From a press release issued by Aprilia USA:

Aprilia Displays New Models and “Evil” Tuono at Laguna Seca

Woodstock, GA – Aprilia USA will display several new models at the Laguna Seca round of the World Superbike Championship / AMA Superbike series July 11-13th.

Two new-featured production models will be the Limited-Edition Colin Edwards Replica, and the highly anticipated Tuono Racing. Two new scooters for the US will be on display as well. The Mojito “cruiser scooter” and the Rally make their North American debut at the famous racing circuit near Monterey, CA.

Along side these production machines will be a special Tuono built by former Aprilia Cup Champion Aaron Clark. The RSV Tuono “Clarkie” features a built-up motor that includes performance parts from Blackmans Racing, Evoluzione, STM and Dynojet. The primary sponsor of the project is European Motorcycle Accessories. “EMA has supplied an Ohlins rear shock, PVM wheels and brakes, and Harris parts including adjustable rearsets and a slip-on exhaust system,” says Clark. “I basically took a standard Tuono that had a bad interaction with gravity, courtesy of a demo rider, and made it the most potent Tuono I could.”

As Clarks’ friends heard about the project more items such as carbon bodywork custom painted by Blair Graphix, and custom Ohlins Internal Showa fork from Scuderia West were fitted to the bike. Clark is currently touring the country as Demo Manager for Aprilia USA. “Between dealer open houses and demo events like Americade, I was building the bike in the trailer – the stock Tuono is already a beast – I wanted this one to be just plain evil,” says the native New Zealander.

Aprilia owners and fans are encouraged to stop by the Aprilia display in “Manufacturers Row” at the event to check out the latest Aprilia motorcycles and scooters, meet members of the Aprilia management team, and check out the latest Aprilia accessories and clothing.

Select members of the press will be allowed to ride the Tuono “Clarkie” after some final suspension tweaking at an Aprilia demo track day at Portland International Raceway on July 16th.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

BOSTROM AIMING TO BECOME FIRST RIDER TO WIN THREE STRAIGHT AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA

AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (July 1, 2003) – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has a rich, 30-plus year history of AMA National racing. It was at Laguna Seca where Harley-Davidson won its final AMA Road Racing National with Cal Rayborn in 1972; legendary Hall of Famer Kenny Roberts won his final AMA National at the track in 1984; a little over a decade later Freddie Spencer won his last AMA National when he dominated the rain-soaked Superbike race in 1995; and more recently Ben Bostrom shocked the established World Superbike riders by winning a leg of that championship at Laguna Seca in 1999.

Ben’s younger brother Eric Bostrom has the opportunity to add his name to Laguna Seca racing lore on Saturday, July 12, at round 12 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited. Bostrom will attempt to become the first rider to win the Laguna Seca AMA Superbike race three years in a row. Bostrom comes into the Laguna round not only leading the championship, but he’s also sporting a two-race winning streak at the famous Monterey, Calif., circuit.

The Honda Superbike Classic at Mazda Laguna Seca on July 11-13 is the biggest single weekend of racing in America. It combines a full schedule of AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship races as well as the U.S. rounds of the FIM Superbike World Championship. There’s even more of a buzz being generated this year’s event with the advent of the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship, which will kick off at Laguna Seca.

The race for the 2003 AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike title is one of the best in the history of the series. The top four riders in the championship are bunched within 20 points in the series standings. Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom holds a scant three-point lead over three-time AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin. Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Aaron Yates is solidly back in the title hunt after winning the last round of the series in Brainerd, Minn., on June 29. Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts has strung together a slew of consistent results in the championship this year and as a result is a close fourth in the current rankings.

Bostrom started his winning streak at Laguna Seca with a close victory over Duhamel in 2001. Then last year he totally dominated the race winning by nearly 10 seconds over eventual AMA Superbike champ Nicky Hayden.

“Laguna is one of my favorite circuits for sure,” Bostrom said. “It’s a real racer’s track. I think it plays into my strengths as a rider and it suits the handling qualities of my Kawasaki. The atmosphere there is great with all the fans and of course the World Superbike Series riders. A victory at Laguna obviously would help my championship hopes as we turn the corner towards the latter part of the season.”

