Yoshimura Suzuki’s Spies Wins Fontana Superstock Race -Jordan Suzuki’s Holden & Yates round out the podium in second & third- Round 3 AMA Superstock Series Fontana, CA California Speedway April 27 – 29, 2007 It was a Suzuki sweep in Saturday’s AMA Superstock race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies winning the race and Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and Aaron Yates bringing home second and third place, respectively. With this second Superstock victory of the year, Spies took over the overall championship points lead. “I just want to thank my crew and Yoshimura Suzuki,” said defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies. “And congratulations to Jake and Aaron, they rode a great race. Jake pushed me all the way to the end. I just tried to keep my head down the whole time. There for a few laps, though, I forgot how to ride but then I was able to get in a groove.” After taking the AMA Superbike pole the previous day, Spies went back out and nabbed the AMA Superstock pole after turning a 1:24.804 lap time. Yates and Holden picked up the second- and third-place spots, with 1:25.203 and 1:25.237 lap times. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working great,” said Spies. “Everything is going exactly as planned. Hopefully, we can keep it up and get a win in the Superstock race tomorrow.” In the 17-lap AMA Superstock race, M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May took the lead immediately but was passed within a few laps by Spies. The young Texan began gapping the field almost immediately and brought home the win. “It was a good race,” said Spies. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working good, though I wish we had a little more time to devote to testing the Superstock bike. But we were able to get it done today and, hopefully, we’ll be able to do that for the rest of the season.” Like Spies, Holden got a good start on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was in fourth position for the first few laps. He methodically worked his way up into second position and followed Spies home. “It’s nice to be up here,” said Holden of his second Superstock podium. “I’ve been waiting to get up here for a long time. It’s been a long journey but I’m glad to be here with the Jordan Suzuki crew. I gave it all I had and I’m looking forward to a good season. Hopefully, we’ll be up here a good bit.” Holden’s Jordan Suzuki teammate Yates rounded out the podium in third place. Early on in the race, Yates and Holden diced for position before Yates settled into third. “It was a good race,” said Yates. “Jake came by me and he was gone; he was on rails. Jake and Ben rode an awesome race. I wanted to be up there battling with them but I was struggling with grip a little bit and so I just tried to bring it home for the Jordan Suzuki crew and get as many points as possible.” Overall, Suzuki riders represented eight of the top-10 AMA Superstock finishers at California Speedway and eight out of the top-10 AMA Superstock championship points leaders. All of Suzuki’s road race teams will return for round four of the AMA Superbike Series at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., the weekend of May 18 – 20, 2007. AMA Superstock Top 10 Finishers: Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki Ben Bostrom, Yamaha Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki Danny Eslick, MPT Suzuki Martin Cardenas, Kawasaki Scott Jensen, Suzuki Blake Young, MPT Suzuki Robertino Pietri, Roadracingworld.com Suzuki AMA Superstock Points Standings: Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki Ben Bostrom, Yamaha Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki Danny Eslick, MPT Suzuki Blake Young, MPT Suzuki Chris Ulrich, Roadracingworld.com Suzuki Scott Jensen, Suzuki Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki Martin Cardenas, Kawasaki More, from another press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mladin, Spies Go One & Two Again in CA Speedway Superbike Race II -Yoshimura Suzuki’s Hayden finishes a solid fourth place- Round 3 AMA Superbike Series Fontana, CA California Speedway April 27 – 29, 2007 Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Mat Mladin and Ben Spies again brought home first- and second-place honors in the second of two AMA Superbike races at Fontana’s California Speedway on Sunday. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden followed his teammates home in fourth place. This win is Mladin’s sixth victory at California Speedway and his 54th career Superbike win. “After yesterday, we were off from what we’d wanted to do,” said six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin, who finished second to Spies in Saturday’s race. “Today, we got everything together. Right from the start, I put my head down. This is a bit of a hometown race for us so it means a lot to get a win here.” The previous day, Spies had picked up his third AMA Superbike pole position of the season with a qualifying lap of 1:23.117. Mladin was second with a best time of 1:23.711, while Hayden rounded out the front row of the grid with a 1:24.475 lap time. At the start of the 28-lap race, Mladin took the lead almost immediately. Spies slotted in behind his teammate and they battled together for the entire race. “I have no illusions that the season is going to be anything but tough,” maintained Mladin. “It’s going to be hard racing and I’m looking forward to it. I’ve won several championships already and it’s tough racing that motivates me. Today, I was 100 percent the whole way. There wasn’t anything left on the table.” Although Spies showed his teammate a wheel a few times, in the end the defending AMA Superbike Champion brought home a very close second place. Although Spies did not win the race, he still maintains the lead in the overall championship points standings. “I would be happier if we could have gotten the win today,” said Spies. “But Mat set a blistering pace. