2011 AMA Superbike
Josh Hayes was fastest during Friday’s qualifying session, and the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 rider continued his domination Saturday, taking the pole position for Round 4 of the AMA Superbike Championship in Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis.
The current AMA Superbike points leader posted a 2:11.913 during qualifying at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit. The reigning Superbike Champion was 0.309 of a second ahead of his rival, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young, who beat Hayes to the checkered flag at Round 3 in Miller last weekend.
Taking the third-qualifying spot on the grid was Young’s teammate, Tommy Hayden; together, the top three AMA Superbike riders starting on the front at Road America are also the only ones to win in 2011 so far. Young doubled at Daytona, Hayes and Hayden both took a win at Infineon, and Young took the single race at Miller, which was only one race due to running at the same time of World Superbike last weekend.
Rounding out the top five during qualifying at Road America was Team Iron Horse BMW’s Chris Peris and M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas.
Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Team Graves Yamaha) says: "This has always been a good track for me. I always have a smile on my face here…. I was able to go out and put together a few good laps by myself, and then I did a few good laps with Blake in front of me and it was about 20 percent easier.
"I had something to gauge off of and it made things a little easier for me. Now, I feel like I can maintain a good pace for the entire race, and I feel like I can put together thirteen fast ones."
Photos: Geoffrey Siehr
2011 AMA Superbike: Road America Qualifying Results
| Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Laps |
| 1. | 1 | Josh Hayes | Monster Energy Graves Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | FASTEST | FASTEST | 2:11.913 | 14 |
| 2. | 79 | Blake Young | Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0.309 | 0.309 | 2:12.222 | 16 |
| 3. | 22 | Tommy Hayden | Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0.543 | 0.234 | 2:12.456 | 16 |
| 4. | 8 | Chris Peris | Team Iron Horse BMW ·ESP | BMW S1000RR | 1.235 | 0.692 | 2:13.148 | 10 |
| 5. | 36 | Martin Cardenas | M4 Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1.263 | 0.028 | 2:13.176 | 15 |
| 6. | 54 | Roger Hayden | National Guard Jordan Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 2.015 | 0.752 | 2:13.928 | 14 |
| 7. | 23 | Ben Bostrom | Jordan Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 2.460 | 0.445 | 2:14.373 | 13 |
| 8. | 15 | Steve Rapp | San Diego BMW/Locust Powered by Lee`s Cycle | BMW S1000RR | 2.831 | 0.371 | 2:14.744 | 12 |
| 9. | 72 | Larry Pegram | Pegram Racing | BMW S1000RR | 3.045 | 0.214 | 2:14.958 | 14 |
| 10. | 99 | Geoff May | Amsoil EBR Racing | Buell 1125R | 3.049 | 0.004 | 2:14.962 | 12 |
| 11. | 2 | Chris Clark | Yamaha Extended Service, Pat Clark Sports, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | 3.241 | 0.192 | 2:15.154 | 16 |
| 12. | 10 | JD Beach | Cycle World Attack Performance | Kawasaki ZX-10 | 4.270 | 1.029 | 2:16.183 | 16 |
| 13. | 86 | Jason Farrell | Speed Tech Performance | Kawasaki ZX-10 | 5.330 | 1.060 | 2:17.243 | 13 |
| 14. | 25 | David Anthony | ADR Fly Racing | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 5.421 | 0.091 | 2:17.334 | 13 |
| 15. | 68 | Tony Kasper | Team Iron Horse BMW ·ESP | BMW S1000RR | 7.501 | 2.080 | 2:19.414 | 14 |
| 16. | 66 | Brian Hall | Schaumburg Audi | Kawasaki ZX-10 | 7.688 | 0.187 | 2:19.601 | 8 |
| 17. | 33 | Jordan Burgess | ADR Fly Racing | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 7.753 | 0.065 | 2:19.666 | 14 |
| 18. | 78 | Reese Wacker | Wacker Racing LLC | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 8.215 | 0.462 | 2:20.128 | 16 |
| 19. | 12 | Trent Gibson | Seven Sports | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 9.620 | 1.405 | 2:21.533 | 12 |
| 20. | 9 | Eric Haugo | Viking Moto | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 10.537 | 0.917 | 2:22.450 |
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