Suzuki Castrol Win Albacete 8H Yamahas Second and Third The Albacete 8 Horas Nocturnas round of the FIM World Endurance Championship has been won by the Suzuki Castrol GSX-R1000 of Vincent Philippe and Keiichi Kitagawa. Second place went to Spanish team Yamaha Folch Endurance, and third to Yamaha Austria. The first hour saw a battle for honour between championship leaders Suzuki Castrol and local heroes Folch Endurance, as Vincent Philippe and Folch rider Daniel Ribalta swapped the lead repeatedly. Yamaha Austria’s Gwen Giabbani settled into a comfortable third place, while Kawasaki Bolliger and Yamaha Phase One Endurance fought for fourth. The first round of pit stops allowed Suzuki Castrol to break away and build up a lead over the rest of the field, a lead which they extended hour by hour through the race. Folch Endurance and Yamaha Austria continued to trade places for the next four or five hours, with no real advantage emerging. A similar fight was developing further down the field, as Kawasaki Diablo, Shell Endurance Academy, Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se and the Sapeurs Pompiers team chased sixth place. Fagersjo-el succumbed to an electrical fault which led to their retirement after a long push-in for Paul Young. The other continued trading places until the closing minutes of the race, with Sapeurs Pompiers finishing sixth, Shell Endurance Academy seventh and Diablo eighth. Yamaha Phase One seemed set for a sure fourth place until the final hour when suspected engine problems brought them into the pits for a diagnostic check and then in again to cool the bike, allowing Bolliger Kawasaki through to take fourth. Suzuki No Limits & RT Motor Team finished in ninth place, just ahead of fellow Italians Suzuki Fabi Corse. The win for Suzuki Castrol has allowed them to stretch out a 19 point advantage in the championship standings. The next round of the championship is the Suzuka 8 hours on July 31st. Press Conference Quotes: Vincent Philippe Suzuki Castrol 1st Place: “In the first relay it was quite difficult to go past Folch Endurance, and I was thinking of the championship and not just this one race. This is a very good result for us in the championship.” Keiichi Kitagawa Suzuki Castrol 1st Place: “We must do something special for the Suzuka 8 Hour race, because the level of competition there is very high. We hope to get a special engine from the Suzuki factory, and I will be competing in the Suzuka 300km race next month with Vincent Philippe for preparation.” Daniel Ribalta Yamaha Folch 2nd Place “We had competed in the Spanish championship here two weeks ago, so it was easy to get into a fast rythmn at the start fo the race. It was important for us to get a good result here, and not just lead in the first hour.” Thomas Hinterreiter Yamaha Austria 3rd Place: “Right now I feel okay, but in the race it was very difficult. I have an injury in my wrist and in my foot, so it was very hard doing back-to-back relays with Gwen Provisional Top Ten Finishers 1st 2 – Suzuki Castrol Team FRA Suzuki GSX-R1000 Philippe, Kitagawa, 299 laps 2nd 23 Yamaha Folch Endurance SPA Yamaha YZF-R1 Ribalta, Noyes, Cabana, 296 laps 3rd 7 – Yamaha Austria 7 AUT Yamaha YZF-R1 Giabbani, Hinterreiter, 294 laps 4th 8 Kawasaki Bolliger Team SUI Kawasaki ZX10R Kellenberger, Morillon, Mizera, 293 laps 5th 3 Yamaha Phase One Endurance GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 Cudlin, Notman, Nowland, 288 laps 6th 112 Suzuki Sapeurs Pompiers FRA – Suzuki GSX-R1000 Molinier, Pialoux, Grelaud, 287 laps 7th 6 Yamaha Shell Endurance Academy GBR Yamaha YZF-R1 Rohtlaan, Wylie, Hogan, +0:03.2 8th 666 Kawasaki Diablo 666 GBR Kawasaki ZX10R Mizera, Hutchins, Falcke, + 1:01.6 9th 44 No Limits & RT Motor Team ITA – Suzuki GSX-R1000 Ruozi, De Matteis, Giachino, 284 laps 10th 51 Suzuki Fabi Corse ITA Suzuki GSX-R1000 – Monot, Vieira, Lalavee, 282 laps Fastest Lap: Suzuki Castrol