Mladin on Superbike pole

By John Hopkins

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- Mat Mladin fired the first shot in the battle for the 2008 AMA Superbike Championship by claiming pole position for this weekend's season opener at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday.

The Australian rode his Rockstar/Makita/American Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a fastest lap of one minute, 35.760 seconds (110.903 mph) around the 2.90-mile track. Teammate and two-time defending class champion Ben Spies qualified second fastest at 1:35.967 and Tommy Hayden completed a 1-2-3 sweep for the factory Suzukis with a 1:36.061 on his GSX-R1000.

Works Yamaha rider Jason Disalvo claimed his first ever Superbike front row position by qualifying fourth at 1:36.341 on his YZF-R1.

"It was a good morning for us," said Mladin, a six-time AMA Superbike champion. "We have the motorcycle very consistent and it's very nice to ride."

Montreal's Miguel Duhamel was ninth fastest on his American Honda/Shark/Joe Rocket Honda CBR1000RR with a time of 1:37.682, just ahead of new teammate Neil Hodgson.

"It's a bit of a grip issue," Duhamel explained. "It's a bit better [than yesterday]. It's improving. It's my first time on this new chassis. We went from the 1:40s to 1:37s today, and I'd like to get to the 1:36s and maybe get on the podium in the race."

Chris Peris of Calgary will start 16th in Saturday's race on the Team ESP/Dunlop/Ohlins/GPR Suzuki GSX-R1000. Peris set a time of 1:39.754 early in his 40-minute qualifying session before retiring to focus on Thursday afternoon's Superstock race, in which he will start fifth on the grid.

The Superbike Series opener is scheduled for a 11:15 a.m. start Saturday.