Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin took pole position during qualifying Saturday morning for the AMA Superbike double-header at California Speedway in Fontana, California.

Mladin used a Dunlop qualifying tire on his GSX-R1000 to turn a lap of 1:24.759, eclipsing his own lap record time of 1:25.123, on the 2.36-mile, 17-turn infield road course.

“Last year’s times were slower than they could’ve been because we didn’t use any qualifying tires,” said Mladin about the new record. “I knew we would go quicker with stickier tires.”

Parts Unlimited PJ1 Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke qualified second on his CBR1000RR with a 1:25.484 and called his qualifying session “fairly uneventful.”

American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel switched triple clamps and motorcycles before turning a lap of 1:25.688 to qualify third.

Duhamel’s teammate Ben Bostrom, fourth-fastest with a 1:25.900, said his crew solved a chatter problem on his CBR1000RR late Friday night.

Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom was fifth-fastest on his Michelin-shod, factory Ducati 999 with a time of 1:26.056.

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes was seventh-fastest with a 1:27.525 on his ZX-10R, one spot better than Prieto Racing’s Geoff May.

May qualified eighth, the highest of any rider without a factory contract, on his Pirelli-equipped Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Empire Racing Suzuki’s Chris “Opie” Caylor qualified ninth with 17-inch Pirelli slicks on his GSX-R1000, and Canadian Superbike regular Clint McBain was 10th-fastest on his Coors Light Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Several of the riders said they were still looking for their race tires, adding that the constantly changing weather conditions and temperatures at California Speedway were causing the level of available traction to change.

Final AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:24.759
2. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:25.484
3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:25.688
4. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:25.900
5. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 1:26.056
6. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 1:27.524
7. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:27.573
8. Larry Pegram, Yamaha, 1:28.000
9. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, 1:28.169
10. Clint McBain, Suzuki, 1:28.960
11. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:28.992
12. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:29.008
13. Jeremy Toye, Yamaha, 1:29.320
14. Steve Crevier, Suzuki, 1:29.326
15. Jeff Williams, Suzuki, 1:29.574
16. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, 1:29.584
17. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:30.512
18. Robert Christman, Suzuki, 1:30.592
19. Cory West, Suzuki, 1:30.829
20. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:30.835
21. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, 1:30.922
22. Chris Siglin, Yamaha, 1:31.059
23. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 1:31.102
24. Garry Combs, Suzuki, 1:31.141
25. Mark Ledesma, Honda, 1:31.364
26. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:31.877
27. Craig Connell, Suzuki, 1:32.005
28. David Bell, Suzuki, 1:32.037
29. Rob Mesa, Suzuki, 1:32.043
30. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:32.084
31. Corey Sarros, Suzuki, 1:32.626
32. Kim Nakashima, Suzuki, 1:32.670
33. A.J. Ammann, Suzuki, 1:32.902
34. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 1:32.978
35. Jack Pfeifer, Honda, 1:33.003
36. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki, 1:33.127

110 percent of fastest time: 1:33.234

DNQ. Lenny Beckman, Suzuki, 1:33.524
DNQ. John Scott Wilson, Suzuki, 1:33.674
DNQ. Eric Haugo, Suzuki, 1:34.031
DNQ. James Kerker, Honda, 1:34.171