Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies turned the fastest time during a 20-minute practice session Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but Spies’ time of 1:29.848 was about four seconds slower than he did during practice Friday due to the track still having damp patches. Overnight and morning rain showers left the Mid-Ohio track wet Saturday morning. As soon as the rain ended, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Mid-Ohio staff started working to dry the 2.4-mile road course. AMA Pro Racing officials, meanwhile, issued a revised schedule, including short warm-ups for Superbike and Formula Xtreme, followed by three Superbike qualifying heat races, the Formula Xtreme race, the Superbike Last Chance Qualifier heat race and Superstock timed qualifying. The revised schedule called for the warm-ups to start at 1:00 p.m. That start time came and went as track staff continued to dry the track, with AMA riders occasionally going out on course in Mid-Ohio vehicles to check on the progress. At 1:15 p.m., Spies’ teammate Mat Mladin inspected the track and said it would take another 60 minutes to dry. At 1:30 p.m., Aaron Yates inspected the track and told AMA Road Race Series Manager Keith Kizer that it would take another 45 minutes to dry the track “at the current rate it’s drying,” he later recalled to Roadracingworld.com. Kizer then informed Yates that they would be sending the Superbikes out in five minutes because, “the motorcycles generate more heat and will dry the line faster than cars,” according to Yates. Shortly after Kizer’s and Yates’ conversation, Superbikes were called out for practice, and at 1:45 p.m. motorcycles began trickling out on a track that had several damp patches. Other than a few inconsequential rain drops and a mechanical failure that sidelined John Haner, the session rain without incident. Spies turned the fastest time on his last lap of the session, then told Roadracingworld.com, “It was pretty scary out there. I lost the front over a damp patch on the back straightaway right when I clicked into sixth gear one time.” “The track’s not dry,” said Mladin, when asked about the session. “If the track’s not dry we can’t race.” “It was a little bit sketchy,” said American Honda’s Jake Zemke. “The track was so cold and green, and my bike was moving around a lot. There was water seeping up out of cracks, and the back straight had some damp spots. And on a Superbike that’s not very fun to see. We’re spinning through there in the dry. It was about the worst conditions you could probably try to ride in.” At the conclusion of the Superbike warm-up, a brief rain shower completely dampened the track again, sending AMA race team scrambling back to their garages and transporters. Even though it took nearly four hours to dry the track for the short Superbike practice Saturday afternoon, Mid-Ohio staff began working to dry the track again at 3:10 p.m. local time. Sunset is forecast for 7:14 p.m. Saturday evening, leaving less than four hours to dry the track and run any events. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio September 30, 2006 Provisional Practice Times: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.848 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.158 3. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), 1:30.554 4. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:31.075 5. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:31.227 6. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:31.562 7. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:31.802 8. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), 1:31.995 9. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.365 10. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.365 11. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.373 12. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.396 13. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.491 14. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:33.312 15. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:33.795 16. Matt McBride (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:34.236 17. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:34.585 18. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:34.723 19. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:35.174 20. Michael Sanchez (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:35.332 21. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:35.332 22. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:37.273 23. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:37.961 24. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.041 More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati: BEN BOSTROM THIRD QUICKEST AT WET MID-OHIO Lexington (Ohio) 30 September 2006: In a day marred by rain and track delays, Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Ben Bostrom was third quickest in the only 15 minutes of AMA Superbike track time on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Although the scheduled heat races were postponed until Sunday morning, Bostrom and teammate Neil Hodgson managed to get a few laps of practice on their Ducati 999 Superbikes. Bostrom led much of the practice that was delayed by rain and ended as another shower entered the Mansfield, Ohio area. “Those laps were just us testing some front tires, really,” said Bostrom whose best lap was timed at 1:30.554. “We switched tires and that was the end of the session. We learned the track here is slick when it’s cold. I thought it was safe enough to ride until it rained again. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow but there really isn’t much to comment on today.” Neil Hodgson also lapped during the shortened session. “It was slippery out there for sure, in the few laps we got out there,” said Hodgson who was eighth at 1:31.995. “It started to rain again and that was the end of the session. I like to ride in the wet usually but the AMA won’t race in the rain at this track. We’re looking forward to clear weather tomorrow.” The day will begin with a Superbike warm-up, followed by the three heat races beginning at 10:15 AM local time. The 26-lap AMA Superbike season finale begins at 4:15 PM local time.