From a press release issued by Mat Mladin motorsports:

MLADIN PREPARED FOR ROAD AMERICA BATTLE

The 2004 American AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship reaches its half way point this weekend with Wisconsin’s Road America circuit at Elkhart Lake hosting a double-header round of the series, incorporating rounds nine and ten of the 18-race series.

Defending American Superbike champion, Australian Mat Mladin, arrives at Road America as the front-runner in this year’s championship which has seen him take five race wins from eight starts aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. The four-times champion holds a 19-point advantage over Jake Zemke (268 – 249), with fellow Honda rider Miguel DuHamel third, a further four points away.

The Road America circuit presents itself as one of the most liked circuits on the AMA calendar by the riders, as well as being one of the longest with a length of 6.44km (4.00miles).

The fast flowing nature of the circuit, matched with recent step up improvements by his rivals, leaves Mladin in a position where he will be heavily challenged for the race wins.

“I’ve enjoyed racing here and look forward to the weekend ahead,” said Mladin. “The same deal applies as always. We’ll get our bike set up as best we can for the circuit and aim to score the maximum amount of points that will allow us to maintain our momentum in the championship.

Mladin is no stranger to winning at Road America, having taken victory on three separate occasions aboard three different styles of motorcycle, which at times have been against the odds. His latest victory being last season, when he took the honours in the opening race.

“I know for sure this weekend is not going to be easy for us. We’ll have a heck of a lot of work to do to ensure the bike is as good as we can get it and I feel confident about that. I’ve won here before on three different types of motorcycle (1997 – Ducati 955, 2001 – Suzuki GSX-R750, 2003 – Suzuki GSX-R1000) and at times, especially on the 750 were not considered as race favourites.”

“Our team was able to get a great start to the year, winning the opening four races, but I think the opposition has stepped up the pace at recent rounds. There have been three different winners from the last three races, as well as a rider who is sitting there ready to get his first win. It’s definitely tough out there at the moment which is great for the championship, but for us we just have to keep our focus and achieve our goals.

Practice and qualifying for this weekend’s double-header round commences on Friday, with Saturday’s schedule featuring the second and final qualifying session followed by the first of the weekend’s two Superbike nationals, with the second being run Sunday afternoon.

ROAD AMERICA – FAST FACTS

Circuit length: 6.44km (4.00miles)
2003 Pole position: Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 2:15.159 mins
2003 Results:
Race 1:
1. Mat Mladin Yoshimura Suzuki)
2. Miguel DuHamel (American Honda)
3. Kurtis Roberts (Erion Honda)
Race 2:
1. Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki)
2. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki)
3. Larry Pegram (Dream Team Ducati)
Superbike lap record: Eric Bostrom (Team Kawasaki ZX-7RR) 2:08.510 mins
(2002)

2004 AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship (Points after 8 of 18 rounds):

1. Mat Mladin (268, 5 wins); 2. Jake Zemke (249), 3. Miguel DuHamel (245, 2 wins), 4. Eric Bostrom (184, 1 win), 5. Geoff May (175); 6. Lee Acree (156), 7. John Haner (148), 8. Josh Hayes (136), 9. Ben Bostrom (131), 10. Cory West (122).