ended up qualifying second with a 2:53.176. Steve Rapp lost half of his qualifying session to a technical problem that stranded him and his Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R out on track. The former Daytona 200 winner got himself and his Kawasaki back to the pits in time to get his problem sorted out, get back out on track and make the third-fastest lap, a 2:53.413. Rapp’s teammate Chaz Davies qualified fourth with a 2:53.488. AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah May 29, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results (4.5-mile course, dry-wet-dry conditions): 1. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 2:52.777 2. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 2:53.176 3. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 2:53.413 4. Chaz Davies (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 2:53.488 5. Larry Pegram (Duc 848), Pirelli, 2:56.480 6. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 2:56.570 7. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 2:56.855 8. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 2:57.266 9. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 2:57.596 10. Nicky Moore (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 2:58.624 11. Garrett Carter (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 2:58.894 12. Chad Herrmann (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 2:59.433 13. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 3:00.404 14. Shane Narbonne (Tri Daytona 675), Dunlop, 3:01.589 15. Jonathan Lawrence (Yam YZF-R6), 3:01.875 16. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 3:02.098 17. Brad Hendry (Tri Daytona 675), 3:02.348 18. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 3:03.304 19. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, 3:03.465 20. Matthew Green (Duc 749R), 3:04.358 21. J.B. Layman (Yam YZF-R6), 3:04.449 22. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 3:05.243 23. Ricky Orlando (Kaw ZX-6R), 3:05.555 24. Scott Decker (Suz GSX-R600), 3:08.305 25. Steven Davidsen (Suz GSX-R600), 3:08.961 26. Jesse Sherstan (Yam YZF-R6), 3:09.782 27. David Siminski (Hon CBR600RR), 3:10.092 28. Jeff Brown (Yam YZF-R6), 3:10.143 29. Scott Schwanbeck (Duc 749R), 3:10.503 30. Misti Hurst (Kaw ZX-6R), 3:10.763 31. Craig Mason (Yam YZF-R6), 3:11.631 32. Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6), 3:13.161 33. Kevin Boisvert (Yam YZF-R6), 3:14.310 More, from a press release issued by Miller Motorsports Park: Hayes Takes AMA Formula Xtreme Pole as Action Kicks Off At Miller Motorsports Park TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH (May 29, 2008) Taking pole for tomorrow’s AMA Formula Xtreme Championship race at Miller Motorsports Park, Erion Honda Racing’s Josh Hayes came away with the biggest prize on day one of the HANNspree Superbike Championship® StriVectin-SD® USA Round and Honda Summit of Speed AMA Superbike Championship weekend. The defending series champion and 10-time class winner topped the lap charts with a 2:52.777 run around Miller Motorsports Park’s 4.5-mile Full Course, on which all AMA classes will compete. This time is nearly a minute longer than last year’s pole performance on the 3.0-mile Outer Course. Hayes’ teammate, Jake Zemke, who is riding a three-race win streak and holds the points lead, qualified second at 2:53.177. The Attack Kawasaki duo of Steve Rapp and Chaz Davies filled out the front row. In other notable news, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing rider Jamie Hacking was fastest in this morning’s AMA Superbike Championship practice. This marks the first time this year that a non-Suzuki rider has posted fastest time in any session. In afternoon practice, things went back to normal, as Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ben Spies topped teammate Mat Mladin by stopping the clocks with a lap time of 2:47.037. The AMA Superbike Championship, America’s premier road race series, is sharing the facility with the HANNspree Superbike World Championship. On-track action will continue tomorrow with AMA Superbike, Supersport and Superstock practice preceding the first HANNspree Superbike World Championship practice at 10:30. The first race of the weekend, round five of the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship, is scheduled to kick off at 4:55 pm. The HANNspree Superbike World Championship® StriVectin-SD® USA Round and Honda Summit of Speed AMA Superbike Championship weekend is the biggest event ever staged at Miller Motorsports Park, and may well be the biggest international sporting event in the State of Utah since the 2002 Winter Olympics. The Superbike World Championship races will be broadcast live on 95 television networks to 173 countries and an estimated television audience of 120 million. Advance ticket sales have already exceeded any other event in the track’s history. The event will be four days of on-track action, plus a myriad of off-track entertainment for fans including stunt bikes, freestyle motocross exhibitions, live bands, helicopter rides and sky diving. For more information on the HANNspree Superbike World Championship, visit the series website at www.WorldSBK.com. For more information on the AMA