AMA Pro Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader at Road America Marks AMA Pro Road
Racing Mid-Season
Biggest AMA Pro Road Racing Weekend Since Daytona Takes To the Series'
Biggest Track
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 4, 2009) - The biggest weekend of competition
since the season-opening Daytona 200 Week by Honda is set for the
monstrous Road America road course this weekend where the AMA Pro Suzuki
Superbike Doubleheader will be Round 6 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing
series.
Every division within AMA Pro Road Racing will be in action Friday,
Saturday and Sunday at Road America, but the undisputed headline events
will be dual feature races for AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike
presented by Parts Unlimited and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by
AMSOIL. Also on the card is the season's second dual East/West AMA Pro
SuperSport presented by Shoei race and the multi-rider action of the AMA
Pro SunTrust Moto-GT division.
Road America's AMA Pro Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader marks the midway
point of 2009's season and is the second of only three weekends on the
schedule that showcases every division under the AMA Pro Road Racing
umbrella. Flag-to-flag coverage of the four featured Road America races,
as well as SuperSport and SunTrust Moto-GT highlights, will be broadcast
on AMA Pro Prime Time on SPEED in consecutive episodes on Saturday, June
13th and Saturday, June 20th at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT).
Respective American Superbike and Daytona SportBike Championship leaders
Mat Mladin (No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX- R1000) and
Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) will lead a strong
entry of top riders and teams in the premier classes to the 4.05-mile
Road America circuit that is the biggest track on the AMA Pro Road
Racing schedule.
Mladin has been the man to beat in American Superbike all year and has
won eight of the year's first nine races and every pole. He has led
the championship all season, currently has 268 points, and also leads
American Superbike in all statistical categories. He is part of the
powerhouse Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki team that also includes
Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) and
Wisconsin's own Blake Young (No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki
GSX-R1000).
Hayden is second in the standings with 189 points and has four
second-place finishes and two thirds to his credit. He finished second
in both races at Auto Club Speedway in March and also made a pair of
podium appearances one race ago at Infineon Raceway.
Young is likely to be back in action at his home track after missing
the Infineon event due to severe injuries to his left pinkie and ring
finger after an early accident in the Sunday final two events ago at
Barber Motorsports Park. His best results came in the last two races
just before his incident and included seconds in Race 1 at Barber and
the Sunday finale at Road Atlanta in early April.
Yamaha's American Superbike riders Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp.
USA Yamaha R1) and Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1)
have collectively come on strong in the last three races. Hayes broke up
Mladin's 2009 win streak and Suzuki's several season lock on American
Superbike with a breakout victory at Infineon in the Saturday final.
That milestone win was the highlight of a strong streak of consecutive
top-five finishes in the last six races, which has moved Hayes to
third in the championship with 160 points. Bostrom is fourth in the
championship just 10 points behind his teammate and has hit the podium
in three of his last four races, including a season best second in the
Sunday final at Infineon.
Geoff May (No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) is fifth
in the American Superbike Championship with 143 points and his best
showings have been three third-place finishes in Race 1 at Auto Club and
both rounds at Road Atlanta. His Jordan Suzuki teammate Aaron Yates (No.
23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) had his best finish of the season in
the Sunday final at Barber where he placed second and backed up with a
solid fourth in Race 1 at Infineon.
Neil Hodgson (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR) returned to action
at Infineon after being sidelined for several months after finishing
second in the Daytona opener. Hodgson suffered a motocross training
injury right after Daytona but did manage to crack the top 10 in the
Sunday final on his first weekend back in action at Infineon. Jake
Holden filled in solidly at Corona for Hodgson and is continuing to
race now on the No. 59 Holden Racing Honda CBR1000RR. Another rider
in the Honda camp is Aaron Gobert (No. 96 Team Trifoglio Racing Honda
CBR1000RR).
Ducati's Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati
1098R) had a great weekend at Infineon for his best showings since
leading and placing fourth in the Daytona opener and third in Race 1
at Auto Club. Pegram finished third in the Saturday final and fifth on
Sunday at Infineon, and Road America should be a good track for the lone
Ducati in the series.
Other riders to keep an eye on include David Anthony (No. 25 Aussie
Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000), Taylor Knapp (No. 44 Taylor Knapp Racing
Suzuki GSX-R1000), Chris Ulrich (No. 18 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki
GSX-R1000), Anthony's teammate Hawk Mazzotta (No. 121 Aussie Dave Racing
Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Scott Jensen (No. 61 Moto Garage Racing Suzuki
GSX-R1000).
A total of 32 entries are set for the AMA Pro American Superbike class
and the division's pair of races each start at 3 p.m. local time
Saturday and Sunday. Both races are 13 laps for 50 miles.
Daytona SportBike Battle
While Mladin has taken firm control in American Superbike, Cardenas
could be on a similar streak at mid season in Daytona SportBike. The
talented Colombian has won the last four races and five of the last six
to take the points lead. His impressive run includes sweeps of both the
Infineon and Barber weekends and his first career Daytona SportBike win
in Race 1 at Road Atlanta.
Cardenas has 203 points heading to Road America and leads Jamie Hacking
(No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R), who is second in
the standings with 179 points. Although still looking for a win, Hacking
may be one of the most consistent riders in AMA Pro Road Racing and has
finished out of the top five just twice this year.
Danny Eslick (No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R) is the only other
Daytona SportBike rider with multiple wins, and he swept the Auto Club
weekend and won the Sunday final at Road Atlanta. He is third in the
championship with 168 points.
The only other Daytona SportBike class winner this year is Bostrom who
captured the season-opening Daytona 200 from the pole in a one-off
start. Hayes also moonlighted in the Daytona 200 but Josh Herrin (No.
