JOHN HANER LEADS HIS FIRST AMA NATIONAL AT MID-OHIO Carrying the momentum of finishing fifth in the last round at Laguna Seca, John Haner of the Lion Racing Suzuki team led two laps of the Repsol Lubricants Superstock race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the first time in his short career in the AMA Superbike Championship Series. Haner got another one of his excellent starts, exiting turn one in third place. He passed Jason Disalvo on the first lap and Aaron Yates on the second lap, running comfortably in the lead until his tires started to go off. With grip continuing to diminish, John thought it wise to keep the bike on two wheels, ending up in ninth place. His finish moves him to fifth in Superstock season points, where he trails Lion Racing teammate Jake Holden by just 10 points. John had bad luck in the two Superbike finals on Saturday and Sunday. Set-up problems on his Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000 caused him to pull in during both of the 28-lap finals. While disappointed, John’s focus remains on his Superstock class performances. Saturday’s Superbike Final – 37th Place / DNF “I had a decent start, and then all of the holes closed up,” said Haner. “I got blocked up by (Larry) Pegram, but I went around him early on. Lee Acree and Scott Jensen and a bunch of people, they were on the gas. We switched motorcycles 20 minutes before the race, and that bike just didn’t feel very good to me. I had some pretty big moments, and I decided to come in after five or six laps, whatever it was. I decided to come in and save it for tomorrow, because I’d rather not do anything stupid and hurt myself today on a motorcycle that’s not working correctly. We just made the smart decision to pull in and that was it.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 9th Place “I got a really good start,” said John. “I went by (Jason) Disalvo and pushed him pretty hard, because I wanted to get behind Aaron (Yates) and give myself a chance. On the first lap, I thought I was going to go by him. And then I was side-by-side and I stayed with him and was just really riding hard. On the second lap I went by him, and I was like, ‘Okay, it’s just practice, let’s just ride’. I was riding the best that I could, and then we started losing some grip. We missed the set-up a little bit today. We had grip for three laps, but not for sixteen. I had no sidegrip, and positions just kept going and going. Everytime I tried to pick the throttle up, it would just step out, step out, and it was delaying me to get the thing off the corner. I led my first two laps (of an AMA National), something I’ve been trying to do for a little while. So now I know I can do it. I can ride with these guys. We’re just going to have to get better on our set-up. When we do that, we’re going to win one of these things one of these days.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 35th Place / DNF “I had a few moments, then I jammed my knee in the grass,” said a disappointed Haner. “We had changed the bike set-up again after the Superstock race, trying to make the thing better. I think we took a step backwards. We’ll get it fixed for next time. I was just having too many moments, and didn’t feel like it was the safest thing to do to stay out there. My knee was hurting quite a bit and I was making too many mistakes, so I just called it a day.” 2005 Superstock Point Standings (After 8 Races) 1. Aaron Yates, 264 2. Jason Disalvo, 250 3. Steve Rapp, 206 4. Jake Holden, 184 5. John Haner, 174 6. Roger Lee Hayden, 173 7. Tommy Hayden, 168 8. Aaron Gobert, 162 9. Jamie Hacking, 156 10. Damon Buckmaster, 138 More, from another press release issued by Proforma: FRUSTRATING WEEKEND FOR MILLENNIUM KWS SUZUKI AT MID-OHIO The Millennium KWS Suzuki team of Blake Young and Lee Acree had a frustrating weekend during round eight of the AMA Superbike Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The week started off great, with Blake winning the 2005 AMA Horizon Award on Wednesday, during the AMA Sports Road Race Grand Championships. He won several races over the two days, battling with other top riders. Lee won a race on Tuesday, the only one he was eligible for as a former AMA 750 Supersport race winner. Unfortunately, the good luck did not carry over to the AMA Pro weekend. Blake crashed unhurt while running 11th in the Superstock final, and had a frustrating race on his Suzuki GSX-R600 in Supersport to finish 12th. Lee continued his season-long battle with the front end of his Suzuki GSX-R1000, unable to find settings that will let him ride the bike to faster, more consistent lap times. Blake Young Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – Crash / DNF “I got off to a crappy start,” said Blake. “It was my first crummy start all year. The bike just bogged down. I got boxed in down in turn one, but I followed Steve Rapp through most of the field. We started picking off guys and I started going with him. Everything was going good, and then my tires started feeling a little bit greasy. I was hitting all my marks, and I came down into turn nine, and the next thing you know the bike was out from underneath me. It was the weirdest feeling ever.” Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 12th Place “That was frustrating,” commented Blake after chasing Geoff May for every lap of the sixteen lap race. “I didn’t have anything for Geoff. He couldn’t get away, but I couldn’t catch his draft. My bike just would not get with his, it didn’t matter what I did.” Lee Acree Saturday’s Superbike Final – 14th Place “We didn’t really change anything to speak of on the bike since the end of the day on Friday,” said Acree. “We went out this morning and discovered that there was no way that the soft front tire was going to survive Superbike distance. I prefer the grip of the soft front tire. In the race, I got in behind Jeremy Toye and Scott Jensen. I could roll into some of the corners better than them, a little better on the brakes. But when I tried to push the brakes on in, I couldn’t run that hard all the way into the apex. I started having front tire issues before halfway, and I tried to ease off on the nose a little bit. At two-thirds distance, I started trying to push the front end a little bit harder with the lighter fuel load, and it felt okay. But the last couple of laps, it just kind of pushed that compound for all it was worth.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 15th Place “At the beginning, I was ahead of Eric Wood, Jimmy Moore and Jason Perez,” said Lee. “Wood came by, and then a couple of laps later Jimmy came by. Perez went by and then I went on by Jimmy. Then I started getting a bit of a gap on Jimmy, trying to run Perez back down. I didn’t have grip on either end, but the front was far worse than the back. We went up with the spring rate a little bit on the forks, we stiffened up the compression a little bit to control the travel, and we extended the forks to try to get the geometry that’s in the other bike.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 14th Place “I tried to conserve the front more today, which resulted in the spinning of the rear sooner,” said Acree. “The same result at the very end. That last lap was questionable. I really wanted to get back around Cory West, and I pushed a little harder than I probably should have, but I didn’t pile it. I tried to get a run on him anywhere, but he’s really good on the brakes.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: HONDA RACING INFORMATION Climate: Sunny Temperature: 30 degrees Duhamel Podiums Twice at Honda Supercycle Weekend at Mid-Ohio American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel scored a pair of podium finishes, and nearly a third, on a scorchingly hot weekend of racing in the Honda Supercyle Weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Duhamel began the weekend by riding through a front end problem to finish fourth in Saturday’s Superbike race aboard his American Honda CBR1000RR. The French-Canadian veteran, who now calls Las Vegas home, followed it up by finishing second to teammate Jake Zemke in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme final. Sunday was the capper when he scored his first Superbike podium of the year in a blazingly hot Superbike race. “It feels great,” Duhamel said after finishing second in 30 degree weather. “We’ve been working hard.” Teammate Jake Zemke had a less successful weekend. The Californian rode his American Honda CBR600RR to victory in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme final; his fifth of the year, this one narrowly over teammate Duhamel. The final pass came in turn one on the last lap of a race that the pair had taken turns leading. But both Superbike races ended prematurely with electrical problems. Saturday’s Superbike race was won by series leader Mat Mladin (Suzuki) over teammate Ben Spies (Suzuki), and Eric Bostrom (Ducati). On Sunday Bostrom took the win over Duhamel by 3.085 seconds, with Spies now third. The drama in Sunday’s race came on the 12th of 26 laps when Suzuki’s Aaron Yates fell in the penultimate corner, forcing teammate and Mladin to take evasive action. Mladin fell at low speed, but remounted to finish 30th. Yates also continued on, finishing ninth. The series now takes a summer break before resuming on the final weekend in August at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia. Miguel Duhamel, 2nd, Sunday Superbike The bike was really good. It was pretty decent yesterday besides the front end problem we had a bit. Today we corrected that. The bike was just solid. I really felt I could slowly bring myself up to the leaders. I got behind Jake (Zemke) and I think he had a problem and then Ben (Spies) seemed to be struggling too, but I was struggling to get by him. And I was trying to chase Eric (Bostrom) down and the whole time I was thinking, ‘Man if he wasn’t so in shape I think I could reel him in.’ I know he’s in great shape. I felt terrific out there. I was pushing hard and trying to close that gap and keep him nervous to the end. So I’m pretty happy for my team Honda and the CBR1000. We had a good bike today. It got better as the temperature got up and the race wore on. I felt real good on it. Jake Zemke, DNF, Sunday Superbike It was pretty short, a little bit shorter today than yesterday. Not quite sure why. The thing just started cutting out coming up the front straightaway that lap. Once I got the thing wide open she just started cutting out and misfiring and kept doing it all the way around the track, so I figured it was time to call it a day. Not quite the same as yesterday. Yesterday the thing cut out absolutely, completely, like the motor shut off, like I hit the kill switch. Today it was different; it was like it was running on two cylinders instead. Miguel Duhamel, 4th, Saturday Superbike Our front tire issue is probably our bike, because other people used that same tire. They seemed to have a great race. And it was good for a few laps, because I think I registered the second fastest lap after Mat (Mladin). So, my bike was good. We just need to get rid of that little situation and I think I’ll do OK for the rest of the race. The bike was fast and was good and hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to have another podium and be on the top step. Jake Zemke, DNF, Saturday Superbike The bike just started cutting out. It was really weird. And it didn’t like just cut out for a second, it cut out and it was just nothing. Came in and they looked at the data and they could definitely see where the ignition was cutting out. It was cutting out a lot actually, just little spikes that were real quick. They see it, so they think maybe it’s something with the electric shifter thing. Miguel Duhamel, 2nd, Formula Xtreme On those last few laps, I was just trying to make it hard for Jake to stay with me and I knew my bike had some speed on him. It was going to take a big outbraking maneuver. I was expecting it on the backstraight and he got me going into turn one. I was strong sometimes, but that time not strong enough. And he got me in turn one and then it’s so hard to find a place to go around and try to make a clean pass. And just try to put my wheel around him and try to do the best I can. Down the back straight he held tight. I was tight with him on the inside and I noticed that we were pretty much on the dirt part of the track. I just tried to brake decent. And probably in nine I would have been better to draft that go to the outside of him and had the inside in the next corner. So you know these are all the things that are going through your head when you’re out there racing and trying to do the best you can. Jake Zemke, 1st , Formula Xtreme Any time you’re racing with Miguel, it’s tough. I’m not sure if I picked the wrong gearing or if my motor was just down a little bit on his or what the deal was. He definitely had a little bit of steam on me down the back straightaway. Had to ride a little bit harder than I wanted to to stay up there and even just to stay with him, really. I knew it was going to come down to the last lap as usual. I made that pass going into turn one. That was probably about I think it was the only place I could pass him on the race track besides going into the back straightaway. It’s both areas where you’re braking hard, basically it’s the only way I could hit around him. He’d be looking for me to pass him on the back straightaway there because I had passed him there. That’s the only place I had passed him before. I wanted to try to catch him by surprise. Sunday Superbike: 1. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 5. Kurtis Roberts (Honda) 6. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 7. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 8. Jacob Holden (Suzuki) 9. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 10. Larry Pegram (Honda) Saturday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki) 7. Kurtis Roberts (Honda) 8. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) 9. Jacob Holden (Suzuki) 10. Marty Craggill (Suzuki) Championship Standings: 1. Mat Mladin (397) 2. Ben Spies (288) 3. Eric Bostrom (334) 4. Aaron Yates (316) 5. Neil Hodgson (302) 6. Miguel Duhamel (288) 7. Marty Craggill (247) 8. (TIE) Steve Rapp/Lee Acree (212) 10. Larry Pegram (219) Formula Xtreme: 1. Jake Zemke (Honda) 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 3. Kurtis Roberts (Honda) 4. Michael Barnes (Suzuki) 5. Ben Attard (Kawasaki) 6. Ty Howard (Yamaha) 7. Robert Jensen (Yamaha) 8. Chris Perris (Yamaha) 9. Danny Eslick (Suzuki) 10. Opie Caylor (Suzuki) More, from a press release issued by Hotbodies Racing Honda: Race Report: Hotbodies Racing Honda at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Larry Pegram #72 Adding to his season of consistent top 12 finishes, Larry Pegram took tenth and 11th in the Superbike doubleheader races at Mid-Ohio, on his #72 