VALIANT EFFORT BY HODGSON AS HE FIGHTS FOR THE AMA PODIUM Braselton (Georgia): Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson fought one of the closest and most exciting battles of the 2006 season on Sunday, trying his best to earn a spot on the podium in the AMA Superbike race at Road Atlanta. Neil came up just 0.098 short of a rostrum finish as he and Aaron Yates raced for third position coming down the hill on the last lap at the Georgia track. Ben Bostrom was seventh on his Ducati 999 as he improved one spot on the final lap of the 25-lap race. Hodgson earned third spot for much of the race and the last laps saw him hold off Yates for most of the lap. Coming down the hill into turn 12 for the final time, Yates earned a slight advantage over the 2003 World Superbike champion and held it to the flag. “It’s tough to lose one like that, but what can you say?” said Hodgson. “As soon as Yates was level with me, I knew it was over because he had the inside line. I tried to square him coming out of the corner but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. The last turn pass hurts even more because you don’t have a chance to get him back. I had a small problem with four laps to go and it just cost us a little bit of time and that extra bit of drive. Nothing really big but we needed everything in our arsenal today if we were going to make the podium.” Ben Bostrom moved to seventh on the final lap of the race, passing rival Jake Zemke after the two once again battled for position in an AMA Superbike race. “I’m pretty disappointed because we weren’t racing for the podium, but I had a good battle out there,” said Bostrom. “We lost some ground in the early going but I had a lot of corner speed through the Esses and the bike handled pretty well. Jake and I, it seems like we’re magnets because we end up racing together in every one of these, lately. On the last lap, I had a move planned for the chicane but Jake ended up running wide and I ended up with the position.” The AMA season finale will be held at Mid-Ohio Sep 29-Oct 1. Results: 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 4.Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 6. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 8. Jake Zemke, Honda 9. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 10. Jake Holden, Suzuki Points standings (after 18 rounds): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 625 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 605 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 496 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 451 5. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 440 6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 430 7. Jake Zemke, Honda 424 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 374 9. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 364 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 331 More, from a press release issued by M4 EMGO Suzuki: ANOTHER SUPERSPORT DOUBLE PODIUM FOR MAY AND BARNES OF TEAM M4 EMGO SUZUKI Team M4 EMGO Suzuki added to their trophy collection this weekend at Road Atlanta as Geoff May and Michael Barnes came through to claim their second consecutive double podium finish in the AMA Supersport class aboard their Pirelli-shod GSX-R600s. It was the third time in 2006 that May and Barnes have stood on the Supersport podium together. May put together a rock-solid outing, moving up into third on lap seven of fifteen and then taking over second place on lap nine. Teammate Barnes got off to another of his trademark quick starts, storming into the lead early before dropping back to fourth at mid-distance. The two M4 EMGO Suzuki riders turned it up late, with May holding down the runner-up position and Barnes moving into third and pressuring May to the checkered flag. May, from nearby Gainesville, GA, was pleased to have given his home fans what they came to see, particularly after his disappointing ninth-place Superstock finish earlier in the day aboard the team’s GSX-R1000. May’s fourth Supersport podium of the season saw him take over second place in the class’ title race with just one event remaining. Afterwards he said, “I feel like my guys deserve our spot in the points. We had a little problem at Miller and we’ve been fighting for every single point since then, just trying to scratch and get as many as we can. It feels good and hopefully that’s where we end up at the end of the year. That’s the gameplan.” Commenting on the race, the Georgian remarked, “‘Barney’ was riding really well. He really pushed me out there today. He put a lot of pressure on me and he rode clean, too. It was a good weekend, all in all. Pirelli keeps working harder and harder and I think that next year we’re really going to have some good stuff when they bring out the new World Supersport tires they’ve been working on.” For Barnes, the result was his third straight top-three and fifth Supersport podium finish of the year. He commented, “When a few guys passed me early I thought, ‘I can’t let this happen,’ so I picked it up. I was just trying