From a press release issued by series organizers:

SHANNONVILLE, ON Pascal Picotte put his name in the record books with a victory in the final round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park Sunday.

The victory was the Granby, QC racer’s fifth of the season, tying him with Steve Crevier and Jordan Szoke for the most wins in a Canadian national Superbike season.

Picotte started from pole and led all 14 laps on his Team Yamaha / Picotte Performance Yamaha YZF-R1. Maple Ridge, BC’s Crevier finished second, 0.789 secs. behind on the DXS Diablo Racing Team Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Frank Trombino of Kleinburg, ON placed third riding the Brooklin Cycle Yamaha YZF-R1.

“It’s a perfect weekend. I couldn’t have finished the season any better,” said Picotte, who clinched his second straight Parts Canada Superbike title two weeks ago at Le Circuit Mont-Tremblant. “Everybody may think it’s easy to win these races but it’s tough mentally. I put a lot of pressure on myself.”

Picotte was never seriously challenged by Crevier and led by as many as five seconds in the middle of the race. Crevier and Trombino battled for the runner-up spot before Trombino suffered a big slide on lap 9 and lost ground to the six-time Canadian Superbike champion.

“Pascal checked out pretty quickly,” said Crevier, who was racing with a broken ankle suffered last week. “I tried really hard to make up ground but it seemed the harder I tried the more mistakes I made.”

Brantford, ON’s Szoke placed fourth on the Honda Canada / Fast Company Honda CBR1000RR after a fierce last lap battle with the Coors Light Racing / Blackfoot Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Calgary’s Clint McBain. McBain settled for fifth.

Szoke clinched second in the Parts Canada Superbike standings.

In other action at Shannonville, Levis, QC’s Dominic Lavoie won a dramatic battle for the International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW Amateur 600 Sport Bike title with a second place finish in the season finale. The rider of the Kawasaki ZX-6RR edged North Vancouver’s Darren James for the crown by three points, 203-200. James was seventh on a Yamaha YZF-R6.

The race was won by Richmond Hill, ON racer Thomas Macsanszky on another Yamaha.

Picotte also won the Hindle Exhaust Pro 600 Sport Bike Championship round at Shannonville on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Picotte, who had already clinched that season title as well led every lap and finished 4.771 secs. ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Trombino. Crevier placed third on his Suzuki GSX-R600.

Wellesley, ON’s Bill Card claimed the HJC Pro Rookie of the Year Award after a 14th place finish in the Pro 600 Sport Bike race on his Honda CBR600RR.

Paul Fournier of the Team Yamaha / Picotte Performance squad was named Inside Motorcycles Tuner of the Year for the second straight season.

This weekend’s event will be televised on TSN on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and on Quebec’s RDS on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2:30 p.m. Action from Shannonville will also air later this fall on Toronto1 and A-Channel stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton.

For more series information, visit www.cdnsuperbike.com


Results of Sunday’s eighth and final round of the Parts Canada Superbike Championship at Shannonville Motorsport Park, showing finishing position, rider name, hometown, type of motorcycle and laps completed:

1.Pascal Picotte, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 14; 2. Steve Crevier, Maple Ridge, BC, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 14; 3. Frank Trombino, Kleinburg, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 14; 4. Jordan Szoke, Brantford, ON, Honda CBR1000RR, 14; 5. Clint McBain, Calgary, AB, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 14; 7. Kevin Lacombe, Granby, QC, Yamaha YZF-R1, 14; 7. Francis Martin, Rock Forest, QC, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 14; 8. Jean-Francois Cyr, St-Lin Laurentides, QC, Honda CBR1000RR, 14; 9. Michael Taylor, Toronto, ON, Ducati 999S, 14; 10. Matthew McBride, Mississauga, ON, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 14; 11. Stuart Nodell, Ajax, ON, Kawasaki ZX-6R, 14; 12. Andrew Nelson, Kars, ON, Honda CBR1000RR, 14; 13. Hugo Brisson, St-Sauveur, QC, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 14; 14. Dave Young, Woodstock, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 14; 15. Bill Card, Wellesley, ON, Honda CBR600RR, 14; 16. Larry Orde, Peterborough, ON, Yamaha YZF-R1, 14; 17. Brent Strong, Mississauga, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 14; 18. Yannick Morin, Repentigny, QC, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 13; 19. Elie Daccache, Ottawa, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 13; DNF.Dean Plater, Ottawa, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6, 11; DNF. Jeff Williams, Harrowsmith, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 5; DNS. Zenon Nelson, Bowmanville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600; DNS. Derek Vammus, Orangeville, ON, Suzuki GSX-R600; DNS. Michael Leon, Beaconsfield, QC, Suzuki GSX-R600; DNS. Barry French, Brampton, ON, Yamaha YZF-R6; DNS. Paul Penzo, Toronto, ON, Suzuki GSX-R1000, No Time

Time of Race: 26:48
Margin of Victory: 0.789 secs.
Fastest Lap: Pascal Picotte, 1:44.173 on lap 2

Final Parts Canada Superbike Championship point standings showing finishing position, rider name and point total:

