Mladin takes New Jersey pole

From AMA Pro Racing

MILLVILLE, NJ - Mat Mladin (No. 1 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) won his eighth AMA Pro Road Racing pole of the season and will end his AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike career with a record 63 pole positions after earning the top Superpole qualifying spot Friday at the AMA Pro Superbike Championships at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP).

Mladin, who announced his retirement last month, will start on the pole for both of this weekend's dual finals, which will be the final American Superbike races of his career.

"I thought we had a little bit more in it but we ended up getting the pole today, so that was good," said Mladin, who turned a top lap time of 1:21.558 (97.109 mph). "I definitely won't place a career of winning on this weekend, whether it's a good or bad result. Anytime you want to race, and you want to race hard, there are always places to pass whether you have to move people out of the way or not. We'll see how we go tomorrow."

Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1), who won his second Superpole of the season one race ago at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), was second fastest Friday with a lap at 1:21.872 (96.736 mph).

"I think the track has a really fun layout, it's actually a lot of fun to get around," said Hayes, who swept both VIR races. "It feels a little small on a Superbike, I think the 600 would be really fun to get around here on. With a Superbike, it's a lot of work but it's challenging, which is always fun. I think I have a good bike to be on around here."

Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) continued his recent strong Superpole runs and was third fastest to join Mladin as Suzuki riders in the top four. Yates lapped at 1:22.069 (96.505 mph).

"It's different, a new place for us," Yates said. "Anytime we go somewhere new, it's exciting, it's a challenge. The place is a bit of work, a lot of direction change. You spend so much time on each side of the bike around those couple of corners back there that you kind of get tired of hanging off the thing. It's the same for everybody; it's going to be a long race. We're working hard to get the Jordan Suzuki going and I think it's coming around pretty good."

Yamaha also put a pair of bikes on the front row with Hayes' teammate Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) locking down the fourth and final spot with a lap time of 1:22.076 (96.496 mph).

"The track is awesome," Bostrom said. "Everyone's times are very tight. I can't complain, I haven't been that good in Superpole all year. The bike's great, I have a really good race bike and I think it should be on for Saturday and Sunday. Expect really close racing with everybody. We haven't won one so we can do our best."

Mladin's teammate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) rounded out the top five while two riders making their American Superbike debuts were competitive enough to make the 10 rider Superpole cut. Cory West (No. 53 Erik Buell Racing Buell 1125RR) qualified eighth while fellow American Superbike rookie Damian Cudlin (No. 8 Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000) was 10th.

Saturday's American Superbike final is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET for 23 laps/50 miles and can be seen in same-day coverage on SPEED that night at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Qualifying Results (Top 10 established in Superpole)
1. Mat Mladin (Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:21.557
2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha Motor Corp. USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:21.872
3. Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:22.068
4. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha Motor Corp. USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:22.075
5. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:22.104
6. Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance ·Pegram Racing Ducati) Ducati 1098R 1:22.142
7. Neil Hodgson (Corona Extra Honda) Honda CBR1000RR 1:22.383
8. Cory West (Erik Buell Racing) Buell 1125RR 1:22.648
9. Taylor Knapp (Taylor Knapp Racing) Buell 1125RR 1:22.866
10. Damian Cudlin (Celtic Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:23.126
11. Geoff May (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:22.277
12. Blake Young (Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:22.286
13. Chris Ulrich (Roadracingworld.com ·Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:23.173
14. Jake Holden (Holden Racing) Honda CBR1000RR 1:23.552
15. Scott Charlton (Aussie Dave Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:24.391
16. Mark Crozier (Four Feathers Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:25.478
17. Tim Hunt (Team Hooters Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:25.648
18. Scott Jensen (Moto Garage Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:25.724
19. Ricky Corey (RCR Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:25.896
20. Skip Salenius (Run One Racing ·Marietta Motorsports) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:25.912
21. Shane Narbonne (Shane Narbonne ·DASPerformance.com) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:26.823
22. Shawn Higbee (Higbee-Racing.com) Buell 1125R 1:26.925
23. Eric Haugo (Liberty Waves Racing 2) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:27.755
24. Dominic Jones (Moto Garage Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:27.797
25. Johnny Rock Page (Johnny Rock Page ·944 Magazine) Yamaha YZF-R1 1:28.304
26. Marcin Biernacki (Biernacki Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 1:28.902