Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday’s Provisional AMA Superbike Qualifying Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 1:25.692
2. Jake Zemke, Honda, 1:25.762
3. Ben Bostrom, Honda, 1:25.834
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 1:26.212
5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 1:26.321
6. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 1:27.649
7. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 1:28.591
8. Geoff May, Suzuki, 1:28.681
9. John Haner, Suzuki, 1:28.927
10. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, 1:29.478
11. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 1:29.596
12. Jeremy Toye, Yamaha, 1:30.016
13. Larry Pegram, Yamaha, 1:30.081
14. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 1:30.297
15. Michael Sanchez, Suzuki, 1:30.451
16. Mike Smith, Suzuki, 1:30.607
17. Mark Ledesma, Honda, 1:31.279
18. David Bell, Suzuki, 1:31.364
19. Mike Sullivan, Yamaha, 1:32.214
20. Byron Barbour, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:31.233
21. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, 1:32.467
22. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 1:31.617
23. Scott Jensen, Honda, 1:31.628
24. C.R. Gittere, Suzuki, 1:32.166
25. Kevin Hanson, Suzuki, 1:32.365
26. John Jacobi, Suzuki, 1:32.424
27. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 1:32.552
28. Christian Pistoni, Suzuki, 1:32.627
29. Jack Pfeifer, Honda, 1:32.808
30. Scott Carpenter, Suzuki, 1:33.564
31. Cory West, Suzuki, 1:33.648
32. Lenny Beckman, Suzuki, 1:33.711
33. Kevin Pate, Yamaha, 1:34.442
34. Michael Hanley, Suzuki, 1:34.526
35. Marco Martinez, Suzuki, 1:34.651
36. Rick Narup, Suzuki, 1:34.712
37. Corey Sarros, Suzuki, 1:34.716
38. Jeremiah Johnson, Suzuki, 1:34.791
39. A.J. Ammann, Suzuki, 1:35.156
40. Ron McGill, Suzuki, 1:35.965
41. James Kerker, Honda, 1:36.220
42. James Bonner, Yamaha, 1:36.652

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

Rounds 6 & 7 – Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
First Qualifying Session Report

MLADIN ON PROVISIONAL POLE POSITION AT ALABAMA

Birmingham, Alabama, USA (Friday, May 15) – Defending American Superbike champion Mat Mladin has secured provisional pole position for this weekend’s double header round of the American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at the Barber Motorsport Park in Birmingham, Alabama after setting the fastest time during today’s opening qualifying session.

With the weather clearing from the damp and wet conditions that prevailed for the morning’s free practice sessions, qualifying saw the rider’s head out onto a dry track with clear skies above.

With two pole positions already to his credit this year, Mladin continues to lead by example and left the 3.70km (2.3 miles) Alabama circuit with a best lap of 1-min 25.692-secs. The time shades his existing lap record of the circuit by 0.516 of a second, but with another session remaining tomorrow morning, that mark could be under serious threat.

“That was a good session for us,” said Mladin. “It was nice to come away with the fast time, but we’ll be looking at improving on that again tomorrow so that we can score that additionalchampionship point for pole.”

“I think we are looking in good shape for the weekend’s races. We tested here earlier in the year and circulate today at a similar pace. We had a good base to start from and I think we can still get a bit more out of it.

“The weather was favourable for us in qualifying, with the track dry and the temperature’s rising, but we also had a good session in this morning’s practice session when the track was wet. Dunlop had a few different tyres for us to try, amongst other things, so it was good to get out there and see how they coped with those conditions.”

Jake Zemke recorded the second fastest time of the session with a time of 1:25.762, fractionally faster than fellow Honda rider Ben Bostrom (1:25.834), with Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki teammate `Aaron Yates completing the provisional front row of the grid with a 1:26.212.

With four wins from five starts this season, Mladin has a made a strong start in his title defence and arrives at Alabama holding a 24-point advantage over Honda’s Miguel DuHamel, with Zemke third, just three points further back.

Qualifying concludes with a second and final session tomorrow morning, before the first of the weekend’s two 28-lap Superbike nationals gets underway later in the afternoon.

QUALIFYING, 2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship, Friday Top 10
1. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:25.692
2. Jake Zemke (Erion Honda) 1:25.762
3. Ben Bostrom (American Honda) 1:25.834
4. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) 1:26.212
5. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda) 1:26.321
6. Josh Hayes (Attack Kawasaki)1:27.649
7. Eric Bostrom (Ducati Austin) 1:28.591
8. Geoff May (Suzuki) 1:28.681
9. John Haner (Suzuki)1:28.927
10. Shawn Higbee (KWS Suzuki) 1:29.478

2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship (Points after 5 of 18 rounds) 1. Mat Mladin (177, 4 wins); 2. Miguel DuHamel (153, 1 win), 3. Jake Zemke (150); 4. Geoff May (108); 5. Lee Acree (105), 6. Larry Pegram (97), 7. Eric Bostrom (96), 8. John Haner (84), 9. Ben Bostrom (79), 10. Cory West (77).


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

BOSTROM ON PROVISIONAL 2ND ROW AT BARBER

Birmingham (Alabama) – May 14, 2004: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom qualified seventh provisionally at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama today. Bostrom finished the day with his Michelin-shod Ducati 999 on the second row of the grid in the warm Alabama sun, although earlier sessions had seen rain fall on the 2.3 mile circuit.

“We had some problems today so we couldn’t take full advantage of the qualifying session. Unfortunately, we had an issue that robbed us of track time that we needed badly,” explained Eric. “We’re all working hard – we just need to make a few more things happen and then it’ll come together.”

Bostrom, winner of eleven career AMA Superbike races, is still looking to make his mark in the Alabama races. “I know we’ll improve tomorrow. In the short time we’ll have in the morning we’re going to do everything we can to make changes that’ll count,” added the 27-year-old rider. Last season, Eric missed the first-ever Barber Superbike event due to an injury.

With rain in the forecast, the weather could once again affect the day’s racing. “I’d hate to see it rain for all the fans who are coming out to watch the race but it won’t bother me as a racer if it does rain,” Bostrom said.

Final qualifying concludes tomorrow morning with race 1 (100km – 28 laps) of the weekend doubleheader scheduled for the afternoon.