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working great and I tried to get it done today but we fell a little short. We just need to see what we can do to come back strong for the race at Infineon next month.” Going into Sunday’s race, teammate Hayden was still recovering from Saturday afternoon’s crash in AMA Supersport qualifying. Even so, the new Yoshimura Suzuki rider rode hard and finished just shy of the podium. “Today was pretty similar to yesterday,” said Hayden, who finished fourth in Saturday’s race as well. “I got a decent start on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and then I fell back a couple of positions. But after four or five laps — I don’t know if it was me or the bike or both I just felt more comfortable and started going faster for the rest of the race. So I guess I need to work on improving my starts. But all things considered, I feel like two fourth-place finishes is pretty solid.” All of Suzuki’s road race teams will return for round four of the AMA Superbike Series at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., the weekend of May 18 – 20, 2007. AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki Eric Bostrom, Yamaha Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki Jake Zemke, Honda Miguel Duhamel, Honda Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki Jason Disalvo, Yamaha AMA Superbike Points Standings: Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki Eric Bostrom, Yamaha Miguel Duhamel, Honda Jake Zemke, Honda Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki Eric Bostrom, Yamaha Jason Disalvo, Yamaha Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki More, from another press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Hayden Rallies after Crash to Finish Sixth in CA Speedway Supersport Race Round 3 AMA Supersport Series Fontana, CA California Speedway April 27 – 29, 2007 In spite of suffering an unfortunate crash in Saturday’s qualifying, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden finished a solid sixth place in Sunday’s AMA Supersport race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. This result leaves Hayden in fourth place overall in the Supersport Championship points chase. The previous day, Hayden was on his way to carding a front-row grid position, when the get-off resulted in his missing out on the last minutes of the session. He walked away without serious injury but wound up on the third row in 10th place. “I was on a really good lap,” said Hayden after the session. “Everything with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 was going good. My foot accidentally touched the shift rod, which is connected to the electric shifter so it was almost like hitting the kill switch a couple of times. I was leaned over and it high-sided me.” In spite of this, Hayden did his best to recover for the race. After being delayed by three red flags due to crashes, the 17-lap AMA Supersport race finally got underway in the late afternoon. Still sore from his crash, Hayden rode a smooth and consistent race on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 to finish in sixth place. “After that last red flag, I got a good start,” said Hayden. “That definitely helped my result. I passed a few guys and kept my head down and the race went by pretty quick. I thought I could get two more spots there at the end but it didn’t happen. We got some good points so I’m pretty happy with that, especially considering the crash yesterday. At least I’ve come out of this weekend with something to show for it and now it’s time to get ready for the Infineon race next month.” All of Suzuki’s road race teams will return for round four of the AMA Superbike Series at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., the weekend of May 18 – 20, 2007. AMA Supersport Top 10 Finishers: Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki Josh Hayes, Honda Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki Steve Rapp, Kawasaki Michael Barnes, M4 EMGO Suzuki Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki Danny Eslick, MPT Suzuki Chaz Davies, Yamaha Cory West, Yamaha AMA Supersport Points Standings: Josh Hayes, Honda Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki Steve Rapp, Kawasaki Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki Michael Barnes, M4 EMGO Suzuki Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki Cory West, Yamaha Blake Young, MPT Suzuki Josh Herrin, Yamaha Ben Attard, Kawasaki More, from a press release issued by Chris Ulrich Racing: ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI DISAPPOINTED WITH AMA RULING AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich endured a frustrating race at California Speedway following a promising lead up to the third round of the 2007 AMA Superstock Championship. Ulrich’s race was negatively impacted by a controversial decision to penalize the Californian that robbed him of a chance to claim a top-six finish in front of his home fans. After getting away from the sixth slot on the grid with a strong start aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, Ulrich was forced off course on lap 3. He immediately followed the procedures the AMA had previously instructed the racers to follow in case such a scenario played out. The result of his correctly following the instructions was a lap that was more than two seconds off his pace at the time and Chris lost two positions in the running order. Ulrich got back into a rhythm and worked his way up to eighth position. He was climbing up the ranks of a multi-rider fight for sixth when his afternoon took a disappointing turn. Confident that he had done nothing wrong, Ulrich was shocked to see the ‘meatball flag’ shown to him a number of laps after the incident in question, forcing him into the pits for a penalty. The Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki rider came in on lap 11 of 17 and dropped to 12th place, ultimately where he finished in the race. “I did exactly what the AMA’s Morgan Broadhead told me to do in the riders’ meeting. He said, ‘You get off the track over there, you have to have to go through the cones pointing in. I did that exactly that, following the printed bulletin the AMA had given to the riders. I lost two positions and countless seconds, yet still I was penalized. “That was a potential sixth place, a very good finish. And now it’s 12th place and probably lost another position or two in points. I’m extremely disappointed in how it turned out. I do not think the ruling was fair or correct.” Meanwhile, teammate Robertino Pietri enjoyed his best outing of the young season, finishing with a top ten result after qualifying 11th fastest for the Superstock final. The reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ improved upon his 13th place showing a week earlier at Barber Motorsports Park to claim tenth at California Speedway. