Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:26.516
2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:26.753
3. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:26.932
4. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:26.984
5. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 1:27.792
6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:27.936
7. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 1:28.923
8. Larry Pegram, Yamaha, 1:30.081
9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, 1:30.185
10. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:30.398
11. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 1:30.405
12. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:30.611
13. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:30.866
14. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, 1:30.988
15. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:31.001
16. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:31.218
17. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:31.288
18. David Weber, Suzuki, 1:31.632
19. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:32.455
20. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, 1:32.643
21. Chuck Sorensen, Yamaha, 1:32.813
22. Jesse Janisch, Suzuki, 1:33.002
23. Cory West, Suzuki, 1:33.048
24. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, 1:33.171
25. C.R. Gittere, Suzuki, 1:33.334
26. Fritz Kling, Yamaha, 1:33.371
27. Scott Jensen, Honda, 1:33.505
28. Paul Ducato, Yamaha, 1:33.628
29. Byron Barbour, Suzuki, 1:34.023
30. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:34.140
31. John Jacobi, Suzuki, 1:34.318
32. Roger Bell, Suzuki, 1:34.357
33. James Kerker, Honda, 1:34.462
34. Kevin Pate, Yamaha, 1:34.601
35. Jeff Muskopf, Suzuki, 1:34.944
36. Chuck Allen, Suzuki, 1:35.129
37. Greg Fryer, Yamaha, 1:35.434
38. Kevin Lehman, Yamaha, 1:36.107
39. Jack Pfeifer, Honda, 1:36.879
40. Darby Brauning, Yamaha, 1:37.861


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

MLADIN EDGED OUT OF PROVISIONAL POLE POSITION AT MID-OHIO

Lexington, Ohio, USA (Friday, July 23) – For a fleeting moment Mat Mladin held the fastest time of the opening qualifying session for this weekend’s double-header round of the American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, but his time was eclipsed by championship rival Miguel DuHamel who trailed Mladin throughout his final lap, coming away with the provisional pole winning time.

Out on his fifteenth and final lap of the session, Mladin recorded his best time of the session, pushing his Yoshimura Suzuki GASX-R1000 to a 1:26.753 lap of the 3.86km / 2.40 miles Ohio circuit. Unfortunately this time was bettered by DuHamel who posted a 1:26.516 as he followed the four-times American Superbike Champion across the line as the session concluded. Both riders were just outside of Mladin’s existing lap record of 1:26.498 that he set in 2001.

“I knew that Miguel (DuHamel) had got in behind me and subsequently done a quicker lap, but I’m not too worried about that today,” said Mladin. “We just have to see if he can do 28 of them tomorrow in the race.”

“Things are looking good at the moment for us. We posted the fastest time in the morning practice session and then did some good laps this afternoon. We spent a lot of the day sorting through race set-ups and we are happy with the times we did on race tyres. We only used the one softer qualifier at the end and that was it.”

“As for going quicker tomorrow, we’ll try a few things with the bike tonight and see how we go. I think we’re pretty close, the bike feels good around here.”

“The changed track surface could be a bit hard during the race. It’s bad enough when you’re on line, but if you are passing someone, you’re not quite sure what that section of surface will hold for you. It’s going to be interesting that’s for sure.”

Rounding out the provisional front row of the grid and with one more qualifying session scheduled for tomorrow morning are Jake Zemke (Honda, 1:26.932) and Ben Bostrom (Honda, 1:26.984).

With Mladin arriving at Mid-Ohio holding a 10-point lead in the championship over DuHamel, every point is crucial. With the AMA awarding a point for pole and an additional point for the rider who leads the most number of laps during the race, Mladin will be aiming to not only finish ahead of DuHamel in each of the weekend’s two 26-lap Superbike Nationals, but would also like to add those extra points to his tally as well.

AMA Superbike qualifying concludes tomorrow morning, before the first of the Superbike races takes to the track later in the afternoon.


More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin:

BOSTROM ON PROVISIONAL SECOND ROW AT MID-OHIO

Lexington (Ohio) – Friday July 23, 2004: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom qualified on the provisional second row for this weekend’s AMA Superbike doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. In cool and clear conditions, Bostrom rode his Ducati 999R to a time of 1:28.923 on the 2.4 mile road course, putting him currently in seventh.

“We were struggling today,” explained Eric, who won the AMA Superbike race at Mid-Ohio in 2002. “We had some problems keeping the weight even on the tires all the way through the turns. I would go through the corners and the weight would move on and off the tire. Our grip was affected by it and I ended up running wide on a turn or two. This place is ‘connect the dots’ so if you end up wide, you’ll be off for the next few turns as well. Tomorrow we hope to make it better; we have some ideas and hopefully it will improve things.”

Racing Manager Tom Bodenbach commented, “Eric rode hard, but it just didn’t happen for him today. We’ve been in meetings after the session and think we might be able to improve the grip some for tomorrow. We also have another Michelin front tire to use tomorrow that might help, too. The guys on the crew are all working hard and it would be great for them if we can get a top result.”