MAY FOURTH AGAIN AT INFINEON RACEWAY Team M4 EMGO Suzuki picked up their ninth top-five result of the 2006 AMA season on Sunday at Infineon Raceway. Geoff May continued to display both speed and consistency by claiming his fourth consecutive fourth-place Superstock finish. The Georgian was actually in position to contend for a podium result until the race was red flagged on lap eight of a scheduled 17 and then called complete due to weather and scheduling concerns. “I think I’m going to have to think about switching my number to ‘4’,” May joked after the race. “But we’re happy. We’re still in the points race and everything’s good. The Pirelli tires worked great and my Suzuki GSX-R1000 was flawless.” “Unfortunately we got a red flag when we were really coming on strong,” he explained. “We had the bike set up for the end of the race and we only got half of it in. I turned my fastest lap the lap prior to the red flag. So that was a little disappointing but you can’t really complain about fourth.” May and teammate Michael Barnes also had high hopes for Sunday’s Supersport final based on their exceptional qualifying performances the day before. Barnes actually rocketed off into the lead on the opening lap but the race was stopped shortly after it started and cancelled due to rainfall that hit the Sonoma, CA racetrack. May commented, “There’s not much you can do about the weather, but I’m kind of disappointed that we did all the practices, did all the qualifying, and even started the race and then we got nothing for it. There’s nothing to show for it.” Round 5 of the 2006 championship will take place in two weeks time at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, on June 2-4. Last season May nearly won the Superstock final at the high-speed circuit, claiming a close second at the flag. Currently fourth in the ’06 Superstock points race, May is hoping to get on top of the podium this time around. He said, “I think Road America is one of our strongest tracks. That one barely got away from us last year and I feel like we’re going back there for a little payback this year. If we go win a few races we’re going to be right there fighting for the title at the end of the year.” From a press release issued by Parts Dunlop Motorcycle Tires: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires Race Report: 2006 AMA Superbike Series, Round Four, Infineon Raceway Sonoma, Calif. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies claimed both legs of the Superbike doubleheader at round four of the 2006 AMA Superbike series at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, May 20-21, tying Honda Racing Miguel Duhamel’s record of six consecutive Superbike victories set in 1995. In the support classes, Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom took the Formula Xtreme win, teammate Jamie Hacking won the Superstock race and the Supersport event was cancelled due to rain. It was another superb weekend for Dunlop-sponsored riders, who swept the podiums of all four events and claimed 36 out of a possible 40 top-ten finishing positions for a remarkable winning percentage of 90. Spies’ amazing run on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 now gives him 257 points in the Superbike series, 30 more than teammate and six-time Superbike champ Mat Mladin, who finished both events in second place. Honda Racing’s Duhamel collected third place in both races and also holds third place in series points with 198. Superbike Race One Results, Saturday: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 6. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 7. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 8. Jake Zemke (Honda) 9. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) Superbike Race Two Results, Sunday: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 5. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 6. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki) 7. Ben Bostrom (Ducati) 8. Jake Zemke (Honda) 9. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 10. Jake Holden (Suzuki) In Saturday afternoon’s Formula Xtreme competition, Bostrom passed teammate and series leader Jason Disalvo on the last lap””both on Yamaha YZF-R6s””to collect his second consecutive win. Matsushima Performance’s Danny Eslick was third. Disalvo now has 133 points, followed by Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes with 120; Bostrom is third with 110 points. Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 2. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha) 3. Danny Eslick (Suzuki) 4. Josh Hayes (Honda) 6. Aaron Gobert (Honda) 7. Blake Young (Suzuki) 8. Ryan Andrews (Honda 9. Tony Meiring (Suzuki) 10. Ty Howard (Honda) Sunday afternoon’s Superstock race was shortened by a red flag, but Jamie Hacking led all nine laps of the 17-lap event on his Graves Motorsports Yamaha-prepared YZF-R1LE to take his second victory of the season. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates was second, followed by Hacking’s teammate Eric Bostrom. Hacking leads the series with 138 points, followed by Yates with 126 and Disalvo with 114. Superstock Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha) 2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 3. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 5. Jacob Holden (Suzuki) 6. Martin Craggill (Suzuki) 7. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 8. Josh Hayes (Honda) 10. Aaron Gobert (Honda) Next stop for Dunlop and the 2006 AMA Superbike road racing tour is Road America at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, June 2-4. Round five features a doubleheader for the Superbike series. About Dunlop Tires Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI RACING TEAM SHOWS DETERMINATION AT INFINEON SONOMA, Calif. Kawasaki Racing Team rider, Tommy Hayden, maintained a diligent battle throughout the weekend as AMA Superbike racing returned to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., for the Kawasaki Superbike Showdown. When racing got underway on Saturday, Hayden started the first 28-lap Superbike race in seventh and held a consistent pace with the rest of the field throughout the duration of the feature. Hayden also contended in the second Superbike race on Sunday. He earned his best start of the season by crossing the stripe in third and held his ground until lap nine before slipping into fourth. Over the course of the remaining laps Hayden was forced to deal with lapped traffic and slipped another two positions to eventually finish in sixth place aboard his ZX™-10R. Tommy’s younger brother, Roger Hayden, did not contend in Superbike this weekend due to a broken right tibia and fibula which he sustained during a crash in April. He did, however, decide to race in Supersport on Sunday and piloted his Kawasaki ZX™-6RR with grit and determination for two laps until it began to rain, thus forcing the race to be cancelled. As a result the purse will be paid out according to the qualifying order. At the time the race was called, the on track order for Kawasaki was Roger Hayden running in fifth with Attack Kawasaki riders Damon Buckmaster in seventh and Ben Attard in eighth respectively. Prior to the rain halting the Supersport event, Attard and Buckmaster both put in strong rides aboard their Kawasaki ZX-10R’s in the Superstock race. Buckmaster finished in 13th and Attard finished in 16th after the race was halted due to an oil-down on the track. The AMA elected to halt the race after eight laps to allow time for the Supersport race to begin before the weather conditions diminished, which came much sooner than expected. Racing resumes when the teams head to Road America Raceway in Elkhart Lake, Wis., June 24, for a Superbike doubleheader. More, from a press release issued by Buell Motorcycle Company: RAIN DAMPENS BUELL XBRR EFFORT AT INFINEON FORMULA XTREME McWilliams Runs in Top 10; Shawn Reilly Scores First AMA Points for XBRR SONOMA, Calif. Jeremy McWilliams, riding a Buell XBRR for the combined Warr’s of London Harley-Davidson/Buell (Great Britain) and Hal’s Harley-Davidson/Buell (New Berlin, Wis.) teams, qualified 11th for the Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme event at the 2006 AMA Superbike Championship at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. McWilliams moved up and was closing on 7th position before retiring with an ignition problem on lap 10 of the 17-lap Formula Xtreme national. A second Buell XBRR, in the hands of Harley-Davidson/Buell of Vallejo rider Shawn Reilly, finished 22nd after qualifying 27th. Reilly is a regular competitor on the AFM circuit. The race was won by Yamaha USA factory rider Eric Bostrom on a YZF-6R. Rain showers on Friday dramatically shortened practice for Formula Xtreme riders, a set-back for McWilliams, as he was riding at Infineon for the first time. McWilliams also faced an abbreviated practice and qualifying session held on Saturday just hours before the start of the race. “The weather didn’t help us, as neither dealer team had much time for practice or set-up,” said Buell Chairman and Chief Technical Officer Erik Buell. “But Jeremy got a solid start in the race and was moving up until an ignition problem ended the day, which was disappointing. However, we’ll fix that and we do seem to have solved the primary drive problems from Daytona. We’re looking forward to seeing more XBRRs compete at the next AMA event at Road America.” The Buell XBRR is a limited-edition production racing motorcycle based on the Firebolt XB12R and designed exclusively for closed-course competition. It offers private racers a professional-level, race-ready, production-based platform. Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, visit your local Buell dealer today and experience the pure streetfighter attitude, style and performance only found on board a Buell. Pull into www.buell.com for the Buell dealer nearest you. More, from a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist: DISALVO ESTABLISHES NEW RECORD IN CONSECUTIVE POLE POSITIONS At Infineon Raceway in Sonoma CA, Jason DiSalvo of Stafford, NY and Las Vegas, NV extended his streak of consecutive pole positions to 12 (a new AMA track record) in the 1000cc Superstock class while breaking his old track record. He also set a new track record while taking the pole position in the 600cc Formula Extreme class. The weekend was on again off again with weather playing a major role for practices, qualifying and racing. Friday started off with one practice being completely cut, condensing the Saturday practices and qualifying. In qualifying for the 600cc Formula Extreme class Jason was fastest setting a new track record of 1:38.05 seconds. The race began with Jason and one of his teammates breaking away from the field with Jason running second until lap 11 when he took the lead for the next 6 laps. Going into the last section Jason got passed, then made a gallant move to reclaim the lead with almost disastrous results as the machine put him into a violent tank slapper causing him to slow, relegating him to a second place finish. He commented after the race “That bike is going to have to do better than that if it wants to throw me off”. The Superstock race was run on Sunday morning with threatening skies. With a less than stellar start, Jason found himself fourth eventually moving to third on lap 6 when disaster struck with a low side crash. Jason’s quick recovery allowed him to run to the machine, pick it up, tear off a damaged wind screen, remount the bike, and continue the race in 19th place. The next lap a red flag was thrown to stop the race due to a blown motor of another rider, this opportunity gave Jason and his crew a chance to change tires, make repairs to the damaged bike and prepare for a restart from Row 5. Jason commented “This was a break so on the restart I could again be up with the leaders.” Unfortunately the AMA considered the race complete although according to the regulations the race had not been 50% complete. That resulted in Jason having to settle for 19th place leaving him third in the point standings for the Superstock Championship. Jason continues to lead the 600cc Formula Extreme Championship extending his lead to 13 points over second place. The races will be televised Tuesday at 5PM on Speed Channel. The team is leaving today for Salt Lake City, Utah where they will be testing for 2 days at the new Miller Motorsport Park racetrack prior to returning to Las Vegas. The next race is scheduled for Road America, June 2, 3 and 4, 2006.