Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won an impressive fourth AMA Superbike race in a row by taking the victory at the second Superbike race of the weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday. Teammate and defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin finished a close second, while Aaron Yates came home in eighth.

“I really have to thank the Yoshimura Suzuki crew for giving me another Suzuki GSX-R1000 to win on,” said Spies from the podium. “I don’t know if the rest of the races will be quite this easy, but we’ve got to keep on it because Mat is a six-time champion and he’s going to come back even harder. So we’ll go home, do some homework and see what we can come up with for Infineon.”

Spies started the afternoon’s 28-lap race from pole position and took the lead immediately. He led for several laps before being overtaken by Mladin. With about 10 laps to go, however, Spies passed his teammate back and rode on to victory.

“Fontana has always been a good track for me,” explained Spies. “We caught a break yesterday, with Mat having some problems. But I had to work for it today. I just tried to set a good pace and then the gap started growing and I just tried to stretch it out.”

Like Spies, Mladin’s start was strong and he led for a number of laps before settling into second place. “With about 10 laps to go, I was wishing I was at the beach,” joked Mladin. “We just didn’t have it today, that’s it. This is the fifth race into the championship and we had to shut it down today to bring it home. It’s good to have somebody here to help me pick up my game and I’m looking forward to the next race.”

Yates, unfortunately, was feeling some after-effects from the shoulder he injured at Fontana during testing back in February. “This track is a little rough on my shoulder,” he said about finishing eighth. “And we’ve been having some set-up issues with the bike as well.”

Superbike Race Two

1. Spies, Suzuki

2. Mladin, Suzuki 4.4secs

3. Zemke, Honda 21.9secs

4. Duhamel, Honda

5. Hodgson, Ducati

6. T Hayden, Kawasaki

7. B Bostrom, Ducati

8. Yates, Suzuki

9. Pridmore, Suzuki

10. Pegram, Honda

Superbike Championship Standings

1. Spies 182

2. Mladin 163

3. Duhamel 140

4. Hodgson 130

5. Yates 126

6. T Hayden 124

7. B Bostrom 119

8. Zemke 110

9. Pridmore 108

10. Pegram 93

Superstock

In spite of a red flag and a re-start, Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates claimed his third AMA Superstock podium in as many races on Sunday afternoon at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

“Man, I’m glad that race is over,” laughed the defending AMA Superstock Champion from the podium. “That race was tough… I’m just happy to have my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 up here on the podium and to finish in the top three. So thanks to my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and Dunlop tires and to all you fans for coming out.”

On the previous Saturday afternoon, Yates posted a fastest lap time of 1:24, 470, which was quick enough to get him into the second spot on the starting grid. “Qualifying was really good,” said Yates. “I was a bit surprised at the time we ended up with and I thought we had a shot at pole position. But the race is where it’s at and I’m looking forward to putting the Yoshimura Suzuki back on top.”

The 17-lap race Superstock did indeed see Yates get his Yoshimura Suzuki on the box. The Georgian got a good start and was running with the leaders when a downed rider caused a red flag. With the re-start, Yates was again out front and finished strong with a podium position.

“My Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 got me off the line really good,” said Yates. “Before the red flag, we had used a different Dunlop tire than everyone else. It didn’t have as much grip but I hoped that would work out toward the end of the race. But then we had the red flag and we changed the tire and adjusted the bike. I ended up struggling with a couple of sections on the track, so I’m just happy to bring home third place.”

Superstock Race Results

1. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha

2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha

3. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki

4. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki

5. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha

6. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki

7. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki

8. Josh Hayes, Honda

9. Jake Holden, Jordan Suzuki

10. Matt Lynn, Suzuki

Superstock Championship Standings 

1. Disalvo 101

2. Hacking 101

3. Yates 94

4. May 82

5. Hayes 75

6. Pridmore 67

7. Holden 65

8. Gobert 65

9. Ulrich 56

10. Attard 53

Supersport Race Results

1. Hacking, Yamaha

2. Barnes, Suzuki

3. Eslick, Suzuki

4. Attard, Kawasaki

5. May, Suzuki

6. Beck, Yamaha

7. Young, Suzuki

8. Meiring, Suzuki

9. Tigert, Honda

10. Caylor, Suzuki

Supersport Championship Standings 

1. Hacking 104

2. Eslick 80

3. May 79

4. Attard 75

5. R Hayden 74

6. Young 64

7. Barnes 56

8. Beck 54

9. Meiring 53

10. Buckmaster 51

Honda Report

American Honda's Jake Zemke scored a pair of podium finishes in the AMA Superbike Championship double-header at California Speedway east of Los Angeles, while teammate Miguel Duhamel solidified his hold on third place in the Superbike point standings.

