MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS ON THE ROSTRUM FOR BOTH RACES AT ROAD ATLANTA BRASELTON, GA Michael Jordan Motorsports riders Geoff May and Aaron Yates put in impressive performances this weekend during AMA Pro Racing’s Round 3 of the American Superbike Championship at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA. May earned double podium finishes in the races, while Yates enjoyed one top five finish and picked up valuable Championship points. The riders competed at Road Atlanta on their 2008-spec Suzuki GSX-R 1000s. The bikes will now be retired and May and Yates will race on brand new 2009 GSX-Rs for the remainder of the season. Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki No. 54 May, of nearby Gainesville, took third place in both Saturday and Sunday’s American Superbike races. He has now visited the rostrum in three of the five races he’s competed in this season and sits third overall in the Championship with 92 points. 3rd PLACE, SATURDAY RACE 1 In Race 1 May found himself down in position six (P6) by the midway point of the race, after starting on the front row. However by continuing to apply pressure and drawing on his high fitness level, May moved himself forward during the later stages of the race and put his National Guard Jordan Suzuki on the box at the checkered flag. “I just stayed motivated,” said May, who raced in front of a large contingent of local family and friends. “I just stayed patient and every time somebody made a mistake, I just picked him off.” 3rd PLACE, SUNDAY RACE 2 In Race 2 May had a huge moment on the start that resulted in not one, but two, massive wheelies off the line. Finishing the first lap in 10th position, the Georgia rider made an inspired ride to the front and joined the frantic seven rider battle for second place. May methodically moved through this intense pack and soon found himself in a battle for second place with Factory Suzuki’s Blake Young. At the line, it was Young in second with May third, just a scant .2 seconds behind for his second podium of the weekend. “I was afraid I was going to get run over at the start,” said May. “I just put my head down again and we had the bike set up good for the end of the race. I’ve been trying to really work hard on the end of the race, on the last half, on worn-out tires. I start getting faster and faster and faster and put in my fastest laps, usually, in the last couple laps.” Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki No. 23 Road Atlanta fan favorite and Milledgeville, GA resident Aaron Yates had a solid weekend at the Braselton circuit, culminating in a top five finish in Sunday’s contest. Yates heads into Round 4 in eighth place in Championship points with 62. 6th PLACE, SATURDAY RACE 1 Starting from eighth position on the grid, Yates moved forward through the tough American Superbike field and soon found himself in a tussle with the Factory Yamaha of Josh Hayes. Yates and Hayes dueled throughout the 50 mile contest with Yates crossing the line a mere .02 seconds behind Hayes, finishing in sixth position. “We only had 10 minutes of practice this morning and that really put a damper on my setup for the race,” said Yates. “It was a good battle today with Josh and my Jordan Suzuki 1000 has what it takes to run up front.” 5th PLACE, SUNDAY RACE 2 In Sunday’s Race 2 Yates was embroiled in a seven rider battle for second position for much of the race. At the back of this group after the first lap, local hero Yates continued to move forward as the race progressed. At the line, Yates put his Suzuki GSXR firmly inside the top five and recorded the second fastest lap of the race while doing so. “Considering I didn’t get the start I would have liked I’m fairly happy to get a top five finish out of the weekend, after just missing it in yesterday’s race,” said Yates. “We got my 2008 GSX-R1000 working well this morning and it was a good, fast group of guys for most of the race battling for that second spot. I would like to have been further up and know my crew and GSX-R can do it. We have our 2009 Suzukis coming for Barber and I’m ready to get up on the box.” More, from a press release issued by Pro Cycle: Dartmouth, NS 2008 National USGPRU 250GP champion Adam Roberts started his 2009 racing campaign with a bang by winning the opening round of the Eastern US series at the JenningsGP circuit in Florida on Sunday. Roberts, originally from Halifax, NS and now calling Milford, NS home, grabbed the early lead in the nine lap final around Jennings’ 2.0-mile, 14- turn track. By the end of the race, Roberts had pulled out to an eight second margin of victory over the rest of the field after leading every lap. “I went to Florida with a goal in mind, and we achieved it,” stated the 24- year-old. “The race went really smooth. I put my head down at the start to get a gap, and then managed the gap back to second place throughout the race.” After securing pole position by setting the fastest lap time in qualifying on Saturday, and then backing up his performance with the race win on Sunday, Roberts heads to the second round of the series with the championship points lead. “This weekend went absolutely perfect,” commented Roberts. “My Yamaha TZ250 was amazing, and I can’t thank my crew enough for their hard work.” “I’d also like to thank everyone who helped make this year happen,” continued the current number one plate holder for the National 250GP class. “It’s been a great start to the season!” Roberts races a Yamaha TZ250R for the Halifax-based RAT Racing team and competes at circuits across the United States. 