HODGSON TAKES BEST SIXTH, HOLDEN NINTH, AT COLD AND WET ROAD AMERICA SUPERBIKE AMA Superbike racing came to America’s heartland, picturesque Road America in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin. The fans here are always extremely enthusiastic, seeing the Superbike race weekend as the beginning of the summer riding season. So it’s a great excuse to bring out both old and new bikes from winter storage and cheer on their heroes! The Corona Team of Neil Hodgson and Jake Holden were certainly well supported at the event. The traditional Corona promotion at Seibkins in Elkhart Lake, one of US motorcycling’s best known “place to be” saw a large crowd meet Jake, Neil and the lovely Corona girls. The highlight was a “target” Frisbee throwing competition for special autographed team shirts the Corona girls were the targets so you can imagine the interest! The weekend looked to be a good one with practice starting under clear blue skies and near perfect riding conditions. Both riders worked to improve their bikes throughout qualifying and after the basic round both riders were qualified for the Super Pole with Neil sitting in the 9th spot and Jake in 10th. During Super Pole the track conditions deteriorated with colder conditions and not as much grip as during qualifying. Both riders were slower for the one flying lap format but managed to improve their grid position by one place, Neil being in eighth with Jake right behind in ninth. Race day dawned gray and cold and the prospect of rain later in the day. The prospect became a reality and by the time the green flag dropped it was a wet race! The race got off without mishap and Neil was soon in fourth challenging for third but in what turned out to be a ludicrous situation he was given a stop-go penalty. He was deemed to have “jumped” the start. On coming through the pit lane Neil was clearly confused as to why he had been penalized. Later review confirmed that he had not jumped the start but his bike was deemed to have “moved” by officials when he put it into gear! Review of the rules clearly stated that “Anticipation” i.e. “jumping” of the start required “Forward” movement which did not occur. In any case Neil’s race was effectively over. He rode as hard as possible and finished sixteenth. A frustrated Hodgson said: “I did not know what was going on with the flag. I knew I did not jump the start so thought maybe the bike was leaking oil. I came into the pits and the AMA waved me through then so did my crew. After that I could not get in the groove and just did as best as I could!” Jake had a steady race, clearly not comfortable in the slippery conditions. He rode conservatively and finished twelfth. Afterwards he said: “I didn’t want to make any mistakes, last year I fell off twice, so just rode my own race. It was very slippery out there!” The second day opened even colder but at least not raining. Morning practice was more a procession with riders taking it very carefully. With great fanfare the sun came out for the Superbike race! After getting less than great starts both riders rode solid races. Hodgson, continuing to recover from an early season injury, rode as hard as he could for the entire race but some electronic issues hampered his progress. He was able to bring his CBR1000RR Superbike home a well-earned 6th place finish. Neil said: “I had problems after the first couple of laps with the engine control system. The setting kept upsetting the chassis so I rode as carefully as possible. I’m happy to be getting nearer to the front!” Holden had early race problems with his gearshift but continued to ride hard and settled for a lonely 9th after losing touch with the lead group but opening nearly half a minute gap ahead of tenth. For more information please visit Corona Extra Honda Racing online at www.corona-racing.com, email [email protected] or call 310 521 9802. Corona Extra Honda Next Race: Moto GP/AMA Superbike Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California, July 3-5, 2009 More, from a press release issued by Damian Cudlin’s publicist: MIXED BAG AT ROAD AMERICA Paradigm Yamaha’s Damian Cudlin experienced highs and lows at the latest round of the AMA series at Road America on the weekend. Visiting yet another circuit for the first time, Cudlin steadily gained pace in practice, before posting the 9th quickest time in qualifying, securing his second Superpole berth in the last 3 races. Although his Superpole lap was described as “a bit of a mess from start to finish” Cudlin would eventually start from 8th on the grid for both 13 lap races. “Qualifying went well for us and I managed to use Jamie Hacking for a good tow around the place. He definitely knows where he’s going, where as I’m still learning with every lap. I think that’s why my Superpole lap was so average, I was all on my own.” Cudlin explained after Superpole. Rain engulfed the Road America circuit for Saturday’s opening leg, and an action packed race ensued. In deteriorating conditions, Cudlin showed a cool head as chaos played all around him. Steadily working his way forward as the conditions claimed more victims, Cudlin showed increasing speed and was in a strong position when a pace car ‘froze’ the race order. As the pace car finally left the circuit, a 2 lap shootout brought the crowd to their feet as sparks flew in the final moments of the race. Cudlin made a strong surge forward, battling elbow to elbow with Hacking, Eslick and Knapp in torrential conditions. As the final lap flag waved, Cudlin broke from Hacking and Eslick and planned his move on Knapp for 4th. In