From a press release:

Zemke/Honda Best Formula Xtreme Track Record At Laguna Seca

Though testing time not considered an AMA record, Zemke’s still stands as fastest ever

MONTEREY, Calif.–Team Bruce Transportation Group Honda’s Jake Zemke laid down the fastest Formula Xtreme class time ever at the legendary Laguna Seca raceway last week. Zemke piloted his Honda CBR 929 around the track in a blistering time of 1:27.330, topping the current record by some 8/10ths of a second.

Zemke will have to wait until the AMA Superbike race at Laguna Seca this summer to put himself in the record books as the AMA does not recognize testing times as track record times. Kurtis Roberts still holds the Formula Xtreme class record at Laguna Seca with a time of 1:28.171.

Still, Zemke was stoked with his effort, especially considering those times were laid down on last year’s bike.

“We ran a 1:28.4 on the first day, but I knew there was a lot of room for improvement,” said Zemke. “The weather was cold on Tuesday so it looked like the 1:28.4 was as good as it was going to get. Then, on Wednesday, the weather got better, I was able to put in seven to eight laps in the 1:28.2s and 3s – just off the track record. We put on a new tire, went out, and five laps later I had broken the 1:27 barrier.”

Coincidentally, Zemke’s new CBR954s just arrived last week, but had not been prepped for the Laguna testing. So there’s a decent chance he’ll shave even more off the Laguna Seca-best Formula Extreme time he notched last week on the ‘new & improved’ Honda.

“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to getting out on that new CBR954,” said Zemke. “Especially now that my arm’s healthy.” Note: Zemke broke his arm last year and suffered through some problems with it, qualifying ninth at Laguna and racing to a fourth overall at the 2001 race.

Zemke and Team Bruce Transportation Honda open the AMA Superbike Formula Xtreme class season on April 5-7, at Fontana, Calif.