CARDENAS ON THE PODIUM IN MID-OHIO DAYTONA SPORTBIKE RACE Team M4 Suzuki returned to the podium following a rare two-race stint out of the top three on Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. AMA Pro Daytona SportBike championship leader Martin Cardenas rebounded from a pair of crash-marred contests to score third place at the conclusion of a thrilling 21-lap contest. The Colombian was in the mix, contending for the race’s lead aboard his GSX-R600 deep into the race before ultimately settling for third to get his season back on track. The result was Martin’s ninth podium finish of the year, a third third to go along with his six victories. “It was a hard race for me because my confidence wasn’t very good after two races with crashes,” the former Spanish Supersport champion admitted. “Today that’s the best I could do. I tried to stay in the fight for the win but five laps from the end I made a little mistake and decided that third place was good enough for today. “My bike worked really good all weekend long and thanks to Team M4 Suzuki for doing such a great job this weekend.” With three rounds and six races remaining, Cardenas currently boasts a ten-point championship advantage, 285 to second-placed Danny Eslick’s 275. Teammate Jason DiSalvo finished eleventh after once again getting caught up in the fray early. The New Yorker’s result retains his fifth-ranked status in the Daytona SportBike title race at 201 points, just ten removed from fourth. Cardenas and DiSalvo will look to add to Team M4 Suzuki’s bountiful trophy haul in two weeks time when the AMA Pro Road Racing championship heads to Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, KS on July 31-August 2. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas Podiums in Mid-Ohio Daytona SportBike Race Round 8 AMA Daytona Sportbike Series Lexington, Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 17-19, 2009 Team M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas celebrated another podium finish in the AMA Daytona SportBike class on Sunday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. The Colombian rider got a good start on his M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 and battled for the final podium position for the first half of the 21-lap race. At about the mid-way point in the race, though, Cardenas took over third position and held on to the checkered flag. This result marks Cardenas’ ninth visit to the AMA Daytona SportBike podium this year, with six of those appearances being for victories. Sunday’s impressive performance was particularly important for Cardenas, considering that he suffered crashes in the previous two AMA Daytona SportBike races. Despite this unfortunate luck, Cardenas continues to lead the overall championship points standings in the AMA Daytona SportBike class. Martin Cardenas 3rd place, Race 2 (Sunday): “It was a hard race for me because my confidence wasn’t very good after two races and two crashes. At the Laguna Seca crash, I really don’t know what happened. I wasn’t going any faster than on other laps so I don’t really know what happened there except that I lost the front. That’s all I know. Here (at Mid-Ohio), yesterday, I think I know what happened. I made a tighter line than on all the laps before and I lost the front again, so my confidence wasn’t really good.” “So, today third was the best I could do. These other guys were a little bit faster than me and I tried to stay with them, but about five laps from the end I made a mistake and I almost crashed. So I decided that third place was good enough for today. My GSX-R600 was working really good, so thanks to M4 Suzuki for giving me such a great bike and to all my sponsors for their support.” M4 Suzuki Racing will race next at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kansas, the weekend of July 31-August 2, 2009. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden Podiums in Mid-Ohio Superbike Race on Sunday Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Young, Mladin finish 4th, 7th Round 8 AMA Superbike Series, Race 2 Lexington, Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course June 17-19, 2009 Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden brought home a podium finish in the second of two AMA Superbike races in the series double-header weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on Sunday afternoon. Although Hayden had struggled in Saturday’s race and finished sixth, on Sunday the Kentucky native put all the proverbial pieces together and captured a third-place finish on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000. This result marks Hayden’s seventh visit to the AMA Superbike podium this year and he is currently second overall in the championship points standings. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Blake Young was right there with Hayden all the way and finished in fourth place. Superbike rookie Young got a good start and battled with his teammate before settling into fourth place in the 21-lap race. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin struggled a bit with set-up this weekend and finished in seventh position. Despite this result, the six-time AMA Superbike Champion still leads the overall championship points standings by more than100 points with just three rounds left in the season. Tommy Hayden: “I was trying to get as close as I could to the guys in front of me, but this place is tricky to pass. There’s only a couple of places where you can really get by. One is off the back straightaway and both these guys are really strong there. They were definitely making the race a little tougher for me. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was pretty good, though, and we made a few small changes so it was a little bit better than yesterday”¦ I’m feeling good the whole weekend has been strong, I’ve been on pace and was definitely disappointed yesterday. I felt we were way better than that and it feels good to bounce back a little bit. I’ve come close to winning a few times this year but I just can’t seem to make that next step. So we’ll keep working on that and hopefully we’ll get there.” Blake Young: “I had a good start today on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000. We weren’t leading but we were definitely there and I ran in third for a few laps. Then some guys came by and they were setting a really good pace compared to yesterday. All our laps today were more consistent, a lot better and a lot faster. We made some improvements on the bike that really helped us and that we’ll be able to benefit from at the next race.” Mat Mladin: “It’s no secret that we’ve struggled a bit this weekend. We have some issues that need to be sorted out. We’ve been working on it, but so far we haven’t come up with anything that allows me to feel comfortable enough on the bike to really push it. But we’ll keep trying and hopefully come back stronger for the next race.” Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, Kansas, the weekend of July 31 August 2, 2009. More, from a press release issued by Pegram Racing: CONSISTENT PEGRAM EARNS FIFTH AGAIN AT MID-OHIO Lexington, Ohio (July 19, 2009) — Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram finished fifth in the AMA Pro American Superbike race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Sunday, earning his second top five finish in a hotly contested race this weekend. Pegram finished just 5.131 seconds behind the winner. “We had a good race today and I was pleased with the lap times we were able to do and how the Ducati 1098R worked. I think we were as fast as anyone on the track and the lap times showed that,” said Pegram, who won earlier this year in Wisconsin. “The problem is there’s only one real place to pass here, the end of the back straight. We struggled there a little bit, which is a surprise because we’ve had the fastest bike all year. I feel we could run anyone’s pace today. We’d gained back any ground we lost, but you’ve got to make some passes and we lacked just a little bit. I feel confident about the bike and the team. We’re looking forward to going to the next event in Kansas and racing.” 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, from a press release issued by Honda: AMA Pro Road Race Superbike at Mid-Ohio Saturday, Sunday, July 18, 19, 2009 Weather: Overcast Temperature: 22C Frustrating weekend for Hodgson at the demanding Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Corona Extra Honda’s Neil Hodgson had a frustrating weekend on the physically challenging Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The former World Superbike champion realized from the first lap of practice that his surgically repaired right shoulder was not up to the demands of the track and he rode valiantly to improve to ninth place on Sunday after finishing 11th on Saturday. Hodgson is a veteran of American Superbike racing and knows the tracks well. And he tested here a month ago. But since riding in the support race of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, Hodgson’s shoulder, which he injured in a freak motocross accident in March, has made little progress and he plans to return to his American base in California shortly for more treatment. Though the possibility of a second operation exists, he’s ruled it out for the time being as it would end his season with three races remaining. Two of the three tracks are new to the AMA calendar, though the Corona Extra Honda team will take part in a test at one of the tracks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Neither appears to be as physical as Mid-Ohio, which has a number of elevations and directional changes, along with hard downhill braking. Both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races were lonely rides. Hodgson slotted into 11th place on the opening lap of Saturday’s race and that’s where he finished. On Sunday it was a more encouraging story. He again started 11th , but this time worked his way up to ninth on the sixth of 21 laps. Hodgson and the team will now travel to New Jersey Motorsports Park an all-teams test on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a trip back to California. Then comes a one weekend break, after which the series resumes at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas, a facility which hasn’t hosted an AMA race since 1991. Both of this weekend’s races were won by Josh Hayes (Yamaha). He beat Suzuki riders Aaron Yates and Mat Mladin on Saturday. Teammate Ben Bostrom and Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) filled out Sunday’s podium. Neil Hodgson: Saturday, 11th, Sunday 9th . “I struggled all weekend with my shoulder. I’ve just got no strength in it. And at a track like Mid-Ohio, where there are all these changes of direction and a couple of fast changes of direction, I was running with one arm. I feel sorry for my team, I feel sorry for fans, I feel sorry for Honda. I rode as hard as I could under the circumstances. It was a very frustrating, long annoying weekend. All weekend long we were a second a lap off the pace, really. We improved the bike a little bit (Sunday). It would hold the line a little better and change directions a little bit easier. We could make it even easier to change direction, but then it would be almost unrideable in other places. It was almost a complete compromise. We’d made a massive step at Laguna with my shoulder, but I didn’t realize that Laguna is nothing like here. Tracks with just straights and corners and straights and corners are alright. The all-action style of this track showed up this weekend in my shoulder. I couldn’t ride when we tested here a month ago, because I had no power. There was quite a bit of time between then. I thought I’d be OK and that the shoulder would be a lot stronger, but it’s not. I had limited mobility then and it’s exactly the same, to be honest. I think that’s as much as I’m going to get without having another operation on it, unfortunately. After the test I’m going back to have an MRI scan and a nerve test and go from there. Obviously we’ll see the season through, so any opportunity will be the end of the season. So we’ll look to get something done at end of season.” Team principal Tim Saunders: “None of us realized how difficult this weekend would be for Neil. Obviously this injury takes longer to heal than we expected and we just have to be patient. While Neil’s healing, we continue to make steps with the bike, which is why Neil was able to improve on Sunday. The next two races are anyone’s guess. No one has seen New Jersey and no one’s been to Topeka for 18 years. We have to hope they’re not too physical, but if they are, we’ll do our best to adjust the bike to make it comfortable.” Sunday Superbike: 1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 2. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 3. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 4. Blake Young (Suzuki) 5. Larry Pegram (Ducati) 6. Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 7. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 8. Geoff May (Suzuki) 9. Neil Hodgson (Honda) 10. Taylor Knapp (Buell) Saturday Superbike: 1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 2. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 3. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 4. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 5. Larry Pegram (Ducati) 6. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 7. Blake Young (Suzuki) 8. Geoff May (Suzuki) 9. Jake Holden (Honda) 10. Michael Laverty (Suzuki) 11. Neil Hodgson (Honda) Championship Standings: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 390 2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 264 3. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 246 4. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 245 5. Larry Pegram (Ducati) 223 6. Blake Young (Suzuki) 201 7. Geoff May (Suzuki) 199 8. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 198 9. Taylor Knapp (Buell) 127 10. David Anthony (Suzuki) 120 13. Neil Hodgson (Honda) 94 More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: NASH EIGHTH FOR LTD RACING AT MID-OHIO Lexington, OH (July 19, 2009) LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash finished eighth in Sunday’s AMA Pro SuperSport East race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Nash was the first of the talented LTD Racing teammates to finish the 17-lap final. Tomas Puerta earned 11th after a stop and go penalty and Joey Pascarella crashed after being hit by another rider on the start. Nash improved eight places from his starting position. “Considering how our weekend started, I was happy to get this result,” said Nash. “Once we crossed the barrier into the low 1:31s, it put us in position to make some more changes to the bike. We struggled some early in the weekend and so we never got to take that step. I learned a lot about what it takes to get up to speed fast and the importance of it. In the race, I got into a groove and raced with some other riders and I had a good time. I took it easy for the first couple of laps but I didn’t want to make a mistake. I got a good results here and we got the win in the Moto-GT race, so it is something to build on.” Tomas Puerta rebounded to take 11th but was not happy after serving a penalty for his jump start. “I’m disappointed and it was a bad race for me. I hadn’t jumped the start before, so I am a little mad,” said Puerta. “I am ready to go to Kansas to race right now but I know we’ll have to wait.” Joey Pascarella crashed shortly after the start. The Californian had tough luck at Mid-Ohio. “Someone hit my hurt arm and it popped and I let go of the bar,” said Pascarella. “Then I was on the ground.” LTD Racing returns to action July 31- Aug 2 at the next AMA Pro race at Heartland Park. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Hayes, Eslick Sweep AMA Pro Races in Honda Super Cycle Weekend at Mid-Ohio Josh Day Earns First SuperSport Victory; First Back-to-Back Wins for Yamaha since 1994 LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2009) – Josh Hayes started from pole and swept the Honda Super Cycle Weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, earning his third career AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited victory in Sunday’s race. Danny Eslick matched Hayes’ effort, claiming victory in a hard-fought AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL battle earlier in the day. Hayes has an accomplished history at the 2.4-mile course and this weekend proved to be a continuation for the two-time Formula Xtreme champion. After claiming Superpole on Friday, Hayes held off a hard-charging pack of riders led by Aaron Yates’ No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 in Saturday’s American Superbike race for the win. Sunday saw a compelling performance by Hayes, as he held off teammate Ben Bostrom’s No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1 to mark the first time in 15 years that a Yamaha rider has earned three wins in an American Superbike season. The last rider to complete the milestone was two-time World Superbike champion and MotoGP star Colin Edwards in 1994. “This is what Superbike racing is supposed to be,” said Hayes, who earned his first American Superbike victory at Infineon Raceway earlier this year. “One lap I had a full second gap, and the rest of the time I had these guys breathing down my neck. This is what you feel good about; when you go home you know that you put it all out there, that these guys were having a good day too and you came out on top. It doesn’t matter how much you win by, it’s the difference between racing and just going fast around a race track.” Rockstar/Makita Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden won the hole shot on the No. 22 Suzuki to start the 21-lap sprint race, but gave up the point to Hayes in Turn 6 on the first lap. Hayes lost the lead only briefly, falling behind Bostrom in Turn 6 on Laps 8 and 11 only to retake control of the field in the next corner. Bostrom held off the remainder of the lead pack to finish .987 seconds behind Hayes. “We had a very good bike today,” said Bostrom. “It seems like when you brake on the inside, you never seem to make the corner, and Josh is real smart, very savvy. He just kind of high-lowed me back up there, so I tried to get on the gas pretty hard the second time and came pretty far out of the saddle. I thought I was going to jump on his bike. I just settled down and tried to follow him and figured I’d just make a run on him in the end. I felt like my bike was incredible.” Hayden looked to the inside of Bostrom in Turn 6 several times during the second half of the race in an attempt to take second, but was never able to get the No. 22 Suzuki into a position to complete the pass. The Kentucky native scored his seventh podium of the season on Sunday. “I couldn’t get around those guys,” said Hayden. “They were pushing really hard. Towards the middle of the race I kind of felt like I needed to get by and then if I could, I thought maybe I could up the pace a little bit. The last five laps it was getting pretty difficult just to hold on. We each had our part of the race where our bikes were working a little bit better. In the end I had to follow those guys home.” Blake Young was the final rider in the lead pack, finishing in fourth place aboard the No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000. Columbus, Ohio native Larry Pegram’s No. 72 Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R rounded out the top five after trading fifth position with Michael Laverty’s No. 8 Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 four times in the final 10 laps. Championship leader Mat Mladin finished seventh on the No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and leads Hayden by 126 points in the American Superbike championship standings. Sunday’s American Superbike race can be seen later this evening at 1 a.m. ET (10 p.m. PT). Next up for AMA Pro American Superbike is a doubleheader at the Tornado Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka on the weekend of July 31-August 2. Eslick Earns Fifth Daytona SportBike Win Danny Eslick’s No. 9 GEICO Powersports RMR Buell 1125R came out victorious in a battle that went down to the wire with the eventual second-place No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R of Jamie Hacking in the second of two AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Six official lead changes came between the riders that claimed the top two spots over the course of the 21-lap sprint race that opened Sunday’s races at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tires. The excitement began on the sighting lap, with Jake Zemke’s No. 1X Erion Honda CBR600RR losing power in Turn 4. Last season’s Formula Xtreme champion was forced to run back to the pits and start from the rear of the grid on his backup bike. A clean start followed and Eslick led the field through the first set of turns before being passed by Hacking in Turn 6. Eslick regained the top spot in Turn 1 on the following lap. That set of passes would set the tone for the two riders, occurring in the same