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will tackle the fourth round of the 2007 AMA championship at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on May 18-20. “Infineon is a physical track and we should do well there,” said Ulrich. “I think the Pirelli tires work great at the track and we are extremely motivated.” More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: MORE TOP FIVE RESULTS FOR MAY AND BARNES AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY Team M4 EMGO Suzuki completed a solid weekend of racing at California Speedway in Fontana, California, to successfully bounce back from a difficult outing last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. The squad built upon Saturday’s FX result to score their second and third top-five finishes of the weekend on Sunday. Sunday afternoon’s AMA Supersport final was an unusual affair. The race was red-flagged twice early, rescheduled until after the Superbike contest, and then red-flagged once more before finally being raced to the checkered flag following its fourth start. Michael Barnes put in a strong performance, leading three laps and fighting for first-place over the contest’s opening half. The package wasn’t quite as ideal for the final restart, and Barnes ended up claiming a fifth-place result aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600. ‘Barney’, who ranks fifth in the Supersport championship race with 72 points, said, “We had something really solid for the ‘after Superbike’ restart. For the restart after that, we thought it would be okay to go with a different rear, but it wasn’t ideal. We also raced the last part with a scuffed front tire. “We made a lot of progress over the weekend. I kind of lost my motorcycle in set-up. Mike Fitzgerald with Öhlins found it back for me this morning. It was a wonderful bike and I loved every bit of it. It just wasn’t our day but we salvaged a top five and made up some points from our Alabama miscues.” Teammate Geoff May ran as high as fourth before accepting seventh in the end. That was a solid result, especially considering Geoff was only one week removed from his high-speed crash in Alabama. Even so, May was left wanting more. “In the Supersport race, I just couldn’t ride like I wanted in the beginning,” the Georgian said. “We missed the set-up a little. The bike was set up more for the end of the race and I did my fastest lap on the last lap. If it was a little longer, things might have been a little different. We learned some stuff, but we just missed a little bit. The field is so tough. I let them get away and didn’t have enough time to make it all up in the end.” Young Californian Michael Beck was caught up in a multi-rider crash that brought out one of the three red flags. He returned to charge up the field, moving from 22nd to 13th at one point but ultimately registered a DNF. May also impressed in the Superstock race, running in first place for the race’s opening four laps. While he was unable to hold down the top spot to the race’s conclusion, he took a top-five result, claiming fifth in the end. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will be back in action in three weeks time as the AMA series travels upstate to Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on May 18-20. More, from a press release issued by Honda: HONDA RACING INFORMATION Results AMA California Speedway Climate: Sunny Temperature: 33 degrees Duhamel Third in the Championship American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel maintained his third place in the AMA Superbike Championship despite a frustrating weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Duhamel and teammate Jake Zemke swapped finishing positions from Saturday to Sunday. Duhamel was fifth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday, Zemke was just the opposite. Both made improvements from one day to the next, but each had their own difficulties. Heat played into Duhamel’s fifth place on Saturday. The surface of the track east of Los Angeles heated up considerably, with temperatures rising to 50 degrees. That somewhat negated much of the work the team had done throughout practice and qualifying. On Sunday he was balked by another rider at the start, then repeatedly struck bad luck with lapped riders in his pursuit of fourth place. Zemke raced Duhamel and Tommy Hayden, the brother of Repsol Honda’s world champion Nicky Hayden, on Sunday, getting the better of him and carding his better finish. The trio battled hard throughout, Hayden getting the better of the two Honda riders at the end, but only by tenths of a second. After five of 18 races, Duhamel has 141 points to 173 for Suzuki’s Ben Spies, and 164 for his teammate Mat Mladin. Spies won Saturday’s race from Mladin, with Mladin turning the cards on Spies on Sunday. Miguel Duhamel, 5th Place, 6th Place Saturday The bike was wonderful during qualifying, the last qualifier. It should have been on the front row and I was really disappointed with that. But I was so confident in the race. The track went from 30C to 50C. The bike was totally different, totally different. I tried as hard as I could. It was pretty much a handful. The bike was just not giving me the same feedback. It was like riding a different bike. So I tried to hang in there as long as I could. It wasn’t too bad. Unfortunately we got fifth. Eric (Bostrom) came by, tried to stick with Eric. And then Tommy (Hayden) came by, tried to stick with him and I did. Tried to reel him in at the end, but he got a second wind. Couldn’t catch him. Hopefully this won’t be a turning point for the championship later on in the season. Sunday Everybody else rode good. Tommy (Hayden) and Jake (Zemke) were right there. With about five, six laps to go I really put a big effort in; I think got back into the 24’s and got right on them. And I said, OK, I just got to lead that last lap. And I was thinking maybe a two for one, maybe Jake’s going to try something and I’m going to try to get these both guys. Jake couldn’t get quite back up to Tommy, so then I got on Jake and I was going to try to make a move and try to get Tommy and lapped riders came in. The bike is good. it’s extremely frustrating, because I felt I could have done a little bit better, not win, but get a lot closer to the top five or the top four. And the team is good, the bike is good, and it’d be a shame to say at the end of the year that we get pretty close but we come up short because I couldn’t get by a lapped rider. Jake Zemke, 6th Place, 5th Place Saturday At the beginning there we were able to make a couple of passes, get up to fourth. As the race wore on, obviously Eric (Bostrom) got quite strong in the race and was able to run consistent laps and that’s what we weren’t able to do and our times dropped off a little bit there. But hopefully we made some improvements on that this morning. We’re going to go try a couple different things. