Updated Post: Round Two Of Press Releases From The AMA Races At Infineon Raceway

Updated Post: Round Two Of Press Releases From The AMA Races At Infineon Raceway

© 2006, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. From a press release issued By Chris Ulrich Racing LLC.

ULRICH AND PIETRI FIGHT WEATHER AND RIVALS AT INFINEON RACEWAY Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki battled through difficult weather conditions to put in a strong effort this weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, the scene of the fourth stop on the 2006 AMA roadracing calendar. Chris Ulrich kept his perfect season record of top-15 results in the Superstock class alive, finishing 14th in Sunday’s red-flagged, shortened race. After qualifying in the 15th position aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 with a best time of 1:40.089 on Saturday, the two-time AMA Superstock race winner ran in that same position for the race’s opening six laps. With his bike set-up for a strong finish, he started his charge forward on lap 7. Unfortunately, his hopes for a top-ten result were dashed when the contest, which was originally scheduled for 17-laps, was halted by a red flag due to oil laid down on the course. The race was then declared complete on lap 8 due to scheduling and weather concerns. “It’s a shame the race ended early because we were just starting to move up the field,” the Californian said. “We were fighting against a lack of track time with the rainy weather all weekend long, but the team did a solid job to find a setting that worked really well for the race. That would have even more true if it had gone the entire distance, I think. We started out a little slow on Thursday and I had some allergy problems that were bothering me. For Friday, we made some setup changes that really helped and then made another jump with the setup on Saturday. My plan in the race was to see how the things developed and then charge late. I feel it was going my way but then the red flag came out. ” Chris said he was pleased with the progress the team made over the weekend. “We’ll just go from here and build on what we’ve learned so far this year. I know the next few tracks really well and we have a test, so it will be a lot of riding in a short amount of time. I’m looking forward to racing and feel I’m in good shape in my quest for the top ten.” Teammate Robertino Pietri stuck to his season game plan at Infineon Raceway. The young Venezuelan in the midst of a learning season continued to be patient picking up the nuances of the American racetracks while again proving to be the fastest South American on the racetrack by nearly a second. Pietri qualified in 18th for the Superstock final with a lap of 1:41.465 on Saturday. Then on raceday he was awarded with 17th after chasing a factory-backed rider for much of the contest before its premature ending. “This is a very difficult track to learn, but I think I did a good job this weekend even if we didn’t get much track time. It went better than we might have expected, given the situation with the weather. The mechanics and I have been working well together and that helps. When we’re making changes, they are making the bike better each time. I was doing well in the race, right behind Ben Attard,” Pietri said. “My arm pump problem bothered me some and that is something I need to get checked out.” The Infineon Raceway weekend was a good test for Robertino, forcing the young rider to push hard but also testing his patience. “I just want to continue to learn the racetracks and continue compiling data for next year. It’s also my main goal this year to be the fastest Venezuelan in the series and we accomplished that again this weekend.” Following four of eleven rounds, Ulrich currently sits in 11th place in the Superstock championship race with 73 points while Pietri is 15th at 64. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will test at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah this week and continue race action in two weeks time at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI on June 2-4. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki Finishes Successful Superbike Race Weekend at Sonoma SONOMA, Calif. (May 21, 2006) – Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s three-man team enjoyed a successful race weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday and Sunday, despite the threat of inclement weather. Jordan Suzuki rider Steve Rapp collected two top-10 AMA Superbike finishes during the double-header weekend, while teammates Jason Pridmore and Jake Holden worked on improving their overall bike set-up. Rapp was the team’s top finisher in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s AMA Superbike races, coming in ninth place in both events. “I got a pretty good start on my Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 in both races and I was able to pull away,” said Rapp. “Then I started gapping the guys behind me and I just tried to run consistent laps and pull ahead.” Pridmore finished a few spots behind his teammate in 11th position in both Superbike races. For Pridmore, these races were exercises in fine-tuning the set-up on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. “I’m working with my crew on a better set-up for Road America in June,” said Pridmore. Although Holden was unable to finish Saturday’s race, he finished 10th in Sunday’s event. The team’s newest member diced with Rapp and swapped positions before coming away with an impressive top-10 finish. “It was a good race,” he said afterward. “The Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 is running good and every Superbike race we do is just more practice for Superstock.” The Jordan Suzuki team will next compete in the fifth round of AMA Superbike at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., June 2 – 4, 2006. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 11th Place – AMA Superbike Race 1 11th Place – AMA Superbike Race 2 9th Place — Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 9th Place – AMA Superbike Race 1 9th Place – AMA Superbike Race 2 11th Place – Overall Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 DNF – AMA Superbike Race 1 10th – AMA Superbike Race 2 14th Place – Overall More, from another press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki Celebrates Strong Superstock Finishes at Sonoma SONOMA, Calif. (May 23, 2006) – Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jake Holden celebrated his first top-five finish in the AMA Superstock race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday afternoon. Teammate Steve Rapp finished close behind in seventh position and Jason Pridmore followed them home in eleventh. Holden started out the weekend strong by posting a best lap time of 1:37.622 in Saturday’s qualifying session and nabbing sixth position on the second row of the grid. “That’s a pretty good spot,” he said. “We’ve gotten the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 pretty well figured out and my crew has done a great job.” Teammates Rapp qualified right behind Holden in seventh position (1:37.755) while Pridmore was slated to start from the fourth row (1:39.352). Sunday’s 17-lap race turned out to be an abbreviated event when a red flag was thrown due to a rider’s mechanical issue. Because of anticipated inclement weather, the AMA called the race with only eight laps completed. For Holden, this fifth-place finish is his best result of the season and moved him from seventh to sixth place overall. “I won’t be happy until I get a podium,” maintained Holden, “but it was a good weekend.” Rapp was also pleased with his result. “I crashed this morning and, though I didn’t get hurt, my bike was in rough shape,” he said. “I had to jump on my other Suzuki, which wasn’t set up for this track. I was able to ride decently and we came away with seventh place.” Finally, Pridmore looked at the event as a way to improve the performance of the bike overall. “We’re just continuing to fine-tune the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000,” he said. “We’re going to Road America next and I’m looking forward to that race.” The Jordan Suzuki team will next compete in the fifth round of AMA Repsol Superstock at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis., June 2 – 4, 2006. Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 5th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 6th Place – Overall Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 11th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 7th Place – Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 7th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 10th Place – Overall More, from a press release issued by Millennium/KWS Suzuki: Millennium/KWS Suzuki Scores another Top 10 at Infineon Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports battled rain, crashes and electrical problems to get another top 10 finish at Infineon Raceway this past weekend. Matt Lynn continues to get faster each race, improving his personal best finishes in Superstock and Superbike. Lee Acree, filling in for the injured John Haner, was quick in getting up to speed despite limited time on the Pirelli shod Millennium/KWS Suzuki GSX-R1000. For Saturday’s Superbike race one, Matt Lynn qualified seventeenth and Lee Acree qualified in the fifteenth position on their LeoVince equipped Suzuki’s. Both riders got excellent starts and Lynn had worked is way up to eleventh before crashing out on lap seven. Acree inherited the eleventh position but suffered an electrical problem and was forced to retired on lap eight. The team then went to work preparing both GSX-R1000’s for Sunday’s races despite the specter of rain on Sunday. Fortunately the rain held off for a few hours on Sunday morning allowing the team a chance at redemption in Superstock and Superbike race two. Lynn qualified twelfth for Superstock, and with another great start was able to stay with the lead pack. Lynn was battling for the seventh position with Jordan Suzuki’s Steve Rapp and Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes when the red flag came out on lap eight for oil on the track. Although upset at not being able to run the full distance and fight for a possible top five finish, Lynn was extremely happy with ninth place, his best AMA finish to date. With only ten minutes to between races due to the shortened schedule, Lynn hopped on his Millennium/KWS Suzuki GSX-R1000 to run Sunday’s Superbike race two. Both Acree and Lynn got good starts and rode very aggressively in the first few laps to put themselves in a good position incase the weather did not hold and the race was red flagged. Fortunately, the weather held and the Millennium/KWS Suzuki riders finished nose to tail with Lynn in the thirteenth position and Acree in the fourteenth position. Matt Lynn “Overall the weekend went really well. We had problems with the weather and I thought we were not going to get a chance to race on Sunday. Fortunately the weather held out and I got my best finishes to date in both classes. My mechanics, Rick Matheny, Michael Godin and Brian Stricker worked really hard to get the bike back together for the tight schedule on Sunday. I can’t thank those guys enough.” Lee Acree “It was great to be back with Millennium/KWS Suzuki this weekend. I did not get a lot of time to set up the bike due to the weather, but my mechanic Owen Garnett and Chip Spalding worked really hard to give me the best bike they could with amount of time we had to work on it. The Millennium/KWS Suzuki Superbike is a lot different than the Vesrah Suzuki endurance bike that I am used to riding. I am glad that I will have another chance to do well at Road America.” Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) “The team worked really hard this weekend and had to deal with a lot of elements that where out their control. I am really excited about Matt’s progression; he just keeps getting faster and faster. I would also like to thank Lee Acree for helping us out this weekend, he did a great job!”

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