Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional AMA Superbike Race Results:

1. Jake Zemke, Honda, 26 laps
2. Ben Bostrom, Honda, -12.723 seconds
3. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -22.394 seconds
4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -22.527 seconds
5. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, -34.099 seconds
6. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -56.890 seconds
7. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, -65.234 seconds
8. Larry Pegram, Yamaha, -84.379 seconds
9. Eric Wood, Suzuki, -84.469 seconds
10. John Haner, Suzuki, -84.711 seconds
11. Lee Acree, Suzuki, -90.362 seconds
12. Shawn Higbee, Suzuki, -1 lap
13. Geoff May, Suzuki, -1 lap
14. Andy Deatherage, Suzuki, -1 lap
15. Cory West, Suzuki, -1 lap
16. David Weber, Suzuki -1 lap
17. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap
18. Jesse Janisch, Suzuki, -1 lap
19. Scott Jensen, Honda, -1 lap
20. Chris Caylor, Suzuki, -1 lap
21. Jason Curtis, Suzuki, -1 lap
22. Byron Barbour, Suzuki, -1 lap
23. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -1 lap
24. C.R. Gittere, Suzuki, -1 lap
25. Paul Ducato, Yamaha, -2 laps, crash
26. Jeff Muskopf, Suzuki, -2 laps
27. Jack Pfeifer, Honda, -2 laps, crash
28. Chuck Sorensen, Yamaha, -3 laps, crash
29. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -14 laps, DNF, crash
30. Fritz Kling, Yamaha, -16 laps, DNF
31. Chuck Allen, Suzuki, -18 laps, retired
32. James Kerker, Honda, -22 laps, DNF
33. Roger Bell, Suzuki, –23 laps, DNF
34. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, -23 laps, DNF, mechanical
35. John Jacobi, Suzuki, -25 laps, DNF, crash
36. Kevin Pate, Yamaha, -25 laps, DNF
37. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, DNS



Series Point Standings
1. Mat Mladin, 457
2. Jake Zemke, 436
3. Miguel Duhamel, 413
4. Eric Bostrom, 336
5. Ben Bostrom, 306
6. Geoff May, 299
7. Aaron Yates, 272
8. John Haner, 262
9. Eric Wood, 239
10. Josh Hayes, 237
11. Larry Pegram, 229
12. Lee Acree, 205
13. Cory West, 199
14. Shawn Higbee, 194
15. Opie Caylor, 164
16. J.J. Roetlin, 160
17. Jeremy Toye, Yamaha, 148
18. Steve Crevier, Suzuki, 124
19. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 117
20. Scott Jensen, 113


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship, Lexington, Ohio, July 25, 2004

Weather: Saturday-Sunny, warm; Sunday-Cool, overcast
Track: Saturday-40 degrees; Sunday-32 degrees

Hondas Dominate on Honda Super Cycle Weekend

Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke won his second Superbike race of the year, this win coming on the second day of the Honda Super Cycle Weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The win vaulted Zemke into second in the championship point standings behind Mat Mladin (Suzuki), third today, and in front of American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel.

Jetting away from the pole position, Zemke quickly built up a lead that would grow to 12.723 seconds at the end of the 26-lap race. American Honda’s Ben Bostrom slotted into a safe second, pulling quickly away from third place Mladin. The gap at the end would be nearly 10 seconds. Teammate Miguel Duhamel crashed at the end of the back straight on the 11th lap while closing the gap on two riders in front, a potential podium in the making. Knowing that points are only paid for riders who complete 50% of the race, Duhamel soldiered for two more laps to gain a handful of points.

With two rounds-four races-remaining, and 176 points up for grabs, Zemke holds 436 points to Mladin’s 457. Duhamel has 413.

Duhamel began the weekend with a strong victory in the Formula Xtreme race, the French-Canadian solidifying his championship lead with two races to go. He and Zemke went head to head in the early going until Zemke fell on a strip of slick pavement that claimed a number of top riders over the course of the weekend. Duhamel cruised home with 12.387 seconds in hand. Erion Honda’s Alex Gobert was seventh. Duhamel’s lead over Zemke is 45 points with two rounds remaining.

In Saturday’s Superbike race, Duhamel was a fighting second, crossing the stripe just 0.337 seconds behind race winner Mladin after running him down with time running out. Bostrom was second until lapped riders blunted his charge. Soon after he let teammate Duhamel past to collect maximum championship points. Bostrom finished fourth. Zemke finished fifth after choosing the wrong front tire.

Jake Zemke, 1st Place, Sunday
Worked out pretty good. I got a really good start today and that was definitely an improvement over yesterday and the bike was working really, really well today. Yesterday I chose the wrong front tire and the thing just shredded to pieces. We had no hope but to just bring the thing home. Today, the guys actually gave me a better bike today than I had than yesterday. Hats off to my crew. They’ve been working hard. All weekend long even though I did get on pole, I haven’t been real happy with the set-up. Kind of been struggling to get around the racetrack. It would be OK for a couple of laps but the long distance wasn’t possible. Today the bike was really good all the way through, so hats off to the guys.

