Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin took a narrow victory over American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel in AMA Superbike race one during the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia Saturday.

Mladin took control of the re-started race early and held a one-second lead over Duhamel for much of the final 19 laps of the 25-lap event. Mladin extended his lead late with the help of lapped traffic, but backmarkers in the final turns allowed Duhamel to erase all of Mladin’s advantage and challenge for the lead. Slicing through a battling group of three slower riders, Mladin crossed the finish line 0.4 second ahead of Duhamel.

Duhamel’s teammate Ben Bostrom came back from a bad start to finish third, eight seconds behind the lead pair. Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke edged out Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates for fourth by a fraction of a second.

John Haner finished sixth, top privateer, on his Hooters Suzuki GSX-R1000, well clear of Prieto Racing’s Geoff May, Haner’s teammate Eric Wood, KWS Millennium Suzuki’s Shawn Higbee and NASTI’s Chris “Opie” Caylor, 10th.

Eric Bostrom crashed out of the race shortly after the original start, coming off the highside of his Ducati Austin 999F04 and injuring his right shoulder.

The first portion of the race was stopped when Josh Hayes (who was racing with Zemke for fifth) highsided his Attack Kawasaki ZX-10R in the new turn three/four chicane, spilling synthetic fluids on the track and causing a lengthy clean-up delay. Hayes’ crew repaired his motorcycle, allowing him to make the re-start from the back of the grid, but a flat tire forced Hayes to retire early.

Provisional AMA Superbike Race One Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suz GSX-R1000, 25 laps
2. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR1000RR, -0.400 second
3. Ben Bostrom, Hon CBR1000RR, -8.056 seconds
4. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR1000RR, -9.382 seconds
5. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000, -9.746 seconds
6. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000, -60.593 seconds
7. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R1000, -66.469 seconds
8. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000, -67.091 seconds
9. Shawn Higbee, Suz GSX-R1000, -68.778 seconds
10. Chris Caylor, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
11. Brian Stokes, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
12. Mike Smith, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
13. Chuck Sorensen, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
14. Byron Barbour, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
15. Jesse Janisch, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
16. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Andrew Deatherage, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. David Weber, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
19. Jeremy Toye, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
20. Cory West, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
21. Reuben Frankenfield, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
22. Roger Bell, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
23. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
24. Dean Mizdal, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
25. C.R. Gittere, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
26. Marty Craggill, Suz GSX-R1000
27. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R, DNF, mechanical
28. Larry Pegram, Yam YZF-R1, DNF, mechanical
29. Mark Ledesma, Hon CBR1000RR, DNF
30. Lee Acree, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF, mechanical
31. Chris Ulrich, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF
32. Jake Holden, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF, mechanical
33. Heath Small, Yam YZF-R1, DNF
34. Jeff Tigert, Hon CBR1000, DNF
35. Jason Curtis, Suz GSX-R1000, DNF, mechanical
36. Eric Bostrom, Duc 999F04, DNF, crash
37. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000, DNS
38. Scott Greenwood, Szu GSX-R1000, DNS


More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin:

EARLY EXIT FOR BOSTROM IN RACE 1 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Braselton (Georgia) – September 4, 2004: Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom saw his Saturday at Road Atlanta end unexpectedly after a crash on the first lap of the race put him out of the event.

“I was trying to make a pass and highsided. I’m not sure if I got into the marbles or what, but the rear came all the way around on me. It’s a real shame, because the Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team was going good this weekend. I think we would have been up there in the race. Our times on race tires were consistent,” explained Eric.

Although he ran as high as third on the Ducati 999R during Saturday’s qualifying session, Bostrom eventually took seventh spot and was trying to continue his string of good starts in 2004 when he fell.

“I’m in a bit of pain,” Bostrom said after the race. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do for tomorrow but I’m going to see Doug Polen’s doctor. I have some extra hardware in there from my Laguna Seca crash last year so I want to be careful with the shoulder.”