Racing in front of friends, family, and his extended American Honda family, who came from the company's U.S. headquarters in nearby Torrance, Zemke was a solid third on Saturday and followed it up with a fighting third on Sunday, this time after sticking with the leaders deep into the race. In the end, the pace was a little too hot and Zemke couldn't continue in his quest for a championship win aboard the constantly improving Honda CBR1000RR.

"I like the company I'm keeping up here, I just don't like sitting on the end over here," Zemke said at the Sunday afternoon press conference.

American Honda's Duhamel trailed Zemke home on Sunday by less than four seconds after winning a racelong battle with three fellow factory riders.
Saturday's race was more difficult. Duhamel recovered from a difficult start to do battle with Suzuki's Aaron Yates and former World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson (Ducati). Duhamel finished sixth, just three seconds out of fourth.

"I think we're starting to find our zone and I know this bike can be better even than the way it is now," he said of the Honda CBR1000RR.

The pair of top finishes strengthened his third place in the championship, trailing only the Suzukis of Ben Spies and Mat Mladin.

The podium was identical on both days, with Ben Spies beating Mat Mladin and Jake Zemke.

Jake Zemke, 3rd Saturday, 3rd Sunday
"The bike is coming better and the guys put their heads together last night and came up with a set-up that at least allowed us to see the front of the race for a couple of laps, anyway (on Sunday). Not that we could make any inroads, but they looked like they had about a second on me. I could just see them right there. Hats off to those guys. They rode a great. We'll keep working. Our bikes are quick, but obviously Suzuki has done their homework and they've got a really good motorcycle right now and they've had a good package for the last few years. We're working to try and make it more than a two-rider race at the front. We're just going to keep plugging away at it until we get there.

"Mat (Mladin) was pretty far up there and I could feel my front tire was a bit greasy. I'm sure his was, too. I'm sure everybody's were. I know he's in it for a championship and I'm not, and I'm sure he was just backing off being safe. He had quite a large gap on me. The race went well in a way. It just took me too long to get around Aaron (Yates) and once I did I was able to pull away from him a little bit there. But Ben and Mat had already split at that point so it was just kind of a lonely cruise home in third."

Miguel Duhamel, 6th Saturday, 4th Sunday
"The fun thing for me is we're starting to narrow it down to a pretty decent set-up (on Sunday). We went around the planet a little bit to get back to where we are with the Barber set-up and it's one click away, one spring turn away. So we just made some adjustments and I had to get used to it on the bike. When I dropped the clutch on the green flag that's when I was really feeling out the bike. And it worked really well. There was a few little things on trail braking leaned over a lot, I lost the front three times at the beginning. Then after that happened I altered my riding style. I mean we'll give some points away, but hopefully we won't lose the whole war. I wish I would have been more aggressive at the beginning but you know I have to feel out the new set-up. For a while there I was catching Jake (Zemke). I didn't get really lucky with lapped riders. I thought they were letting me through and they'd come down on me so I'd back out.

"Obviously this track, it's no secret that I have a difficult time here. We got a terrible start (on Saturday) and then I had to get up from that. And for a while I thought we were keeping Jake (Zemke) and Aaron (Yates) about three seconds adrift. I go, 'Maybe they'll come back to us.' I was letting Ben (Bostrom) do most of the work in front of me. Ben was riding smooth and fast. Then I tried to get in front of Ben, couldn't do it. Neil (Hodgson) rode a really patient race. Came by and seemed to have more tires than we did. Came by me, came by Ben. Then I got back by Ben. Tried to catch Neil on those last four laps and did my fastest lap of the race at that point, but it was a handful the whole race. As far as the bike goes, I had to be always ten-tenths to make sure I didn't end up on my head. I felt like I was a juggler in the circus. I was trying to make it work the best I could."

Chuck Miller, American Honda Team Manager
"Although we're frustrated we didn't win, we are continuing to move forward. Our self-reliance and development program is getting stronger and stronger race by race. We're learning more at the races than we are when we go testing. We're actually excited about getting up to Infineon Raceway. We think that track's going to be good for our bikes. We have a couple of things we already talked to Miguel and Jake about that we think we're in the right direction. We don't want to forget all the other strong riders; our big target now is going after Mat (Mladin) and Ben (Spies) and Jake (Zemke) was able to hang with them for ten laps there and keep them in sight. We've got our goals in front of us and we're going to go after it."

