Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won his third consecutive AMA Superbike race and extended his Championship points lead at California Speedway, in Fontana, California, Saturday. Spies took the holeshot and the early lead only to drop back to fourth when he ran off track on the opening lap. The young Texan recovered well and quickly moved back up to second place behind Mat Mladin, who led the first 14 laps. At the halfway point, Mladin slowed on the front straightaway and purposely allowed Spies to take the lead. Some slower riders helped Spies gain a 0.7-second advantage immediately, but on the next lap Mladin suffered a big front tire slide that resulted in Spies gaining a 2.7-second lead. Mladin continued to struggle with front tire grip, and Spies pulled away to win the race by nearly seven seconds. Mladin held on to place second. American Honda’s Jake Zemke passed Aaron Yates early in the race and went on to take his second podium in as many weeks. Yates, the third Yoshimura Suzuki rider lost rear side grip as the race went on but held on to fourth, just in front a charging Parts Unlimited Ducati’s Neil Hodgson, who was 12th on the first lap. Zemke’s teammate Miguel Duhamel (sixth), Hodgson’s teammate Ben Bostrom (seventh), Kawasaki’s Tommy Hayden (eighth), Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Jason Pridmore (ninth) and Leo Vince/Pegram Racing Honda’s Larry Pegram (10th) rounded out the top 10 finshers. AMA Superbike Championship California Speedway Fontana, California April 29 Provisional Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), 28 laps 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), -6.973 seconds 3. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), -11.193 seconds 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), -19.793 seconds 5. Neil Hodgson (Duc 999F06), -20.806 seconds 6. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), -22.751 seconds 7. Ben Bostrom (Duc 999F06), -23.355 seconds 8. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), -29.305 seconds 9. Jason Pridmore (Suz GSX-R1000), -51.759 seconds 10. Larry Pegram (Hon CBR1000RR), -51.800 seconds 11. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), -57.947 seconds 12. Steve Rapp (Suz GSX-R1000), -67.860 seconds 13. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), -80.623 seconds 14. Eric Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), -81.297 seconds 15. Doug Chandler (Kaw ZX-10R), -82.131 seconds 16. Jason Perez (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap 17. Mark Ledesma (Hon CBR1000RR), -1 lap, -15.854 seconds 18. Brad Hendry (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -20.178 seconds 19. Martin Szwarc (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -53.862 seconds 20. David Bell (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap, -64.862 seconds 21. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, -64.942 seconds 22. Matt Lynn (Suz GSX-R1000), -3 laps, crash 23. Corey Eaton (Suz GSX-R1000), -13 laps 24. Cory West (Suz GSX-R1000), -17 laps AMA Superbike Championship Point Standings (after 4 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 145 points 2. Mladin, 131 points 3. Duhamel, 113 points 4. Hodgson, 104 points 5. Yates, 103 points 6. Tommy Hayden, 99 points 7. Ben Bostrom, 95 points 8. Pridmore, 86 points 9. Zemke, 81 points 10. Pegram, 72 points 11. Wood, 67 points 12. Holden, 65 points 13. Rapp, 58 points 14. Curtis, 46 points 15. Hendry, 44 points More, from a press release issued on behalf of Yoshimura Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki First & Second at California Speedway’s Saturday Superbike Race –Next round, Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., May 19 -21, 2006– Round 3 – AMA Superbike Series Fontana, CA California Speedway April 28 – 30, 2006 Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won his third consecutive AMA Superbike race in the first of the weekend’s two Superbike races at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Saturday afternoon. Teammates Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates finished a close second and fourth, respectively. “I really want to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew because they’ve got my Suzuki GSX-R1000 running great,” said Spies. “I’d also like to thank all the Southern California fans for coming out today and I hope to see everyone again tomorrow.” Earlier in the afternoon, Spies captured his second career AMA Superbike pole position by posting a track record-breaking lap time of 1:22.939. “We did a 23.3 (lap time) yesterday and I felt like we could do a 22.9,” said Spies afterward. “We knew the race pace was going to be quick at the beginning and we’ve found a race set-up that we like on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.” Teammate Mladin, who set the pole position