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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Hayes, Cardenas Lead The Way
Daytona pole winners Josh Hayes and Martin Cardenas posted the fastest laps on the opening day of action at Road Atlanta.
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The AMA Pro Superbike and SportBike races from Road Atlanta will air Saturday, April 21 starting at 8:30pm ET and Sunday, April 22 starting at 11:00pm ET on SPEED. The SuperSport races will air LIVE on SPEED2 at 1:00pm ET on Saturday and 1:15pm ET on Sunday. The XR1200 race will air LIVE on SPEED2 at 12:30pm ET.
Defending champion Josh Hayes watched the final ten minutes of Friday's AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike qualifying session tick off from pitlane.
With a pair of crashed #1-plated Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 in need of repair, the reigning series champion had no other option.
However, despite encountering a lot more drama than he might have hoped for, Hayes ultimately walked away from the opening day of action for the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince at Road Atlanta with the provisional pole.
In fact, Hayes also crashed out of the day's free practice. But in each session no rider proved capable of taking advantage of Hayes' absence and bettering the mark he had previously set.
"It's been a rough day," Hayes admitted. "I had another good (lap) going before I made my second big mistake of the day. It's been a while since we've seen the place, but I have a lot of laps around Road Atlanta. This is, I think, the 18th year that I've raced here. Every year I seem to get some laps in here except for last year. Still feels like home and I still remember my way around pretty well. All in all, things have gone pretty well except for a couple of miscues."
The champ promised that he'll be fully ready to fight on Saturday. "I'm a little beat up but overall everything works. I'm running out of suits and helmets. Other than that, I have a few abrasions on my knee but nothing that will keep me from performing well."
It came as little surprise that Hayes' title rival, Blake Young, was the man who came closest to knocking him off the top spot in qualifying. The Yoshimura Racing Suzuki pilot threw down a 1:25.508 to put a scare into Hayes whose 1:25.380 had previously appeared to be unassailable.
Local favorite Geoff May, who hails from nearby Gainesville, Georgia, put in an outstanding effort for the Team Amsoil/Hero EBR squad on Friday. May's 1:26.551 put him third overall, trailing only the superstar duo of Hayes and Young.
May is no stranger to success at Road Atlanta, of course, having won the Superstock race at the venue in 2008, and then finishing on the podium twice in the premier SuperBike class a year later.
Hayes' rookie teammate, Josh Herrin, also considers Road Atlanta to be his home circuit. And the Dublin, Georgia native was also quick, rounding out the provisional front row on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha on the provisional front row at 1:26.572.
The provisional second row was an all-Suzuki affair, led by Yoshimura Racing Suzuki's Chris Clark. Teammates Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) and Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki) were next, followed by an impressive David Anthony on the Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Steve Rapp headed the provisional third row on the Attack Performance Kawasaki ZX-10R, with Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing BMW), Jake Holden (EvanSteelPeformance.com BMW), and Chris Fillmore (KTM/HMC Racing) in line behind.
Hayes will look to add to his burgeoning bonus point tally in final qualifying on Saturday morning before the SuperBike stars turn their attention to the day's 20-lap final.
Defending champion Josh Hayes watched the final ten minutes of Friday's AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike qualifying session tick off from pitlane.
With a pair of crashed #1-plated Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 in need of repair, the reigning series champion had no other option.
However, despite encountering a lot more drama than he might have hoped for, Hayes ultimately walked away from the opening day of action for the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince at Road Atlanta with the provisional pole.
In fact, Hayes also crashed out of the day's free practice. But in each session no rider proved capable of taking advantage of Hayes' absence and bettering the mark he had previously set.
"It's been a rough day," Hayes admitted. "I had another good (lap) going before I made my second big mistake of the day. It's been a while since we've seen the place, but I have a lot of laps around Road Atlanta. This is, I think, the 18th year that I've raced here. Every year I seem to get some laps in here except for last year. Still feels like home and I still remember my way around pretty well. All in all, things have gone pretty well except for a couple of miscues."
The champ promised that he'll be fully ready to fight on Saturday. "I'm a little beat up but overall everything works. I'm running out of suits and helmets. Other than that, I have a few abrasions on my knee but nothing that will keep me from performing well."
It came as little surprise that Hayes' title rival, Blake Young, was the man who came closest to knocking him off the top spot in qualifying. The Yoshimura Racing Suzuki pilot threw down a 1:25.508 to put a scare into Hayes whose 1:25.380 had previously appeared to be unassailable.
Local favorite Geoff May, who hails from nearby Gainesville, Georgia, put in an outstanding effort for the Team Amsoil/Hero EBR squad on Friday. May's 1:26.551 put him third overall, trailing only the superstar duo of Hayes and Young.
May is no stranger to success at Road Atlanta, of course, having won the Superstock race at the venue in 2008, and then finishing on the podium twice in the premier SuperBike class a year later.
Hayes' rookie teammate, Josh Herrin, also considers Road Atlanta to be his home circuit. And the Dublin, Georgia native was also quick, rounding out the provisional front row on his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha on the provisional front row at 1:26.572.
The provisional second row was an all-Suzuki affair, led by Yoshimura Racing Suzuki's Chris Clark. Teammates Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) and Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki) were next, followed by an impressive David Anthony on the Kneedraggers.com/Motul/Fly Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Steve Rapp headed the provisional third row on the Attack Performance Kawasaki ZX-10R, with Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing BMW), Jake Holden (EvanSteelPeformance.com BMW), and Chris Fillmore (KTM/HMC Racing) in line behind.
Hayes will look to add to his burgeoning bonus point tally in final qualifying on Saturday morning before the SuperBike stars turn their attention to the day's 20-lap final.
AMA SBK Miller Motorsports Park
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