Dunlop Motorcycle Tires Race Report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, Round 11, Laguna Seca Monterey, Calif.–The 2007 AMA Superbike Series concluded at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif., September 15-16 with an exciting flourish, culminating with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies winning his second consecutive AMA Superbike title. The Supersport race was won by Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Josh Herrin, his first ever AMA win, while the series crowned a new champion, Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Hayden. The Superstock and Formula Xtreme series, which crowned their champs two weeks earlier, offered spectators some thrilling action as Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden took his first AMA win and Erion Racing Honda’s Aaron Gobert got the Formula Xtreme victory. Dunlop-supported racing teams also enjoyed an incredible season of success in America’s premier road racing series. In the 19 Superbike events in 2007, Dunlop riders swept every podium and represented every one of the top 10 finishers in each race save for one (109 out of 110 possible). Support class performance was also impressive. For example in the 10 Supersport competitions, Dunlop riders collected 80 percent of the podium positions (including five sweeps) and 66 percent of the top 10 finishing positions. For the four racing classes overall, Dunlop riders represented a whopping 84 percent of the podium positions (121 out of 144 possible) and 77 percent of top 10 finishers (371 out of 480 possible). Coming into Laguna Seca, two of the four championships had already been decided and two were still on the line. Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes locked up the Formula Xtreme title at the previous round at Road Atlanta, as did Suzuki’s Ben Spies with the Superstock crown. For the Superbike and Supersport showdowns, weather would not be an issue as the Monterey, Calif. setting was a picture perfect setting with 70-degree temperatures and no threat of rain. Laguna Seca’s relatively short straights between turns emphasize cornering traction and the recently repaved surface provides consistent and considerable grip. To provide a variety of tire choices, Dunlop brought approximately 2000 tires to support the factory teams and support riders in Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme, including a predominance of N-Tec multi-compound rear tires and next-generation multi-compound front tires. Superstock Race While Spies, the newly crowned class champ, sat out the final round there was still one race to run and the final standings to be sorted out. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom was the initial race leader, but was passed first by Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and then by Holden’s teammate, Aaron Yates. The planned 17-lap event was cut short after oil spilled on the track on lap 12, taking out Holden who was leading at the time. Because Holden did not cause the crash, he was awarded the win; Yates was second and Bostrom third. Holden’s race-shortened win was no fluke, however, as he led all but the first lap and also notched the fastest race lap, a 1:24.960, on his GSX-R1000. “It felt good to lead some laps and to get the win. I’m really happy for my Jordan Suzuki crew because they’ve worked hard for me over the last several years and we’ve just been pressing forward. It’s good to finally get the first one under my belt”¦ Hopefully, we’ll get more wins next year.” Dunlop riders amassed seven of the top 10 spots, culminating a year in which Dunlop riders took 61 percent of the top 10 Superstock positions. AMA Superstock 11 Laps (shortened from 17 by a red flag) Superstock results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Jake Holden – Suzuki 2. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 3. Ben Bostrom – Yamaha 4. Jamie Stauffer – Yamaha 6. Blake Young – Suzuki 7. Ben Thompson – Yamaha 8. Danny Eslick – Suzuki Superstock Championship Points after 9 of 9 races: Top three riders 1. Spies 292 (Champion) 2. Bostrom -264 3. Yates – 251 Supersport Race The closest racing of the year took place in the Supersport series and the final round pitted Kawasaki Road Racing teammates Roger Hayden (the points leader) and Jamie Hacking (the defending class champ) against Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes. Though he trailed the Kawasaki riders, Hayes had the momentum with a win at Road Atlanta and he put everyone on notice with an incredible pole position performance of 1:26.706, nearly .8 second faster than Hayden’s pole record set earlier in July–and achieved on two broken ankles suffered in an earlier practice session. In the race Hayes immediately