fashion on Laps 14 and 15. Hacking recaptured the lead in Turn 6 on Lap 16 and was able to hold off a rushing Eslick for four more laps. On the final lap, Eslick took a page from the Kawasaki rider’s book and looked to the inside in Turn 6, but was unable to complete the pass. This set him up for an inside line through the Esses and the pair leaned on each other as they made their way through. The No. 9 Buell emerged as the leader and led the field to the finish. “Jamie was real strong out of the keyhole,” said Eslick. “He was strong out of it and strong into it, and I was good through the middle. We went back and forth a couple times. (The last lap pass) was the cleanest pass I could definitely make. There was some contact, but it was good. Jamie would have stuck it in there just as hard as I would have.” Josh Herrin’s No. 8 Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 also presented a challenge, passing Hacking on Lap 3 and taking the lead from Eslick on Lap 7. Herrin officially led two laps, although he and Eslick traded the lead twice on Lap 8 before Eslick was able to take the lead from the Yamaha for the final time on Lap 9. Herrin finished 12th after an off-course excursion on Lap 13 allowed Hacking to challenge Eslick for the final portion of the race. In all, Hacking led for seven laps and earned his sixth podium and fifth second-place finish of the Daytona SportBike season. “The race today was great,” said Hacking. “We were pushing hard the entire race. I was stronger on this side of the race track and Danny was stronger back there in the back and it just made out for a really good race, close racing. I put everything I had into the last couple laps there and I thought I had the door closed enough. He muscled his way in there and made a clean pass. I had made that pass before and there were no hard feelings. He rode a great race, and we pulled away from everybody else this weekend.” Martin Cardenas recovered from a crash in Saturday’s Daytona SportBike race to run clean and consistent, claiming the final spot on the podium aboard the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. The Colombian now leads the Daytona SportBike standings by 10 points over Eslick, 285-275. Hacking is close behind in third with 241 points. “It was a hard race for me because my confidence wasn’t very good after two races, two crashes,” said Cardenas. “So today that was the best I could do. These guys were a little bit faster than me, and I tried to stay with them, but five laps from the end I made a mistake and almost crashed and so I decided that third place was good enough for today.” Fourth place went to the No. 54 Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R of Taylor Knapp, who pulled double-duty this weekend racing, where he also earned a top-10 finish on the No. 44 Taylor Knapp Racing Buell 1125RR in the final American Superbike race of the weekend. Roger Hayden encountered electrical problems in Saturday’s race, but had a strong showing Sunday to complete the top five on the No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. Zemke climbed 11 positions on the first lap and powered through the field to salvage a 10th place finish. Sunday’s Daytona SportBike race can be seen later this evening at midnight ET (9 p.m. PT). Next up for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike is a doubleheader at the Tornado Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka on the weekend of July 31-August 2. SuperSport East Sees New Winner in Day Josh Day marched away from the field on the No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6 to claim his first career AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei victory Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Day started from second position and led all but the first of the contest’s 17 laps, passing Ricky Parker’s No. 96 Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 on the second lap and leading the rookie to the stripe by 8.895 seconds at the end of the race. “It was definitely a good race for us today,” said Day. “The Evans Steele Performance guys have been working hard all weekend trying to get the setup really good. I couldn’t believe it when I was watching the board, that I was pulling a gap on Ricky Parker with how fast he is and how fast everyone else is out there. I just kept my head down the whole race and just ended up with the win.” The battle for the final two podium spots were more difficult to secure, with Parker holding off a hard-charging Garrett Carter. Carter started from 11th position and took second briefly with a tight pass in Turn 4 on the final lap of the race, but was unable to hold the spot. Parker powered back past Carter’s No. 31 Ridersdiscount.com/Woodcraft Yamaha YZF-R6 as the two rounded Turn 6 and held the position to claim his fourth podium in four attempts. “The setup on the front of the Yamaha was a little off, besides that everything was pretty cool,” said Parker. “I have to admit that I didn’t have it for Josh today. He was just too fast for me. He is just a great rider, but I am happy to podium and end up with three Yamahas (on the podium).” After starting 11th, an early racing incident threatened to end Carter’s day early, but he was able to keep his composure and control of his bike and surged to the front. “It was pretty good,” said Carter. “I got involved with a little Turn 1 accident at the first lap, first corner. Someone crashed and hit me pretty hard, and I had to run off the track a little bit and quite a few guys got by me. So really I’m lucky to be here right now. (Parker) was really good on the brakes today, and it’s such a hard track to pass on, I just couldn’t do it.” Day now leads the AMA Pro SuperSport East standings by 13 points over Leandro Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R), 94-81. Highlights from Sunday’s SuperSport race can be seen later this evening at 1 a.m. ET (9 p.m. PT). The next round for AMA Pro SuperSport will be held at Tornado Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka on the weekend of July 31-August 2. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT. AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Jordan Suzuki: LEXINGTON, OH (July 19, 2009) Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) wrapped up a weekend of exciting racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates capturing his third consecutive podium of the season. The Lexington, Ohio track hosted Round 8 of the AMA Pro Racing National Guard American Superbike Championship, giving fans something to cheer for as they witnessed two of the best Superbike races of the 2009 season. With just one second covering the top 10 for much of the weekend, Yates and his MJM teammate Geoff May ran strong across all three days and went into the races knowing they had winning motorcycles underneath them. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki No. 23 Known for his speed at Mid-Ohio and with an impressive win list at the Ohio track to back it up, #23 Aaron Yates came into Round 8 raring to go. Coming off back-to-back podiums at Road America (P3) and Laguna Seca (P3), Yates and his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R 1000 were on a roll and had momentum entering the weekend at Mid-Ohio. 2nd PLACE, SATURDAY RACE 1 In Saturday’s Race 1, Yates made an impressive run up to the front of the field after suffering a poor start from P2 on the grid. After settling into the race, Yates began his charge to the front, picking off rider after rider, until he found himself on the rear wheel of eventual race winner Josh Hayes. As Yates closed into position on lap 18 of 21, however, a lapped rider disrupted Yates’ determined charge to the front. After losing vital ground to the factory Yamaha, Yates, who set the fastest lap of the race (1:25.666), soon remounted the charge and was poised to continue to challenge Hayes for the lead when the checkered flag fell with Yates crossing the line a mere .183 seconds behind. With his second place finish, Yates matched his 2009 season-best finish (P2 at Barber Round 4) and gave Jordan Suzuki its third straight podium in four races, for four total on the season. “It was a pretty good race, though we didn’t get off the line like we hoped to,” said Yates. “Some guys came by and we were a little slow getting into turn one, but we set in and had a good race. I knew it was going to be a pretty good sized pack up front and everybody was running pretty close, so it was going to be interesting to see who was there at the end. The Jordan Suzuki worked great today as the result shows and it’s nice to be on the podium again for the team and our fans.” DNF, SUNDAY RACE 2 As Sunday’s Race 2 was about to get underway, the stage was set for another strong #23 showing. With Yates topping the time sheets in Sunday’s brief morning warmup session, the veteran rider was feeling confident and hoping for his first Superbike win of the 2009 season. Unfortunately, on lap three of the 21 lap contest, Yates’ GSX-R 1000 accidentally slipped out of gear just before the front straight, causing him to go lowside unharmed. “The transmission hopped out of gear as I was entering the corner and that was that,” said Yates. “You grab a few backshifts coming into the Carousel and as I settled into the turn, it slipped into first, which upset the bike quite a bit and I lost it. It’s too bad, as my Jordan Suzuki felt great and it was some good racing out there this weekend. That’s racing, however, and we’ll be back at it in Topeka.” Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki rider Geoff May and his crew came into Round 8 looking to regroup after a tough Round 7. The #54 team came out swinging, with May taking P3 in Superpole on Friday to place his Suzuki GSX-R 1000 on the front row for Saturday and Sunday’s races. 8th PLACE, SATURDAY RACE 1 Race 1 at Mid-Ohio saw a fierce battle amongst the top eight riders for much of the 21-lap feature American Superbike race. Included in the group was May, who was a threat for the front until about the halfway point where the bike lost rear grip, causing May to slide slightly backward through the lead pack and eventually finish in eighth position. “We missed it by a small amount today,” said May. “The setup we went with caused the rear tire to go off a bit quicker than we’d hoped and after about mid-distance it was pretty loose. Everyone is riding so close this weekend so even the smallest issues are having a big impact. We have Race 2 coming up tomorrow so we’ll make some adjustments and get back out there.” 