Ducati Report

Parts Unlimited Ducati's Neil Hodgson and Ben Bostrom saw their Sunday fortunes at Californian Speedway mirror Saturday's results. Neil earned fifth place on his Ducati 999 and Ben was seventh after the 28-lap race. Both riders battled in a pack that saw four factory riders trade positions around the 21-turn circuit.

Neil got a better start on Sunday and was able to fight for position from the beginning. "It was a tough race today. I enjoyed it, concentrating on my riding and trying to get the best result we could while racing some other factory bikes," said Hodgson, third quickest in the morning warm-up. "The race went by rather quickly for me. We would rather be racing for first place, that's no secret. Ducati have been working hard and we have been making progress. Infineon Raceway is one of my favorite tracks and we're looking forward to racing there."

Hodgson leaves Fontana fourth in AMA Superbike points and has finished in the top six each race this year.

Ben Bostrom was seventh on the day. "I feel like I am riding well and the bike is fantastic. I think we can improve our setup and that's where we will work," said Bostrom. "We learned some things today and I'm ready to get back on the track as soon as possible."

The next race for Parts Unlimited Ducati team is May 19-21 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.

Dunlop Report

The still-young 2006 AMA Superbike Series season produced plenty of surprises with a number of different names and faces appearing on the podiums during round three at California Speedway in Fontana, California over the April 28-30 weekend.

During Superbike qualifying on Saturday morning, Yoshimura Suzuki’s ascending star Ben Spies altered reality at California Speedway as the young Texan was the first rider to ever break into the realm of 1 minute, 22 seconds around the circuit. Spies’ time of 1:22.939 came on a cool and cloudy Saturday morning. Even though temperatures increased later that afternoon and on Sunday, he made the most of his pole position, winning both Superbike races. That makes it a stunning four victories in a row while simultaneously shifting the entire axis of the Superbike racing world. Saturday’s action also saw Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom dominate the Formula Xtreme action as he led the field wire-to-wire to capture his first FX win since the big-bore days of 1998. Sunday’s other events included Superstock, won by Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Jason DiSalvo, while a third member of Team Yamaha, Jamie Hacking, ran away from the field and led the final 13 of 14 laps in a red-flagged Supersport race. Once again, all race winners rode on Dunlop tires and 11 of 12 podium finishes over the course of the weekend went to Dunlop riders.

As a bonus, race fans in attendance at California Speedway on Saturday were also treated to the season opening round of the AMA Supermoto Series, which featured a longish course laid out on the Fontana infield. This event was also a Dunlop-driven affair, as Graves Motorsports Yamaha rider Doug Henry won both Supermoto races, Troy Lee Honda newcomer Cassidy Anderson took the Supermoto Lites race and factory KTM pilot Ben Carlson ran away with the Supermoto Unlimited win.

When California Speedway first opened in 2002, the new course proved to be quite abrasive—as would be expected—thus causing heavy tire wear. Over the years, the surface has since smoothed out significantly with use, and has therefore become much easier on tires. As a result, during this race weekend racers tended to choose softer compounds than in previous years. The race weekend also started out with cool, overcast weather during Friday and Saturday morning practice, conditions that also favored soft tires. However, as temperatures warmed, a number of riders made a shift to harder compounds. Dunlop came fully prepared, with more than 1600 tires on hand.

On Saturday afternoon, the road racing action began with the first Superbike race of the weekend doubleheader, and things looked mighty familiar as reigning Superbike champ Mat Mladin fired his Suzuki GSX-R1000 into the lead. However, by the third lap Mladin’s young teammate Ben Spies had nailed down second place, and he began to close the gap on the Number One plate-holder. At the mid-race point, Spies grabbed the lead when the pair encountered some lapped traffic and the 21-year-old Texan quickly hammered out a short gap, which he increased with every lap thereafter. By the time the white flag showed to signal the last lap, young Ben could afford to put things on cruise and he finished with a fat 6.9-second gap over teammate Mladin, while Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke finished in third place all alone. When asked what he was thinking while he was closing on Mladin from behind, Spies said, “I knew we could move up, bit I didn’t know how long it would take me… I just tried to save my rear tire and I was being real easy, and actually giving up a bit of time coming out (of turns). And it paid off in the end; when we made the pass I just kind of put my head back down… Then the gap kept getting bigger and bigger.” Yosh Suzuki teammate Aaron Yates claimed fourth place by holding off a charging Neil Hodgson on a Ducati Austin 999R and Honda’s Miguel Duhamel claimed sixth place, followed by Ducati’s Ben Bostrom, Kawasaki Road Racing’s Tommy Hayden and Jordan Motorsports Suzuki rider Jason Pridmore; all riders in the top nine selected Dunlop tires.