a brilliant pass in the final turn Cudlin advanced to 4th but the Buell was too strong to the line, relegating the Aussie to 5th across the strip. It was the team’s best finish to date and Cudlin’s first top 5 in his short AMA career. “The race was tricky in those conditions and it became a real battle for survival. When the final safety car made an appearance, I knew it’d come down to a shootout at the end so I really wanted to capitalize on that. You either sink or swim in those conditions and luckily we stayed afloat and brought it home. 5th is a great result for us, in just my 3rd race for the team. I think it shows a glimpse of the potential we’ve got for the remainder of the season.” Cudlin grinned. Although clouds threatened a repeat of Saturday’s conditions, the rain stayed away and ensured a dry second race. With high hopes of a repeat performance of Saturday’s result, Cudlin gridded up for the rolling start, however as leading riders slowed dramatically before the line, Cudlin was forced to brake heavily to avoid a collision at the start of the race. This proved a pivotal moment in Cudlin’s race as the young Aussie watched his terrific grid position fall away as he was swallowed up in the Daytona Sportbike pack. Back as far as 25th in the opening turns, Cudlin crossed the strip 22nd for the first time around, shaking his head furiously as he passed his team on the pit wall. In a race long struggle that saw Cudlin stuck in a drafting pack of riders, Cudlin could only advance to 17th by the finish, securing enough points for 10th overall for the weekend. “Race 2 was definitely disappointing for me, but just proves how important the starts are at a circuit like this.” Cudlin explained. “I’m not a fan of the rolling start, and I got caught out by the concertina effect. From there it was just a battle to move forward in a pack of drafting riders. It was a frustrating race but we’ll take it on the chin and move forward from here. We’ve shown we can run with the top guys this weekend and I plan to do that more often from now on.” Cudlin and the Paradigm Racing Team will take part in the 2 day official AMA test at Mid Ohio this week, in the lead up for their next AMA appearance at Round 8 in July. More, from a press release issued by Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies: The Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Top Ten at Road America. Elkhart Lake, WI June, 2009 The Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team scored a top ten finish at Road America in what was otherwise an extremely difficult weekend. Saturday’s Daytona SportBike Race One Saw the unveiling of a special set of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” bodywork, helmet, and leathers on Ben Thompson’s number 97 Aprilia RSV1000R, but it wasn’t long before it was “transformed” into an earth mover. Sunday’s Daytona SportBike Race Two was much better with Chaz Davies finishing eighth and Ben Thompson making up over ten positions to finish twentieth. Ben Thompson struggled during the first part of the weekend to qualify in the thirty-first position. Davies once again made Superpole and qualified in the fourth position. This is the forth weekend in a row that the team has qualified on the second row. Daytona SportBike Race One was held in abysmal conditions with heavy rain and cold temperatures. Ben and Chaz both got great starts, moving up several positions in the first couple of corners. On the exit of turn five Chaz Davies moved into the lead and started to build a gap over the competition. Unfortunately, Chaz crashed going into turn eight and Ben crashed at almost exactly the same time on the exit of turn seven in the slippery conditions. Both riders were un-hurt but the team was disappointed about both riders crashing out of what could have been a pair of great finishes. Daytona SportBike Race Two saw much better conditions and the team were excited about not having to contend with the variables of a rain race. The team was able to find a solution to a lot of the problems Thompson was having earlier in the weekend and Ben’s dry set up was much better. Thompson got a great start and was passing riders with every lap. At the finish, Ben passed over ten riders to finish twentieth and he dropped over second off his qualifying time. Davies got a great start and was battling with the lead group early. Davies fell into a race long battle for fourth but in the end, had to settle for eighth position after a problem with false neutral. Chaz Davies “We had a good bike this weekend and we had really high hopes that Road America was going to be a good track for us, it just didn’t work out. This is the way racing goes sometimes. The Millennium Technologies crew helped out a ton this weekend and of course I really want to thank Rocky Stargel and Jimmy Le for all of their hard work.” Ben Thompson “We were behind the eight ball all weekend with track time and set up. We got some stuff figured out Saturday morning and then it rained and we crashed in the first race. The second race was better, but when you are starting that far back there are so many laps to pass people. Laguna Seca is my favorite track and I am very excited about our chances there. Thanks to Michael Godin and Marty Ashmore for all their hard work this weekend and to everybody at Millennium Technologies and Aprilia for their support and hospitality.” Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) “The results are not what we wanted them to be, but in the end it was a good weekend. We had a great promotion with Aprilia and Paramount Pictures for the “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” bike and we also unveiled the new RSV4 for the huge crowd at Road America. Both riders came away un-hurt from their crashes and we lead a race for the first time this year. The bike is getting better every round and I know we will be on the podium soon. A very big thanks to Millennium Technologies and Aprilia for all their support. We couldn’t do it without you.” More, from a press release issued by Syndicate Motorsport Management: ESP/ VENEMOTOS YAMAHA SOLIDIFY THEIR POSITION AS ONE OF THE TOP PERFORMING PRIVATE AMA TEAMS AT ROAD AMERICA June 9, 2009 (Reno, NV)”” ESP/ Venemotos Yamaha rolled into Elkhart Lake fresh off Robertino Pietri’s podium performance at the Larry H Miller challenge races and were ready to continue their front running ways. Thursday’s promoter practice allowed the team to dial in their Yamaha R6’s for Pietri and Josh Day. Both riders were enjoying the new found power of the Phil Allison built motors down Road America’s famously long straights. Friday opened with Robertino Pietri near the front of both sessions, just missing out on Superpole by a mere two-tenths, ending in the eleventh position on the grid. Josh Day’s speed on Friday in the Supersport class was only matched by three other riders and a front row start looked like a sure thing, but Supersport qualifying would have to wait for Saturday morning. Saturday morning arrived and brought rain and cold temperatures with it. The team adjusted the setups to the wet conditions and both riders made the mental adjustments necessary to ride in the tricky conditions. Josh Day was able to secure the second spot on the grid for the Sunday’s Supersport final, and Robertino was third in the final ten minute wet session that AMA officials deemed necessary immediately preceding the first Daytona Sportbike race on Saturday. With the confidence that the final wet session brought to Robertino, he was ready to quickly improve on his eleventh place qualifying position in the race. The opportunity to improve on his position never came when his bike stopped suddenly on the sighting lap, the victim of a mysterious electrical problem””no doubt the result of the torrential conditions. Sunday morning was also wet, but the forecast called for a drying track, and the first sessions for both Daytona Sportbike and Supersport were held in half-dry, half-wet conditions. Day topped the Supersport charts, while Pietri elected to sit out the session due to the conditions being neither dry nor wet. With the weather clearing, both races were to be held in the dry. First came the Daytona Sportbike class where Pietri was embroiled in a drafting battle with a large group of riders for the majority of the race in the highly competitive and deep field. Pietri just missed out on another solid top fifteen finish by .192 seconds, with the seventeenth place finisher just .043 seconds behind him. Day’s Supersport race was also held in the dry where he was in a three way drafting battle for the lead until he eventually lost the draft around lap three. After losing the draft of the two leaders, Day eased off and had a relatively lonely race to third place, thirty-eight seconds clear of fourth place. Robertino Pietri: “This weekend was pretty frustrating because of what could have been. We just missed Superpole by tenths of a second, we had a great wet setup for race one and the bike stopped before the green flag, the second race was better, but missing out on a top fifteen by .192 second is tough. I’ll use this frustration as motivation over the next few weeks for the next round at Laguna Seca where my goal is Superpole and a top ten finish.” Josh Day: “We were chasing the front end setup all weekend and the changing conditions didn’t make it any easier. I knew I didn’t have the pace to run with those guys at the front but I did what I could to latch onto their draft and try and stick with them. I even used the double draft to get past them at the beginning of the race and tried to keep them behind me. Once they were able to get past me, I lost touch with their draft and just cruised by myself to third place.” Evan Steel: “Tino’s dnf in the first race was the first mechanical dnf for ESP in over three years of AMA competition. That is still bugging me because I know that Tino had the pace to run up front in the wet. The good news is that we are no longer satisfied with what he have already accomplished. We are looking for our first top ten in Daytona Sportbike and our first victory in Supersport. We know we have the riders and the equipment to achieve our goals, we just need to put all the pieces together.” For Sponsorship inquiries contact Murph at Syndicate Motorsport Management, LLC: (+1) 831 464 3458 or email: [email protected] Team ESP/ Venemotos Yamaha: Evan Steel Performance is a small, personal, specialized shop located in Tucson, Arizona that deals with all aspects of motorcycle road racing. ESP bikes have had some of the highest trap speeds in their classes at AMA Nationals, as well as the highest top speed at start/finish at the 50th annual Macau Grand Prix. In 2008, ESP scored a very rare privateer podium at the VIR AMA National in the Superstock class with Chris Peris. ESP is open to any level of racing, from basic race prep to planning a season at the Nationals. ESP can be reached at (520) 294 3050 or www.evansteelperformance.co More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Mercado Takes His Second Pro Win at Road America Elkhart Lake, Wis. Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Leandro Mercado swept the AMA SuperSport weekend by claiming the pole position and winning the race at Road America. Mercado was confident on the four-mile course considering the track was the location of his first win in America during the AMA Rookies Cup race last year. In the AMA Daytona SportBike race, both Jamie Hacking and Roger Hayden improved on their starting positions to finish ninth and 11th, respectively. The Battle The win for Mercado didn’t come easy, but it was exactly the race that fans came to see. With a great start, Mercado jumped out to the lead early, but was challenged by the recent winner of the race at Infineon Raceway. The two riders switched positions all the way to the final lap when Mercado put together his fastest lap of the 10-lap race to come across the finish with his second professional win. “It was a really hard race,” said Mercado. “Ricky (Parker) was riding really fast and I just tried to be consistent and keep pushing. It was also a very fun race battling back and forth.” Returning to His Track For the Points The Road America track is sentimental to Mercado since it was the place of his first win in the United States. Mercado has made a name for himself in his home country of Argentina, but now he has his sights set on raising his profile in the states. With his win total increasing, Mercado has moved into the points lead for the AMA SuperSport East championship. “I really like this track,” said Mercado. “It’s fast and pretty technical. That race felt a little bit like the one from last year because I battled right to the end of the race. I had a great time and I am very happy that I took over the points lead.” Using What He Could Hacking’s qualifying didn’t go the way he wanted and had to start in the 12th position for the rolling start. With the long start straight at Road America, Hacking moved up in the early laps. The long 13-lap race saw Hacking move around the position chart, eventually finishing inside the top-10 in ninth. “This weekend didn’t really go my way,” said Hacking. “We are going to Mid-Ohio this week for the test and hopefully we can get the bike dialed in for the next race at Laguna Seca. I like that track a lot and I really hope to go after my first win of the season.” Roger Moves Along and Up Hayden came into Sunday’s race with a podium finish from Saturday’s rain-stricken race. Qualifying also didn’t go great for Hayden, who started 18th for both races, but managed to make his way up the leader board to 11th. “Starting from mid-pack is never easy,” said Hayden. “I just did my best to get as good of a start as possible. When starting back, my strategy is to try and get in a good first lap because I don’t want to get behind people that might slow me up. Also, I try to be aggressive early, which is easier said than done. This weekend was a lot better than the last couple of races. I feel like I’m getting the hang of these rolling starts so I just need to keep improving and keep getting better at it.” Cold Weather The rain held up on Sunday, but the temperatures were still unseasonably low for the area. The riders dealt with the cold and were happy that, unlike Saturday’s race, the skies were clear. Everyone Loves Laguna Seca The next venue on the schedule is a favorite among the Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki riders. Each rider has had success at the Northern California track. Hacking has earned five wins, Hayden has earned two wins along with a good ride at the end of 2007 for his first championship, and Mercado has taken a win as well in the AMA Rookies Cup. “I’m actually really excited to go to Laguna Seca,” said Hayden. “This weekend was good for me and I’m anxious to get back to a track that I really love.” Results AMA Pro Road Racing Series Road America Elkhart Lake, Wis. June 7, 2009 AMA Pro SuperSport Results 1. LEANDRO MERCADO, LODI, CALIF., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI 2. Ricky Parker, Mansfield, La., Yamaha 3. Josh Day, Orlando, Fla., Yamaha 4. James Rispoli, Atica, N.Y., Suzuki 5. Russ Wilkie, Huntsville, Ala., Suzuki 6. Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha 7. Tyler Odom, Torrance, Calif., Honda 8. ROBERT TINAGERO, SANTA ROSA, CALIF., KAWASAKI 9. Clint Shobert, Wolfforth, Texas, Honda 10. Lloyd Worrell, Heath, Texas, Yamaha AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Results 1. Martin Cardenas, Miami, Fla., Suzuki 2. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda 3. Jason DiSalvo, Las Vegas, Nev., Suzuki 4. Chris Peris, Calgary, Canada, Honda 5. Daniel Eslick, Broken Arrow, Okla., Buell 6. Taylor Knapp, Lapeer, Mich., Buell 7. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Buell 8. Chaz Davies, Carlsbad, Calif., Aprilla 9. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI 10. Chris Fillmore Oxford, Mich., Yamaha 11. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Point Standings 1. Martin Cardenas, Miami, Fla., Suzuki, 255 2. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI, 204 3. Daniel Eslick, Broken Arrow, Okla., Buell, 199 4. Jason DiSalvo, Las Vegas, Nev., Suzuki, 179 5. Josh Herrin, Clovis Calif., Yamaha, 152 6. Chris Peris, Calgary, Canada, Honda, 141 7. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 128 8. Chaz Davies, Carlsbad, Calif., Aprilla, 121 9. Steve Rapp, Hawthorne, Calif., Yamaha, 112 10. Tommy Aquino, Saugus, Calif., Yamaha, 104 13. ROGER HAYDEN, OWENSBORO, KY., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI, 79 20. LEANDRO MERCADO, LODI, CALIF., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI, 39