Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took his fourth consecutive AMA Superbike pole position during final qualifying Saturday morning at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Spies was fast right out of the box, dipping into the 2:12s (much faster than he went during “tricky” conditions on Friday) on his first flying lap. Within the first few minutes of the session, the two-time and defending Champion ripped around the four-mile track in 2:12.260. Then moments later, Spies lost the front under braking for the final corner and crashed at high speed. In spite of bleeding from an open wound in his chin, Spies returned to the pits, mounted his back-up bike and got back on track in time to record one more lap. Although that lap was quick, indicating Spies was not too badly injured and that his second GSX-R1000 was capable, Spies’ previous lap of 2:12.260 was good enough to capture the 20th pole position of his AMA Superbike career. Spies’ teammate and main rival Mat Mladin was also fast during the short, combined session with an early effort at 2:12.450. The six-time Champion was going for an even faster time at the very end of the period but was held up by traffic, according to a team spokesperson. Still, that lap was a faster 2:12.431, giving Mladin the second spot on the grid. Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom put in one of his best qualifying efforts of the season with a third-fastest 2:13.781, and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking continued his recent strong run with a fourth-fastest 2:13.872. The final Superbike qualifying session was somewhat controversial because all Superbike riders were combined into one 25-minute session, instead of being split into faster and slower groups, as they are at most events. The groups were combined into one to save time because the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup and MOTO-ST series are also racing at Road America this weekend. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin June 7, 2008 Provisional Combined Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:12.260, crash 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:12.431 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 2:13.781 4. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 2:13.872 5. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 2:14.025 6. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 2:14.315 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:14.456 8. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:14.534 * 9. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 2:14.700 10. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:16.607 * 11. Matt Lynn (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 2:16.667 12. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:17.673 * 13. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:17.951 14. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:18.027 15. Ryan Elleby (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:18.137 * 16. Alastair Seeley (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:18.665 17. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:18.732, crash * 18. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:19.066 * 19. Keith Marshall (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:21.644 20. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:22.074 21. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:23.024 22. Scott Ryan (Kaw ZX-10R), Michelin, 2:23.997 23. Scotty Van Hawk (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:25.097 24. Brian Boyd (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:28.019 25. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 2:28.378 * = Known to be riding a Superstock-spec motorcycle.