1. Pascal Picotte, 384; 2. Jordan Szoke, 298; 3. Kevin Lacombe, 276; 4. Clint McBain, 241; 5. Steve Crevier, 216; 6. Frank Trombino, 214; 7. Francis Martin, 190; 8. Andrew Nelson, 180; 9. Craig Connell, 163; 10. Matthew McBride, 156; 11. Jeff Williams, 139; 12. Bill Card, 89; 13. Stuart Nodell, 68; 14. Chris Peris, 56; 15. Dave Young, 55; 16. Matt Binns, 53; 16. Hugo Brisson, 53; 18. Yannick Morin, 46; 19. Jean-Francois Cyr, 44; 20. Larry Orde, 28; 21. Peter Holzinger, 25; 22. Zenon Nelson, 23; 23. Michael Taylor, 21; 24. Brian Nielsen, 21; 24. Brent Strong, 21; 26. Michael Leon, 18; 26. Chris Murray-Audain, 18; 28. Darryn Wilbur, 14; 29. Tim Easton, 13; 29. Jeremy Burgess, 13; 29. Yanick Beauregard, 13; 32. Barry French, 12; 32. Fred Silver, 8; 34. Sebastien Michel, 7; 35. Corey Sherman, 6; 35. Philip Onisto, 6; 37. Elie Daccache, 5; 38. Mike Zottmann, 4; 38. Terry Steeves, 4; 38. Dan Henri, 4; 41. Andrew Murray, 2; 41. Jim Proulx, 2; 43. Bruce McDonald, 1; 43. Terry MacPhee, 1

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Supersport Race Results:

1. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, 16 laps, 34:14.542
2. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600RR, -0.157 second
3. Andrew Pitt, Yamaha YZF-R6, -6.004 seconds
4. Broc Parkes, Honda CBR600RR, -7.499 seconds
5. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, -7.822 seconds
6. Jam Hanson, Honda CBR600RR
7. Max Neukirchner, Honda CBR600RR
8. Arie Vos, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
9. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6
10. Barry Veneman, Suzuki GSX-R600
11. Kai Borre Andersen Kai, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
12. Stefano Cruciani, Kawasaki ZX-6RR
13. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600
14. Matthieu Lagrive, Suzuki GSX-R600
15. Matteo Baiocco, Yamaha YZF-R6
16. Iain MacPherson, Ducati 749R
17. Denis Sacchetti, Honda CBR600RR
18. Roman Stamm, Suzuki GSX-R600
19. Sebastien Le Grelle, Honda CBR600RR, -1 lap
20. Lorenzo Lanzi, Ducati 749R, -2 laps
21. Kevin Curtain, Yamaha YZF-R6, -1 lap, DNF
22. Fabien Foret, Yamaha YZF-R6, -5 laps, DNF

26. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, -10 laps, DNF

Fastest Lap: Andrew Pitt, 2:07.430


More, from a press release issued by Ten Kate Honda:

Assen: Muggeridge Takes Fifth Win

Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) romped to his fifth win of the season at Assen, his Ten Kate Team’s home circuit. With over 400 guests in tow this weekend, it was a special result for all concerned, and the 25 points gained for Muggeridge’s win extends his championship lead still further, to a massive 38 points, with only two rounds remaining.

Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) did not find his machine set-up a perfect match for the exceptionally hot track conditions, but fought all the way to a fourth place finish, keeping him third in the overall championship fight.

After his fifth win and his sixth podium finish in a row, Muggeridge stated, “There were a lot of guest of the team here this weekend, which added a little something to it all. I was happy just to win the race and make my team happy. Maybe I’ll get a job for next year! I’m going to keep pushing until the end, even though our points position is pretty good now. Charpentier is always there now but on the day we’ll see who can win the next races. Today Sebastien and the rest did not give me any breaks. I was desperate for them to slow down a bit and give me a break but they kept pushing all the way, With the temperature being so high it was very slippery out there. This morning we could set better times in the lower temperatures.”

Parkes felt compromised in his race pace by a not quite perfect set-up for the conditions. “I just couldn’t stay on the back of the main group and that was the problem. I lost the front a few times when I was trying to stick with them, but I tried as much as I could but couldn’t catch them again. I think it was the bike set-up so I have to do that a little bit better.”

Team Manager Ronald Ten Kate was delighted to win, but knows the job is not complete yet. “We could not ask for more from Karl today, taking such a strong win after a great period of qualifying. It is not over yet and we will keep on working hard at the next two races. But we will be waiting for the fat lady to sing. Broc had some problems in the race with grip, so he couldn’t do any better than fourth. Luckily for us he was in front of Karl’s main championship rival Jurgen van den Goorbergh so I am happy with the job he did today.”

World Supersport Championship
Round Eight – Assen, Netherlands
3 – 5 September 2004
Race Report
1. K. Muggeridge, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR,
2. S. Charpentier, FRA, Honda CBR600RR, 0.157
3. A. Pitt, AUS, Yamaha YZF R6, 6.004
4. B. Parkes, AUS, Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR, 7.499
5. J. Vd Goorbergh, NED, Yamaha YZF R6, 7.822
6. J. Hanson, SWE, Honda CBR600RR, 23.817
7. M. Neukirchner, GER, Honda CBR600RR, 24.757
8. A. Vos, NED, Kawasaki ZX6 RR, 26.405
9. C. Kellner, GER, Yamaha YZF R6, 28.450
10. B. Veneman, NED, Suzuki GSX-R 600, 36.504


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

Track: Dry, 35°C
Air: Warm, Sunny 27°C
Attendance: 76,000 (three days)

World Supersport Championship 2004 – Round 8
Assen Race Report
3 – 5 SEPTEMBER 2004


MUGGERIDGE TAKES FIFTH WIN IN COMMANDING STYLE

Karl Muggeridge called on every bit of experience and all his Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR’s speed to hold off a quality field of Supersport entrants at hot and sunny Assen circuit, in front of a large and enthusiastic Dutch crowd of 76,000.

