Lion Racing’s two young lions, Jake Holden (#59) and John Haner (#44), charged through the field at Mid-Ohio and brought home splendid results from the weekend’s hunt. These two well-known privateers, mounted on superbly tuned GSXR Suzuki 1000s, were totally stoked to compete the AMA’s Superbike and Superstock classes using their same bikes in both classes. Thanks to their brilliant riding, they wrapped the weekend with one of the team’s best finishes and some of the riders’ best rides all season. “We’ve always had the power, but recently we’ve been tweeking the front-end feel. Like at Laguna Seca, we got the front nailed again this weekend thanks to Lindemann Engineering, one of our longtime sponsors”, said Jake. “With that front dialed in, we knew we could run at the front, and that’s just what we did! I like Virginia, and hopefully we’ll be doing even better there.” We expect so, as Jake was brilliant in his stalking efforts with the front pack in Superstock, having run as high as 3rd in the race. Leaving Mid-Ohio, Jake takes away another remarkable 4th place finish in Superstock, and he moves up to 4th overall in the series with 184 points, in front of five factory riders! In Sunday’s Superbike race, Jake rallied to 8th place after qualifying 16th, his second best finish of the season, but only just behind the big bucks and factory guys. As one of the AMA’s top privateers, he now finds himself moving up to 16th overall in Superbike with 168 points. Lion teammate John Haner had a classic mixed-bag weekend, actually leading the Superstock race for a couple of early laps before falling back to a 9th overall. John’s still recovering from foot surgery, but claims the extra metal in his foot isn’t slowing him down. It’s certainly not diminishing his startling starting technique as he blasted from 7th on the grid to actually lead laps 2 and 3 during the Superstock race. Unfortunately, tire issues got the better of his momentum. John leaves Mid-Ohio having moved up to 5th overall in Superstock with 174 points. In Superbike, as a result of a couple of unfortuitous DNFs this weekend, John’s placement moves back to 22nd with 113 points. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: KAWASAKI BLANKETS THE PODIUM AT MID-OHIO Roger Hayden wins second Supersport race of the season with Tommy Hayden in second and Ben Attard in third LEXINGTON, OHIO Reigning AMA Supersport champion Tommy Hayden and series runner-up Roger Hayden dominated the field aboard their Kawasaki NINJA® ZX™-6RR motorcycles as AMA motorcycle road racing returned to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last weekend. In the AMA Superstock race, Roger blasted off the grid and settled into ninth by the end of the first lap. As the laps wound down, the younger Hayden was determined to make it to the front aboard his NINJA® ZX™-10R and climbed from ninth to fifth before the checkered flag dropped. Tommy elected to sit-out the race due to tenderness in his right hand following surgery to repair a broken bone. In the AMA Supesport race, Team Attack Kawasaki rider Ben Attard got the jump on the field and took the lead going into the first turn. However, Attard’s lead was short-lived as Tommy quickly passed him by turn three with Roger in tow. As the first lap was completed, Roger was in close contention for the lead and passed Tommy during a breaking battle in the infamous keyhole section of the track. Despite increasing pain in his hand, Tommy continued to keep the pressure on Roger for the duration of the event with Attard remaining close behind. As the checkered flag dropped, Roger took the win with Tommy in second and Attard in third. “Obviously it feels good to win,” said Roger during the post-race press conference. “In the beginning I didn’t know how strong Tommy would be. I saw the pain he was going through, so I know he’s not 100%. I was trying to put a gap on the field. I got in the mid ’30s and the board said +0. I lowered the pace a little bit more and it still said +0. I was reading Tom’s board too and it said +0, so I knew we had a fight on our hands. I just pushed the whole way and these guys made me earn it for sure.” With the win, Roger inched five points closer to Tommy. However, with just two races remaining in the ’05 season, Tommy currently has 269 points to his second-ranked brother’s 233 and remains a strong favorite to earn his second consecutive Supersport title. During Saturday’s AMA Superbike race, Attack Kawasaki rider Josh Hayes captured his eighth top-ten finish of the season by keeping a consistent pace with the rest of the field as he rode to a sixth-place finish