Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mladin Podiums in his Final AMA Superbike Race at New Jersey Jordan Suzuki’s Yates completes second Suzuki double-podium of weekend AMA Superbike Series, Race Two – Round 11 Millville, New Jersey – New Jersey Motorsports Park – September 4 – 6, 2009 Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin celebrated his AMA Superbike swan song with a podium appearance at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon. Seven-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin announced his retirement from AMA Superbike racing earlier this season and this weekend’s double-header event marked the end of the newly crowned 2009 AMA Superbike Champion’s career. In Saturday’s race, Mladin was in a battle for the lead when he crashed out of the race. On Sunday, he raced his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 as hard as ever and battled for the lead for most of the race before finishing in an impressive second place. Mladin was joined on the podium by Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates in third place. Yates and Mladin and Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden had all been battling for podium spots and Hayden was actually making a pass for the lead when he crashed out of the race. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young finished up the weekend in ninth place after struggling a bit with throughout the weekend. Mat Mladin: “It’s been a good weekend but everything comes on to an end. I have had a fantastic career but it’s time to spend some more time with my family and move on to other areas of my life. This weekend, we had a really good race and I felt really good for most of it. I really didn’t want to be in second place, I wanted to lead and do as much as I could from the front. I felt a little pressure from Josh (Hayes, race winner) in a couple of spots, but we had a good race today and we put in as much as we could”¦ It was a good, fun race and I’m looking forward to hanging ’em up, moving on.” Aaron Yates: “It feels really good to end the year with a couple of decent finishes. It feels really good to be up and running with these guys. We’ve gone back and forth with our bike”¦ It was a really good race, it was a lot of fun. I was going back and forth with Mat and there was no way to get around him again on that last lap.” Blake Young: “Starting as far back as we did definitely makes the weekend tough and that showed in both races. It’s pretty hard to get up front and mix it up with those guys when you’re starting from the third row. But I was happy with the weekend because we saw improvement throughout the whole weekend, even though it was tough come race time. But we tried our best. Today the bike was working good – we just struggled trying to get around some of the guys — but lap times were good and I was happy with the way the race was going. It’s not the best result we’ve had all year, but we learned a lot for off-season testing and we’ll come back stronger next year.” Tommy Hayden: “It was a fun race, I was having a good time. It was interesting to watch and there was a lot of passing. I really wanted to win a race before the year was over and I wanted to try and get second in the championship and I knew that one would take care of the other. Josh was riding good and hard and Mat was too. It came down to the end and I thought it was going to be me and Josh and I thought that was pretty cool – kind of the way it’s supposed to be in the last race: two guys are battling it out and they’re the two guys who are battling for overall positions. I just made a little mistake, went in a corner a little too hot and lost the front. It’s a shame. On the one hand, I’m bummed and on the other hand, I left it all out there and that was one thing I wanted to make sure and do today. We learned a lot and we’re looking forward to next year.” AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Josh Hayes, Yamaha 2. Mat Mladin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing 3. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki 4. Larry Pegram, Ducati 5. Neil Hodgson, Honda 6. Jake Holden, Honda 7. Cory West, Buell 8. Damian Cudlin, Suzuki 9. Blake Young, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing 10. Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki AMA Superbike Points Standings: 1. Mat Mladin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing 2. Josh Hayes, Yamaha 3. Tommy Hayden, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing 4. Larry Pegram, Ducati 5. Ben Bostrom, Yamaha 6. Blake Young, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing 7. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki 8. Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki 9. Taylor Knapp, Buell 10. Jake Holden, Honda More, from a press release issued by Pegram Racing: PEGRAM FOURTH IN AMERICAN SUPERBIKE SEASON FINALE Millville, New Jersey Foremost Insurance Pegram Ducati’s Larry Pegram earned fourth in the final AMA Pro American Superbike race of 2009, capping off an excellent season that saw Larry win three races and finish fourth in the series points standings while mounted on Ducati’s 1098R. On Sunday, Pegram and the top American Superbike stars put on an excellent show for the New Jersey fans with a tight 23-lap contest. Pegram’s race was the opposite of Saturday’s as the Ohio native was strongest in the final laps. Pegram and the Ducati 1098R were a close seventh at the halfway point but Larry climbed to fourth by the race’s end. “We had a real chance to do even better but I couldn’t get by Neil (Hodgson) and Blake (Young). The only real place to pass here is the main straightaway,” said Pegram. “Once I got past those two, I started catching back up with the leaders. It was a little too late for today, though. I feel good about our season and think we accomplished a lot.” Pegram’s season consisted of numerous highlights. At Daytona, Larry and the Ducati 1098R went through the speed trap at an impressive 199 miles per hour. In the race, Larry finished a close fourth. Fontana saw Larry injured in a first-lap pileup and it took several races for him to fully recover his health. By Infineon, Pegram had earned the podium and the team’s momentum grew. At Road America, Larry won a duel with seven-time AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin that saw numerous lead changes and was perhaps the most exciting AMA Superbike battle in years. Pegram bettered the Elkhart weekend with his Topeka event, however. Larry won pole and emerged victorious in both races at Heartland Park, dominating the best in American Superbike. In addition to pure speed, Pegram and Ducati showed remarkable consistency, finishing every race in the points except for the aforementioned first Fontana race. “We won three races and we ran competitive lap times at every track. I’m happy with where we are at right now. I think we could contend for a championship next year and I am really looking forward to 2010,” said Pegram. For more information on Team Foremost Pegram Racing please visit www.pegramracing.com. To learn more about Ducati’s line of racing inspired motorcycles and the 1098R that Larry piloted to victory at Road America and Kansas, please visit www.ducatiusa.com. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: PUERTA FIFTH FOR LTD RACING IN NEW JERSEY SUPERSPORT, NASH 17th IN DAYTONA SPORTBIKE Millville, New Jersey Tomas Puerta finished fifth in the New Jersey Motorsports Park SuperSport race, earning his best finish of the year. Huntley Nash showed impressive form in two Sunday races, including claiming 17th in the premier Daytona SportBike event with some late-race passes. Jake Gagne’s first SuperSport race was memorable as he scored sixth and built speed the entire weekend. Tomy’s best race of the year was a challenge for the Colombian rider. A good start was followed by a few uncertain moments, but he responded to consolidate his position on the track. “It was a good race. The first couple of laps, I was pushing hard and I did my best time of the weekend,” said Puerta. “After that, I made some mistakes but I managed to keep it together and focused and was able to get my times back down to 1:26 flat. I’m happy with the result and thanks to the team for working so hard for me.” Huntley showed strong form in the Daytona SportBike race. “I was a little apathetic about going out for Daytona SportBike because I thought I didn’t have the pace and we’re concentrating on SuperSport this year. I got an okay start and a lot of drama went down in the first turn with some other riders. I got in a group with Mike Barnes, Fernando Amantini, and Josh Gallister. They are all good racers so it was quite a challenge for me. At the end of the race, I managed to get past all of them and was 17th, so that’s a good feeling. It was fun. In SuperSport, we turned some pretty good laps. I think we accomplished our goal of making the bike better this weekend so now we are looking good for Daytona. All of the mechanics worked hard this weekend and I want to say thanks to everybody.” Jake Gagne had an impressive weekend for LTD Racing. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup star dipped down into the 1:25 range in his first 600cc race. “I was nervous because I had never started a 600 in a race before but it was fine,” said the Californian. “I got away and settled in and then I got going. I learned a lot. Sixth place is not bad for your first 600 race but I was looking for a top five. It was fun to get to race at New Jersey and thanks to the team for the opportunity.” LTD Racing will compete at the Daytona event October 16-18. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: DISALVO EIGHTH IN NEW JERSEY FOR TEAM M4 SUZUKI The 2009 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park turned out to be a virtual repeat of Saturday’s stirring charge for Team M4 Suzuki and Jason DiSalvo. After running wide in the opening corner of Saturday’s 23-lap final, DiSalvo was pushed off in the same spot on Sunday, dropping all the way down to 28th position following the conclusion of the opening lap. DiSalvo, who picked and weaved his way up to 13th from 35th on Saturday, was even more impressive today, guiding his GSX-R600 to a remarkable eighth-place result at the checkered flag. “It was the same story as yesterday only today wasn’t my fault,” DiSalvo said. “Chaz Davies got in there pretty deep and I stood it up to avoid impact but we still go together a little bit. He got into my front tire and I just had no place to go really. “It was very frustrating. I was sitting out there in the gravel trap thinking, ‘I’ve got to do this again?’ But I just put my head down and started picking guys off and was surprised to end up in eighth place. I didn’t look at my board the entire race until the very final lap. I couldn’t believe I was that high up and I was surprised the race was over that quick because I was in traffic the entire time. It made the race fly by. “2009 is in the books so now we’re looking forward to 2010.” The 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing series was an extremely successful season for Team M4 Suzuki. Despite being forced to sit out this weekend’s finale due to injury, season-long title contender Martin Cardenas ended the year ranked third in Daytona SportBike with 340 points. The Colombian led the SportBike class with seven victories and earned ten podiums in all to go along with his first career pole position. DiSalvo, who finished fifth in the championship with 283 points, scored a class-leading six Superpole wins and earned six podium finishes of his own. Cardenas and DiSalvo twice earned a 1-2 result for the team and were on the podium together on three occasions. More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI WRAPS UP 2009 IN NEW JERSEY Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich ended his 2009 AMA Pro American Superbike campaign on an encouraging note in the New Jersey Motorsports Park season finale. Over the course of the weekend Ulrich unlocked some crucial secrets to his ’09 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and showed competitive speed despite being prevented from displaying his true potential in either race. The Californian opened the weekend’s twin 23-lap Superbike main events from the inside of the fourth row after qualifying 13th with a best time of 1:22.615. In Saturday’s final Chris battled with some well-proven Superbike contenders for a top-ten finishing position before ultimately accepting twelfth. He was anxious to capitalize on the positive outing and improve even further on Sunday but was controversially judged to have jumped the start. Even after serving his ride through penalty, Ulrich raced his way to a 13th-place result but felt he was good for much more on the day if not for the call. Ulrich closed out the season ranked 12th in the 2009 AMA Pro American Superbike standings with 156 points and a pair of top-ten finishes. “It was a positive weekend for us actually,” Ulrich said. “We made some drastic changes during the Thursday test day here, some stuff that I would have never thought of. Mike Fitzgerald from Öhlins brought over some information and we made the change and it was worth 1.2 seconds. It was a significant for my confidence with the K9. That was big. “We also had a new engine package with our in-house program that was very, very good. I’m very pleased with the hard work our guys have been putting in. “On Saturday I was in the fight for ninth with Geoff May and Jake Holden. I made a couple mistakes but the pace was good. I was very happy with that. Today we felt like we could build on that and improve and we had good pace but we got robbed. The officials said I jumped the start, but I saw the video and I did not move at all. It’s unfortunate because I feel a strong earned top-ten finish was stolen from me today.” Russ Wikle impressed in Saturday’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike final, claiming 18th in the extremely competitive class. Unfortunately, the youngster suffered a Sunday morning crash and sat out the day’s SportBike and SuperSport finales as a result. He joined Santiago Villa on the sidelines after the Colombian wisely decided to rest his healing leg after making a courageous effort early in the weekend. Wikle finished the season ranked fifth in the SuperSport East Division with 90 points and 26th in SportBike at 41 points. Villa ended the year 31st in SportBike with 23 points. “Santiago tried to give it a go, but it was too dangerous,” Ulrich explained. “Two-and-a-half weeks post-op on a broken leg isn’t exactly a great idea, but hopefully the toughest man in racing will be back with us next year. “We diverted Santiago’s crew to Russell. He learned a lot of stuff this weekend and did a good job on Saturday. But he had a big crash in practice this morning and was pretty beat up. We opted to sit it out. I know how it is — it’s no fun after you crack your head that hard. It’s tough luck, but he showed some great progress this year.” Ulrich summed up the season by saying, “100% I wish this was the first race rather than the last. We finally got everything together. I just needed to get a bike under me that allowed me to prove what we can do. I’m happy with that and confident for next season. I think we can be competitive for top tens in AMA Superbike next year.”