Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin completed a sweep of the Suzuki Superbike Showdown AMA Superbike double-header event with a win Sunday at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.

Mladin followed American Honda’s Ben Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel from the start and around for a few laps, but the four-time AMA Superbike Champion took the lead on lap six of 25 and was never headed again.

Duhamel didn’t get through slower traffic as well as Mladin but did get through it better than Bostrom and finished second, nearly four seconds behind Mladin. Bostrom came home a lonely third, 10 seconds behind the winner.

After a few strong laps early on, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke faded to a lonely fourth. He now sits 42 points behind Mladin in the Championship with two races and 75 points remaining.

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes bounced back from his crash in Saturday’s race to bring his ZX-10R Superbike home fifth Sunday. Hooters Suzuki’s John Haner recovered from a bad start to finish sixth, one spot better than Triangle Cycles Yamaha’s Larry Pegram. Corona Extra Suzuki’s Marty Craggill (eighth) came out on top of a five-way fight with Haner’s teammate Eric Wood (ninth), Prieto Racing’s Geoff May (10th), KWS Millennium Suzuki’s Shawn Higbee (11th) and NASTI Motorsports’ Lee Acree (12th).

Provisional AMA Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suz GSX-R1000, 25 laps
2. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR1000RR, -3.953 seconds
3. Ben Bostrom, Hon CBR1000RR, -10.610 seconds
4. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR1000RR, -23.813 seconds
5. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R, -57.838 seconds
6. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000, -79.303 seconds
7. Larry Pegram, Yam YZF-R1, -83.753 seconds
8. Marty Craggill, Suz GSX-R1000, -85.535 seconds
9. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000, -85.655 seconds
10. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R1000, -87.286 seconds
11. Shawn Higbee, Suz GSX-R1000, -87.430 seconds
12. Lee Acree, Suz GSX-R1000, -87.440 seconds
13. Mike Smith, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
14. Jesse Janisch, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
15. Chris Caylor, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
16. Brian Stokes, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Byron Barbour, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. Andrew Deatherage, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
19. Chuck Sorensen, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
20. Jeremy Toye, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
21. Jeff Tigert, Hon CBR1000RR, -1 lap
22. Roger Bell, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
23. Cory West, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
24. Dean Mizdal, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
25. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
26. Jason Curtis, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
27. Reuben Frankenfield, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
28. Mark Ledesma, Hon CBR1000RR, -2 laps
29. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000, -2 laps
30. Scott Greenwood, Suz GSX-R1000, -11 laps, DNF
31. C.R. Cittere, Suz GSX-R1000, -16 laps, DNF
32. Jake Holden, Suz GSX-R1000, -19 laps, DNF, mechanical
33. Dave Weber, Suz GSX-R1000, -22 laps, DNF, mechanical
34. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000, -23 laps, DNF, mechanical
35. Chris Ulrich, Suz GSX-R1000, DNS
36. Eric Bostrom, Duc 999F04, DNS
37. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000, DNS
38. Heath Small, Yam YZF-R1, DNS


AMA Superbike Championship Point Standings (After 16 of 18 races):

1. Mladin, 532 points
2. Zemke, 490 points
3. Duhamel, 477 points
4. Ben Bostrom, 364 points
5. May, 344 points
6. Eric Bostrom, 336 points
7. Haner, 312 points
8. Yates, 298 points
9. Wood, 284 points
10. Hayes, 267 points
11. Pegram, 256 points
12. Higbee, 236 points
13. Acree, 224 points
14. West, 218 points
15. Caylor, 201 points
16. Roetlin, 177 points
17. Toye, 171 points
18. Mizdal, 131 points
19. Steve Crevier, 124 points
20. Scott Jensen, 113 points


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

MLADIN COMPLETES AMERICAN SUPERBIKE WINNING DOUBLE AT ROAD ATLANTA – CLOSES IN ON FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIP

Braselton, Georgia, USA (Sunday, 5 September) – Australia’s Mat Mladin completed a winning double at the penultimate round of this year’s American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship after taking victory in the second of the weekend’s Superbike nationals being at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton Georgia.