at the Fontana race last year, qualified in the second spot on the grid with a 1:23.287. Yates joined his teammates on the front row in fourth position with a fastest lap of 1:24.118. In the 28-lap race, Spies got out front immediately but then made a mistake and moved back to fourth place on lap one. Even so, the young Texan quickly worked his way up into second place for several laps before taking the lead. “I got a really good start, but then I ran wide,” said Spies. “I don’t know what happened. I lost my rear going into the last corner and came out fourth. I worked my way up and ran back up on Mat. I was ready for a big duel at the end of the race but I could tell that he was having some sort of problems. I’m sure he’ll get that ironed out. I have to thank my crew for putting a good bike like the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 under me.” Mladin, meanwhile, had taken advantage of Spies’ running wide at the start and took the lead for the first half of the race. When Spies passed him, however, he settled into second position until the checkers. “We had a couple of problems today,” acknowledged Mladin. “We probably chose the wrong tire and we went backward halfway through the race, but that’s the way it goes. We’ll come back tomorrow, pick something different and go from there.” At the start, Yates got out with Spies and Mladin but had a few problems and faded back to fourth by the end of the race. “We got fourth place today and so we got some points in the championship,” said Yates. “But we’re going to make a few changes to the bike tonight and we’ll be better tomorrow.” Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 2nd Place – AMA Superbike 2nd Place — Overall Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #20 4th Place – AMA Superbike 5th Place — Overall Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #11 1st Place – AMA Superbike 1st Place — Overall AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Jake Zemke, Honda 4. Aaron Yates, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 7. Ben Bostrom, Ducati 8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 9. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 10. Larry Pegram, Honda More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati: Saturday Apr 29 2006 Fontana – Race HODGSON EARNS TOP FIVE FINISH WITH FONTANA CHARGE Fontana (California) 29 April 2006: Parts Unlimited Ducati pilot Neil Hodgson finished fifth in Saturday’s AMA Superbike race at California Speedway. Hodgson had difficulties on the start and dropped back to 12th place, but made a spectacular charge through the field on his Ducati 999, climbing to fifth place and turning some impressive lap times in the process. Hodgson caught and passed several factory bikes that were locked in a battle for the last spot in the top five for the entire race. “It was quite a good race, really, coming through the field,” said Neil. “On the start, everything went wrong for the first three or four corners. I got wide and three or four privateers came past me. When you’re well back, you take a deep breath and get some laps in. You put your head down. It was a quick race for me, really.” Hodgson took fifth place and made a bid to get fourth position, closing in before the checkered flag ended the race and his spirited charge. “It was difficult to get past Ben and Miguel Duhamel. They were both riding well and braking very deep in the corners. Late in the race when I was able to get past them was the only time I really had some clear track all day. Tomorrow, we’ll fine tune the settings and hope for a better start.” Ben Bostrom finished seventh after running fifth much of the day. Late in the race, he had a grip issue which hindered his result. “The bike is a lot of fun to ride. There aren’t many motorcycles you can back into a corner at 180 miles an hour and be really comfortable. This is one of them. The bike’s amazing. We just lacked some grip. We’ve got some changes for tomorrow that should be able to make a difference.” Tomorrow’s 28-lap race begins at 3 PM local time. Results: 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 3. Jake Zemke, Honda 4. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 5. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 8. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 9. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 10. Larry Pegram, Honda Points (after four races): 1. Ben Spies, Suzuki 145 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 131 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 113 4. Neil Hodgson, Parts Unlimited Ducati 104 5. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 103 6. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 99 7. Ben Bostrom, Parts Unlimited Ducati 95 8. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki 86 9. Jake Zemke, Honda 81 10. Larry Pegram, Honda 72