Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Beth Wyse

John Haner set a new track record at No Problem Raceway in Belle Rose, Louisiana, during Saturday qualifying for the Grand Bayou Festival of Speed, an independent racing event produced by the Church of Speed. Haner ran a 1:12.926 in the first half of Heavyweight Expert qualifying on his Suzuki GSX-R750.

After getting a late start, the day’s schedule was further delayed when a rider crashed on cold tires exiting pit lane during the first Expert practice. The rider was initially unconscious, and an airlift was called in, but he was awake by the time he was transported.

In Heavyweight Expert qualifying, Haner’s record lap time put him on the pole. Vincent Haskovec was second-fastest with a time of 1:14.006, but he crashed his AMA Superstock Suzuki GSX-R750 and ended the qualifying session with a red flag. Haskovec was uninjured, but will have to race on his Superbike-spec GSX-R750.

Greg Moore, who is running his first race as an Expert this weekend, qualified third in Heavyweight with a time of 1:14.409 on his Suzuki GSX-R750.

In Middleweight Expert, Moore took the pole on his Suzuki GSX-R600 with a lap time of 1:15.196. Haner was second on a Yamaha YZF-R6, running a 1:15.461, while Dave Ebber ran a 1:16.816 on a Suzuki GSX-R600 to qualify third.

Bradley Champion ran a quick time of 1:16.193 on a Suzuki SV650 to take the pole in Lightweight Superbike. The Lightweight field consisted of only six qualifiers. Martin Musil, another new Expert, was second-fastest with a time of 1:18.632. Chris Normand qualified third with a lap time of 1:20.169. Musil and Normand were also on Suzuki SV650s.

The races on Sunday will consist of 20-lap Expert and Novice races for Lightweight, Middleweight and Heavyweight classes. There will also be a second Expert Heavyweight race that is 25 laps in length and has a slightly higher payout than the other races.