Three-time and defending AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Champion Josh Hayes earned provisional pole position during qualifying Friday at the Triumph Superbike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park. Hayes, riding his Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha YZF-R1, did a lap of 1:25.889 in the hot afternoon session, and the lap time and the qualifying position surprised the Mississippi native. “I was a little surprised I was fastest today,” Hayes told reporters. “I didn’t feel like I was getting around the racetrack that well. I just found a good spot on the racetrack [and] did some good clean laps with a little bit of a carrot in front of me. I’m glad I was able to put it together. Rog [Hayden] and Martin [Cardenas] and Larry [Pegram], they’re all riding pretty well. I thought that today would be one of their days and I would focus more on racing and tomorrow. “I started the session on a used tire and got race distance on that, came in, started over with a new tire, was able to get some fast laps in, and I continued putting in good laps on that tire. So I feel pretty good about what we have to race with, and we’re going to continue to try to see if we can make a few improvements and see if we can make the bike a little easier to ride without sacrificing the speed that we have. I don’t know that we’re necessarily looking for a lot more speed, just see if we can make the bike a little easier to wrestle around here for 21 laps.” Martin Cardenas, the current Championship point leader, was the best of the rest, recording a time of 1:25.984 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Roger Hayden was fastest in the morning practice session but ended up third in provisional qualifying with a 1:26.026 on his National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. Hayden’s teammate Danny Eslick ended up fourth in provisional qualifying with a time of 1:26.851 on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. Triumph SuperBike Classic/GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama June 21, 2013 Provisional Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.889 2. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.984 3. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.026 4. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.851 5. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 1:27.296 6. Larry Pegram (Yam YZF-R1), 1:27.307 7. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), 1:27.381 8. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.537 9. Taylor Knapp (KTM RC8R), 1:27.735 10. Aaron Yates (EBR 1190RS), 1:27.842 11. Dustin Dominguez (EBR 1190RS), 1:27.918 12. Geoff May (EBR 1190RS), 1:28.083 13. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:28.509 14. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.554 15. Cory West (EBR 1190RS), 1:28.739 16. Nico Ferreira (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:29.508 17. Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.797 18. Reese Wacker (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.833 19. Huntley Nash (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.331 20. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.907 21. Ryan Kerr (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.986 22. Justin Neyra (Kaw ZX-10R), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Hayes Earns Provisional Pole In Friday Qualifying At Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, AL June 21, 2013 – With points to make up in the 2013 AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Championship, Josh Hayes–the three-time defending title holder and rider of the #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1–got to work quickly at Barber Motorsports Park and put himself on the provisional pole in Friday’s first qualifying session. Meanwhile, his teammate and rider of the #2 R1 Josh Herrin improved his laptimes from the morning’s practice and is currently fifth on the grid. He’s looking forward to improving even more in tomorrow’s final qualifying. After provisional qualifying, Josh Hayes said, “I started the session on a used tire, and I was working to make the bike a little bit easier to ride. I didn’t really feel like I went a whole lot faster than in practice, so it felt pretty effortless, which is a good thing. My Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha crew always gives me a good bike to start the weekend with, so we usually come off the truck already in good shape. We made some adjustments after practice, and those few clicks here and there really helped me in this first qualifying.” Commenting on his provisional qualifying session, Josh Herrin said, “We rode our backup bike in this morning’s practice, and we tried running the same shock as last year for most of that session. We also ran a race simulation on the tire. And then, in the provisional qualifying, the first intent was to go out and get a good time in. On the last two laps, we put on a new tire to try to move up, but we got held up a little bit. Tomorrow morning, track temperatures will be cooler, so the laptimes should drop for everybody. Obviously, tomorrow will be all about doing fast laps and moving up on the starting grid.” Final qualifying for SuperBike is scheduled for tomorrow at 9:40 AM CST, and Race 1 will go green later tomorrow at 3:00 PM CST. MEET THE YAMAHA U.S. ROAD RACERS TONIGHT AT BIG #1 MOTORSPORTS After Friday’s first day of on-track action at Barber Motorsports Park, head over to Big #1 Motorsports at 505 Cobb Street in Homewood, AL. Beginning at 6:30 PM, Josh Hayes, Josh Herrin, Cameron Beaubier, and Garrett Gerloff–along with Meen Motorsports Yamaha R6 riders Jake Lewis and Wyatt Farris–will be there to sign posters and memorabilia, greet fans, and share a few other surprises. In previous years, the Yamaha riders have traditionally participated in the annual Friday Night Track Walk at Barber Motorsports Park, and they regret having to miss the event this year, but they had a prior commitment with Big #1 Motorsports, and they hope to see you tonight at Big #1. For more news, results, and other team info, be sure to check out Yamaha’s Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @YamahaMotorUSA. