HODGSON SIXTH, HOLDEN SEVENTH IN AMA LAGUNA SUPERBIKE Race day at Laguna Seca was to be another series of ups and downs (quite literally for Hodgson) but in the end both Corona Extra Honda Riders put in strong rides with Neil Hodgson finishing sixth and Jake Holden right behind in seventh. Morning warm-up saw Hodgson on top of the leader-board for quite a while and Holden close behind. The bad luck of Saturday again struck Jake and after half a dozen laps his bike started misfiring and his session finished without his crew getting it fixed and Jake getting back on track. Still his short time on the bike showed his pace was still hot! Afterwards the crew found an electrical fault which they were able to correct. The Superbike race turned out to be an exercise in confusion and mishaps with a bizarre miss-start by a number of riders and then the flag never dropping! After they all lined up again the start went off but saw Neil getting taken out by a crashing Bostrom on the second turn. After what seemed an age the red flag came out but not before the “Safety Car” almost caused a major pile-up by driving on the race line in the blind turn one corner as the bikes came round at full speed. The red flag allowed Neil to get back to the pits and his crew to fix the bike, making the restart. This time the start went off OK and both Neil and Jake were in the hunt with the front pack. The race became a bit of a procession after Hodgson and Holden each took a position and held them to the end of the race. Neil almost caught Hayes on the last lap for fifth but his effort came up a bike-length short by the flag. Jake had been able to dispatch May for seventh but was not able to close significantly on Hodgson by the flag in the turn two crash-shortened race. Still both riders were able to show pace to run at the front and give notice that they will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming races! For more information please visit Corona Extra Honda Racing online at www.corona-racing.com, email [email protected] or call 310 521 9802. Corona Extra Honda Next Race: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio July 17-19, 2009 More, from a press release issued by Chris Fillmore’s publicist: First Race at Laguna Seca Poses Challenges for Fillmore Chris Fillmore and his no. 55 Troy Lee Designs Yamaha R6 were coming off of a great Road America weekend and hopeful of continuing the forward momentum. However, as a first time competitor at the very fast Laguna Seca Raceway, Fillmore encountered a number of instances where his experience on the track had consequences to his final results. The weekend started with a bicycle ride organized by Specialized Bicycle company on Thursday for many of the AMA and MotoGP competitors. This was a fun event for Chris as his primary training tool away from the race track is road cycling. Chris was also fortunate to spend the event riding with the superhuman Ben Bostrom. In addition to talking training regimes, Chris also spent the ride getting insight from Ben on some of Laguna Seca’s subtle challenges. In addition to the fun ride, the weekend was also special for Fillmore as the inclusion of the AMA series in the MotoGP event meant that Fillmore was able to go out and ride the track and then watch the MotoGP competitors. This was cool as it really allowed Fillmore to study the technique used to navigate the high cornering speed race track. On to Fillmore’s weekend and 15th in first practice was a solid way to start the weekend. For Chris and crew chief Geoff Cesmat, the hope was to take the first practice and make some changes that would transfer to a better position at the end of qualifying. However, when the no. 55 went on track for his 30 minute qualifying session, the bike did not give the kind of feedback that Fillmore is used to when he pushes it. Fillmore attempted to ride past this lack of feeling from the bike, but at the approach to the Corkscrew, Fillmore tucked the front end. He was able to pick the bike up and ride back to the pits. Once there, Cesmat worked diligently to replace the broken footpegs that were a casualty of the low side crash. However, the bent handlebars would not be able to be fixed before the short qualifying session was over so Fillmore remounted the bike and attempted to put in a time on a bike with bent bars. The results from this were a 20th position for the Sunday afternoon race event. After Fillmore and his crew took in the MotoGP race event, Fillmore was stoked to now go out and get his turn to tackle the world renowned track for a race event. Early in the race, Fillmore was able to quickly move from his 20th position to 13th and start to set lap times that were a second quicker than his practice and qualifying pace. As he continued into the event a number of riders encountered issues with the track that resulted in crashes. Fillmore became a victim in one of these crashes. A fellow competitor crashed and in the resulting crash a large amount of gravel was put onto the race surface. Fillmore encountered this immediately after the accident and his bike tucked the front end as it met the gravel. The resulting low side actually ran the no. 55 into another bike and the bike vaulted back and caught Fillmore in the legs. While there are no serious injuries, the accident meant the end of the weekend for Fillmore. Fillmore said, “Laguna Seca is a really cool track! It is incredibly fast through the corners and takes tremendous commitment to go through these corners at the pace necessary to post a fast time. Now that I have an event weekend under my belt, I can’t wait to get back here next year and better my results!” Next up for Fillmore is the July 17 19 Mid Ohio AMA Daytona Sportbike race event. More, from a press release issued by Damian Cudlin’s publicist: CUDLIN BATTLES TO 5TH IN SPAIN Damian Cudlin and the Phase One Yamaha Team took their first points of the 2009 WEC season, with a spirited 5th place in Albacete, Spain on the weekend. Desperate to shrug off the bad luck that has plagued the squad so far this season, Cudlin showed serious race pace during practice and qualifying, however after contracting a severe dose of the flu, Cudlin was forced to skip night practice and faced a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s 8 Hour race. Cudlin’s team mates Pedro Valcaneras, and younger brother Alex stepped up in readiness to fill the pending void in the race, however the Aussie would remain in the line up in the hottest race of the season. Electing the local Spaniard to start the race, Valcaneras made a fantastic burst from 7th on the grid and sliced his way into the lead by the end of the first lap. Leading the race for the second time in as many races, the Phase One Yamaha looked strong at the front of field in the opening laps as the British team’s hopes of a return to the podium grew stronger. However, in what’s become all too familiar this season, a crash would damage their aspirations and lose valuable time in their race against the clock. Valcaneras continued onward without pitting, and began his climb back through the field. Circulating back at a leading race pace, Valcaneras steadily rose up the order before eventually handing the reigns to Cudlin. In an inspiring charge in the searing heat, Cudlin set a cracking pace and pulled the team back into the top 10 for the first time. With 5 laps to go of his hour long stint, Cudlin’s times began to slow as the sickness took its toll. Battling on in tremendous discomfort, Cudlin brought the bike in on schedule and was helped to the box by members of his crew. As he tried to catch his breathe, Cudlin momentarily collapsed causing obvious concern for his health and safety. Frantic action by the Phase One crew quickly saw Cudlin back to a healthy and hydrated self, as he watched the team’s continual rise up the order. Alex and Pedro assumed the extended workload as Damian geared up for another attempt on track. The pair rode faultless stints, creeping to 7th as nightfall hit the Spanish circuit. Feeling as good as could be expected; Cudlin set after the teams ahead and put in another quality display aboard the Phase One R1, chasing down Folch’s David Checa in the process and gaining another position on the leader board. As the clock wound down, the final order looked set before Maco Moto suffered a mechanical issue with just 40 minutes remaining, gifting the Phase One Team another position and the first top 5 of the season. “In terms of my experience in Endurance races, this one wasn’t meant to be as hard as it was” Cudlin explained after the race “but we had some serious hurdles to overcome and with all things considered, 5th is a pretty good result. I’ve never been so crook on a bike before and at one point I didn’t know if I could continue in the race. Thankfully my team mates stepped up and lightened the load, and my crew, especially my mate Ray, looked after me off the bike. I want to thank those guys a lot.” The championship heads to Japan for the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour race in 3 weeks time, however financial constraints are threatening the Phase One Team’s participation in this year’s event. For more information follow the team’s website www.phaseone.co.uk or contact Damian at www.damiancudlin.com