After a two day rain delay, the on-track action finally got underway at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, with three-times American Superbike champion Mat Mladin making full use of the dry conditions to win both of today’s 28-lap AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship races.

Persistent rain forced officials to postpone almost all of the practice and qualifying sessions scheduled for Friday and Saturday, leaving starting grids for today’s races to be determined by the positions in which the riders currently lie in the championship, with Mladin and his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 sitting on pole position as the current points leader in the Superbike Championship.

Mladin made a steady start in both races, before making his way to the lead and then working on building a solid buffer between himself and his opponents.

At the completion of the opening 28-lap national, Mladin crossed the line 8.295 seconds clear of teammate Aaron Yates, with American Honda rider Miguel DuHamel almost a further eight seconds in arrears. The afternoon’s second race was almost a copy of the first with Mladin taking the race lead on lap two before easing away from the field to take a 7.484 second victory over Yates, with Ben Bostrom (American Honda) third. DuHamel did not make the start of the second Superbike race after crashing heavily during the Supersport race, which was run between the two Superbike races.

“It turned out to be a pretty good day today,” said Mladin. “We only had 27 minutes in this morning’s practice session to get the bike set up to a point where we wanted it and it proved to be very good on the day. We obviously could have made the bike a bit better than what it was, but after having all of our sessions washed out over the past two days we ended up with a very good bike.”

“The second race proved to be a lot faster than the first and I guess that pace showed when I reeled off the fastest lap of the day with a 1:37 flat on the second lap. At the end, it all worked out well and we’re leaving here with a 24-point lead in the championship.”

“We were happy with the performance that we were able to get from the bike here. This circuit does not have a whole bunch of straights like some others, so it was nice to be able to get the bike handling and steering as well as it was just to show that the bike is great at all types of circuits, including those where you don’t need a whole heap of power, just a good set up.”

Today’s double victory makes it four wins from five starts in this year’s 18-round championship and now gives the Australian a 21-point lead in the series over Yates, with the Suzuki pair a further six points clear of Ben Bostrom.

The American championship heads to the Road Atlanta circuit in Georgia for rounds six and seven of the Superbike championship on May 16 – 18.

Race 1

1. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 28 laps

2. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) +8.295 secs

3. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda) +16.2

4. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) +43.3

5. Ben Bostrom (American Honda) +59.1

6. Steve Rapp (Valvoline EMGO Suzuki) +67

7. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda) +85

8. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati) +90

9. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki) +91

10. Lee Acree (Suzuki) +93

Race 2

1. Mat Mladin (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) 28 laps

2. Aaron Yates (Team Yoshimura Suzuki) +7.484 secs

3. Ben Bostrom (American Honda) +16.379

4. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda) +25.6

5. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki) +33.6

6. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati) +57.1

7. Jason Pridmore (Attack Suzuki) +74

8. Jordan Szoke (Corona Extra Suzuki) +79

9. Steve Crevier (Suzuki) +81

10. Shawn Higbee (Suzuki) +83

2003 AMA Chevy Trucks US Superbike Championship (points after 5 of 18 races) - 1. M Mladin 174; 2. A Yates 153; 3. B Bostrom 147; 4. E Bostrom 138; 5. K Roberts 131; 6. M DuHamel 121; 7. S Higbee / L Pegram 99; 9. V Haskovec 94; 10. J Pridmore 91.