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 21, 2013) – Friday’s AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike provisional qualifying for the Triumph SuperBike Classic presented by America’s First Federal Credit Union may have delivered a familiar result, but a closer inspection shows how fragile the status quo could be this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes boasts an unblemished qualifying session record so far this GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season and he extended that streak today. However, he did so narrowly, lapping just 0.095 and 0.137 seconds quicker than Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) and Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki), respectively. Moreover, earlier in the day, Hayden actually snapped Hayes’ run of topping every National Guard SuperBike practice session by setting the pace in the Friday free practice. Still fighting his way back from the championship deficit that resulted from a pair of Daytona DNFs, Hayes could brighten his prospects for a record-setting fourth consecutive National Guard SuperBike title considerably with another perfect points haul weekend. However, the form of title leader Cardenas, Hayden, and others suggest that the Mississippian is going to have to work for it this weekend. Hayes’ best lap of 1:25.889 was a touch slower than his provisional time of a year ago (1:25.696). The champ expects to improve on Saturday and has proven time-and-time again his ability to maintain his pace for the entire race distance, which frequently proves the decisive factor, especially at hot and physical circuits like Barber Motorsports Park. “It was, I guess, a better session than I expected,” Hayes admitted. “With the added heat of the afternoon, I thought it would be pretty tough for us to get into the ’25s. To get one in the books is pretty good… I was a little surprised I was fastest today; I didn’t feel I was getting around the racetrack all that well. I just found a good spot on the racetrack and got in some good, clean laps with a little bit of a carrot in front of me. I’m glad I was able to put it together — Rog, Martin, and Larry (Pegram) are all riding pretty well. I thought today would be one of their days and we’d focus more on racing.” He continued, “I feel pretty good with what we have to race with. I’m going to see if we can make a few improvements and see if we can make the bike easier to ride without sacrificing the speed that we have. I don’t know that we’re necessarily looking for a lot more speed — we’ll see if we can just make it easier to wrestle around here for 21 laps. Things look really close right now; race distance could be a little bit different — these things get to be a handful at this racetrack. We’ll just see how it plays out.” Title leader Cardenas continues to grow stronger with each successive ride of his Yoshimura-tuned Suzuki GSX-R1000. The Colombian’s mastery of the Alabama venue is well established, as Cardenas boasts a pair of support class double wins to his name at BMP and celebrated his first-career premier class triumph here two years ago. Like Hayes, Cardenas managed to dip into the ’25s in Friday’s blistering hot conditions with a 1:25.984. Hayden’s strong Friday is a promising sign for the Kentuckian, who fully expects to be battling for podiums and race wins on a regular basis. The Michael Jordan Motorsports pilot’s season has been somewhat uneven to date, but he has the potential to be a factor from here on out, as demonstrated by his class-leading time in free practice (1:26.046) and third-best lap in qualifying (1:26.026). Hayden is joined on the provisional front row by his Michael Jordan Motorsports teammate, Danny Eslick. The Jordan Suzuki pilot was fourth on the day with a best time of 1:26.851. Meanwhile, Hayes’ Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, was fifth at 1:27.296. Herrin frequently takes his time to build up to speed and should not be discounted heading into tomorrow’s action, particularly after his ’12 BMP performance in which he leaped up the charts to qualify and finish second on Saturday. Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram, KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore, and Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing David Anthony complete the provisional second row. The final grid positions will be decided Saturday morning ahead of the afternoon’s 21-lap National Guard SuperBike contest. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Cameron Beaubier earned provisional pole in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class at Barber Motorsports Park on Friday. Last year’s double winner broke the track record he set a year ago on his Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R6, topping Alabama resident Jason DiSalvo on the Latus Motors Triumph Daytona 675R. With two wins and a second place finish so far in 2013, Beaubier looks to continue his string of success. “We’re working on bike setup more this weekend,” said Beaubier. “At Road America, we had a decent gap at the beginning so we didn’t change anything and I just rode the bike. Here, you have to fine tune things.” Class rookie James Rispoli of the National Guard/Celtic Racing squad was third fastest in qualifying, backing up his strong second-place standing in the morning free practice. Elkhart Lake winner Jake Gagne, who led the opening moments of qualifying, ended up fourth on his Road Race Factory/Red Bull Yamaha R6. Y.E.S/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Garret Gerloff leads the provisional second row. Dane Westby (GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing) was sixth as he continues to come back from his Daytona injury. Former Daytona 200 winner Joey Pascarella of the Riders Discount Riders Discount Racing Triumph was credited with the same qualifying time as Westby while JD Beach was eighth on the second RoadRace Factory/Red Bull machine. