Ben Spies earned his seventh AMA Superbike pole position of the season during qualifying Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexington, Ohio. In spite of the track offering less grip due to overnight rains, Spies was able to lower the lap record he set during provisional qualifying Friday (1:24.222) to a new best lap of 1:24.140 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike. Spies’ teammate and rival Mat Mladin was once again second-best Saturday morning, but his 1:24.549 did not eclipse the 1:24.493 he turned Friday afternoon. Mladin told reporters he didn’t think he was capable of beating the time Spies turned Friday and instead used his Saturday morning session to work on his race set-up and to practice starts, an inconsistent part of his racecraft at the moment. Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom was able to improve his time Saturday morning to a 1:24.972 on his factory YZF-R1, moving the Californian up to third on the grid, but on Bostrom’s last lap he hit some suspected fluid on the track in the Keyhole and crashed. Bostrom appeared to be uninjured in the fall but was very upset with the situation, especially considering his teammate Jason DiSalvo had crashed in exactly the same spot only seconds prior. In addition to Bostrom’s and DiSalvo’s falls, Miguel Duhamel also crashed during the session, continuing an unusual number of crashes during the weekend. Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates earned the last spot on the front row, his 1:25.030 from Friday good enough to hold his spot. Yates said there was not enough of his preferred front tires available, had no choice but to ride on something different Saturday morning and was not able to go any faster. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking did not go faster Saturday morning and his 1:25.078 got bumped to the second row, fifth. Joining Hacking on the second row will be American Honda’s Jake Zemke, DiSalvo and Duhamel. Hacking’s teammate Roger Hayden went quicker Saturday morning but not quick enough to improve and will start from row three. Fast By Ferracci MV Agusta’s Matt Lynn shaved his time enough to move up to 10th overall in the provisional qualifying results. 2007 AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 4, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:24.139 (Saturday) 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:24.493 (Friday) 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:24.973, crash (Saturday) 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:25.030 (Friday) 5. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:25.078 (Friday) 6. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:25.262 (Friday) 7. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:25.265, crash (Saturday) 8. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:25.495, crash (Saturday) 9. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:25.522 (Saturday) 10. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, 1:25.803 (Saturday) 11. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:25.905 12. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:26.014 13. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:26.099* 14. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:26.335* 15. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:26.453* 16. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, 1:26.716 17. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:27.474* 18. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:27.620 19. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:27.794* 20. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.826* 21. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.856* 22. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.944 23. Gary Mason (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:28.396* 24. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:28.695* 25. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:30.095 26. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.251 27. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.537 28. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:30.841 29. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:30.871 108% of Fast Time; 1:30.871 30. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.119 * known to be on a Superstock-spec machine