Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Team Hooters Mountain Dew Suzuki’s Michael Barnes set a new Formula USA and overall motorcycle lap record for Portland International Raceway with a 1:06.709 during Unlimited Superbike qualifying on his Pirelli-equipped, Tony Pogue-tuned GSX-R750.

Barnes’ lap time beat the old mark held by David Sadowski at 1:06.76, set on a Mike Velasco-tuned Honda CBR900RR Superbike at a 1996 Formula USA event. Velasco now works with the Hooters team and confirmed Barnes’ accomplishment. The record was also confirmed by Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) Operations Manager Janice Logan.

On the day, Barnes set new Formula USA lap records for Buell Lightning, 600cc Sportbike and Unlimited Superbike, in addition to the overall lap record for PIR.

Barnes’ teammate Larry Pegram chipped away at the new Unlimited Superbike record time but came up just short with a 1:06.839 on his last lap. Pegram was then demoted from second to fifth on the grid when his GSX-R750 registered 145.5 horsepower in post-qualifying dyno tests, over the 145.0-horsepower class limit.

Arclight Suzuki’s Lee Acree (1:07.463) was moved up from third to second by Pegram’s infraction.

14K The Movie’s Eric Wood (1:07.592) will start from the third grid spot, while KWS Motorsports’ Shawn Higbee earned the last front row position with a 1:07.598.

The top six qualifiers were under Lee Acree’s 2001 Unlimited Superbike qualifying lap record of 1:07.755.

Unlimited Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:06.709
2. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:07.463
3. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:07.592
4. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:07.598
5. Larry Pegram, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:06.839
6. Craig Connell, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:07.646
7. Michael Himmelsbach, Aprilia RSV1000R, 1:07.808
8. Brian Parriott, Honda CBR954RR, 1:08.076
9. Alan Schmidt, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:08.355
10. Geoff May, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:08.362
11. Nathan Hester, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:08.508
12. Owen Richey, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:09.624
13. Josh Bryan, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:09.735
14. Nick Ienatsch, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:10.226
15. Briggs Willoughby, 1:11.465
16. Michael Fitzpatrick, Suzuki GSX-R750, 1:11.756
17. Donald Beck, 1:14.350
18. Tyler Scott, 1:15.472