Updated: Top Three Separated By 0.5-Second In AMA Superstock Race At Auto Club Speedway
Apr 27, 2008, ©Copyright 2008, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Corona Extra Honda’s Jake Holden beat Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young to the flag to win Sunday’s AMA Superstock race at Auto Club Speedway, in Fontana, California.
The win was the second of Holden’s career, as well as Honda’s first victory in the 1000cc AMA Superstock class and the 2008-model CBR1000RR’s first AMA National road race triumph.
Yates, the pole-sitter, attempted to pass Holden on the last lap but came up 0.174-second short at the line. Young was in the hunt throughout the race and, in spite of running off the track at one point, was only 0.574-second behind Holden at the finish.
Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Robertino Pietri led from lap two to lap 13 (earning a bonus point in the process), but the young Venezuelan slipped back to fourth place at the finish.
Pietri’s teammate Santiago Villa crashed at the exit of Turn Nine on the second lap of the race, causing it to be stopped. Villa was transported to a local hospital with a concussion, and the race was re-started, for 16 more laps, from the original grid positions.
AMA Superstock Championship Presented by Dynojet
Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, California
April 27, 2008
Provisional Race Results:
1. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, 17 laps
2. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -0.174 second
3. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -0.574
4. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -3.029 seconds
5. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -4.622
6. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -6.017
7. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -16.459
8. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -16.610
9. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -19.169
10. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -25.435
11. Ryan Elleby (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -34.248
12. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -50.826
13. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -58.053
14. Lash Mullen (Suz GSX-R1000), -60.477
15. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), -76.891
16. Terry Heard (Kaw ZX-10R), -84.947
17. Scotty Van Hawk (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -89.735
18. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -89.736
19. Jeremy Toye (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap
20. Kevin Boisvert (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 87.772 seconds
21. Brad Puetz (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 90.057
22. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 112.605
23. Alessandro Assanti (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -2 laps, DNF, crash
24. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -13 laps, DNF
25. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -16 laps, DNF, crash
Provisional Championship Point Standings (after 3 of 11 races):
1. Yates, 106 points
2. Holden, 88
3. Ulrich, 80
4. May, 75
5. Jensen, 66
6. Pietri, 63
7. Young, 62
8. Anthony, 59
9. Peris, 51
10. Ben Thompson, 46
More, from a press release issued by Pirelli:
Rome, Georgia: Crossing the finish line in first place 12 times in a row, Robertino Pietri led the most laps of the AMA Superstock race at Auto Club Speedway on his Pirelli shod Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000, before eventually finishing fourth in a tight four-way battle to the race’s end. This is the first time for Pietri to lead an AMA national race, not to mention leading one for 12 laps.
Finishing on the Superstock podium, on a set of Pirelli Superbike Slicks, was Pietri’s fellow Suzuki rider Blake Young on an M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000. Young had led the first lap of the race but, after it was red flagged, that lap and Young’s lead were purged from the AMA official final results. Also earning finishes in the Superstock top ten on Pirelli tires were Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich, Team Moto-Garage’s Scott Jensen, and David Anthony, logging in at seventh, eighth and tenth as listed in order of name. The race winner was Jake Holden. In Superstock points for the season Chris Ulrich is third with fellow Pirelli riders Jensen, Pietri, Young and Anthony in fifth through eighth.
The Supersport show started the day with Saturday’s qualifying, delayed due to wind, with Cory West showing that his top-four time in Supersport practice wasn't an anomaly, earning himself the fifth spot of the grid. West’s M4 EMGO Suzuki teammate Blake Young started immediately south of West in the sixth spot on the grid. In the Supersport race West then finished fifth, leading all other Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa riders. Teammate Young finished seventh and the Attack Kawasaki riders Chaz Davies and Steve Rapp came home in eighth and ninth. Usual front runner Martin Cardenas fell in a first lap incident that brought out a red flag and he was unable to restart. The race winner was Jake Zemke.
More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki:
Jordan Suzuki’s Yates 2nd at Auto Club Speedway Superstock Race
M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Young rounds out Superstock podium
Round 3 – AMA Superstock Series
Fontana, California
Auto Club Speedway
April 25 - 27, 2008
Michael Jordan Motor Sports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates put in an impressive ride and brought home second place on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in Sunday afternoon’s AMA Superstock race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Yates came into the Fontana Superstock race with two victories under his belt and maintained first place in the overall championship points standings. Yates was joined on the podium by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young after a third-place finish. This marks Young’s second AMA Superstock podium of the season.
Aaron Yates:
“The race didn’t really go like I was hoping for. We’ve been fast on the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 all weekend and I thought we’d have a little something for these guys. But come race time, I just wasn’t comfortable on the Superstock bike. It got a little hot out there and we were slipping and sliding all over the place. I came into this race knowing the other guys were going to be strong and that I’ve struggled here in the past. But overall I can’t complain, I brought it home in second place and got as many points as I could.”
Blake Young:
“I got a good start on the M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Robertino Pietri was out front. He was running a pace that I was comfortable running. I also knew the boys were going to turn it up pretty quick, I just didn’t know when. I’m pretty happy with how I rode, though I did make a small mistake and I went off the track. But I was able to get back on course and I’m just happy to get the M4 EMGO Suzuki up on the podium.”
