Dunlop Motorcycle Tires Race Report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, Round Five, Road America Elkhart Lake, Wis.””Mother Nature threw her best punch at America’s top road racers this weekend at Road America and they responded with some of the best racing action so far this year in the 2007 AMA Superbike Series. Six-time Superbike champion Mat Mladin and 2006 Superbike champ Ben Spies–teammates for Yoshimura Suzuki–traded victories in the title class while Erion Honda Racing teammates Josh Hayes and Aaron Gobert took top honors in the Formula Xtreme and Supersport classes, respectively. Spies added a Superstock win for good measure. Dunlop brought 2000 tires to support the factory and support teams of Agusta, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha. One of the racers’ favorite tracks, Road America’s 4.048-mile combination of twisting turns, changing elevation and high-speed straights puts a tremendous load on rear tires, especially in the center portion of the tread. In addition to Dunlop’s multi-compound N-Tec™ rear tire, all of the company’s rain tire designs proved not only to be up to the task, but also to have the measure of the competition. All of the race winners were on Dunlops, as were 11 of the 15 podium finishers in all five competitions. At the checkered flag, 82 percent of the top 10 finishers in all five races combined (41 of 50) rode on Dunlop tires. Superbike Race One Despite the outcome, the first Superbike race of the weekend was anything but predictable. Suzuki’s Mladin earned the pole with a time of 2:11.541 on Friday, quicker than his pole time from last year but still a few tenths off his fastest time of 2:11.208 set during race two in 2006. “Out of all the racetracks we’ve been to, this racetrack definitely feels a lot different (compared) to last year’s bike,” Mladin commented after qualifying. “We actually just found something there at the end of that session that I ultimately did my good lap time on, that felt pretty good, and started getting us a little bit in the ballpark of where we need to be.” Because rain dampened the track on and off all day Saturday, the second qualifying session became a rain-tire practice session and no one challenged the provisional qualifying order. AMA officials later declared the afternoon race “wet” and all of the factory teams realized the potential for a close affair. In a brief practice session just before the race, Spies tumbled from his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and came up hobbling, causing many to question his fitness for the race. But he was ready when the competition flagged off and Spies rocketed into the lead. Mladin, meanwhile, suffered a poor start and had to work his way forward from fourth before overtaking Spies on lap two. Behind them an entertaining battle was waged between Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel and Jordon Suzuki Motorsports Aaron Yates. Soon after Mladin’s engine became unusually loud, signaling an unknown mechanical problem. The rains held off and Spies stayed close but Mladin maintained his lead all the way to the checkered flag for his 57th career AMA Superbike win. With four laps to go Yates low-sided out of third leaving Duhamel and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden in a fierce battle that went right to the line. Hayden drafted past Duhamel by just .027 seconds and collected his first podium of the season. “I’d like to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and Suzuki for delivering such a great motorbike in the GSX-R1000,” Mladin said. “The bike allowed Yoshimura Suzuki to sweep the podium today and hopefully we’ll come back and do it again tomorrow.” Later in the press room he added, “Lap three, I believe, I split an exhaust pipe”¦ It was that bad and lost of lot of top end power up the front straight. I really had to change my riding a little bit as of when that happened, to try and carry more rolling speed, because the thing wasn’t accelerating like it was on the first two laps. So we had some issues in that race and it was nice just to hold on and get the win.” As is becoming the custom, Dunlop riders took every one of the top 10 finishing positions. Superbike Race One Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Mat Mladin – Suzuki 2. Ben Spies – Suzuki 3. Tommy Hayden – Suzuki 4. Miguel Duhamel – Honda 5. Jake Zemke – Honda 6. Eric Bostrom – Yamaha 7. Roger Hayden – Kawasaki 8. Jason DiSalvo – Yamaha 9. Jamie Hacking – Kawasaki 10. Jake Holden – Suzuki Formula Xtreme Race The closest Formula Xtreme race of the year pitted the number one and two riders in the championship hunt– defending class champion Josh Hayes and Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp””in a 10-lap duel of 600cc “Superbikes”. The pair swapped the lead numerous times and the outcome was completely unknown until the checkered flag declared pole-sitter Hayes and his Erion Honda-tuned CBR600RR, equipped with a multi-compound N-Tec rear racing tire, the winner by .439 seconds. “That was probably one of the most fun races I’ve had in a long time,” said Hayes of his first-ever win at Road America. “My Honda was super fast. When it came down to the end of the race, as we were going through turn three, I could see that the right side of his (Rapp’s ed.) tire looked pretty bad, it looked like chunks of rubber were coming off it at me. That’s when I decided I wanted to lead through the infield on the last lap”¦ that sealed it up for me and I was able to get a good run up the front straightaway.” Venezuelan Martin Cardenas, riding for the injured Michael Barnes, rode his M4 EMGO Suzuki to third, nipping Hayes’ teammate Aaron Gobert by just .365 seconds. Six of the top 10 finishers crossed the line on Dunlop rubber. Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Josh Hayes – Honda 4. Aaron Gobert – Honda 5. Larry Pegram – Ducati 6. Marty Craggill – Ducati 8. Ryan Andrews – Honda 10. Chad Herrmann – Suzuki Formula Xtreme Championship Points: Top three riders 1. Hayes – 177 2. Rapp – 152 3. Gobert – 123 Supersport Race Drenching rains, accompanied occasionally by lightning and thunder, inundated Road America on Sunday. Although the track is approved by the AMA for wet racing, water running across the tarmac in many places forcing the postponement of the Superstock race to permit the Supersport and Superbike races to be conducted in sync with the scheduled SpeedTV broadcast. The Supersport race brought out full rain tires””soft compound, treaded tires front and rear””for all of the Dunlop teams. Kawasaki Road Racing teammates Jamie Hacking and Roger Hayden diced with Matsushima Racing Suzuki’s Danny Eslick for the first five laps of the 10-lap event, swapping positions back-and-forth in the slippery corners and drafting past one another on the long straights. But this was to be the day for Erion Honda’s Aaron Gobert to assert himself. After a poor start that saw him mired in ninth position after lap one, Gobert began passing the rest of the field on his CBR600RR as if they were standing still, setting lap times that were consistently two seconds faster than the leaders. By lap seven Gobert had overtaken everyone and he went on to win the race by more than three seconds. Hacking and Hayden finished second and third, respectively. “At the start when the leaders took off I thought, ‘Are these guys crazy?’ There were puddles everywhere,” said Gobert of his first Supersport win. “The Honda’s been awesome, the boy’s got new horsepower for us this weekend. You know, I maximized the wet practice when no one else went out. I went out there and changed my gearing, changed the bike and we worked on it. I actually did my qualifying time on a set of wets and the track was 95 percent dry. In the race, the puddles went down and the dry line came up and everything just came together.” The next four riders across the line were also on Dunlops, including series leader Josh Hayes, for a total of eight of the first 10 finishers. Supersport Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Aaron Gobert – Honda 2. Jamie Hacking – Kawasaki 3. Roger Hayden – Kawasaki 4. Josh Hayes – Honda 5. Blake Young – Suzuki 6. Tommy Hayden – Suzuki 7. Chaz Davies – Yamaha 10. Ryan Elleby – Honda Supersport Championship Points: Top three riders 1. Hayes – 161 2. Roger Hayden – 150 3. Hacking – 136 Superbike Race Two Fighting back from the effects of Saturday’s high-side just before the start of race one, Suzuki’s Spies rode an strong race on Sunday, mastering the wet conditions en route to a flag-to-flag victory in Superbike race two. The race began in the pouring rain and every rider went out on full rain tires. A lightning-inspired red flag brought the field in for a complete restart after less than two laps. When the race began again, Spies took little time in charging to the lead and his lap times got faster and faster as the race wore on. Even after slowing in the final laps to cruise home with the win, Spies crossed the line on his GSX-R1000 nearly 12 seconds ahead of the next rider, Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking. Third went to Saturday’s winner, Mladin. “It was really good,” said Spies, whose victory gives him a two-point margin in the championship. “We usually don’t do many changes to the bike before a race but with the wet race we made a couple of clicks difference and the bike was really good. It’s important to be out front in a rain race, riding your own race and not seeing spray, not chasing people and not making mistakes. Luckily we got out front and did it today.” Of his injury he said, “I’ll say that how I look walking, definitely my riding’s not as bad”¦ I bruised my quad so bad that I can’t put a certain kind of weight on it and it looks like I broke something but it’s not that bad.” As was the case in race one, Dunlop captured all of the top ten slots. Superbike Race Two Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Ben Spies – Suzuki 2. Jamie Hacking – Kawasaki 3. Mat Mladin – Suzuki 4. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 5. James Ellison – Honda 6. Jake Zemke – Honda 7. Jake Holden – Suzuki 8. John Haner – Suzuki 9. Eric Bostrom – Yamaha 10. Dominic Jones – Honda Superbike Championship Points: Top three riders 1. Spies 307 2. Mladin 305 3. Duhamel – 236 Superstock Race The last race of the weekend saw all the Dunlop competitors mount N-Tec multi-compound racing tires to take advantage of the improving traction on the drying track. M4 Emgo Suzuki’s Goeff May held the lead for the first six laps before a charging Spies took control on his GSX-R1000. Spies gradually increased his lead and won with 2.819 seconds to spare over May and Suzuki’s Scott Jensen, who was third. Spies’ N-Tec worked so well that he turned the fastest lap of the race on lap nine before slowing slightly to preserve his win and take the checkered flag. “We knew we had to be on slicks,” said Spies of his fourth win this season. “The track changed so much lap to lap that you couldn’t tell what was going to be there and what wasn’t. When we made the pass I tried to not go blazing for a couple laps but just not make any mistakes and keep a decent pace, and it worked out today.” Of the top 10 finishers, seven were on Dunlop tires. Superstock Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Ben Spies – Suzuki 4. Ben Bostrom – Yamaha 5. John Haner – Suzuki 6. Jake Holden – Suzuki 8. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 9. David Weber – Suzuki 10. Blake Young – Suzuki Superstock Championship Points: Top three riders 1. Spies – 177 2. May, Bostrom 144 (tied) The next stop for Dunlop and the 2007 AMA Superbike Series is Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah, June 22-24. Round six features a doubleheader for the Superbike series. About Dunlop Tires Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Rome, Georgia: Weather played its hand at the Road America, Wisconsin round of the AMA Superbike series with wet, damp, drying, and dry defining the long course for the long weekend, but not always in that order. In the end, results at the big track showed again the trend of more riders using Pirellis Diablo racing tires resulting in more Pirelli riders getting on the AMA Superbike series podiums. In Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race, Pirelli rider Steve Rapp rode his Daytona 200-winning Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R to a stunning second 2nd-place finish, nearly attached to race-winner Josh Hayes. One position from Rapp, in 3rd place, was Martin Cardenas, the Columbian road-racing sensation discovered by Pirelli at the opening, Homestead, Florida-round of the CCS racing series. Cardenas has filled in for the injured Michael Barnes on an M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 at the last two AMA events. Road America gave the team time to sort out supporting Cardenas’ riding style, putting him on the AMA pro podium for the first time in his career, achieved on a pair of Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slicks. Also finishing on Pirellis in the top ten were Rapp’s teammate Ben Attard in 7th, and Cory West in 8th on his Chuck Giacchetto-tuned Team Hunter Yamaha YZF-R6. The Road America Superstock race was run late Sunday afternoon under speculatively drying conditions, and was won by Ben Spies with M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May right on his heals in 2nd, as the two of them had made a break from the pack. Behind May in 3rd place was privateer racer Scott Jensen, getting the best of a battle with Ben Bostrom for the honor of the podium. Jensen is sealed as a rider to watch, now blasting to the top of his growing list of top-ten finishes with this most recent rewarding of shiny hardware and sticky bubbly. Also doing well in Superstock on Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slicks were Robertino Pietri and Chris Ulrich of the Team Roadracingworld.com, respectively finishing 7th and 12th, and Vesrah Suzuki’s Mark Junge, pronounced “young,” taking 13th overall. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Attack Kawasaki’s Rapp Takes Second in Formula Xtreme at Road America ELKHART LAKE, Wis. Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp earned second-place after a race-long battle in the AMA Formula Xtreme race at Road America. After qualifying on the front row of the starting grid, Rapp battled back and forth with for the lead, giving spectators an exciting competition to watch during the duration of the 10-lap race. “I knew when I was in third that I had to get up to Josh (Hayes) at the front, otherwise he would have run away with it,” said Rapp. “My bike was running great and I quickly got around third and stayed with Josh the whole race. I knew it was going to come down to the last lap. Each race we get closer to finding (bike) set-ups that keep us at the front and obviously this race we were very close to reaching the top of the podium.” Teammate Ben Attard also started on the front row, but experienced some bad luck with his bike set up and eventually came across the finish line in seventh. Rapp currently sits second in the point standings for the AMA Formula Xtreme class while Attard is sixth. In the AMA Superbike race, Hayden put in an impressive race moving from his 11th-place starting position to finish seventh after riding behind teammate Hacking for a majority of the race. Hacking finished in ninth. “My start went pretty good and I just stuck with Jamie until I passed him with a couple laps to go,” said Hayden. “Tomorrow we have a few ideas for changes to get more power through the ignition. If it rains, we have some ideas for that as well, so hopefully it will turn out good.” Rain could become a factor in the AMA Supersport race and second AMA Superbike race, which is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Road America. AMA Superbike Championship Road America Elkhart Lake, Wis. June 2, 