Vincent Philippe 1:33.660, 136.028km/h More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Suzuki Castrol has won the Albacete 8 Horas and increased their lead in the five-round world Endurance series to 19 points. GSX-R1000-mounted Vincent Philippe and Keiichi Kitagawa clinched their second win of the year at the night race, which finished at 2am local time in Spain. The SERT team – fastest in practice and qualifying – led from the start and were never seriously challenged during their winning 299 laps, three more than second-placed Yamaha Folch Endurance 23 and six ahead of Yamaha Austria 7 in third place.. Said Philippe: “In the first relay it was quite difficult to get past Folch Endurance and I was thinking of the championship and not just this one race. This is a very good result for us in the championship.” Team mate Kitagawa added: “We must do something special for the next round, Suzuka 8 Hour race, because the level of competition there is very high. We hope to get a special engine from the Suzuki factory and I will be competing in the Suzuka 300km race next month with Vincent Philippe for preparation.” The first hour saw a battle for honour between Suzuki Castrol and local heroes Folch Endurance, as Philippe and Folch rider Daniel Ribalta swapped the lead repeatedly. Yamaha Austria’s Gwen Giabbani settled into a comfortable third place while Kawasaki Bolliger and Yamaha Phase One Endurance fought for fourth position. The first round of pit stops allowed Suzuki Castrol to break away and build up a lead over the rest of the field, a lead which they extended hour by hour through the race. Folch Endurance and Yamaha Austria continued to trade places for the next five hours. A similar fight was developing further down the field, as Kawasaki Diablo, Shell Endurance Academy, Suzuki Fagersjo-el.se and the Sapeurs Pompiers team chased sixth place. Fagersjo-el suffered an electrical fault which led to their retirement after a long push-in for Paul Young. The others continued swapping places until the closing minutes of the race, with Sapeurs Pompiers finishing sixth, Shell Endurance Academy seventh and Diablo eighth. Yamaha Phase One seemed set for a sure fourth place until the final hour when suspected engine problems brought them into the pits for a diagnostic check and then in again to cool the bike down which allowed Bolliger Kawasaki through to take the position. Suzuki No Limits & RT Motor Team finished in ninth place, just ahead of fellow Italians Suzuki Fabi Corse. Results: 1st: Suzuki Castrol Team – FRA – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – Philippe, Kitagawa, 299 laps. 2nd: Yamaha Folch Endurance 23 – SPA – (Yamaha YZF-R1) – Ribalta, Noyes, Cabana, 296 laps. 3rd: Yamaha Austria 7 – AUT – (Yamaha YZF-R1) – Giabbani, Hinterreiter, 294 laps. 4th: Kawasaki Bolliger Team – SUI – (Kawasaki ZX10R) – Kellenberger, Morillon, Mizera, 293 laps. 5th: Yamaha Phase One Endurance – GBR – (Yamaha YZF-R1) – Cudlin, Notman, Nowland, 288 laps. 6th: Suzuki Sapeurs Pompiers – FRA – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – Molinier, Pialoux, Grelaud, 287 laps. 7th: Yamaha Shell Endurance Academy – GBR – (Yamaha YZF-R1) – Rohtlaan, Wylie, Hogan, +0:03.2. 8th: Kawasaki Diablo 666 – GBR – (Kawasaki ZX10R) – Mizera, Hutchins, Falcke, + 1:01.6. 9th: No Limits & RT Motor Team – ITA – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – Ruozi, De Matteis, Giachino, 284 laps. 10th: Suzuki Fabi Corse – ITA – (Suzuki GSX-R1000) – Monot, Vieira, Lalavee, 282 laps. Fastest Lap: Suzuki Castrol – Vincent Philippe – 1:33.660, 136.028km/h. Championship Points (after 2 of 5 rounds): 1 Suzuki Castrol 55, 2 Bolliger Team Switzerland 36, 3 Yamaha Austria Racing Team 30, 4 Diablo 666 Bolliger 26, 5 Yamaha Phase One Endurance 26, 6 Folch Endurance 23 24, 7 Shell Endurance Academy 20, 8 No Limits 44 – Team Marchetti 13, 9 Sapeurs Pompiers 18 12, 10 Team Fagersjo-el.se 10.

