AMA Pro Racing AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Presented by Parts Unlimited Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 5, 2009 Provisional Race Results (2.91-mile course, all on Dunlop tires): 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), 15 laps 2. Neil Hodgson (Hon CBR1000RR), -1.027 seconds 3. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), -1.028 4. Larry Pegram (Duc 1098R), -10.117 5. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), -16.008 6. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), -16.213 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -16.363 8. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), -28.358, ran off track 9. Michael Laverty (Suz GSX-R1000), -28.433 10. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), -31.584 11. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), -47.201 12. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR1000RR), -57.270 13. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), -58.857 14. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), -58.950 15. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR1000RR), -58.970 16. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), -67.586 17. Barrett Long (Duc 1098R), -67.622 18. Scott Greenwood (Suz GSX-R1000), -67.942 19. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000), -68.046 20. Mark Crozier (Yam YZF-R1), -71.556 21. Brett McCormick (Suz GSX-R1000), -77.907 22. Brad Hendry (Duc 1098R), -79.440 23. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -93.973 24. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), -93.944 25. Shawn Higbee (Buell 1125R), -1 lap 26. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 17.135 seconds 27. Josh Graham (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 27.725 28. David Loikits (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, 41.847 29. Davie Stone (Hon CBR1000RR), -2 laps 30. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), -7 laps, DNF 31. Taylor Knapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -11 laps, DNF, mechanical 32. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), -12 laps, DNF 33. Ryan Elleby (Suz GSX-R1000), -13 laps, DNF More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mladin Wins, Hayden 3rd at Daytona Superbike Race Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Young captures top-five finish Round 1 AMA Superbike Series Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona International Speedway March 4 -5 2009 Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin celebrated his 73rd AMA Superbike victory by taking the win at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Thursday afternoon. The six-time AMA Superbike Champion also captured the coveted pole position in the new Superpole procedure, thus taking his 56th career pole position. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden qualified right behind Mladin and rode an impressive 15-lap race. Hayden got a rough start but worked his way up into third place. Right down to the wire, he was battling for second position and the final result was a photo finish with Hayden taking third. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s newest team member Blake Young started the season strong by carding an impressive fifth-place finish in his first AMA Superbike race with his new team. Mat Mladin: “It was an interesting race, that’s for sure. It’s always nice to get any win, obviously, and with all the new stuff this year it was really nice to get one for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team and keep that Suzuki win streak alive. Now I’m looking forward to the next race at Fontana, and the boys will be getting home and doing a little work and doing a few things so we can go to Fontana and have a bit of a go.” Tommy Hayden: “I felt like I was riding pretty good, and my Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was definitely working very well. Considering I got a little confused with the new starting process and was 10th off the line, this result is all right. Fortunately, I was able to get up to the front-runners pretty easily. And with Mat being a little wounded today, I thought this was my day to get a win but I came up a little bit short. We’ll do a few things before the next race at Fontana and come back strong.” Blake Young: “I have to admit it would have been nice to be up on the podium with Mat and Tommy today, but since this is my first Superbike race on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000, and running new tires and after very little testing, I’m OK with fifth place. But every day, I’m getting to know my new crew better and I know we’ll come back for Fontana with a better bike and hopefully a better result.” Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, on the weekend of Saturday, March 7, 2009. More, from a press release issued by Honda: AMA Pro Road Race Championship at Daytona International Speedway Thursday, March 5, 2009 Weather: Warm, windy Temperature: 21-degree ambient Hodgson a close second in inaugural AMA Pro American Superbike race Corona Extra Honda’s Neil Hodgson kicked off the AMA Pro American Superbike season with a strong second place finish in the season-opener on a warm, windy afternoon on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway. The finish thrilled the Isle of Man resident, who thanked his team for building a Honda CBR1000RR capable of winning in a relatively short amount of time. The Corona Extra Honda team wasn’t officially announced until just over a month before the race. But once the commitment was made, the team quickly got to work building a machine that took Hodgson to the best finish of his Honda career. After qualifying the Honda CBR1000RR fourth in the first ever Superpole session, the 2003 World Superbike Champion was in the mix from the start of the 15-lap American Superbike race, slotting into second behind early leader Mat Mladin. Hodgson took the lead on the sixth lap, now from Larry Pegram (Ducati), to front a quartet of riders. Hodgson then led for two laps before being passed in turn one of the eighth lap by both Mladin and Pegram, and dropping to third. On the tenth lap Hodgson was back into second, but now under pressure from Mladin’s teammate Tommy Hayden, who made a pass on the 14th of 15 laps. But on the final lap Hayden was balked in the chicane and Hodgson closed up for the all-important run from the chicane to the checkered flag, one of the longest full-throttle runs on the AMA calendar. The pair hit the stripe side by side, but it was Hodgson taking second by the slimmest of margins, officially .001 seconds. Though he was on the podium twice last year, the second place was Hodgson’s best AMA finish since winning in a torrential downpour at Road America in June of 2005. Neil Hodgson, 2nd Place: “I was definitely pleased with that. It’s nice to be battling for a win. I’ve not had that opportunity for the last few years. Just pleased for the team, because everybody has put a lot of effort in behind the scenes. It has been 12-hour days for everybody. So, it’s nice for me to do my job. Obviously, I want to win. After a race like that, I can sit down with my crew chief and see where we need to improve the