Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Looking for Victory in Sonoma Valley SONOMA, Calif. (May 5, 2009) “” The Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki team enters the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown at Infineon Raceway, May 15-17, on a definite high. Rider Jamie Hacking leads the point standings in Daytona SportBike after taking second place last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, with 146 points. Danny Eslick (Buell) is second at 143, with Martin Cardenas (M4 Suzuki) third at 142. Hacking has placed second three times this year, and he’s hoping to take the top spot in the Sonoma Valley, where he has had a great deal of success, with three victories. The race weekend in Sonoma is presented by Supercuts. “I like a very technical racetrack and Infineon provides that. It’s got many variations of corners, off-cambers and blind crests, so it really challenges the rider to get the bike set up to do well around here,” Hacking said. Hacking will be joined by teammate Roger Hayden in Daytona SportBike competition in Sonoma. Running the show from the top of the Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki team are Mike Preston and Richard Stanboli. Preston has managed Kawasaki’s AMA effort since 2000, watching over the team while it claimed four AMA Supersport crowns with three different riders. Over that same time, Stanboli has grown his team into a powerhouse, steadily moving up the ranks from pure privateer to Suzuki support team to satellite Kawasaki effort to its current No. 1 position with Kawasaki. Attack Performance earned a Formula Xtreme championship with Jason Pridmore and later the Superstock championship with Josh Hayes, and most recently shocked the world of motorcycle racing by scoring back-to-back upset Daytona 200 1-2s in ’07 and ’08. Hacking, a two-time AMA Supersport and one-time AMA Superstock champion, came to Kawasaki from Yamaha following an epic double-title 2006 season that many regard as the greatest undercard performance in AMA history. If anything, the British-born Hacking has only improved upon his glowing reputation, elevating Kawasaki’s program to renewed glory, putting the ZX-10R on the podium on a regular basis and coming closest to tangling with the all-conquering Suzuki duo of Mat Mladin and Ben Spies during his two-year return to the Superbike class. Transitioning back to 600cc duty alongside Hacking is Hayden, the youngest of the championship-winning Hayden brothers. Injuries prevented the Kentuckian from fulfilling his vast potential in Superbike, but now he has a chance to chase a premier class crown aboard the middleweight machinery he excelled aboard for so many seasons before focusing his efforts on Superbike in ’08. In the two, Kawasaki boasts the only former Supersport champions competing full-time in the new Daytona SportBike class, which is the spiritual successor to the retired Formula Xtreme and Supersport categories (although the level of preparation allowed is closer to Supersport), only juiced up with a whole new level of importance placed upon it by new series owners, Daytona Motorsports Group (DMG). Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown WHAT: Big O Tires Racing Season Presents: Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts WHEN: May 15-17 CIRCUIT: 12-turn, 2.22-mile road course NOTABLE: The weekend will also feature three days of Supermoto racing, with Supermoto USA running on Friday and Saturday, and the AMA Supermoto XTRM Championship Series on Sunday. There will also be SBFreaks Street Freestyle all weekend. TICKETS: $15-$35 single day/$60 weekend; 12-and-under FREE and parking FREE. INFORMATION: 800-870-RACE, www.infineonraceway.com, www.ticketmaster.com