Josh Hayes set a new lap record today at Road America on his way to capturing his fourth pole position of the season. Hayes set a 2’11.913 lap time around the Wisconsin circuit, beating Mat Mladin’s 1996 record of 2’11.970.
“I think I was reading Cycle News last night, and they said that Mladin’s record was pretty safe,” Hayes said. “So that gave me a little extra motivation.”
Hayes has captured every pole position so far this season, and in a series that is bound to go down to the last few races, every point counts.
“Josh is sure making it difficult for me by grabbing all these extra points,” said Blake Young, who finished in second during qualifying. “We ran pretty good but just fell a little short. Hopefully we can make up for it in the race.”
Tommy Hayden completed a familiar top three at the end of the second qualifying session. Hayden was a half second off of Hayes’ pace, but he’s confident that he’ll be at the front tomorrow.
“You’re looking at the (Hayes’ lap time), and you’re trying to beat that,” Hayden said. “But the race is the important part and we’re ready for that.”
Hayden, Hayes, and Young have been the only riders this season to score a win. They are also the only three riders to reach the podium, with the exception of Martin Cardenas who replaced Blake Young on the rostrom at Infineon.
Chris Peris has a solid qualifying session to bring his BMW up to the front row of the grid.
“The bike just keeps getting better every time we’re on it,” Peris said. “Pace wise, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get up to Josh’s pace on the 11’s. But we’re hoping to keep up with the front runners, and hopefully get on the box.”