Provisional AMA Superbike Qualifying Results: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 54.433 seconds 2. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 54.560 seconds 3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 54.664 seconds 4. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 54.894 seconds 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 54.960 seconds 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 54.089 seconds 7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 55.094 seconds 8. Jake Zemke, Honda, 55.152 seconds 9. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 55.208 seconds 10. Larry Pegram, Honda, 55.302 seconds 11. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 55.614 seconds 12. Mark Ledesma, Honda, 55.896 seconds 13. John Haner, Suzuki, 55.912 seconds 14. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, 55.996 seconds 15. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 56.254 seconds 16. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 56.288 seconds 17. Scott Greenwood, Suzuki, 56.329 seconds 18. Jeremy Toye, Honda, 56.391 seconds 19. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 56.492 seconds 20. Brent George, Suzuki, 56.589 seconds 21. Cory West, Suzuki, 56.645 seconds 22. Shane Turpin, Suzuki, 56.672 seconds 23. Dan Turner, Suzuki, 56.795 seconds 24. Jeff Tigert, Honda, 56.879 seconds 25. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 56.943 seconds 26. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 57.067 seconds 27. Mike Sullivan, Suzuki, 57.179 seconds 28. Heath Small, Yamaha, 57.398 seconds 29. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, 57.425 seconds 30. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, 57.621 seconds 31. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, 57.720 seconds 32. C.R. Gittere, Suzuki, 57.816 seconds 33. Brad Hendry, Yamaha, 57.819 seconds 34. Sean Fey, Suzuki, 58.544 seconds 35. Reno Karimian, Suzuki, 58.555 seconds 36. James Kerker, Honda, 58.642 seconds Qualifying Cut-off: 110% of fast time = 59.876 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Yoshimura Suzuki rider Mat Mladin will start tomorrow’s AMA Superbike round at Pikes Peak International Raceway in pole position. Five-time AMA Champion Mladin recorded a time of 54.433 seconds on his GSX-R1000 at the Fountain, Colorado circuit to head Eric Bostrom by 120ths of a second with Mladin’s team mate Ben Spies third on 54.894. Third Yoshimura rider Aaron Yates posted fifth-quickest time behind Neil Hodgson. More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin: BOSTROM AND HODGSON ON THE FRONT ROW IN COLORADO Fountain, Colorado, May 21: Eric Bostrom and Neil Hodgson will start Sunday’s AMA Superbike race from the front row after an exciting final qualifying session. Bostrom, last year’s race winner on a Ducati 999, will start second after his lap of 54.560. Hodgson, at his first time ever at the track, was fourth despite learning a difficult circuit in just two short sessions, both of which were interrupted by red flags. Neil’s lap time was 54.894, set in the blistering Colorado sun. Eric Bostrom continued his annual Pikes Peak mastery in Saturday’s qualifying session. “I’m happy with the lap that put us in second place on the day. We’re still chasing a few things, but we have the bike a lot easier to ride for 48 laps here,” said Bostrom, five-time winner of Pikes Peak AMA Superbike races. Eric feels the weather will still be the wild card, as the track temperature could be much kinder for the Dunlop tires in Sunday’s race. “Tomorrow will really be the indication. The weather might be a lot cooler, so that could change everything. Racing in the heat just makes everything more vague. It’s the same for everyone, though. The team has worked hard and we’ve really made some progress at the last few races. I’m much more happy with the bike this year than I was last year when I won.” Hodgson showed his mettle when he rallied to set a lap worthy of the front row. Neil had never turned a wheel at Pikes Peak before today and was 11th in morning practice, but the former British and World Superbike champion figured out the fast way to get his powerful Ducati 999 around the tricky PPIR speed bowl. “I was well pleased to be on the front row,” said the Isle of Man resident. “I was hoping not to be on the third row, to be honest. I’m a couple of days away from really being comfortable here, actually, so I’m happy with how things turned out so far. I’ve raced for a lot of years, but there’s no corner like turn one here at the tracks I’ve been.” Team engineer Luca Ferraccioli spoke of the team’s performance in the 95 degree Colorado weather. “We’re very happy with both the riders in qualifying as Eric and Neil are on the front row. Eric is unbelievably fast here but we’re also pleased with Neil, too. He had just 45 minutes on the track this morning and that wasn’t enough to learn the track his first time here. We were a bit worried about his position but he did a very good job in qualifying. Neil is very professional in his approach to racing.” Tomorrow’s 48-lap Superbike race begins at 3:30 PM local time. Qualifying Results: 1. Mladin (Suzuki) 54.433, 2. ERIC BOSTROM (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) 54.560, 3. Spies (Suzuki) 54.664, 4. NEIL HODGSON (PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999) 54.894, 5. Yates (Suzuki) 54.960, 6. DuHamel, (Honda) 55.089

