Yoshimura Suzuki

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin led the Yoshimura Suzuki team to a double-header AMA Superbike sweep on Saturday and Sunday at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. Mladin won both races, extending his points lead to 21 with one double-header round remaining. Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Marty Craggill ended the weekend with a top-10 finish and his claim to top privateer intact.

Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000
For Mladin, qualifying at VIR was business as usual. He took provisional pole on Friday, then pulled out a record-breaking 1.23.986 lap time and walked away with his 46th career pole position on Saturday. By taking this ninth pole of the season, Mladin has captured every one this year.

“The session went pretty well,” he said afterward. “We tried a few different tires in the session and found one we liked. Obviously, all the Dunlops we tried were good, but we found one that worked best for me.”

The 28-lap race itself was a mixed bag. On the one hand, Mladin won his 41st AMA Superbike race. On the other hand, he won after suffering through two red flags. “We had a few issues, what with the red flags,” said Mladin, “But my crew worked hard to get my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 running good and I’d like to thank them for that. It was a long race and an interesting race, for sure, but it was good to be pushing hard for the whole race. I enjoyed that.”

Mladin enjoyed the second race of the VIR weekend much more. After getting a fairly decent start, Mladin overtook his teammate within the first five laps to take the lead. In true Mladin fashion, he held that lead until the checkers.

“It was a good race for us,” said Mladin. “I got a little bit better start than yesterday. After looking at the data last night, we realized that the problem is mostly with the way that I start the bike. So now I have to figure out how to start the bike. But we had a good test at Atlanta and now we just need to get this sorted out and I’m looking forward to a good race next weekend.”

Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1
1st Place - AMA Superbike Race 1
1st Place - AMA Superbike Race 2
1st Place - Overall

Marty Craggill, Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000
Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Craggill started the weekend on a positive note. He posted a fastest lap time of 1:26.435 and snagged ninth position on the grid. “I’m pretty happy with my qualifying session. The track’s good and the bike’s good - now we just need to work on the rider,” joked Craggill.

True to his word, Craggill lifted his game for VIR and came away with an eighth-place finish for the first AMA Superbike race of the weekend. With the two red flags resulting in three starts, Craggill consistently worked his way up into the top 10 each time. This is even more impressive, considering Craggill’s privateer team was running used tires in the final re-start.

“The MMM GSX-R1000 is running great,” enthused the Aussie about Saturday’s race. “We’ve improved the front suspension and I feel more comfortable braking and cornering. I still want to go better but we’re starting to make headway.”

In the second race of the weekend, however, Craggill didn’t fare as well. After getting a rough start, he spent much of the race playing catch-up. Then midway through the 28-lap event, he experienced problems with the motorcycle. “I had the worst start of the whole year,” lamented Craggill. “I was feeling pretty good and had gotten up into 10th place when the bike started to feel uncomfortable. I got passed and thought about trying to pass the guy back at the end of the race. But I thought it would be safer not risk it and just finish the race.”

Mladin remains pleased overall with his fledgling team: “I think Marty rode good and I think that it’s great they’re leading factory riders in the points, considering they’re using used parts and tires.”

Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki will next campaign the final round of AMA Superbike race at Road Atlanta next weekend.

Marty Craggill, Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki, #16
8th Place - AMA Superbike Race 1
11th Place - AMA Superbike Race 2

Dunlop Report

It’s going to come down to the last race of the season to determine all of the champions of the AMA 2005 Superbike series. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin was dominant in two Superbike wins, improving his odds to collect an unprecedented sixth AMA Superbike crown. In support series action, Mladin’s teammate Aaron Yates collected his fifth Superstock win to inch closer to the class championship. A victory by Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel improved his upset chances to win a second Formula Xtreme title and Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden collected his second consecutive win to keep his hopes alive for a Supersport ring.

For Dunlop, it was another impressive outing. In the weekend’s five races, Dunlop-shod riders took 36 of the 50 top-ten winning positions.

VIR is predominantly a fast "right-hand" track that generates significant heat in the right side of the rear tire, particularly along the front straightaway, which curves to the right as the riders approach turn one at speeds exceeding 160 mph. Dunlop brought 2583 tires to support the factory teams and support riders in the Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme classes at VIR (as well as next week’s round at Road Atlanta), including rain tires. The factory Superbike teams had three front and three rear tire options, including multi-compound rear tires utilizing Dunlop’s NT (New Technology) construction. The factory Superstock riders had six front and five rear tire compound choices.