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t horrible. At least we didn’t run into the same problems we had at Barber. It was a little bit of a step forward. Sunday We accomplished one goal; we were consistent over the course of the race, whereas yesterday we fell off pretty bad timewise. We were just a little bit greasy on the side of the tire when we’re in the middle of the corner. I was trying to get a run at Tommy (Hayden) coming to the white flag out of the last corner there and I just lost both ends. Then I got stuck. There’s a seam there and if you get your wheels in the seam you’re all done. And I got into the seam and it pushed again. I still kind of caught back up to him, but I never had an opportunity to make a pass anywhere. It was definitely a lot better than yesterday. The boys made the bike a lot better overnight. They got the bike to turn a little bit better. Like I said, we were consistent over the course of the race more so than yesterday for sure. It was a lot better, but still not the results we’re looking for. Team manager Ron Heben We continue to make a lot of progress. Obviously the competition is making progress itself. Today both Miguel (Duhamel) and Jake (Zemke) made some improvements on their settings from yesterday’s race. And we really felt that we could put both of those guys, or at least one of them, on the box today. Obviously, look at the competition; it’s getting tougher and tougher. We’re going to take what we learned from this race, go to our next test, and then go to Infineon (Raceway) with the intention of going up there and doing good. Race One: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 3. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 4. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 5. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 6. Jake Zemke (Honda) 7. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 8. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 9. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 10. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta) Race Two: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 3. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 4. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 5. Jake Zemke (Honda) 6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 7. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 8. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 9. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 10. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) Championship Standings: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 173 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 173 3. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 141 4. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 130 5. Jake Zemke (Honda) 126 6. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 119 7. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 116 8. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 114 9. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 90 10. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki) 89 More, from a press release issued by Jordan Suzuki: JORDAN SUZUKI RETURNS TO THE PODIUM Holden and Yates Claim 2nd and 3rd at the California Speedway Fontana, CA Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki riders Jake Holden and Aaron Yates returned to the AMA Superstock podium by placing second and third in Sunday’s Superstock race on their 2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000s at the California Speedway in Fontana, CA. Yates and Holden, who started from the front row in second and third places, respectively, stayed in the lead group near their starting positions. “He (Jake) came by me, and he was gone. The kid was on rails,” said Yates about the high speed pass Holden eventually made on him to move into second position. From there, Holden was able to gain momentum with each passing lap and ended the race only 1.924 seconds behind the leader. “Dunlop tires, that’s what happens!” stated Holden. “I gave it all I had – 100%. I am really looking forward to the rest of season. I hope to be up on the podium more!” In last week’s Superstock race at Barber Motorsports Park, Yates captured the Jordan Suzuki team’s first-ever victory, with Holden finishing in second place. Shortly after their AMA Superstock podium finishes, Yates and Holden mounted their Suzuki’s to race in the AMA Superbike event. Yates started the race from the second row and ended the event in 9th place, earning valuable points in the series championship. Holden’s race ended on the 6th lap giving the young racer a 21st place finish. AMA Superstock Points: Aaron Yates, 2nd place (94) Jakes Holden, 9th place (64) AMA Superbike Points: Aaron Yates, 6th place (119) Jakes Holden, 16th place (57) The Jordan Suzuki riders and crew will return to racing action May 18-20, 2007 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. For more information on the team, visit the race team website at www.23RACE.com. Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry. More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Kawasaki: Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Hacking Earns First Win in Supersport Hayden Back on the Podium FONTANA, Calif. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking put in an exciting ride aboard his Kawasaki Ninja ZX™-6R to take the AMA Supersport win on Sunday at California Speedway, while his teammate Roger Hayden rounded out the podium with a third-finish place. Hacking, who started on the second row, battled the entire race, and with two laps to go, made his move to the front, crossing the finish line with his first AMA Supersport win of the season. ‘It feels good to be back on the podium,” said Hacking. “Not only back on the podium, but its great being up there after switching over to a new bike and working with a new team. It just shows you how well we really put our heads together and find stuff that I like. Hopefully we can continue with our success this weekend and move onto the next round and enjoy the same results.” With his win on Sunday, Hacking moved from 11th to sixth in the point standings. Hayden showed impressive riding during the AMA Supersport race and didn’t let the three red flags influence his riding. Although lappers became an issue, he rode strong and brought his Kawasaki Ninja ZX™-6R to finish in third place. “I’m happy to be back on the podium,” said Hayden. “I made a mistake with a lapper and that kind of hurt a little bit. But it was a good race. I was able to get some points and hang in there. The bike worked great and I think things will go great next race.” Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp put in a notable ride, staying close with the front runners for much of the race. After qualifying 11th, he used the restarts to his advantage to eventually finish behind Hayden in fourth. “In a 600cc race, it’s not really good to start in the third row,” said Rapp. “So I was surprised at my second restart, which put me up on the front row for the last restart. That was one of the hardest races I have ridden and I was happy everything was working the way it did.” After the third restart, Rapp’s teammate Ben Attard pulled into the pits with a problem that was unable to be repaired. In the second AMA Superbike race of the weekend, Hacking and Hayden finished seventh and eighth, respectively. The two riders battled back and forth for a majority of the race and showed much improvement on their Kawasaki Ninja ZX™-10R. “It was definitely better,” said Hayden. “We made a lot of changes to the machine and it was nice making some steps in the right direction. It’s always better to go forward and we’ll take it one step at a time.” The next round of the AMA Superbike Championship is set for May 18-20 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. AMA Superbike Championship California Speedway Fontana, Calif. April 29, 2007 AMA Supersport Results 1. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 2. Joshua Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Honda 3. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 4. STEVE RAPP, MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI 5. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki 6. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki 7. Geoff May, Gainsville, Ga., Suzuki 8. Danny Eslick, Broken Arrow, Okla., Suzuki 9. Chaz Davies, Nyack, N.Y., Yamaha 10. Cory West, Eureka Springs, Ariz., Yamaha AMA Supersport Standings 1. Joshua Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Honda, 96 2. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 92 3. STEVE RAPP, MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI, 80 4. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki, 79 5. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki, 72 6. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 70 7. Cory West, Eureka Springs, Ariz., Yamaha, 65 8. Blake Young, Madison, Wis., Suzuki, 59 9. Josh Herrin, Dublin, Ga, Yamaha, 52 10. BEN ATTARD, MURIETTA, CALIF., ATTACK KAWASAKI, 49 AMA Superbike Results 1. Mathew Mladin, Henderson, Nev., Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Longview, Texas, Suzuki 3. Eric Bostrom, Las Vegas, Nev., Yamaha 4. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki 5. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda 6. Miguel Duhamel, Las Vegas, Nev., Honda 7. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 8. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI 9. Aaron Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Suzuki 10. Jason Disalvo, Stafford, N.Y., Yamaha AMA Superbike Standings 1. Ben Spies, Longview, Texas, Suzuki, 173 2. Mathew Mladin, Henderson, Nev., Suzuki, 164 3. Miguel Duhamel, Las Vegas, Nev., Honda, 141 4. Tommy Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki, 130 5. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 126 6. Aaron Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Suzuki, 119 7. Eric Bostrom, Las Vegas, Nev., Yamaha, 116 8. Jason Disalvo, Stafford, N.Y., Yamaha, 114 9. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 90 10. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY KAWASAKI, 89 More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Pirelli’s Rapp Third in Supersport Points After Round Three of the AMA Superbike Series Rome, Georgia: In the final day of round three of the AMA Superbike series, at Fontana’s California Speedway, Pirelli riders took four of the top-ten places in the Supersport race, with Steve Rapp leading the way in fourth on his Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R. Michael Barnes grabbed fifth for the M4 EMGO Suzuki team, with his teammate, Geoff May, finishing seventh, and Cory West taking tenth on his Team Hunter Yamaha YZF-R6, each using Pirelli’s Diablo Supercorsa Dot race tires. Rapp is now third in points while Barnes is fifth and West seventh with Ben Attard rounding out the top ten in tenth. In the AMA Superstock final at California Speedway, Geoff May finished fifth on his GSX-R1000, shod with Pirelli Diablo Superbike Slicks. In seventh was Martin Cardenas on his Kawasaki ZX-10R, while Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Robertino Pietri took tenth and his teammate, Chris Ulrich, finished 12th. Ulrich had been running in the top 6 but was assessed with a ride-through penalty during the race for cutting the course, even though he had lost two positions and several seconds during his off-track excursion, after getting into the turn too hot. After three rounds May is fourth in Superstock points, Ulrich is seventh, and Cardenas is tenth, despite not finishing the opening round at Daytona, while Pietri is 12th, despite being unable to compete at Daytona, due to international travel restrictions prior to the event from his home country of Venezuela, from which he won the 2006 Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike championships. More, from a press release issued by Corona Extra Honda Racing: ELLISON TWELFTH IN SECOND CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY SUPERBIKE DOUBLEHEADER Corona Extra Honda Racing SuperBike pilot James Ellison suffered an attack of electronic gremlins in race one but overcame the little devils in race two to finish twelfth at this weekends SuperBike double header at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. The second race result was more impressive considering his CBR1000RR SuperBike would not rev near to redline! James was not too happy with his qualifying position of sixteenth. He said; “I aggravated an old injury on my left arm last week at Barber. It’s making rapid transitions from side to side hard and I’m definitely losing some time. Having the two races back to back has made it hard to work on it this week. I will just have to tough it out!” Under warm, sunny classic California skies, James got a great start in race one and was up to twelfth by the end of lap one. He worked his way up to eleventh by lap eight and was well in touch with the pack ahead when a mysterious misfire set in on his engine. Within a lap it got so bad that James was forced to retire. He said: “It was strange, the bike started feeling like it was hitting the rev limiter. As I went on the rev limit got lower and lower. I’m bummed because I was up with the pack and could see a bunch of guys to pass!” The crew changed all the electronics on the bike as well as all the fuel injection components before race two as no one component seemed to be the culprit. James started the race thinking