Provisional AMA Superstock Qualifying Results: 1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 54.613 seconds 2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 54.787 seconds 3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 54.834 seconds 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 55.131 seconds 5. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 55.313 seconds 6. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 55.531 seconds 7. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 55.548 seconds 8. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 55.666 seconds 9. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 55.689 seconds 10. John Haner, Suzuki, 55.894 seconds 11. Geoff May, Suzuki, 55.999 seconds 12. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 56.175 seconds 13. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 56.299 seconds 14. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 56.472 seconds 15. Brent George, Suzuki, 56.818 seconds 16. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 56.978 seconds 17. Shane Turpin, Suzuki, 57.071 seconds 18. Akira Tamitsuji, Suzuki, 57.311 seconds 19. Blake Young, Suzuki, 57.662 seconds 20. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 57.707 seconds 21. Reno Karimian, Suzuki, 58.337 seconds 22. Christopher Ancein, Suzuki, 58.381 seconds 23. Sean Fey, Suzuki, 58.654 seconds 24. Johnny Rock Page, Yamaha, 58.793 seconds 25. Premel Glinz, Suzuki, 58.919 seconds 26. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, 59.023 seconds 27. Montez Stewart, Suzuki, 59.070 seconds 28. M. Ivan Garza, Suzuki, 59.390 seconds 29. Brad Puetz, Suzuki, 59.580 seconds 30. Jessica Zalusky, Kawasaki, 62.139 seconds 31. David Littlebrook, Suzuki, 64.518 seconds

Provisional AMA Supersport Qualifying Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 55.609 seconds 2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 55.950 seconds 3. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 56.193 seconds 4. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 56.201 seconds 5. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, 56.268 seconds 6. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 56.398 seconds 7. Geoff May, Suzuki, 56.646 seconds 8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 56.802 seconds 9. Chris Peris, Yamaha, 56.809 seconds 10. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 56.868 seconds 11. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, 57.194 seconds 12. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 57.289 seconds 13. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, 57.517 seconds 14. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, 57.934 seconds 15. Shea Fouchek, Suzuki, 58.364 seconds 16. Blake Young, Suzuki, 58.377 seconds 17. Jimmy Wood, Kawasaki, 58.485 seconds 18. Barrett Long, Yamaha, 58.523 seconds 19. Victor Chirinos, Yamaha, 58.623 seconds 20. Martin Sims, Yamaha, 59.113 seconds 21. Tamer Kekhia, Yamaha, 59.196 seconds 22. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 59.398 seconds 23. Chris Siebenhaar, Honda, 59.504 seconds 24. Johnny Rock Page, Yamaha, 59.587 seconds 25. Justin Filice, Honda, 59.659 seconds 26. Greg Greenwood, Yamaha, 59.736 seconds 27. Chad Rolland, Yamaha, 59.755 seconds 28. Tristan Schoenewald, Honda, 59.782 seconds 29. David Lambert, Kawasaki, 59.804 seconds 30. Dr. Jeffrey Purk, Yamaha, 60.127 seconds 31. Jeremy Haiduk, Yamaha, 60.242 seconds 32. Shannon Moham, Honda, 60.869 seconds 33. Tyler Jones, Kawasaki, 61.052 seconds 34. M. Ivan Garza, Suzuki, 61.144 seconds 35. Eugene Bazyl, Yamaha, 61.223 seconds

A mini-tornado, or microburst, wrecked havoc on pit lane during Friday morning AMA Superbike practice at Pikes Peak International Raceway. The sudden burst of localized high winds (which are common to the area just east of the Rocky Mountains) ripped canopies from their securing weights, and other smaller, unsecured items, and blew them across pit lane and onto the front straightaway, forcing the session to be stopped. Torn canopies and broken canopy frames were seen up and down pit lane, after the windstorm, and several people were hit with flying debris, including Lion Racing Suzuki’s John Haner. “I was standing on pit road, holding onto our canopy, when something blue came into the corner of my eye and hit me hard. It hooked my (right) shoulder and flung me,” said Haner, who was thrown 30 feet by another team’s blowing canopy and frame, according to witnesses. Haner complained of pain in his right shoulder after the incident and went to the infield care center to have it checked out. The preliminary diagnosis, according to Haner, was a strained rotator cuff. Haner rode later in the re-started Superbike session but said his shoulder was hindering him.

