TOOELE, UT (May 28, 2011) – Some familiar names topped the time sheets in today’s Miller Motorsports Park qualifying sessions, setting the stage for epic racing throughout the combined AMA Pro Road Racing/FIM World Superbike BigM Weekend Presented by Lucas Oil. Reigning AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) earned provisional pole at MMP with a 1:50.40 lap around the 15-turn, 3.048-mile road course. It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the current points leader, however, as he experienced a slight mishap toward the end of the 45-minute session. “I tipped it over in Turn 1 [and] the bike barely made it off the track,” said Hayes, who wasn’t injured in the get-off. “I tried to hold on to it … I was thinking about how much work my guys put into this bike! But I went back out on the back-up bike to verify the set up,” Hayes added, “and it was fine.” Hayes has gone two-for-two in 2011 qualifying and is looking to claim a third pole here at Miller. “I’m pretty happy if I’m the guy they’re always chasing,” Hayes said, “and if I keep doing my job and working hard, we can keep the string going.” Daytona double-race winner Blake Young was second-quickest in Saturday qualifying, posting his best time in the final moments of the session and thereby jumping ahead of his Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, Tommy Hayden. The youngest Hayden, National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger, was fourth-quickest, with Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram rounding out the top-five. Final qualifying for the class kicks off at 9:35 a.m. MDT Sunday in preparation for Monday’s National Guard SuperBike race. In AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, Team Latus Motors Racing’s Jason DiSalvo continued his trend of class dominance by claiming today’s provisional pole. DiSalvo has yet to be beaten this season, having earned victory at the opening Daytona 200 round then backed it up by doing the double at Infineon Raceway’s Round 2. DiSalvo jumped to the top of the chart early in the session, throwing his quickest lap in just before the clock ran out to consolidate his advantage. “The lap felt comfortable and we had a fairly heavy fuel load,” said Jason. “I rode both Team Latus Ducatis this morning, but it was on the 2011 model that we qualified today.” Celtic Racing/Fast by Ferracci’s P.J. Jacobson posted the second-fastest time of the session, with Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider Josh Herrin just behind. Former AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport standout Cameron Beaubier (GP Bike Parts Racing Yamaha) was fourth-quickest, followed by Triple Crown Industries’ Paul Allison. Daytona SportBike will run their second qualifying session tomorrow at 8:40 a.m. MDT, and will race at 4 p.m. In the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class, Infineon double-winner Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com) amplified his recent success by notching the top time in Qualifying 1. Although a number of riders briefly appeared in the frontrunner position, it was a late lap turned in sprinkling rain via which Solid settled the matter. Y.E.S./LTD Racing’s David Gaviria made Solis work for it, however, coming in just a few tenths behind. Vesrah Suzuki’s Corey Alexander was third-quickest on the day, with Y.E.S./LTD Racing’s Puerta fourth and Nadr Riad (SKR Inc.) fifth. “I knew I had to get in a fast lap,” Solis said after qualifying. “My team was giving me information on who was fast, and I went out, but the engine was running way too hot so I came in and we took off some tape and I went for a time. I was sliding more on that lap than any lap in my life!” Solis added. Final qualifying for the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class runs tomorrow at 8 a.m. MDT, and the division will race at 11:40 a.m. Photo by Brian J. NelsonIn the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 class, Drag Specialties rider Michael Barnes took advantage of his prior MMP experience to set the provisional pole for Monday’s 1:10 p.m. race. Infineon Raceway’s XR1200 winner, Chris Fillmore (RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing) took the second slot, having headed the timesheets until Barnes knocked him off. Californian Chase McFarland came in third; Barnes’ teammate, Steve Rapp, was fourth; and J&P Cycles Michael Beck was fifth. Final qualifying starts tomorrow at 10:25 a.m. MDT. Please visit www.amaproracing.com for complete Timing & Scoring results, and visit www.millermotorsportspark.com for additional ticket and event information. For broadcast times of MMP’s BigM Weekend AMA Pro Road Races, visit www.speedtv.com. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW STARTS FOR LTD RACING IN UTAH Tooele, UT (May 28, 2011) David Gaviria and Tomas Puerta earned provisional front row starts for the Miller Motorsports Park AMA Pro SuperSport event, with Gaviria earning second and Puerta fourth. Huntley Nash qualified 18th in the ultra-competitive Daytona SportBike class as the young rider who has jumped into the deep end of the American racing pool continues to show the determination that was his trademark in SuperSport last season. Due to the unequal number of races in West Coast and East Coast SuperSport, AMA Pro will award full West race points for qualifying this weekend. That placed extra pressure on overall championship contenders Puerta (East) and Gaviria (West) to perform in today’s qualifying session since most expect rain on Sunday morning even more than the intermittent showers that red flagged qualifying on Saturday. Gaviria, from Medellin, Colombia, said: “I feel very good. I was trying my very best on the track. It was raining, so I was taking care of my bike and myself not to make a mistake at this point of the weekend with our race still to come on Sunday. I wanted pole but what I really want is to win the race. That is my true focus this weekend. The test helped us set up the bike and I felt the bike was good.” Puerta, who has finished on the podium in each 2011 SuperSport race, earned another provisional front-row start on Saturday. “This track is a tough one for me because I am taller than some of the other SuperSport competitors and I can’t tuck in like some of them can. It hurts me on top end. I followed David around and we worked together but I couldn’t go any faster. A podium is a good possibility but at this stage I want to win races and that’s the goal,” said the East points leader. “I am a little disappointed but the team and I will work hard to get the best results possible.” Nash will race on Sunday as well, but in the DSB class. “We’re a lot closer to the front in this race,” said Nash. “We’re more competitive overall but I have to drop some more time to move up the charts. In practice, we have improved the front end quite a bit and that allows me to push more. It’s a lot more fun when you’re doing better and closing the gap to the front. It may rain tomorrow and to be honest, I like racing in the wet so we’ll see.” LTD Racing Director of Competition Gary Medley added: “It was a pretty good day but we haven’t gotten down to our best times from the test yet, so there is room to improve. Huntley goes better the more he rides and he’s found some speed this weekend. The guys he is racing have been doing this a long time and it is a good challenge for Hunt to come to a new racetrack like this and find the pace to race with some quality guys. In SuperSport, David and Tomy will be prepared for a full race distance so we’ll see what happens.” More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: TOUGH OPENING DAY FOR M4 SUZUKI IN UTAH Team M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas came into Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele Valley, UT with high hopes following his first-career AMA Superbike podium earned at the championship’s previous stop at Infineon Raceway. The Colombian registered a solid second-row provisional qualifying performance on a chilly Saturday, ranking sixth best at 1:51.408 in the weekend’s opening Superbike qualifying session. However, sixth best didn’t meet Cardenas’ lofty expectations and he’s determined to improve markedly as the weekend continues to take shape. Martin, who is the team’s sole rider in the Superbike class this weekend with Chris Ulrich sidelined following his dramatic Infineon Raceway fall, said, “Sixth “¦ not so good. I was expecting to be a little bit quicker. I was making a lot of mistakes on the track and we were struggling to get the set-up that I wanted and it’s still not perfect. “During qualifying we were searching for rear grip a little bit. We were kind of struggling there and some corners I wasn’t quite hitting them right. I was hoping to go faster than I did but it wasn’t possible. We’ll try tomorrow and Monday.” Ulrich appeared at the track for promotional events but was not medically cleared to race. Team M4 Suzuki’s Daytona SportBike duo, Dane Westby and Santiago Villa, find themselves in a similar position to Cardenas as they also look to perfectly dial in their GSX-R600s to meet the demands of the wide-open circuit. Westby is provisionally on the outside of the third row with the session’s 12th best time at 1:57.095, while Villa is just a few positions further removed in 15th at 1:57.923. Final grid positions will be established for both classes on Sunday, although the orders may change very little if the expected rain and mid-40 temperatures invade the region. The SportBike contenders will then contest their weekend race tomorrow afternoon with the Superbike race scheduled for Monday.