Six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin made the most of a red flag interruption in Saturday’s AMA Superbike race at Mid-Ohio. After trailing by 6.5 seconds in the first portion of the race, Mladin got a better launch and initial lap in the restart, ran down his teammate and Championship rival Ben Spies with the fastest laps of the weekend and pulled away to win his seventh race of the year by a deceivingly large 4.8 seconds. Spies got the holeshot in the restart, but the young Texan could not hold off Mladin or match his pace and had to settle for second Saturday. After the race, Spies’ Championship point lead has shrank to 22 over Mladin, 454 to 432. American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel passed Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom early in the restart then spent the rest of the laps holding off a large pack of riders to finish third, his sixth podium finish of 2007. 2007 AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 4, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 24 laps 2. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -4.806 seconds 3. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -16.819 seconds 4. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -16.845 seconds 5. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -17.406 seconds 6. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -17.596 seconds 7. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -17.684 seconds 8. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -19.939 seconds 9. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -29.669 seconds 10. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -29.799 seconds 11. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, -46.524 seconds 12. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), -90.513 seconds 13. James Kerker (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -90.795 seconds 14. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -1 lap 15. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -2 laps, crash* 16. John Haner (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -5 laps, DNF, crash* 17. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -11 laps, DNF, mechanical 18. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, -12 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -12 laps, 9.444 seconds, DNF, crash 20. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -12 laps, 27.837 seconds, DNF, crash 21. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -18 laps, DNF, crash 22. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -20 laps, DNF, crash 23. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, DNS* * known to be on a Superstock-spec machine Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 454 points 2. Mladin, 432 points 3. Duhamel, 335 points 4. Zemke, 316 points 5. Tommy Hayden, 314 points 6. DiSalvo, 300 points 7. Yates, 299 points 8. Hacking, 260 points 9. Eric Bostrom, 250 points 10. Ellison, 236 points 11. Roger Hayden, 223 points 12. TIE, Jensen/Weber, 184 points 14. Jones, 177 points 15. Jake Holden, 159 points 16. Scassa, 158 points 17. Mizdal, 146 points 18. Lynn, 135 points 19. Haner, 131 points 20. Doug Chandler, 93 points More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Yoshimura Suzuki team mates Mat Mladin and Ben Spies continued their domination of AMA Superbike in Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. This first of two Superbike races in the double-header weekend was red-flagged midway through the event: In the first part of the race, Spies led the way but after the re-start Mladin took the lead after a few laps. For six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin, this win is his seventh victory of the season, his 58th career AMA Superbike win and also his seventh win at Mid-Ohio. Defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies picked up his seventh pole position of the season and his 14th career pole position, as well as his 13th podium spot out of 13 starts this year. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden benefited from the red flag, with his crew finding some extra speed for the Kentucky rider, who finished in ninth position. Mat Mladin: “Ben was going quick and I knew I had to go quicker on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. I did a few things that I wouldn’t have done if I’d had a 10-second lead. I’ve said that if I could get a good start I could race with Ben and when I found myself in fourth place just after the re-start, I knew I had to put my money where my mouth was. I was pushing hard and caught up to Ben and had an opportunity to pass. I tried to keep the pressure on and now we’ll try to come back tomorrow and get off the line a bit quicker.” Ben Spies: “This was a tough one to swallow. Having a red flag can help you sometimes and it can hurt you sometimes and this one definitely didn’t help us. After the red flag, we tried to regroup but obviously we didn’t get it done today. I was riding my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 100 per cent but this was one of the best rides I’ve ever seen Mat do. It’s good to get two Suzukis up on the podium, even though it didn’t work out the way we wanted. We’ll go back tonight and see if we can come up with something for tomorrow.” Tommy Hayden: “We’ve been struggling all weekend, really. But overall, I’m continuing to get faster on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. I matched my qualifying time in the first part of the race before the red flag and I’m happy about that. Also, after the red flag, my crew made a couple of changes to the bike that made me feel more comfortable. But there are still a couple of corners where I’m getting smoked. If I can improve on those for tomorrow, we’ll have a better result.” More, from a press release issued by Santiago Villa: Santiago Villa finished 15th in the first Superbike race, he work his way up to 12th but 2 laps to go lost the front tire, he pull up the bike and finish 15th, his best result in Superbike this year. This is his first race after his crash at Fontana. “I’m happy with the result, I was 12 for some laps but make a mistake and lost the front tire of my Suzuki 1000, but finish 15th, this is my first time at Mid Ohio, and I think tomorrow I will fight for more.” Santiago Villa is 13 times Colombia National Champion, and 2006 Superbike and Supersport Colombian Champion, also he is first at the Florida Region in the CCS Championship.