His fifth win of the year came after a peerless display of front running, with both regular riders and wildcards not quite able to match his pace throughout. Controlling things from the front, Muggeridge rode perfectly in the final corners and eventually won by a small but safe margin of 0.157 seconds, from fast Klaffi Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier, with wild card Yamaha rider Andrew Pitt in a distant third.

An imperfect set-up and high tarmac temperatures put Broc Parkes (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) in fourth position, seven seconds from the leading pace. Swede Jan Hanson took his private Honda CBR600RR to a fine sixth while regular Klaffi Honda Team rider Max Neukirchner once more belied his age and limited Supersport experience to fight his way through to seventh.

With Alessio Corradi out of the race, thanks to a broken wrist sustained in a Saturday qualifying crash on oil, Denis Sacchetti was the lone Team Italia Megabike Honda rider in residence, and he took 17th place, just out of the points.

For Muggeridge, who extended his championship lead to 38 points as his main rival Jurgen van den Goorbergh, could only finish fifth, Assen was an important race. “There were a lot of guests of the team here this weekend, which added a little something to it all. I was happy just to win the race and make my team happy. Maybe I’ll get a job for next year! I’m going to keep pushing until the end, even though our points position is pretty good now. Charpentier is always there but on the day we’ll see who can win the next races. Today Sebastien and the rest did not give me any breaks. I was desperate for them to slow down a bit and give me a break but they kept pushing all the way, With the temperature being so high it was very slippery out there. This morning we could set better times in the lower temperatures.”

Charpentier’s race was a tough one, although he did not give up the fight until the chequered flag was unfurled. “It is very hard to pass Karl. He is a very experienced rider, he and his team have many wins and it is still only the third year of existence for our team. I pushed Karl as much as I could but it was not possible to pass him. He was riding at a very high speed and always had good lines in the corners. I feel good for the next races, so we will try our best there. We also have a good position in the championship now.” Charpentier is fourth in the title fight.

Parkes was disappointed to be only fourth after such hard work in hot conditions, but gave it his all and is third in the championship. “I just couldn’t stay on the back of the main group and that was the problem. I lost the front a few times when I was trying to stick with them, but I tried as much as I could but couldn’t catch them again. I think it was the bike set-up so I have to do that a little bit better.”

Rookie Neukirchner, rode with the exuberance of youth but finished his race with a cool head to conquer the overheated asphalt. “It was a very tough race for me today, because I had some big slides from the rear as the race went on. I have experience of this track from my European championship days and that helped. I lost contact with the group at the front after I had a big front end slide and that stopped me running with them. I was pleased with seventh, in the circumstances it was a good result for us so I am satisfied.” He ended his weekend tenth in the title fight.

Sacchetti stated, “I started not so well and I ran the first laps of the race in the final positions of the group. After three laps I got a tow from the group in front of me and then I passed many riders. I’m not completely satisfied for the race: I know that if I start better I can to run for better positions. My target for this race was to take points for the championship. The target is missed and I’m not happy.”

World Superbike Championship – Round 9
The first of two Assen World Superbike races was taken by the works Ducati of James Toseland, the Briton enjoying his second race win of the year. He was followed home at 1.2 seconds distant by Superpole winner Pierfrancesco Chili (Ducati) and Regis Laconi (Ducati), with Noriyuki Haga (Ducati) fourth and Chris Vermeulen, on a Ten Kate prepared CBR1000RR Fireblade, fifth.

In the second race Vermeulen took a popular win for the Ten Kate squad, getting the better of a classic battle between himself and Toseland, with Haga a close and threatening third. Chili dropped to fourth and Laconi was fifth. In the championship Vermeulen remains second, now on 252 points, but Toseland is the new championship leader, with 255. Fourteen points separate the leading four riders.

The championship now moves to the penultimate round at Imola, on September 26.


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

SUPERB PODIUM FOR PITT ON HIS DEBUT

Yamaha Racing Italia rider Andrew Pitt took a superb third place in a hotly-contested race at Assen today in front of over seventy-thousand sun-baked fans. The Australian was racing a Yamaha R6 for the first time, but even though he was not used to the bike or the Pirelli tyres, he was a podium contender right from the start. He and fellow countryman Kevin Curtain – also on a Yamaha – clashed at the final chicane as they both chased third spot, but Pitt managed to keep the bike upright and ride through the gravel to take the chequered flag, behind Honda riders Karl Muggeridge and Sebastien Charpentier. Jurgen van den Goorbergh lost touch with the leaders early on in the race and finished fifth. Fabien Foret shouldn’t even have been riding (thanks to a broken ankle) but he got up to fifth before losing the front and crashing out – fortunately without any further injury.

ANDREW PITT – 3rd

Third today was better then I expected before the weekend, but I’m very happy. This was my first race on a Yamaha R6 and also the first time on Pirellis, but I got on with both pretty well. With more experience of both, I think I could have beaten Muggeridge. My only regret this weekend is my contact with my friend Kevin Curtain on the last lap. We were both chasing the same piece of tarmac and as there wasn’t space for both of us, one of us had top lose out. We made contact and he went down, but I managed to keep the bike upright and ride through the gravel trap and then rejoin the track to take the chequered flag and third place. The team have asked me to ride in the last two rounds and I’m really looking forward to that.

JURGEN VD GOORBERGH – 5th

The bike was OK today, though I needed a little bit more acceleration to be able to overtake. I think I lost the race at the start because I didn’t have a clean track in front of me. If there had been a clear track ahead, I’m sure I could’ve been right with the leaders and better placed to make a move on them. It’s a tough task to catch Muggeridge in the points standing, but I’ll try my best in the last two races.

