AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 16, 2009 Provisional Race Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 22 laps 2. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), -6.135 seconds 3. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), -8.054 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), -9.249 5. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), -24.755 6. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000 K8), -29.522 7. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000 K8), -36.688 8. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), -49.130 9. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), -51.251, crash 10. Cory Call (Suz GSX-R1000), -82.985 11. Mark Crozier (Suz GSX-R1000 K8), -83.870 12. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000 K8), -84.188 13. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000 K8), -89.258 14. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR), -1 lap 15. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000 K9), -1 lap, 26.568 seconds, crash 16. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 49.679 17. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 50.438 18. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 74.045 19. Brad Puetz (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 82.317 20. Ryan Elleby (Suz GSX-R1000), -3 laps 21. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), -14 laps, DNF, mechanical 22. Mark Simon (Suz GSX-R1000), -14 laps, DNF, crash 23. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), -18 laps, DNF, crash Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 20 races): 1. Mladin, 237 points 2. Hayden, 168 3. Hayes, 142 4. May, 128 5. Bostrom, 125 6. Yates, 116 7. Pegram, 115 8. Blake Young, 114 9. TIE, Knapp/Anthony, 83 11. TIE, Holden/Ulrich, 66 13. Gobert, 62 14. Mazzotta, 54 15. Jensen, 49 16. TIE, Hodgson/Crozier, 25 18. Barrett Long, 23 19. Elleby, 22 20. Michael Laverty, 21 More, from a press release issued by Infineon Raceway: Hayes, Yamaha End Suzuki’s Superbike Dominance at Infineon Raceway SONOMA, Calif. (May 16, 2009) Josh Hayes ended Mat Mladin’s bid for a record eighth straight AMA Superbike victory Saturday, winning for the first time in his Superbike career, capturing Day 1 of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts. Hayes started second on his Yamaha and was fourth after two laps. But he passed Mladin’s Suzuki at the bottom of the Carousel (Turn 6) on Lap 3 and never looked back. He coasted home with a six-second margin, leading 20 of 22 laps on Infineon Raceway’s twisting, 12-turn, 2.28-mile circuit. “I never would have imagined my first one would have come so easy,” said a jubilant Hayes. The win brought the 34-year-old his first podium of the season and ended a long string of dominance for Suzuki; the last Superbike win by a make other than Suzuki came in June 2006. Mladin had won seven of the last 12 Superbike main events in the Sonoma wine country. “Obviously, I’ve had better days,” Mladin said. “That’s racin’. We just didn’t hit on the setup today. … We’ve had seven wins in a row and we can’t complain. We’ve done a fantastic job. We’ll try and keep it together and get back up there tomorrow.” Hayes was followed to the checkered flag by Mladin’s Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden. Third place went to Ducati’s Larry Pegram, followed by Suzuki rider Aaron Yates and Mladin in fifth, nearly 25 seconds back of the winner and battling mechanical problems with his front end. “I guess he was having some pretty big problems because for Mat he didn’t really put up a lot of fight there,” Hayes said of his pass of Mladin, who started on pole. The result was Mladin’s worst since finishing 23rd in August 2008 following a disqualification for a technical infraction. Petaluma native Ben Bostrom was the first to take advantage of Mladin’s vulnerability. Bostrom passed the six-time AMA Superbike champion at the outset of the second lap, claiming the inside position in the sprint to Turn 1. But Bostrom crashed his Yamaha in Turn 11 while leading on Lap 2 and finished ninth. It was the first Yamaha Superbike win at Infineon Raceway since 2001. Hayes’ triumph also marked the first non-Suzuki Superbike win at Infineon since 2004 when Miguel Duhamel won on a Honda. Mladin’s series lead was cut to 69 points. Hayes, who entered the weekend in sixth place overall, moved to third in the standings. Hayden maintained his hold on second. The win was the high point in a roller-coast year that saw Hayes crash out of the season-opening Daytona 200. Since then the two-time AMA Formula Xtreme champion (2006, ’07) has been working out the kinks in his first Superbike campaign with Yamaha. His previous best finish this year was fourth. Despite starting seventh on the grid, Colombia’s Martin Cardenas won the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike event. The victory was the third straight for the Suzuki rider and fourth this season. Jamie Hacking was second on his Kawasaki followed by Oakland native Steve Rapp in third on a Yamaha. Cardenas led 10 of 22 laps. Jason DiSalvo started on pole but finished 16th. Action concludes on Sunday in Sonoma with the second main events for Daytona SportBike (2 p.m.) and Superbike (4 p.m.). There will also be a main event for SuperSport (3 p.m.), plus a full day of Supermoto racing (XTRM AMA Supermoto National Championships). Gates open at 8 a.m. and tickets are available. Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown SONOMA, Calif. (May 16, 2009) – Results from Saturday’s AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike race at Infineon Raceway showing position, number (in parentheses), name, team, motorcycle and laps completed around the 2.32-mile road course. 1. (4) Josh Hayes; Yamaha Motor Corp. USA; Yamaha YZF-R1; 22. 2. (22) Tommy Hayden; Rockstar · Makita · Suzuki; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 3. (72) Larry Pegram; Foremost Insurance · Pegram Racing Ducati; Ducati 1098R; 22. 4. (23) Aaron Yates; Jordan Suzuki; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 5. (7) Mat Mladin; Rockstar · Makita · Suzuki; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 6. (44) Taylor Knapp; Taylor Knapp Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 7. (25) David Anthony; Aussie Dave Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 8. (18) Chris Ulrich; Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 9. (2) Ben Bostrom; Yamaha Motor Corp. USA; Yamaha YZF-R1; 22. 10. (62) Cory Call; MDK Motorsports; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 11. (47) Mark Crozier; Four Feathers Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 12. (61) Scott Jensen; Moto Garage Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 13. (121) Hawk Mazzotta; Aussie Dave Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 22. 14. (96) Aaron Gobert; Team Trifoglio Racing; Honda CBR1000RR; 21. 15. (54) Geoff May; National Guard Jordan Suzuki; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 21. 16. (38) Dean Mizdal; M Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 21. 17. (58) Eric Haugo; Moto Garage Racing; Yamaha YZF-R1; 21. 18. (269) Johnny Rock Page; Johnny Rock Page · 944 Magazine · Energized by Verve!; Yamaha YZF-R1; 21. 19. (45) Brad Puetz; SRK Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 21. 20. (27) Ryan Elleby; Four Feathers Racing; Yamaha YZF-R1; 19. 21. (59) Jake Holden; Holden Racing; Honda CBR1000RR; 6. 22. (102) Mark Simon; X Dot Racing; Suzuki GSX-R1000; 6. 23. (100) Neil Hodgson; Corona Extra Honda; Honda CBR1000RR; 4. Race Time: 36:01.242 Margin of Victory: 6.136 seconds Winner’s Average Speed: 85.0 mph Lap Leaders Mladin: 1 – 2; Hayes: 3 – 22 More, from a press release issued by Foremost Pegram Ducati: PEGRAM AND THE FOREMOST DUCATI 1098 R TAKE THIRD IN INFINEON THRILLER Ducati rider beat the heat for third position in race one of the Sonoma doubleheader Sonoma, Calif (16 May 2009) At Ducati North America’s home race , rider Larry Pegram of Team Foremost Pegram Racing put in a calculated ride to bring his Ducati 1098 R Superbike home third. When the flag dropped on race one of the weekend’s doubleheader, the ambient temperature was 100 degrees- with a track temperature of 124. Despite the heat the Superbike grid got off to a smooth start with Pegram retaining his fifth on the grid position. The surprise of the day was Suzuki rider Mat Mladin’s lack of pace, which Pegram and the other riders immediately sought to capitalize on. As Josh Hayes took the lead and Ben Bostrom crashed out, Pegram and his Ducati settled comfortably into fourth position. Larry then began calculating his next overtaking maneuver, which came on lap seven when he passed Tommy Hayden for third. Pegram then gave chase to Mladin and passed him for second position. The heat made riding the Ducati difficult, with the front tire pushing in nearly every corner and ambient temperature placing intense physical demands on Pegram. “We were able to run a great race today. The torque on the Ducati made it really easy to go through corners slowly then whack the gas open for a good corner exit. If I can fault anything it would be the track being really greasy and I was sliding the front tire all over the place. We haven’t had a