Provisional Saturday Morning AMA Superbike Practice Times: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, 55.395 seconds 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki, 55.511 seconds 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 55.711 seconds 4. Jake Zemke, Honda, 55.831 seconds 5. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 55.832 seconds 6. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, 56.071 seconds 7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, 56.121 seconds 8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 56.147 seconds 9. John Haner, Suzuki, 56.157 seconds 10. Larry Pegram, Honda, 56.165 seconds 11. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 56.273 seconds 12. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 56.332 seconds 13. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 56.431 seconds 14. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, 56.541 seconds 15. Mark Ledesma, Honda, 56.603 seconds 16. Shane Turpin, Suzuki, 56.718 seconds 17. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 56.911 seconds 18. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 56.958 seconds 19. Brent George, Suzuki, 57.075 seconds 20. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 57.107 seconds

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Michael Barnes crashed his GSX-R600 in the closing minutes of Saturday morning’s 40-minute practice session at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Barnes highsided coming out of turn three, causing a red flag. Barnes had the wind knocked out of him and was slow to get up but otherwise uninjured. Provisional Saturday Morning AMA Formula Xtreme Practice Times: 1. Jake Zemke, Honda, 55.768 seconds 2. Ben Attard, Kawasaki, 56.371 seconds 3. Chris Peris, Yamaha, 56.640 seconds 4. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 56.792 seconds 5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, 56.828 seconds 6. Alex Gobert, Honda, 56.864 seconds 7. Ty Howard, Yamaha, 57.069 seconds 8. Danny Eslick, Suzuki, 57.135 seconds 9. Ryan Andrews, Ducati, 57.374 seconds 10. Armando Ferrer, Yamaha, 57.602 seconds 11. Robert Jensen, Yamaha, 57.769 seconds 12. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, 57.929 seconds 13. Victor Chirinos, Yamaha, 58.075 seconds 14. Heath Small, Yamaha, 58.247 seconds 15. Ricky Orlando, Kawasaki, 58.278 seconds 16. Shea Fouchek, Suzuki, 58.763 seconds 17. Tim Knutson, Yamaha, 58.917 seconds 18. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha, 59.380 seconds 19. Dave Ebben, Buell, 59.558 seconds 20. Nathan Hester, Yamaha, 59.558 seconds

Saturday Morning’s Provisional AMA Superstock Practice Times: 1. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha, 55.200 seconds 2. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki, 55.334 seconds 3. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, 55.581 seconds 4. Jake Holden, Suzuki, 55.683 seconds 5. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha, 55.801 seconds 6. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, 55.834 seconds 7. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki, 55.854 seconds 8. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha, 55.875 seconds 9. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, 56.059 seconds 10. John Haner, Suzuki, 56.200 seconds 11. Geoff May, Suzuki, 56.291 seconds 12. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha, 56.309 seconds 13. Shane Turpin, Suzuki, 56.529 seconds 14. Eric Wood, Suzuki, 56.537 seconds 15. Lee Acree, Suzuki, 56.613 seconds 16. Brent George, Suzuki, 56.787 seconds 17. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, 56.821 seconds 18. Blake Young, Suzuki, 57.371 seconds 19. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, 57.488 seconds 20. Chris Ancien, Suzuki, 57.762 seconds