to get with Geoff and he was putting together some really good laps. It was just a matter of trying to put together some real good laps at the end, which I did. The Pirelli tires have really come along real good this year. Especially this race, they were the strongest they’ve been at the end of the race all year I believe.” “I can’t just thank these guys enough for putting together such a solid team,” he continued. “These bikes are incredible. I’m looking forward to going back to Ohio again because it’s kind of like we’ve tested there. We’re going back there with some data and I’m planning on getting the holeshot again.” Shea Fouchek rounded out the weekend for Team M4 EMGO Suzuki with an 18th place ride in the Supersport race. The 2006 season will wrap up in just a few weeks with a return visit to Mid-Ohio for the AMA road racing finale on September 29-October 1. More, from a press release issued by Chris Ulrich Racing: IMPROVEMENT FOR PIETRI AT ROAD ATLANTA WHILE ULRICH HAS A DIFFICULT RACE FOR ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki put in a determined effort at the next-to-last round of the 2006 AMA road racing championships at Road Atlanta. The squad picked up a pair of hard-earned results in the ultra-competitive AMA Superstock class, setting the stage for an exciting conclusion to the season at Mid-Ohio in a few weeks time. After qualifying on the outside of the third row with the 12th best lap in the Superstock session aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 at 1:25.242, Chris Ulrich battled his way up to tenth during the 15-lap race. The Californian was still climbing and looking capable of scoring his best result of the season before he began to struggle for grip, eventually forcing him down to 14th in the end. “I think 100% I had a very good weekend going until seven or eight laps into the race,” Ulrich said. “At that point I was in tenth, gaining on ninth, and the bike started backing itself into turn one and backing itself in at the top of the hill. That was an indication were we having some issues with grip. Unfortunately, as the laps wore on and I was having more and more problems. Coming down the hill with three or four to go I had a big front-end slide. The outside of my left foot was hanging off and the only thing that kept me on the bike was my knee. To have that happen in turn 12 at Road Atlanta is a pretty scary situation. “It’s very disappointing, especially being in a top-ten position and having to go backwards, watching guys pass me that I knew I was going to beat today,” said Chris. Robertino Pietri was in learning mode once again, the Venezuelan working diligently to learn the nuances of the tricky Georgian circuit. Building speed right up through the conclusion of the race, Pietri once again showed that he’s the fastest South American in the series by a wide margin en route to a 17th place result. Clear proof of his improvement was the fact that after qualifying 18th for the Superstock race with a best lap of 1:27.180, Robertino broke in the ’26s with a 1:26.931 on race rubber during the final. Pietri said, “I’m happy. I didn’t ride too much on Thursday at the promoter practice because of the weather. All these tracks are new for me and every time I get out on the track, I go a half second faster. I think with one more day I could be right up there, top ten or top twelve. These weekends go by so fast and it’s quite challenging. “I really want to thank Pirelli. They hooked me up with some new tires that I needed and I finished the weekend well. I finished 17th, which isn’t the best result of the year, but I went faster in the race than I did in any practice or qualifying session. I’m pleased with my race times. We have a good bike and my mechanics are doing a great job trying to make things as easy as possible for me. It’s really hard when you’re always going to a new track and learning which direction the corners go.” Both riders are carrying high hopes into their return visit to Mid-Ohio for the season finale weekend on September 29-October 1. The venue was perhaps the scene of Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s best overall outing of the year, in which Ulrich claimed a top ten and Pietri a top fifteen. Ulrich, who is currently just one point off of his season-long goal of a top ten ranking in the Superstock championship, commented, “I just got done discussing some things with my crew chief and we’re going to make some changes to the set-up that we just found out the last two weeks. I think they’re going to make me faster there than I was last time and our goal is a solid top ten. I want to finish the year out strong and there’s no reason we can’t do it.” Pietri is especially excited to compete at a track where he’s already spent considerable time. “The only place I raced this year that I also raced last year was Daytona and right there I got seventh place, a good solid top ten. I’m really, really looking forward to Ohio. I think we can do a good job there and I’m excited about that. I want to end the year with a strong result and build momentum