Coming in with momentum on their side, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki are aiming to close out the 2006 AMA season on a high note this weekend at Mid-Ohio. Full of confidence coming off of two consecutive double podium Supersport finishes, Geoff May and Michael Barnes are both hoping to claim a breakthrough victory for the squad this weekend.
They got off to a stellar start on Friday at the demanding race course, finishing the day’s solitary Supersport session ranked first and second. Georgian May held an impressive advantage over the entire field aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600, registering a best time of 1: 31.016, almost a half-second quicker than any other rider.
“I think we’re set on the 600,” May remarked. “We’ve got a really good race set-up and the tires are hooked up. Everything is working great and it seems like the other guys are having an issue with the grip.”
Looking to score his much sought after maiden AMA win this weekend and secure second-place in the championship race, May added. “I’m motivated and perhaps some of these other guys out here aren’t so motivated. Maybe they’re ready for the season to be over but I’m ready for it. And we always want another opportunity for a win.”
Barnes’ fastest lap in the class was a 1:31.467 at the Mid-Ohio track he’s already scored a podium finish at this season.
‘Barney’, who recently joined May in re-signing with Team M4 EMGO Suzuki for ’07, also enjoyed a solid outing in Formula Xtreme qualifying. The Floridian posted a 1: 28.075 lap to earn a starting position on the inside of row 2 with the session’s fifth best time.
May also practiced aboard his GSX-R1000 Superstock machine, clocking a 1:27.776 to rank sixth best in the session. He expects to move up the order as the weekend progresses.
“In Superstock we just ran out of time,” he explained. “We tried some different forks and they obviously didn’t work as well as we’d have liked. It’s so much cooler now than it was the last time we were here, so we’ll just go back to the known set-up. The Pirelli tires are working great; it’s a shame we ended up sixth in that session. I think we could have put it up on top of the board just like we did on the 600. We’ve just got to keep working on the big bike.”
On Saturday May will qualify in Supersport and Superstock while Barnes will qualify in Supersport and take part in the 16-lap FX season finale.
