Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates earned pole position today during AMA Superstock qualifying at Daytona International Speedway. Yates used a rear qualifying tire on his Dunlop-backed GSX-R1000 to lap the 2.9-mile infield road course in 1:38.231, which is a new class record for the revised course. “I guess it went OK,” the former AMA Superstock Champion told Roadracingworld.com. “I would’ve liked to have spent more time working on my race set-up, but Dunlop had some qualifiers they wanted me to try. I’d rather not have to deal with the qualifying tires, but it got us pole position. So I’m pretty happy.” Yates’ new teammate Geoff May exceeded his expectations by qualifying second — just 0.056 second slower than Yates — in his debut as a Jordan Suzuki rider. “I just wanted to get on the front row,” said May, “not throw it down the road and continue to get things sorted out for the race. I’m pretty happy with my performance.” Michael Barnes, who is racing as a privateer on a Pirelli-shod Suzuki GSX-R1000 with backing from Celtic Racing, qualified third thanks to a borrowed set of wheels that allowed him to run a third qualifying tire and turn a 1:38.321. Barnes said he also turned competitive lap times on race tires. The final spot of the front row went to Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young, who did a time of 1:38.548 on his Pirelli-equipped GSX-R1000. “It’s my first time on an AMA front row,” said Young. “But I’ve been having a lot of firsts since I’ve joined Team M4 EMGO Suzuki.” Young’s qualifying session ended with a minor crash, however, when he lowsided in the New West Horseshoe. The 13-lap Superstock race takes place at 3:50 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday. AMA Superstock Championship Presented by Dynojet Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 5, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:38.231 2. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:38.287 3. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:38.321 4. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:38.548 5. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:38.761 6. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:39.300 7. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:39.530 8. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:39.701 9. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:39.826 10. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:40.209 11. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:40.857 12. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:41.195 13. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:41.738 14. Seth Starnes (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:42.592 15. Scott Russell (Yam YZF-R1), Michelin, 1:42.620 16. David Loikits (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:42.794 17. Brian McCormack (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:42.874 18. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:42.957 19. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:43.079 20. Horst Saiger (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.643 21. Lloyd Bayley (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:44.765 22. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:44.913 23. James McBride (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:44.988 24. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:45.092 25. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.485 26. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.570 27. Brian Boyd (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:46.422 28. Scotty Van Hawk (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:46.659 29. Scott Young (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:48.029 110% of Fast Time: 1:48.054 30. Wayne Handley (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:55.369 More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: 2008 AMA SEASON UNDERWAY FOR TEAM M4 EMGO SUZUKI Team M4 EMGO Suzuki opened their 2008 AMA campaign in impressive fashion on Wednesday at Daytona International Speedway, securing a front-row grid position and two second-row starting positions on the first day of the new season. Blake Young made a strong impression in his debut performance with the team at the AMA level. The 20-year-old from Madison, WI locked down the outside of the front row for tomorrow’s 13-lap Superstock final despite suffering a fall late in his qualifying session. The 2005 AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner posted the fourth-fastest time in the class aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 with a quick time of 1:38.548. Young also clocked the sixth best overall time for the day (1:41.206) aboard his GSX-R600 Supersport racer to claim a second row spot for tomorrow’s 22-lap affair. Commenting on his qualifying performance, Young said, “It went pretty well except for that last little bit there. We ended up putting the bike on the ground, which we never like to do, but we were really trying to push the envelope. The bikes and tires are really coming around. Every time we hit the track, we go faster and faster so we can’t complain.” Young spent a considerable amount of time on Wednesday listening to advice from former 500GP Champion Kevin Schwantz as well as his mechanics on the team. “I was talking to Kevin and my guys and trying to decipher what might be me as a rider and what might be the bike. There are not too many guys that ride both 1000s and 600s anymore. With him, I’m trying to figure out what’s the right style for the big bike and what’s the right style for Supersport and making sure you turn that switch every time you change bikes.” Young’s teammates, Martin Cardenas and Cory West, were also in the mix in the ultra-competitive Supersport class. Much is expected from Cardenas in his first full season with the team and the former Spanish Supersport champion and World 250 Grand Prix competitor got off to a solid start on Wednesday. The Colombian was eighth best with a time of 1:41.464 and will start the highly anticipated Supersport final on the outside of the second row. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki newcomer West will open his Supersport race from the inside of the fourth row, registering a best time of 1:42.462 during qualifying, good enough for thirteenth overall. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki is also seeking to return to the podium in the prestigious Daytona 200 this weekend. Michael Barnes, who finished third in the grueling race for the squad last season, will make a special appearance aboard one of the team’s Formula Xtreme-spec GSX-R600s in Saturday’s race. He’ll be joined by Cardenas in the FX contest. Both men got off to promising starts in the class on Wednesday, with Barnes posting the eighth best time overall (1:41.389) and Cardenas just a click back in eleventh (1:41.931). On Thursday, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will compete in the opening races of the AMA season in Superstock and Supersport following final qualifying for the Daytona 200.