Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Ducati Austin’s Anthony Gobert splashed around Road America’s wet four-mile course Friday to earn provisional pole position in AMA Superbike qualifying with a best lap time of 2:42.075 on his Dunlop-equipped Ducati 998RS Superbike.

While several other riders crashed during the 60-minute session, Gobert was clearly comfortable with the slippery conditions and frequently wheelied his Ducati out of the track’s 14 corners. Later in the post-qualifying press conference, Gobert said the power of the V-Twin was easy to use in the wet and that he nearly matched his fastest time with a full fuel tank.

Dream Team Ducati’s Larry Pegram made it a Ducati 1-2 by sliding his Michelin-shod machine to a 2:43.657 lap. Pegram told reporters that the new Bend chicane had good grip in the wet and was much safer than the old Kink.

Eric Bostrom slowly worked his confidence up to turn the third-fastest lap on his Kawasaki, and Jason Pridmore said he used his recent World Endurance experience to ride his Suzuki GSX-R1000 fast enough to earn the final spot on the provisional front row.

Riders who rode off-track or crashed during the Superbike qualifying session included Ben Bostrom, Aaron Yates, Josh Hayes, Jimmy Moore, Steve Rapp, Chris Ulrich, Matt Furtek, John Haner, Geoff May, Jake Holden and Monte Nichols.

Provisional AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Anthony Gobert, Ducati 998RS, 2:42.075
2. Larry Pegram, Ducati 998RS, 2:43.657
3. Eric Bostrom, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:43.925
4. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:44.535
5. Josh Hayes, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:46.520
6. Jimmy Moore, Szuuki GSX-R1000, 2:46.681
7. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:46.795
8. Kurtis Roberts, Honda RC51, 2:47.605
9. Michael Barnes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:47.936
10. Miguel Duhamel, Honda RC51, 2:48.130
11. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:48.505
12. Ben Bostrom, Honda RC51, 2:49.267
13. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:50.191
14. Jake Holden, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:51.143
15. Mike Ciccotto, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:52.931
16. Tom Wertman, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:54.044
17. Chris Ulrich, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:55.896
18. Dr. Jeffrey Purk, Suzuki GSX-R750, 2:56.460
19. Monte Nichols, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:57.511
20. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:59.128


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

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship
Rounds 9 & 10 – Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA
First Qualifying Session Report

MLADIN FAST IN MORNING SESSION BEFORE RAIN STRIKES

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, USA – Australia’s Mat Mladin turned the fastest time in the opening practice session for this weekend’s double header round of the AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship at the Road America circuit in Wisconsin, before being forced to take a more conservative approach to the afternoon’s qualifying session after the heavens opened.

The dry opening practice session of the weekend saw Mladin consistently running in the 2-min 15-sec bracket before completing the session with the fastest time of 2:15.064 for the ultra fast 6.44km (4.00miles) Wisconsin circuit. His time was almost 0.7 seconds clear of American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel who posted a 2:15.724, with current championship points leader Aaron Yates third on the second Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.

“It was good this morning in the dry,” said Mladin. “The bike felt good straight out of the truck and I was very happy with how it ran. It would be nice if it remained dry for us over the weekend, but it sounds as though the forecast is for patchy conditions which will make things interesting, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

The break between the opening practice session and qualifying saw rain begin to fall. Scattered light showers prevailed through to the Superbike qualifying session with the track remaining wet throughout.

Mladin adopted a conservative approach to the session, recognising that it was only Friday and there was plenty of work to be done for the remainder of the weekend. By the completion of the one-hour session, Mladin had set the seventh fastest time with a 2:46.795, over thirty seconds slower than his dry weather time from the morning.

“It wasn’t that wet out there, more that the surface is really slick when it is wet and doesn’t give a whole lot of grip,” added Mladin. “There are a few funny patches in some of the corners that make it really slick as well, so the wet times compared to the dry times aren’t that good. We just did some laps out there in the wet, got used to the track in those conditions and kept it upright. No need to be going hard out there today and crashing, a very straight forward approach given the conditions.”

Fastest rider during the wet qualifying session was fellow Australian Anthony Gobert (Ducati Austin) who set a best time of 2:42.075, followed by Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati) with a time of 2:43.657. Third fastest was Team Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom with a 2:43.926, followed by Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore with a 2:44.535.

Mladin heads into tomorrow’s opening 16-lap Superbike national lying third overall on the point’s table, ten adrift of teammate Yates (who was eleventh fastest today), with Eric Bostrom sandwiched between the Suzuki pair.

Qualifying concludes tomorrow morning, before the Superbike competitors take to the track later on Saturday afternoon, for their opening race, with the second scheduled for Sunday afternoon.


More, from a press release issued by Dream Team Ducati:

Road America / Friday Provisional Qualifying

Dream Team Racing Ducati’s Larry Pegram made it a Ducati 1-2 at Road America in Friday’s provisional qualifying session. Pegram finished the day in 2nd behind fellow Ducati rider Anthony Gobert. The conditions were very wet and Larry’s Michelin rain tires performed exceptionally well. Team Manager, Elliot Cho was pleased with both the tires and the Ohlins suspension, which allowed Pegram to feel confident in the treacherous conditions.

Pegram: “These Michelin tires are awesome in the rain. I want to thank my crew for setting up the bike perfect for the wet conditions. I just
kept going faster and faster out on the track. To be 2nd behind one of the best wet weather riders in the world (Gobert) is great. I want to
also thank team owners, Kaming Ko and Deveaux Hill for putting together such a professional organization in only 8 months. Now all we need is a Corporate Sponsor and we will be good to go.”

DTR Ducati is actively courting “Title Sponsorship” for the team. With the highest placing privately owned and sponsored team in the paddock, DTR has alot to offer such a sponsor and everyone involved is optimistic
that their will be an anouncement in the near future.