Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin continued his near-perfect season on Friday at Infineon Raceway by winning the provisional pole for this weekend’s Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts.

Mladin, a five-time AMA Superbike champion, turned the 12-turn, 2.22-mile road course in 1 minute, 36.019 seconds. The time was a new track record, bettering the prior mark of 1:36.916 set by Mladin in 2004. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki) was second at 1:37.116, with Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki) third at 1:37.605.

Mladin, a four-time Superbike winner at Infineon Raceway, continued his magical season. He has captured every pole (three) and has won all but one Superbike main event in 2005. He entered this weekend’s event second in points to teammate Spies (155-152).

“Things went pretty well for us,” said Mladin. “I’m really happy with the GSX-R1000. The bike’s unbelievable. It’s certainly making our life a lot easier this year, and we’re happy about it.”

Honda’s Jake Zemke, meanwhile, captured the pole in the Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme class with a run of 1:38.791 in qualifying. It was Zemke’s second-career pole at Infineon Raceway and his second pole of the 2005 season. He is looking for his first-ever victory at Infineon Raceway.

Zemke holds a two-point lead over teammate Miguel Duhamel (105-103) for the top spot in Formula Xtreme after three events. Duhamel qualified second on Friday (1:38.791), with Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard third (1:38.995).

Action continues on Saturday with final qualifying for the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, followed by the 28-lap main event (3:50 p.m.). The 17-lap Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme feature will also take place on Saturday (4:50 p.m.).

Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown

1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:36.019, (86.983 mph).
2. Aaron Yates, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:37.116.
3. Ben Spies, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:37.605.
4. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999R, 1:37.787.
5. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1:38.354.
6. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 999R, 1:38.425.
7. Steve Rapp, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:38.434.
8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:38.534.
9. Jake Zemke, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:39.130.
10. Vincent Haskovec, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.173.
11. Larry Pegram, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:39.418.
12. John Haner, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.755.
13. Jacob Holden, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:39.988.
14. Eric Wood, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.408.
15. Marty Craggill, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.446.
16. Scott Jensen, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.601.
17. Brent George, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:40.899.
18. Kurtis Roberts, Honda CBR1000RR, 1:41.146.
19. Lee Acree, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.363.
20. Cory West, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:41.369.