HOMESTEAD, Fla. (April 13, 2007) -- The Aprilia USA team, winner of the season-opening DAYTONA USA 300 last month, continued its strong form in SunTrust MOTO-ST Series action by setting the pace in practice for Round 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday afternoon.

Ty Howard of Weatherford, Tex. set a fastest lap of one minute, 29.638 seconds around the 2.21-mile track on the No. 6 Aprilia Tuono 1000R. His strong effort came despite cutting his finger while trimming some rubber off one of his boots just before the session began. After some attention from paramedics at the track he hopped aboard the Aprilia for practice duty.

"I've never been here before," said Howard before heading to the hospital to have his finger looked at more extensively, "but the track seems to be to my liking. It suits me perfectly. The bike felt pretty good. We have a couple more things to try for tomorrow."

Howard will be joined by fellow Texan Troy Green of Dallas on the No. 6 Aprilia in Saturday's Homestead 500K.

The Aprilia USA team scored a surprise victory in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway with Italian riders Federico Aliverti and Giancarlo De Matteis aboard the No. 6 entry.

Michael Barnes of Boca Raton, Fla. was second quickest in practice at Homestead with a time of 1:30.825 on the No. 18 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki SV1000 and New Smyrna Beach, Fla.'s Mike Luke recorded the third fastest time of 1:31.759 on the No. 76 R&R Racing Aprilia Tuono 1000R.

"We went with a stiff set up originally and it turned out to be a little too stiff," said Barnes, who set his quickest time right at the end of the session. "I think we'll be able to make more of a jump tomorrow."

Barnes will be joined by Chris Ulrich of Lake Elsinore, Calif. on the No. 18 Suzuki.

Series point standings will be used to set the line-up for Saturday's race, putting the No. 6 Aprilia USA entry on the pole with the No. 18 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, which finished second at Daytona, alongside.

The top three overall were also the quickest in the Buell Motorcycle Company SuperSport Twins (SST) class.

The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati Multistrada 1000DS set the pace in the BMW Grand Sport Twins class with Pete Friedland of Columbia, S.C. recording a time of 1:37.249.

The Sport Twins (ST) division was topped by the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650. Jimmy Filice of Modesto, Calif. turned a lap at 1:37.383.

Saturday's action opens with a final practice session for the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series competitors at 9:00 a.m. The Homestead 500K gets the green flag at 4:00 p.m.

Following this weekend's event, this year's SunTrust MOTO-ST Series will continue with the VIR 500K, April 27-29 at Virginia International Raceway, the Road America 500K, July 7-8 at Road America, the Iowa Speedway 500K at Iowa Speedway July 12-13, and the 8 Hours At Daytona Finale, October 19-20 at Daytona International Speedway.

MOTO-ST is organized and sanctioned by Professional Motorsports Productions (PMP) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the Grand American Road Racing Association, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., provides the series with administrative and commercial support. The MOTO-ST advisory board features some of the most respected individuals in the world of motorsports, including Hall of Fame members, respected motorcycle racing journalists and renowned officials from various forms of road racing. Learn more about MOTO-ST at www.moto-st.com.

Tickets to Round 2 of the SunTrust MOTO-ST Series may be purchased at the gate.