“Things looked promising after some good lap times on race tires in the morning compared to the other riders,” said Racing Manager Tom Bodenbach. “We’ll see what Eric’s condition is in the morning and see how things turn out for tomorrow’s race.”

Race two of the doubleheader at Road Atlanta is scheduled for tomorrow at 3:00 EDT.

RACE: 1. Mladin (Suzuki); 2. Duhamel (Honda); 3. B Bostrom (Honda); 4. Zemke (Honda); 5. Yates (Suzuki); 6. Haner (Suzuki); etc.


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

MLADIN EXTENDS AMERICAN SUPERBIKE SERIES LEAD WITH SEVENTH WIN OF THE SEASON

Braselton, Georgia, USA (Saturday, 4 September) – Hot on the heels of his lap record breaking run during yesterday’s opening qualifying session for this weekend’s double header American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship round at Road Atlanta, Australian Mat Mladin blasted that record even further during today’s final session before turning that pole position into his seventh race win of the season later in the afternoon.

Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 have been the fastest combination around the fast 4.087km (2.54miles) Georgian circuit since Friday’s opening session, culminating in his 37th career AMA Superbike pole position.

His time of 1-min 22.065-secs shattered his pole winning time from last year by 1.455 of a second and set the foundations for today’s 25-lap Superbike national.

Chasing teammate Aaron Yates, Mladin moved into the race lead on lap two and held that position till lap seven when the race was red flagged due to a fluids left on the circuit after Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes crashed at Turn Four. After a considerable delay to clear the debris from the circuit, Mladin again had to work his way past Yates on the restart, taking the lead on lap two. Once out front, the four-times American champion controlled the pace of the race, working his way steadily through lapped traffic and maintaining his margin over second placed Miguel DuHamel (Honda). The final lap saw Mladin caught in traffic, allowing DuHamel to close the gap significantly, but Mladin held his place at the front, crossing the line 0.400 of a second clear of his rival. The pair finished well clear of a battling trio consisting of Ben Bostrom (Honda), Jake Zemke (Honda) and Yates.

Mladin was pleased that the hard work and effort that his team have put in recently was paying off on the track, not only during qualifying, but also under race conditions.

“Qualifying was good for us, it’s always great to get that extra point, especially as we put a good lap together,” said Mladin. “We put a qualifier in and got a good lap on that tyre. Suzuki Japan along with our Yoshimura team have been working really hard over the past few months and if it wasn’t for that, this championship would have been much harder to chase. That hard work is what winning championships is all about.”

“It was also good to come away with maximum points from the race this afternoon, allowing us to open up a 32-point break over our nearest rival (Zemke) and hopefully we can repeat that again tomorrow.”

“Today’s race did go according to plan somewhat for us. Miguel managed to hang on throughout the race. He was about a second or so back and I had a comfortable break over him heading into the last lap, but we came across three backmarkers in the last chicane that saw the gap between us drop to 0.4 of a second as we crossed the line.”

“I don’t think that we need to change much on the bike for tomorrow’s race. It felt really good pout there today, but we’re getting to a point now in the championship where we have to start thinking about it a little bit, so we’ll just see how tomorrow pans out.”

With fifteen of the scheduled eighteen races that make up this year’s championship now complete, Mladin heads into tomorrow’s 25-lapper holding a 32-poin lead over Zemke (495 – 463), with DuHamel maintaining his third place with a total of 445 points.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

ACREE AND CAYLOR RUN STRONG AT ROAD ATLANTA

Suzuki teammates Lee Acree and Opie Caylor had opposite results on Saturday at round ten of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Road Atlanta. Opie finished seventh in the Formula Xtreme final and tenth in the Superbike final, while Lee had to pull out of the Superbike race when his bike quit after running as high as seventh place.

Opie Caylor
Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – 7th Place

Opie got a bad first start, but got a second chance when the race was red-flagged on the first lap. “The second start was a little bit better, but I’m still struggling, getting used to launching this slipper clutch,” said Opie. “I had to work my way back through as far as I could. I caught Mike Smith and passed him. He and I started going back and forth. The white flag lap came out and I said, ‘This is it, I gotta go’. I got by him on the brakes and we both got into ten deeper than I think we wanted. I made a mistake and got both feet off the pegs at one point going in. It ended up we were right there together.”

