Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom snagged the provisional AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike pole position with a dramatic last-lap effort during Friday’s qualifying session at Infineon Raceway. Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes had been fastest during the earlier practice session with a 1:36.429 and throughout most of the provisional qualifying period with a 1:36.184, but Bostrom’s last lap of 1:36.108 earned him Friday’s headlines. “The bike’s been working good over the last two rounds,” Bostrom told reporters, “and when we tested here the bike was working pretty good. We made some subtle changes today and got the bike working better. We rode on old tires the whole session, and then we put on a new tire at the end to do that lap. It wasn’t a special lap, but it was special enough.” Hayes ended up second in the final order, but the former Infineon Raceway Superbike race winner said he felt he has a strong race pace and that he will go quicker in Final Qualifying Saturday morning. Jake Holden grabbed a lot of attention Friday for his performance as a fill-in rider for Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s injured John Hopkins. In spite of not riding a Suzuki since 2007, Holden was immediately up to speed on his new GSX-R1000, posting a second-quickest 1:37.180 in practice. He then followed that up with the third-best time in provisional qualifying, a 1:36.646. Holden’s session ended with a crash in Turn Five, however. Holden escaped unscathed, but his Suzuki was destroyed, according to Crew Chief Keith Perry. Tommy Hayden earned the final spot on the provisional front row with a time of 1:36.745 on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000. Kurtis Roberts was at Infineon Raceway but did not ride in Friday’s sessions due to his Ace Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 experiencing electrical issues. Ace Racing Team Owner Ace Robey told Roadracingworld.com that because they lost Friday Roberts will not race at Infineon Raceway. Ace Racing, however, will continue with Stevie Bonsey in the Daytona SportBike class this weekend at Infineon Raceway and will continue with its plans to field both riders in the Lucas Oil Superbike Challenge at Miller Motorsports Park and the AMA Pro races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 14, 2010 Provisional Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.108 2. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:36.184 3. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:36.646, crash 4. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:36.745 5. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:36.759 6. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), 1:36.941 7. Jake Zemke (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:36.984 8. Brett McCormick (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:37.715 9. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.444 10. Geoff May (Buell 1125RR), 1:38.534 11. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:38.567, crash 12. Chris Peris (BMW S1000RR), 1:38.611 13. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.135 14. Chris Clark (Yam YZF-R1), 1:40.256 15. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:40.360 16. Brian Parriott (Apr RSV4 Factory), 1:41.410 17. Mark Simon (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.769 18. Eric Pinson (BMW S1000RR), 1:42.989 19. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:43.383 20. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:44.166 21. Trent Gibson (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:45.599 22. Kevin Boisvert (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:46.194 More, from a press release issued by Infineon Raceway: Bostrom Takes Provisional Pole in SuperBike Qualifying in Sonoma SONOMA, Calif. (May 14, 2010) Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom captured the provisional pole on Friday during qualifying for the National Guard American SuperBike class at the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway. Bostrom, a Redding native and graduate of Petaluma High School in the North Bay, turned the 12-turn, 2.28-mile road course at 1 minute, 36.108 seconds. He was followed by Josh Hayes (Yamaha, 1:36.184) and Jake Holden (Suzuki, 1:36.646). AMA Pro Road Racing SuperBike points leader and San Francisco native Jake Zemke was seventh (Suzuki, 1:36.984). Bostrom’s lone victory at Infineon Raceway came in SuperSport in 2008. He had two top-10 efforts in SuperBike in Sonoma last season, including runner-up to Mat Mladin. He is hopeful of taking the checkers this weekend at his home track. “The bike has been pretty good the last two rounds,” said Bostrom, who is eighth in SuperBike points. “We tested here and the bike was good; the team is working in harmony. It’s fantastic. We were struggling this morning in practice, but we made a few subtle changes and the bike ran quite good. We put on a new tire for the end and it wasn’t a special lap, but it was just special enough. “I’ve always been Mr. Second here. It would be special to win here on my home track.” Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino grabbed the top spot for Daytona SportBike, presented by AMSOIL, at 1:38.440. Local rider Steve Rapp, who graduated from Acalanes High School in the East Bay, was second (1:38.921) with Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin (Yamaha) third at 1:39.155. Herrin entered the weekend as the Daytona SportBike points leader. “I go faster by myself with no one around, even if I have to give up that draft of a person in front of me,” said Aquino, who is seventh in SportBike points. “I just like going out there and putting down hot laps. It’s fun. The Yamaha works really good around this track; it’s a fun racetrack.” Roseville’s Cameron Beaubier topped the speed charts in SuperSport, turning the track at 1:40.355. He was followed by Vacaville’s Joey Pascarella (Ducati, 1:41.338) and Jake Gagne (Yamaha, 1:42.575). Discovery Bay’s Elena Myers, 16, was seventh-fast aboard her Suzuki (1:44.597). “At the beginning of the session we threw on some soft tires and it felt really good. “¦I think we’re all set for the race,” Beaubier said. “This track is really fun. It’s nice to be so close to home so my friends and family can come and watch the racing. This is my third time on this track so I don’t have too much experience.” Action returns on Saturday at Infineon Raceway with main events scheduled in American SuperBike, Daytona SportBike and SuperSport. There will also be main events in Supermoto USA, Flat Track and Motocross. Gates open at 8 a.m. For more information, visit www.infineonraceway.com. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki: HOLDEN THIRD IN SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING FOR M4 MONSTER ENERGY SUZUKI Jake Holden made a most impressive debut for Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki on Friday at Infineon Raceway. Standing in for the injured John Hopkins, Holden ranked near the top of the charts right from the opening AMA Pro American Superbike class practice and continued to run up front throughout the day. After setting the second fastest time in the day’s free session, Holden qualified the #3 Suzuki GSX-R1000 on the provisional front row for the weekend’s twin AMA Superbike finals. Improving by more than a half second from his earlier practice time, the Washington native registered the third best time of qualifying with a fast lap of 1:36.646. Holden expected to be competitive this weekend but admitted that things came along even quicker than he hoped on Friday at Infineon Raceway. He said, “It surprised me a little bit. I knew these M4 Monster Energy Suzuki guys had a good bike and a good program so I was confident that we’d get up to speed pretty quickly, but I wasn’t expecting this. Considering that we still haven’t found the magic set-up yet and we’re not off the front guys — actually we’re part of the front guys — feels really good. I’m fortunate to have this opportunity with a great team and a great crew. I’m looking forward to the racing.” Despite the solid start, Holden says there’s plenty of room for improvement overnight. He explained, “I’m going to sit down with the guys and we’re going to go over quite a few things to try. It’s been a couple years since I’ve been on a Suzuki and it’s a lot different than the bikes I’ve been riding. We’ve got gearing changes, suspension changes, and chassis stuff to work through. We’ll go through all that stuff tonight and hopefully find the magic set-up for tomorrow.” Holden’s Superbike teammate, Chris Ulrich, was solidly in the top ten on Friday as well. The Californian, who currently ranks sixth in the season’s AMA Superbike championship standings, was ninth fastest on Friday with a best lap of 1:38.444. Meanwhile, Road Atlanta double winner Martin Cardenas ended Friday seventh on the provisional AMA Pro Daytona grid. The Colombian, who is seeking his fourth victory of the young 2010 season, was less than three tenths off a spot on the provisional front row in the tightly-packed session with his best time of 1:39.436. On Saturday morning Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will solidify their grid positions during final qualifying and then come out in the afternoon for the weekend’s opening Superbike and SportBike races.