Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel drew one point closer to the 2004 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship by taking the pole position – and the bonus point that comes with it – during qualifying Friday at overcast Road Atlanta.

Riding a Dunlop-shod CBR600RR, Duhamel turned a 1:26.120 late in the 30-minute session to top Championship rival Jake Zemke, who qualified second with a 1:26.362 on his Dunlop-equipped Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda CBR600RR. Zemke’s bike suffered a mechanical failure late in the qualifying session.

Duhamel now leads Zemke 321 to 275 points, unofficially, and only needs to finish third or better in Saturday’s 15-lap final to clinch the Formula Xtreme Championship.

Vincent Haskovec came back from a big crash in Friday morning practice to qualify third with a 1:27.229 on his Michelin-fitted Valvoline EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600.

HMC Milwaukee Ducati’s Doug Chandler earned the final starting spot on the Formula Xtreme front row with a 1:27.288 on his Dunlop-sponsored 749R.

Kosco Buell’s Michael Barnes crashed out of the session, was relatively uninjured and ended up qualifying eighth with a 1:28.573 on his Pirelli-tired XB12R Superbike.

SPEED Channel on-air personality Greg White lowered his lap times by five seconds Friday but unofficially did not make the 112 percent qualifying cut-off for the class (1:36.454), turning a 1:37.072 on a Hal’s Performance Buell XB12R.

Provisional AMA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Results:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR600RR, 1:26.120
2. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR600RR, 1:26.362
3. Vincent Haskovec, Suz GSX-R600, 1:27.229
4. Doug Chandler, Duc 749R, 1:27.288
5. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R600, 1:27.979
6. Alex Gobert, Hon CBR600RR, 1:28.165
7. Mike Ciccotto, Buell XB12R, 1:28.284
8. Michael Barnes, Buell XB12R, 1:28.573, crash
9. Larry Pegram, Yam YZF-R6, 1:28.926
10. Chris Caylor, Suz GSX-R600, 1:29.124
11. Heath Small, Yam YZF-R6, 1:30.118
12. Mike Smith, Yam YZF-R6, 1:30.277
13. Logan Young, Suz GSX-R600, 1:30.561
14. Blake Young, Suz GSX-R600, 1:30.617
15. Chris Peris, Suz GSX-R600, 1:30.757
16. Jason Farrell, Kaw ZX-6RR, 1:31.247
17. Perry Melneciuc, Yam YZF-R6, 1:31.710
18. Nathan Hester, Yam YZF-R6, 1:31.753
19. Carlo Gagliardo, Yam YZF-R6, 1:32.318
20. Nicky Moore, Hon CBR600RR, 1:32.649
21. Darin Eli Edwards, Suz GSX-R600, 1:32.688
22. Tom Montano, Hon CBR600RR, 1:32.729
23. Joseph Arico, Yam YZF-R6, 1:32.856
24. John Waters, Suz GSX-R600, 1:33.167
25. Eric Pinson, Suz GSX-R600, 1:34.159
26. Tim Knutson, Yam YZF-R6, 1:35.632
27. Jeremiah Johnson, Suz GSX-R600, 1:35.899

112 percent of fast time: 1:36.454

28. Lance Yeager, Yam YZF-R6, 1:36.595
29. Greg White, Buell XB12R, 1:37.072
30. Robert Deily, Suz GSX-R600, 1:37.412
31. Jim Davis, Yam YZF-R6, 1:38.864
32. Marcus Winfree, Suz GSX-R600, 1:39.268


More, from a press release issued by Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki:

HASKOVEC THIRD IN ROAD ATLANTA QUALIFYING

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki were back on track on Friday following a month long break in the AMA roadracing calendar. This weekend sees the team attacking the challenging Road Atlanta road course for the tenth venue on the eleven-stop schedule.

Vincent Haskovec was quickly on the pace around the same 2.54-mile track that saw him earn his first career AMA road race victory in dramatic fashion last season. Underlining his skill on the 12-turn course, the Czech Republic-native qualified his Michelin-shod GSX-R600 into the third slot on front row for Saturday’s Formula Xtreme contest despite a practice crash and electrical problems that caused him and his crew a few headaches on the day.

While his impressive time of 1:27.229 has made Vincent a popular pick by the pundits to take third behind only the factory Hondas tomorrow, he has his sights set even higher. With the memory of last season’s last-corner triumph still fresh in his mind, only another Road Atlanta victory would be completely satisfying.

“I’m happy with third place so far,” Haskovec said after qualifying. “Last year was incredible, but I have to say the conditions were a bit strange and everything came together for me. This year it’s going to be a little bit different because now I’m racing against the top-notch factory guys as opposed to mostly support riders — this is a little bit higher level of racing.”

“If we can challenge them, I will be very happy,” he continued. “I’ll be going for it hard, you can bet on it.”

Besides a busy day in FX, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki also took part in single, hour-long free practice sessions in the Superstock and Supersport classes.

Continuing with the strategy of using agile and more tire-friendly GSX-R750s against the fire-breathing 1000s, Haskovec and his teammate, Steve Rapp, ranked eleventh and thirteenth on the Superstock timesheets, respectively. Haskovec’s best lap was a 1:27.010, while the Californian clocked a 1:28.496; both men earned spots in Saturday’s ‘fast’ group in the split qualifying procedure due to their efforts.

Rapp and third Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki rider Chris Peris did the same during the Supersport free practice. Rapp ran 10th quick on Friday aboard his GSX-R600 at 1:29.426, while the young Canadian struggled a bit down in 21st (1:32.052), but was still fast enough to rank in the top half of the 43-man field.