FABIEN FORET – DNF

I pushed very hard not to lose contact with the leading bunch, but it wasn’t so easy riding with a broken ankle. I crashed when I lost the front – similar to the crash I had in practice – but luckily I didn’t do any further damage. Now, i’ve got three weeks to improve my condition and get fit to race. I want to end the season by doing something special.


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

NO ASSEN JOY FOR ALSTARE TEAM
Team Suzuki Press Office – September 5, 2004.

Team Alstare Suzuki Corona Extra left Assen bitterly disappointed at their results in today’s 16-lap Supersport World Championship race after only Stephane Chambon finished the race in a disappointing 13th position.

Katsuaki Fujiwara was forced to pull out with a clutch problem and Vittorio Iannuzzo had another crash.

Series leader Karl Muggeridge (Honda) won after a race-long battle with fellow Honda rider Sebastien Charpentier with former Supersport World Champion Andrew Pitt third.

STEPHANE CHAMBON – 13th:

“It’s no pleasure finishing 13th when you know that you are capable of much more. Thanks to my lowly grid position, I was only 17th at the start but I tried to move up the order as the race went on, but it was not to be.”

KATSUAKI FUJIWARA – DNF:

“After one lap, I was in fourth place and happy. But after two more laps, the clutch felt a bit funny and, three laps later, it became a serious problem and I had to pull in. It was a big disappointment to me and the team.”

VITTORIO IANNUZZO – DNF:

“Another loss of front end, another crash and no points! I find it hard to believe what has happened to me this season and I cannot really explain many of the things that have gone on. Imola is next and I feel it is a ‘home’ race, so I have to do well.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

NO LUCK FOR LANZI (DUCATI BREIL) IN ASSEN SUPERSPORT

Assen (Netherlands), 5 September 2004: Lorenzo Lanzi (Ducati Breil) completed a disappointing Assen weekend with 20th place in the Dutch Round of the World Supersport championship.

The 22-year-old Italian rider, starting 22nd on the grid, pitted half-way through the race with a front tyre problem and was classified twentieth, two laps adrift of the winner Muggeridge (Honda).

“I did quite a good start to get into the first corner well but on the opening lap I went wide onto the dirt to avoid another rider and finished lap 1 in 22nd position” declared Lanzi.

“I was recovering well but after four laps I began to have a problem with the front tyre and the steering was feeling strange, I almost fell a few times so I decided to come into the pits to change the tyre.

“We put a harder tyre on and I went back out again but by then I couldn’t do much. With the new tyre I was lapping slower than usual because we didn’t have the right set-up, but at least I wasn’t crashing out at every corner. It was a disappointing weekend all round.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP:

1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:38.695
2. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:38.917
3. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:38.961
4. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:39.146
5. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:39.164
6. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:39.418
7. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:39.427
8. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, 1:39.436
9. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:39.447
10. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:39.519
11. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 1:39.731
12. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:40.023
13. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:40.036
14. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, 1:40.064
15. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:40.821
16. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:40.824
17. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, 1:41.225
18. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, 1:41.355
19. Michel FABRIZIO, Aprilia, 1:41.567
20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:42.058
21. James ELLISON, Harris WCM, 1:42.773
22. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, no time


250cc:

1. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 1:42.170
2. Sebastian PORTO, Aprilia, 1:42.546
3. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 1:42.700
4. Daniel PEDROSA, Honda, 1:43.096
5. Randy DE PUNIET, Aprilia, 1:43.206
6. Manuel POGGIALI, Aprilia, 1:43.517
7. Franco BATTAINI, Aprilia, 1:43.539
8. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 1:43.683
9. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Honda, 1:43.729
10. Alex DEBON, Honda, 1:44.231
11. Roberto ROLFO, Honda, 1:44.270
12. Naoki MATSUDO, Yamaha, 1:44.367
13. Fonsi NIETO, Aprilia, 1:44.439
14. Jakub SMRZ, Honda, 1:44.543
15. Hugo MARCHAND, Aprilia, 1:44.571
16. Chaz DAVIES, Aprilia, 1:44.584
17. Joan OLIVE, Aprilia, 1:44.706
18. Alex BALDOLINI, Aprilia, 1:44.886
19. Taro SEKIGUCHI, Yamaha, 1:44.890
20. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 1:45.059


125cc:

1. Casey STONER, KTM, 1:46.037
2. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 1:46.210
3. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 1:46.261
4. Simone CORSI, Honda, 1:46.599
5. Marco SIMONCELLI, Aprilia, 1:46.706
6. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 1:46.817
7. Mirko GIANSANTI, Aprilia, 1:46.872
8. Steve JENKNER, Aprilia, 1:46.977
9. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 1:47.030
10. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 1:47.167
11. Mika KALLIO, KTM, 1:47.194
12. Gabor TALMACSI, Malaguti, 1:47.302
13. Jorge LORENZO, Derbi, 1:47.324
14. Andrea BALLERINI, Aprilia, 1:47.335
15. Sergio GADEA, Aprilia, 1:47.592

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin completed a sweep of the Suzuki Superbike Showdown AMA Superbike double-header event with a win Sunday at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.

Mladin followed American Honda’s Ben Bostrom and Miguel Duhamel from the start and around for a few laps, but the four-time AMA Superbike Champion took the lead on lap six of 25 and was never headed again.

Duhamel didn’t get through slower traffic as well as Mladin but did get through it better than Bostrom and finished second, nearly four seconds behind Mladin. Bostrom came home a lonely third, 10 seconds behind the winner.

After a few strong laps early on, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke faded to a lonely fourth. He now sits 42 points behind Mladin in the Championship with two races and 75 points remaining.

