Two-time and defending Champion Josh Hayes topped provisional AMA Pro National Guard Superbike qualifying Friday at the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta at Road Atlanta, but his speed came with a price. Hayes had just done a lap of 1:25.380 on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 and was on another fast lap when he crashed hard in Turn 12 with about 16 minutes left in the 50-minute session. Hayes also crashed in the first practice session. Hayes’ time in qualifying was good enough to earn him the provisional pole position, which could be very important if it rains during the final qualifying session on Saturday morning, but the Mississippi native’s day ended with two damaged Superbikes and a trip to the medical center to clean out nasty abrasions on his right knee. “I’m a little beat up, but all in all everything works,” Hayes said when asked if he was injured. “All in all, things have gone pretty smooth except for a couple of miscues. The bike’s quite a bit different than the last time we were here two years ago. We’ve developed a long way since then, so not a lot of our data applied from the year before [2010]. We started with the bike as it was. “Both of my mistakes and falls I can’t point to anything on the bike and say, ‘It’s that thing’s fault.’ It was probably more mine, just maybe being off the bike a little while. I was trying hard, you know. I was riding pretty smooth. Things were clicking off like normal. I’ve just had two miscues get away from me. “I had one this morning that was a false neutral going into Turn 10, and me trying to rectify the situation I think I blipped the throttle trying to get it in gear. When I blipped the throttle I think I grabbed the brake a little extra and I was a little offline trying to give myself some extra space. I fell down and tore that bike up pretty good. “This session everything was going pretty smooth. I got up on the front wheel coming down the hill into the last corner. It kind of started snaking around a little bit like it always does, but I got a little close to the white line and the rear wheel went into the grass. It stepped out and did a big decelerating highside. Unfortunately, I tore up my second bike, so I ran out of motorcycles and had to stop for the rest of the afternoon. “The boys were pretty well into having the other one fixed. So I feel good that tomorrow we’ll have everything we need, and hopefully I’ll have a better day tomorrow.” Hayes’ main rival, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Young, got off to a relatively slow start Friday but closed the gap to Hayes down to less than two tenths of a second during qualifying. Young’s best lap on his GSX-R1000 was a 1:25.507. Team Amsoil/Hero’s Geoff May, a resident of nearby Gainesville, Georgia, was third-fastest with a 1:26.551 on his EBR 1190RS. Hayes’ teammate Josh Herrin earned the final spot on the provisional front row with a lap of 1:26.572. Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta/AMA Pro Road Racing National Guard Superbike Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia April 20, 2012 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.380, crash 2. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:25.507 3. Geoff May (EBR 1190RS), 1:26.551 4. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.572 5. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.581 6. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.642 7. Ben Bostrom (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.814 8. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:26.854 9. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-10R), 1:26.858 10. Larry Pegram (BMW S1000RR), 1:26.992 11. Jake Holden (BMW S1000RR), 1:27.072 12. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), 1:27.276 13. Danny Eslick (EBR 1190RS), 1:27.629 14. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.784 15. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:27.946 16. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:28.235 17. Reese Wacker (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.021 18. Shawn Higbee (EBR 1190RS), 1:30.781 19. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:31.134 20. Lloyd Bayley (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:32.810 21. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:39.363 22. Jordan Burgess (Suz GSX-R1000), no time recorded 23. Eric Pinson (BMW S1000RR), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.: Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Rider Hayes On Provisional SuperBike Pole At Road Atlanta Braselton, GA April 20, 2012 Two-time reigning AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes qualified his crossplane-crankshaft Yamaha YZF-R1® on the provisional pole in the first SuperBike qualifying session at Road Atlanta. Despite being away from Road Atlanta last year (AMA Pro Racing did not compete here in 2011), Josh wasted no time getting up to speed on the north Georgia road course. He was the fastest rider by just under a full second in the first practice session, despite a tipover in Turn 10. In provisional qualifying, Josh also shot to the top of the timing charts right from the start, and he maintained his first position throughout the entirety of the session. As proof that Josh was on the gas and on the limit, he suffered a second tipover, this time in Turn 12. The Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha crew will have Josh’s R1 in tiptop shape for tomorrow’s final qualifying, and Josh himself will be ready to improve his lap time and defend his provisional pole. Georgia rider and Josh’s Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha SuperBike teammate Josh Herrin, who hails from Dublin, GA, qualified on the front row in his first-ever SuperBike qualifying session at Road Atlanta. Josh is looking forward to moving up in tomorrow’s second SuperBike qualifying session. That second qualifying session is scheduled for tomorrow at 9:50 AM EST, and SuperBike Race 1 will go green later on Saturday at 3:15 PM EST. SuperBike Race 2 is set for Sunday at 3:30 PM EST. Check your local TV listings for Speed TV’s telecast of both races. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Monster Mash: Josh Hayes Earns Provisional Pole Despite Two Crashes at Road Atlanta in First Day of Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta Action BRASELTON, Ga. (April 20, 2012) – Defending champion Josh Hayes watched the final ten minutes of Friday’s AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike qualifying session tick off from pitlane alongside a pair of crashed No. 1-plated Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1s. Despite encountering a lot more drama than he might have hoped for, Hayes ultimately walked away from the opening day of action for the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince with the provisional pole after turning a lap time of 1:25.380 around Road Atlanta’s 2.55-mile natural road course. Hayes also crashed out of the day’s free practice, but in each session no rider proved capable of taking advantage of Hayes’ absence and bettering the mark he had previously set. “It’s been a rough day,” Hayes admitted. “I had another good (lap) going before I made my second big mistake of the day. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the place, but I have a lot of laps around Road Atlanta. This is, I think, the 18th year that I’ve raced here. Every year I seem to get some laps in here, except for last year. Still feels like home and I still remember my way around pretty well. All in all, things have gone pretty well except for a couple of miscues.” The champ promised that he’ll be fully ready to fight on Saturday. “I’m a little beat up but overall everything works. I’m running out of suits and helmets. Other than that, I have a few abrasions on my knee but nothing that will keep me from performing well.” It came as little surprise that Hayes’ title rival, Blake Young, was the man who came closest to knocking him off the top spot in qualifying. The Yoshimura Racing Suzuki pilot threw down a 1:25.508 to put a scare into Hayes whose fast lap had previously appeared to be unassailable. Local favorite Geoff May, who hails from nearby Gainesville, Georgia, put in an outstanding effort for the Team Amsoil/Hero EBR squad on Friday. May’s 1:26.551 put him third overall, trailing only the superstar duo of Hayes and Young. May is no stranger to success at Road Atlanta, of course, having won the Superstock race at the venue in 2008, and then finishing on the podium twice in the premier SuperBike class a year later. Hayes’ rookie teammate, Josh Herrin, also considers Road Atlanta to be his home circuit. And the Dublin, Georgia native was also quick, rounding out the provisional front row on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha on the provisional front row at 1:26.572. The provisional second row was an all-Suzuki affair, led by Yoshimura Racing Suzuki’s Chris Clark. Teammates Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) and Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki) were next, followed by an impressive David Anthony on the Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. Steve Rapp headed the provisional third row on the Attack Performance Kawasaki ZX-10R, with Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing BMW), Jake Holden (EvanSteelPeformance.com BMW), and Chris Fillmore (KTM/HMC Racing) in line behind. Hayes will look to add to his burgeoning bonus point tally in final qualifying on Saturday morning before the SuperBike stars turn their attention to the day’s 20-lap final. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Martin Cardenas (GEICO Suzuki) earned provisional pole in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike division with a lap time of 1:28.938. After earning only one pole in his AMA Pro career, the former series champion won pole last month at Daytona before setting the provisional best time today. Has there been a change in his approach? “No,” Cardenas said, “I think this bike suits me very well and gives me a good feeling so I can push harder. So far it’s been good.” Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing) led the morning practice and finished second in qualifying, ahead of fellow veteran Jake Zemke (DucShop Racing.) Dane Westby (M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki) produced a strong session to finish on the overnight front row. Daytona 200 winner Joey Pascarella (SGA Yamaha) was fifth quickest. He was joined on the provisional second row by Cory West (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki), Huntley Nash (LTD Racing) and Tommy Hayden (Yamaha Extended Services Graves Yamaha.) AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport In AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport, the battle for provisional pole went to reigning series champ James Rispoli (Orient Express Celtic Racing) who set a Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport track record with a lap time of 1:30.337, besting Jake Lewis (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) and Dustin Dominguez (Castrol Triumph) in the process. This trio were the only riders in the 1:30 bracket on the challenging Georgia circuit. Hayden Gillim (Red Bull/RoadRace Factory) closed out the front row. Find out who will become the next Big Kahuna in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike and AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike by tuning in to SPEED for a set of same-day delayed broadcasts scheduled to begin Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT) and Sunday at 11:00 p.m. ET (8:00 p.m. PT). Follow along live as the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series riders battle for their boards by logging onto http://www.speed2.com. SPEED2 is a broadband service available to customers of Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DISH and Cox. For more information and instructions on gaining access to all of the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races, please review the SPEED2 FAQ located at http://www.speed2.com/faq. Live Timing & Scoring of all on-track sessions will be available at http://live.amaproracing.com/rr/. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at www.twitter.com/AMAProSBK and www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.