AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 16, 2008 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:36.853 2. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:37.185 3. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:37.678 4. Chaz Davies (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:37.949 5. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 1:38.291 6. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 1:38.327 7. Larry Pegram (Duc 848), Pirelli, 1:38.357 8. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:38.678 9. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, 1:40.799 10. Nicky Moore (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, 1:40.838 11. Garrett Carter (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:40.877 12. Brian Parriott (BMW HP2 Sport), Pirelli, 1:41.075 13. Chad Herrmann (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, 1:41.092 14. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, 1:42.114 15. Shane Narbonne (Tri Daytona 675), Dunlop, 1:42.403 16. Tony Meiring (Yam YZF-R6), 1:42.892 17. Matthew Green (Duc 749R), 1:43.403 18. Lance Williams (Duc 749R), 1:43.781 19. Tom Montano (Duc 749R), 1:44.021 20. Like Miles (Suz GSX-R600), 1:44.172 21. Berto Wooldridge (Yam YZF-R6), 1:44.765 22. Chad Lewin (Hon CBR600RR), 1:44.788 23. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, 1:44.805 24. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, 1:45.139 25. Scott Schwanbeck (Duc 749R), 1:45.159 26. Pete Demas (Tri Daytona 675), 1:45.956 27. Steve Metz (Duc 749R), 1:45.996 28. Sahar Zvik (Suz GSX-R600), 1:46.048 110% of Fast Time: 1:46.539 29. Craig Mason (Yam YZF-R6), 1:47.881 More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Pirelli Takes Two: Rapp and Davies on AMA Formula Xtreme Front Row In the inferno at Infineon Raceway, Steve Rapp and Chaz Davies earned front-row grid positions for Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race, on their Pirelli Superbike Slick shod Attack Kawasakis. Following a Thursday with the exceedingly high temperature of 104 Fahrenheit, Friday at Infineon Raceway warmed up to only a mildly exceedingly high temperature of 98, with an official humidity index of really, really dry. Despite these conditions, the new Pirelli tires stayed hooked up and consistent from morning through afternoon. Rapp earned the second spot on the FX grid at 82.235 mph, a speed barely three tenths of a mph from pole-winner Jake Zemke. Starting in fourth is Rapp’s Attack Kawasaki Teammate, Chaz Davies, also on a ZX-6R. With Pirelli riders securing half the top ten places on the FX grid, the other three are Cory West with his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 sitting in fifth on the inside of row two, joined by Larry Pegram on his Leo Vince/Foremost Insurance Ducati 848 two places to the side, in the seventh spot on the grid. Racer Nicky Moore qualified on row three with the tenth-quickest time. After qualifying, Todd Fenton, Rapp s crew chief, said, This is a special event for us because it’s Steve’s home track, so performing well here means a lot to him. He feels real good about practice and qualifying. Despite the heat the bike and tires have been working great and things are looking good. In the single Superstock Practice taking place on Friday, Blake Young was fourth fastest on his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000, while Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Robertino Pietri had the sixth best time and his teammate Chris Ulrich was right with him with the seventh-quickest time of the session, each using Pirelli Superbike Slicks. In Supersport it was again Blake Young with the fourth best time of the day, this time on his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600. Drafted once again to ride for M4 EMGO Suzuki, filling in for the injured Martin Cardenas in Supersport, was Michael Barnes, quickly getting comfortable with team and bike and laying down the sixth best time. The Attack Kawasaki duo of Chaz Davies and Steve Rapp recorded the ninth and 11th best times, while M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Cory West was 12th quickest, all rolling on sets of Pirelli Supercorsa DOT race tires. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: WEST UP TO SPEED QUICKLY IN SONOMA FORMULA XTREME Even with Martin Cardenas sidelined due to injury, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki got off to a strong start on Friday at Infineon Raceway, as Cory West and Michael Barnes put in impressive performances subbing for the Colombian while Blake Young registered a pair of practice efforts near the top of the charts. Despite competing on the squad’s Pirelli slick-shod GSX-R600 Formula Xtreme machine for the first time this weekend, West quickly worked his way up to speed. The Arkansas native qualified fifth fasted to claim the inside position of the second row, and his time of 1:38.291 was just over three tenths of a second off a front row starting position. “It felt good,” West said following the session. “It’s a whole different machine than my Supersport bike but it was still a lot of fun to ride. I’m coming to grips with this thing and I think we’ll just get faster and faster as we get more time on it. Hopefully we’ll have a good set-up for tomorrow with our race tire situation and we can be up in the front. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming into the weekend. All I know is what Martin’s done on the thing and he’s been very competitive. I just kind of set my sights on what he’s done and tried my best to match that. I’ve never podiumed before so that’s a good wish. If I can get a good start and hang with those guys I think a top five is a real possibility.” Meanwhile, Barnes filled in for Cardenas in the Supersport class, joining the team’s class regulars West and Young. Young led the way, circulating fourth fastest at 1:38.809. Barnes was right on his heels, the Floridian laying down a 1:39.129 to rank sixth in the class’ single practice session. West was 12th best at 1:40.083. Young also placed fourth in the Superstock free session aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000 with a quick lap of 1:38.396. “This morning went pretty good for us,” Young commented. “We didn’t really have any big issues, we just went about our work. I think it’s more me than the bike at the moment. We didn’t test here and I was just getting myself up to speed. We were fourth in both practices so it wasn’t too bad. I think there’s definitely more out there on the 1000 and while there’s going to be a lot of competition in the 600 class, we should be right in there. “We’ve got to hand it to Pirelli this weekend. We’ve got some serious grip and we can really put the power to the ground. That’s one less thing we have to worry about. I think we’ll be there at the end of the weekend.” On Saturday Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will qualify for Sunday’s Supersport and Superstock races and then round out the day by contesting the 17-lap FX race.