in the 26-lap event. Ben Attard qualified sixth for Saturday’s AMA Formula Xtreme and rode a clean and consistent race to earn his fifth top-ten finish of the season after crossing the finish line in fifth place. Hayes also competed in the second Superbike race on Sunday but endured mechanical problems on lap 20 and pulled out of the race. Racing resumes when the teams head to Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va., August 26-28. Race Report: Event: AMA Superbike Championship, Round 8 of 10, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course “” Lexington, Ohio. Date: July 22 24, 2005 Television: AMA PRO RACING ON TV THIS WEEK (All programs on SPEED CHANNEL) (All times Eastern) AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Superbike Race 1), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Sunday, July 24, 2 p.m. AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Superbike Race 2), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Sunday, July 24, 3 p.m. AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport presented by Shoei, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Sunday, July 24, 4 p.m. AMA Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Tuesday, July 26, 2 p.m. AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Superbike Race 1), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Wednesday, July 27, 4 a.m. Repeat AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited (Superbike Race 2), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Thursday, July 28, 4 a.m. Repeat AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport presented by Shoei, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio, Friday, July 29, 4 a.m. Repeat All times subject to change. Check local listings Weather: The weather conditions in Lexington, Ohio, were partly cloudy with a high of 90°F during the day and a low of 68°Fduring the evening. For additional news and team information go to: www.kawasaki.com Official Results: SUPERSPORT EVENT RESULTS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points Bike 1 Roger Lee Hayden Owensboro, KY 37 Kawasaki ZX-6RR 2 Tommy Hayden Owensboro, KY 32 Kawasaki ZX-6RR 3 Ben Attard Murrieta, CA 29 Kawasaki ZX-6RR 4 Jason Disalvo Stafford, NY 28 Yamaha YZF-R6 5 Ben Spies Longview, TX 26 Suzuki GSX-R600X 6 Robert Jensen Chaffee, ND 25 Yamaha YZF-R6 7 Chris Peris Calgary, AB 24 Yamaha YZF-R6 8 Damon S Buckmaster Henderson, NV 23 Yamaha YZF-R6 9 Aaron Gobert Murrieta, CA 22 Yamaha YZF-R6 10 Danny Eslick Broken Arrow, OK 21 Suzuki GSX-R600X SUPERSPORT STANDINGS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points 1 Tommy Hayden Owensboro, KY 269 2 Roger Lee Hayden Owensboro, KY 233 3 Jason Disalvo Stafford, NY 210 4 Ben Spies Longview, TX 202 5 Aaron Gobert Murrieta, CA 197 6 Geoff May Cumming, GA 181 7 Chris Peris Calgary, AB 181 8 Robert Jensen Chaffee, ND 172 9 Jamie Hacking Denver, CO 165 10 Damon Buckmaster Henderson, NV 162 SUPERSTOCK EVENT RESULTS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points Bike 1 Aaron Yates Milledgeville, GA 37 Suzuki GSX-R1000 2 Jason Disalvo Stafford, NY 33 Yamaha YZF-R1 3 Steve Rapp Valencia, CA 29 Suzuki GSX-R1000 4 Jacob Holden Eatonville, WA 27 Suzuki GSX-R1000 5 Roger Lee Hayden Owensboro, KY 26 Kawasaki ZX-10RR 6 Jason Pridmore Ventura, CA 25 Suzuki GSX-R1000 7 Michael Barnes Boca Raton, FL 24 Suzuki GSX-R1000 8 Damon Buckmaster Henderson, NV 23 Yamaha YZF-R1 9 John Haner Pearland, TX 22 Suzuki GSX-R1000 10 Geoff May Cumming, GA 21 Suzuki GSX-R1000 SUPERSTOCK STANDINGS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points 1 Aaron Yates Milledgeville, GA 264 2 Jason Disalvo Stafford, NY 250 3 Steve Rapp Valencia, CA 206 4 Jacob Holden Eatonville, WA 184 5 John Haner Pearland, TX 174 6 Roger Lee Hayden Owensboro, KY 173 7 Tommy Hayden Owensboro, KY 168 8 Aaron Gobert Murrieta, CA 162 9 Jamie Hacking Denver, NC 156 10 Damon Buckmaster Henderson, NV 138 SUPERBIKE EVENT RESULTS (RACE #1): Pos. Rider Hometown Points Bike 1 Matt Mladin Henderson, NV 38 Suzuki GSX-R1000 2 Ben Spies Longview, TX 32 Suzuki GSX-R1000 3 Eric Bostrom Las Vegas, NV 29 Ducati 999R 4 Miguel Duhamel Las Vegas, NV 27 Honda CBR1000RR 5 Neil Hodgson Onchan, Isle of Man 26 Ducati 999R 6 Josh Hayes Gulfport, MS 25 Kawasaki ZX-10RR 7 Kurtis Roberts Denver, CO 24 Honda CBR1000RR 8 Jason Pridmore Ventura, CA 23 Suzuki GSX-R1000 9 Jacob Holden Eatonville, WA 22 Suzuki GSX-R1000 10 Martin Craggill Etiwanda, CA 21 Suzuki GSX-R1000 SUPERBIKE EVENT RESULTS (RACE #2): Pos. Rider Hometown Points Bike 1 Eric Bostrom Las Vegas, NV 37 Ducati 999R 2 Miguel Duhamel Las