Team Stargel Castrol Rolls With the Punches and Thunder at Barber The second round of the 2006 AMA Superbike series saw large crowds, large thunderstorms, and large amounts of work for Team Stargel Castrol. The team had made more improvements to its 2006 Yamaha R6 after Daytona, and these changes needed fine tuning. The R1 superbike engines had also received a great deal of attention and it was hoped that the engine troubles that had been a factor at Daytona would not surface at Barber. For the most part, the alterations to the R6 all proved to work well right out of the box. In Formula Xtreme qualifying, rider Brian Stokes found the bike to be both fast and nimble. Team Stargel Castrol found itself in fifth position with approximately two minutes to go. With only a standard DOT rear race tire on the bike, the team watched as their competition mounted combinations of softer qualifying rubber in an effort to turn faster laps. At the close of the session, the team was quite satisfied with their sixth place qualifying result. Superbike qualifying proved to be much more difficult. Saturday morning, the team experienced another engine failure that forced a change of engines for Saturdays superbike race. As the engine problems were diverting a great deal of time and attention from the crew, the chassis problems were not being addressed as they needed to be. In Saturday’s Superbike race, it was a matter of making the most of what you had. Stokes rode consistently and finished in 21st place. As the engine was no longer an issue, Stokes was able to give crew chief, Ward Wilson valuable feedback concerning the chassis for Sunday’s race number two. Team Stargel Castrol had high expectations for the Formula Xtreme race. Brian Stokes varied between seventh and tenth place during the course of the race. For the majority of the race, he found himself in a battle with Wood, Andrews and Seeley. Stokes finished a very respectable eighth place and commented afterwards that the twenty eight lap Superbike race in the hot, Alabama sun may have taken a bit of an edge off for the F/X race. Sunday’s Superbike race saw the team’s Yamaha R1 grid up with a much different chassis setup than what it had a day before. Stokes turned extremely consistent laps averaging over a full second faster than he did in Saturday’s race. At the end, he crossed the line in eighteenth place. After two rounds, Team Stargel Castrol have entered five races and completed all five. They currently stand seventh place in Formula Xtreme points and fourteenth place in Superbike points. More, from a press release issued on behalf of Yoshimura Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki Claims Two More Barber Superbike Podiums –Next round, California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 28-30 2006– Round 2 – AMA Superbike Series Birmingham, AL Barber Motorsports Park April 22, 2006 Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies captured his second AMA Superbike race win of the weekend and the points lead in front of a record-breaking crowd at Alabama’s scenic Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday afternoon. Teammates Mat Mladin finished third and Aaron Yates came in fourth. “My main goal of the weekend was just to out-qualify Mat,” said Spies, who did indeed get the pole position for the weekend. This feat marked Spies’ first AMA Superbike pole. “So getting two race wins was a pretty big shock.” Sunday afternoon’s 28-lap race was a dramatic one. Although Mladin got the lead, he went down after just several laps. By the time he was back in the race, the defending Superbike Champion was at the back of the pack. With eight laps to go, however, a red flag caused a restart and Mladin came back to finish on the podium. “You never know what’s going to happen out there so you always push pretty hard. We got lucky with the red flag,” Mladin said afterward. About his get-off, he added, “I ran out of talent on the brakes. I was trying to put my head down and blow it out. Obviously, that didn’t happen. We had a good motorcycle in the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 today – it was the rider who made the mistake.” With Mladin down, Spies took over and led for most of the race. With the restart, the young Texan concentrated on getting a good start and making no mistakes. “When Mat went down, I tried to set a good pace and be consistent. Thanks to Yoshimura Suzuki for giving us such a good bike with the GSX-R1000. In the restart, I figured if I could get a really good start and put a few consistent laps together, we’d be OK.” Yates, meanwhile, struggled a little at the start of the race but was running strong in fourth position. After the restart, his crew made a few changes to the bike and he went out to battle for the podium. “I was trying,” he said afterward. “We made a few changes in the red flag, trying to make the GSX-R more like it was in yesterday’s race and that definitely helped. I’m just really happy with my guys for getting my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 working for me.” Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 3rd 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. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 6. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 7. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 8. Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki 9. Larry Pegram, Honda 10. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki More, from another press release issued on behalf of Yoshimura Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Yates Takes First Superstock Win of Season at Barber –Next round, California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 28-30 2006– Round 2 – AMA Repsol Superstock Series Birmingham, AL Barber Motorsports Park April 22, 2006 Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates captured his first AMA Superstock win of the 2006 season aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on Sunday afternoon. This victory marks Yates’ 11th career Superstock win and is the first Superstock win at Barber for Suzuki. “It feels good to win here at Barber and I’d like to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and also thanks to Suzuki for the GSX-R1000,” said Yates, who with this win moves from third- to second-place overall in the Superstock points standings. Yates’ Superstock weekend started positively on Saturday afternoon, with the Georgian qualifying third on the grid after posting a best lap time of 1:26.276 on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. “I just feel really comfortable on the Superstock bike,” said Yates of his qualifying time. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 has a good feel for me and my riding style. It accelerates really well off turns and going uphill, which works well here at Barber.” The 17-lap race itself was an exciting one, with Yates getting a rough start and then moving quickly into third position. Charging hard, Yates slowly reeled in the leaders and took over second place. Then, on the last lap, the defending AMA Superstock Champion made his move and took over the lead and the win. “It took me a few laps to get into the groove, but I was pushing the whole race,” said Yates. “I was trying hard but also trying not to burn out the Dunlop tires because I knew the race would come down to the last laps. For California Speedway next weekend, we’re going to go hard and try to keep the Yoshimura Suzuki on two wheels and win a championship or two.” Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 1st Place – AMA Repsol Lubricants SuperStock 2nd Place – Overall SuperStock Top 10 Finishers: 1. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha 3. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 4. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki 5. Josh Hayes, Honda 6. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 7. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 8. Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki 9. Aaron Gobert, Honda 10. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki More, from a press release issued on behalf of Team Hotbodies Racing: Team Hotbodies Racing Riders Fly Forward at Barber #13 Cory West, 2004 AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year, finished 16th in Race One of the AMA Superbike class at Barber Motorsports Park, climbing from his qualifying position of 22nd on the grid. West also moved up a number of positions in Superstock, advancing from 19th on the grid to 12th by race’s end. West said, “Barber is a weird place because the camber is different in every turn. There are many lines for riders choose. The Superbike race went well, I improved my times and moved forward. In Superstock I was in a battle all race long with Marty Craggill after getting a great start. That felt good knowing he had qualified so much higher than me. My quick shifter broke after about the fourth lap. I never knew how much I relied on it until then. I’m tenth in Superbike points but I’ll only be doing some of those races from now on and I’ll concentrate on Superstock.” #87 Taylor Knapp qualified on the fourth row in 14th-place for the Formula Xtreme race on his Suzuki GSX-R600, and 29th in Superbike on his GSX-R1000. Knapp ran great races finishing 12th in FX and 22nd and 19th in the two Superbike events, improving on his qualifying positions in every race. Knapp said, “This is my first year on a superbike so I’m still getting used to it. I ran a Pirelli DOT on the front and a Pirelli slick on the back. That worked well and the tires were there for the entire race. In the second race we had set the pressures wrong so during the red flag we put on a new set at the proper settings and that made all the difference. The 1000 is fun to ride. In FX I was down on power because we still have the stock header on the bike. I’m looking forward to the next race when I have more power. The tires were great in FX too. My plan is to be in the top ten from now on.” #29 Barrett Long, in his second year of the AMA Superbike series, qualified his Yamaha YZF-R6 in 28th for Supersport, finishing the race in 23rd. Long and crew worked all weekend to sort out his R-6 for the difficult conditions at Barber, eventually finding more speed during the race to move up five positions. Long said, “Barber is a peculiar track with all of its long carousels. I won the USGPRU 250 race here in 2004 so I’m not sure why I wasn’t faster this weekend. I guess I prefer tracks with longer straights and tighter turns, something where the rider is more of an element to cutting fast laps, rather than the bike being such a big part of it.” #220 Garret Carter, a 17 year old from Detroit, Michigan, was competing in his first AMA event ever at Barber. Carter qualified 29th in Formula Xtreme and 24th in Supersport. Carter was faster each time he was on track finishing 17th in Supersport and 24th in FX, after pulling off during the race. Carter said, “I used to race 125s and there’s no comparing them and a 600. My Yamaha R-6 is so much faster it’s amazing. I was learning something on every lap. In the FX race I had to pull in because gas was coming out of my overflow. I rejoined the race and caught back up to where I had qualified because I was running so much faster. The Supersport race went as planned and I moved up seven places. Doing the AMA series is crazy. I didn’t know it was going to be this intense. It’s a totally different world from what I’ve raced in before. I’m having a great time.” Hotbodies Racing specializes in manufacturing performance parts for performance bikes. Hotbodies Racing is the design leader in Undertails, Undertail Exhausts, Windscreens, Flush-Mount Signals, Huggers and full-race Bodywork. Hotbodies Racing supports the sport with sponsorship and its own in-house race team, and encourages dealer inquiries. For more information visit: www.hotbodiesracing.com. More, from a press release issued on behalf of Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki Captures Three Top-10 Finishes in Barber Superstock Race BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 25, 2006) – Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore, Steve