Superbike Race One

Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin finished second in Saturday’s AMA Superbike race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. Teammate Aaron Yates crashed on the first lap but resumed the race and ended up 32nd. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies also crashed, but finished up in fourth.

“It was a good race for us today,” said Mladin. “Ben and Neil (Hodgson) got away on the start but I tried to be a little bit safe. But it was a good race for us and we’ll take second place -- and the points -- and hopefully come back tomorrow and get the win.”

In Friday afternoon’s initial qualifying session, Mladin snagged his 43rd career pole position and his sixth one of the year by setting a track-record-breaking best lap of 2.12:553 seconds. Spies and Yates were gridded second and third, respectively, with Spies posting a best time of 2.13:345 and Yates a 2.14:235 in Saturday’s session.

“We’ve been looking forward to this racetrack all year because we believe it will be a better one for the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000,” Mladin said on Friday. “It’s such a solid motorcycle and the front end lets you do amazing things with it. With a track like this, when you have a fast motorcycle that let’s you do what you want with the front end, that’s pretty much everything you need.”

Saturday afternoon saw what was supposed to be the first of the two 16-lap Superbike races scheduled for the weekend. Due to a nasty rainstorm, however, the race was first declared “wet” and was eventually limited to only eight laps.

Five-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin had a conservative start and was running in around seventh place on the wet, 14-turn track. But as fellow riders went down and Mladin passed competitors, he moved into third place. In spite of coming into the pits for a new rear tire, he still finished in second place.

“These were treacherous conditions for everyone out there and everyone on the podium did a great job in finishing up here in these conditions,” said Mladin, who said these were the worst conditions he’d ever raced in.

Yates, on the other hand, got a great start and was out in the lead on the first lap. Unfortunately, he went down shortly thereafter. But his Yoshimura Suzuki crew came through and Yates was back in the race at the back of the field. In spite of his best efforts, he couldn’t catch up before the race was red flagged.

“My Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 got me a good jump on the start and into turn one about as good as I could get,” said Yates. “But then I was on the brakes and the bike just slid and I hit the ground. I’m really bummed about it. I got the bike going and my guys got it fixed and at least I got back out there and rode around, which helped my confidence because the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R100 was feeling really good.”

Like Yates, Spies got a good start and then moved into the lead when his teammate went down. He held the lead for much of the race, then slowed and came into the pits for a new rear tire. Shortly after returning to the soaked track in fourth place, he also went down; however, the race was red flagged due to rain right after that and Spies ended up with a top-five finish.

“It was good until it went bad,” said Spies afterward. “After Aaron fell, I got into the lead and started just getting in a rhythm. I tried to back it down and conserve the tire, but I had to come in and get new tire anyway. I was trying to get back in the lead and I ended up falling a couple of times and then they red flagged the race.”

Team Yoshimura Suzuki will campaign the second AMA Superbike race of the weekend at Road America on Sunday, June 5.

Superstock Race

Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates won his second AMA Repsol SuperStock race of the season at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, on Sunday. By carding this victory, Yates moves into the points lead in the title chase.

“I was just trying to stay focused and go forward,” said Yates. “All weekend we’ve been working on getting me more comfortable on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 with tires that are kind of shagged out and sliding around a bit.”

Yates started his SuperStock weekend out right with a good qualifying session on Saturday. After posting a best lap time of 2:15.420, the Georgia native came away with the second spot on the starting grid.

“I went out on a new race tire for the first time and got a good lap,” he said after the session. “But I really wanted to get pole position for the point and for Suzuki. It’s going to be a good race tomorrow.”

Yates was not wrong. At the start, Yates took the lead immediately but was unable to keep it. For most of the 10-lap race, Yates was dicing for second and third positions. Then, with just a few laps remaining, the aggressive rider moved firmly into second place. And in a daring last-lap move, he made the pass for the lead and held it until the checkered flag.

“All week in practice, I’d gotten hooked up with (second-place finisher Geoff Ma) and he was going pretty fast and I knew I would be racing him,” said Yates. “I was pushing my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 so hard to catch him and then I couldn’t decide if I could pass him and make it stick. But I caught up to him and went into the turn a little slower and it worked out really good. I tried to do everything right and not spin my tire too much and lose my drive.”

Superbike Race Two

The AMA Superbike double-header weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, was a very good one for Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki. Five-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin came away with a hefty points lead in the title chase after winning Sunday’s race and finishing second on Saturday.

Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Marty Craggill, meanwhile, captured his best-ever AMA Superbike finish on Saturday with a fifth-place overall. Privateer Craggill not only finished in front of several factory-supported riders, he is also the first privateer in the title chase.

Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000
Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mladin started out the weekend as he has at every AMA Superbike race this season - by taking the pole position. So far, he has six out of a possible six for 2005 and 43 career pole positions. Furthermore, his 2:12.553 lap time was a new track record.

Although Saturday’s race was rainy and wet, Mladin rode his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 conservatively and carded a podium spot and took the points. Sunday’s race was under sunny skies and Mladin took the lead quickly and led all the laps to his 39th career victory.

“We’re in a good position for the title,” said Mladin. “We gave up a few points at Fontana and we’re trying to build those up again. Getting the win today was great, but it was important for us to finish well yesterday in such bad conditions. Right now, I’m having to ride the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 a little differently than I’d like to. I’m glad we have the month off so we can work on that. Overall the motorcycle is just fantastic but there are just a few hiccoughs that I’d like to change. But I’m happy with the result overall.”

Marty Craggill, Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000
Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Craggill was excited to secure his best-ever finish in an AMA Superbike race. “I rode around and everybody else fell off,” joked Craggill of the wet race. “I got a good start and I caught up to Jake (Zemke) and then my tire went off. But it was the same tire I’d used in my warm-up laps, so that’s pretty good. I saw my pit board that I was up six or seven seconds so I just rode around after that. I don’t mind the rain, I usually go good in the rain.”

Unfortunately for the team, Craggill’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 suffered technical difficulties at the start of Sunday’s race. Craggill pulled in right before the start and eventually started from pit lane. After the red flag, the team decided not to go back out.

“The bike wasn’t running correctly,” said Craggill. “It was running rough. The guys looked at it and we decided we couldn’t get it fixed before the re-start. But we have a month off and I know we’ll be ready for Laguna Seca.”

Added Team Owner Mladin, “It’s just bad luck. We need to go back and have a look and see what happened. We just have to take it on the chin and move on.”

Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki will next campaign the AMA Superbike race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA, the weekend of July 8-10.

Honda Report

American Honda's Jake Zemke put the Honda CBR1000RR on the podium in Sunday's sun-blessed Superbike race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, with teammate Miguel Duhamel very nearly joining him.

Zemke ran a strong second for the entire race on the high-speed, four-mile track, finding new speed in the new power-up engine of the Honda CBR1000RR.
With second place within sight, Zemke was balked by a lapped rider allowing Ben Spies (Suzuki) the narrow opening he needed to pull in front. Zemke struck back on the uphill run to the flag, only to come up 0.455 seconds short.

"Those guys have been working so hard all year long just to get us to this point to where we can actually finish on the box," Zemke said of his Merlyn Plumlee-led crew.

Duhamel was heading a four-rider fight for third when he slowed dramatically on the eighth of 16 laps. A freak mechanical gremlin caused fuel from the overflow bottle to spray into his windscreen and onto his helmet visor. Unsure of the severity of the problem, Duhamel pitted for quick repairs. He was credited with 22nd.

"It's an oversight because it's nothing major," Duhamel said. "Everything on the bike was great. The bike was probably the best we had all weekend."

Sunday's race was won by Suzuki's Mat Mladin over teammate Ben Spies and Zemke.

Duhamel won his second Formula Xtreme final on a wet/dry track on Saturday with Zemke a close second after passing Michael Barnes (Suzuki) on the final lap. The American Honda teammates have shared every race victory this season, Zemke taking four wins and Duhamel two.

Saturday's Superbike race began on a wet track and ended in a deluge, race officials calling it official just past half distance.

In only his second wet race, the end came a lap too late for Zemke. A turn one crash ended his day, but scoring reverted to the previous lap and he was credited with sixth.

Duhamel fell on a freshly painted slick curb on the first lap, but remounted and came through the field to finish seventh.

Former World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson won his first AMA Superbike race in the downpour, with Mladin second and Kawasaki's Josh Hayes third.

Jake Zemke, 3rd, Sunday Superbike
You know, I want to be racing with Mat (Mladin) for a win, not racing for third place. But you know that's the way it goes and we got to take it one step at a time and that's kind of what we've been doing all year. And our results have been getting better and better and we're getting closer and closer to the front every weekend. Like I said, it's just really nice to be able to give the crew this little bit of enjoyment for all their hard work.
Those guys put in some long hours and it's really tough at times and it's just really nice to be able to be up here and see all the smiles on their faces for all their hard work.

