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Team Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates earned the provisional pole position for this weekend’s AMA Superbike double-header at Mid-Ohio with a lap of 1:28.044 on his Dunlop-equipped GSX-R750.

The first half of the hour-long qualifying session was held on a damp but drying track. Yates did his fastest lap late in the crowded session.

Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert did not ride in Friday afternoon’s Superbike qualifying session and may not race his YZF-R7 Superbike this weekend at Mid-Ohio.

Final Superbike qualifying will take place Saturday morning.

Friday’s Provisional AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.044
2. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 1:28.305
3. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:28.567
4. Pascal Picotte, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.136
5. Doug Chandler, Ducati 998RS, 1:29.151
6. Nicky Hayden, Honda RC51, 1:29.350
7. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 1:29.936
8. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 1:30.154
9. Jamie Hacking, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:31.446
10. Jason Disalvo, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:32.956
11. John Jacobi, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.662
12. Brian Livengood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:33.931
13. Andrew Deatherage, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.088
14. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.162
15. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.272
16. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.314
17. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.337
18. Brian Parriott, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.369
19. Shane Clarke, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.418
20. Michael Himmelsbach, Aprilia RSV1000R, 1:34.467
21. Eric Spector, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.586
22. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.681
23. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.816
24. Christopher Rankin, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.890
25. Justin Blake, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:34.913
26. Rich Conicelli, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.271
27. Robert Christman, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.790
28. Robert Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.833
29. Chris Caylor, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:35.936
30. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:36.173


More, from a press release issued by Mladin’s publicist:

DAMP TRACK SEES MLADIN THIRD FASTEST AT MID-OHIO

Lexington, Ohio, USA (Friday, July 26) – A damp, but drying track, made for a difficult opening qualifying session for this weekend’s Double Header AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship, but it didn’t stop defending
champion Mat Mladin from setting the third fastest time in the disrupted session.

For a greater part of the one-hour session, the riders waited in pit lane in anticipation of a dry line emerging around the 3.86km/2.40 miles Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course which plays host to rounds 13 and 14 of the championship. With one more session remaining tomorrow morning, before the first of the two Superbike nationals, it was important that a good time was posted as the weather is forecast to be clear, but with patchy showers.

Mladin set a best lap time of 1-min 28.567-secs aboard his Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750, as he chased teammate Aaron Yates, who went on to
secure the fastest time of the session in the closing seconds with a 1:28.044. Second fastest was Team Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom with a 1:28.305,
with Pascal Picotte completing the provisional front row of the grid with a 1:29.136 aboard his Austin/Blue Bayou Ducati.

With the track drying, the lap times were still a long way off from challenging Mladin’s lap record mark of 1:26.498 set at last year’s event where he grabbed pole position and took the race win in the first of the two Superbike races.

“We had a bit of rain roll through, but other than that it was alright,” said Mladin. “The rain came just before the qualifying session, but the track dried out pretty well, but there were still a few damp spots around. We just went out to get a good time. We didn’t use a qualifying tyre, like Aaron (Yates) did, as we felt that the track wasn’t in a good enough condition to warrant using one. If the weather clears for tomorrow, the times will come down for sure, so we’ll just have to see what happens.

Mladin’s season has been troubled handling problems, but this weekend, the team’s suspension suppliers Showa, have arrived with some new components for the rear shock absorber on Mladin’s GSX-R750 and they appear to be getting the results that they have been searching for.

“The bike is actually coming around as we have some new stuff to try from Showa this weekend and the bike feels really good,” added Mladin. “It’s amazing, it’s the first time that I’ve said that all year. When I first rode out of the pits this morning, it felt like a motorcycle that I could ride properly. It’s the first time that it’s felt like that all year. It’s good to get some stuff that is working. Now it’s just a matter of getting confidence back with the bike and pushing it to see what it will do.”

Qualifying continues tomorrow morning with the first of the two 26-lap AMA Superbike races scheduled for Saturday afternoon, with the second race being held on Sunday.