From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

MLADIN HOPING TO EXTEND AMA CHEVROLET SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD IN GEORGIA

Aussie is the all-time AMA Superbike wins leader at Road Atlanta

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Aug. 27, 2004) — Defending champ Mathew Mladin is on course to earn his fifth AMA Chevrolet Superbike title and a pair of wins at the AMA Suzuki Superbike Showdown by Makita Doubleheader on Sept. 3-5, could put the Australian Yoshimura Suzuki rider one step closer to the 2004 championship. Mladin is one of three former winners at Road Atlanta set to race in rounds 15 and 16 of the 18-race championship. Miguel Duhamel and Georgia’s own Aaron Yates have also won AMA Superbike races at the challenging Braselton circuit.

As the championship hits the homestretch, Mladin is leading Erion Honda Superbike newcomer Jake Zemke by 21 points. Mladin built his series lead by way of a lightning quick start of the season, winning five of the first six rounds. He then went through a mid-season dry spell going six rounds without a win before getting back atop the podium at Mid-Ohio in late July.

Road Atlanta has been a roller-coaster ride for Mladin over the years. On the upside, he can claim to be the winningest AMA Superbike rider ever at the track. He swept the doubleheader in 2000 and then came back to take one of the two rounds in 2001 and again last year. He’s also had some very close calls on the high-speed circuit; once being forced to avoid an ambulance that was on the track and then holding on to his Suzuki last year when the bike’s rear tire failed at high speed. Only a man with steely nerves, like Mladin, could put incidents like that out of his mind and come back to win on the very same track. The fact that Mladin was the fastest in testing at the track only solidifies the view that he is the Road Atlanta pre-race favorite.

“It’s nice to now have that 21-point break over Jake in the championship, and with just four races to go we have to try hard to hang on to it. We’ve got Road Atlanta and Virginia International Raceway to finish off the season and I think we should be able to put a good package together for both of those tracks,” says Mladin.

If Zemke is to close in on the champ he will have to accomplish something he’s never done at Road Atlanta – win. As a leading AMA Formula Xtreme and Supersport competitor over recent years, Zemke has won his share of races, but never at Road Atlanta.

“I’ve always been in contention at Road Atlanta,” Zemke said. “I had a good shot of winning (in Formula Xtreme) in ’02 before going down in (Jason) Pridmore’s oil. On the restart I charged all the way from the back of the grid to third so I don’t think there’s any particular reason I haven’t won there. I’ve had a number of podium finishes so I feel like I go pretty well there. We’ve got some points to make up, but a lot can happen in four races so we’re going to take it one race at a time and see what happens.”

Duhamel, who won at Road Atlanta in 1998 in a thrilling last-turn pass on Anthony Gobert, has fallen to third in the championship after crashing his factory Honda in the most recent round in Lexington, Ohio. As a result of the crash the Montreal native went from just 10 points behind Mladin and second in the standings to third in the series, 44 points out of the series lead. Duhamel, the 1995 AMA Superbike champ, now needs a little luck to get back in the championship picture.

Brothers Eric and Ben Bostrom are still mathematically in the race for the championship, but realistically the two are battling for fourth in the standings. Both Eric and Ben have both won races this year and would love to add to that tally. It’s been five years since a Ducati won at Road Atlanta. Eric would love to help the Italian maker get back on the top rung of the podium.

Georgia has long been an Eastern hotbed of road racing talent. This year local fans will again have a number of home state heroes to root for. Chief among the Georgian riders is Suzuki’s Yates. The Milledgeville resident is having a disappointing season, but has still managed three podium finishes this season. He hopes racing at his home track will find him getting his first win in nearly a year. Other top Georgian riders at Road Atlanta will include last year’s rookie of the year Geoff May, an Atlanta native who now lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. May is a solid fifth in the standings riding a Team Prieto Racing Suzuki. Opie Caylor, form Marietta, is another leading privateer rider in the series.

Both Road Atlanta Superbike races will be broadcast nationally on SPEED Channel on Sunday, Sept. 5, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time. Sunday’s race will be shown live at 3 p.m. Eastern.

For additional information on the AMA Suzuki Superbike Showdown by Makita Doubleheader, call (800) 849-RACE or visit www.roadatlanta.com.

For immediate post-race results, points, live transponder scoring, in-depth series and rider information, regular columnists and much more, log onto www.USSuperbike.com, the official website of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, Sept. 2
3:00 – 7:00 – Registration: Riders, Crew, Sponsors & Guests
6:30 – Post-entry Closed for all Classes
3:00 – 7:00 – Tech Inspection

Friday, Sept. 3
7:30 – 4:00 – Registration: Crew, Sponsors & Guests
8:00 – 5:00 – Tech Inspection
9:00 – 10:00 – AMA Repsol Superstock Practice
10:10 – 11:10 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Practice
11:20 – 12:20 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Practice
12:20 – 1:20 – Lunch Break
12:40 – Mandatory Rider Briefing for All Classes
1:20 – 2:20 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Practice
2:30 – 3:00 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Group 1
3:10 – 3:40 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Qualifying Group 2
3:50 – 4:20 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Qualifying Group 1
4:30 – 5:00 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Qualifying Group 2

Saturday, Sept. 4
7:30 – 3:00 – Registration: Crew, Sponsors & Guests
8:00 – 5:00 – Tech Inspection
8:00 – 8:30 – AMA Repsol Superstock Practice
8:35 – 9:05 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Practice
9:10 – 9:40 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Practice
9:45 – 10:25 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Qualifying Group 1
10:35 – 11:15 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Qualifying Group 2
11:15 – 12:15 – Lunch Break – Christian Pfeiffer Stunt Show
12:15 – 12:40 – AMA Repsol Superstock Qualifying Group 1
12:50 – 1:15 – AMA Repsol Superstock Qualifying Group 2
1:20 – Christian Pfeiffer Stunt Show
1:40 – 2:05 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Qualifying Group
12:15 – 2:40 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Qualifying Group 2
3:00 – Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme (60k – 15 laps)
4:00 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Race 1 (100K – 25 laps)
5:00 – Full Throttle Custom Lap

Sunday, Sept. 5
8:30 – 12:00 – Registration: Crew, Sponsors & Guests
9:00 – Tech Inspection Opens
8:30 – 8:50 – AMA Repsol Superstock Practice
9:00 – 9:20 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets Practice
9:30 – 9:50 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Practice
10:00 – 12:00 – Lunch Break – Mandatory Quiet Time
10:15 – Christian Pfeiffer Stunt Show
10:45 – Fan Ride
10:30 – Nondenominational Chapel Service
12:00 – AMA Repsol Superstock Race (60k – 15 laps)
1:30 – Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei Helmets (60k – 15 laps)
2:30 – Christian Pfeiffer Stunt Show
3:00 – Chevrolet Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited Race 2 (100k – 25 laps)