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 at Brainerd 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 favourite 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.

Supersport

Jamie Hacking and Tommy Hayden are hoping to join an exclusive club of riders who have won three AMA Supersport races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Based on recent performances at Laguna, Hacking and Hayden are the heavy favourites coming into round nine of the 11 race Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei, which will be held on Friday, July 11 as part of the Honda Superbike Classic, a combined AMA and World Superbike weekend.

The Hacking/Hayden duo has won four of the last five Supersport races at Laguna Seca. Hacking leads the series on his factory Yamaha R6 while teammate Damon Buckmaster is second in the standings, 15 points back. Hayden is a somewhat distant third in the standings, but is by no means out of the championship picture. A victory at Laguna Seca on Friday for Hayden would go a long way in closing the gap on Hacking and Buckmaster.

While Yamaha riders are one and two in the championship, all of the manufacturers have had their moments in the sun. Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha and even Suzuki – the one manufacturer that did not make major updates to its 2003 Supersport machine – have all earned victories this season. The Supersport class perennially produces some of most competitive racing and the 2003 season is no different.

Hacking is optimistic about the upcoming Laguna Seca race and is hoping to give Yamaha its first Supersport win at the circuit since he won on a Yamaha R6 in 2000.

“There are a bunch of riders who have proven they can win this year,” said Hacking, who has finished on the Laguna Supersport podium four of the last five races there. “I’ve always done pretty well at Laguna and it would be nice to open up my series lead with another win there. As a racer you never feel you have a big enough lead in the standings until you get the checkered flag in the final race.”

Buckmaster has ridden well at Laguna Seca. In 1999 he earned a podium finish in the Supersport event in addition to winning the Formula Xtreme race there in 2001. The Aussie is looking for his first career Supersport victory.

Miguel Duhamel won three AMA Supersport races at Laguna Seca during the 1990s. The cagey veteran continues to be a threat in Supersport and is coming off a victory in the last round at Brainerd. While Hacking and Hayden are hoping to join Duhamel and Mike Smith as the only three-time Supersport winners at Laguna, Duhamel is aiming to become the first four-time winner of the race. Honda has won more Laguna Seca AMA Supersport races than any other manufacturer, but if Duhamel can win, it will mark the first victory for the maker at the circuit since 1997.

Suzuki will pin its hopes primarily on Ben Spies. The former AMA Horizon Award winner surprised everyone by taking victory in the Supersport final at Road Atlanta in May on a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600.

FX

Graves Yamaha rider Damon Buckmaster has been a leading contender for the Lockhart-Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series each of the last two seasons. The 30-year-old veteran racer from Australia has led the series each year only to lose grip of the title late in the season. This year Buckmaster hopes to hold on to the Formula Xtreme lead all the way to the end. “Bucky” comes into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s round seven of the 10-race series on Saturday, July 12, holding on to an eight-point lead over Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies. The series is clustered with prospective champions near the top of the standings. The five leading riders in the class, Buckmaster, Spies, Josh Hayes, Jake Zemke and Adam Fergusson, are all conceivably within reach of the series lead.

Buckmaster comes to Laguna Seca the hottest rider in Formula Xtreme. He’s won two of the last three rounds and is a former winner at Laguna. Spies looked as if he might run away with the championship after dominating the first two rounds, but his competition seems to have gotten quicker and Spies has only earned one podium result in the last four rounds. Spies will try to become the first Suzuki rider to win the Formula Xtreme race at Laguna. Attack Suzuki’s Josh Hayes has been consistently in the top-10 all season long. He hopes to break through to win his first race this year at Laguna Seca. Adam Fergusson, like Hayes, has not finished outside the top-10 in the six Formula Xtreme rounds so far this year. Fergusson, one of many Australians racing in America, hopes to put his Corona Extra Suzuki on top this Saturday.

Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke is the defending winner of the Laguna Seca Formula Xtreme race. The Paso Robles, Calif., native is coming off a win a few weeks ago at Brainerd and is looking to make up ground after crashing out of the series lead at Road America last month. Zemke is fourth in the standings, just two points out of third