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 10th Place

“I thought to myself at one point, ‘The Georgia boys are going at it!’, said Opie after a race-long battle with fellow Georgians Mike Smith and Brian Stokes. “We didn’t change our front tire at the red flag, and it really started to shred about halfway into the restart. Luckily, Brian and Smitty started battling and slowed the pace down. I just hung in there and waited for the white flag. My bike was maybe a tad quicker than theirs, and I knew I had that card to play. All I had to do was put that last lap together. I got Brian going into turn one, and I passed Smith on the back straightaway.”

Lee Acree
Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – DNF

Lee’s crew was still diganosing on Saturday evening what caused his bike to stop running.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HANER FINISHES SEASON BEST SIXTH IN SUPERBIKE AT ROAD ATLANTA

John Haner of Hooters Suzuki finished sixth in Saturday’s Superbike race at round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta. John got two of his typically great starts in the red-flagged race, and ran as high as fifth during the first lap of the second leg. John settled into a pace on his Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000 that pulled him away from the rest of the field.

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 6th Place

“I was joking with Jake (Zemke) on the starting line, and I told him I was gonna lead until turn five, and he could pass me on the straightaway if he wanted to,” said John with a laugh. “But everyone seemed to get a good start that time. I think I was fifth, and the factory bikes came on by. Three laps into it Josh (Hayes) came by down the back straightaway just moving. I tried to hang on with him as much as I could, but he was gapping me about 20 yards a lap. I guess something happened to Josh, and I ended up having a pretty long race by myself.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

SHAWN HIGBEE FINISHES NINTH IN SATURDAY SUPERBIKE AT ROAD ATLANTA

Shawn Higbee of the Millennium Technologies Suzuki team finished ninth in today’s Superbike race during round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta.

Shawn Higbee
Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 9th Place

“The finish was good,” said Higbee. “I felt like I ran pretty consistent. Before the restart, I was struggling with the bike being stable. During the red flag, we changed the steering damper, and that made it better. We might try different gearing tomorrow. I was bumped up against the limiter a couple of times.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

GEOFF MAY FINISHES SEVENTH IN SUPERBIKE #1 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Geoff May was back into the top ten again in Superbike on Saturday at Road Atlanta, site of round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship. Geoff battled with Lee Acree, Larry Pegram and Eric Wood throughout the red-flagged race. Geoff continues to hold down a solid sixth place in season Superbike points.

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 7th Place

“That was a tough race,” said Geoff. “I definitely had to earn that one. Eric Wood definitely didn’t give that one up to me. I just kept my head down the whole time. Those guys were leaving me on the back straightaway, but luckily I could make it up on the brakes.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HEATH SMALL HAS ANOTHER STRONG FINISH IN FORMULA XTREME AT ROAD ATLANTA

Heath Small of HAS/Shogun Racing finished ninth in today’s Formula Xtreme final at Road Atlanta, and continues to hold down seventh place in season points. Heath was not able to finish the Superbike race after the Yamaha R1 he was riding began to overheat.

Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – 9th Place

“We went out and just tried to run the best race we could,” said Heath. “We didn’t have the motor we wanted for this weekend. Due to (crew chief) Dave Sanders getting hurt, we had to run a Supersport motor in the bike. I really just tried to watch and stay behind Blake (Young), I knew he had more power than me. I couldn’t even stay in his draft down the back straightaway. I thought, ‘I don’t want to pass him too close to the straightaway, because I want to try to get a gap’. So I went inside him on the white flag lap into turn one, and I just tried to ride as hard as I could. We came down out of seven, and he went past me before we even got to the kink.”

Saturday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – DNF

Heath completed only six laps before his bike began to overheat and lose power. Heath pulled into the pits in the interest of safety.