Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies earned his second consecutive AMA Superbike pole position during final qualifying Saturday morning at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. Riding his Tom Houseworth-tuned GSX-R1000 with a rear Dunlop qualifying tire, Spies’ lapped the 2.3-mile, 21-turn infield road course in 1:22.939, faster than the 1:23.374 he did during qualifying Friday and another new lap record. Spies’ teammate Mat Mladin, the six-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion, improved on his qualifying time Saturday, 1:23.287 versus 1:23.613 on Friday, but was unable to go faster than Spies due in part to a mistake he said he made on his fastest lap. The 1:23.956 Jake Zemke turned on his American Honda CBR1000RR during Friday afternoon’s qualifying session held up for the third-fastest time and Zemke’s first front row qualifying effort since 2005. Aaron Yates, the third Yoshimura Suzuki rider, earned the final spot on the front row with a 1:24.118 in Saturday’s qualifying session. Row two of the grid for both Superbike races at California Speedway will include: Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson (1:24.321), Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden (1:24.417), Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel (1:24.430) and Hodgson’s teammate Ben Bostrom (1:24.514). The highest non-factory and non-Dunlop qualifier was Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda’s Larry Pegram, who turned a ninth-fastest 1:25.118 on his Michelin-shod CBR1000RR. Of the 33 riders who attempted to qualify for the AMA Superbike races at California Speedway, only 25 turned a lap time within 108% of Spies’ pole position time, the qualifying cut-off. AMA Superbike Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 29 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:22.939 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:23.287 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:23.957 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:24.118 5. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06) 1:24.321 6. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:24.417 7. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:24.430 8. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06) 1:24.514 9. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:25.118 10. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.270 11. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.421 12. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.477 13. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:25.600 14. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.064 15. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.250 16. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:26.845 17. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R1) 1:27.052 18. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.079 19. Doug Chandler (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:27.170 20. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:27.239 21. Mark Ledesma (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:27.780 22. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:28.856 23. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.138 24. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.319 25. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:29.536 108% of Fast Time: 1:29.574 Did Not Qualify: 26. Mark Simon (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:30.535 27. Marco Martinez (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:30.601 28. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.137 29. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:31.556 30. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR) 1:32.065 31. Ricardo Sune Falcon (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:32.376 32. David Lambert (Kaw ZX-10R) 1:32.455 33. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000) 1:33.441
Spies Takes Second Consecutive AMA Superbike Pole Position, Lap Record At California Speedway
Spies Takes Second Consecutive AMA Superbike Pole Position, Lap Record At California Speedway
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