the problem had been solved but soon after the start it reappeared. James had made a good start and was up to thirteenth position by lap two. He lost positions as the problem manifested itself more. Luckily it did not seem the get worse so James rode around the problem as best he could. “I just short-shifted everywhere and ran the race not using the top three thousand revs” James said afterwards. His persistence paid off as riders ahead dropped out or crashed. By the end of the race he had picked up three positions to finish twelfth. Ellison is currently eleventh in the SuperBike Championship points order. “RACING TO THE LIME” For more information please visit us online at www.corona-racing.com or call 310 521 9802 Corona Extra Honda Next Race: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma CA. May 18-20. More, from a press release issued by Pegram Racing: Pegram Takes Third at California Speedway U.S. Ducati Team Celebrates First Podium of the Season in Formula Xtreme Class Fontana, CA Larry Pegram of the Pegram Racing Leo Vince Ducati Team took third place in the Formula Xtreme class at the California Speedway. Pegram started off the weekend with the fastest practice session on Friday (1:27.751). However, qualifying did not go as smoothly as he was 7th fastest at the end of the qualifying session with a 1:27.437, putting him on the second row at the start. Second practice finished with Larry in 7th at 1:27.639. “It feels great to be back on the podium again after close to four years. The bike ran strong in the first practice, but then in the qualifier and second practice I wasn’t feeling as good. By race time I was ready to fight for the podium,” commented Larry. “The last few years I have been working my way back from hip surgery for an old injury which was limiting my range of motion and ability to ride competitively. This is the first year that I feel 100% in a long time. “I am really proud of my team, we got a little bit of a late start on the season which required us to play catch up, but we are right where we need to be with a podium in the third race. Our sponsors have been great and I want to thank Ducati for giving me the opportunity to race their bikes again. I also want to thank the Ducati fans for their overwhelming support.” Pegram fought hard for the third place finish working his way up from a sixth place start. His toughest competitor was Chaz Davies of Celtic Racing. Larry and Chaz passed each other four, or five times on the final lap with Larry finishing ahead of Chaz at the finish line. About Pegram Racing Leo Vince Ducati Hebron, Ohio-based Pegram Racing Ducati is a professional superbike race team competing in the AMA Superbike Championship. The team is owned and managed by Larry Pegram, a third-generation motorcycle racer. The team competes in the Formula Xtreme class on a modified Ducati 749. Additional information about the team can be found on their web site at www.pegramracing.com. More, from a press release issued by HALOF Racing: HALOF Racing rider Scott Jensen #61 Superstock 8th place finish After a race long battle with Martin Cardenas and Blake Young, HALOF Racing’s Scott Jensen worked hard to capture a 8th place finish, his second of the year. After the first three rounds of the season Jensen is now 7th in the overall points standings. “This is turning out to be a great season on the HALOF Racing’s Genuine Suzuki Accessories Suzuki GSX-R 1000,” an elated Jensen said. “It was a tough race, I was giving it all I had to try and take 7th place from Cardenas and keep Young at bay the whole race. The HALOF Racing crew did a great job this weekend giving me an awesome bike. We may have missed the setup by a little but it wasn’t very far, I went 2 seconds a lap faster then I had ever gone at California Speedway and that’s the closest we have been to the top 5 lap time wise this year. “The weekend started a little rough on Friday morning when I tipped over on the A bike and pretty much ruined it for the weekend. I can’t thank team owner Rodney Rayborne enough for giving me the chance to ride for HALOF Racing this year. I don’t think I have ever had a time when I crashed a race bike and had a B bike ready to ride the next day. I’m really excited for the rest of the season, I feel that we are on the right track with the all new 2007 Suzuki GSX-R 1000 and with the all new Pirelli tires.” Superbike race 1 13th place, race 2 14th place Exciting, difficult, and a little heartbreaking all describe the 2 Superbike races this weekend in Fontana California, for the HALOF Racing team. To say the Superbike field is tough this year is an understatement, and finishing towards the top ten is a huge accomplishment. During Saturday’s race it was a battle for any position from 10th to 15th. As time wound down it was left between Martin Cardenas and Scott Jensen to fight for 12th right behind factory Kawasaki Jamie Hacking, and factory MV rider Matt Lynn. “We had good speed and a good setup but just couldn’t get it done today,” said Jensen. “It’s good to know that the HALOF Racing JQ Moto Suzuki GSX-R 1000 Superbike can run with the well funded factory bikes. Hopefully with more time on the bike we will pop into the top ten in the next few rounds.” Sunday’s race didn’t lack any excitement. With the hopes of a top ten finish Scott Jensen rode his HALOF Racing, JQ Moto, Pirelli shod GSX-R1000 to a very strong 14th place. Again running within the factory teams this group of 5 riders made it the greatest battle of the final Superbike round of the weekend. The hopes of a top ten were dashed with only a few laps left when his Suzuki started having drive troubles. “I’m not really sure what happened yet it just wouldn’t drive off the corners,” said a dejected Jensen. “The bike was good and the team did a great job all weekend. We worked to get some good points and have some good races. We are 7th in Superstock Championship points, and 12th in Superbike Championship points, so I hope to keep riding the Superbike all year.” “This was a great weekend, an absolute blast with great finishes,” said Rayborne, who also serves as crew chief. “Again Scott did a great job in all three races. We had a slight issue with the rear sprocket during the second Superbike race and we will figure out the cause. Vortex makes the best sprockets you can run in this series so we will have to find out what happen and what went wrong. I would like to thank the whole HALOF Racing crew for all their hard work this weekend. When you have two crashes and can still make all three races it’s a testament to how good your team is. “I would like to thank one of our sponsors, So Cal Track Days, for helping with the hospitality set up all weekend. Micky and his crew worked hard to keep all our sponsors and friends comfortable for the weekend. Hope to see everyone in Sonoma in a few weeks at Infineon Raceway where we hope to bring home some more great finishes.