From AMA Pro Racing press releases:

NICKY HAYDEN’S RUN TO TIE DUHAMEL’S SIX-RACE
WIN STREAK STARTS OVER AT ROAD AMERICA

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Honda Racing’s Nicky Hayden has been at the point of tying teammate Miguel Duhamel’s six-race win streak twice in 2002, but luck has not been on his side. He comes to Rounds 9 and 10 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. in hopes of starting start yet another streak.

Hayden’s first opportunity came at the series’ second round in April at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where he could muster no better than a third-place finish. But he started right back where he left off by winning the second race of that doubleheader event and went on to win the next four rounds. That left him with another chance last weekend at Pikes Peak International Raceway, and with an 80-point series advantage in hand.

Fast all weekend, Hayden’s winning ways came to an abrupt stop after he tucked the front and went down early in the race. With Road America being the home of Hayden’s first-ever Superbike wins (he won both races of the doubleheader event in 2000), the 20-year-old Owensboro, Ky. native is on a mission to start yet another winning streak this weekend.

But another streak will have to go through Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom. Bostrom and his crew appeared to have their bike setup and race strategy figured out last weekend when he got the holeshot and never looked back, easily winning
the 49-lap event by 15 seconds. But Road America is a track that Bostrom has yet to win an AMA Superbike race at.

Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Aaron Yates and Jamie Hacking are also both coming to Elkhart Lake after podium finishes in Colorado. Both riders have notched superbike podiums this year and count on seeing both of them going for the win at this weekend’s doubleheader event.

Three-time defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin of the Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki team won the first race of last year’s doubleheader at Road America. The 30-year-old Australian is winless in 2002 and he hasn’t been shy about his frustration he’s endured this season. Even though he is 72 points out of the championship, he hasn’t given up the fight to notch his first victory of the year.

HMC Ducati’s Doug Chandler is also showing strong potential for a podium finish despite the struggles he’s been having with getting back to 100 percent after a crash in qualifying at Road Atlanta. The three-time AMA Superbike Champion could be considered the rider hungriest for a win after the 2002 season opener in Daytona Beach, Fla. started without him.

Pascal Picotte’s new ride with the Austin Blue Bayou Ducati team has seen him with top-five finishes and it will only be a matter of time before the Canadian puts his No. 21 on the podium.

Still on the injured list is in the AMA Chevy Trucks Superbike Championship is Yamaha’s Anthony Gobert, who broke his right fibula after crashing during superbike qualifying at Road Atlanta three weeks ago. Erion Racing’s Kurtis Roberts is going to sit out another race weekend too. Roberts has been recovering from a knee injury suffered at California Speedway in April.

In Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship competition, Aaron Yates and his Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 still have a strong hold, despite a fifth-place finish last weekend in Colorado. He arrives in Elkhart Lake with a 50-point advantage over second and on a mission to get back to his winning ways.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden sits second in points thanks to his win in the fiercely competitive AMA Supersport class at Pikes Peak. Hayden’s teammate Tony “The Tiger” Meiring notched his first podium of the season at PPIR in his first year with the big team. Meiring is building his confidence and will be vying for a podium finish at Road America.

Filling the Yamaha Supersport void is Graves Yamaha pilot Damon Buckmaster. The likeable Australian suffered mechanical woes last weekend and fell from third in points to seventh, marking the first time in the last three races he hasn’t finished in the top five.


JIMMY MOORE LOOKING FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE
WIN AT ROAD AMERICA

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Defending Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock champion Jimmy Moore is fresh off a win from Pikes Peak and plans on taking his Corona Extra Suzuki GSX-R750 to another win at Road America as well as closing in on current points leader, Lee Acree, who has a 16-point advantage. Moore is the defending Superstock winner at the four-mile track in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Team Cruise America’s Jason DiSalvo has been on the gas in his first year on a Suzuki GSX-R750. The 18-year-old Stafford, N.Y. native took second at the last round, the first podium for him in the class, and continues to get faster with every race.

Arclight Suzuki’s Craig Connell also had his first podium of the season at Pikes Peak, finishing third and three spots in front of his teammate and series leader Acree. Connell’s season has been hampered by a shoulder injury, but it appears that the Australian is on the mend as well as the throttle of his Pirelli-shod Suzuki GSX-R750.

Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring have both been running strong in Superstock on their factory-prepared 600cc machines, with Hayden being the only rider in the history of the class to beat the 750cc machines on a 600cc-machine. Meiring is in his first year with the factory team and finished fourth at PPIR, his best finish yet in the bar-banging, elbow throwing class.

The Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme class points leader Damon Buckmaster had his first race on a completely new Graves Motorsports Yamaha R1 at Pikes Peak, and it looked like he would have a top-five finish on the unproven motorcycle. Unfortunately on the last lap, he slowed dramatically with his bike ultimately coming to a stop. He ended up ninth, and though the friendly Australian was frustrated, his crew scurried back to its race shop in California this week to sort out the problem. The defending Road America Formula Xtreme winner will be sure to have a bike ready for him to defend his title this weekend. Buckmaster also set a new track record for the class in last year’s race with a lap time of 2:10.231.

Attack Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore won the last weekend’s Formula Xtreme race and comes to Road America confident that he will be on the podium again. Pridmore is sitting third in the points battle and a win in Elkhart Lake will help him
close the gap on his 18-point deficit. With the power of his Attack Suzuki GSX-R1000 and his natural talent, he is a considerable threat for the championship.

Bruce Transportation Group’s Jake Zemke is sitting second in points and only 13 down from first. This 23-year-old Paso Robles, Calif. native has continued to put in strong performances in the 1000cc class.

Erion Racing’s Mike Hale is showing that a few years off the bike hasn’t hindered him much in his first year back, as he has earned several top-five finishes on his Erion-prepared Honda. Hale’s early successes in road racing came on a Honda and he is showing that he adapted quickly to the new CBR954RR.


KIRK MCCARTHY TAKES TO ANOTHER NEW TRACK
LOOKING FOR WIN IN BUELL PRO THUNDER

PICKERINGTON, Ohio – Advanced Motorsports Ducati rider Kirk McCarthy continues to prove he is excellent at adapting to unfamiliar conditions. Taking pole position and the win in the second round of the Buell Pro Thunder Series last weekend, McCarthy will arrive at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. with a 15-point advantage over second place.

But the former Australian Superbike Champion McCarthy will have to do battle with Woody Kyle Racing’s David Estok, who had a great run last weekend at Pikes Peak International Raceway finishing second. After suffering a mechanical DNF at the opening round in Daytona Beach, Fla., Estok, of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., will be on the gas at Road America to make up for his points deficit.

Hal’s Performance Advantage Buell rider Mike Ciccotto is sitting 15 points behind McCarthy and wants to close in on the Australian Ducati rider at Road America as he has been coveting this championship since last October. Last year he lost the series title by a mere two points to Thomas Montano.

Montano, the defending Buell Pro Thunder Champion, is having a hard start to the season. A fall in the opening round at Daytona International Speedway and mechanical trouble at PPIR have left him behind the eight ball in points and he will arrive at Road America’s four-mile road course with some work to do to get back into the hunt.

Going into the last round of the MBNA 250 Grand Prix class last weekend, no one expected to see four-time class champion Rich Oliver at the track, let alone on his Team Oliver Yamaha 250. Oliver suffered a compound fracture to his right forearm and lost two toes on his left foot after a bad fall a month ago at Sears Point Raceway. But the 40-year-old Oliver took the pole position and went on to lead every lap to win the race.

Stargel Aprilia’s Chuck Sorensen is maintaining his lead in points, 34, after a third place last weekend. Sorensen is looking to get the No. 1 plate back on his bike after Jimmy Filice took the title away from him last year. If Sorensen can win the title, he would be the first rider to give Aprilia an AMA U.S. Championship. The friendly, Sunnyvale, Calif., native is easy to spot in the pits as he and his team don colorful Hawaiian shirts as part of the official team apparel.

The surprise of the series has to be Simon Turner. The native of Northern Ireland is fresh off his first podium finish of the season and will arrive in Elkhart Lake looking for his second.

For ticket information visit Road America’s website at www.roadamerica.com or call (800) 365-RACE (7223).

For immediate post-race results, points, and live transponder scoring from each race in the championship, log on to amaproracing.com’s Superbike Mediacenter, the official home of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.