8th PLACE, SUNDAY RACE 2 Race 2 for the National Guard Jordan Suzuki team produced the same result, but came about it in a different manner. The front pack ran nose-to-tail all race long with less than one second covering the top 10 after Sunday morning’s warm-up. May had a back and forth race through the lead group and battled with six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mat Mladin for the majority of the contest. Unable to find a way past, May was forced to settle for another eighth place for the weekend, bringing the #54 home with his second top 10 finish of the weekend. “The bike was a podium bike today for sure,” said May. “It felt really good and I felt we had laptimes in us but just couldn’t get it inside the top five. While I’m not thrilled about the finishing position, I am happy with the motorcycle. Now we head to New Jersey for testing this week so we can keep pushing the National Guard Jordan Suzuki forward.” Yates exits Round 8 in eighth place in the Championship with 198 points, with MJM teammate May (199) within striking distance. More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM ANSWERS THE CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki battled through a difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 8 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season. Chris Ulrich gained valuable experience with his developing ’09 GSX-R1000 American Superbike during the stop at a venue where he boasts a past AMA Superstock victory, but misfortune in qualifying and the races prevented him from showing his full potential. Ulrich wasn’t able to get in his planned fast lap when Superbike qualifying was red flagged and concluded a few minutes short of the scheduled time. As a result, he started from 14th on the grid with a fast time of 1:28.183. The Californian picked up a position in the opening race, finishing a lonely 13th and hoped to improve on Sunday after further dialing in his racebike with the knowledge gained in Saturday’s 50-mile final. However, an electrical problem dashed those hopes and ended his race early. “In qualifying we put the soft tire on too late and that was pretty much the deal,” Ulrich explained. “The red flag came out for the incident when David Anthony crashed, so that kind of caught us out. We went out with three minutes to go and were trying to push hard. The balance of the bike has been improved but we’re still lacking in some areas with the machine and we’re trying to sort those out before Topeka. “We learned some stuff in Saturday’s race and applied that to the Sunday race but the bike had s small technical issue that put us out of the race, unfortuantely.” Ulrich is currently ranked 12th in the American Superbike title race with 100 points. AMA Pro SuperSport East Division title hopeful Russ Wikle had a similarly tough outing. After qualifying ninth at 1:32.935, Wikle was running seventh in the race aboard his GSX-R600 but crashed out while exiting Turn 1 on lap 6. Despite the spill, he holds down third in the championship battle with 63 points. Ulrich remarked, “Tough luck for Russ and that hurts in the championship but what can you do? Sometimes you have bad weekends and this happened to be a bad one for us.” Colombian Santiago Villa rung up 20th and 27th place finishes in the weekend’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike finals while Wikle came home in 26th and 29th. Wikle is 23rd in the points at 38 while Villa is 28th with 22. On July 31-August 2 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will travel to Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, KS for Round 9 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing championship. “We’re going into the unknown,” Ulrich said of the new addition to the calendar. “Russell did a track day there last week and I’ve been there doing two-seaters. We’re going to go out there and see if we can make something happen. We’ll strive to make some forward progress.” More, from a press release issued by James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing: JAMES GANG/HOBAN BROTHERS ON THE BOX AT MID-OHIO Waukesha, Wisc. (July 18, 2009) – James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing finished third in class in the AMA Pro Racing SunTrust Moto-GT 2-hour endurance race at Mid-Ohio, their second consecutive podium of the season. “We had a solid race, and we’ll continue to chip away at this championship with consistency,” said co-rider and team co-owner Paul James. “Winning at Road America was special because it’s our home track and one of my personal favorites. I’d never raced at Mid-Ohio before, but it is now one of my new favorite tracks for sure.” James Gang/Hoban Brothers maintained sixth place in SunTrust Moto-GT1 points, but narrowed the gap to 19 points behind the Liberty Waves Buell Racing team with four rounds remaining, including the season finale 8-Hours at Daytona. “It was fun for me to come back to Mid-Ohio,” said teammate Jeff Johnson, who last raced there aboard a Formula Xtreme-spec Buell XB12R in 2005. “We’re just past the halfway point of the season, but there are a lot of laps to go in this championship.” The AMA Pro Moto-GTseries continues at Heartland Park Topeka on July 31. For more information, go to: www.jghbracing.com or follow team updates at: www.twitter.com/jamesgangracing