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America: DUCATI NORTH AMERICA CONGRATULATES LARRY PEGRAM Cupertino, Calif. Ducati North America congratulates Larry Pegram and the entire crew at Pegram Racing for their third place finish in round three of the AMA Lockhart Phillips Formula Xtreme Series, held at California Speedway this past weekend. In what was one of the weekend’s best races, the veteran rider and his Ducati 749R fought their way to a well-earned third place from seventh spot on the grid in Saturday’s race. Pegram was involved in an exciting last lap dogfight and came out on top, which put him on the podium for the first time in four years. As a privateer team up against factory machinery, Larry, his family and his team members have been fighting against the odds with very tight resources, making the podium that much sweeter. He was joined on the podium by his wife and daughter, who shared in the excitement. When asked about the race, Larry said: “I am really proud of my team – we got a little bit of a late start on the season which required us to play catch up, but we are right where we need to be with a podium in the third race. Our sponsors have been great and I want to thank everyone who is onboard with us for giving me the opportunity to race to the top again. I also want to thank the Ducati fans and Ducati club members for their overwhelming support this season.” The next race will be held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California on May 19-20. More, from a press release issued by DMD Racing: DMD Racing Delivers Results with Their PROJECT 848 at California Speedway. Fontana, CA California Speedway DMD Racing completes their first event for this season in Formula Xtreme with Jimmy Moore and Darren Murrey, finishing 13th and 18th on Saturday. By Brandon Bones, Studio 819 Fontana, CA – As the team arrived on their first of 4 races in the AMA circuit and shod in their new race livery, DMD Racing surprised both fans and racers alike with its stunning looks and their focus on development. Atop the privateer powered Project 848 bikes both Jimmy Moore and Darren Murrey qualified for the AMA FX race in 22rd and 29th position only to move up significantly during the race. Moore pushed himself and the 848 in the race capturing 13th place overall, even after an incident on the first lap exiting turn three, which saw Moore taking some damage to his body work and front wheel while losing positions to save a near crash. Moore, enthusiastic after the race, was all smiles, “This bike is a blast to ride!” says Moore, “We have seen improvement during every session on the track and I know there is more to come.” With the next round in 3 weeks at Infinion, the team is hoping to follow suit with this initial success and get more racing and testing in back home during the next WMRRA round, May 5th and 6th. According to Murrey, “Infinion is a totally different track compared to California Speedway, with the elevation changes, a variety of technical turns, and very little straights so we’re expecting the bikes to perform very well there. We are now out of the project stage and into race development in order to fine tune the process for showing up to any race track and finding more speed. This was just the beginning for us!” Fans also got a special treat in the Ducati hospitality tent as the DMD Racing team brought over Jimmy Moore’s Project 848 bike for people to get up close and personal with the new look. This coincided with the launch of the Ducati Superbike Concorso, more information about the Concorso can be found at www.ducatisuperbikeconcorso.com. DMD Racing would like to congratulate Larry Pegram and his team for their very exciting and impressive 3rd place finish in Formula Xtreme! DMD Racing is a Pacific Northwest motorcycle road racing team founded in 2005 and participating in WMRRA regional racing and AMA national superbike racing. The team’s commitment to winning and their passion for the sport have made DMD Racing a formidable competitor at any racetrack. Teamwork is at the heart of winning championships and DMD Racing has assembled a team of talented individuals with a common goal of victory. Ducati is the machine of choice with the support and active participation of Ducati Bellevue, Washington. Ducati Bellevue, WA is not your traditional motorcycle shop. We are a group of active enthusiasts dedicated to performance and customer care. Ducati Bellevue, also know as Eastside MotoSports carries a broad line of Ducati, Yamaha, and Suzuki motorcycles, as well as our large selection of accessories. We also have a Service Department that is second to none in the Northwest. “Performance is our passion” and we take that message to the racetrack! More, from a press release issued by Rockwall Honda: ANDREWS AND ELLEBY FIGHT THROUGH DIFFICULT FONTANA WEEKEND The Rockwall Honda team had a disappointing race weekend during the California Speedway AMA event. With Ryan Elleby third in AMA Formula Xtreme points and his teammate Ryan Andrews finishing fifth in the previous race at Barber Motorsports Park, the team had high expectations entering the races. Unfortunately, neither rider finished the 17-lap Formula Xtreme final on Saturday. In Supersport, Andrews finished 16th in a race that saw three red flags and four starts. Elleby was just behind in 18th as both riders finished the Sunday race filled with multiple crashes and a several hour delay. Andrews is now 11th in Supersport points after three races. “It was a frustrating weekend for sure,” said Andrews, a Texas native who finished fifth in 2006 Formula Xtreme points. “The Formula Xtreme race went bad and we would have liked to have finished better in Supersport. The Formula Xtreme bike is a lot like last year’s bike so I feel more comfortable on that one at this stage of the season. It’s important to us to get up there on both bikes.” “Fontana isn’t my favorite track,” said Elleby, from Powder Springs, Georgia. “We had some bad luck this time out but we’ve still had some positive momentum this season. I’m looking forward to testing and then going hard at Infineon in a few weeks.” Despite his DNF, Ryan is still ninth in Formula Xtreme points. “This was probably the toughest weekend we’ve had since we’ve been in racing,” said team owner Mike Worrell. “We had high expectations coming in but things didn’t go our way this time. It wasn’t from a lack of trying and the crew worked hard with getting