Vegas, NV 32 Honda CBR1000RR 3 Ben Spies Longview, TX 29 Suzuki GSX-R1000 4 Neil Hodgson Onchan, Isle of Man 27 Ducati 999R 5 Kurtis Roberts Denver, CO 26 Honda CBR1000RR 6 Steve Rapp Valencia, CA 25 Suzuki GSX-R1000 7 Jason Pridmore Ventura, CA 24 Suzuki GSX-R1000 8 Jacob Holden Eatonville, WA 23 Suzuki GSX-R1000 9 Aaron Yates Milledgeville, GA 22 Suzuki GSX-R1000 10 Larry Pegram Baltimore, OH 21 Honda CBR1000RR SUPERBIKE STANDINGS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points 1 Matt Mladin Henderson, NV 397 2 Ben Spies Longview, TX 388 3 Eric Bostrom Las Vegas, NV 334 4 Aaron Yates Milledgeville, GA 316 5 Neil Hodgson Onchan, Isle of Man 302 6 Miguel Duhamel Las Vegas, NV 288 7 Martin Cragill Etiwanda, CA 247 8 Steve Rapp Valencia, CA 226 9 Lee Acree Greensboro, NC 226 10 Larry Pegram Baltimore, OH 219 FORMULA EXTREME EVENT RESULTS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points Bike 1 Jake Zemke Las Vegas, NV 37 Honda CBR600RR 2 Miguel Duhamel Paso Robles, CA 33 Honda CBR600RR 3 Kurtis Roberts Denver, CO 29 Honda CBR600RR 4 Michael Barnes Boca Raton, FL 27 Suzuki GSX-R600 5 Ben Attard Murrieta, CA 26 Kawasaki ZX-6RR 6 Ty Howard Weatherford, TX 25 Yamaha YZF-R6 7 Robert Jensen Chaffee, ND 24 Yamaha YZF-R6 8 Chris Peris Calgary, AB, Canada 23 Yamaha YZF-R6 9 Danny Eslick Broken Arrow, OK 22 Suzuki GSX-R600 10 Chris Caylor Marietta, GA 21 Suzuki GSX-R600 FORMULA XTREME STANDINGS: Pos. Rider Hometown Points 1 Jake Zemke Paso Robles, CA 249 2 Miguel Duhamel Las Vegas, NV 238 3 Danny Eslick Broken Arrow, OK 171 4 Ben Attard Murrieta, CA 138 5 Aaron Gobert Murrieta, CA 136 6 Chris Peris Calgary, AB 135 7 Nick Moore Riverbank, CA 124 8 Michael Barnes Boca Raton, FL 105 9 Taylor Knapp Lapeer, MI 102 10 Armando Ferrer Miami, FL 98 More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: ANOTHER PODIUM FINISH FOR MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS SUZUKI AT MID-OHIO The Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki team had great results at round eight of the AMA Superbike Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Steve Rapp earned his second podium position of the year for the Jordan Suzuki team with a fine third place in the competitive Superstock final and a sixth in Sunday’s Superbike race, while teammate Jason Pridmore, fully healed and riding well, rode to three top-eight finishes in the Superstock and Superbike finals. Their teammate Montez Stewart finished 21st in the Superstock final, running competitive lap times in only his second trip to the notoriously difficult Mid-Ohio course. Steve Rapp Saturday’s Superbike Final – 18th Place “I got a good start from the fourth row,” said Rapp. “I was right behind (Marty) Craggill, who was behind (Neil) Hodgson. Then (Jake) Holden passed me, and we went back and forth a few times. I pulled away from him by a few seconds, and that’s when I crashed in turn 11. I lost the front end. It took me a while to pick the bike up. It was at a bad angle. I got going and was able to finish the race in 18th. My lap times were the same as before I crashed. I was just trying to push as hard with a used tire as I had with a new tire.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 3rd Place “I got a mediocre start,” said Rapp. “A couple of guys got around me going into turn one. First lap around, I came around in seventh, I think. I felt like they were slowing me down, but when people have good grip it’s hard because they get good drives and carry a lot of corner speed. Four or five laps into it, you could tell people were starting to lose grip. I think every lap I passed one guy. My bike was the best it’s been all year. The Dunlops were really good. The race went by really quick.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 6th Place “I got in behind Jason (Pridmore) there on the first lap,” said Rapp. “I was a little stronger than him in a couple of places, and I was able to get around him after about seven or eight laps. Josh (Hayes) had cleared off, so I just concentrated on keeping Jason and Jake Holden behind me. I just kept riding hard and eventually pulled out a little bit of a gap at the end.” Jason Pridmore Saturday’s Superbike Final – 8th Place “We made some big gains,” said Pridmore. “From the beginning of the weekend, it was difficult because we didn’t get any track time here. Every race I’m going to right now is a test session. I hadn’t ridden the Superbike since Barber. Coming from the fourth row, it’s hard to get a really good result. By the time I weeded through everybody, I was up to eighth. Kurtis (Roberts) was up there a few seconds ahead, but there was a little bit of attrition with Aaron (Yates) and Steve (Rapp) going down. It was a good test. I told my guys that my frustration turned into a positive, because there are a lot of things that we can do to make the bike better.