Superbike Race One Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
3. Jake Zemke (Honda)
4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
7. Ben Bostrom (Ducati)
8. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)
9. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)

The next race, Saturday’s Formula Xtreme event, provided just one quick thrill at the beginning before Team Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom killed all suspense by flat-out disappearing from the rest of the field aboard his factory Yamaha YZF-R6. As the race waved off, polesitter and teammate Jason DiSalvo suffered a terrible start (“My practice starts were good but the real one sucked,” he said after the race), leaving the door wide open for the adjacent starters on the front row: Bostrom and Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes. Neither wanted to let up going into the first turn, and as a result they both nearly came together. Following that bit of drama, Bostrom eked out a small gap over Hayes and a rapidly closing DiSalvo. From lap five through eight, Hayes and DiSalvo passed and re-passed each other repeatedly, and this tussle allowed Bostrom to check out, which he did with a vengeance: on lap nine he turned a 1:26.387, which was faster than his qualifying time of 1:26.471. He went on to collect the checkered flag with 7.54 seconds over DiSalvo, who had worked out a comfortable gap over Hayes by the end of the race. After his appearance in victory circle, Bostrom explained, “With these 600cc bikes, you have to stay aggressive all the time; you can’t afford to give up even a tenth of a second, because it’s really hard to get it back again. I’m still not used to that mindset, having spent all those past years on Superbikes. I’m used to conserving my tires, which you have to do so you have something left at the end of a Superbike race. In fact, that has been my forte over the years, going back to dirt-track racing. But with 600s, you just have to go for it, and as of today, I think I’m getting used to racing the smaller bikes again. By the middle of the race I just got into a groove, and that’s when I turned my fast lap.” Erion Honda’s Aaron Gobert claimed fourth place ahead of Matsushima Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, while Rockwall Honda riders Ryan Andrews and Ty Howard, plus MPT Performance Suzuki rider Blake Young rounded out the top eight finishers—all bikes again being outfitted with Dunlop tires. DiSalvo still holds first place in the FX standings with 100 points; next come Hayes with 93, Gobert with 79 and Eric Bostrom with 73 points.

Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha)
2. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha)
3. Josh Hayes (Honda)
4. Aaron Gobert (Honda)
5. Danny Eslick (Suzuki)
6. Ryan Andrews (Honda)
7. Ty Howard (Honda)
8. Blake Young (Suzuki)

Just before lunchtime on Sunday, the Superstock bikes took to a warm track at California Speedway. This race was the tale of two starts: Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking looked confident aboard his Graves-tuned YZF-R1LE for the first seven laps, before the race was red-flagged. Following the restart, Hacking’s teammate Jason DiSalvo quickly rose to the fore as Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates followed before Hacking took over second place on lap 13. However, in the meanwhile DiSalvo had built a cushion of about 1.5 seconds, which he stretched out to 2.5 seconds by the time he took the checkered flag. “I went out there and ran my own race,” DiSalvo said during his post-race interview. “It’s good to be taking home a victory instead of that second place we got yesterday.” With Yates in third place, the next finishers included M4 Emgo Suzuki rider Geoff May, Team Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom, Jordan Suzuki’s Steve Rapp and Jason Pridmore, Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes and another Jordan Suzuki piloted by Jake Holden. Of these top nine finishers, eight used Dunlops. DiSalvo and Hacking now tie for the points lead with 101 each, and Yates trails in third with 94 points.

Superstock Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha)
2. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha)
3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
5. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha)
6. Steve Rapp (Suzuki)
7. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
8. Josh Hayes (Honda)
9. Jake Holden (Suzuki)