for next year.” More, from a press release issued by Team Stargel Castrol: Team Stargel Castrol Scores Another Top Ten At Road Atlanta Team Stargel Castrol always welcomes racing at Road Atlanta. It is close to home, has a challenging layout, and allows us to make sweet iced tea from the high humidity atmosphere. It is our home track in every sense of the word. After turning only five laps on Thursday due to rain showers, Friday presented itself with a number of issues to resolve. With both Formula Xtreme and Superbike qualifying on the schedule for Friday afternoon, the team needed to work quickly, as well as intelligently. As has become the norm this season, the Yamaha R6 F/X bike yielded little resistance in our attempts to find a proper setup. The R1, on the other hand, was a more difficult animal to tame. While everything did not go to plan in F/X qualifying, Brian Stokes, rode the bike hard and secured a seventh place grid position for Saturday’s race with a time of 1:27.2. Both superbike sessions proved to be more work, and at their completion, Stokes qualified in 19th. Saturday morning, the team had a decision to make. Everyone felt that there was more to be had from the R6 if some more attention was paid to it. A decision was made to sit out of Saturday’s Superbike race to concentrate on an excellent finish in the F/X race. Stokes got a great start in the F/X race, but when he came around after one lap the team was surprised that he had lost position. He fell back as far as 16th, while his crew stood idly by wondering what the problem could be. Stokes was having a problem with lack of braking power, but continued to race on as best he could. The problem slowly improved, and by lap five, his brakes were working normally again. With this, he put his head down and began to move through the pack. Stokes finished the race in a strong ninth place to record his third F/X top ten finish of the year, while only participating in four rounds thus far. Sunday’s Superbike race was not the result that the team had hoped for, but was still quite respectable. Early on, Stokes hung onto to a pack of riders than spanned from 15th to 18th position. As the race went on, Stokes had some heat related issues with the bike, and his pace began to drop off. Brian crossed the line in 19th place and was the last rider still on the lead lap. Team Stargel Castrol will be competing at the final AMA round of the year at Mid Ohio on September 30th – October 1st. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: HAYDENS AND KAWASAKI REMAIN RELENTLESS AT ROAD ATLANTA Braselton, Ga. Kawasaki Racing Team rider, Tommy Hayden, put forth a determined effort as AMA Superbike racing came to Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, Ga., this weekend. Tommy qualified in fifth which was just behind his younger brother, Roger, who qualified on the outside of the front row in fourth. As the green flag dropped on Saturday’s Superbike feature Tommy got the best jump off the grid by running in seventh as Roger was shuffled back into 11th. As the laps clicked away, Roger advanced four positions while edging out Tommy to take over seventh and Tommy stayed tucked in close behind Roger in eighth. During the final laps, Roger was forced to pull out of the race after his chain broke while Tommy continued on to finish seventh. The second race of the Superbike doubleheader on Sunday saw Roger running in fifth and Tommy in 12th after the start. As the race progressed, Roger tussled with a couple riders for fifth but stayed close behind the lead group while Tommy advanced into ninth. The final portion of the 25-lap feature saw Tommy engaged in an intense battle for ninth while Roger dropped one position into sixth. At the finish, Roger crossed the stripe in sixth while Tommy finished out the second race in ninth. Roger also contested in Supersport on Sunday and found himself in second just after the start and locked in a fierce contest with Jamie Hacking for the lead. The pair would battle back-and-forth for the next seven laps before Roger slipped back into third and then faded into fourth. With only four laps remaining Roger drifted back into the field due to mechanical problems and had to retire early. Attack Kawasaki riders, Ben Attard and Damon Buckmaster, remained engaged in an intense battle for seventh place throughout the duration of the 15-lap feature. The duo advanced two positions due in part to Roger’s bad luck and another rider who pulled out early which allowed Attard to cross the finish in fifth with Buckmaster in sixth. In AMA Superstock Action, Buckmaster put in a respectable ride aboard his Kawasaki ZX-10R by starting in 14th and advancing into tenth before the checkered flag dropped. Attard left the grid in ninth and was unfortunately shuffled back into 15th after the start. Undaunted by the setback, Attard advanced into 13th after the halfway point and held his position throughout the remaining laps of the 15-lap feature. Racing resumes when the teams head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, September 29October 3.