Kneedraggers.com’s Robert Jensen and Millville & Wildwood Buell’s David Estok took pole position in Superbike and Thunderbike, respectively, during Formula USA qualifying late Saturday afternoon on the 2.1-mile, 15-turn South Circuit at Autobahn Country Club, but the majority of qualifying had to be postponed until Sunday morning due to delays in Saturday race schedule and the Joliet, Illinois track’s 5:00 p.m. curfew.
Using Michelin race tires on his Yamaha YZF-R6, defending Superbike Champion Jensen took the Superbike pole with a 1:26.174, 0.25-second faster than current Championship points leader Jeff Wood.
Arclight Suzuki’s Wood can clinch the Superbike Championship, as well as the Sportbike and Formula Sportbike Championships, Sunday by finishing second behind Jensen, and that’s exactly what Wood is looking to do.
“The main focus is to get second place in each race,” Wood told Roadracingworld.com. “If I’m in a position — a safe position — to win the race, we’ll try to win, but second is the goal. It’s hard because I always want to win, but the Championship is very important to Suzuki, Arclight Racing and to me. I’ve been trying to win these Championships for four years. Hopefully, this is my year.”
Estok turned a 1:31.340 on his Pirelli-tired Buell XB12R, 0.6-second quicker than the next fastest rider, Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell’s Dan Bilansky.
Estok’s main Championship rival, David Yaakov, will not be in Sunday’s race, however. CAD Racing’s Yaakov said he was trying to pass Ed Key on the first lap of Friday’s GT Lights solo endurance race when he tucked the front and crashed his Suzuki SV650 at the entrance of the turn 11 chicane. Yaakov broke his right collarbone in the fall and will most likely miss the rest of the 2005 season, he said.
Saturday’s race schedule ran long due to overcrowded races being separated into Expert and Amateur races, crashes and clean-up delays causing the track’s 5:00 p.m. curfew to come into play. As a result, riders in Formula USA Sportbike and Formula Sportbike, USGPRU 125cc and 250cc and CCS Unlimited Grand Prix classes will qualify early Sunday morning.
PROVISIONAL FORMULA USA QUALIFYING RESULTS:
SUPERBIKE: 1. Robert Jensen (Yam YZF-R6), 1:26.174; 2. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R600), 1:26.421; 3. Scott Greenwood (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:27.766; 4. Michael Himmelsbach (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.317; 5. Brandon Parrish (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.850; 6. Jason Temme (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.894; 7. Adam Dolney (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.644; 8. Dr. Jeffrey Purk, DDS (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.159; 9. Chris Rockwell (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.600; 10. Scott Ryan (Suz GSX-R600), 1:33.863; 11. Calvin Martinez (Suz GSX-R600), 1:35.158.
THUNDERBIKE: 1. David Estok (Buell XB12R), 1:31.340; 2. Dan Bilansky (Buell XB12R), 1:31.905; 3. Clint Brotz (Buell XB12R), 1:33.012; 4. Ed Key (Suz SV650), 1:33.282; 5. Walt Sipp (Buell XB12R), 1:33.347; 6. Matt Carr (Duc 748), 1:34.222; 7. Dan Kane, 1:35.001; 8. Brian Lacy (Suz SV65), 1:35.343; 9. David White (Duc 1000), 1:35.424; 10. Paul James (Buell XB12R), 1:35.949; 11. Ion Stear (Buell XB12R), 1:36.952; 12. Rhiannon Lucente (Duc 748), 1:37.663; 13. Chris Lossie (Hon CBR600), 1:39.020; 14. Matthew Buck (Suz SV650), 1:39.814; 15. Darren Conrad (Buell XB12R), 1:44.050; 16. Robert Pirog (Buell XB12R), 1:45.232; 17. Joseph Rozynski (Buell XB12R), 6:26.238.