AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 17, 2008 Provisional Race Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 28 laps 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -6.168 seconds 3. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -12.057 4. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -15.774 5. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -16.657 5. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -33.013 7. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -40.189 8. Matt Lynn (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -43.258 9. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -43.383 * 10. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -59.222, ran off track 11. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -68.936 * 12. Ryan Elleby (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -97.969 * 13. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -112.289 * 14. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 15. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 48.312 seconds 16. Lee Acree (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -1 lap, 55.948 seconds, crash * 17. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -2 laps 18. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps 19. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -17 laps, DNF, retired 20. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -27 laps, DNF, retired * 21. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -28 laps, DNS * = known to be riding a Superstock-spec motorcycle Provisional Championship Point Standings (After 6 of 19 races): 1. Mladin, 210 points 2. Spies, 196 3. DiSalvo, 161 4. Hodgson, 155 5. Tommy Hayden, 143 6. Hacking, 141 7. Eric Bostrom, 133 8. Lynn, 118 9. Duhamel, 112 10. Tie, May/Yates, 106 More, from a press release issued by Infineon Raceway: Spies Puts on Clinic, Takes Victory in AMA Superbike in Sonoma SONOMA, Calif. (May 17, 2008) — Suzuki’s Ben Spies put on a clinic on Saturday at Infineon Raceway, taking a dominating victory in the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts. Spies, the two-time defending AMA Superbike champion, coasted to the win in the 28-lap feature by 6.168 seconds over teammate Mat Mladin under 90-degree temperatures. It was Spies’ third consecutive win and also his third Superbike victory on Infineon Raceway’s 12-turn, 2.2-mile road course. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) reached the podium with a third-place finish, his best-ever in Sonoma in Superbike. With the win, Spies narrowed Mladin’s lead in the standings to just 14 points after six races (210-196). The battle continues on Sunday as the two Rockstar Makita Suzuki riders compete in the second 28-lap feature of the weekend (3 p.m. start time). “The bike worked really good,” said Spies, who notched his 21st career Superbike win, good for third all-time. “We wanted to get a pretty comfortable margin because this track is really physical, really hard. We’re doing what we need to do for the championship. We’ll go back and try to make it faster and ride harder.” Spies, who began the race on the pole after a blistering track-record qualifying time of 1 minute, 34.731 seconds, was beaten to Turn 1 at the drop of the green flag by Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom. But Bostrom’s lead did not last long as Spies took the top spot for good on the first lap at Turn 7. Spies built nearly a 10-second lead by lap 11 and never looked back. “There was no catching Ben. He was too fast today,” said Mladin. “Congratulations to him and his team. We’ll get out there tomorrow and give it another shot.” Suzuki has led every lap of every Superbike race at Infineon Raceway dating back to 2005 (196 laps). Moreover, Suzuki has now won the last seven Superbike features in the Sonoma. Bostrom, a Petaluma High School graduate, and Aaron Yates (Suzuki) rounded out the top five. San Francisco native Jake Zemke (Erion Honda) edged teammate Josh Hayes by just .067 seconds to take a thrilling win in the 17-lap feature for Formula Xtreme. It was Zemke’s third win of the year and his second Formula Xtreme win in Sonoma, the other coming in 2005. Zemke maintained his lead in the Formula Xtreme points standings. “Josh was riding great and really made me work for that one,” Zemke said. “I thought we had the perfect setup, but it wasn’t so perfect come race time. The guys have made improvements to my bike the whole time, and we put the Erion Honda bikes one-two again, so we’re happy.” Steve Rapp, an Oakland native who graduated from Acalanes High School in the East Bay, placed third. Action continues on Sunday at Infineon Raceway with main events in three classes: Superstock (1 p.m.), Pro Honda Oils Supersport (2 p.m.) and Superbike (3 p.m.). The Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup will run their 7-lap feature at 10:20 a.m. All times are Pacific. For more information, visit www.infineonraceway.com. More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: Spies Wins Infineon Race One Texan moves past Merkel to third in all-time AMA Superbike wins SONOMA, Calif. (May 17, 2008) Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Ben Spies continued his climb in the AMA record books on Saturday by winning the opening race of the Kawasaki Superbike Showdown on a hot and windy day at Infineon Raceway nestled in the scenic California wine country. The victory not only brought Spies closer to rival and teammate Mat Mladin in the AMA Superbike Championship standings, it also moved Spies past Motorcycle Hall of Famer Fred Merkel for sole possession of third on the all-time AMA Superbike wins list. Spies now has 21-career Superbike wins. Spies passed early leader Eric Bostrom on the first lap. From there Spies raced his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a commanding 12.1-second lead over Mladin on lap 20, before backing off late in the race and taking the checkered flag with a comfortable 6.168-second margin of victory. With the victory Spies cut Mladin’s lead from 20 to 14 points going into Sunday’s second leg of the doubleheader weekend. Both riders have three races wins in the young season. Spies has now won three straight. “Today went almost perfectly for us,” Spies said. “Right now everything is going my way and I’m hitting my stride, but we have a long way to go to climb back into this championship. I’m going to keep focused and go out each and every race and give it my best.” Of the three riders in AMA Superbike racing today Spies reached the 20-win plateau mark faster than either Miguel Duhamel or Mat Mladin. It took Duhamel 67 starts to reach the 20-win mark, while Mladin cracked the barrier after 94 races. Spies reached 20-wins in just 61 starts. 1980s AMA and World Superbike racing star Merkel holds the record reaching 20 wins in a remarkable 44 starts. “I have a picture of me with Fred Merkel when I was a kid,” Spies said. “It’s an honor to be considered in the same class with riders like him.” More, from a press release issued on behalf of American Suzuki: Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Spies Wins Infineon Superbike Race on Saturday Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mladin follows teammate home in second Round 6 AMA Superbike Series Sonoma, California Infineon Raceway May 16 – 18, 2008 Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Ben Spies captured his third consecutive AMA Superbike victory of the season at Infineon Raceway in scenic Sonoma, California, on Saturday afternoon. The 28-lap race the first of two in the double-header weekend saw Spies start from the pole position and take over the lead on the first lap. He went on to lead all the laps and take the win. Additionally, this weekend’s pole position is Spies’ third consecutive at Infineon, his second of the year and his 18th career pole position. Securing this one makes him tied for second for all-time career AMA Superbike pole positions. Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing teammate Mat Mladin holds the record for all-time career pole positions with a remarkable 54. At Infineon this weekend, six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin rode a strong race on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 and finished in second place to give Suzuki a double podium. Mladin continues to lead the championship points chase. Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing’s Tommy Hayden is recovering from injuries sustained at the last round of AMA Superbike and did not race this weekend. Ben Spies: “The Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working really good. We wanted to get a comfortable margin because this track is really physical and you have to work pretty hard. We just tried to put some good laps together and that was pretty much it. It was a pretty hot race and it ended up being a fairly tough race. Congratulations to Mat and Jamie (Hacking) because they were riding great today. Right now, we’re just doing what we need to do for the championship. Tonight, we’ll go back and see what we can do to make the bike a little better and try to come back and do the same thing tomorrow.” Mat Mladin: “There was no catching Ben today, he was just riding too fast today. Congratulations to him and his team for a good race. Tomorrow, we’ll come back and try to give it another shot on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000.”