Ben Bostrom, 2nd Place, Sunday
I was riding, Jake (Zemke) was flying, and he gapped us out. I knew Mat (Mladin) was trailing me there. I didn’t know where Miguel (Duhamel) was, but I knew Mat was smart was going to play it safe for the championship. So I just continued my pace to haul down Jake, but he was going too fast. My bike was awesome all day long. I thought we could go quicker and I kept pushing. We couldn’t go any quicker. So then I had to settle for that lap time and keep going. The lappers weren’t so bad today. Yesterday they were awful. So we just cruised around we ended up second. It’s nice to be on the podium again.

Miguel Duhamel, DNF, Sunday
It was going real good. I was being really cautious those first four five laps. I was over a second slower than what I set in the morning. After what six laps or something. Seven, I said, let’s pick up the pace. Then I started getting into 27.9’s and that felt real comfortable and right away I could see the gap shrinking to Mat (Mladin) and Aaron (Yates). I was very confident I was going to catch them before the end of the race and dice with him and pass him. Pass him is one thing. I knew I was going to catch up because my bike was running really good. It’s just unfortunate. We’ve got four races to go and we’ll go tackle those like we’ve got nothing to lose.


Miguel Duhamel, 2nd Place, Saturday
The bike was working really good, and I put my head down, and to me it seemed I was the fastest guy out there. I was able to reel in Mat (Mladin), and on a few occasions through even lapped riders, even though he would break away, I’d run back in. So things are looking good for tomorrow. It was a fun race. It was definitely greasy. I was spinning up everywhere and sliding. Hopefully we got some good camera shots of that. Putting on a pretty good show trying to get up there. Didn’t have any options besides going out there and putting the power down and trying to reel in Mat (Mladin).

Ben Bostrom, 4th Place, Saturday
We came up on five guys coming into turn two and I thought, ‘Well maybe I can swoop them on the inside and cut them off on the little left before the Keyhole.’ But instead those guys…a blue flag doesn’t mean nothing to them. They just stay right on their line and pushed me to the curb. So (Mladin) Mat goes around me on the outside and got a couple of lappers in the process. That’s what gapped us out initially. I lost the front in the Keyhole trying to catch up a little bit. We should have made it back. I know Miguel and I would have caught up instantly if there weren’t lappers. In this case it was probably his race to win, but you can’t. I’m not racing for the championship, so I let him by. I knew I’d be able to stick with him. I knew we’d finish second or third. That would be great.

Jake Zemke, 5th Place, Saturday
There was a lot of traffic for sure, but we were having some difficulty with our tires. The front tire was just completely shredded. I had no grip from the get-go. I even felt it on the warm-up lap a little bit, but first couple laps of the race it was definitely not going to get the job done. We were actually OK there in the early part of the race. We started making ground back up on Ben (Bostrom) and Mat (Mladin), but I was having rear grip problems as well. And then the only place I could make ground was on the brakes and I did that as long as I could and pretty soon the brakes didn’t work so well. Then I just thought about bringing it home it one piece.


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

MLADIN LEAVES MID-OHIO WITH EXTENDED POINTS LEAD

Lexington, Ohio, USA (Sunday, July 25) – After his stunning race win yesterday, Australian Mat Mladin adopted a different strategy for the second of the weekend’s American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship races, finishing a strong third, but more importantly came away from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course holding an increased advantage at the top of the championship points table.

With four races remaining in this year’s 18-race championship, Mladin sits 21-points clear of today’s race winner Jake Zemke (457 – 436) as he chases an unprecedented fifth American Superbike Championship aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki.

Heading into today’s fourteenth round of the championship, Mladin held a 15-point buffer over Miguel DuHamel (Honda), but that position changed on lap eleven of today’s race when DuHamel crashed out of the race while holding down fifth place on the track and not adding to his points tally, leaving him third in the series 44-points adrift of Mladin.

Race officials delayed the start of today’s 26-lap Superbike National due to worsening weather conditions that saw light rain fall earlier in the day. Fortunately for the Superbike field, they were able to commence and complete their entire race without any effect of rain.

Off the line Zemke (Honda) took full advantage of his pole position taking the race lead. Mladin held second on the opening lap before Ben Bostrom (Honda) got by pushing the Australian to third. From this point the trio held station at the top of the lap chart all the way to the flag where Zemke claimed his second race win of the year.

“We didn’t make too many changes to the bike that we took to victory yesterday, but today we weren’t able to keep pace with Jake (Zemke),” said Mladin.