Attack Kawasaki’s Josh Hayes bounced back from his crash in Saturday’s race to bring his ZX-10R Superbike home fifth Sunday. Hooters Suzuki’s John Haner recovered from a bad start to finish sixth, one spot better than Triangle Cycles Yamaha’s Larry Pegram. Corona Extra Suzuki’s Marty Craggill (eighth) came out on top of a five-way fight with Haner’s teammate Eric Wood (ninth), Prieto Racing’s Geoff May (10th), KWS Millennium Suzuki’s Shawn Higbee (11th) and NASTI Motorsports’ Lee Acree (12th).

Provisional AMA Superbike Race Two Results:

1. Mat Mladin, Suz GSX-R1000, 25 laps
2. Miguel Duhamel, Hon CBR1000RR, -3.953 seconds
3. Ben Bostrom, Hon CBR1000RR, -10.610 seconds
4. Jake Zemke, Hon CBR1000RR, -23.813 seconds
5. Josh Hayes, Kaw ZX-10R, -57.838 seconds
6. John Haner, Suz GSX-R1000, -79.303 seconds
7. Larry Pegram, Yam YZF-R1, -83.753 seconds
8. Marty Craggill, Suz GSX-R1000, -85.535 seconds
9. Eric Wood, Suz GSX-R1000, -85.655 seconds
10. Geoff May, Suz GSX-R1000, -87.286 seconds
11. Shawn Higbee, Suz GSX-R1000, -87.430 seconds
12. Lee Acree, Suz GSX-R1000, -87.440 seconds
13. Mike Smith, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
14. Jesse Janisch, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
15. Chris Caylor, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
16. Brian Stokes, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
17. Byron Barbour, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
18. Andrew Deatherage, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
19. Chuck Sorensen, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
20. Jeremy Toye, Yam YZF-R1, -1 lap
21. Jeff Tigert, Hon CBR1000RR, -1 lap
22. Roger Bell, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
23. Cory West, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
24. Dean Mizdal, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
25. Matt Lynn, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
26. Jason Curtis, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
27. Reuben Frankenfield, Suz GSX-R1000, -1 lap
28. Mark Ledesma, Hon CBR1000RR, -2 laps
29. J.J. Roetlin, Suz GSX-R1000, -2 laps
30. Scott Greenwood, Suz GSX-R1000, -11 laps, DNF
31. C.R. Cittere, Suz GSX-R1000, -16 laps, DNF
32. Jake Holden, Suz GSX-R1000, -19 laps, DNF, mechanical
33. Dave Weber, Suz GSX-R1000, -22 laps, DNF, mechanical
34. Aaron Yates, Suz GSX-R1000, -23 laps, DNF, mechanical
35. Chris Ulrich, Suz GSX-R1000, DNS
36. Eric Bostrom, Duc 999F04, DNS
37. Jason Pridmore, Suz GSX-R1000, DNS
38. Heath Small, Yam YZF-R1, DNS


AMA Superbike Championship Point Standings (After 16 of 18 races):

1. Mladin, 532 points
2. Zemke, 490 points
3. Duhamel, 477 points
4. Ben Bostrom, 364 points
5. May, 344 points
6. Eric Bostrom, 336 points
7. Haner, 312 points
8. Yates, 298 points
9. Wood, 284 points
10. Hayes, 267 points
11. Pegram, 256 points
12. Higbee, 236 points
13. Acree, 224 points
14. West, 218 points
15. Caylor, 201 points
16. Roetlin, 177 points
17. Toye, 171 points
18. Mizdal, 131 points
19. Steve Crevier, 124 points
20. Scott Jensen, 113 points


More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports:

MLADIN COMPLETES AMERICAN SUPERBIKE WINNING DOUBLE AT ROAD ATLANTA – CLOSES IN ON FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIP

Braselton, Georgia, USA (Sunday, 5 September) – Australia’s Mat Mladin completed a winning double at the penultimate round of this year’s American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship after taking victory in the second of the weekend’s Superbike nationals being at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton Georgia.

The win took Mladin’s rally of AMA career wins to 32 (an all time record) and was his 8th win from the 16 races run to date in this year’s championship.

More importantly, the weekend’s haul of maximum points, has given him a 42-point margin over nearest rival Jake Zemke (Honda) 532 – 490, as the series heads to its final weekend of racing for the year at Virginia International Raceway on September 18 & 19.

The 32-year-old who hails from Camden, south west of Sydney, has led the championship since the opening race of the season, taking his third Daytona 200 victory and is just two races away from claiming an unprecedented fifth American Superbike crown, in an AMA career that has spanned nine years.

Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 have been the combination to beat all weekend, topping the time sheets in every practice and qualifying session before taking the all-important race wins in each of the 25-lap Superbike nationals.

Aiming to repeat yesterday’s opening race win, Mladin made a steady start to today’s event, sitting in third place behind early race leaders Ben Bostrom and Miguel DuHamel. Mladin’s early race pace was highlighted as he posted the fastest lap of the race with a 1-min 23.156-sec lap as he made his move past DuHamel for second, before slipping by Bostrom a lap later to take the lead.

From that point on experience showed, as he was able to dictate and control the pace from the front steadily working his way through lapped traffic and establishing his lead. By the conclusion of the 25th lap, Mladin has worked his lead out to 3.953 secs over DuHamel. Bostrom held a comfortable third, one place ahead of Zemke on the third of the factory Honda’s.