HRC-kitted Honda CBR1000RR. Pegram started out the weekend with a strong qualifying position in tenth. Pegram said, “I guess qualifying went okay. I wasn’t unhappy. We were only about a half of a tenth of a second from eighth and that would have been better. In Race One we had a clutch problem coming off the line and it dropped me back to around 18th. I had to work my way back up from there. We worked on the bike Saturday night and thought we had the problem fixed but today we had the same problem and I dropped back to something like 23rd from the start. The clutch was like a switch, either on or off. I fought my way up to ninth and then Yates passed me on the last lap. I like this track. It just needs a new surface.” Pegram is currently 10th in Superbike points. Jeremy Toye #57 Who’d a thunk it? Jeremy Toye had his second exceptionally proper race weekend in a row, with his 16th place qualifying position that he transformed into a 12th place finish for each of the Superbike races at Mid-Ohio. And he did it all on his more better somewhat nearly HRC-kitted Honda CBR1000RR, showing that even he can’t hide his own talent forever. Toye said, “I don’t know what the hell happened. It was crazy. I was worried coming here because I’d never been here before and I’d been told by other racers that the track is hard to learn. So I showed up early with and extra bike. The extra track time really helped. So now we’re on this weird decent-qualifying kick. And then, unlike me, I got bitchin’ starts in both races. I don’t know who’s riding the bike but whoever he is he deserves a pat on the back. Everything went well and I like the track. The bike’s chassis is halfway right, the motor is good, it’s crazy when everything is to your liking and the finishes show it. I had no moments or pterodactyls attacking me or anything, so it was kind of boring. Nicely boring.” Justin Filice #170 Justin Filice had a weekend of experiences in Supersport and the misspelled Formula Xtreme class, with backwards finishes from his qualifying positions of 14th and 17th, respectively, leaving him 19th and DNF-teenth respectively. Filice said, “In Supersport it went better this weekend than it has but I fell during qualifying. The race went good even though I struggled with the front grip after a few laps; the bike was everywhere. A guy got under me in turn one and I stood up and there was curbing in front of me so I jumped it and a few guys got by. In FX we had a bit of trouble with setup. In qualifying we rode on used tires then put on a good tire but didn’t adjust the bike at first. In the race I got a great start. I think I passed two rows. Then on about the third lap, a guy behind me ran into seven too hot and took me out. It wasn’t his fault, just a racing incident. Other than that I was doing good all weekend and was just a second or so off the factory guys. The track is fine but the transitions of its surface are unsettling. If it was repaved it’d probably be the best track we race on, except for the safety. When I crashed I hit a barrier, which isn’t how a track should be.” More, from a press release issued by Team Hotbodies Racing: Cory West #187 Cory West took his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to an unusually low qualifying spot of 27th, then resorted himself for 19th and 13th place finishes in the two Superbike races at Mid-Ohio. West said, “Qualifying sucked. I was doing my best but couldn’t get a good time. In Race One I had a good start and got lucky with others having ‘mechanicals’ but a few guys beat me who I knew I could beat. My front brakes were fading so I had to be careful and after I blew a few turns I slowed it down even more. Before Race Two I sat down alone and listened to some good music and got my head together. Everything worked good so we didn’t change the bike or anything. It was all in my head. I never passed so many guys in a race before. My father took care of everything before the race. I went two seconds faster this year and after I put my head down I was another half second faster. So I know I need to qualify better. The track is a fun layout and has a lot of fans but the surface isn’t very good and you tend to think about it too much.” Nicky Moore #28 Usual front-runner Nicky Moore had an unusual weekend that saw him qualify 23rd for Supersport and finish 27th, and get a 20th qualifying position and 13th-place finish in Formula Xtreme. Moore said, “Qualifying was not that good I was slow going. It got better today and I made it up to 13th. On the last lap I tucked the front and fell trying to protect my position. I hit a wave on the track’s uneven surface and tucked the front. In FX I normally don’t do that badly. I was struggling all weekend. I’ve never been here before and we only had one day of practice and qualifying. The track is nice and there’s a lot of good runoff in most places. Once you get over the surface changes you can go fast.” Taylor Knapp #38 In Supersport, Taylor Knapp qualified his