AMA Superbike Championship leader Ben Spies earned his seventh AMA Superbike pole position of the season during Saturday morning’s final qualifying session at the AMA Suzuki Superbike Showdown Presented by Makita at Road Atlanta, in Georgia. Spies, who broke his right hand two weeks ago, used his Dunlop-shod Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to turn a time of 1:21.987 on the 2.5-mile road course during the shortened final qualifying period to earn the pole and the bonus Championship point that comes with it. That point extends Spies’ Championship lead to 30 points with three races remaining. “We’ll try to have a good race and take what comes to us,” said Spies, who said his broken hand was less swollen than it was at VIR but still painful and only about 70% of full strength. Spies’ teammate and main Championship rival Mat Mladin shaved a few 10ths off his fast time Saturday morning with a 1:22.109, but the six-time and defending Champion said he was focusing more on his race set-up than turning one fast lap. In fact, Mladin said he had stopped thinking about the 2006 Championship and was beginning to prepare for 2007. “For all intents and purposes, the Championship is over,” Mladin told reporters after Saturday’s qualifying session. “The last thing on my mind is the Championship.” On Friday, Mladin told reporters that his biggest concern this weekend is his wife, who is due to give birth to their second child within a few days. America Honda’s Miguel Duhamel did not go quicker Saturday morning. Like Mladin, he opted to work on his race set-up, but the 1:23.473 the French-Canadian turned Friday held up as the third-fastest time. Duhamel said that he would like to win the race but realized that he had a lot of ground to make up to run with Spies and Mladin. After having what he called “a miserable day” Friday, Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson shaved nearly a second off his best time, turning a 1:23.484 on his factory 999 to earn the final spot on the front row. Fourth-fastest Friday, Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden shaved a half-second from his best time with a 1:23.520, but Hodgson’s time bumped Hayden to fifth overall. Duhamel’s teammate Jake Zemke (1:23.807) carved nearly 0.8-second from his best effort, elevating him from eighth to sixth in the qualifying order. Similarly, Aaron Yates’ one-second improvement to 1:23.942 on the third Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 moved him from ninth Friday to seventh Saturday. The final spot on the second row went to Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Steve Rapp, who turned a 1:24.042 on his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000. Kawasaki factory rider Tommy Hayden, Hodgson’s teammate Ben Bostrom, Rapp’s teammate Jason Pridmore and Millennium KWS Suzuki’s Matt Lynn, the highest non-Dunlop qualifier, will start from the third row of the grid. 27 of the 33 riders who tried turned lap times within the 108% cut-off time of 1:28.546, resulting in the second-smallest AMA Superbike grid of the season. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia September 2, 2006 Combined Final Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:21.987 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:22.109 3. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:23.473 4. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), 1:23.484 5. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:23.520 6. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:23.807 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:23.942 8. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:24.042 9. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:24.056 10. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), 1:24.327 11. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.028 12. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.145 13. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.666 14. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.697 15. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:25.838 16. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.875 17. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.933 18. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.039 19. Brian Stokes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.274 20. Gary Mason (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.427 21. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.517 22. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.677 23. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.114 24. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.411 25. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.930 26. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.401 27. Scott Carpenter (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.444 108% of Fast Time: 1:28.546 Did Not Qualify: 28. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.978 29. Michael Sanchez (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.186 30. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:29.608 31. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:30.175 32. Marco Martinez Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.683 33. Marcin Biernacki (Yam YZF-R1), 1:31.786