2007 AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 18, 2007 Provisional Qualifying Results: 1. Josh Hayes (Honda), Dunlop, 1:37.244 2. Michael Barnes (Suzuki), Pirelli, 1:37.446 3. Steve Rapp (Kawasaki), Pirelli, 1:37.459 4. Aaron Gobert (Honda), Dunlop, 1:38.022 5. Ben Attard (Kawasaki), Pirelli, 1:38.140 6. Chaz Davies (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:38.185 7. Larry Pegram (Ducati), Dunlop, 1:38.564 8. Cory West (Yamaha), Pirelli, 1:39.160 9. Marty Craggill (Ducati), Dunlop, 1:39.220 10. Ryan Elleby (Honda), Dunlop, 1:39.332 11. David Anthony (Yamaha), 1:39.795 12. Jason Perez (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:40.189 13. Ryan Andrews (Honda), Dunlop, 1:40.364 14. Bobby Fong (Suzuki), Michelin, 1:40.407 15. Jeff Tigert (Honda), Dunlop, 1:40.975 16. Tony Meiring (Yamaha), 1:41.369 17. Tom Montano (Ducati), Dunlop, 1:41.773 18. Brant Wiwi (Yamaha), 1:41.865 19. Kenny Carlotta (Suzuki), 1:42.053 20. Chad Herrmann (Suzuki), Dunlop, 1:42.158 21. Ricky Corey (Yamaha), 1:42.195 22. Barrett Long (Yamaha), 1:42.290 23. David Sadowski Jr. (Suzuki), Dunlop, 1:42.746 24. Garry Combs (Yamaha), 1:42.986 25. Darren Luck (Suzuki), Dunlop, 1:43.242 26. Tyler McDonald (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:43.421 27. Kim Nakashima (Suzuki), 1:43.632 28. Scott Ryan (Suzuki), Michelin, 1:44.158 29. Dirk Sanchez (Suzuki), 1:44.258 30. Spencer Stuart (Yamaha), 1:44.449 31. C.R. Gittere (Suzuki), Michelin, 1:45.045 32. Morgan Murphy (Suzuki), 1:45.263 33. Craig Wierman (Suzuki), 1:45.459 34. Chris Siebenhaar (Suzuki), 1:45.667 35. Darren Murphy (Ducati), 1:45.742 110% of fast time = 1:46.968 Did Not Qualify 36. Craig Mason (Yamaha), 1:47.450 37. Carlos Rodrigues (Kawasaki), 1:47.728 38. Harley Barnes (Suzuki), 1:49.239 39. Leonardo Bagnis (Triumph), no times 40. Brian Gibbs (Suzuki), no times More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: BARNES QUALIFIES SECOND IN FORMULA XTREME AT INFINEON RACEWAY Team M4 EMGO Suzuki got a stellar start to the Infineon Raceway AMA weekend on Friday, picking up a front-row qualifying position to go along with three top fives in practice. Michael Barnes qualified his Pirelli slick-shod Suzuki GSX-R600 in the second position on the grid for Saturday’s 17-lap Formula Xtreme race. Despite suffering a fall in the FX free practice and being forced to switch to his ‘B’ bike, the Floridian ended up just two-tenths of a second away from claiming pole position with a time of 1: 37.446. “I had a get-off earlier this afternoon in practice on our other FX bike, so we had to switch bikes,” Barnes explained. “We took my suspension off that bike and put it on this one but we still had some dialing in to do. I’ve got to try to keep it off the cases because I think that’s what caused my crash up in turn three. And during this qualifying session I was dragging the cases through the Carousel and just hanging on by my fingernails.” Barnes is feeling confident heading into tomorrow’s contest after getting an opportunity to measure himself with the competition. “I felt really comfortable once we got the bike a little more dialed in,” he remarked. “I was able to hook up with (polesitter) Josh Hayes out there and he’s a stand-up guy; he doesn’t pull over and run away from someone following him. He might have towed me along but I felt I had a couple strengths versus his strengths. I really think I’ve got something for him for the race. We’ll just have to see how our whole combination works out.” Barnes and teammate Geoff May were also impressive in Friday’s Supersport free practice, posting the third and fourth best times of the session. Georgian May led the way for the Team M4 EMGO Suzuki squad in the highly-competitive class, stopping the clocks at 1: 38.602, while Barnes was right on his heels at 1:38.694. Young talent Michael Beck will look to improve on Saturday after putting in the 21st ranked time (1:41.312) in Friday’s practice. May put in a top-five showing aboard his big-bore Superstock machine as well. He guided his GSX-R1000 around the undulating circuit in 1: 37.723, good enough for fifth best overall in the practice. Saturday will be a full day for Team M4 EMGO Suzuki with Supersport and Superstock qualifying followed by the Formula Xtreme final. More, from a press release issued on behalf of Pirelli: Rome, Georgia: Within the fertile flora of the Sonoma valley wine country, Supersport practice for the Infineon Raceway AMA Superbike event opened with Pirelli-riders Geoff May and his M4 EMGO Suzuki teammate Michael Barnes harvesting front-running lap times, by setting the 3rd and 4th fastest times of the session, on their GSX-R600s. Right behind them was Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp at 5th fastest with his ZX-6R-mounted teammate Ben Attard setting the 10th quickest time, each racer pealing off their laps on Pirelli’s Diablo Supercorsa tires. Formula Xtreme was extremely similar for the Pirelli-mounted crew, with Steve Rapp shaking the grapes off the vines on his Team Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R by laying down the 3rd fastest time, while teammate Ben Attard was just a couple ticks behind with the 5th fastest lap. M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Michael Barnes was 6th with Team Hunter’s Cory West plucking the 9th quickest time. In Formula Xtreme qualifying, Barnes leapt forward, fermenting his pace up to 2nd place on the grid for Saturday’s race, barely two tenths from pole-sitter Joshua Hayes. Steve Rapp secured a front row spot next to Barnes with the third fastest lap, while his teammate Attard crushed out the 5th fastest lap. West moved up to the second row of the grid on his Chuck Giacchetto-tuned Yamaha YZF-R6, giving Diablo Superbike Slick riders four of the top eight positions for the race’s start. In Friday’s Superstock practice, Geoff May uncorked the power of his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was 5th quickest, laying down laps in the same 1:37s, as quickest rider Ben Bostrom. Roadracingworld.com Suzuki teammates, Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri, hung close to the front by pressing out the 7th and 11th quickest times, respectively, using the latest Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slicks.