Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies was the fastest rider during provisional AMA Superbike qualifying Friday at VIRginia International Raceway, in Alton, Virginia. Riding his Dunlop-shod GSX-R1000 Spies lapped the 2.25-mile, 17-turn road course in 1:23.934, which is marginally slower than Mat Mladin’s lap record of 1:23.698. Spies said he spent the first part of the session working on some new fork settings while using an older race tire and made some good progress. Then when he came into the pits with about 20 minutes to go he decided it was time to try for a quick lap. “I saw that real big [rain] cloud come rolling in,” Spies told reporters. “I was thinking, if it rains hard the track in the morning [during the final qualifying session] could be a bit different, better or worse but definitely different. So we just decided to put in a decent lap. It wasn’t stellar. We followed it up with a few quick laps. I think the track’s a bit slower than last year, but it feels alright.” If Spies gets pole position — and the bonus Championship point that goes with it — at VIR he can win the 2008 AMA Superbike Championship without earning any more bonus points (for pole position or leading the most laps in a race) or beating Mladin in any of the remaining races. But Spies said this wasn’t necessarily a motivating factor Friday. Considering he had surgery to remove his appendix just 10 days before the last AMA Superbike round, Spies was asked for the status of his health. “It’s good,” he said. “I actually feel really good. I just took a lot of time off after Mid-Ohio and didn’t do a whole lot of anything. I pretty much just played around. That’s about it. I did a little bit of training, probably not even half of what I’ve been doing all season. It’s good to come back to the track feeling good again. I’m just in a better mood, in general. I didn’t know how much I was miserable at Mid-Ohio. It’s good. I’m happy. I’m feeling good. I’m ready for the race. Mat’s going to be tough, obviously. These next two tracks are his best tracks. I don’t think he’s going to lay down by any means, and I’m sure he’s going to pick it up. I’m just going to do everything I can do and try to go as fast as I can.” Spies’ teammate and rival Mladin (who still hasn’t recovered fully from the viral infection that affected him at Mid-Ohio) led Friday’s provisional qualifying session until the closing stages with a time of 1:24.477. Jason DiSalvo jumped up to third with a late lap of 1:24.992 on his factory Yamaha YZF-R1. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking earned the final position on the provisional front row with a time of 1:25.181 on his ZX-10R. The Group B qualifying session was stopped with 10 minutes left in the 40-minute session due to sky-to-ground lightning in the area. A short but heavy rainfall then hit the track, and the remainder of the session was called off. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited VIRginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 15, 2008 Provisional Combined Qualifying Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:23.934 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:24.477 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:24.992 4. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:25.182 5. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:25.402 6. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:25.446 7. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:25.447 8. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:25.869 9. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:26.017 10. Matt Lynn (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 1:26.061 11. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:26.262 * 12. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:26.891 * 13. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:27.104 14. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.685 15. Kenny Noyes (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:27.993 * 16. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:29.278 17. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:29.410 * 18. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:29.434 19. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:29.853 * 20. Scotty Van Hawk (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 1:30.474 21. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), 1:30.479 22. Jeremy Toye (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, 1:30.794 23. Scott Carpenter (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:30.931 * 24. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, 1:31.673 25. