Mat Mladin (Suzuki) won pole position (and the single point that goes with it) over Ben Bostrom (Ducati), who qualified second for Sunday’s AMA Superbike race at Pikes Peak International Raceway.
At the post-session press conference Mladin and Bostrom expressed conflicting views over an alleged “block” by Mladin of Bostrom’s “fast lap”.
Mladin, still upset over the V&H Ducati test session at PPIR just 8 days ago, claimed he was waiting to follow Ben but then decided to go out ahead of him. Ben claimed Mat was weaving around the track to slow him down.
The Kawasaki’s of Aaron Yates and Doug Chandler qualified third and fourth, respectively.
Mladin now has a nine point lead over Bostrom going into Sunday’s race. This means Mladin could win the championship by finishing third, even if Bostrom wins the race.
V&H Ducati’s Anthony Gobert will not race tomorrow due to injuries sustained in a recent motocross crash.
Final Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki); 0:54.009
2. Ben Bostrom (Ducati); 0:54.186
3. Aaron Yates (Kawasaki); 0:54.519
4. Doug Chandler (Kawasaki); 0:54.578
5. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki); 0:54.582
6. Pascal Picotte (Harley Davidson); 0:54.786
7. Steve Crevier (Suzuki); 0:54.885
8. Larry Pegram (Ducati); 0:54.900
9. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha); 0:54.954
10. Nicky Hayden (Honda); 0:55.038
