Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May led the first, postponed Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport practice Friday morning at the repaved Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. May’s best lap time of 1:29.014 was faster than Ben Spies’ class lap record of 1:29.074, which he set in 2004. Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard, Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking (the current Championship leader), Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden and May’s teammate Michael Barnes were also in the 1:29 bracket in spite of the remnants of an oil clean up on the track at the start of the session. Pro Honda Oils AMA Supersport Championship Presented by Shoei Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 4 Provisional Practice Results: 1. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.014 2. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:29.406 3. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.622 4. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:29.699 5. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.863 6. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R600), 1:30.235 7. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.206 8. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), 1:31.367 9. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.413 10. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:31.816 11. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), 1:31.921 12. Tony Meiring (Suz GSX-R600), 1:32.137 13. Chris “Opie” Caylor (Suz GSX-R600), 1:32.339 14. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), 1:32.426 15. Shea Fouchek (Suz GSX-R600), 1:32.830 16. Garrett Carter (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.225 17. Jimmy Wood (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:33.542 18. Alastair Seeley (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.027 19. Scott Ryan (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.094 20. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.454 21. Gustavo Laya (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:34.518 22. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.043 23. Ryan Clay (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.387 24. Pascal Picotte (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.517 25. Scotty Van Hawk (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:36.262 26. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), 1:36.428 27. Brandon Parrish (Suz GSX-R600), 1:36.560 28. Dave Rosno (Yam YZF-R6), 1:36.648 29. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6), 1:38.414 30. Jessica Zalusky (Kaw ZX-6RR), 1:39.69 31. Mike Shreve (Yam YZF-R6), 1:40.148 32. Simon Kowalski (YAm YZF-R6), 1:41.157 33. Mike Radke (Yam YZF-R6), 1:41.549 34. Joseph Ford (Yam YZF-R6), 1:41.603 More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Pirelli Rider Geoff May: Fastest of All in AMA Supersport Practice, Mid-Ohio Geoff May, riding on Pirelli SuperCorsa Pro tires, set the fastest time in Friday’s Supersport practice for the AMA Superbike event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. May’s fast time was nearly four tenths quicker than the next fastest motorcycle, at 1:29.014, set on his Team M4 EMGO Suzuki sponsored GSX-R600. May’s teammate, Michael “Barney” Barnes, was fifth fastest with Graves Yamaha-sponsored, youngster Michael Beck setting the ninth fastest time on his Pirelli-shod Yamaha YZF-R6. In Friday’s official Superstock practice Geoff May was fourth fastest on a GSX-R1000. May’s time of 1:27.252 was less than a half second from that of the fastest rider, Aaron Yates. In Formula Xtreme’s morning practice May’s teammate Barnes was fifth fastest. In FX qualifying Barnes ended up on row two, as sixth fastest. Friday’s Superbike practice had Millennium KWS rider John Haner setting the 12th fastest time on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, with Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slicks. Haner’s time made him the third fastest privateer heading into the first round of Superbike qualifying. In qualifying, Haner ripped forward four places to set the eighth fastest time overall and second fastest privateer. Final qualifying for the Superbike double-header is on Saturday morning. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MAY FASTEST IN MID-OHIO SUPERSPORT PRACTICE Team M4 EMGO Suzuki enjoyed a tremendous opening day to the AMA road racing weekend at Mid-Ohio on Friday, leading the way in Supersport, notching up three top-five practice performances, and qualifying on the second row for Saturday’s Formula Xtreme final. Geoff May got the squad off to a terrific start, posting the fastest lap in the day’s Supersport free practice. The Georgian clocked a best time of 1:29.014 to top the charts aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600. May was followed by teammate Mike Barnes, who was fifth best in the opening session with a time of 1: 29.863. The team’s developmental rider Shea Fouchek, rounded out an impressive Supersport showing for Team M4 EMGO Suzuki on Friday by finishing 15th in the class at 1:32.830, a very promising outing for the young racer. “The Supersport practice went really well,” May commented, “We got to ride a little bit yesterday and got the chance to get it dialed in a little bit. Since we didn’t get to test here with the other guys we thought we might be a little bit behind the eight ball. We got out there and got a good start and just kept working on the chassis from what we learned yesterday and kept going in the right direction. The Pirelli tires were working great. They were flawless this morning and I think we can go even faster. I didn’t feel like we were pushing the limit to achieve that time. It makes me feel really good and I’m excited about the race on Sunday, which is our main goal.” May was also extremely strong in Superstock, guiding his powerful GSX-R1000 to the fourth best time in the class at 1:27.252, just 0.505 seconds off the fastest lap. “The big bike took a little bit longer to get the chassis sorted out,” he admitted. “It’s a little bit more finicky than the 600 with all that extra power. We found something right near the end of the session. We made a change with 12 minutes to go in the session and it was the wrong way. We came back in with six minutes to go and we didn’t have time to make the changes we wanted to but we have a clear picture for tomorrow. I feel we’ll be right up there with the lead guys again tomorrow if not faster than they were today.” Floridian Barnes will start Saturday’s 16-lap Formula Xtreme race from the second row, qualifying sixth with a best time of 1:28.510 aboard his Pirelli-slick shod GSX-R600-based FX racer. The team will also attempt to capitalize on their Friday form during Saturday’s Supersport and Superstock qualifying sessions.