Coming into this Superbike round, Mladin led his teammate Ben Spies by a scant nine points in the championship tally. In qualifying, Mladin would pad that margin by one as he rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a new track record of 1:23.986, marking his 46th career pole position and his ninth (out of a potential nine) this season. In the first Superbike race of the weekend doubleheader, Mladin was a man on a mission. Despite three red flags and two poor restarts, the five-time champ relentlessly worked his way through the pack and ultimately took the victory by 3.7 seconds. “It’s not that hard to pass at VIR,” said Mladin. “This track is pretty good about that. It’s also a matter of being aggressive and getting through and that’s what I did. Also, the front of the bike’s sticking very well and I was able to be aggressive in some tight corners.” With teammates Ben Spies coming in second and Aaron Yates in third, Yoshimura Suzuki swept the podium for the fourth time this year.

The results of the second Superbike race nearly duplicated the first, giving Suzuki their second podium sweep of the weekend. It was far-less dramatic, however and Sunday’s race ran without serious incident. With a less-than-ideal start, Mladin once again had to work his way forward, but by lap five he had overtaken teammate Spies. He then motored away to amass a comfortable lead and took the checkered flag with 11.01 seconds in hand. In so doing, he collected his 42nd career Superbike victory while his 10th win this season ties his own record set in 2003 and that of Fred Merkel in 1984. “It’s a long way from over,” said Mladin. “We still have two races to go. I want to thank my guys for working really hard this weekend. Along with Suzuki and Dunlop tires, I’d also like to thank all the fans who came out.” Following Mladin home was Yates and then Spies. Mladin’s win, combined with Spies' third-place finish, staked out a 21-point cushion (471 vs. 450) over Spies in the championship hunt. Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom is in third with 382.

The first support race of the weekend showcased an incredibly-tight battle between Honda Racing teammates Duhamel and Jake Zemke aboard their CBR600RRs in Formula Extreme competition. Zemke led Duhamel by just 11 points coming into the event. Duhamel gained ground in qualifying, establishing a new 600-class lap record of 126.581 seconds and picked up a point in the process. Indicative of the close racing action was the start of lap seven, when according to the AMA’s timing feed, both riders crossed the start-finish line at exactly the same time. Duhamel was not to be denied; his eventual 1.136-second margin of victory was his third of the season and his 11th career Formula Xtreme win. “My bike was strong all weekend,” said Duhamel. “I was going to do everything I could in order to get the win. My CBR600RR rain great and hats off to my crew, they worked really hard to get us in a position to win the race.” With just one round remaining, Zemke’s lead is only five points, meaning that a perfect performance by Duhamel at Road Atlanta (pole, laps led and race win) could seal his second Formula Xtreme championship. MPT Racing’s Danny Eslick holds down third with 171 points.

Superstock action on Sunday morning promised more close-action racing as series-leader Yates hoped to protect a 14-point lead over Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jason Disalvo. In qualifying, Disalvo set the fastest lap at 125.584 on his YZF-R1 despite a painful knee-injury suffered earlier in the day in Supersport practice. Yates led from the start of the race on his GSX-R1000, closely followed by Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden. The two raced nose-to-tail, lap-after-lap until a red-flag on lap 14 brought the action to a premature end, giving Yates his fifth victory of the season. “The Suzuki had great grip at the beginning of the race and then the tires started slipping and I felt more comfortable,” said Yates. “I expected some excitement at the end of the race and I was ready for it, so it’s sort of strange for the race to end this way.” An exhausted Disalvo took third. With one race to go, Yates increased his point lead over Disalvo to 21 (301 vs 280), while Jordon Motorsports Suzuki’s Steve Rapp is third with 230.

Coming into the penultimate Supersport race of the season, Kawasaki Road Racing’s Tommy Hayden had a chance to win his second consecutive Supersport title. He led younger brother Roger Lee by 36 points, but it would take a win to do it. And he almost pulled it off, coming just .331-seconds short of… who else, Roger Lee at the checkered flag. This day belonged to the younger Hayden, who officially led every lap but the first on his ZX-6RR, taking his second consecutive win and third victory of the season. “It was a good race,” said Hayden. “Tom stayed close the whole way. I was hoping he’d give me a break the last couple of laps but it didn’t happen. All in all it was a good day for me.” Yamaha's Jason Disalvo soldiered home to third. Tommy Hayden still holds the championship lead with 301 points going into the final round at Road Atlanta. Roger Lee follows with 270 and Disalvo is third with 240.

The next stop for Dunlop and the AMA road racing tour will be Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, September 2-4, featuring a doubleheader round of Superbike action.

Superstock

In the first race of the day, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates won his fifth AMA Repsol Superstock race of the season and extended his points lead in the title chase at Virginia International Raceway on Sunday morning.

