Current AMA Superbike Championship leader Ben Spies rode his Dunlop-equipped Yoshimura Suzuki to his fifth consecutive AMA Superbike win Saturday, at Infineon Raceway. Spies grabbed the holeshot and went on to lead the 28-lap flag-to-flag. Six-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin was well within striking distance of Spies, his teammate, for much of the race, but when a late-race charge didn’t get the results he was looking for, Mladin cruised home for the last five laps to take a safe second place. After a long battle, American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel passed third Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates with less than three laps to go and held him off to finish third. Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson finished a lonely fifth after racing with Duhamel and Yates for much of the event. Hodgson’s teammate Ben Bostrom passed Tommy Hayden in the late-going to take sixth. Hayden brought his Kawasaki home seventh. After running third early, Duhamel’s teammate Jake Zemke slipped backwards with mechanical problems and finished eighth. Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Steve Rapp took ninth on his GSX-R1000 Superstock-spec machine, and Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda’s Larry Pegram finished 10th, the highest non-Dunlop finisher, on his Michelin-fitted CBR1000RR Superbike. The race was started at 12:45 local time, immediately after the lunch break and not long after the one and only Superbike qualifying session, in hopes of beating anticipated rain showers. AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California Provisional Race One Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 28 laps, 45:25.311, new race record time 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), -6.989 seconds 3. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), -23.039 seconds 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -23.520 seconds 5. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), -29.653 seconds 6. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), -36.632 seconds 7. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -37.098 seconds 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), -45.786 seconds 9. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -70.101 seconds 10. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), -87.426 seconds 11. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), -94.934 seconds 12. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 13. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 1.405 seconds 14. Ken Hill (Hon CBR1000RR), -1 lap, 32.184 seconds 15. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 45.136 seconds 16. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 48.445 seconds 17. Akira Tamitsuji (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 57.927 seconds 18. Michael Earnest (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 58.917 seconds 19. Corey Sarros (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 59.316 seconds 20. Andi Notman (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 62.055 seconds 21. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, 62.566 seconds 22. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 64.085 seconds 23. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 66.311 seconds 24. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 78.183 seconds 25. James Randolph (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 87.179 seconds 26. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps 27. Doug Chandler (Kaw ZX-10R), -2 laps, pitted 28. Leonardo Bagnis (Yam YZF-R1), -17 laps, DNF 29. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), -18 laps, DNF 30. Lee Acree (Suz GSX-R1000), -20 laps, DNF, mechanical Championship Point Standings (after 6 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 220 points 2. Mladin, 195 points 3. Duhamel, 169 points 4. Hodgson, 156 points 5. Yates, 153 points 6. Tommy Hayden, 148 points 7. Ben Bostrom, 144 points 8. Zemke, 133 points 9. Pridmore, 128 points 10. Pegram, 114 points 11. Wood, 104 points 12. Rapp, 100 points 13. Curtis, 83 points 14. Holden, 76 points 15. Hendry, 67 points 16. Tamitsuji, 46 points 17. West, 43 points 18. Lynn, 41 points 19. Bell, 40 points 20. Brian Stokes, 36 points More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki 1-2 in First of Weekend’s Two Sonoma Superbike Races –Next round, Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, June 2 – 4, 2006– Round 4 – AMA Superbike Series Sonoma, CA Infineon Raceway May 19 – 21, 2006 Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies captured his fifth consecutive AMA Superbike victory in the first race of the double-header weekend at Sonoma, California’s Infineon Raceway on Saturday afternoon. Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Mat Mladin brought home a close second-place finish, and Aaron Yates finished an impressive fourth. “I got a really good start and just tried to put my head down,” said Spies, only the fourth rider to ever win five consecutive AMA Superbike races. “I saw we were gapping the field and I just tried to hammer away at it and hold on to the end. I have to thank my crew because the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was just awesome and I can’t say enough about the Dunlop tires.” Earlier in the day, Spies took his third pole position after posting a track record-breaking fastest lap of 1:35.893. Said Spies, “I really feel that I’m riding the same as I did last year, but I’ve been able to get the GSX-R set up so that I’m more comfortable. I’m also a little more confident and that means I can ride the bike harder.” Teammate Mladin carded the second spot on the grid with a 1:36.556 lap time and Yates was slated to start from the fifth position, thanks to a best time of 1:37.013. The main event saw Spies get the holeshot and lead all 28 laps to take the win. “I really wanted to set the pace and see what I could do,” said the young Texan. “The last few races we’ve followed and so it was good to lead a whole race. I don’t know about Mat but I was pretty worn-out, muscle-wise. By the end, I was just focusing on trying to hit my lines, not making any mistakes and putting good laps together.” Defending AMA Superbike Champion Mladin was off the line right behind Spies and he pushed his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 hard and rode a smooth, consistent race to second place. “It was a good race today,” said the Australian. “Unfortunately I couldn’t get up ahead of Ben. He rode a great race today. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will hold out and we’ll come back with something for him.” Yates, meanwhile, started several positions back from his teammates. The Georgian worked his way through the field and battled hard for third before finishing up in fourth position. “I didn’t really get the best start,” said Yates. “But on the first lap I was able to get past a couple of guys but then I got stuck. Toward the end of the race I tried to work my way up but then I made a mistake and got fourth. Tomorrow, we’ll work on putting my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 up on the podium with my teammates.” Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s next event is the second AMA Superbike race of the double-header weekend on Sunday, May 28. Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 2nd Place – AMA Superbike 2nd Place — Overall Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #20 4th Place – AMA Superbike 5th Place — Overall Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #11 1st Place – AMA Superbike 1st Place — Overall AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 4. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 6. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 9. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 10. Larry Pegram, Honda More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati: Sunday May 21 2006 Race 1 – Infineon HODGSON FIGHTS FOR POSITION IN SONOMA Sonoma (California) 20 May 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati Team racers Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom finished fifth and sixth at Infineon Raceway on Saturday. The two riders had very dissimilar races, with Hodgson fighting for a podium spot with a group of as many as four riders while Bostrom had a relatively lonely race. For Hodgson, who qualified on the front row in third position after an excellent fast lap, raced with Miguel Duhamel, Aaron Yates, and Jake Zemke for a spot on the podium. In the closing laps, Neil battled with Duhamel and Yates for position at the twisty California circuit. “It was one of those races, really,” said Hodgson. “We kept fighting for position, for that spot on the podium. We all were riding really hard out there and it got a little wild at times. I got a chip on my helmet from some flying rocks when one of the other riders ran off the track and into the dirt.” Hodgson ran as high as third, but finished the 28-lap race in fifth. “I was hoping to make a charge at the end, but I made a mistake and lost the tow,” Neil said. “That was the end of it, really. I think we can make some changes and improve things for tomorrow. I like the layout of the track and want to have another shot at it. Hopefully, the rain will hold off.” His consistency has earned Hodgson fourth place in Superbike points this season after five races. Bostrom finished one slot back in sixth place, much of it running uncontested. Ben has finished every race this year but says he is eager to improve his pace. “It was about all we could do today,” said Bostrom. “Not having much track time this weekend because of the weather has really hurt us. We moved up a couple of slots in the race but weren’t able to close on Neil and the others. We’ll try some new settings in the morning and look forward for the race.” Sunday’s race is also scheduled for 28 laps. Race Results: 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 6. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 9. Steve Rapp, Suzuki 10. Larry Pegram, Honda Superbike points (after six races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 220 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 195 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 169 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 156 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 153 6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 148 . Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 144 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 133 9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 128 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 114