Yamaha YZF-R6 21st and finished 13th, while in Formula Xtreme he qualified 18th and finished 14th. Knapp said, “I got a good start in FX and hooked up with some people. My bikes were set up good and things went well. I’m 9th in points in FX. During qualifying for Supersport it was raining at first. The track dried but there were a few water spots. It wasn’t too bad and I was on row five. In the Supersport race I was battling with Nicky Moore until he lost his front end on the last lap. We were passing each other back and forth before that and he made a gap. I caught him back up and challenged him on the brakes. The track is a nice layout but the groves are tricky and it takes time to find confidence here. My Yamaha R6s are both Supersport legal. We bought two of last year’s factory bikes and they make good power and they’re set up real good. So we left them how they were.” Heath Small #27 Heath Small had his work cut out for him form his 32nd qualifying position in Superbike, which he turned into a 22nd and a DNF, in the weekend’s doubleheader. In Formula Xtreme Small qualified 15th, aged it for about 17 laps, and claimed it again as his at the end of the race. Small said, “In Superbike qualifying I was looking strong and had only a few grip issues. We changed the rear ride height and with only four minutes left that dropped us from 14th to like 32nd. In the race we were still searching and had changed our set up and one click here and there. I had my brake markers set all week long but I was in a draft and I tried passing under braking and I did a stoppie and ran off the track. I got back on in like 34th and climbed back up to 22nd. In today’s Race Two the bike wouldn’t down shift and went into a false neutral. I tried staying out and blew a few corners and was fighting my confidence. I just wanted to finish and I watched the temp but lost the motor eventually. I love the track. It’s a rider’s track. I tried to ride my own race in FX. The bike was set up pretty good, just a little chatter in the front end. I felt under powered compared to who I usually run with. We’ll have a new motor for the next race.” Keith Marshall Keith Marshall showed up for the Supersport race but after terminating two engines he was able to beat the traffic and head home. Giovanni Rojas In Supersport, Giovanni Rojas (pronounced Row-Haas) qualified 17th and finished the race 23rd. Rojas said, “I had a bad start. A terrible start. I was in 29th within one turn. I started passing people and on the seventh lap my tire started going away. It was overall not a good weekend as far as my results. The first day the track was iffy with the wet spots. We practiced but were given little time. I kept it on two wheels and got some points. The layout is really good and physical, as long as it doesn’t bother you with the patches and all that. It’s a fun layout. I think all of us at Hotbodies had a great weekend working together and the fans at Mid-Ohio are great.” More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin: BOSTROM AND DUCATI WIN AGAIN AT MID-OHIO Lexington, Ohio (July 24) Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin racer Eric Bostrom won his third victory of the season at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, leading all 26 laps on his Ducati 999 Superbike. Neil Hodgson augmented the team’s fourth win of the year with a solid fourth place at the notoriously difficult Mid-Ohio circuit. Bostrom, after quickly taking the lead from his second row starting position, felt the heat in the first eleven laps as he was under pressure from the factory Suzukis. Bostrom managed to keep the lead despite intense competition for the spot, however. After Bostrom’s two rivals crashed, Eric managed a sizeable gap through traffic to take the win by 3.085 seconds, becoming the first Ducati rider to win at the track since Doug Polen won in 1992. “It’s exhilarating,” said Bostrom of the win. “What a crazy race! A lot of strange events and that’s kind of the way the season has gone. The pace was pretty strong, that’s why I was so pumped at the end. They were pushing hard and I gave it everything I had. I wanted to win, but I was just so happy to be doing 1:26 laps. That was almost good enough for me. My goal was to be able to run a competitive pace and we did that. Then to win another race made it even sweeter.” Eric, the winner at Pikes Peak, Laguna Seca, and now Mid-Ohio this season, said the getting off the line at the start was the key. “This is the best-starting bike I’ve ever ridden,” said the 15-time AMA Superbike race winner, considered the “holeshot” artist of the AMA field. “I’d like to give a big thanks to the crew, all my guys for working so hard all year and keeping the faith,” added Bostrom after the 26-lap race. Team Owner, Terry Gregoricka, was pleased to see the Italian L-twin powered 999 Superbike cross the line first once again. “It was an awesome race. The team has been doing well lately, winning four of the last six