The win took Mladin’s rally of AMA career wins to 32 (an all time record) and was his 8th win from the 16 races run to date in this year’s championship.

More importantly, the weekend’s haul of maximum points, has given him a 42-point margin over nearest rival Jake Zemke (Honda) 532 – 490, as the series heads to its final weekend of racing for the year at Virginia International Raceway on September 18 & 19.

The 32-year-old who hails from Camden, south west of Sydney, has led the championship since the opening race of the season, taking his third Daytona 200 victory and is just two races away from claiming an unprecedented fifth American Superbike crown, in an AMA career that has spanned nine years.

Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 have been the combination to beat all weekend, topping the time sheets in every practice and qualifying session before taking the all-important race wins in each of the 25-lap Superbike nationals.

Aiming to repeat yesterday’s opening race win, Mladin made a steady start to today’s event, sitting in third place behind early race leaders Ben Bostrom and Miguel DuHamel. Mladin’s early race pace was highlighted as he posted the fastest lap of the race with a 1-min 23.156-sec lap as he made his move past DuHamel for second, before slipping by Bostrom a lap later to take the lead.

From that point on experience showed, as he was able to dictate and control the pace from the front steadily working his way through lapped traffic and establishing his lead. By the conclusion of the 25th lap, Mladin has worked his lead out to 3.953 secs over DuHamel. Bostrom held a comfortable third, one place ahead of Zemke on the third of the factory Honda’s.

“The race obviously went well for us today, but I did push hard in the early laps and made a couple of little mistakes before it all started to fall into place,” said Mladin. “Once I was able to pass Miguel and then Ben, I settled in and put about a second gap on them. We kept it stable for a while before we got to the traffic and I did a really good job in being able to get past the backmarkers which allowed us to increase the size of the gap. It all worked out well as I was able to control the pace from about mid-race holding the gap in the three to four second mark and it all worked out.”

“I didn’t really need to race against Miguel today, as I felt that we had a motorcycle, that if we pushed hard I was confident of what it could do for 25-laps and I didn’t want to give away a race while I was thinking about the championship when we could do it without taking any serious risks. The bike was too good to settle for anything less than a win.”

The bike itself today was as we ran in yesterday’s opener and it performed equally as well.”

“We’re in a good position now for the last round at Virginia. That 42-point cushion will mean that we can play the first there as it comes, see what the conditions are like when we get there and go from there. If we can finish either right behind, or even in front of Jake in the first race there then the championship should be done and that would be nice.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

GOOD SUNDAY FOR ACREE AND CAYLOR AT ROAD ATLANTA

Lee Acree and Opie Caylor had good results on Sunday at round ten of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Road Atlanta. Lee started the day with a race-long battle with young-guns Danny Eslick and Tony Meiring to finish twelfth in Supersport. Both riders had a good day in the Superbike race, with Lee racing to another twelfth place and Opie finishing 15th.

Lee Acree
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport – 12th Place
“Well, in my career of bad starts, that was clear and away, no contest, absolutely, positively the worst start I’ve ever gotten,” joked Lee after the race. “I made up a bunch of ground around turn one. Danny (Eslick) was up ahead of us a ways. Tony (Meiring) would come by on the back straightaway anytime I tried to get by him. Tony and I reeled in Danny, and once we got there Danny wasn’t going to have any part of letting anyone by. The two places he was strongest out of all of us were the two places that counted for the finish line. Danny rode really, really well. I have to give him credit, he kept his composure because it looked to me like Tony was getting a bit nasty with him. I just tried to play it cool. If I dropped off of them, I could run them back down, but I just didn’t have the steam down the back straightaway.”

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 12th Place
“Yeah, I just didn’t have the grip,” said Lee after running in a pack of riders that included Marty Cragill, Shawn Higbee, Geoff May and Eric Wood. “The bike ran good, the motor seemed good. Geoff (May) was in the same boat I was, we just didn’t have the side grip. I spent a long time behind (Shawn) Higbee, watching his tire paint black stripes and be out of line, but at the same time knowing mine was spinning, and he was making a gap while his was doing it, instead of me matching it.”