the bikes ready on a short week. Then we had all the re-starts in Supersport so that was a challenge for everyone. I think our young riders learned a lot here at Fontana.” “We are testing at Buttonwillow on Monday and Tuesday,” continued Worrell. “The team is still developing our Honda CBR600RR Formula Xtreme bikes, so some track time will help us out. Rockwall Honda raced these bikes for the first time at Barber so it will be good to take what we’ve learned from these two races and try some things in testing. With Supersport, we’re looking to find some more speed to get both riders a little higher in the standings.” Rockwall Honda will next race at Infineon Raceway May 18-20. More, from a press release issued by Safety First Racing: Safety First Suzuki Fontana News and Notes Safety First Suzuki Team Owner Kevin Hanson reflected on the recently completed Round Three of the AMA Superbike Series at California Speedway in Fontana by stating “The weekend at Fontana went well. The guys progressed every session and we ended the weekend up on high notes for both with them turning very competitive times during the Supersport race. The guys were able to give us some good feedback to keep moving ahead in regards to dialing in their set-up. Looking forward, we have an upcoming test session at Blackhawk Farms right before we leave for Infineon which will definitely help both riders. Its one of Scotty’s home tracks, so he’ll have a good mileage base to gauge set up changes on.” Bobby Fong: Results: 11th- FX, 19th- Supersport “I had a great weekend, it was nice to race at a place we were able to test at. We knocked off several seconds from our testing time when we there over a month ago. Michelin really gave both Scotty and I an awesome tire for the Supersport race. Owen (Weichel, Safety First Riding coach and 2000 Canadian Superbike champion) was on hand to really help both Scotty and I with some lines and gearing and we both kept getting faster during each session.” Fong is 7th overall in Formula Xtreme and 22nd overall in Supersport series points. Scott Ryan: Results: 17th – FX, 22nd- Supersport “I was very happy with that Michelin rear tire we had in the last (Supersport) race. I had my best times for the weekend during the Supersport race as a result of that tire. I wish we had our final set up from the onset, I would have had some good times early on in practice. Ron Wood from Michelin really took care of both of us this weekend. The Safety First guys also worked extra hard to get my bike ready for the Supersport race, so I definitely need to thank them too.” Ryan is sitting in 27th place overall for Formula Xtreme and is in 35th place on the Supersport table. During the race week, Hanson gave two Helmet Safety Presentations on Wednesday, April 25th, to a captive audience of 600 Grade 1-5 students at Oak Park Elementary School in Fontana. The team also hosted the editor in chief of “Advanced Healing” magazine for an upcoming article that the professional health services directed magazine is doing on Team Doctor and Operations Manager for the team, Dr. David Eric Boll, in regards to his care and rehabilitation for not only the Safety First riders and crew, but numerous other riders and support personnel in the AMA paddock. More, from a press release issued by Millennium/KWS Suzuki: Millennium/KWS Suzuki compete without injured John Haner at Fontana Fontana, CA April 2007 — Millennium/KWS Suzuki sponsored by Ron Ayers Motorsports rider John Haner was injured during Friday morning AMA Superbike practice at California Speedway and was unable to ride the rest of the weekend. Haner was entering the turn eight section of the track when he was violently highsided landing in turn nine where he was then struck by his own motorcycle. Haner suffered a broken right foot and severe swelling and bruising of his back, ankle, and right shoulder. Haner was transported to a local hospital and was released early Friday evening. He will be seeing a specialist the beginning of this week and a decision will be made by Haner and the team if he can ride at Infineon Raceway in three weeks time. Due to Haner’s unfortunate injuries, teammate David Weber was tasked with carrying the Millennium/KWS Suzuki flag alone. This was Weber’s first visit to Fontana and he progressed steadily all weekend. Weber went faster every time he went out on track ultimately qualifying in the thirteenth position in Superstock with a time of 1:28.107. In Superbike Weber improved his time to 1: 27.784 to qualify in the twenty-third position on his Dunlop shod Suzuki GSX-R1000. The attrition filled Superbike Race One was a challenge for all involved as several teams suffered crashes and mechanical failures. Weber rode a smart, drama free race to finish in a Superbike season best fourteenth position. In the Superstock race Weber was able to continue his string of strong results by netting a thirteenth place finish. The last race of the weekend was Superbike Race Two which saw Weber turn his fastest lap of the weekend of 1: 27.699 and finish in the sixteenth position. Although Weber and the team are convinced that top ten results are right around the corner, Weber’s consistent, incident free races has elevated the young rider to thirteenth in Superbike points and fifteenth in Superstock points. John Haner “The bike is very fast and we are developing a competitive set-up with Penske despite our late start with the 2007 GSX-R1000. We had a lot of confidence going into this weekend but crashing is a part of racing and sometimes when you crash you get hurt. I am seeing a specialist at the beginning of the week and we will make a decision soon as possible as to whether I can ride at Infineon Raceway. I really want to thank the team and the sponsors for all their hard work, especially Tim Calhoun from LeoVince for coming out this weekend and supporting us.” David Weber “I had a really good weekend. I wish we had more time to learn the nuances of the track, but we made great progress and I am happy with the results. I want to thank the team and my mechanics Rick Matheny and Matt Hill for all their hard work this weekend. I also want to wish Haner a speedy recovery. He has been a huge help in getting me up speed at some of these tracks I have never been to. Get well soon John!” Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) “The team did a great job this weekend and we are very fortunate that Haner was not hurt more. He suffered a very violent crash and thanks to his Komodo gear he was not seriously injured. David did a wonderful job at a track he has never been to and I am thrilled with his points standing in Superbike.” For Information: http://www.kwsracing.com
