Six-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin took pole position with a new lap record around Road America during qualifying Saturday morning in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Dunlop-equipped Yoshimura Suzuki, Mladin lapped the four-mile circuit in 2:11.970, taking pole position away from his junior teammate Ben Spies, who claimed the provisional pole position with a 2:12.156 (a lap record at the time) on Friday. Mladin’s pole position was only his second of the season and first since the season-opener at Daytona, following a three-weekend streak of pole positions by Spies. Mladin is the all-time leader in AMA Superbike pole positions with 49. Mladin told the media that he spent Friday’s qualifying session trying a few things and “putting laps on tires,” before putting his best set-up together with a fresh engine Saturday morning. Mladin said he tried a soft, rear qualifying tire, but it upset the handling of his bike and his best time came on a race tire. Spies’ said he made mistakes while riding in Saturday’s qualifying session and was only able to record a 2:12.496 on a race tire, but his 2:12.156 from Friday was more than enough to hold on to the second starting spot on the grid. Like Spies, American Honda’s Jake Zemke could not improve on his time from Friday’s qualifying session, a 2:13.339 that retained the third starting spot for this weekend’s races. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel improved slightly from 2:13.407 Friday to a 2:13.391 on a race tire Saturday but remained fourth on the front row. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates (2:13.465), Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson (2:13.629), Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden (2:13.745) and Hodgson’s teammate Ben Bostrom (2:14.611) earned second-row starting spots Saturday. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin June 3 Provisional Combined Qualifying Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:11.970 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:12.156 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:13.339 4. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:13.391 5. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:13.465 6. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), 2:13.629 7. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:13.745 8. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), 2:14.611 9. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:15.773 10. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:15.916 11. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:16.123 12. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:16.132 13. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:16.132 14. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:16.462 15. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:17.292 16. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:17.523 17. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:17.631 18. Lee Acree (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:18.087 19. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:18.218 20. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:18.351 21. Akira Tamitsuji (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:18.638 22. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), 2:19.901 23. Jesse Janisch (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:20.762 24. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:20.772 25. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:21.084 26. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:21.086 27. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:21.351 28. Michael Sanchez (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:21.453 29. Mike Sullivan (Yam YZF-R1), 2:22.469 108% of Fast Time: 2:22.528 Did Not Qualify: 30. Marco Martinez (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:23.634 31. Marcin Biernacki (Yam YZF-R1), 2:24.074 32. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:24.457 33. Greg Fryer (Yam YZF-R1), 2:24.757 34. Paul Heinen (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:25.317 35. Brian Boyd (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:29.884 36. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:31.833