8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) and his 16-year-old teammate Tommy Aquino
(No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) are Yamaha's full season riders in
Daytona SportBike.
Herrin shook off a brief stretch of bad luck to return to the top-three
podium at Infineon where he placed third in the Sunday final after
leading the most race laps. He also finished second to Bostrom at
Daytona, scored another runner-up showing in Race 2 at Road Atlanta and
heads to Road America fifth in the championship with 136 points. Aquino
turned in a season-best finish of fourth just one race ago in the Sunday
final at Infineon.
Cardenas teams with the equally quick Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4
Suzuki GSX-R600) who has won the pole at the last three races. He also
finished third in the Daytona 200 and Race 1 at Auto Club before posting
season-best second-place finishes behind Cardenas in the Saturday
final at Barber and Sunday race at Infineon. DiSalvo is fourth in the
championship with 148 points.
Chaz Davies (No. 57 Factory Aprilia /Millennium Technologies Team
Aprilia RSV) is the top Aprilia threat and a pair of recent fourth-place
showings at Barber and Infineon has kept the former Daytona 200 winner
in touch with the championship leaders. Steve Rapp (No. 48 Bazzaz/Pat
Clark Motorsports Yamaha R6) is another past Daytona 200 winner who is
hitting his stride after taking his first podium of the year at Infineon
with a third-place finish in the Saturday final.
Jake Zemke (No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) and his Canadian
teammate Chris Peris (No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) saw their best
results this season at Road Atlanta in addition to a fifth for Zemke
in the Sunday final at Infineon. Zemke also led the most race laps and
finished fourth on Saturday at Road Atlanta and Peris finished third in
the Sunday final at the same event.
Hacking's teammate Roger Hayden (No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki
Ninja ZX-6R) - Tommy Hayden's youngest brother - made his first start
of the year at Road Atlanta and promptly went out and finished second
to Cardenas in Race 1. He currently doesn't factor into championship
contention after missing the year's first three races but is a rider to
watch throughout the Road America weekend.
Race 1 for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike will be Saturday at 4 p.m. local
time with the weekend's second race for the division getting the green
flag at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Like American Superbike, both races are 13
laps for 50 miles.
SuperSport Doubles Up
The AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei class is divided into East and
West Championships but Road America will see both divisions competing at
the same time. Riders will race for the overall win and points in their
designated championship, and the dual format has produced a strong entry
of 23 young riders for Road America.
The respective championship leaders from both coasts are entered at
Road America but a true spoiler straight from the Flat Track ranks
could make things interesting. West leader Tyler Odom (No. 46 Erion
Racing/Pro Honda Oils & Chemicals Honda CBR600RR) and East front runner
Joey Pascarella (No. 25 LTD Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) and the rest of the
competition should have their hands full with James "The Rocket" Rispoli
(No. 71 NPS Racing Suzuki GSX-R600) who is making his first SuperSport
start of the season. In addition to being a top Flat Track rider,
Rispoli showed his road racing talent in SunTrust Moto-GT competition
last year.
Odom won the dual East/West season-opening race in Daytona and is
one of several 2009 SuperSport winners heading to Road America.
The list also includes Road Atlanta SuperSport East winner Leandro
Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R), Auto Club
SuperSport West victor Dustin Dominguez (No. 44 House of Kawasaki
Ninja ZX-6R) and Barber SuperSport East winner Garrett Carter
(Riderdiscount.com/Woodcraft Yamaha YZF-R6).
A proving ground series, SuperSport is reserved strictly for
up-and-coming riders between the ages of 16 and 21 who compete on
600cc sport bikes that are only minimally modified from what you will
find at your local Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda or other motorcycle
dealerships.
The green flag is scheduled to drop for the only 10-lap (40 miles) AMA
Pro SuperSport race of the weekend at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
SunTrust Moto-GT Returns To Road America
The AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT class will make its third appearance at
Road America last year and will be back with a two-hour race at 11 a.m.
on Saturday. SunTrust Moto-GT It is the only class in AMA Pro Road
Racing that features multi-class racing with teams of riders that share
a single motorcycle in a race. As a result, SunTrust Moto-GT is the only
series in AMA Pro Road Racing that features rider changes and refueling
during planned pit stops.
Another distinguishing element is that Moto-GT features two classes
of bikes racing at the same time for overall and class honors. The
faster GT1 class features a line-up of motorcycles as diverse as Daytona
SportBike with top machines from Aprilia, Triumph, Ducati, Kawasaki,
Buell and Suzuki all set to do battle. The slightly smaller GT2 class
features bikes from Kawasaki, Buell, Suzuki and Ducati.
Daytona winners Wisconsin Racing (No. 20 Wisconsin Racing Ducati 848)
should be a team of interest for Elkhart Lake fans in the big GT1
class. They will have a strong challenge, however, from Road Atlanta
victors and championship co-leaders TeamHurtByAccident.com (No. 69
TeamHurtByAccident.com Suzuki GSX-R600) and Barber winners Crozier
Motorsports (No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675). Other
regional favorites will be the No. 70 James Gang/Hoban Bros. Racing
Buell 1125R and the similar No. 8 Buell of Hals Brotz/Richie Morris
Racing.
In GT2, the No. 77 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE heads to Barber
leading the championship after a victory at Road Atlanta and seconds at
Daytona and Barber. Other 2009 winners and title contenders coming to
Elkhart Lake include the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650 that won at
Daytona, and the Barber winning No. 64 TeamHurtByAccident.com Ducati
PS1000LE.
-credit: ama
