From a press release issued by Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca:

AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP HEATING UP AS SERIES HEADS TO MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA

Honda Superbike Classic to take green flag July 9-11

MONTEREY, Calif. (June 28, 2004) – Another year and yet another barnstormer of a season in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Chevrolet Superbike Championship, with four different riders having tasted victory in the first 11 races. The top three riders are covered by just 10 points as the series heads to Monterey County for the Honda Superbike Classic July 9-11 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Mat Mladin (#1 Suzuki GSX-R1000) has accumulated 358 points, Miguel Duhamel (#17 Honda CBR1000RR) is second with 352 points and Jake Zemke (#98 Honda CBR1000RR) has earned 348 points so far this season.

Mladin, the defending series champion and the only four-time champion in series history (1999-2001 & 2003), got off to a fast start in 2004 winning the first four races and five of the first six. His five wins are the most by any rider this season, but Mladin hasn’t won since May 15 at Barber Motorsport Park (Birmingham, Ala.). The man many people consider the greatest Superbike racer ever will be looking to regain his winning form, protect his championship lead and defend his series title and his win in last year’s AMA Superbike race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Duhamel, the wiley veteran, has won four times this season. The 1995 AMA Superbike champion has won 30 Superbike races during his 14-year career, including the 1998 AMA Superbike race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Superbike rookie sensation Zemke picked up his first AMA Superbike win last weekend at Brainerd International Raceway. Zemke, who hails from nearby Paso Robles, had come close to victory on several occasions this season, finishing second six times. Though Zemke will be making his initial Superbike start at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, he won the 2002 AMA Formula Xtreme race.

Fourth in the championship with 262 points is fan-favorite Eric Bostrom (#32 Ducati 999), who took the Superbike win at Pikes Peak International Raceway in May. The two-time AMA Superbike winner at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (2001 & 2002) is in his first season with the Ducati Austin team (and his first season on Michelin tires), having raced for Kawasaki since 2000.

Geoff May (#199 Suzuki GSX-R1000) has been the model of consistency, earning ten Top-10 finishes this season and 241 points for fifth place in the championship in his sophomore season.

Ben Bostrom (#155 Honda CBR1000RR) is sixth in the standings with 210 points. The older brother of Eric is a former competitor in the SBK Superbike World Championship, where he won three times at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (once in 1999 and twice in 2001).

Featuring both the World Superbike Championship and the U.S. Superbike Championship, the Honda Superbike Classic has been called the Super Bowl of Superbike racing. But the event’s reputation is further bolstered with the inclusion of a full line-up of AMA road racing series, including the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship, the Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Championship and the Repsol Superstock Championship.

The AMA Supersport Championship features 600cc bikes and has mostly been a family affair, with Tommy Hayden (#22 Kawasaki ZX6RR) earning four wins and 237 points and his younger brother Roger Lee (#95 Kawasaki ZX6RR) earning one win and 208 points to be first and second in the standings. Defending series champion Jamie Hacking (#1 Yamaha YZF R6), winner of the last two Supersport races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, is third with 201 points. Fellow Yamaha riders Jason DiSalvo (#40 Yamaha YZF R6) and Ben Spies (#11 Yamaha YZF R6) have each won a race this season and are fifth and sixth, respectively, in the championship.

In Formula Xtreme, featuring highly modified 600cc four cylinder and 750cc twin cylinder machines, Honda teammates Miguel Duhamel (#17 Honda CBR600RR) and Jake Zemke (#98 Honda CBR600RR) have swept all seven races. Duhamel has five wins, including last weekend in Brainerd, to lead Zemke (two wins) by 15 points – 250-235. Aaron Gobert (#23 Honda CBR600RR) is third with 193 points.

Four different riders have won in the AMA Superstock Championship for 1000cc machines. Hacking (#2 Yamaha YZF R1) has taken four wins to lead Gobert (#96 Honda CBR1000RR) 218-204 points. Gobert, third-place rider Tommy Hayden (#22 Kawasaki ZX-10R) and sixth-place Spies (#11 Yamaha YZF R1) each have one victory this season.

Tickets for the Honda Superbike Classic are available by calling (800)
327-SECA or logging onto www.ticketmaster.com or www.laguna-seca.com.

More information on the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship and all other AMA road racing series competing at the Honda Superbike Classic is available at the series’ official Web site – www.USSuperbike.com. Updated event information is available by calling (800) 327-SECA or online at
www.superbikeclassic.com or www.laguna-seca.com.