AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California September 28, 2008 Provisional Race Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 28 laps 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -12.582 seconds 3. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -17.902 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -21.236 5. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -28.558 6. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -37.099 7. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -37.713 8. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -50.212 9. Jordan Szoke (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -71.042 10. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -71.330 * 11. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -1 lap 12. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -1 lap, 6.170 seconds * 13. Matt Lynn (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap, 10.754 14. Jeremy Toye (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap, 17.719 * 15. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -1 lap, 23.630 * 16. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -1 lap * 17. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -2 laps 18. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -2 laps 19. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -2 laps 20. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -22 laps, DNF * 21. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -23 laps, DNF * 22. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -26 laps, DNF * 23. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, DNS * = known to be riding a Superstock-spec motorcycle Provisional Championship Point Standings (after 19 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 652 points 2. Mladin, 557 3. DiSalvo, 463 4. Bostrom, 445 5. Jamie Hacking, 421 6. Hodgson, 419 7. Duhamel, 412 8. Tommy Hayden, 372 9. Yates, 365 10. May, 357 11. Jensen, 308 12. Peris, 295 13. Lynn, 281 14. Thompson, 210 15. Mizdal, 172 16. Page, 171 17. Ryan Elleby, 167 18. Mazzotta, 165 19. Anthony, 149 20. Reno Karimian, 120 More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Rockstar Makita Suzuki Trio Sweeps Final AMA Superbike Podium of Season Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mladin wins race, Spies celebrates third title & Hayden rounds out Laguna Seca podium Round 19 AMA Superbike Series Monterey, California Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca September 27 – 28, 2008 Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing celebrated the end of the 2008 AMA Superbike season in true championship-winning style by sweeping the AMA Superbike podium one-two-three at the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on Sunday afternoon. Six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin won the 28-lap race, which means his career wins number 72 and this is his third win at Laguna Seca. Additionally, Mladin picked up his 55th career pole position this weekend. Newly crowned AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies finished second in the Laguna Seca race. Overall, three-time AMA Superbike Champion Spies has 10 wins for the year and eight additional podium finishes. Rounding out the all-Rockstar Makita Suzuki podium was Tommy Hayden in third place. This result marks Hayden’s ninth AMA Superbike podium of the year, in spite of missing six races because of injury. In the overall championship points standings, Spies finished first, Mladin finished second and Hayden finished eighth. Mat Mladin: “It was a good race for us overall and it was nice to get a win at this track, in particular. I got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I just put my head down and ran some good laps. I’m excited to get another win at Laguna Seca I guess I’ve finally got this place figured out after 13 years. It’s fantastic for Suzuki to get up here one-two-three, and I’m looking forward to next year and hopefully a fair series.” Ben Spies: “I didn’t get off the start like I wanted to, but that sort of made it a fun race because I had to make a lot of passes to get up front. By the time I got into second place, I could see the pace Mat was running and I could see the gap and I knew I wasn’t super-human so I just decided to have some fun out there. It was a good race, I just didn’t have enough for the win today. Congratulations to my Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates for a good race today and it’s a great way for Suzuki to finish the season. It says a lot about Suzuki and it says a little about the three of us too.” Tommy Hayden: “It was a pretty good race. I got another great start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I just tried to settle into a rhythm. Then Mat came by and I tried to latch on to him and stay with him for as long as I could, which wasn’t very long. A little bit later Ben came by and then (Jordan Suzuki’s) Aaron Yates. Aaron and I had a battle for a while, then I got by him and just tried put in some good laps and bring home another podium finish for Rockstar Makita Suzuki.” More, from a press release issued by Dunlop: Dunlop Sweeps all four 2008 AMA Superbike championships Monterey, Calif.”¹Dunlop Motorcycle Tires is very pleased to congratulate the four champions of the 2008 AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited: Ben Spies, Superbike; Ben Bostrom, Supersport; Jake Zemke, Formula Xtreme; and Aaron Yates, Superstock. The 2008 season concluded at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., September 27-28, following dramatic performances by the series’ superstars. Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies locked up his third consecutive AMA Superbike title aboard a GSX-R1000 at the preceding Road Atlanta round. All season long, he battled with teammate and six-time Superbike champ Mat Mladin, earning 10 wins overall coming into Laguna. More impressive was Spies’ record run of seven consecutive victories, breaking the six-race Superbike win-streak record shared by Mladin and Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel. Mladin ended the year second overall in the points with a dominant win at Laguna, followed by Yamaha¹s Jason DiSalvo. The 2008 Superbike title gives Dunlop an amazing 23 championships in 33 years of AMA Superbike competition, including the last 19 in a row. Coming into the final round, the only title still undecided was the Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom took the title on his YZF-R6 with a second-place finish at Laguna, notching his third AMA title — he won the Superbike championship in 1998 and in 2004 took home the Supermoto title. Bostrom was dominant most of the season with six wins and nine podiums in the preceding ten rounds. At Laguna he finished second to lock up the title over fellow Dunlop riders, Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke and Josh Hayes, respectively. For Dunlop, the 2008 AMA Supersport title marks an historic clean sweep: Dunlop has won all 22 championships dating back to the class¹s inception in 1987. Erion Honda’s Zemke wrapped up this year¹s Formula Xtreme series crown on a CBR600RR at Road Atlanta. In his 12-year AMA professional road-racing career, Zemke, 32, has finished runner-up five times. Coming into Laguna Seca he had four wins, one more than his teammate Hayes, the 2006 and 2007 class champ, and four second place finishes. At Laguna, Zemke stamped his dominance on the class, taking the win after a hard battle with Hayes, who ended the Laguna race and the season in second. For Dunlop it was the 11th Formula Xtreme title in 12 seasons of racing. The top finisher in the AMA Superstock Series presented by Dynojet was Michael Jordan Motor Sports’ Aaron Yates on a Suzuki GSX-R1000. Yates secured his fifth AMA championship at his home track of Road Atlanta. In the nine rounds preceding Laguna, the 34-year-old veteran had four wins and five runner-up finishes on his GSX-R1000. With Yates’ win, Dunlop maintains its class dominance with another sweep: Five Superstock titles in five seasons. About Dunlop Tires Dunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com. More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES WRAPS UP AMA SUPERBIKE CAREER Three-time champ has fun and rides to second at Laguna finale MONTEREY, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2008) On Sunday Ben Spies rode in what could be the final AMA Superbike race in his career, closing out a spectacular 2008 season with a second-place finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In the end Spies won the AMA Superbike Championship by 95 points – the largest margin of victory in the history of the series. The previous record margin was held by Doug Polen when he won the title in 1993 by 64 points over Dale Quarterley. Spies got a subpar start at Laguna Seca and ran as low as seventh on the first lap, before rallying and picking his way through the field. By the time Spies moved past Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden on lap eight, the race leader Mat Mladin, on yet another factory Suzuki, was nearly nine seconds ahead. “Once I got in second Mat was gone so I decided to just have fun,” Spies said. “After racing in this series for four years and getting the best of Mat three times I was feeling a lot of emotions out there. I don’t think we’ve had a DNF in my AMA Superbike career and that’s because of a great crew I had behind me the whole time. It’s been a great AMA career for me, now I’m looking forward to moving on to the next level in competition.” In the end Spies was credited with a series leading 10 victories in 2008. He won eight races outright and was later attributed two more victories after Mladin was disqualified from the two rounds at Virginia International Raceway for illegal engine modifications. Spies also won a series best eight poles, having missed the pole in only three of the 11 venues in ’08. In all Spies has won 24-career poles, passing Freddie Spencer and Doug Polen this year to take over second on the all-time AMA Superbike pole wins list. Spies ended his AMA Superbike racing career with three-straight championships, becoming only the fourth rider ever to accomplish that feat. He scored 10 wins in 2008 bringing his career total to total to 28 Superbike wins. This season Spies passed Fred Merkel to take over third on the all-time AMA Superbike wins list. Finally, Spies has never finished worse than 11th since coming fulltime to AMA Superbike competition. His career rate of over a 90 percent podium finishes is the highest by any rider in the history of AMA Superbike. By comparison Eddie Lawson is second all-time in career AMA Superbike podium percentage of 77 percent. “I’m excited about what I’ve accomplished in this series,” Spies said. “I’m especially proud I turned in those kinds of numbers racing against Mat Mladin. For sure he’s one of the greatest riders I’ve ever raced against and stepping up my level to be able to compete against him, and the other riders in this championship, helped make me the rider I am today. “Racing with Suzuki has also been amazing for me. They consistently gave me a great motorcycle and the opportunity they provided me to race in MotoGP helped give my career a major boost. All the great people I’ve worked with too, I can’t thank them enough. And the fans that have supported me throughout my racing career over here are really special. That kind of backing is something I appreciate every day.” Spies now prepares for an exciting 2009, where new challenges await. An announcement on Spies’ future is expected next week.