“The race obviously went well for us today, but I did push hard in the early laps and made a couple of little mistakes before it all started to fall into place,” said Mladin. “Once I was able to pass Miguel and then Ben, I settled in and put about a second gap on them. We kept it stable for a while before we got to the traffic and I did a really good job in being able to get past the backmarkers which allowed us to increase the size of the gap. It all worked out well as I was able to control the pace from about mid-race holding the gap in the three to four second mark and it all worked out.”

“I didn’t really need to race against Miguel today, as I felt that we had a motorcycle, that if we pushed hard I was confident of what it could do for 25-laps and I didn’t want to give away a race while I was thinking about the championship when we could do it without taking any serious risks. The bike was too good to settle for anything less than a win.”

The bike itself today was as we ran in yesterday’s opener and it performed equally as well.”

“We’re in a good position now for the last round at Virginia. That 42-point cushion will mean that we can play the first there as it comes, see what the conditions are like when we get there and go from there. If we can finish either right behind, or even in front of Jake in the first race there then the championship should be done and that would be nice.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

GOOD SUNDAY FOR ACREE AND CAYLOR AT ROAD ATLANTA

Lee Acree and Opie Caylor had good results on Sunday at round ten of the Chevrolet Superbike Series at Road Atlanta. Lee started the day with a race-long battle with young-guns Danny Eslick and Tony Meiring to finish twelfth in Supersport. Both riders had a good day in the Superbike race, with Lee racing to another twelfth place and Opie finishing 15th.

Lee Acree
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport – 12th Place
“Well, in my career of bad starts, that was clear and away, no contest, absolutely, positively the worst start I’ve ever gotten,” joked Lee after the race. “I made up a bunch of ground around turn one. Danny (Eslick) was up ahead of us a ways. Tony (Meiring) would come by on the back straightaway anytime I tried to get by him. Tony and I reeled in Danny, and once we got there Danny wasn’t going to have any part of letting anyone by. The two places he was strongest out of all of us were the two places that counted for the finish line. Danny rode really, really well. I have to give him credit, he kept his composure because it looked to me like Tony was getting a bit nasty with him. I just tried to play it cool. If I dropped off of them, I could run them back down, but I just didn’t have the steam down the back straightaway.”

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 12th Place
“Yeah, I just didn’t have the grip,” said Lee after running in a pack of riders that included Marty Cragill, Shawn Higbee, Geoff May and Eric Wood. “The bike ran good, the motor seemed good. Geoff (May) was in the same boat I was, we just didn’t have the side grip. I spent a long time behind (Shawn) Higbee, watching his tire paint black stripes and be out of line, but at the same time knowing mine was spinning, and he was making a gap while his was doing it, instead of me matching it.”

Opie Caylor
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 15th Place
“I got a really good start,” said Opie. “Got off the line really good initially, got into turn one and got bunched up a little bit, nothing major. After six or seven laps, the front end started moving around a bit. I didn’t want to slow it down, but at the same time, I didn’t want to push, push, push and take myself out of the race. Mike Smith got around me, and at first had a notion of going with him, but I just didn’t get that good of a feel from the front tire.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HEATH SMALL SITS OUT SUPERBIKE #2 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – DNS
Heath Small and the HAS/Shogun team chose to sit out today’s Chevrolet Superbike final after they were unable to repair the Yamaha R1 that overheated and lost water in Saturday’s Superbike final. The team will rectify the problem and Heath will ride the bike at the Chevrolet Superbike Series season finale at Virginia International Raceway in two weeks.


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

HANER IMPRESSES AT ROAD ATLANTA

John Haner had a great set of finishes Sunday at round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta. John ran with the established factory stars in the talent-heavy Repsol Superstock race before finishing seventh, and ran down all but the factory bikes in the Chevrolet Superbike final to finish sixth on his Superstock-spec Hooters Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Sunday’s Repsol Superstock Final – 7th Place
“I had a really good start,” said John. “I came up out of (turn) one and dang-near pitched myself to the moon. Probably almost kicked Ben (Spies) in the head, because he came by on the left side as I came back down on the bike. It was in a false neutral, and I was hitting the rev limiter trying to get on the throttle. I actually broke the throttle housing. It was spinning on the handlebar. I think I came around in twelfth or something. I worked really hard to get back to where I was, I got by some really fast guys.”

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 6th Place
“I thought I got a good start!,” joked John. “But everyone went around me on the outside of one, and I thought, ‘I’ll just run my own race’. I knew I was faster than a lot of those guys in certain places, and I thought I’d see if I could get by them. I went by a bunch of guys, then I saw Larry (Pegram) up there, and said, ‘Well, I’ll go catch Larry’, and I caught him. The next thing you know I had a four second lead, and with four or five laps to go I just started maintaining.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

DANNY ESLICK AND SHAWN HIGBEE RACE TO STRONG FINISHES AT ROAD ATLANTA

Danny Eslick and Shawn Higbee of the Millennium Technologies Suzuki team each had good results in today’s races at round ten of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta. Danny Eslick raced to a season-best tenth place in the Supersport final after holding off Tony Meiring and Lee Acree. Shawn had a race-long battle with four other riders to finish eleventh at the end.

Danny Eslick
Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 10th Place
“Wow, that was a great race,” said Danny, who moved up into tenth in season points with the finish. “I got a good start and just put my head down as hard as I could. I guess it took a few laps but I ended up with Tony (Meiring) and Lee (Acree) behind me. Tony went around me once and I went back by kind of sideways. I was getting a way better drive over the top of the hill and down into (turn) 12, so I wasn’t too worried whenever Tony would get ahead. My tires hung in there better than I thought they would for the pace we were going. I’m just really stoked, I’ve been working hard all year to get here, plus now I’m in the top ten.”

