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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Early Strike - Hayden Heads Homestead
National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden made the most of Friday's limited dry track time at Homestead-Miami Speedway to claim provisional pole.
National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: This weekend's AMA Pro Road Racing race action from Homestead-Miami Speedway will air on SPEED Saturday and Sunday evening starting at Midnight ET.
The inclusion of Homestead-Miami Speedway to the 2012 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing schedule after more than 15 years away not only brought some different scenery to the series but a change of pace atop the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike order as well, at least for the day.
Two-time series champion Josh Hayes has gone the entire 2012 campaign without suffering a qualifying defeat, but he was provisionally out-paced on Friday at the Triumph Big Kahuna Miami presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince by National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden.
Hayden put his head down from the session's earliest stages, throwing down a hot lap of 1:22.746 aboard his #54 GSX-R1000 prior to the arrival of the afternoon rain which spoiled the bulk of the session.
While something of an upset considering Hayes' '12 qualifying record, Hayden's Homestead-Miami speed did not come as a particularly big surprise, having previously been confirmed at the 2.21-mile speedway in testing.
The same can be said of Hayden's teammate, Ben Bostrom. The Jordan Suzuki man completed a provisional qualifying 1-2 for the team after the duo pulled the same trick (in reverse order) when the series tested here back in March. Bostrom was just a tick off Hayden's time, registering a 1:22.857 aboard the #23 GSX-R1000.
After claiming provisional pole, Hayden said, "The session was cut pretty short due to the weather, but I definitely felt better his afternoon. We made some changes to the bike to try to get some more grip and we worked at getting up to speed pretty quick and it paid off with the weather that came in. Even though it was cut short, it's still pretty nice to be on provisional pole -- I've never been on provisional pole in SuperBike.
"We've been pretty quick all weekend and we've tested here a few times. We still have to improve a little bit because I know those guys are going to go faster, but for right now we're on pace and looking forward to tomorrow."
Hayden has made it known all season long that his goal is to win a race before the year is out. He's running short on chances but Homestead-Miami and the finale at NOLA Motorsports Park might just represent his two best chances of the entire season.
"There are only four more shots at it, and they're two tracks I've tested well at," he said. "Besides New Jersey, we've had pretty good speed the couple of races leading into that and New Jersey I think the rider just wasn't performing. So these last next races are really important; my goal is to win a race and that's what I'm working toward. I think that shows. In qualifying, my first flying lap was quicker than I went this morning. I've definitely got my head in the game this weekend and we're still working hard to accomplish that goal. And at the end of the season, it's when teams are looking around and I'm riding for a job I'd say."
Hayes, meanwhile, ranked third on Friday. The Mississippian topped the order in the morning free session aboard his #1 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 before posting a 1:23.061 in the opening minutes of QP1 to claim a spot on the provisional front row.
With more rain expected in the days ahead, Friday's times could stand and Hayden's early strength just might prevent SuperBike history; Hayes is currently riding a streak of 11 consecutive pole positions, even for best all-time with Mat Mladin's run from '05-'06.
Meanwhile, the only man remaining with even a remote mathematical chance of beating Hayes for this year's crown, Blake Young, was fourth fastest on Friday. The Yoshimura Suzuki pilot has struggled somewhat in qualifying as of late, failing to qualify on the front row since Road America, although he's still racked up five podium results over that span.
Team Hero EBR's Danny Eslick was fifth quick on the day aboard the exotic EBR 1190RS. M4 Suzuki' Chris Ulrich notched up an impressive sixth-best time, one spot ahead of Eslick's teammate, Geoff May, on the #99 Team Amsoil/Hero EBR. The final spot on the provisional second row went to Team Venezuela's Robertino Pietri.
A stacked Row 3 sees Hayes' Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing BMW's Larry Pegram, Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly Racing's David Anthony, and AMA SuperBike legend Aaron Yates on the EvanSteelPerformance.com BMW S1000RR.
The inclusion of Homestead-Miami Speedway to the 2012 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing schedule after more than 15 years away not only brought some different scenery to the series but a change of pace atop the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike order as well, at least for the day.
Two-time series champion Josh Hayes has gone the entire 2012 campaign without suffering a qualifying defeat, but he was provisionally out-paced on Friday at the Triumph Big Kahuna Miami presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince by National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden.
Hayden put his head down from the session's earliest stages, throwing down a hot lap of 1:22.746 aboard his #54 GSX-R1000 prior to the arrival of the afternoon rain which spoiled the bulk of the session.
While something of an upset considering Hayes' '12 qualifying record, Hayden's Homestead-Miami speed did not come as a particularly big surprise, having previously been confirmed at the 2.21-mile speedway in testing.
The same can be said of Hayden's teammate, Ben Bostrom. The Jordan Suzuki man completed a provisional qualifying 1-2 for the team after the duo pulled the same trick (in reverse order) when the series tested here back in March. Bostrom was just a tick off Hayden's time, registering a 1:22.857 aboard the #23 GSX-R1000.
After claiming provisional pole, Hayden said, "The session was cut pretty short due to the weather, but I definitely felt better his afternoon. We made some changes to the bike to try to get some more grip and we worked at getting up to speed pretty quick and it paid off with the weather that came in. Even though it was cut short, it's still pretty nice to be on provisional pole -- I've never been on provisional pole in SuperBike.
"We've been pretty quick all weekend and we've tested here a few times. We still have to improve a little bit because I know those guys are going to go faster, but for right now we're on pace and looking forward to tomorrow."
Hayden has made it known all season long that his goal is to win a race before the year is out. He's running short on chances but Homestead-Miami and the finale at NOLA Motorsports Park might just represent his two best chances of the entire season.
"There are only four more shots at it, and they're two tracks I've tested well at," he said. "Besides New Jersey, we've had pretty good speed the couple of races leading into that and New Jersey I think the rider just wasn't performing. So these last next races are really important; my goal is to win a race and that's what I'm working toward. I think that shows. In qualifying, my first flying lap was quicker than I went this morning. I've definitely got my head in the game this weekend and we're still working hard to accomplish that goal. And at the end of the season, it's when teams are looking around and I'm riding for a job I'd say."
Hayes, meanwhile, ranked third on Friday. The Mississippian topped the order in the morning free session aboard his #1 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 before posting a 1:23.061 in the opening minutes of QP1 to claim a spot on the provisional front row.
With more rain expected in the days ahead, Friday's times could stand and Hayden's early strength just might prevent SuperBike history; Hayes is currently riding a streak of 11 consecutive pole positions, even for best all-time with Mat Mladin's run from '05-'06.
Meanwhile, the only man remaining with even a remote mathematical chance of beating Hayes for this year's crown, Blake Young, was fourth fastest on Friday. The Yoshimura Suzuki pilot has struggled somewhat in qualifying as of late, failing to qualify on the front row since Road America, although he's still racked up five podium results over that span.
Team Hero EBR's Danny Eslick was fifth quick on the day aboard the exotic EBR 1190RS. M4 Suzuki' Chris Ulrich notched up an impressive sixth-best time, one spot ahead of Eslick's teammate, Geoff May, on the #99 Team Amsoil/Hero EBR. The final spot on the provisional second row went to Team Venezuela's Robertino Pietri.
A stacked Row 3 sees Hayes' Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing BMW's Larry Pegram, Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly Racing's David Anthony, and AMA SuperBike legend Aaron Yates on the EvanSteelPerformance.com BMW S1000RR.
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