AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited VIRginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 20 Provisional Race Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 28 laps 2. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -5.278 seconds 3. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), -12.340 seconds 4. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), -27.830 seconds 5. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), -31.445 seconds 6. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), -31.734 seconds 7. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -36.633 seconds 8. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), -54.644 seconds 9. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), -78.083 seconds 10. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), -78.958 seconds 11. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), -84.858 seconds 12. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 13. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 3.420 seconds 14. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 10.776 seconds 15. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 23.152 seconds 16. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 37.044 seconds 17. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 50.548 seconds 18. Scott Carpenter (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 50.756 seconds 19. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 52.586 seconds 20. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 66.283 seconds 21. Michael Sanchez (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 69.287 seconds 22. Andi Notman (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 78.339 seconds 23. Marco Martinez (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps 24. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -2 laps, DNF, pitted, mechanical 25. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), -19 laps, DNF 26. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), -27 laps, DNF, crash 27. Akira Tamitsuji (Suz GSX-R1000), -28 laps, DNF 28. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 29. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 30. Marty Craggill (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 31. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 32. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 33. Kenny Noyes (Yam YZF-R1 LE), DNS 34. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 35. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), DNS Provisional AMA Superbike Championship Point Standings (after 16 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 560 points 2. Mladin, 531 points 3. Duhamel, 443 points 4. Yates, 393 points 5. Hodgson, 387 points 6. Tommy Hayden, 384 points 7. Zemke, 376 points 8. Pridmore, 332 points 9. Ben Bostrom, 329 points 10. Pegram, 299 points 11. Rapp, 272 points 12. Holden, 244 points 13. Curtis, 209 points 14. Eric Wood, 206 points 15. Lynn, 197 points 16. Tamitsuji, 172 points 17. Scott Jensen, 152 points 18. Roger Hayden, 144 points 19. West, 136 points 20. Hendry, 122 points More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mladin, Yates & Spies Dominate Sunday’s Superbike Race at VIR Round 9 AMA Superbike Series Alton, VA Virginia International Raceway Aug. 18 – 20, 2006 Team Yoshimura Suzuki was absolutely on fire in the second AMA Superbike race of the double-header weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, Va., on Sunday. Defending AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin won the race, while teammate Aaron Yates picked up his first Superbike podium of the year with a second-place finish. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies, racing with a fractured right hand, still brought home a strong fourth place and maintained his AMA Superbike points lead. “After Mid-Ohio, I said all we could do is try to win as many races as possible and that’s what we did this weekend,” said Mladin of his fifth victory of the season and his fifth win at VIR. Overall, this win marks Mladin’s 48th career win. Starting from pole position, Mladin got a good start but then fell behind on the first lap. Working his way up from ninth, the six-time AMA Superbike Champion eventually found his way into the lead. “My start on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was awesome,” said Mladin. “But I braked early in the first turn. I finally got a good start and look what I did with it. As for the championship, the only way we can win the title is if Ben loses it. The championship is in Ben’s hands. No matter what, it’s good to get a couple wins.” Teammate Yates also got a good start and led the first eight laps of the 28-lap race. Once Mladin got past him, however, Yates tucked in behind his teammate and the Yoshimura Suzuki duo finished together. “I don’t know why everything came together here at VIR,” said Yates of his first 2006 podium. “We found some things for the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at the Road Atlanta test last week. And I knew I had to get a good start because I’ve had a tough time passing here. I have to thank my crew for doing a great job getting the Suzuki set up for me.” Meanwhile, Spies was suffering from a hand injury that he got from crashing in Superbike qualifying. Determined to maintain his points lead in AMA Superbike, however, the young Texan rode a strong, consistent race and finished in fourth. “I have to admit, these are the two worst races of my life,” said Spies of competing while injured this weekend. “But I knew that I had everything under control by running in fourth and I just needed to focus on the championship. We have a week and half to heal and come back ready for Road Atlanta.” More, from a press release issued by VIR: Mladin Sweeps AMA Superbike Races at VIR Alton, Va. (August 20) Six-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin of Australia won Sunday’s AMA Superbike Championship race at VIRginia International Raceway’s Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals. The victory completed a sweep of the VIR doubleheader weekend for Mladin, who also won Saturday’s race. It marked the second doubleheader sweep of the season for Mladin, who won both legs at Elkhart Lake, Wis., in June. Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki passed teammate Aaron Yates, of Milledgeville, Ga., on lap 12 of the 28-lap final and motored away to a 5.278-second margin of victory. Yates finished second. Former series champion Miguel Duhamel was third on a Honda. “It was hard work getting around Miguel and Aaron,” said Mladin, whose perfect weekend breathed new life into the AMA Superbike title chase. “Everyone’s talking about the young guys in the series, but you’ve got three of the oldest riders in the series up here, so experience counts for something.” Series leader Ben Spies broke his right hand in Friday qualifying. The 22-year-old from Longview, Texas, rode with the injury and finished fourth. He held a 45-point lead in the series coming into the weekend and leaves 29 points ahead of defending champ Mladin with three rounds remaining. In the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship race, Yamaha USA’s Jamie Hacking clinched the series title with two races remaining when championship protagonist Roger Hayden’s Kawasaki fell out. Hacking emerged victorious in a tight three-way battle with Team M4 Emgo Suzuki teammates Geoff May and Michael Barnes taking second and third, respectively. Yamaha swept the podium in the Respol Superstock Championship race, with Eric Bostrom winning over teammates Hacking and Jason DiSalvo. The win was veteran Bostrom’s first ever in the Superstock series. The weekend was a huge success, with race promoter Cameron Gray of M1 Entertainment estimating the record weekend crowd at 50,000 over the course of the three-day event. It was the second consecutive year that Gray has promoted the event, which featured a wide variety of off-track entertainment and attractions for the fans. “We are thrilled with this year’s Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals,” Gray said. “We built on last year’s success and have exceeded our expectations in terms of spectators and sponsorships. The Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals is quickly becoming one of the ‘must-do’ events on the professional motorcycle racing calendar, and we intend to keep building on our momentum in the years to come. The staff at VIR has been great to work with, and the fans here are terrific. As soon as we catch our breath, we’ll be hard at work on our plans to make this event even better for next year.” “The Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals is our most-anticipated event of the year,” said VIR general manager Josh Lief, “and Cameron Gray and his staff have outdone themselves in putting on a great show for both the fans and the racers. They have transformed a race weekend into a three-day festival of motorcycling, and we have heard nothing but rave reviews from the spectators. We look forward to more of the same next year, and for many years to come.” The next spectator event on VIR’s schedule is the annual visit of Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd., scheduled for Labor Day weekend. For more information, visit www.hsrracing.com. VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Va., just north of historic Milton, N.C. In addition to its 3.27-mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America’s first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park; the VIR Gallery, a sales showroom for high-end collector and racing cars; Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8-mile paved karting circuit; The Lodge at VIR, a 27-room trackside hotel; the new VIR Paddock Suites and Garages, with 18 dual-purpose hospitality/ lodging units and garages; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse. For more information on VIRginia International Raceway, visit the track’s website at www.virclub.com or telephone 434-822-7700. For more information on M1 Entertainment, visit their website at www.m1event.com or contact them via telephone at 303-377-3278. For more information on the AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited, visit their website at www.amasuperbike.com.