2007 AMA Formula Xtreme Results 1. Joshua Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Honda 2. STEVE RAPP, MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI 3. Martin Cardenas, Miami, Fla., Suzuki 4. Aaron Gobert, Murrieta, Calif., Honda 5. Larry Pegram, Pataskala, Ohio, Ducati 6. Martin Craggill, Boulder, Colo., Ducati 7. BEN ATTARD, MURIETTA, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI 8. Ryan Andrews, Robinson, Texas, Honda 9. Cory West, Eureka Springs, Ariz., Yamaha 10. Chad Hermann, Loganville, Ga., Suzuki AMA Formula Xtreme Standings 1. Joshua Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Honda, 177 2. STEVE RAPP, MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI, 152 3. Aaron Gobert, Murrieta, Calif., Honda, 123 4. Larry Pegram, Pataskala, Ohio, Ducati, 113 5. Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Suzuki, 95 6. BEN ATTARD, MURIETTA, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI, 91 7. David Anthony, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 84 8. Martin Craggill, Boulder, Colo., Ducati, 77 9. Chad Hermann, Loganville, Ga., Suzuki, 75 10. Tony Meiring, Tracy, Calif., Yamaha, 74 AMA Superbike Results 1. Mathew Mladin, Henderson, Nev., Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Longview, Texas, Suzuki 3. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki 4. Miguel Duhamel, Las Vegas, Nev., Honda 5. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda 6. Eric Bostrom, Las Vegas, Nev., Yamaha 7. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 8. Jason Disalvo, Stafford, N.Y., Yamaha 9. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 10. Jake Holden, Eatonville, Wash., Suzuki AMA Superbike Standings 1. Mathew Mladin, Henderson, Nev., Suzuki, 276 2. Ben Spies, Longview, Texas, Suzuki, 270 3. Miguel Duhamel, Las Vegas, Nev., Honda, 224 4. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki, 209 5. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 207 6. Jason Disalvo, Stafford, N.Y., Yamaha, 189 7. Eric Bostrom, Las Vegas, Nev., Yamaha, 181 8. Aaron Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Suzuki, 170 9. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 156 10. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 144 More, from a press release issued by Honda: American Honda Braves the Weather at Road America American Honda’s Jake Zemke moved into third place in the AMA Superbike Championship on a consistent weekend of inconsistent weather at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Zemke was fifth on an overcast Saturday, after the performance of his race bike changed dramatically and for no reason. “This morning’s bike was right back where it was supposed to be yesterday, so I was kind of disappointed not to get a dry race today, but we’ll move on,” he said of Sunday’s rain-lashed Superbike race. Sunday’s ninth leg of the AMA Superbike Championship began in atrocious conditions before slightly improving. The team gambled on the rain tire choice, opting for the harder of the two rear compound choices with the hope that the track would change. With the track not drying as quickly as he’d hoped, Zemke’s rear tire struggled to find grip until the final stages of the 16-lap race. Duhamel nearly earned his fifth podium of the year on Saturday. The veteran, a five-time Superbike winner at Road America, ran third past the halfway point and was back in the spot in the final corner. But a small problem on the run up and over the hill to the start-finish line allowed Tommy Hayden, the younger brother of Repsol Honda’s Nicky Hayden, to draft past. The difference was .027 seconds. Duhamel fell victim to the weather and inconsistent paving on Sunday. The first attempt to start Sunday’s race saw Duhamel, who excels in the rain, jetting into second place. But lightning forced race officials to stop it before two laps were completed. When the race was re-started, Duhamel was a close fourth on the second lap when he hit a slick spot braking for the first turn. Instantly and without warning he was on the ground. The rider just behind did the same thing, in the same spot. Duhamel tried to re-start his CBR1000RR, but it was too badly damaged to continue. Suzuki’s Mat Mladin beat teammate Ben Spies in the dry on Saturday. Spies won Saturday’s wet race, with Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) second. Zemke moved up to third place in the championship, after nine of 19 rounds, with Duhamel now in fifth, but only eight points behind his teammate. After two weekends’ break, the series resumes at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on June 24. Miguel Duhamel, 4th Place, DNF Sunday I’m not too pleased about it. We can’t be racing on a racetrack with that many different surfaces in the corners. I was braking straight up and down and hit one of the tar patches that I guess they have for the cars. Straight up and down and I just locked up the front and I fell. And I wasn’t the only one. Matt Lynn fell in the same spot and Tommy (Hayden) fell also. I noticed when I got into the sand that it was wavy and not big waves, but big enough to tumble and destroy my bike. I think we got lucky. We dodged another bullet and nobody got hurt. Saturday I had a good race and I thought for sure we’d have a podium. It came down to the last lap