In his first race on the new 2009 GSX-R 1000, Michael Jordan Motorsports rider Geoff May placed his #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki on the front row Friday at Birmingham’s Barber Motorsports Park. May, from nearby Gainseville GA,continues his impressive start to the 2009 campaign and has now put his #54 Suzuki on the front row for the third straight round.
Basic Qualifying for Aaron Yates of the #23 Jordan Suzuki team proved interesting. With 4 minutes left in the session, Yates was on his hot lap and well on his way to a top eight, when two-thirds ofthe way through the lap, the red flag was displayed. As Yates was navigating around the track, Canadian geese made their way onto the racing surface and the session was cut short. As a result, the Milledgeville, GA resident finished the session in P12 and is looking to improve upon that position during Saturday’s Final Qualifying.
3rd – Geoff May Speaks…
"Anytime you’re on the front row with these guys, you’re doing well," May said. "I had a relatively clean lap and it felt like where we were in practice this morning. I had a little moment down there in Turn 2, right before the rise. I got a little cocky with it, thinking, ‘Oh man, this thing is gripping good!’ Then, right about that time, I had a big, almost high, side down at the bottom of the hill. I just tried to stay in it and salvage what was left of the lap. We’re happy. We’re in third and the race is what matters, so we’ll see tomorrow."
12th – Aaron Yates Speaks…
"We had some trouble today getting the bike dialed in and making it turn," said Yates. "It’s really important at this track to have a bike that turns well and we’ve been working on figuring out the new 2009 all day. We’re going to make some changes and we’ll get it going tomorrow. We’ll be there."