While Bostrom is seeking his third-straight Laguna win, series rival Mladin is hoping to win his first at the challenging track. Mladin’s 2003 season has been a roller coaster ride. The Australian racing veteran has won six rounds this year, but has at times ridden the wheels off his Suzuki – literally. The combination of Mladin’s aggressive riding style and the power of his factory GSX-R1000 Superbike has proven harsh to his tires. Mladin has led several races this year only to be thwarted by shredding rubber. Despite these issues Mladin still appears to have a good shot at becoming the first four-time AMA Superbike champion.

Mladin’s teammate Yates found a way to preserve his tires to win his second race of the season at Brainerd International Raceway late last month. That victory has put him squarely into the series title chase. Yates has had mixed results at Laguna. His best result in recent years was a third in 2000, but few will forget his incredible turn-10 high-side crash in 2001. Mladin and Yates are hoping to give Suzuki its first Laguna Seca Superbike victory since 1978 when Wes Cooley rode a Pops Yoshimura-built Suzuki GS1000 Superbike to victory.

Kurtis Roberts has turned six podium finishes into a strong fourth in the series. The native of Modesto, Calif., would love nothing better than to win at Laguna Seca, the site of so many of his famous father’s triumphs. Ben Bostrom won his first ever World Superbike race at Laguna Seca. He’s hoping a return to familiar ground will spark his 2003 campaign, which has been less than he’d hoped for so far. Miguel Duhamel joins Eric Bostrom as the only other former Laguna AMA Superbike winner in the field. It’s been five years since Duhamel last tasted victory in a Superbike event at Laguna, but he’s finished runner-up at two of the last three rounds showing he may be on the verge of his 27th AMA Superbike victory.

Mounted on potent Suzuki GSX-R1000s privateers have made a serious impact in the series this year. Shawn Higbee is experiencing a Superbike resurgence with the KWS Suzuki squad, while second-generation Superbike racer Jason Pridmore regularly challenges the factory teams on his Attack Racing Suzuki. Pridmore’s father won the very first AMA Superbike Championship race held at Laguna Seca in 1976.

From a press release issued by Eric Bostrom’s publicist:

Boss still leading the points

After a consistent ride in Minnesota that saw Eric Bostrom conserve his tires while others experienced problems with theirs, the “Boss” finds himself still leading the Chevy Trucks AMA Superbike Championship.

“That’s just luck, huh? Because in all honesty, we really struggled at Brainerd. I tried hard all weekend, the bike ran well, but we just couldn’t come to a compromise with the set-up. I was just really slow. I got a good start and really tried to put my head down, but I was just a roadblock. It sucks because we tried so hard but we just kept going backwards. Ultimately I just tried to conserve my tires and get as many points as I could comfortably earn.”

When asked how it felt to be leading the Superbike championship after a second consecutive weekend, Eric’s reply was clearly that of a racer. “To be honest, it’s a little bit hollow. If we were winning races it would feel a lot better. I’m not happy. I’d much rather win most of the races and not win the championship than drone along like this.”

Fortunately for Eric, he will have the opportunity in two weeks to win another race at his ‘home’ track, Laguna Seca, where he has clearly been the man to beat for the past two years. To add a little spice to the special weekend, Eric will unveil a special set of racing leathers. The suit is being pieced together in Italy at this very moment, and was done with the creative assistance and support of Airtrix and Alpinestars. So far, the designs have exceeded all expectations for the “WOW” factor.

“Not that I need any extra motivation, but I better win at Laguna with this suit! Chris (at www.Airtrix.com) came up with the design after we gave him our ideas. When I first saw the design I thought, wow, I don’t know if Kawasaki is going to let me run that! Because it was just so good that it was unreal. I can’t wait to see the thing in person. It’s definitely going to be pretty loud on my bike and won’t quite look like what everyone is used to seeing at the track. Which is a good thing, because I think it’ll be a breath of fresh air. It’ll be pretty incredible if Alpinestars is able to make it, because it looks pretty difficult to make. It’ll be a testament to their abilities. But even if it comes out half as good as the design, people are going to be talking about it. I definitely want to thank Kawasaki ahead of time for being open-minded enough let me wear it. It’s going to bring such attention to my team, wait and see.”