Rapp and Jake Holden rode to three well-earned top-10 finishes at the AMA Superstock race this weekend at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. The 17-lap race saw Pridmore starting from the 16th position on the grid. In spite of this and in spite of having minimal time to test his Superstock bike, Pridmore put his head down and worked his way consistently through the pack up to 10th place. “I got a great start,” he said, “but I must have hit the shifter with my boot because I got in a false neutral and that pushed me back. My Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working well, though, and I tried to make a pass every lap.” Teammate Rapp had a better qualifying session than Pridmore and started from the second row. Rapp got away in seventh position and rode consistently to finish in the same spot. “It was a hard race,” admitted Rapp. “The Alabama heat made it difficult. That’s the way it is this weekend. Next weekend will be a different story.” Holden, who also qualified on the second row, rode a race similar to Rapp’s. The young rider got away in eighth position and stayed put until the checkers. “The heat’s rough,” he said, echoing Rapp’s sentiments. “But we’ve got the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R figured out and so now I’m just focusing on California Speedway.” The Jordan Suzuki team will compete in the third round of AMA Repsol Superstock at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 28 -30, 2006. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 10th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 8th Place – Overall Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 8th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 7th Place – Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 7th Place – AMA Repsol Superstock 18th Place – Overall More, from another press release issued on behalf of Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki Celebrate Strong Finishes at Barber AMA Superbike Double-Header BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 25, 2006) – Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki riders Jason Pridmore, Jake Holden and Steve Rapp concluded the AMA Superbike double-header weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., on a positive note. The members of the three-man team rode consistently all weekend and made tremendous progress with bike set-up. In Saturday’s AMA Superbike qualifying round, which set the grid for Saturday’s and Sunday’s races, the trio had a strong showing. Pridmore (1.27:316) was the fastest and secured a third-row spot, while Rapp (1:27.915) and Holden (1:28.216) qualified just behind him on the fourth row. In Saturday afternoon’s 28-lap race, Pridmore recovered from a poor start to capture an impressive top-10 finish and repeated the effort on Sunday. “Saturday was the worst start that I’ve had in three years,” said Pridmore. “I think I was back to 20th at one point so I knew I had a lot of work to do. Once I got clear of everybody in the back, I rode a lonely race. On Sunday, it was pretty much the same thing. Even though our results don’t show it, we had a really good weekend.” Teammate Rapp, meanwhile, was the picture of consistency on Saturday, and finished just behind Pridmore in 11th place. “Saturday was a good race,” said Rapp. “I got a decent start and then I got stuck until the last few laps. Then I made a pass with about four laps to go and got the Suzuki up a little higher in the points. On Sunday, my crew made some drastic changes and I’m really happy about the performance of the bike.” Holden, unfortunately, was unable to finish Saturday’s race. In Sunday’s event, however, he had the best finish for the team. “Even though Saturday’s race was disappointing, we learned a lot that we were able to use today and it shows,” said Holden. The Jordan Suzuki team will next compete in the third round of AMA Superbike at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., April 28 – 30, 2006. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #43 10th Place – AMA Superbike Race 1 10th Place – AMA Superbike Race 2 8th Place – Overall Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #59 DNF – AMA Superbike Race 1 8th Place – AMA Superbike Race 2 12th Place — Overall Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, #15 11th – AMA Superbike Race 1 12th – AMA Superbike Race 2 13th Place — Overall More, from a press release issued on behalf of Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI RACING TEAM WINS SUPERSPORT AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK Roger Hayden wins second-straight Supersport race on ZX™-6RR BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (April 23, 2006) Kawasaki Racing Team rider Roger Hayden, who earned the pole position earlier in the week, battled to his second-straight victory in AMA Supersport action at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday. Attack Kawasaki riders Ben Attard and Damon Buckmaster finished fourth and fifth respectively. In AMA Superstock on Sunday, Attard and Buckmaster started with a considerable gap between each other after the first lap. Buckmaster crossed the stripe in 11th while Attard had his work cut out for him after starting in 18th. Buckmaster slipped three positions during the 17-lap battle to finish in 14th. Attard advanced to finish 15th. During Saturday’s AMA Superbike race, Roger crashed but remounted and salvaged a 14th place finish. Tommy Hayden rode consistently for the 28 lap feature to round out the top five. Roger’s luck did not improve during Sunday’s Superbike race as he got caught up with a privateer rider on lap 21 and crashed. The tangle resulted in a red flag and restart allowing Tommy to move into second. The elder Hayden rode strong for the remaining seven laps of the race before he was knocked off the track on the final lap as another rider attempted to pass him and forced Tommy to finish seventh. Racing resumes when the teams head to Fontana, Calif., April 28 30, for a Superbike doubleheader at California Speedway.