“I was just really comfortable out there,” said Yates from the podium. “I got a great start on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and got into Turn One first. I just tried to keep a smooth rhythm out there and keep the pace fast.”

In the previous afternoon’s qualifying session, Yates carded himself the fourth position on the grid by posting a fastest lap time of 1:26.303. Although the soft-spoken Georgian was pleased about being on the front row, he would have preferred to be on pole.

“I had some issues with the front tire,” he explained. “The qualifying tire made the front end feel a little unstable and I couldn’t get into some of the turns the way I wanted. I kind of feel like that’s holding us back a little, but we still have a practice session tomorrow to work on it.”

Apparently Yates’ Yoshimura Suzuki crew and GSX-R came through. Yates did indeed get out front immediately, and kept up a blistering pace in what should have been a 17-lap race. Unfortunately, a crashed rider caused a red flag toward the end of the event and the AMA called the race.

“The Suzuki had great grip at the beginning of the race and then the tires started slipping and I felt more comfortable,” said the aggressive rider. “About halfway through the race I eased up on the throttle and I couldn’t decide whether he (second-place finisher Roger Hayden) was going to come by me. So I picked it up toward the end of the last lap and then I saw the red flag. I expected some excitement a t the end of the race and I was ready for it, so it’s sort of strange for the race to end this way. But congratulations to Roger for a great race and thanks to Yoshimura Suzuki.”

Yates is currently 21 points ahead of second place in the Superstock championship points chase.
Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #20
1st Place - AMA Repsol Lubricants SuperStock

Honda Report

Temperature: 31 degrees
Climate: Warm, overcast

American Honda’s Jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel endured two red flags and lengthy delays in Saturday’s Superbike race, but never lost focus en route to fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively, in the penultimate round of the AMA Superbike Championship at Virginia International Raceway.

Sunday was more of a challenge, with both suffering mechanical problems.
Even so, Duhamel was a closing fourth, while Zemke went out just past the halfway point while challenging for the final podium position.

Saturday’s race was stopped twice, each break giving the teams time to fine tune the American Honda CBR1000RR’s. Zemke was in third when Sunday’s race was stopped for the second time on the 13th of 28 laps, Duhamel was fifth.
The final leg would be 16 laps.

Off the re-start Zemke took the lead, holding it for a lap before moving to second for four laps, then third for the next nine laps. Zemke lost the final podium position two laps from the finish. Duhamel moved into fifth, his final finishing position, on lap six.

At the start of Sunday’s race, held in brilliant sunshine, Zemke bolted with the leaders while Duhamel dealt with a balky clutch. Second on the opening lap, Zemke settled into third until the ninth lap. He spent his remaining time trying to win back the third position, only to see it come undone with an electrical gremlin lap 15. Duhamel was ninth on the opening lap before a ruthless attack put him up to fifth on lap 10 and fourth when Zemke retired.

Both Superbike races were won by Suzuki’s Mat Mladin. Teammates Ben Spies and Aaron Yates were second and third in race one, with Yates taking second from Spies on Sunday.

As they’ve done all year, Zemke and Duhamel dominated Formula Xtreme on their American Honda CBR600RR’s. From his pole position, Duhamel bolted to a lead he was disinclined to relinquish. Only twice in 17 laps was Zemke able to inch ahead, and then not for long. Both times Duhamel re-passed him on the following laps.

Duhamel edged away with five laps to go and grew the lead to 1.136 seconds at the end. It was his second win in a row and he did it in record time, averaging 92.799 mph.

With only next week’s season finale at Road Atlanta remaining, Zemke leads Duhamel by five points. Regardless of how they do next week, the teammates are guaranteed to give Honda a one-two finish in the standings for the second year in a row.

“There’s only one race left now and it ain’t going to be no picnic at Road Atlanta either,” Duhamel said.

Jake Zemke, 4th, Saturday Superbike
The guys made some changes to the bike this morning and it really came around. The thing’s working a whole lot better. It’s still a little bit hard on the tires. I definitely was starting to slide around quite a bit on the front and the rear. We were starting to reel in (second placed Ben) Spies and I was thinking, ‘Man we might be able to catch him before the end here.’ I was just catching lappers wrong and catching lappers wrong and catching lappers wrong. I just kept getting them in all the wrong spots.
And that allowed Aaron (Yates) to suck right up to us. I was basically a sitting duck at that point.

