AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Presented by Parts Unlimited Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 15, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), 1:36.231 2. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.861 3. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), 1:36.941 4. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:37.005 5. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), 1:37.226 6. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), 1:37.554 7. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), 1:38.023 8. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:38.198 9. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:38.698 10. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000 K8), 1:38.858 More, from a press release issued by Infineon Raceway: Mladin Continues Streak with Superbike Pole at Infineon Raceway SONOMA, Calif. (May 15, 2009) AMA series leader Mat Mladin rode to his fifth American Superbike Superpole of the season on Friday, setting up what promises to be a dramatic weekend as he pursues an unprecedented eighth straight AMA victory at the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts. Despite difficult wind conditions, a new bike and a crash in the second practice, Mladin shaved more than half a second from his Basic Qualifying time to record a 1:36.231 (86.791 mph) on his Suzuki. “Getting on the front row is good for us,” Mladin said. “Right now we’re trying to improve the motorcycle and get it to a point where we feel comfortable. We’ve struggled with that so we went out with something very different for the one lap to give us some direction for (Saturday). “It worked pretty well so maybe we have found a bit of direction. But, then again, who knows? It’s a very different motor bike and we’ve got a lot to do to figure it out compared to the old one.” Mladin is the first rider in AMA history to start a season 7-0, and the seven straight wins matches a series record. Mladin holds a commanding 77-point lead in the season standings. Yamaha’s Josh Hayes, who sits sixth in the standings, put himself in contention for his first podium of the year with a strong, second-place qualifying performance (1:36.861). “Superpole has gone pretty decent for me so far this year,” Hayes said. “The formula has worked: put in a clean lap, make few mistakes and get on the front row. But we’re getting our butt kicked on Saturdays and Sundays. “There’s still work to do. We’ll see what we can come up with — we have a couple of ideas. … We’ll see if we have a magic bullet so that we can get closer to the times we want.” Tommy Hayden, Mladin’s Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, delivered his best Superpole performance of the season. He will start third after posting a 1:36.941. “It was the first time we went faster than (basic) qualifying so we feel good about that,” Hayden said. “The last two races we missed the front row so this is important. I’m happy with this.” Fans could hardly ask for a better front row for this weekend’s two races, with the lineup set at Mladin, Hayes, Hayden, and Petaluma native Ben Bostrom, who pushed his Yamaha to fourth on the grid with a time of 1:37.005. “I didn’t think (qualifying) was so good but I’m up here so that’s good.” Bostrom said. “I thought we’d be better. I didn’t put it together like these other guys, but we’re on the front row and we hope we can get up front. It will be a good race.” Mladin is the Infineon Raceway career record-holder with eight Superbike victories. Jason DiSalvo (Suzuki) claimed the Daytona SportBike Superpole. He was clocked at 1:39.517, followed by Josh Herrin (Yamaha) at 1:39.990, Chaz Davies (Aprilia) at 1:40.081, Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino at 1:40.338 and Jamie Hacking, who turned in a 1:40.522 on his Kawasaki. Action returns on Saturday with a full slate of racing, including 20-lap main events for Superbike and SportBike. Tickets are available at the gate; visit www.infineonraceway.com for details. American Superbike Superpole 1. Mat Mladin/Suzuki — 1:36.231 (86.791 mph) 2. Josh Hayes/Yamaha — 1:36.861 (86.227) 3. Tommy Hayden/Suzuki — 1:36.941 (86.156) 4. Ben Bostrom/Yamaha — 1:37.005 (86.089) 5. Geoff May/ Suzuki — 1:37.226 (85.903) 6. Aaron Yates/Suzuki — 1:37.554 (85.614) 7. Larry Pegram/Ducati — 1:38.023 (85.205) 8. Jake Holden/Honda — 1:38.198 (85.053) 9. Neil Hodgson/Honda — 1:38.698 (84.622) 10. David Anthony/Suzuki — 1:38.858 (84.485) More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports: MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS LAUNCHES FROM THE SECOND ROW AT INFINEON RACEWAY SONOMA, CA (May 16, 2009) Michael Jordan Motorsports’ teams took to the track at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA for the exciting Superpole qualifying session late Friday afternoon. As this was the first time the Michael Jordan Motorsports teams have ridden at Infineon Raceway on the new 2009 GSX-R 1000s, the teams found themselves needing to quickly get up to speed with the setups on the potent new Suzukis. With only the top 10 riders from Friday’s Basic Qualifying session eligible to participate in Superpole, this exclusive session set the final grid positions for Saturday and Sunday’s feature American Superbike races. For both races, Geoff May of the #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki team and #23 Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates will be starting from the second row of the American Superbike field, with May in fifth position and Yates in the sixth spot. May’s Superpole lap was slightly slower than his Basic Qualifying lap and the National Guard Jordan Suzuki rider moved from Basic Qualifying’s Position 4 (P4) to a final Qualifying position of P5. His MJM counterpart Aaron Yates went .018 seconds faster during his Superpole lap, as compared to his Basic Qualifying time and improved his position from P7 to P6 at the conclusion of Superpole. Geoff May 5th 1:37.226 – National Guard Jordan Suzuki #54 “We didn’t make any changes on the bike as it felt really good in Basic Qualifying,” May said. “I was going good during my hot lap but missed a couple of shifts, one coming out of turn 7 and one out of T11, which added a little time. I’m liking the way my new Suzuki feels. This 2009 bike is a great motorcycle. We didn’t test here earlier this month, so hats off to my crew for getting us up to speed quickly.” Aaron Yates – 6th 1:37.554 – Jordan Suzuki #23 “The guys made some tweaks going into Superpole and the bike was much improved,” said Yates. “It’s funny – this is the bike felt real good before, but I wasn’t quite ready for it to be so much better! With the one hot lap in Superpole, you really need to hammer on it quick and don’t have any leeway to ease into a new setup. I feel confident though, and the guys have the new GSX-R working good. We’re here on the second row and ready to race tomorrow.”