TOOELE VALLEY, UTAH “” The top teams from the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited concluded a two-day test at Miller Motorsports Park today, in preparation for the upcoming Honda Summit of Speed scheduled for June 22-24. Topping the unofficial timing charts as the teams packed up to leave was six-time Superbike champion Mat Mladin, who clocked in at 1:49.578 on the 3.06-mile Outer Course riding his No. 66 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R 1000. That compares favorably to the 1:49.167 with which Mladin’s teammate, defending series champ Ben Spies, took the pole in last year’s race. Mladin said he was pleased with the outcome of the two-day test. “It was very productive, actually,” Mladin said. “Quicker than we’ve ever been around here, and in fairly warm conditions.” Spies was second-fastest on the day at 1:50.136, and similarly satisfied with the results of two days’ work. “It was good,” he said. “We just worked on race set-up, and got down to what we did last year comfortably. We found something right at the end that was kind of affecting us and gained about a half-second a lap, so that was good.” Honda factory rider Jake Zemke, who won his only Superbike feature race of 2006 at Miller Motorsports Park, was third-fastest on his No. 98 Honda CBR 1000RR at 1:50.702, followed by brothers Eric and Ben Bostrom, who were at Miller Motorsports Park last weekend for the Racing 2 Save Lives charity event, respectively. Eric, aboard the factory No. 32 Yamaha YZF-R1, had the fourth-fastest lap of 1:51.047, while older brother Ben, riding for the factory-supported Graves Yamaha team, was just a tick slower at 1:51.196 on his No. 155 YZF-R1. Completing the top 10 fastest laps of the day were Zemke’s teammate, veteran Miguel Duhamel (1:51.327), Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes (1:51.542), Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden (1:51.601), Corona Extra Honda’s James Ellison (1:51.660), and Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden (1:51.785). The teams will now prepare for their next event, at California’s Infineon Raceway over the weekend of May 18-20. They will have one additional event, at Wisconsin’s Road America June 1-3, before returning to Miller Motorsports Park for the Honda Summit of Speed. Miller Motorsports Park will host Round 2 of the Miller Park Racing Association and Round 4 of the Icebreaker Kart Championship this weekend, May 11-13, and is preparing for its biggest event of the year, the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix Presented by The Grand and Little America Hotels, featuring the American Le Mans Series, scheduled for May 17-19. For more information, visit the track’s website at www.millermotorsportspark.com or call (435) 277-8500. For more information about the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, visit their website at www.amasuperbike.com.
Updated: Mladin Fastest At Two-day AMA Team Test At Miller Motorsports Park
Updated: Mladin Fastest At Two-day AMA Team Test At Miller Motorsports Park
© 2007, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
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