Opie Caylor
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 15th Place
“I got a really good start,” said Opie. “Got off the line really good initially, got into turn one and got bunched up a little bit, nothing major. After six or seven laps, the front end started moving around a bit. I didn’t want to slow it down, but at the same time, I didn’t want to push, push, push and take myself out of the race. Mike Smith got around me, and at first had a notion of going with him, but I just didn’t get that good of a feel from the front tire.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HEATH SMALL SITS OUT SUPERBIKE #2 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – DNS
Heath Small and the HAS/Shogun team chose to sit out today’s Chevrolet Superbike final after they were unable to repair the Yamaha R1 that overheated and lost water in Saturday’s Superbike final. The team will rectify the problem and Heath will ride the bike at the Chevrolet Superbike Series season finale at Virginia International Raceway in two weeks.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HANER IMPRESSES AT ROAD ATLANTA

John Haner had a great set of finishes Sunday at round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta. John ran with the established factory stars in the talent-heavy Repsol Superstock race before finishing seventh, and ran down all but the factory bikes in the Chevrolet Superbike final to finish sixth on his Superstock-spec Hooters Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – 7th Place
“I had a really good start,” said John. “I came up out of (turn) one and dang-near pitched myself to the moon. Probably almost kicked Ben (Spies) in the head, because he came by on the left side as I came back down on the bike. It was in a false neutral, and I was hitting the rev limiter trying to get on the throttle. I actually broke the throttle housing. It was spinning on the handlebar. I think I came around in twelfth or something. I worked really hard to get back to where I was, I got by some really fast guys.”

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 6th Place
“I thought I got a good start!,” joked John. “But everyone went around me on the outside of one, and I thought, ‘I’ll just run my own race’. I knew I was faster than a lot of those guys in certain places, and I thought I’d see if I could get by them. I went by a bunch of guys, then I saw Larry (Pegram) up there, and said, ‘Well, I’ll go catch Larry’, and I caught him. The next thing you know I had a four second lead, and with four or five laps to go I just started maintaining.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

DANNY ESLICK AND SHAWN HIGBEE RACE TO STRONG FINISHES AT ROAD ATLANTA

Danny Eslick and Shawn Higbee of the Millennium Technologies Suzuki team each had good results in today’s races at round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta. Danny Eslick raced to a season-best tenth place in the Supersport final after holding off Tony Meiring and Lee Acree. Shawn had a race-long battle with four other riders to finish eleventh at the end.

Danny Eslick
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 10th Place
“Wow, that was a great race,” said Danny, who moved up into tenth in season points with the finish. “I got a good start and just put my head down as hard as I could. I guess it took a few laps but I ended up with Tony (Meiring) and Lee (Acree) behind me. Tony went around me once and I went back by kind of sideways. I was getting a way better drive over the top of the hill and down into (turn) 12, so I wasn’t too worried whenever Tony would get ahead. My tires hung in there better than I thought they would for the pace we were going. I’m just really stoked, I’ve been working hard all year to get here, plus now I’m in the top ten.”

Shawn Higbee
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 11th Place
“That was probably one of the best head-to-head battle races I’ve had all year, a pretty good group of us swapping back and forth,” said Higbee. “I was trying to run a clean line and those guys were taking advantage of the space I was leaving underneath. I think our set-up changes helped a bit, it seemed like I could transition through the esses a lot better, picking up some time there. Overall, I’m happy with the work that the team accomplished.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

GEOFF MAY FINISHES TENTH IN SUPERBIKE #2 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Geoff May finished tenth in Sunday’s Superbike race at Road Atlanta, battling with Lee Acree, Marty Craggill, Shawn Higbee and Eric Wood. Geoff moved back up to fifth place in season Superbike points with today’s finish.

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 10th Place
“I made the wrong tire choice,” said Geoff. “I went with a harder one and it was worse, it just didn’t have the side grip. Lee and I were just riding sideways and not going forward. I thought I was racing with Marty the whole way. I looked one time and didn’t see anything. On the last lap, Eric came up the inside of me in (turn) six, and blew way wide and almost ran me off the track. It allowed Higbee to come up the inside of me in seven, and I saw him there and just leaned on into his bike, got on the gas hard. I was in the middle of a fight and I wasn’t worried about anything else but beating everyone there.”