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, 1:34.868 * = known to be riding a Superstock-spec motorcycle More, from a press release issued by VIRginia International Raceway: Ben Spies Tops Friday Superbike Qualifying at VIR DANVILLE, VA Longview, Texas’ Ben Spies had the measure of the entire field in Friday qualifying for the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals presented by Dunlop, RockStar and Makita at VIRginia International Raceway. With a time of 1:23.934 over VIR’s 2.25-mile North Course, he beat out fellow Suzuki rider Mat Mladin by over a half second for the early pole position for the double-header weekend of motorcycle racing. Mladin’s best lap was his eleventh in the session, at 1:24.477 seconds, also better than a half second ahead of third-place Jason DiSalvo’s Yamaha. Rounding out the top five in qualifying were Jamie Hacking and Eric Bostrom, all in the quicker Group A. Group B was headed by Ben Thompson, just over three-tenths of a second quicker than Kenny Noyes, followed by Scott Jensen, David Anthony and Joshua Day, all just a small fraction of a second apart. A second qualifying session for each group takes place Saturday morning, plus practice and qualifying for the Superstock, Supersport, Formula Xtreme and Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup racers, before the races begin at 3:30. The Superbike race flags off at 3:30, for 28 laps or 100 kilometers of two-wheeled excitement, then the Formula Xtreme bikes take to VIR’s North Course at 4:40 for their 17-lap Saturday race. Sunday’s track action starts at 8:30 with warmups for the Rookies Cup, followed by Superstock, Supersport and Superbike, with the first race at 11:00, for the Rookies Cup riders. Following the autograph session in the paddock at team transporters during the lunch break, action resumes with a stunt show in Turns Four and Five, then a collection of vintage bikes takes to VIR’s scenic course before the 1:00 start for Superstock bikes. The Superbike feature race begins at 3:00, for their second 28-lap feature of the weekend. Tickets are available at the gate: $60 daily for Saturday and Sunday, or $75 for the combined ticket. About M1 Entertainment: At M1 Entertainment, our goal is to provide fans with more than just a motorcycle race. Our events include extra attractions and entertainment for the whole family, creating a truly unique experience for the devoted fan and the beginning spectator. To that end, we are always ready to listen to the people to help make our events even better. M1 Entertainment is best known as the creator and promoter of the Honda Superbike Classic at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For 10 years, the Honda Superbike Classic was one of the most successful motorcycle events in the U.S., drawing close to 100,000 fans over the three-day schedule. It was the only event in the world to combine the World Superbike series on the same weekend. Other notable M1 Entertainment events have included The Big Kahuna Nationals at Road Atlanta (1998-2000), The Reno Supermoto Classic in 2004 and the Red Bull Supermoto A-Go-Go in 2005. Our current events include the Suzuki CycleFest (2003-present) in Copper Mountain, Colorado, and the awesome Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at VIRginia International Raceway – our inaugural event taking place in August of 2005 with five more years under contract through 2010. A Denver-based company, M1 Entertainment has been working in motorsports for 15 years. Originally spawned from Daniels Corporation under the name FAST, the fledgling company was heavily involved in television production for car and motorcycle racing. With the birth of Speedvision in 1995, FAST took an advertising sales and event promotion, in addition to television production duties. Now under the umbrella of Fox Television Networks, Speed Channel (formerly Speedvision) is thriving. FAST morphed into M1 Entertainment (Race Promotion Management) and now is operating as M1 Entertainment with many of the same staff still in place. We still sell advertising for Speed Channel and promote our own events, keeping us busy year-round. VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Virginia. Reopened in 2000, VIR hosts a wide range professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing and track events, and is well established as “America’s Motorsport Resort.” In addition to its historic 3.27 mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America’s first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park and Motorsports Technology Park, which includes the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research (“VIPER”); the Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8 mile paved natural terrain karting circuit; an expanding variety of on-site lodging (including 45 hotel rooms and the trackside Villas which are for sale); Camp Motorsport for enthusiasts of all ages; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse. The next big events at VIR are a Porsche Club of America race August 9-10, followed by the AMA Big Kahuna Superbike National on August 15-17, bringing America’s best Superbike racers to VIR’s North Course. The weekend of October 3-5 sees GT Live and the KONI Challenge bring a combination of motorcycle stunts, drifting, track attack and endurance sports car races. These events are all combined with a wide variety of amateur and vintage road racing and schools throughout the year. Season passes to VIR’s major events include preferred parking and access to the major spectator events. For information on the track and other event schedules, call 434-822-7700 or check our web site at www.virclub.com.