HAYES CONFIDENT COMING INTO ROAD AMERICA FORMULA XTREME Spies in command in AMA Superstock PICKERINGTON, Ohio (May 30, 2007) There’s no question that Erion Honda’s Josh Hayes is on a roll. Coming into this Saturday’s Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme Series presented by HMR at Road America, the racing veteran from Gulfport, Miss., has won three straight Formula Xtreme races and will be aiming to put number four in the books. As a result of his three wins Hayes has built a 19-point lead on Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp of Attack Kawasaki. While he’s never won at Road America, Hayes expects good things this weekend. “Our FX bike has really good speed and that’s a big advantage,” said Hayes, the defending Formula Xtreme champion. “Even though Road America has long straightaways, drafting doesn’t come into play as much as you would think it would – that is with the possible exception of the last lap. Coming up the hill on the final lap a draft pass is possible, so you’ve got to be real careful to get a really good drive out of that final corner if you’re leading.” Hayes is notching first wins on his belt at one track after another this year. “Barber, Fontana, Infineon, I hadn’t won at any of them coming into this season,” Hayes says proudly. “I’d be happy as could be if we could keep this momentum going at Road America.” Californian Steve Rapp has earned three podium results in the first four races and he hopes to give Kawasaki its first Road America Formula Xtreme victory. “We’ve been right up there at most of the races,” Rapp said. “Everything came together at Daytona and I need for that to happen again. I still have the confidence in my abilities and the bike that Attack has given me is great. Now I just have to go out there and do what I did a few months ago and put it back on top of the podium.” Hayes’ teammate Aaron Gobert continues to show great improvement in the series. After suffering mechanical issues in the first round at Daytona, the Aussie from the well-known motorcycle racing family, has scored three straight runners up finishes. He knows he has a chance at Road America if he can stay with his teammate throughout the race. Larry Pegram hopes to put the speed of his Leo Vince Pegram Racing Ducati to good use at Road America. The Ohioan is ranked fourth and already has a podium result to his credit this year. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies has busted the AMA Superstock Series presented by Dynojet wide open. The combination of a Spies win and a crash by Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates at Infineon Raceway a few weeks ago, has given the young Texan a commanding 23-point lead in the championship. “Everything is working great on my Superstock bike and it shows,” Spies said. “We’ve got a bit of a points lead now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let up. You can never really do that in racing. I’m going to approach Road America with the same mindset I’ve hit all these races with this year and that’s to focus on winning.” Yates was bummed about crashing at Infineon, but he still holds second in the standings and has the comfort of knowing that he’s won the Road America Superstock race two years running. Yates is very good at the Wisconsin circuit. “All I can do is get back out there and try to chip away at Ben’s lead,” Yates said. “We’ve still got a long way to go in this championship and racing is always unpredictable. I’m looking forward to getting back out there and putting in a good race this weekend.” Graves Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom took full advantage of Yates’ misfortune at Infineon and pulled to within a single point of second in the standings. M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May is also very much in the hunt, ranked a close fourth in the series, only six points behind Bostrom. With so many riders so close in the standings, there’s a good chance that the complexion of the series could look completely different after Road America. The Road America Formula Xtreme and Superstock rounds will air on SPEED Tuesday, June 5 at 2:00 pm Eastern. The Lockhart Phillips USA Formula Xtreme and AMA Superstock races this weekend is part of the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader on June 1-3. Tickets are still available for the event, including a discount four-day Superticket. Order on-line at www.roadamerica.com or by phone at 1800-365-7223. About AMA Racing AMA Racing is the competition arm of the American Motorcyclist Association and is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its professional properties include the Amp’d Mobile AMA Supercross Series, the AMA Toyota Motocross Championship presented by FMF, the AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts Unlimited, the AMA Ford Quality Checked Flat Track Championship, the AMA Supermoto Championship and the AMA Pro ATV Championship. In amateur and pro-am competition, AMA Racing sanctions over 4000 events in 24 different disciplines and supports over 110 thousand active members. For more information about professional racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.