Ben Spies took his first-ever AMA race win at Daytona International Speedway Thursday with a calculated, come-from-behind victory over Ben Bostrom and Geoff May in the 13-lap AMA Superstock race. Spies led the early laps on his Dunlop-shod Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, but May took the lead from Spies through the infield on lap four. Riding a Pirelli-equipped Team M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000, May set the pace from lap four to lap 10, when Spies re-took the lead and pulled away to victory. Bostrom had been sitting back in third for most of the race on his Dunlop-fitted Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1, but he pushed past May with less than three laps to go and was able to score second place. May held on to finish third, one spot better than his Superstock result in 2006. Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates came back from an off-track excursion on the first lap to finish fourth. Matsushima Performance Suzuki’s Danny Eslick took fifth after a race-long battle with Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich, who ended up sixth. AMA Superstock Championship Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 8, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 13 laps 2. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -2.860 seconds 3. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -5.382 seconds 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -24.556 seconds 5. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -30.058 seconds 6. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -33.810 seconds 7. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -43.817 seconds 8. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -48.331 seconds 9. Tristan Palmer (Suz GSX-R1000), -55.701 seconds 10. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -67.656 seconds 11. Clint McBain (Suz GSX-R1000), -74.622 seconds 12. David Loikits (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -76.484 seconds 13. Bryan West (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -77.324 seconds 14. M. Ivan Garza (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -82.061 seconds 15. Corey Sarros (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -93.262 seconds 16. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), -102.742 seconds 17. Santiago Villa (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -109.909 seconds 18. Chad Rolland (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 19. Matt Hall (Yam YZF-R1), -6 laps, DNF 20. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), -12 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), -12 laps, DNF, crash 22. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), -13 laps, DNF, crash More, from a press release issued by Dunlop: Dunlop Motorcycle Tires race report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, round one, Daytona International Speedway Daytona, Fl. — March 8, 2007 — The 2007 AMA Superbike Championship Series kicked off in dazzling form today as Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took his first-ever win at Daytona International Speedway (DIS) on a Superstock-spec GSX-R1000 and Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Lee Hayden nabbed his second consecutive Supersport win at DIS on a ZX-6R. Spies, coming off his 2006 Superbike championship-winning season, started 2007 where he left off last fall with a record-setting 1:38.355 pole position time on Wednesday afternoon. Out of Superstock competition since 2004, Spies’ qualifying performance came on a Dunlop N-Tec™ rear tire and smashed the previous year’s mark by 1.776 seconds. In the race, Spies sped to the front and held the position until lap four. Spies then followed the M4 Emgo Suzuki of Geoff May until lap 10, when he passed May at the start-finish line and sped away to a comfortable 2.86 second win. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom, who ran a close third for most of the race, took over second on lap 11 and finished in that position. “I can’t say enough about the Dunlop tires,” said Spies. “That’s why I could do a :38 in qualifying and a pretty quick lap late in the race.” Indeed, Spies’ fastest lap of 1:39.089 came on the 12th circuit of the 13-lap competition. His win was the fourth Superstock victory of his career and the 15th for Suzuki at DIS. It was also a very good showing for Dunlop, whose riders snagged six of the top 10 finishing positions. Superstock Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Ben Spies – Suzuki 2. Ben Bostrom – Yamaha 4. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 5. Danny Eslick – Suzuki 7. Blake Young – Suzuki 10. John Haner – Suzuki Roger Lee Hayden’s .369-second Supersport triumph led a Dunlop podium sweep as teammate Jamie Hacking and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden finished second and third, respectively””the identical finishing order from 2006. Roger Lee trailed Hacking (last year’s class champion and the pole-sitter with a time of 141.801) for the first three laps but when he took the lead on lap four he was unchallenged to the end of the 22-lap affair. “I could see Jamie, I could see his shadow on every lap going into turn one,” said Hayden of his 12th career Supersport victory. “The team did an awesome job, my Dunlop tires were great today.” While Hacking was never more than a half-second back, Tommy Hayden, Roger Lee’s older brother, had to fight his way through a pack of riders from as far back as eighth position. In the process he set the fastest lap of the race on his N-Tec tire with a time of 141.946. Overall, Dunlop’s riders took five of the top 10 positions. Supersport Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Roger Lee Hayden – Kawasaki 2. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 3. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 5. Josh Hayes (Honda) 8. Chas Davies (Yamaha) The series takes a breather on Friday as the AMA Supercross series queues up for the day’s entertainment. The road racing action resumes Saturday as Spies begins the defense of his Superbike title and Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel the Daytona 200 pole-sitter — goes for a record sixth Daytona 200 victory running in the Formula Xtreme class. 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.