Shawn Higbee
Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 11th Place
“That was probably one of the best head-to-head battle races I’ve had all year, a pretty good group of us swapping back and forth,” said Higbee. “I was trying to run a clean line and those guys were taking advantage of the space I was leaving underneath. I think our set-up changes helped a bit, it seemed like I could transition through the esses a lot better, picking up some time there. Overall, I’m happy with the work that the team accomplished.”


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

GEOFF MAY FINISHES TENTH IN SUPERBIKE #2 AT ROAD ATLANTA

Geoff May finished tenth in Sunday’s Superbike race at Road Atlanta, battling with Lee Acree, Marty Craggill, Shawn Higbee and Eric Wood. Geoff moved back up to fifth place in season Superbike points with today’s finish.

Sunday’s Chevrolet Superbike Final – 10th Place
“I made the wrong tire choice,” said Geoff. “I went with a harder one and it was worse, it just didn’t have the side grip. Lee and I were just riding sideways and not going forward. I thought I was racing with Marty the whole way. I looked one time and didn’t see anything. On the last lap, Eric came up the inside of me in (turn) six, and blew way wide and almost ran me off the track. It allowed Higbee to come up the inside of me in seven, and I saw him there and just leaned on into his bike, got on the gas hard. I was in the middle of a fight and I wasn’t worried about anything else but beating everyone there.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden came out on top of a close AMA Supersport battle Sunday at Road Atlanta, beating his brother and teammate Tommy Hayden and Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo to the line by a fraction of a second.

It was Roger Lee Hayden’s third straight Supersport race win and his fourth victory of the season.

DiSalvo’s teammate Aaron Gobert contested the lead early before slipping back to fourth. Saying he was down on top speed, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took fifth. Back from injury, Damon Buckmaster finished sixth, after running the first half of the race with the lead group.

Corona Extra Suzuki’s Ben Attard placed seventh, after a race-long fight with Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp (eighth) and Championsonline.com’s Michael Barnes (ninth). KWS Millennium Suzuki’s Danny Eslick rounded out the top 10.

Tommy Hayden now leads the AMA Supersport Championship by 11 points over Roger Lee Hayden, heading into the final round at Virginia International Raceway in two weeks.

Provisional AMA Supersport Race Results:

1. Roger Lee Hayden, Kaw, 15 laps
2. Tommy Hayden, Kaw, -0.103 second
3. Jason DiSalvo, Yam, -0.413 second
4. Aaron Gobert, Yam, -2.005 seconds
5. Ben Spies, Suz, -10.354 seconds
6. Damon Buckmaster, Yam, -17.175 seconds
7. Ben Attard, Suz, -23.858 seconds
8. Steve Rapp, Suz, -24.428 seconds
9. Michael Barnes, Yam, -24.728 seconds
10. Danny Eslick, Suz, -29.250 seconds
11. Tony Meiring, Kaw, -29.483 seconds
12. Lee Acree, Suz, -30.000 seconds
13. Chris Peris, Suz, -39.399 seconds
14. Blake Young, Suz, -50.109 seconds
15. Jason Perez, Yam, -50.314 seconds
16. Darren Luck, Suz, -50.920 seconds
17. Chris Ulrich, Suz, -51.420 seconds
18. William Meyers, III, Yam, -55.278 seconds
19. Darin Eli Edwards, Suz, -55.571 seconds
20. Giovanni Rojas, Yam, -57.951 seconds
21. Jason Farrell, Kaw, -67.721 seconds
22. Ben Carlson, Suz, -57.952 seconds
23. Nicky Moore, Hon, -85.380 seconds
24. Taylor Knapp, Yam, -90.733 seconds
25. Chris Siebenhaar, Hon, -1 lap
26. Daniel Doty, Yam, -1 lap
27. Montez Stewart, Yam, -1 lap
28. Daniel Ortega, Yam, -1 lap
29. Jason Moss, Yam, -1 lap
30. Joseph Ford, Yam, -1 lap
31. Scott Beckley, Yam, -1 lap
32. Ryan Andrews, Tri, -1 lap
33. Jim Wood, Suz, -1 lap
34. Stacy Summers, Kaw, -1 lap
35. Robert Ternado, Kaw, -2 laps, DNF
36. Martin Cardenas, Yam, -3 laps, DNF
37. Nathan Hester, Yam, DNF
38. Chad Simons, Yam, DNS


Provisional AMA Supersport Championship Standings:

1. Tommy Hayden, 327 points
2. Roger Lee Hayden, 316 points
3. TIE, Spies/Aaron Gobert, 255 points
5. DiSalvo, 236 points
6. Rapp, 229 points
7. Barnes, 226 points
8. Jamie Hacking, 201 points
9. Attard, 167 points
10. Eslick, 156 points
11. Peris, 151 points
12. Meiring, 150 points
13. Aaron Yates, 141 points
14. Luck, 137 points
15. Acree, 133 points
16. Perez, 127 points
17. Rojas, 103 points
18. Moore, 100 points
19. Blake Young, 97 points
20. Bukcmaster, 91 points


More, from a press release issued by Proforma:

STRONG RESULTS FOR BLAKE YOUNG AT ROAD ATLANTA

Sixteen-year-old Blake Young had two strong finishes in his first trip to Road Atlanta for round ten of the Chevrolet Superbike Series. He held off a late race charge from Heath Small to finish eighth in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme final, and had a race-long battle with three other riders to finish fourteenth in the very competitive Supersport class on Sunday.

Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Final – 8th Place
“Heath Small and I passed each other two or three times in the race,” said Blake. “He passed me going into turn 10A and I got him back in 10B, then he passed me in turn one, and I ended up getting him back going into ten again.”

Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport Final – 14th Place
“Off the start, the guys kind of got away from me,” said Blake. “I tried to hang with (Chris) Peris, and he was running a little bit faster than I could. I stayed in front of those guys (Darren Luck, Jason Perez and Chris Ulrich) until about halfway through, and we came down through the esses and there was little bit of contact between me and (Jason) Perez. He went around me and another guy came into me and I got into the grass, and rolled the grass. By that time, Darren Luck and Chris Ulrich went by me. I passed Ulrich the same lap he went by me, and the rest of the guys through the rest of the race. It was a pretty good race, I’m happy overall.”

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

The Roadracing World Action Fund brokered a deal that allowed AMA Pro Racing to have inflatable safety devices at both the AMA Superbike event at Road Atlanta as well as the AMA Flattrack event at the Springfield Mile this weekend.

The Fund organized 20 sections of inflatable safety devices normally deployed with Formula USA/CCS to be transported, set up and maintained at the Road Atlanta by F-USA’s Eric Kelcher, which freed some of AMA Pro Racing’s inventory of Airfence, 45 sections of which were originally supplied by the Fund, to be deployed at the Springfield Mile.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday’s 125cc GP Qualifying Results:

1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 1:46.301
2. Casey STONER, KTM, 1:46.380
3. Mirko GIANSANTI, Aprilia, 1:46.691
4. Steve JENKNER, Aprilia, 1:46.851
5. Mika KALLIO, KTM, 1:46.877
6. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 1:46.965
7. Simone CORSI, Honda, 1:47.105
8. Fabrizio LAI, Gilera, 1:47.402
9. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 1:47.452
10. Lukas PESEK, Honda, 1:47.487
11. Gabor TALMACSI, Malaguti, 1:47.499
12. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 1:47.771
13. Marco SIMONCELLI, Aprilia, 1:47.965
14. Jorge LORENZO, Derbi, 1:48.092
15. Andrea BALLERINI, Aprilia, 1:48.135


Final Combined 125cc GP Qualifying Results:

1. DOVIZIOSO, 1:46.280
2. CORSI, 1:46.338
3. STONER, 1:46.380
4. LOCATELLI, 1:46.496
5. SIMONCELLI, 1:46.572
6. GIANSANTI, 1:46.691
7. LORENZO, 1:46.735
8. JENKNER, 1:46.851
9. KALLIO, 1:46.877
10. BARBERA, 1:46.965
11. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 1:47.111
12. LAI, 1:47.132
13. PESEK, 1:47.251
14. Stefano PERUGINI, Gilera, 1:47.270
15. TALMACSI, 1:47.320 13

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Daniel PEDROSA, Honda, 1:41.417
2. Sebastien PORTO, Aprilia, 1:41.638
3. Toni ELIAS, Honda, 1:41.645
4. Randy DE PUNIET, Aprilia, 1:41.814
5. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 1:42.226
6. Fonsi NIETO, Aprilia, 1:42.488
7. Alex DEBON, Honda, 1:42.516
8. Manuel POGGIALI, Aprilia, 1:42.520
9. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Honda, 1:42.709
10. Franco BATTAINI, Aprilia, 1:42.769
11. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 1:42.781
12. Alex BALDOLINI, Aprilia, 1:43.171
13. Naoki MATSUDO, Yamaha, 1:43.191
14. Roberto ROLFO, Honda, 1:43.298
15. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 1:43.491
16. Chaz DAVIES, Aprilia, 1:43.507
17. Dirk HEIDOLF, Aprilia, 1:43.803
18. Joan OLIVE, Aprilia, 1:43.810
19. Hector FAUBEL, Aprilia, 1:44.039
20. Hugo MARCHAND, Aprilia, 1:44.088 19

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning 125cc GP Practice Times:

1. Casey STONER, KTM, 2:02.540
2. Mika KALLIO, KTM, 2:02.553
3. Marco SIMONCELLI, Aprilia, 2:03.753
4. Lukas PESEK, Honda, 2:03.756
5. Andrea BALLERINI, Aprilia, 2:03.827
6. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 2:04.053
7. Roberto LOCATELLI, Aprilia, 2:04.239
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 2:04.244
9. Vesa KALLIO, Aprilia, 2:04.552
10. Steve JENKNER, Aprilia, 2:04.593
11. Mirko GIANSANTI, Aprilia, 2:04.616
12. Sergio GADEA, Aprilia, 2:04.734
13. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 2:04.795
14. Simone CORSI, Honda, 2:04.810
15. Thomas LUTHI, Honda, 2:05.555

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

World Superbike Qualifying Results Heading Into Superpole:

1. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.953
2. James Toseland, Ducati 999F04, 2:04.080
3. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR1000RR, 2:04.292
4. Gianluca Nannelli, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.314
5. Giovanni Bussei, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.394
6. Regis Laconi, Ducati 999F04, 2:04.544
7. Garry McCoy, Ducati 999RS, 2:04.769
8. Marco Borciani, Ducati 999RS, 2:04.783
9. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:04.998
10. Noriyuki Haga, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.110
11. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.226
12. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:05.382
13. Chris Walker, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:05.395
14. Leon Haslam, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.410
15. Steve Martin, Ducati 999RS, 2:05.552
16. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-10R, 2:05.652
17. Piergiorgio Bontempi, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:05.889
18. Sergio Fuertes, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.244
19. Warwick Nowland, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:07.777
20. Alessio Velini, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:08.361