Miguel Duhamel, 22nd, Sunday Superbike
It probably spewed a little bit coming out of seven and I just smelled it and when I hit the brakes it just exploded into the windscreen and into my visor. It's not like I was thinking I could smell gas. It was all over the place. I thought the tank cracked in the front where the attachment is. But it wasn't the case. It was the overflow bottle and the hose being too long causing pressure and spewing the gas out. I think I would have been on the podium today, for sure.

Jake Zemke, 6th, Saturday Superbike
I've only ever raced in the rain one other time so it's all a new experience for me. It wasn't too bad. The rain definitely started coming down there towards the end and visibility was really bad. And hydroplaning was a little bit of an issue. Just went into turn one and I had just started to ease onto the brakes and I felt them start to work and then all of a sudden nothing and I could just feel the bike was just taking off.
Pretty soon the rear end started passing the front and the thing hit the steering lock and it just shot me off the high-side.

Miguel Duhamel, 7th, Saturday Superbike
There's, I don't know, a three inch wide asphalt line inside Canada Corner between the tire patches and the painted line. I was trying to put the bike in there and I just touched the painted line and boom, down I went. I picked the bike up. I thought my day was done because I saw the brake reservoir was gone. But I popped it back in and everything was right and said, 'Let's go back racing again.' Went back out and brought it in.

Miguel Duhamel, 1st Formula Xtreme
I was just going for every wet patch I could see. Just riding all over the place. It really paid off. My tires were good. I was still saving my tire in case somebody did a different set-up than me and came close, I could have a last lap hurrah going. Thankfully, we didn't need it. After that it was pretty easy. Just sailing out there and just trying to stay out of trouble. But it was such a tough race here. I cannot imagine how many cracks and patches of tar and different surfaces we have here. It's really, really difficult.

Jake Zemke, 2nd, Formula Xtreme
I was just trying to be real safe out there. Obviously Miguel (Duhamel) and myself are in a little bit of a championship scuffle. I just wanted to make sure we came home in one piece and got some good points coming out of here.
Towards the end of the race there I could see (Michael Barnes) was spinning up pretty bad and he was coming back to me pretty quick. Luckily for me he was shooting bb's in the shape of rubber at me and I was able to go by him going into turn eight there on the last lap. All in all it's not too bad.
Second place for the day and we'll take that and move on to the next one.


 

Superbike Race 1

1. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
3. Josh Hayes (Kawasaki)
4. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
5. Marty Craggill (Suzuki)
6. Jake Zemke (Honda)
7. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
8. Larry Pegram (Honda)
9. John Haner (Honda)
10. Akira Tamitsuji (Suzuki)
 

Superbike Race 2

1. Mladin
2. Spies
3. Zemke
4. Bostrom
5. Yates
6. Hayes
7. Roberts
8. Rapp
9. Acree
10. McBain

Superbike Points

1. Mladin 325
2. Spies 300
3. Yates 265
4. Hodgson 249
5. E Bostrom 231
6. Duhamel 204
7. Zemke 186
8. Craggill 186
9. Hayes 178
10. Acree 178

Superstock Race

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

Superstock Points

1. Yates 190
2. Disalvo 184
3. Hayden 168
4. Hacking 156
5. Rapp 152
6. Holden 130
7. Haner 126
8. R Hayden 118
9. Al Gobert 118
10. May 113

Supersport Race

1. T Hayden
2. R Hayden
3. Disalvo
4. Aa Gobert
5. Spies
6. May
7. Buckmaster
8. Peris
9. Jensen
10. Conrad

Supersport Points

1. T Hayden 211
2. Hacking 165
3. R Hayden 163
4. Spies 149
5. Disalvo 146
6. Aa Gobert 146
7. May 135
8. Peris 134
9. Jensen 128
10. Attard 116

FX 600cc Race

1. Duhamel
2. Zemke
3. Barnes
4. Attard
5. Eslick
6. Al Gobert
7. Hale
8. Jensen
9. Chirinos
10. Filice

FX 600cc Points

1. Zemke 212
2. Duhamel 205
3. Eslick 149
4. Al Gobert 135
5. Attard 112
6. Peris 112
7. Moore 106
8. Knapp 85
9. Hester 85
10. Ferrer 84