Superbike Championship, visit their website at www.AMASuperbike.com. For event or facility information, or to purchase tickets, call (435) 277-RACE (7223) or visit www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Rome, GA At Miller Motorsport Park’s biggest big track, Pirelli riders Steve Rapp and Chaz Davies earned front-row starting positions for Friday’s Formula Xtreme race. Located just south of the shores of the Great Salt Lake in the Beehive State of Utah, Miller’s longest layout measures out to 4.486 miles, making it the longest closed-course racetrack in America. Rapp and Davies logged in at just tenths of a second from pole winner Josh Hayes, showing that Friday’s race will be a close contest for these Attack Kawasaki teammates. Right with Rapp and Davies were Larry Pegram and Cory West qualifying in FX on row two, Pegram for Leo Vince/Foremost Insurance Ducati and West for M4 EMGO Suzuki. Also in the top ten for Friday’s FX competition are Michael Barnes and Nicky Moore, Barnes filling in for the injured Martin Cardenas for M4 EMGO Suzuki, and Moore on his Moto-Uno Kawasaki. The Morning AMA Supersport practice saw Steve Rapp with a time that was barely .600 from the leading number, giving him the third quickest time of the session. Rapp was followed closely by his teammate Chaz Davies with the fifth best time of first practice. Also in the top ten in Supersport practice on Pirelli’s were M4 EMGO Suzuki teammates Blake Young and Cory West, with the eighth and ninth best times, respectively. Supersport qualifying commences Saturday morning at 8:30. David Anthony led Pirelli riders in the opening Superstock practice, posting the fourth hottest lap, with Robertino Pietri fifth quickest on a Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. Team owner and teammate to Pietri, Chris Ulrich, was seventh fastest on his GSX-R1000 with Ryan Elleby tight on his tail with the eighth best time, and Blake Young on the M4 EMGO Suzuki rounding out the top nine, giving Pirelli Superbike Slicks five of the top-nine times for the Superstock session. Superstock qualifying takes place Friday at 11:40 am. At Miller’s uniquely combined AMA Superbike/World Superbike event, the SBK teams do not take to the track until Friday. Also of note is that the AMA races will be held on Miller’s the longest layout while SBK is using the outer loop, measuring at 3.048 miles. Pirelli Tire North America specializes in the manufacture and marketing of high-performance tires for passenger vehicles, motorcycles and motorsports. An industry leader in technology and quality, Pirelli operates its highly advanced Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) in Rome, Georgia, to better serve the North American OEM and Replacement markets. For more information please visit: www.us.pirelli.com. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: RAIN INTERRUPTS UTAH PRACTICE FOR TEAM M4 EMGO SUZUKI Team M4 EMGO Suzuki opened the combined AMA/World Superbike race weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT on Thursday. The first of four days at MMP was impacted by brief rain showers that greeted and closed the day, but despite the difficult conditions Cory West came away with a second row grid position for Friday’s Formula Xtreme final. Rain hit the area shortly after the FX qualifying session began and prior to West posting a quick time, leaving the Arkansas native stranded well down the charts. However, the rain stopped halfway through and the track quickly dried, allowing him to clock a 2:56.570 lap time around the 4.5-mile circuit late the session aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600, jumping all the way up to sixth in the end. West was nearly joined on the second row by Michael Barnes, who qualified ninth fastest at 2:57.596. The morning Superstock session was also affected by wet conditions. Blake Young managed to post the ninth best time at 2:56.292 despite only logging a few laps before calling it a day on his GSX-R1000 and turning his attention to the Supersport session. Young led the way in the Supersport class for the team, ending the practice eighth fastest at 2:56.182. West was ninth at 2:56.255 followed by Barnes in 17th at 2:58.479. Young said, “I only made like two or three laps in Superstock before making the early decision to come in due to the conditions. If I would have stayed out I probably could have went faster with the rest of the guys at the end but figured I’d get to see the track again in Supersport. “Later in the day I walked around the track and watched the Superbike guys to see what they were doing a little bit different and learned as much as I could. I hope the conditions are good tomorrow morning so we can set some times and get the bike set up a little bit better. “In Supersport we hooked up with some guys and got a decent draft on the straightaway and ended up with a pretty good trap speed. Our lap time was a 1:56.1 and obviously the guys went a little quicker today so we need to find more time tomorrow. If the conditions work out and we get a little more comfortable on the bike I’m sure we can.” On Friday Young will qualify for Saturday’s Superstock final and then West and Barnes will tackle the afternoon’s 9-lap, 60k Formula Xtreme race.