Miguel Duhamel, 5th, Saturday Superbike
I think we had three races in Superbike; two I was pretty happy with. My starts were not that great, but my times were terrific. I did a 25.3 with race tires. That’s all we had, but they were better than my qualifying time. At the end there we did a little change, it wasn’t maybe enough.
Tomorrow we’ll try to get something better for the Superbike and be a bit more in there. Our lap times are really competitive. We’ve just got to get out with the guys and run with them in beginning, like we did in one or two of those races. We had a good shot at podium. I could see Jake (Zemke) up there and man, I’ve got to at least get up there. If he can do it I can do it and I got to get up there. And he got some great starts. It was terrific. It was a good race.

Jake Zemke, DNF, Sunday Superbike
Something happened to thing at 100% throttle, the thing started cutting out. But it wouldn’t cut out anywhere else. It was just right on top. It wasn’t just cutting out, it was coughing and burbling and sputtering. We’re not really sure yet what it is. The boys will have to tear that one apart and see what happened to it.

Miguel Duhamel, 5th, Sunday Superbike
We started pretty far back and when those guys started to get going I was not able to respond because I had to get through some guys. And they were riding OK, obviously, because I couldn’t get by them comfortably. So once I got by them I just tried to put my head down. I was ten seconds back. The bike was good. I figured I’d give it a shot, see what we can do. We might as well have some fun. I’ve got nothing else to do.

Jake Zemke, 2nd, Formula Xtreme
It was pretty decent, all except for the finishing order, I think. Other than that it was good. We had to play a little bit of catch-up this weekend. I didn’t have the opportunity to test here. I had a little something going on with my elbow at the time. So we were playing catch-up all weekend to Miguel. Hats off to him. He rode great and his crew did a great job and at the end of the day we just didn’t have it for him today, but we’ll come back swinging next week.

Miguel Duhamel, 1st, Formula Xtreme
I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. I’ve got to go out there and win everything I can, lead every lap, and a little bit in the…I wouldn’t call it panic, but definitely the time to do everything I can. It was really tight tracing and I did touch Jake up in turn 14, 14A, that right-hander going in. We were both on the brakes sliding. He started turning, which we had to do and we just touched and I was happy that it wasn’t too much of a big nudge or sent him off or anything like that. And then after that I just said come on, just get yourself together. Put some good laps down. And that’s what I did.

 

Superbike Race 1

1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
4. Jake Zemke (Honda)
5. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
6. Eric Bostrom (Ducati)
7. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
8. Marty Craggill (Suzuki)
9. Jeremy Toye (Honda)
10. Lee Acree (Suzuki)

Superbike Race 2

1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
3. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
7. Eric Bostrom (Ducati)
8. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
9. Steve Rapp (Suzuki)
10. Cory West (Suzuki)

Superbike Points

1. Mat Mladin (471)
2. Ben Spies (450)
3. Eric Bostrom (382)
4. Aaron Yates (377)
5. Miguel Duhamel (341)
6. Neil Hodgson (328)
7. Marty Craggill (290)
8. Steve Rapp (268)
9. Lee Acree (265)
10. Josh Hayes (252)

Superstock Race

1. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki
2. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki
3. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha
4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha
5. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki
6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha
7. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki
8. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki
9. Jacob Holden, Suzuki
10. John Haner, Suzuki

Superstock Points

1. Yates 301
2. Disalvo 280
3. Rapp 230
4. R Hayden 205
5. Haner 196
6. Holden 195
7. Aa Gobert 187
8. T Hayden 168
9. Buckmaster 165
10. May 160

Supersport Race

1. R Hayden (Kawasaki)
2. T Hayden (Kawasaki)
3. Disalvo (Yamaha)
4. Attard (Kawasaki)
5. Buckmaster (Yamaha)
6. Aa Gobert (Yamaha)
7. May (Suzuki)
8. Moore (Yamaha)
9. Knapp (Yamaha)
10. Young (Suzuki)

Supersport Points

1. T Hayden 301
2. R Hayden 270
3. Disalvo 240
4. Aa Gobert 222
5. Spies 207
6. May 205
7. Buckmaster 188
8. Peris 187
9. Jensen 174
10. Attard 172

FX Race

1. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
2. Jake Zemke (Honda)
3. Robert Jensen (Yamaha)
4. Ben Attard (Kawasaki)
5. Michael Barnes (Suzuki)
6. Opie Caylor (Suzuki)
7. Nicky Moore (Yamaha)
8. Ryan Andrews (Ducati)
9. Mike Hale (Honda)
10. Trey Yonce (Suzuki)

FX Points

1. Zemke 281
2. Duhamel 276
3. Eslick 171
4. Attard 165
5. Al Gobert 153
6. Moore 148
7. Peris 135
8. Barnes 131
9. Knapp 121
10. Hester 117