“Jake was fast from the outset and we just sat in behind him and Ben (Bostrom) monitoring the pace of the race. Once I got the message that Miguel (DuHamel) had crashed was out of the race, we changed the strategy of our race and settled for a safe third rather than pushing unnecessarily hard to try and catch someone that we couldn’t catch today.”

“It’s nice to now have that 21-point break over Jake in the championship, and with just four races to go we have to try hard to hang on to it. We’ve got Road Atlanta and Virginia International Raceway to finish off the season and I think we should be able to put a good package together for both of those tracks.”

The championship now heads into a six-week break before the penultimate round of the championship at the Road Atlanta circuit on September 5 before moving to Virginia International Raceway two weeks later (September 19) for the season finale.


Exciting action on tap in the dash to the AMA’s road racing championships

Lexington, OH – High drama awaited the American Motorcyclist Association’s (AMA) Superbike series at the ninth stop of the 2004 season. The title chase has been close this year in each of the AMA’s road racing series – Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme – and the points leaders all hoped to make a definitive statement with their performances before the August break. In Superbike competition, series-leader Mat Mladin, riding a GSX-R1000 for Yoshimura Suzuki, split the weekend’s doubleheader with Erion Racing’s Jake Zemke riding a Honda CBR1000RR. The Superstock race saw Jason Disalvo ride a Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 to his first victory in the class while in Supersport competition the win went to Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden aboard a ZX-6RR, his third of the season. In Formula Xtreme, Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel took his sixth victory of the year aboard a CBR600RR.

The track surface at Mid-Ohio presented new challenges for the riders. In past years, durable concrete patches located in the corners replaced the asphalt damaged by the high-horsepower cars that race at the track. This year, the concrete joints were ground down to smooth the abrupt transitions to the asphalt. While the bumps are gone, there are now grooves in the concrete, reducing surface area and available traction. In addition, traction varies considerably between the asphalt and the concrete surface, requiring constant vigilance from the riders.

Dunlop brought nearly 1800 tires to Mid-Ohio to support the factory teams and support riders in the Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme classes. The factory Superbike teams had three front and six rear tire compound selections from which to select, ranging from medium to hard. Included in the choices were several multi-compound rear tires, which are designed to maximize turning and straight-line traction and stability. The factory Superstock riders had two front and five rear tire compound options from which to choose.

The first races of the weekend took place on Saturday in uncharacteristically cool and dry weather. Formula Xtreme series-leader Miguel Duhamel and his Honda Racing CBR600RR held a 17-point lead over fellow Honda rider Jake Zemke, riding for Erion Racing, with only three races remaining in the series. When the flag dropped, Zemke charged into the lead, needing wins in each remaining race to have a chance at the championship. But Duhamel, who started from the pole with qualifying time of 1:28.731, was on a mission and he overtook Zemke on lap six, scorching a lap time of 1:28.794 on lap eight. On the next lap, Zemke crashed out in the turn four “Keyhole” and Duhamel’s lead was never challenged after that. Duhamel’s sixth Formula Xtreme victory this season was also the 78th AMA victory of his career, and it nearly assures him of the 2004 title. Finishing second was Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore on a GSX-R600, who rode an inspired race. Erion Racing’s Alex Gobert finished seventh. Duhamel leads thee series with a commanding 320 points with two races remaining, followed by Zemke with 270 and Gobert with 244.

Saturday’s second race was the first of two Superbike races and it provided all the excitement fans could hope for as Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin took the win on his GSX-R1000, followed closely by Duhamel on his Honda CBR1000RR. Mladin’s victory was his sixth of the season and the 30th AMA Superbike victory of his career, tying him with Duhamel for all-time AMA wins in the class. Mladin took the early lead on lap one and he set off on a hot pace to build a cushion on the trailing riders. But Honda’s Ben Bostrom was nipping at his heels, ripping off the fastest lap of the race at 1:27.079, and on lap seven he took the lead. Mladin struck back on lap 12 as the pair worked their way through slower riders. Mladin stayed in the lead for the rest of the race, holding off a charging Duhamel, who closed to within .296 seconds of Mladin after a poor start placed him in sixth position early in the race. “We were motivated coming into this week to do a good job. It’s a racetrack where, if you can get things sorted out, you can get the lead, and you can hang on, and that’s what we did today,” said Mladin. Teammate Aaron Yates finished third, charging from fifth place to pass Jake Zemke and then, on the last lap, Ben Bostrom. Following Bostrom and Zemke in fourth and fifth was Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes on a ZX-10R and Suzuki’s John Haner in ninth, as Dunlop-supported riders took seven of the top ten positions. Mladin’s pursuit of an unprecedented fifth AMA Superbike title earned him a 15-point lead over Duhamel in the series standings, 428 to 413, going into Sunday’s second race.