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 6th Place “We needed that race,” said Pridmore, who made a close but clean pass on Michael Barnes on the last lap. “Coming off the third row again, it’s just brutal. We qualified tenth and we finished sixth; definitely an improvement. I’ve been coming back slowly. The team has been so patient with me, and that’s been nice. Steve (Rapp) stepped it up today. This weekend, he’s been riding really well, and it’s good to see him put the team up on the podium again. Roger (Lee Hayden) and Barney (Michael Barnes) were going back and forth. I knew Michael knew that Roger was there, but I don’t know if he knew I was there. It was the last lap of the race, and I think the world of Michael Barnes. It was just one of those things. There was no way I was going to take him out or jeopardize us. It was a close pass that I made on him over in the back section. Now we’ve just got to continue to move forward so we can both be up there and push. Our guys have worked so hard. We didn’t test at all here. Everytime I’ve gone out, I’ve gone faster and the bike is improving.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 7th Place “Steve (Rapp) rode awesome, and I knew I was holding him up,” said Pridmore, who led his teammate for the first six laps of the race. “I feel really fit, but I was working really hard the last half of the race and I didn’t have anything for Steve. I could stay with him, but passing him was a whole other issue. I’m happy with my results. We had a great weekend.” Montez Stewart Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 21st Place “It went pretty good, considering that last year was the first time I’d ever been here,” said Montez. “The tire test did me really well here. We came out and I was able to get into the 1:34s. My goal today was to do 1:32s, and I did them. I didn’t get lapped. This is the first time I’ve done a race and haven’t been lapped. There were a couple of guys, I don’t know if they’re local guys or not, but I’ve never seen them before. They stuck around me for a long time. One guy got past me going down through Thunder Valley. The bike got sideways on me, and I had to get myself back in order and he got past me. The bike was awesome. The guys built an awesome bike for me.” Superbike Results – Race 1 – Round 8 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH 1. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 6. Josh Hayes, Attack Kawasaki 7. Kurtis Roberts, Honda 8. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 9. Jake Holden, Lion Racing Suzuki 10. Marty Craggill, Mladin Motorsports Suzuki 18. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki Superbike Results – Race 2 – Round 8 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH 1. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 2. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 3. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 4. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 5. Kurtis Roberts, Honda 6. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 7. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 8. Jake Holden, Lion Racing Suzuki 9. Aaron Yates, Yoshimura Suzuki 10. Larry Pegram, Hotbodies Honda Superstock Results – Round 8 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, OH 1. Aaron Yates, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 3. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 4. Jake Holden, Lion Racing Suzuki 5. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki 6. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 7. Michael Barnes, M4 EMGO Suzuki 8. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha 9. John Haner, Lion Suzuki 10. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki 21. Montez Stewart, Jordan Suzuki 2005 Superbike Point Standings (After 13 Races) 1. Mat Mladin, 397 2. Ben Spies, 388 3. Eric Bostrom, 334 4. Aaron Yates, 316 5. Neil Hodgson, 302 6. Miguel Duhamel, 288 7. Marty Craggill, 247 8. Steve Rapp, 226 9. Lee Acree, 226 10. Larry Pegram, 219 21. Jason Pridmore, 117 2005 Superstock Point Standings (After 8 Races) 1. Aaron Yates, 264 2. Jason Disalvo, 250 3. Steve Rapp, 206 4. Jake Holden, 184 5. John Haner, 174 6. Roger Lee Hayden, 173 7. Tommy Hayden, 168 8. Aaron Gobert, 162 9. Jamie Hacking, 156 10. Damon Buckmaster, 138 20. Jason Pridmore, 74 23. Montez Stewart, 57