AMA Pro American Superbike Championship leader Jake Zemke snatched the provisional pole position away from Auto Club Speedway Race Two winner Tommy Hayden in the closing moments of Friday’s provisional qualifying session at Road Atlanta. Zemke trailed Hayden in the qualifying order by about 0.3 second, but on his last lap on his National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000K9 Zemke ripped off a 1:25.166 quicker than anyone went during the 2009 event at Road Atlanta to capture the provisional pole position. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Hayden ended up second-best with a 1:25.497 on his GSX-R1000K9. Hayden’s teammate Blake Young led Friday afternoon’s American Superbike practice session and went faster (1:25.560) in qualifying, but he finished third in the order. The final spot on the provisional front row was earned by Josh Hayes, who recorded a 1:25.739 on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1. Pat Clark Motorsports’ Ben Bostrom finished the session fifth with a 1:26.010 on his Yamaha YZF-R1, just ahead of Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing Ducati’s Larry Pegram, who did a 1:26.133 on his Ducati 1098R. Privateer Taylor Knapp got off to his best weekend start of 2010, posting the seventh-best time (1:26.236) on his Ridersdiscount.com Suzuki GSX-R1000K9. Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki John Hopkins was eighth with a 1:26.470 in spite of having to learn the new-to-him configuration of Road Atlanta and just coming off recent surgery to his right wrist. Ninth in the session was Vesrah Suzuki’s 49-year-old Tray Batey, who did a 1:27.608 even though he had not ridden a road race bike since October, had not ridden the GSX-R1000K9 he used before the start of practice Friday afternoon and had not ridden on Dunlop tires since 1993. Brett McCormick, the 18-year-old who is riding in place of Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s injured Aaron Yates, rounded out the top 10 with a 1:27.722 on the third different Suzuki GSX-R1000 he has ridden this season. AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia April 16, 2010 Qualifying Session One Provisional Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Jake Zemke (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.166 2. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.497 3. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:25.560 4. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 1:25.739 5. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), 1:26.010 6. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), 1:26.133 7. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.236 8. John Hopkins (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:26.470 9. Tray Batey (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:27.608 10. Brett McCormick (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:27.722 11. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:27.776 12. Chris Clark (Yam YZF-R1), 1:29.220 13. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:29.401 14. Tim Hunt (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:29.826 15. Eric Pinson (BMW R1000SS), 1:30.636 16. Skip Salenius (Suz GSX-R1000K9), 1:30.926 17. Barrett Long (Duc 1098R), 1:30.935 107% of Fastest Time: 1:31.127 18. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:31.256 19. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000K8), 1:31.837 20. Lindsay McGregor (Yam YZF-R1), 1:33.425 More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: BRASELTON, GA (April 16, 2010) – On a perfect Georgia day, a time set by a rider who was almost unbeatable was beaten and a streak continued after the first round of AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike qualifying for the Suzuki SuperBike Showdown at the classic Road Atlanta race track. Jake Zemke, once again riding his No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki continued the Jordan team’s dominance in qualifying by posting a superb qualifying lap of 1:25.166/107.790 MPH. This tops the exceptional lap of 1:25.281 set last year by seven-time AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike champion Mat Mladin. A number of riders threatened but just when it counted, Zemke laid down a sensational lap to continue the qualifying streak set by his downed teammate Aaron Yates, who took pole position at each of the previous races in the 2010 season. Yates, still recovering from his unfortunate injuries at Auto Club Speedway, is at the track in spirit as he recovers at his Milledgeville, GA home. Blake Young on his No. 79 Rockstar Makita Suzuki set the early pace in practice and then also in qualifying as he tried to carry the flag for the Yoshimura team that Mladin accomplished so much with. Midway through qualifying, a resurgent Josh Hayes on his No. 4 Team Graves Yamaha jumped to the top of the charts for part of the 50-minute session and then Young’s Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, Tommy Hayden jumped him and Hayes both to wind up second quick with a very strong 1:25.447. The first four riders were the only ones to dip into the 1:25 second range. Ben Bostrom on his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha took fifth as he rounds into the form everyone expected going into the season just ahead of 2010 Auto Club Speedway race winner Larry Pegram, who so nearly put his Foremost Insurance Ducati in victory lane in the second race in California. An impressive Taylor Knapp was also quick from the start of practice here at Road Atlanta and backed it up with a solid seventh place in qualifying. Next up was John Hopkins who is coming off surgery on his right wrist and is recovering but still rode his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki to a respectable eighth place. Ninth was Tray Batey, who showed his hasn’t lost any of his speed as he returns to AMA Pro Racing action with the Vesrah Suzuki team. Tenth was Brett McCormick, who is in his first race substituting for Aaron Yates on the No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki. Riding well within himself, the team was very pleased with McCormick’s first day as he adjusts to the new team environment. Twenty American SuperBikes took to the track at the classic 2.56-mile, twelve turn road course and AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike final qualifying and race one of two will take place Saturday, April 17th. Visit www.roadatlanta.com for full schedule and ticket information. Flag-to-flag coverage of this weekend’s AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike doubleheader can be in seen in same-day delay broadcasts Saturday and Sunday evenings on SPEED. Check your local listings for broadcast times. 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.