Defending Champion Ben Spies earned the provisional pole position during AMA Superbike qualifying Friday at Miller Motorsports Park (MMP), in Tooele, Utah. Riding his Dunlop-equipped Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, Spies lapped the 3.06-mile “Outer Course” in 1:50.441, much slower than his own lap record of 1:49.167, turned during the inaugural AMA Superbike event at MMP last season. Spies said part of the reason he went slower than last year was the heat (105 degrees F during the session) and part was because he was focused on finding a long-distance race set-up. “We stayed on the same set of tires the whole session,” Spies told reporters. “I went out and the third, fourth lap was our fastest laps then it tapered off a little bit. We kept coming in and doing little four-lap stints. And it was good because every time out we were taking a couple of 10ths off the bike and set-up. And by the end of the session we had quite a few laps on the tires and we were getting close to our fast lap that we had set when they were brand new. So it was pretty encouraging. And everything we changed on the bike was heading in the right direction, and now we know that. Hopefully, we won’t go too much in that direction, but it’s looking pretty good right now.” Spies said he expected to go quicker during Saturday morning’s final qualifying session, when temperatures are expected to be lower and he has a softer race tire to try. Spies’ teammate and main Championship challenger Mat Mladin ended the session second-fastest (1:50.593) in spite of crashing his Yoshimura Suzuki early in the session and continuing on his second GSX-R1000. After losing most of Friday morning practice because Dunlop mounted the wrong tires to his wheels, which sent him searching for a new set-up, Eric Bostrom rebounded in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session to post the third-fastest time, a 1:51.213 on his factory Yamaha YZF-R1. Jake Zemke, who won a race at MMP in 2006, earned the final spot on the provisional front row with a time of 1:51.287 on his American Honda CBR1000RR. Showing better speed and consistency than they have all year, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking (1:51.309) and Roger Hayden (1:51.587) were fifth- and seventh-quickest, respectively, on their ZX-10R Superbikes in Friday’s qualifier. Slotting himself in between the Kawasaki riders in the qualifying order was Graves Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom with a 1:51.545, but Ben Bostrom was likely only using the session for extra practice time to set up his Superstock YZF-R1 and will not compete in the Superbike race. Eric Bostrom’s teammate Jason DiSalvo took the final spot on the second row with a time of 1:51.777 on his YZF-R1. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May (1:51.941) was the highest non-Dunlop qualifier, ninth on his Pirelli-fitted GSX-R1000 Superstock bike, and just a tick ahead of Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates (1:51.978), 10th. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel (1:52.136) qualified 12th Friday afternoon, just hours after he suffered a big highside crash in the final corner during Friday morning practice. Duhamel continued riding in that session. Two positions behind Duhamel was Tommy Hayden (1:52.446), who is working on finding the set-up for the rear suspension on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. 2007 AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah June 22, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:50.441 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:50.593 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:51.213 4. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:51.287 5. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:51.309 6. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:51.545* 7. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:51.588 8. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:51.777 9. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:51.942* 10. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:51.977 11. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:52.022 12. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:52.137 13. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:52.226 14. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:52.447 15. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta), Dunlop, 1:52.610 16. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta), Dunlop, 1:53.156 17. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:53.327* 18. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:54.347* 19. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:54.643 20. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:54.806* 21. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:56.633 22. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:56.913 23. Ivan Garza (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:57.118 24. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:57.310 25. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:57.892 26. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:58.579 27. Cory Call (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:59.005 28. Chad Rolland (Yam YZF-R1), 1:59.613 29. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:01.014 30. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), 2:01.355 31. Sahar Zvik (Suz GSX-R1000), 2:04.153 32. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 2:11.357 *known to be on a Superstock-spec racebike