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport It was a SuperSport surprise, with Joe Roberts taking provisional pole in his first-ever AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race. Roberts, who normally races in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, recently turned 16 and the Californian is now eligible for AMA Pro competition as well. Roberts made a splash in his debut at Barber Motorsports Park on board his California SuperBike School RoadracingWorld.com Racing Honda CBR600RR, earning the fastest time in practice before taking qualifying by storm. Roberts set his best time of 1:29.443 to earn overnight pole against one of the biggest fields of the year. “Since it’s my first AMA Pro race, I didn’t know about the competition,” said Roberts. “In the first free practice, I was pretty stoked to be first. I don’t know about surprised, because I always go into a practice or a qualifying or a race hoping to win.” Series regular Hayden Gillim was second on the Team 95 bike, joined on the overnight front row by regular series contenders Corey Alexander (National Guard/Celtic Racing) and Tomas Puerta (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull.) Miles Thornton showed speed on Friday and the CTR Racing rider leads row two. He’s joined by Gearzy’s Ryan Matter, TOBC Racing’s Nick McFadden and Harv’s Harley-Davidson’s Travis Wyman. This weekend’s GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular. This weekend’s coverage will begin Saturday, June 22 at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT with the weekend Preview Show, followed by AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Race 1 at 3:00 p.m. ET/Noon PT and Live coverage of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 1 at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Race 2 is slotted in for Sunday, June 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET/Noon PT, followed directly by Live coverage AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 2 at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT. Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder at http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder In addition to the live broadcasts on CBS Sports Network, AMA Pro Live will be live streaming multiple channels of behind-the-scenes video of the weekend’s activities alongside Live Timing & Scoring. AMA Pro Live puts fans in the director’s chair, allowing them to choose from a variety of viewpoints including track cameras, paddock cameras and a press conference channel at http://www.amaprolive.com All weekend long, stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing: GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The 2013 schedule consists of nine rounds of competition on the country’s finest road courses. The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing atwww.amaproracing.com/rr/ AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: HUNTLEY NASH CONCENTRATES ON SUPERBIKE CHALLENGE AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK Birmingham, AL (June 21, 2013) — LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash tackled the first day at Barber Motorsports Park on Friday and made steady progress with the Neyra Racing Kawasaki ZX10 Superbike. Huntley qualified 19th provisionally in just his second Superbike weekend. Nash raced both the Neyra Racing Superbike and the LTD Racing Daytona SportBike machine at Elkhart Lake but the decision was made to only enter Superbike this weekend. “We felt the deal with Neyra Racing has a lot of potential and we wanted to concentrate on Superbike only and see how we fared,” said Nash. “The team has done a great job with the bike and it’s been fantastic working with Justin, Gary, and the crew. It’s a new program but we’re making big strides each time out.” The 21-year old improved his best lap time over two seconds in the afternoon session. “For us, Fridays this year are going to be a day where we have a lot of work to do improving the settings of the bike and dialing it in for the racetrack. In some ways, Friday is going to be a lot like testing. Today, we worked on some brake settings and tweaked some things we found we needed to improve on at Elkhart Lake. The bike is really fast and makes a lot of power. The key is going to be to find the settings to use it.” Nash seemed quite comfortable in his qualifying pace, clocking nine laps in the 1:30 range with a best of 1:30.331. “First off, I can’t thank my teammate Justin Neyra enough. He basically sacrificed his qualifying session for me,” said Nash.” He went down in the morning and he stayed out to make sure everything was good for me and I want to say thanks for that. He’s put a lot of faith in me and I want to do my best to reward everyone with the team for it.” Nash said he is continuing to get better on the bike each time out and is looking to make more strides on Saturday. “I’m getting the hang of the chassis and our goal is to get a similar result as Road America and maybe a little higher.”