bikes. There’s certainly some areas that I need to improve the bike, but in general I’m pretty happy with that. When I was in the lead I thought I could win the race. I knew Mat (Mladin) was probably not in 100% condition and, it’s such a funny place, Daytona. Your tire can just start going down and there’s nothing you can do about it once it starts spinning. I could see Larry’s (Pegram) tire go off pretty much. It just went worse and worse and that was him out of the race. And I thought that could happen to Mat. And when I got the lead, I’m thinking, ‘I’ll just go as fast as I can.” Tim Saunders, Team Principal: “We’re very excited, very pleased. What I liked probably most of all is it was a really exciting race and it was exciting for everybody. It was just great that it was the race for the whole 15 laps. And it was lovely to be up front and I think we’re excited that the bike’s going well, Neil’s really excited about it. It looks like the bike’s competitive with the others and it just comes down to race craft and good luck and bad luck on the track and that’s the best form of racing as far as I’m concerned.” American Superbike Final: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Neil Hodgson (Honda) 3. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 4. Larry Pegram (Ducati) 5. Blake Young (Suzuki) 6. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 7. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 8. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 9. Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 10. Geoff May (Suzuki) More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America: TEAM FOREMOST PEGRAM RACING DUCATI TAKES FOURTH AT DAYTONA The Ducati 1098 R leads the race in its AMA debut Daytona Beach, Fla. (5 March 2009) Team Foremost Pegram racing has opened the 2009 season on a high note, finishing fourth in today’s Superbike race at Daytona International Speedway. In a hard fought battle over fifteen laps, rider Larry Pegram battled past World Superbike and AMA champions; never straying from the front pack and leading three laps of the race. The Ducati 1098 R performed flawlessly throughout the race; however a set up issue forced Larry to turn off the bike’s traction control and pushed him back to fourth at the finish line. “I’m really happy with my team, my bike, and the first race of the season,” commented Pegram. “If I had full use of my traction control I could have made the podium or won the race. The important thing is that we know what to fix and I should be fighting for the win at Fontana in two weeks.” When asked about the speed of Pegram’s Ducati, and whether it will be a championship contender; race winner Matt Mladin remarked: “I think that way- that bike is looking pretty speedy.” Team Foremost Pegram racing now heads to Fontana, California’s Auto Club Speedway; where the second round of the championship takes place March 20-22. For a race report, photos and team information please visit www.pegramracing.com; for more information on Ducati and the revolutionary 1098 R Superbike please visit www.ducatiusa.com Classification after 15 laps: 1: Matthew Mladin (Suzuki) 2: Neil Hodgson (Honda) 3: Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 4: Larry Pegram (Ducati) 5: Blake Young (Suzuki) More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Mladin Continues Mastery of Daytona with Seventh AMA Pro American Superbike Victory Makita/Rockstar Suzuki Rider Wins AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Opener DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 5, 2009) – Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Mat Mladin won his seventh career AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited race at Daytona International Speedway Thursday where he led 10 of 15 laps from the pole. Mladin’s win was his second American Superbike victory in a row at the “World Center of Racing,” fifth in the last six years and seventh overall dating back to 2000. He led from the start after winning the pole earlier Thursday in the first ever American Superbike Superpole qualifying session and led the first two laps of the race before Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R) passed and led for the next three circuits. “Obviously it’s nice to get any win,” said Mladin, who rides the No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. “I sort of tried to go at the start, but I just couldn’t get down to the sort of lap times that I really thought I may be able to. Obviously the guys were close enough coming out of the chicane to be able to pull past.” Mladin stayed in the thick of the lead pack along with Neil Hodgson (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR) who passed Pegram and led Laps 6 and 7. Mladin fell to third at the race’s midpoint but was never out of contention. “About half race, there wasn’t really anything happening out there, so I just thought I’d try and get back to the front and push as hard as I could, and at least try and have a bit of a gap leading out of the chicane,” said Mladin, who took the lead for good on Lap 8. “I think that’s what happened.” Hodgson took second in a true photo finish with Mladin’s Rockstar/Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000). The two riders crossed the finish line in a near dead heat that had to be decided by AMA Pro Racing’s at-the-finish-line photography. “Mat had no advantage at all, machinery-wise,” Hodgson said. “He rode a really good race and didn’t make any mistakes, and pulled it at the last five laps. But yeah, I’m pleased, pleased with second. It was really close, obviously. It always is here. I was just thinking on the way here, I passed Roger Hayden last year on the last lap, and I beat him by the same amount, like nothing. So I’m sorry to the Hayden family for that.” Tommy Hayden had a poor start but recovered solidly to hit the podium. “It’s a completely new starting procedure,” Hayden said. “There’s no boards. I guess we go when the light goes off, I didn’t know. I specifically read the rulebook last night, because there was stuff yesterday in the riders’ meeting, and stuff that I wasn’t aware of. And I thought I’d already read it once, and somehow I keep skipping the starting part, I guess, because I didn’t know what we were supposed to do. I was 10th, I think, in Turn One. So that’s something I have to figure out. My fault.” Pegram capped a good race with a fourth-place showing while Blake Young (No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) made it five Rockstar/Makita machines from Yoshimura Suzuki in the top five. Next up for the AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited is the first dual race weekend of the year at Auto Club Speedway, March 20 – 22, and today’s top finishers are looking forward to the event. “We look forward to getting to the next race,” said Mladin, who earned single bonus points today for winning the pole and leading the most race laps. “The boys get home, do a bit of work, and have a look at a few things, and see if we can’t come out of Fontana and have a bit of a gap.” Hodgson is also ready to see what his Honda can do in California. “Like Mat said, I’m looking forward to Fontana,” Hodgson said. “Had a good test there, and enjoying my riding. Team’s working well.”