From a press release issued by American Honda:

AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship: Round 11
Crowd: 15,000
Temperature: 17 degrees C
Weather: Cloudy, overcast

Double Podium for American Honda

American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel and Erion Honda’s Kurtis Roberts fought to the final corner with both earning a spot on the podium at Brainerd International Raceway, round 11 of the AMA/Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.

It was DuHamel’s second podium of the day, the winningest rider in AMA Superbike and Supersport history adding to his legend by winning a hard fought Pro Honda Oils Supersport race on the ultra high speed three-mile circuit.

“My Honda CBR600RR is working as good almost as good, I think as (Valentino) Rossi’s bike in GP,” DuHamel said after winning his class leading 41st Supersport race, then added, “but maybe not as fast.”

On Saturday, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke used the top speed advantage of his Honda CBR954RR to race to a thrilling Formula Xtreme win in record time.

“Going down the front straightaway the thing was just a bullet,” Zemke said after breaking Kurtis Roberts’ race record and winning his first race in nearly a year. “It was the fastest thing I’ve been on by far.”

The Superbike fight was so intense that DuHamel felt obliged to apologize to Roberts about the pass he made on the final lap. Close as it was, it secured his second place, with Roberts finishing third.

American Honda’s Ben Bostrom was in fourth place and moving up to challenge his teammates when he had a frightening rear tire failure in the fastest part of the course, just as he was bending it into the full throttle first turn. The former dirt tracker made a spectacular save, then quickly returned to the pits where his crew, led by crew chief Merlyn Plumlee, changed tires and sent him back out. He finished 12th.

The Honda trio remains together in the championship point standings, Roberts fourth, Bostrom fifth, and DuHamel sixth after 11 of 18 races.

The race was won by Suzuki’s Aaron Yates. Yates was being pressured by teammate Mat Mladin when Mladin had a tire failure similar to Bostrom’s. He also pitted, re-joining the race to finish seventh.

Miguel DuHamel, Second Place
“I tried to get (Roberts) in one, can’t do it. Got a run on him coming out of two and we were side by side and I braked pretty deep and he went deeper. He went a little wide and I was trying to keep it in tight. I figured he was going to go a little wide. I tried to squeeze in underneath him. I thought I left him enough room. We talked a little bit afterward and he said I really pinched him off on the track. I was sliding coming out of there and I might have miscalculated it. I really thought I had a clean pass. I thought I left him enough room.”

Kurtis Roberts, Third Place
“I was driving out of turn three. Unfortunately I was a little wide and Miguel was underneath. I was probably a foot or so ahead of him. He slid into me. I had to get out of the throttle. It’s racing. One thing about racing is that there’s a race in a couple of weeks and you know who your teammates are. We’ll get through these and go on to Laguna Seca and hopefully pull out one because this second and third is getting old.”

Ben Bostrom, 12th Place
“It was the scariest thing. coming out of one full stick, right as you throw it down a gear and lean it in. It was like jumping off the ground. I fully started dirt tracking off the corner waiting for that thing to explode. I nearly highsided myself out of two. That was a moment. I don’t think I ever had a tire do that before, putting 26 laps on one of those tires, 20 plus on the next tire and it was fine. The tire guys said they were shaving some tires, to reduce heat in the center of the tire. So we said, let’s play it safe. I think it’s pick of the litter.”

Superbike:
1. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
2. Miguel DuHamel (Honda)
3. Kurtis Roberts (Honda)
4. Eric Bostrom (Kawasaki)
5. Giovanni Bussei (Ducati)
6. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
7. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
8. Jordan Szoke (Suzuki)
9. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki)
10. Vincent Haskovec (Suzuki)
11. Michael Barnes (Suzuki)
12. Ben Bostrom (Honda)

Championship Standings:
1. Eric Bostrom (321)
2. Mat Mladin (318)
3. Aaron Yates (313)
4. Kurtis Roberts (301)
5. Ben Bostrom (293)
6. Miguel DuHamel 9278)
7. Shawn Higbee (229)
8. Jason Pridmore (225)
9. Larry Pegram (211)
10. Vincent Haskovec (180)

More, from a press release issued by 1-888-FASTLAP:

1-888-FASTLAP RIDERS FINISH IN TOP 10 IN AMA SUPERSTOCK

BRAINERD, Minn.- 1-888-FASTLAP riders Opie Caylor and Brian Stokes both finished in the top ten during the AMA’s Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock race held at Brainerd International Raceway on Sunday, June 29.

