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TOOELE VALLEY — Josh Hayes, Cameron Beaubier and Tomas Puerta topped the time sheets in preliminary qualifying today for their respective classes as GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing kicked off its annual visit to Miller Motorsports Park.
The AMA Pro Road Racing event, Round 6 of the nine-round 2013 championship, features four different classes of motorcycles in a double-header format. The AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport classes will have races on both Saturday and Sunday, while the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series will race only on Sunday.
Video
Experience a 140 mph superbike ride
KSL digital media producer Dave Moncion hopped on a superbike at Miller Motor Sports Park and hit speeds approaching 140 mph. Check out the video to get a first-hand experience of the ride.In Friday's provisional qualifying, three-time and defending National Guard SuperBike champ Josh Hayes claimed the provisional pole position with a lap at 1:51.021 on his No. 1 Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha YZF-R1, edging Roger Hayden (National Guard/Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000) by 0.370 second. Hayes' teammate Josh Herrin, who was fastest for most of the session, wound up third fastest with a lap at 1:51.395, just .004 second slower than Hayden. Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Danny Eslick (Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000) completed the top five. Local wild-card entrant Oleg Pianykh (Wicked Audio Suzuki GSX-R1000) of Salt Lake City clocked the 16th-fastest time in the field of 23 bikes.
In the GoPro Daytona SportBike class, Yamaha rider and current championship leader Cameron Beaubier was the fastest of four riders who broke the existing track record for the class. Beaubier, riding the No. 6 Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy Yamaha YZF-R6, timed in at 1:53.637, smashing the existing record of 1:55.219 set by Jason DiSalvo on a Ducati in 2011. Beaubier's teammate Garrett Gerloff was second fastest today at 1:54.758, followed by Jake Lewis (Meen Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:54.844), DiSalvo (Latus Motors Triumph Daytona 675, 1:55.135) and J.D. Beach (RoadRace Factory Yamaha YZF-R6, 1:55.474).
Tomas Puerta, riding the No. 12 RoadRace Factory Yamaha YZF-R6, set the fast time in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class, stopping the clocks at 1:57.189, breaking the existing track record of 1:58.384 set by Benny Solis on a Honda in 2011. Jeffrey Tigert (Baby Appleseed/CM Motorsport Yamaha YZF-R6) was second fastest at 1:57.252, with Wyatt Ferris (Meen Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6), Joe Roberts (California Superbike School Honda CBR600RR) and Stefano Mesa (Motosport.com/RSRacecraft Yamaha YZF-R6) completing the top five, all of whom were under the existing track record.
Saturday's activities begin with final qualifying for the National Guard SuperBike, GoPro Daytona SportBike and Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport classes starting at 8:00 a.m., with a Fan Walk/Autograph Session in the hot pit lane scheduled for 12:00 p.m. The afternoon's three races begin at 1:00 p.m., and the day will conclude with preliminary qualifying for the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson series at 4:05 p.m.
Sunday's schedule starts with final qualifying for the Harley-Davidson group at 8:30 a.m., followed by warm-up sessions and the Fan Walk/Autograph Session that begins at 11:15 a.m. Sunday's four races start at 12:10 p.m. and the day's action will conclude at approximately 4:00 p.m.
Off the track, the Miller Kart Center will be open for kart rentals, the MMP Zip Line will be open for rides and stunt rider Randy Callicoat will be performing throughout the weekend in the paddock.
Tickets for Saturday and Sunday are priced at $25/day and $40/weekend for adults, with kids aged 12 and under admitted free of charge.
For facility and event information about Miller Motorsports Park, call 435-277-RACE (7223) or visit the track's website at www.MillerMotorsportsPark.com. For more information about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing, visit www.AMAProRacing.com/rr.
Photo Caption: Three-time and defending AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike champion Josh Hayes set the fastest time during provisional qualifying Friday at Miller Motorsports Park. (Photo courtesy GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing / Brian J. Nelson)
