Six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin claimed the provisional AMA Superbike pole position with a new lap record during qualifying Friday afternoon at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Dunlop-shod Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, Mladin lapped the four-mile circuit in 2:11.541, which eclipsed his own official lap record of 2:11.970, which he set in 2006. Normally, the provisional pole position in AMA Superbike racing is just that, provisional until the final qualifying session is run on Saturday morning, when the top riders usually go quicker. However, because rain is in the forecast for Saturday, Mladin’s time on Friday has a better-than-normal chance of holding up for pole position. Mladin’s teammate and the defending Superbike Champion Ben Spies was leading Friday’s qualifying session at the halfway mark with a 2:12.330, but he ran off the track in turn three and crashed while trying to slow his GSX-R1000 in the gravel trap. Spies was able to pick up his Suzuki himself and ride it back to the pits, but he was forced to switch to his second machine and did not go any faster during the session. American Honda’s Jake Zemke earned the third spot on the provisional front row with a time of 2:12.666 on his CBR1000RR. Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates, meanwhile, chopped 1.3 seconds off his Friday morning practice time with a 2:13.166 Friday afternoon that captured the final spot on the front row. Yates’ time bumped Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden (2:13.268) to fifth in the provisional qualifying order. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel was sixth-fastest with late lap at 2:13.595. Yamaha teammates Eric Bostrom (2:13.657) and Jason DiSalvo (2:13.697) were seventh- and eighth-quickest, respectively. Ben Bostrom turned the ninth-fastest time in the Superbike qualifying session, a 2:14.947 on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock machine. Ben Bostrom, however, does not normally race in the Superbike class and only uses the Superbike sessions for extra time to set-up his Superstock racebike. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking rounded out the top 10 with a lap of 2:14.984, which was much quicker than the 2:16.687 he ran in Friday morning practice. 2007 AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin June 1, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:11.541 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:12.330 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 2:12.666 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:13.166 5. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:13.268 6. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 2:13.595 7. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 2:13.657 8. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 2:13.697 9. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 2:14.947* 10. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 2:14.984 11. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:15.044* 12. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 2:15.297 13. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, 2:15.745 14. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 2:15.811 15. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:15.902* 16. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:15.948* 17. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:17.044* 18. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, 2:18.408 19. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:18.659 20. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:19.230 21. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:19.878 22. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:20.627 23. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:20.897 24. Dominic Jones (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:21.203 25. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:23.098 26. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), 2:23.474 27. Brian Boyd (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:23.584 28. Justin Filice (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:24.760 29. Chad Rolland (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:25.067 30. Marcin Biernacki (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:28.670 * known to be a Superstock-spec machine