with me and Tommy (Hayden). I thought I had him, but I had some issues coming up the hill. The bike wanted to wheelie and he was able to draft past me at the start-finish line. It’s really disappointing because I really wanted to get a podium for the team. Jake Zemke, 5th Place, 6th Place Sunday Well, going into it we actually gambled a little bit. I saw the sun on the horizon and I was gambling that the sun was going to get here and start drying things out before it did. Only problem was when the sun came out it was still raining and it just kept raining with the sun being out. But all in the all the race itself was fine. I was pretty much by myself the whole time. We went with a little bit harder rain tire than everybody else used and I just didn’t have any grip. I was hoping for a dry line to form. I think we would have been in a lot better shape, for sure. Just probably the last four laps, my tire started working. But before that, I just couldn’t even lean the bike over. But just from the race in ’05 here that we had in the rain as well, I just knew it was going to be a long race and there would probably be a lot of attrition in that race. Sure enough, there was. Keeping her upright, we got some good points. Kind of disappointed, I really wanted a dry race. Because after yesterday’s race we found some things that were wrong with the bike. Saturday Something happened with the bike. We rode the same exact bike that we qualified on, we didn’t make any changes to it. But something happened to the bike, it wasn’t the same bike. It was a two second a lap slower bike. I’m sure the team can figure it out once we get some time, but it was truly baffling. I’m hoping for a dry race tomorrow so we can make sure that we’re going in the right direction. Ron Heben, Road Race Team Manager It was kind of an up and down weekend for the Honda team. Obviously yesterday we felt we should have been up there on the podium. Jake (Zemke) qualified third and Miguel (Duhamel) put in a lot of good laps and we were looking forward to today. In morning practice, Jake and Miguel both put in quicker times than they did in the race yesterday. Obviously the rain changes everything for all the teams out there. The first start, Miguel had a great set-up. He came from the second row and was in second. We learned a couple of things for Jake. And the re-start, everything kind of changed around for the Honda, with Miguel going down on the second lap and taking his chances away. And then Jake kind of struggled out there. I don’t know if they made the right tire choice or not. Obviously the conditions changed from the beginning to the end of the race. You do your best guesstimate on what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. Today didn’t work out. We go to Mid-Ohio for a couple of days to test and get ready for the next round at Miller Motorsports Park. Saturday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 5. Jake Zemke (Honda) 6. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 7. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 8. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 9. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 10. James Ellison (Honda) Sunday Superbike: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 3. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 5. James Ellison (Honda) 6. Jake Zemke (Honda) 7. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 8. John Haner (Suzuki) 9. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 10. Dominic Jones (Honda) Championship Standings: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 307 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 305 3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 232 4. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 225 5. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 224 6. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 206 7. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 203 8. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 197 9. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 188 10. James Ellison (Honda) 153 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Pres Office: Despite inclement weather, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won his first-ever Road America AMA Superbike race in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. This victory is Spies’ third win of the season and moves the defending AMA Superbike Champion into the lead in the AMA Superbike Championship points chase. Team mate Mat Mladin finished an impressive third in the wet race, while Tommy Hayden, unfortunately, crashed and was unable to finish. “I have to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki team for doing such a great job, staying up until 1:00 in the morning to rebuild the bike I crashed in practice yesterday,” said Spies. “My Suzuki GSX-R1000 was so good in the rain today. I was afraid the track was going to dry out. We needed this win, for sure.” The 16-lap race went off as scheduled in spite of the rain and Spies got the holeshot. By lap two, Hayden was running in third and Mladin was in seventh. As the storm grew worse, however, the race was red flagged because of conditions. When the storm subsided into merely rain, the complete restart saw Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates get the holeshot but he was overtaken by Mladin and Spies on the first lap. Mladin, who started from pole position, led briefly before being passed by Spies. Spies took over the lead and created a gap and took the win. “In the first start, I got a pretty good holeshot but I was still feeling it out and not going all out,” said Spies. “Then we had the red flag and in the second start I followed Mat and then got around him. I just tried to put some decent laps together and get as big a gap as I could. Then, I just put it on cruise control… I’ve been riding hard all year and trying to not make mistakes. We know we have to win races to win the championship. Now, we just need to take it to a new level and not ride so conservatively.” Mladin, meanwhile, settled into second position before being passed midway through the race. The six-time AMA Superbike Champion played it safe, however, and rode his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the third podium spot. “I didn’t get a good start in the first start,” said Mladin. “There was so much water that I couldn’t see where I was going. I’d already made the decision to not do anything crazy. The conditions in the second start were more sane. It was slippery, but visibility was ok. (As for Jamie and Ben), they just rode better than me. In the race, I saw some things I could improve on. I am lacking in the rain in some areas. But some of the things that hurt me in the rain help me in the dry. And fortunately, most races are on sunny days.” Former AMA Supersport Champion Hayden got off the line and was in third place in the first start. In the second start, he’d moved into position to battle for a podium spot when he went down and was unable to finish. “I made a mistake in Turn One,” said Hayden, who wasn’t injured in the get-off. “Up until then, the race was going good and I felt really comfortable on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. I’d caught the battle for second place and then I locked up the front brake. I was down on the ground before I could do anything about it.” AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1 Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki) 2 Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 3 Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 4 Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki) 5 James Ellison (Honda) 6 Jake Zemke, Honda 7 Jake Holden (Jordan Suzuki) 8 John Haner (Suzuki) 9 Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 10 Dominic Jones (Honda) More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: WET WEEKEND FOR ROAD AMERICA POLESITTER ULRICH AND TEAMMATE PIETRI The Road America round of the 2007 AMA roadracing tour proved to be a roller coaster ride for Team Roadracingworld.com . Emotions ran the gamut as the squad experienced among their season’s brightest highlights and most trying times during their visit to Elkhart Lake, WI. Chris Ulrich’s highlight of the weekend was Saturday afternoon when the Californian made the most of a wet qualifying session to earn the pole position for Sunday’s 60k Superstock race. He led the way with a time of 2: 51.375 aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 around the four-mile long circuit. Afterwards Ulrich commented, “I just tried to be smooth and ride like I know how. In the wet it’s just a different game. It doesn’t matter how much you weigh. It just matters how well you can ride. It was great getting the pole and the team worked really hard to earn it.” Unfortunately, Chris’ weekend took a turn for the worse from there. He suffered a fall in Saturday’s Superbike contest, injuring his left knee. To make matters worse, an incorrect tire choice in Sunday’s race prevented him from capitalizing on his fantastic qualifying performance. Ulrich came away with a 12th place result after racing hard on the damp but drying surface. “We experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows it seemed like this weekend,” Chris said. “Getting pole position was a great accomplishment but it’s unfortunate our race didn’t go to plan. I took a pretty nasty spill on Friday and again in the Saturday Superbike race. I have a big hole in my knee that’s going to require some more medical work but that really didn’t have an effect on our result today in Superstock. We made the wrong tire choice for the conditions and it came back to bite us. I ran as hard as I could but 12th was the best we could do today.” Robertino Pietri salvaged the day for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, however, as the Venezuelan claimed his best result of the season. The reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ took his third straight top-ten finish of the year, taking the checkered flag in seventh position after running as high as fourth during the contest. “I’m really proud of ‘Tino,” Ulrich commented. “He and his crew nailed the tire choice and Robertino always seems to go well at the fast tracks. It was good to see him get his best result of the season today. That side of the team did a great job and hats off to his crewchief for picking the right tires.” Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action in three weeks time as the AMA series picks back up in Tooele, UT on June 22-24 for the sixth round of the ’07 season.