Sunday dawned cool and cloudy and the threat of rain was present most of the day. The 1000cc Superstock bikes lead off the action just before noon. Series-leader Jamie Hacking, riding a Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1, hoped to protect his lead, nursing a fragile collarbone injured two weeks earlier at a practice session at Mid-Ohio. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies charged into the lead and he held off pole-sitter Jason Disalvo, Hacking’s Yamaha teammate, for six laps. But Disalvo’s fast pace – he clocked the fastest race lap on the second circuit, 1:27.854 – was too much and he overtook Spies for the lead. Roger Lee Hayden was in hot pursuit, holding third position until the race was red-flagged after Hacking crashed. After some initial confusion, race officials declared the race over after 11 laps, making Disalvo the winner. “The red flag came out, and I looked down at my lap counter, and I was pretty sure that we were at that distance,” said Disalvo. “I probably could’ve put my head down and run that fast pace at the beginning again. But that’s one of those things we’ll never know, and it’s going to go down in the books like this, and I’m still happy to get my first win.” Spies took second and Hayden finished third, followed by Yamaha’s Aaron Gobert, Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes, and Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore in positions four through six. Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden finished 10th as Dunlop riders took seven of the first 10 positions. With two races to go, the points race has tightened, with Hacking leading teammate Gobert, 263 to 260, and Tommy Hayden just one point back at 259.

After lunch the appreciative fans – one of the largest Super Cycle Weekend crowds in Mid-Ohio’s history – witnessed a Supersport race with not one, not two, but three starts as red flags halted the action in each case. Ben Spies, Jason Disalvo, Aaron Gobert and Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden all figured prominently in the competition, with Spies grabbing the lead from the start of the race on his Suzuki GSX-R600, followed closely by Tommy and Roger Lee Hayden aboard their Kawasaki ZX-6RRs. Disalvo crashed out on lap four and, two laps later, the race was stopped after another crash littered the track with debris. After a restart that was red-flagged less than two laps later, the final start saw Spies take the lead again, but a pursuing Roger Lee Hayden passed him on lap 13 and he held the lead until a third red flag ended the race. “Ben kind of ran a little bit wide, I think he got up on the curb and didn’t get a good drive out of the keyhole,” said Hayden. Of his performance, he said, “I’ve got a lot of confidence and I’ve got a good team that supports me and we have a good combination.” Following Hayden and Spies was Aaron Gobert on a Yamaha YZF-R6, slipping past Tommy Hayden on the eventual last lap. The brothers Hayden lead the point chase with two races remaining, Tommy with 293 to Roger Lee’s 280. Spies moves into third position with 229, one point ahead of Gobert.

The climax for the weekend was the second Superbike race. After a brief delay to monitor rain showers in the vicinity, the riders took the grid and Jake Zemke rocketed away with a lead he would not relinquish for the 26-lap event. It was a convincing victory for the Superbike rookie aboard his Honda CBR1000RR, one that saw his lead build to as much as 8.3 seconds over the second-place finisher, Honda’s Ben Bostrom. The two Hondas were never headed, as Mat Mladin and teammate Aaron Yates finished third and fourth, respectively. “Hats off to my guys, they worked so hard this weekend to give me a better bike,” said Zemke of his second victory this year. “My Dunlop tires, those things were sticking like glue today and boy, it sure is fun.” After Saturday’s race, Miguel Duhamel hoped to close the 15-point gap held by Mladin, but a slide-out on lap 11 effectively ended his day. Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes took fifth and Suzuki’s John Haner took 10th as Dunlop-shod motorcycles took six of the top 10 positions. Mladin’s third place finish and Duhamel’s DNF had strategic implications with four races remaining. Mladin’s points total is now 457, 21 points ahead of Zemke and 44 points ahead of Duhamel.

Next stop for Dunlop and the AMA road racing tour will be Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, September 3-5, featuring a doubleheader round of Superbike action.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Team Yoshimura’s Mat Mladin has extended his lead in the AMA Superbike Championship to 21 points after main series rival Miguel Duhamel crashed out of today’s Lexington double header in Ohio.

In a race that saw five Suzukis in the top ten, the reigning AMA Champion – who led by 15 points yesterday after his victory over the French-Canadian Honda rider – now heads Honda’s Jake Zemke with four races remaining.

Zemke was the man to beat from the start; the pole-sitter jumping out in front straight away and staying there for the duration, and the Californian was never headed in taking his second career AMA Superbike victory.

Ben Bostrom held steadfast for second place, well behind Zemke, but well ahead of the Yoshimura Suzuki battle between Mladin and team mate Aaron Yates.

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes finished fifth clear of Jacob Holden’s Lion Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 while Ducati’s Eric Bostrom took seventh ahead of Yamaha’s Larry Pegram, Hooters Suzuki’s Eric Wood and his team mate John Haner.