chance to practice in this kind of heat yet so I also came away with few ideas for our setup in tomorrow’s race,” said Pegram. After a five corner battle with Hayden, Pegram fell to third and wisely spent the rest of the race managing tires and stamina in order to regain seventh position in the championship. Tonight the Team Foremost Pegram Racing crew will make minor changes to the Ducati’s setup using valuable input from Pegram’s race today, and the squad expects to be fighting for the win tomorrow. For more information on Team Foremost Pegram Racing please visit www.pegramracing.com. To learn more about Ducati’s line of racing inspired motorcycles please visit www.ducatiusa.com. More, in a blog written by Mat Mladin: Reflecting on an AMAZING three year run! I wish to thank the Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki team for allowing me to be part of an amazing run over the past 3 years. Before todays superb race win by Josh Hayes and Yamaha at Infineon raceway, the last rider other than myself or Ben Spies to step on the top spot of the podium was Jake Zemke, three years ago at Miller Motorsports Park, Utah. Over the course of those three years, I have won 33 races and Ben won 20, throughout his string of three championships. Where in the World do two riders push each other so hard, that they step atop the podium 53 times in a row? Pretty amazing stuff. It was fun while it lasted, but with it came alot of pressure to uphold a win streak 53 races long. Glad that monkey has decided to jump ship. In todays race, when Tommy and then Aaron came up on me, I let them by and was slowed myself by watching them and hoping that win streak would survive, wishing those Suzuki’s to the front. But today, Josh and Yamaha were just to strong. Congrats to you guys on a well deserved win. People wondered this afternoon why I wasn’t upset about 5th place. My reply was, “it would have been worse if some people didn’t crash” 🙂 In the end, we must keep perspective and realize how lucky we are, to do what we do. All I can say about my guys is, great team, great crew and we appreciate all the support from our fans. On to tomorrow Mat Mladin More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden picked up his fifth AMA Superbike podium position of the 2009 season in the first race of the double-header weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. The Kentucky native started the 22-lap race from the front row, thanks to a strong Superpole showing. He ran up front and brought home second place. Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate Mat Mladin started the weekend strong by taking his fifth pole position of the year. In the race, the six-time AMA Superbike Champion got a great start and was out front but struggled a bit and wound up finishing in fifth position. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki rookie Blake Young opted to sit out this race weekend after injuring his hand at the previous round at Barber Motorsports Park. Young hopes to be back racing at the next event at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Tommy Hayden: “It feels good to get second place at Infineon. The last few races haven’t gone as well as the first few. Now I’m starting to feel like I’m getting back where I started the season at, and that feels good. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working great out there, it was hot and greasy for everyone but I felt like we had a good set-up. I’m happy with the result. I think we’ll have to improve and go faster on Sunday if we want to get this kind of result, so we’ll make a plan and try to go a little bit faster.” Mat Mladin: “Obviously we’ve had better days. But, as I’ve said a few times, when you win as much as we have — as a team and as I have personally — there’s only one place to go if you have a bad day and you can’t go better than a win. So, today we struggled a bit and that’s the way it goes. Congratulations to Josh who’s been working hard – good on him. They deserved it today.” Blake Young: “I got injured at Barber and I got off my pain killers and finished up my antibiotics to make sure I didn’t get an infection. I got back on the bicycle and started training. My finger felt really good, motion was coming back better and better every day. So I decided to come on out here and see what we could do because every day was getting so much better. Maybe we’d have a chance to ride the bike. But when I got to the track, I realised that if I tried to ride at this point I would just damage my hand. So we’re going to sit out this weekend and then go back to the doctor and keep it healthy and get it healed up for Elkhart Lake.”