Caylor finished seventh, despite having to run the 13-lap race on his backup Suzuki GSX-R750. Following Superstock qualifying the day before the race, Caylor went out in Superbike qualifying, where he continued to fine-tune his bike for the upcoming race. Several laps into the session, however, Caylor missed a shift and bent a valve in the motor of his primary bike.

“I jumped on the backup bike and got it prepared. We got it set up as close as we could to the A bike, but we just couldn’t get the chassis to feel like the bike I qualified on, so I struggled a bit in the race,” said Caylor.

The seventh place finish was not as high as Caylor had hoped for, but it was a remarkable improvement over his performance at Brainerd in 2002, when he only finished 12th. His best lap time during the race, a 1:40.6, was two seconds faster than his best time last year.

Stokes earned his best AMA finish ever, riding the Team Embry Suzuki GSX-R750 to a tenth-place finish in Superstock. His previous best finish in the series was 16th.

“I was up to seventh off the start,” commented Stokes. “I got passed up the inside a couple of times. I started running down a group of riders ahead of me, but I came into the bus stop a little too hot and lost some ground. I was happy to get a tenth, especially at a track I had never been to. I’m looking forward to heading to Laguna Seca with Team Embry, where I hope to get closer to the podium.”

Stokes also competed in the Superbike race, which was held prior to the Superstock event. He worked his way up to a finish of 13th, riding a Suzuki GSX-R750 Superbike.

More, from a press release issued by Corona Extra Suzuki:

MISFORTUNE COMES IN THREES FOR CORONA EXTRA SUZUKI AT BRAINERD AMA SUPERBIKE EVENT

So the saying goes; “When it rains it pours!” And once again the weather contributed to the worst of the bad luck for Corona Extra Suzuki riders at Brainerd International Raceway.

Corona Extra Suzuki Champion Jimmy Moore suffered a broken arm along, other fractures and an injury to his spleen in a freak accident during a blustery Superstock practice on Thursday. A strong gust of wind took out the front wheel of his bike as he entered the 170+ mile per hour turn one. Jimmy slid almost 230 yards before hitting a tree. From his hospital bed Jimmy said; “I came down the straight (1 mile long) tached out in top gear and into (turn) one. Then just as I passed the line of trees I felt this big gust of wind. It just lifted the front end washed it out. I remember sliding for ever and seeing this wood coming to meet me!” Jimmy was Medevac’d to a hospital in Minneapolis where he is in stable condition. All at Corona Extra Suzuki wish Jimmy a speedy recovery.

In the Formula Extreme race, Adam Fergusson, starting from the third row of the grid finished 9th. A disappointed Fergusson said; ” I just couldn’t get comfortable. The bike was working OK but I just couldn’t get into the corners hot enough. I could put together a good lap or two as fast as the leaders but never string them together. I just don’t know what it was!” Fergusson is currently 5th in the Formula Extreme championship.

A wet track after rain showers just dried in time for the Superbike event. Jordan Szoke, who qualified 10th, got a good start but on lap two the gremlins struck, going into turn one he found his right knee slider had gone, slowing his progress. Jordan said; “BIR is so fast you get around without really putting your knee down hard to stabilize the bike”. Still Jordan gritted his teeth and holed his leathers to finish a good eighth. Szoke is currently 11th in the Superbike championship.

The Superstock race was rescheduled to follow the Superbike race due to the rain. Fergusson had qualified on the second row in fifth position, less than half a second off pole so everyone was hoping for a good finish. After a good start Adam went after the leaders and started to draw them in when suddenly he slowed dramatically. In a repeat of the Fontana event, the tab at the end of his gearshift had broken off though this time he did not hit anything! Adam struggled on using a combination of hand, toes and heel to change gear and finished in 20th position but gaining valuable points. He is currently fourth in the Genuine Suzuki Accessories SuperStock Championship.

Next race: Laguna Seca, CA., July 11-13, 2003. Look for Corona Extra Suzuki display race bikes at retail stores throughout the Monterey area during the month of July. This has been arranged by Corona in conjunction with Barton Beers and the local distributor to promote the Corona brand, race team and event.