2009 Sponsors include Remote Access Technology (RAT), Pro Cycle (procycleonline.com), Kimpex, Ipone, and Fox Eyewear. More, from a press release issued by AGV Dainese USA: AGV Dainese Riders Storm AMA American Superbike Podiums at Road Atlanta Costa Mesa, CA (April, 8th) During a sunny weekend in Georgia, the AGV Dainese USA riders reinforced with bravado their presence in AMA Pro Racing, during Round 3 of the series at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA, last weekend. In the AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited, we were proud of the Superpole results of top Dainese riders Blake Young and Geoff May qualifying 3rd and 4th on the front row, ahead of Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates (8th) on 2nd row, and Team Roadracingworld.com’s Chris Ulrich (12th) on 3rd row. For a short while we fear for rain as stormy clouds approached the track and got the deep knee sliders out of the box for all our Dainese riders, but luckily, apart from a short rain fall during the Sportbike race, the track remained mostly dry for the weekend. The AGV Dainese riders rode very strong races, both on Saturday and Sunday with Geoff May making us all very proud at Dainese when he rode his National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the podium twice, finishing 3rd in both races. On Sunday Geoff and his Dainese team mate Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Young had a great battle for 2nd which saw Blake make a final pass in the last laps. Aaron Yates had a very good weekend too scoring a 5th and 6th, on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, and improving his standing in the series. AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Road Atlanta results for AGV Dainese riders: Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000) 3-3 Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000) 4-2 Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000) 6-5 Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000) 11-12 Barrett Long (Duc 1098R) 12-18 Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000) 20-20 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Points Standings (after 5 of 21 races) for AGV Dainese riders: Geoff May – 3rd Blake Young – 4th Aaron Yates – 8th Chris Ulrich – 14th Barrett Long – 17th In AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL, AGV Dainese’s Steve Rapp, who was on his first ride for team Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsport, took his AGV GP-Tech and Dainese W-Frame leather suit to a 9th finish on Sunday after a great battle with Michael Beck, allowing him to secure a 9th place in points standings. Steve, who settled in with his new team, was happy to get more seat time on his new ride. We salute Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Russell Wikle and his impressive performance over the weekend who saw him scoring two 18th place finish in a very deep field of riders, after qualifying 24th in practice. AMA Pro Pro Daytona SportBike Road Atlanta results for AGV Dainese riders: Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6) 17-16 Russ Wikle (Suz GSX-R600) 18-18 Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R600) 27-20 Steve Rapp (Yam YZF-R6) DNF-9 Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6) DNS-24 AMA Pro Pro Daytona SportBike Points Standings (after 5 of 21 races) for AGV Dainese riders: Steve Rapp – 9th Barrett Long – 13th In the AMA Pro SuperSport Presented by Shoei, 17year-old Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Russell Wikle was on track for another podium finish for AGV and Dainese, after his amazing third-place podium finish in the AMA Pro SuperSport season opener at Daytona. Wikle qualified second on the grid aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 and was running in the lead group for podium position during the race’s opening laps. Unfortunately, a rain shower caught out several of the front-runners, including Russ, bringing out a red flag. Despite very strong effort from his Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki his machine was too badly damaged to make the restart. From all at AGV Dainese USA, congratulation to all our riders for racing hard and representing us with pride on the AMA Pro Racing circuit. See you all in Birmingham, Alabama for Round 4. “Providing people with head-to-toes protection in action sports’ has been the Dainese’s mission since 1972 when the company was founded by its President Lino Dainese.