races this year. Eric showed what he could do again today and it really fired up the team, watching him out there winning again. Neil had a tough weekend, but he finished respectably in fourth today despite the fact that he faced a steep learning curve here.” Although Neil Hodgson finished a solid fourth on the day, he wished to contend for the victory and was not satisfied with his result. “I’m disappointed I didn’t have a little better pace today,” said Hodgson. “We missed a chance at an even better result with the way the race went for some of the others. This track was a difficult one for me and I’m glad to put it behind us. We never really found our form here. As far as the race went, it was pretty lonely for me out there, not many battles for position. We’ll go on to Virginia and Atlanta now. We hope to close out the season with some nice results and I feel good about those tracks.” The Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team will next race August 26-28 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, VA. Results – 1. ERIC BOSTROM, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Ben Spies, Suzuki 4. NEIL HODGSON, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda 6. Steve Rapp, Suzuki AMA Superbike Points (After 13 of 17 rounds) 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 397, 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 388, 3. ERIC BOSTROM, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 334 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 316 5. NEIL HODGSON, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 302 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 288 More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MAY AND BARNES FINISH IN THE TOP TEN IN MID-OHIO SUPERSTOCK Team M4 EMGO Suzuki enjoyed a solid conclusion to the Mid-Ohio weekend on Sunday but entered the day aiming for even stronger results then they were ultimately rewarded with. Michael Barnes’ terrific front-row qualifying performances had the team focused on securing a pair of podiums this weekend, but it wasn’t to be. The Floridian backed up his fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race by claiming seventh in Sunday’s 16-lap Superstock race. Barnes ran as high as fourth early, but wasn’t able to hold the position. He still looked good for a top-five result in the race, but unfortunately was bumped back a couple positions on the final lap and crossed the line seventh. It was a respectable showing in the hotly contested big-bore class, but it was still less than team hoped for after displaying their potential so clearly on Friday and Saturday. Geoff May took his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 to a top-ten result as well, even though a shoulder injury bothered him. The Georgian put in a steady ride to tenth place, his fourth top-ten Superstock finish of the 2005 season. May then finished out the weekend with an eleventh place showing in the 60k Supersport final. Team Crew Chief Keith Perry commented, “Today was very disappointing. We qualified on the front row for two big races and looked like we had a shot, but we ended up going backwards. We’ve got some reevaluating to do to make sure we’re not missing something. Everybody is working hard, the riders are trying hard, and Pirelli is doing a good job, we know that. We just need to make sure we get all the pieces put in the right places.” Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will next race at VIR August 24-26. The team will also test at Road Atlanta next month in anticipation of the AMA finale to be held at the track in September. More, from a press release issued on behalf of Pirelli North America: Pirelli Race Report: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 22-24 The Pirelli Solution Michael Barnes, of the M4 EMGO Suzuki team, qualified on the front row for both Superstock and Formula Xtreme, at the ultra-tricky Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, on his Pirelli tire equipped Suzukis. Mid-Ohio is known for its degraded surface with varied traction yet Barnes grabbed the number-two qualifying position in FX, while setting the third-fastest qualifying lap in Superstock. Barnes finished fourth in FX, claiming the highest finish for a non-factory, non-Honda rider. With four top-seven FX finishes in the races Barnes has entered since being drafted by the team midseason, he has catapulted to eighth in the points. In Superstock Barnes finished seventh, after a race-long battle for fifth. Also in the Superstock class, Lion Racing teammates Jacob Holden and John Haner respectively qualified sixth and seventh on their Suzuki GSX-R1000s. Holden finished fourth while Haner took ninth, allowing each rider to maintain their top five places for the season. Holden is ranked fourth and Haner fifth, each leading five factory riders in the points. M4 EMGO Suzuki rider Geoff May finished tenth, giving Pirelli riders four of the top ten positions in Superstock.