Jamie Hacking must have had something very special for lunch; following the break, he came out firing in the afternoon Supersport race and quickly put to rest any questions about who would win this event. By lap 6 he had built up a 2.9-second lead, and when a downed rider brought out the red flag that would end the race after 14 laps, Hacking and his Yamaha YZF-R6 were more than 10 seconds in front of the next rider, Mike Barnes. This was Hacking’s first race win for 2006, although he has a total of 13 Supersport victories to his credit. “What a special race that was,” said an excited Hacking. “Now it’s time to stay focused for the rest of the year!” Danny Eslick guided his Matsushima Suzuki to third place to collect his first-ever AMA podium, and next came Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard, Suzuki-mounted Geoff May, Yamaha-mounted Michael Beck, MPT Performance Suzuki pilot Blake Young, Tony Meiring and his Safety First Suzuki, Jeff Tigert aboard a Pro Honda Oils Honda CBR600RR and Opie Caylor with another Safety First Suzuki. In total, eight of the top 10 riders used Dunlop tires. Hacking now leads the points chase with 104 and Eslick holds second in the standings with 80. Team Kawasaki pilot Roger Hayden won the first two races this season, but due to a broken leg he missed this event and slides to fifth in the ranks with 74 points.

Supersport Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Jamie Hacking (Yamaha)
3. Danny Eslick (Suzuki)
4. Ben Attard (Kawasaki)
6. Michael Beck (Yamaha)
7. Blake Young (Suzuki)
8. Tony Meiring (Suzuki)
9. Jeff Tigert (Honda)
10. Opie Caylor (Suzuki)

To many people, the second Superbike race of the weekend looked just like the first: the super Suzuki duo of Mladin and Spies traded the lead once again with Spies leading the most laps and taking the another win, and Honda’s Jake Zemke finished all alone in third for the second time in two days. More specifically, Spies grabbed the holeshot and led the first four laps before Mladin asserted himself and took the lead. It looked like vintage Mat at work once again, but the young Suzuki rider was not cowed in the least; Spies seized the lead from Mladin on lap 18, carved out an impressive gap almost immediately and never suffered a serious challenge again. A telling statistic: Spies ran the fastest lap of the race on lap 20, deep into the event. “I was saving my rear tire, making up time on the infield,” he said later. “With eight laps to go I put my head down and tried to lower the pace again and see what would happen. But the Dunlops have gotten so much better I could pretty much ride hard the whole race.” Still and all, Mladin enjoyed a comfortable lead over Zemke, but his Honda teammate Miguel Duhamel had his hands full the whole race fending off determined assaults from Ducati Austin’s Neil Hodgson, Team Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden, Ducati’s Ben Bostrom, Team Suzuki’s Aaron Yates and Jordan Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore, who finished in that order. Once again, all top nine Superbike riders chose Dunlop tires. With his four victories and one runner-up spot at Daytona, Ben Spies now holds firm control of first place in the Superbike standings with 182 points. Such unprecedented success is leading many observers to crown Spies as the Man Who Would Be King over his teammate and reigning champion Mat Mladin, while others opine it’s still too early in the season to say for sure. In any case, all agree that 2006 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting title chases in a long while. For the time being, Mladin trails in points with 163, while Duhamel follows with 140 and Hodgson with 130.

Superbike Race Two Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Ben Spies (Suzuki)
2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki)
3. Jake Zemke (Honda)
4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)
7. Ben Bostrom (Ducati)
8. Aaron Yates (Suzuki)
9. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)

Next stop for Dunlop and the 2006 AMA Superbike road racing tour is Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, May 19-21. Round Four features a doubleheader for the Superbike series.

Hotbodies Racing Report

Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Marty Craggill was headed for a top-10 finish at California Speedway’s AMA Superstock race on Sunday in Fontana, Calif., when a red flag caused by a downed rider stopped the race. Craggill was unable to re-start the event.

“The race was going good,” said a matter-of-fact Craggill afterward. “The Suzuki GSX-R1000 was going good and I was feeling better than I had yesterday. It’s a shame, but that’s racing. Now we’ll just focus on Infineon Raceway next month.”

Saturday’s qualifying session saw Craggill post a best lap time of 1:26.636, resulting in a fourth-row starting position on the grid of the 2.8-mile, 21-turn track. “The Suzuki is pretty good,” said Craggill. “It’s really fast, even though my results don’t show it right now. Basically, we did really well on race tires but not so good on qualifiers. But I’m happy with the overall set-up and it’s the race that counts.”

In the actual 17-lap race on Sunday, Craggill got a pretty good start and began to work his way through the pack. Unfortunately, the red flag stopped the race and Craggill pulled into the pits, where his crew discovered a problem with the bike’s rear axle.

“Basically, a nut in the rear axle failed,” said team owner and reigning AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin. “It’s too bad and this was a tough lesson for the team, but they’ve learned from it and I don’t think it will happen again.”

Hotbodies Racing Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki's next AMA Repsol Superstock race will be at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., May 19 - 21, 2006.