Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin earned the 58th pole position of his legendary career in dominant fashion Friday evening at Road Atlanta. The six-time AMA Superbike Champion won the AMA Pro American Superbike Superpole competition with a blistering lap of 1:25.280 on his 2008-model GSX-R1000. Not only was the lap an improvement on Mladin’s time from basic qualifying (1:25.301), it was 1.7 seconds faster than any other rider. And Mladin thought he could have gone quicker. “I think there’s quite a bit more out there, but in conditions like today – it’s quite cool, the left side of the tire never came around,” said the Australian. “In the end, we should’ve used the race tire. It would’ve been better. We tried something. It wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t great. Too much rubber to get heated up in that amount of time.” Josh Hayes turned in his best qualifying session of the season, and the best in class for the Yamaha factory team, with a second-fastest 1:26.902 on his “long-bang” YZF-R1, which he called a “work in progress.” “I definitely think there’s more in there, hopefully,” said Hayes, a two-time AMA Formula Xtreme Champion. “We’re working hard. Superpole hasn’t been my forte, so I just tried to put in a clean lap with no mistakes. I’m quite surprised about being P2, especially with this big of a time gap. I felt some of these guys would be closer to [Mladin]. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.” Hayes said his Yamaha’s new Brembo brake calipers improved one weak area of the machine, but the official speed traps show the new YZF-R1 is down on top speed compared to other motorcycles on the long back straightaway. National Guard Suzuki’s Geoff May had a good Superpole lap going, but some mistakes prevented him from doing better than his third-quickest 1:26.943. “I definitely left a lot on the table out there,” said May, who lives about 30 minutes away from Road Atlanta. “I got out in Turn Five and screwed up, got out by the wall and spun the thing then wheelied it. That bogged me all the way down to Turn Six. Then I sat up early for the last corner. I just didn’t really have my head together that time, but we’ll get it together for the race. That’s what matters.” Mladin’s junior teammate Blake Young said some changes to his set-up improved his GSX-R1000, allowing him to improve on his time from qualifying (a 1:27.071 compared to a 1:27.230) and earn his first-ever front-row American Superbike start. “Every time we hit the track we go quicker and quicker,” said Young. “We’ll see in tomorrow morning’s warm-up if we can go a little faster.” AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Presented by Parts Unlimited Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia April 3, 2009 Provisional Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.280 2. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.902 3. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.943 4. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.072 5. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:27.257 6. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), 1:27.558 7. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.612 8. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.145 9. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.334 10. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.677 The Rest of the Grid: 11. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:27.768 12. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.617 13. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR), 1:29.232 14. Ryan Elleby (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:29.623 15. Barrett Long (Duc 1098R), 1:29.626 16. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.008 17. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.008 18. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:31.341, crash 19. Skip Salenius (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:31.639 108% of Fast Time: 1:32.125 Rider’s Included at the Race Director’s Discretion: 20. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.248 21. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:33.269 22. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R1), 1:34.184 More, from a press release issued by Jordan Suzuki: National Guard Jordan Suzuki on the Front Row at Road Atlanta BRASELTON, GA (April 3, 2009) Michael Jordan Motorsports rider and Georgia native Geoff May continues to excel at Superpole, putting his #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki on the front row for the second straight AMA Pro Racing American Superbike round today at Road Atlanta. Improving upon his Position 4 (P4) at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana CA, May piloted his Suzuki GSX-R 1000 around the 2.56 mile Road Atlanta circuit in 1:26.943 to place himself in P3 on the grid. May, a resident of nearby Gainesville, is pleased to have earned a front row spot yet again, just .041 behind P2, and will start both Saturday and Sunday’s races from his highest career Superbike qualifying position. Teammate and fellow Georgian Aaron Yates of the Jordan Suzuki squad had an eventful day and finds himself on Row 2 for the American Superbike contest. The Milledgeville native had a big moment during his Superpole lap, but kept it upright and brought his #23 GSX-R home with a 1:28.145. Geoff May – 3th 1:26.943 – National Guard Jordan Suzuki #54 “I’m pretty pumped to put my National Guard Jordan Suzuki on the front row for the second race, especially here at my home track,” said May. “I had to roll off the throttle pretty good during the first half of my hot lap, but I kept my head down and here we are back on the front row. I have quite a few friends and family here and I’m confident we can put it on the box again.” Aaron Yates – 8th 1:28.145 – Jordan Suzuki #23 “We had a lowside at the end of basic qualifying. Then in Superpole, my bike spun up real good in the back section and I had to reel it back in,” said Yates. “I’m confident in my Jordan Suzuki GSX-R 1000 however, and we’re going to be ready to run up front in the races tomorrow.” ABOUT MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS: Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry. ABOUT THE NATIONAL GUARD: The National Guard is the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and one of the nation’s longest enduring institutions. The National Guard operates in all 50 states, four territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, Samoa and the Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit the National Guard’s Web site at www.NationalGuard.com