2006 AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies was once again the fastest rider as several AMA teams conducted a second, two-day test in as many weeks at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. Riding his 2007-spec Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, Spies lapped the 2.36-mile, 21-turn infield road course in 1:23.51, which was not only faster than his fastest race lap at the track in 2006 but was also faster than the hand-timed 1:24.22 he turned at the track last Thursday. Spies said he continued working on rear suspension set-up but focused more on his traction control settings at this week’s test. Wednesday afternoon Spies did a 13-lap stint, half-race-distance with all of his laps in the mid-1:24 range or equal to the fastest single lap of the 2006 race weekend. Spies spent only the second morning of the test on his GSX-R1000 Superstock bike, and in spite of a harmless lowside crash just before lunch time, he was the fastest rider in the category with a 1:25.03. Spies’ teammate, six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin recorded a 1:23.67 on the on-board lap timer of his 2007 GSX-R1000 and was very happy with his test, especially the progress he made on his new traction control system. Third-fastest overall was Eric Bostrom (1:24.52), thanks in part to a new, more rigid frame on his factory Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike. Bostrom was followed in the order by Aaron Yates (1:24.60), who was fast in his first two days on his 2007 Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike; Monster Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden (1:24.75), who opted to continue development of his production chassis rather than continue work on a new, development chassis; Tommy Hayden (1:24.78), who got more comfortable on his new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in spite of a nagging ankle injury; and Roger Hayden’s teammate Jamie Hacking (1:24.90), who also worked on his standard chassis instead of the development frame with the adjustable steering head angle that was first seen at last week’s test. In spite of struggling during last week’s test and a near-crash Tuesday that resulted in a wrist injury, American Honda’s Jake Zemke improved his 2007 CBR1000RR Superbike Wednesday and his best lap time to 1:25.23. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel said he took some backward steps on his set-up Wednesday but managed to marginally improve his time to 1:25.55. Zemke and Duhamel were supplemented during Wednesday’s test by Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes. Hayes’ team was not testing at California Speedway this week, but he was called into action when Zemke was injured Tuesday and looked like he might not be able to ride Wednesday. Zemke did ride today, but Hayes stayed on to test the traction control system on Zemke’s spare bike. As during the Dunlop tire test at Daytona, Hayes was immediately on the pace and turned a best lap of 1:25.68 while riding on tires Zemke’s crew referred to as “bowling balls.” Hayes’ teammate Aaron Gobert helped American Honda test Formula Xtreme bikes on Tuesday. No times were available at post time for Gobert. In addition to his Superbike testing duties, Eric Bostrom took brother Ben Bostrom’s Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock bike out for testing because Ben Bostrom was unable to ride. According to the former AMA Superbike Champion, he crashed while flat tracking on his Yamaha TT-R125 at his ranch in Temecula, California and suffered a minor shoulder separation. Eric Bostrom’s teammate Jason DiSalvo crashed his YZF-R1 Superbike late on Tuesday at California Speedway and suffered a minor shoulder dislocation. DiSalvo said he could have ridden Wednesday, but his shoulder felt weak and he did not feel he would be able to get much accomplished without risking further injury. In addition to Spies and DiSalvo, the only other known crasher was Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich, who fell in turn three Tuesday while testing Pirelli slicks on his 2005-model GSX-R1000. Ulrich was uninjured and continued testing Wednesday. Ben Attard turned the fastest Formula Xtreme time at the test, a 1:26.77 on his new, Pirelli-shod Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R. After missing most of last weekend’s test due to a shoulder injury, Attard’s teammate Steve Rapp was able to put in a full test this week at California Speedway. Defending AMA Supersport Champion Hacking recorded a 1:27.30 on his Monster Kawasaki ZX-6R to lead all Supersport testers. Matsushima Suzuki’s Danny Eslick and Blake Young continued testing their Showa-suspended GSX-R600 Supersport bikes and got their first taste of the 2007 GSX-R1000, sharing the Superstock machine over the two days. Eslick started testing the GSX-R1000 while it still wore its stock shock. This test was the final test for most of the major AMA teams prior to going to the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in early-March. Unofficial Best Lap Times (as supplied by each rider’s Crew Chief): 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:23.51 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:23.67 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:24.52 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:24.60 5. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Superbike, 1:24.75 6. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superbike, 1:24.78 7. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Superbike, 1:24.90 8. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 1:25.03 9. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Superbike, 1:25.23 10. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 1:25.27 11. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Superbike, 1:25.37 12. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 1:25.40 13. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Superbike, 1:25.55 14. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR1000RR), Superbike, 1:25.68 15. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Superstock, 1:26.00 16. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), Formula Xtreme, 1:26.77 17. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 1:26.94 18. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 1:27.25 19. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), Supersport, 1:27.30 20. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), Supersport, 1:27.65 21. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R600), Supersport, 1:27.83 22. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6R), Supersport, 1:27.87 23. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Formula Xtreme, 1:27.89 24. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), Superstock, 1:27.90 25. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Formula Xtreme, 1:27.94 26. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR600RR), Formula Xtreme, 1:28.00 27. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), Supersport, 1:28.41 28. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Supersport, 1:28.96 29. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), Supersport, 1:29.06 30. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), Supersport, 1:29.41 31. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R600), Supersport, 1:30.50