Six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin led every lap of the first AMA Superbike race of the weekend, at Infineon Raceway Saturday, pulling away to win by 19.135 seconds. Defending AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies finished second, well ahead of Miguel Duhamel. Spies ran off the track entering Turn One at the start of the first lap, lost several seconds and faded from there. Eric Bostrom pitted for a new rear tire and eventually finished 15th, one lap down. Results 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 28 laps, 45:07.101, 82.7 mph average speed 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -19.135 seconds 3. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -27.696 4. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -31.408 5. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -31.701 6. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -38.034 7. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -58.036 8. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -64.008 9. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -70.005 10. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta), Dunlop, -80.535 11. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -86.633 12. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -92.647 13. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta), Dunlop, -97.069 14. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap 15. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -1 lap, -7.445 16. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -1 lap, -32.615 17. Cory Call (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -36.615 18. James Randolph (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -1 lap, -49.589 19. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -49.819 20. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -50.980 21. Dominic Jones (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap, -58.856 22. Michael Earnest (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -69.013 23. Andy Carman (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -75.307 24. James King (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -99.932 25. Corey Sarros (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps 26. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000), -7 laps, DNF 27. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -11 laps, DNF 28. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -11 laps, DNF, retired 29. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -12 laps, DNF, retired 30. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -20 laps, DNF 31. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, DNS AMA Superbike Point Standings 1. Spies, 206 2. Mladin, 201 3. Duhamel, 170 4. T. Hayden, 154 5. Zemke, 152 6. Disalvo, 141 7. Yates, 139 8. Bostrom, 132 9. R. Hayden, 114 10. Hacking, 113 More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mladin Wins Sonoma Superbike Race with Spies in 2nd & Hayden in 7th Round 4 AMA Superbike Series Sonoma, CA Infineon Raceway May 18 – 20, 2007 Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin picked up his 55th career AMA Superbike victory in the first race of the double-header AMA Superbike weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Saturday afternoon. His teammates Ben Spies and Tommy Hayden followed him home in second and seventh place, respectively. “It was a good race for us,” said six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin. “I’d like to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew, who’ve worked really hard in the off-season and in testing to try and get the number-one plate back.” The previous day, defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies picked up his 11th career pole position, posting a track record-breaking lap time of 1:34.991. This accomplishment also marks Spies’ fourth consecutive pole position of the season. Spies actually crashed after turning his fastest lap and went out on his back-up bike in Saturday’s qualifying session to focus on race set-up. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working really good,” said Spies of qualifying first. “I’m really happy with it. Today, we went out on race tires and ran the same pace as yesterday. It was good to get my confidence up and work on race set-up after the crash yesterday. I couldn’t tell a difference between the two bikes.” Today’s race winner Mladin was second-fastest in qualifying with a lap time of 1:35.128, while Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates qualified third with a 1:35.875 lap time. Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Hayden rounded out the second row of the grid with a 1:36.860 lap time. In the 28-lap Superbike race, Mladin got the holeshot and led from beginning to end. The result is that Mladin now trails Spies in the overall championship standings by only five points. “It was a good race for us,” reiterated Mladin. “We got a good start and we just put our head down and tried to go as quick as possible. I just tried to reel off some good laps and keep it as clean as possible”¦ I lost a little bit of rhythm, but it seems like everybody else did too. It was a good day for us and hopefully we’ll get another win tomorrow.” Spies tucked in right behind Mladin and pursued his teammate for all 28 laps. The young Texan rode as hard as possible and brought home an impressive second place, maintaining his championship lead. “I got my butt kicked,” laughed Spies. “I guess I forgot how to ride a motorcycle. But I rode as hard as I could and Mat rode a great race. I did everything I could and even ran off the track on the second lap. I just tried to get as many points as I could today. It’s a long season and this is just one race. Hopefully, we’ll come back strong for tomorrow.” Meanwhile, Hayden rode an impressive race after getting a bad start and finishing the first lap in 10th position. But the Kentucky native put his head down and worked his way through the pack to finish in seventh place. “I got a terrible start,” he said after the race. “I’m not sure what was going on. I almost stalled it and that pushed me back a little bit. I felt like I was just working my way up in the pack for the whole race. That start really killed me. Hopefully, tomorrow we can make a few improvements and get a better start and finish up a little closer to the podium.” Yoshimura Suzuki will return for the second AMA Superbike race of the double-header weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on Sunday, May 20. AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Ben Spies Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 4. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 5. Jake Zemke, Honda 6. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki 7. Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki 8. Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki 9. James Ellison, Honda 10. Matt Lynn, MV Agusta More, from a press release issued by Jordan Suzuki: Yates Starts AMA Superbike and Superstock Classes from Front Row Sonoma, CA (May 18-19, 2007) – Superbike Qualifying Jordan Suzuki riders Aaron Yates and Jake Holden are in Sonoma California battling it out in the AMA Superbike Championship. Both riders participated in today’s final round of AMA Superbike qualifying yielding Yates a slot on the front row in third place and fellow teammate Holden a place on the third row. Yates rode his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 around the 2.22-mile road course at a time of 1:35.875. “It’s working so good [Superbike], it turns really good and it’s really good on the brakes and that’s what we need to run at this track, stated Yates. In Friday’s late-morning practice session Yates ran a 1:37.213. He was able to better his time during the first of two qualifying efforts with a 1:36.790, making him the fourth fastest rider in the class yesterday. “It was a good run”¦we’re working to make the bike better. The top guys are fast and we want to get there,” stated Yates in his post-qualifying comments. Holden who ran a split second faster than his teammate in Friday’s morning practice finds himself in the third row after the provisional qualifying. Holden noted “the wind played a factor in today’s qualifying…it was a huge factor and it slowed everyone down a bit. But, overall I’m only half a second away from fifth!” Holden who rides a Superstock spec race bike in the AMA Superbike class, hoped to better his Friday’s qualifying time of 1:37.469. And during today’s final AMA Superbike session he did so with a .053 margin confirming a 3rd row start from 12th position with a 1:37.396. Holden Joins Teammate on Front Row in AMA Superstock Racing Sonoma, CA (May 19, 2007) – Superstock Qualifying Saturday’s Superstock qualifying results landed both Suzuki GSX-R1000’s riders on the front row for tomorrow’s main event. Yates, who rode a time of 1:36.660, will start from the second position. And his teammate Holden will start from the front row in fourth after running a time of 1:37.589. Both riders commented that their tire selection for this qualifying session was not what they hoped it would be, with Yates stating, “The one we thought was going to be the good tire, which we’d been saving for qualifying and the race, was the worse tire. We lucked out and noticed that real quick and had time to come in and throw another tire on. I was able to go out and throw down a good lap.” Holden added, “I didn’t have time to come in and throw a new tire one. But, I feel confident about tomorrow. And I think we’ve got a good setup for the bike.” Race 1 AMA Superbike Results Shortly after AMA Superstock qualifying, Yates and Holden mounted their Dunlop-shod Suzuki’s for race 1 of the double-round weekend at Infineon. Holden ran strong for 17 of the 28 lap race, but decided to retire once his tire started getting greasy. Yates too suffered from improper tire selection and ended the day one slot out of top-10. Yates is currently seventh in the point standings ahead of Holden, who is 17th. Racing action continues tomorrow at Infineon with both riders competing in the AMA Superstock race at 1:10pm (PST). They’ll start second and fourth from the all Suzuki front row. Both riders will also compete in the AMA Superbike race at 3:00pm (PST).