took the lead but he was passed soon by Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Josh Herrin on his YZF-R6. Lurking close behind were Hacking and Hayden. The torrid pace at the front brought out the red flag when Hayes crashed on lap five, effectively ending his heroic bid to win the title from behind. In the restart Herrin rushed to the front and was never headed, taking his first-ever AMA win by 1.401 seconds over Hacking and M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas. “I got to plus-two and I looked back and they were like 20 bike lengths back and I said, ‘There’s no way this is possible,”’ exuded Herrin. “It’s going to be good going into the off-season after winning a race.” The championship meanwhile played out further back in the pack as Hayden, working his way forward on his ZX-6RR after a skirmish in the corkscrew, managed to finish fifth–just enough to take the title with three points to spare over Hacking. “It definitely took awhile but it was worth the wait,” said Hayden of his first AMA title. “I want to say hi to all my family and friends back home, my parents, my brothers, my sisters, everybody who has been following my career, this is a dream come true.” Hayden joins his older brothers Nicky and Tommy with rings in the Supersport class. On the day, Dunlop riders took seven out of the first 10 finishing positions. AMA Supersport 12 Laps (shortened from 17 by a red flag) Supersport results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Josh Herrin – Yamaha 2. Jamie Hacking – Kawasaki 5. Roger Hayden – Kawasaki 6. Blake Young – Suzuki 7. Aaron Gobert – Honda 8. Tommy Hayden – Suzuki 9. Garrett Carter – Yamaha Supersport Championship Points after 10 of 10 races: Top three riders 1. R. Hayden 297 (Champion) 2. J. Hacking – 294 3. Hayes – 260 Superbike Race The season-long battle between Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Mat Mladin (six-time AMA champ) and Ben Spies (defending champion) came down to the last race and a winner-take-all shootout. Spies struck first by winning the pole position with a record time of 1:23.105, besting his own record set in July by .3 second. The race went off cleanly and Mladin surged to the front with Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke and Spies in pursuit. Spies got around Zemke on lap two and set off after Mladin; from there the duo ran nearly nose-to-tail on their GSX-R1000s for 13 more laps. As they neared a lapper at the top of the corkscrew on lap 15, Spies made a daring pass and came out ahead of both riders as they snaked down the hill. Spies then put together a string a torrid laps, including the fastest of the race, a 1:23.614 on lap 17. He built his lead to nearly five seconds and Mladin was unable to close the gap. “I dropped back about nine-tenths in the middle of the race and I was like, ‘There’s only about 20 minutes left in this race, it’s 100 percent from here on out,'” explained Spies. “I think I proved a lot of people wrong today and I’m happy to be coming back next year,” he said of his convincing win, the seventh of the season. Following Mladin in second place was Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates, completing a podium sweep for Suzuki. As was the case in 18 of the 19 Superbike races this season, all of the top 10 finishers rode on Dunlop tires. AMA Superbike 28 Laps Superbike results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Ben Spies – Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin – Suzuki 3. Aaron Yates – Suzuki 4. Jake Zemke – Honda 5. Eric Bostrom – Yamaha 6. Tommy Hayden – Suzuki 7. Jason DiSalvo – Yamaha 8. James Ellison – Honda 9. Jake Holden – Suzuki 10. Matt Lynn – MV Agusta Superbike Championship Points after 19 of 19 races: Top three riders 1. Spies 653 (Champion) 2. Mladin – 651 3. Zemke – 468 Formula Xtreme Race The final race of the year went off without the class champion, Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes, who was injured in the Supersport competition. But his teammate, Aaron Gobert, picked up the slack and ran a masterful race on his CBR600RR to finish 3.635 seconds ahead of Leo Vince Ducati’s Larry Pegram and Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp. Though Gobert took the pole with a record time of 1:25.840, he had to claw his way to the front and pass both Pegram and Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard before he could settle into the lead. “I’ve got to thank Pro Honda Oils, Parts Unlimited, Erion Honda, all the Dunlop boys for keeping me going on their tires”¦” said Gobert. He added, “I’ve had a few DNFs and thrown it down the road so it’s good to finish off the year with a third in the championship.” Six of the top ten riders were on Dunlops, closly matching the company’s success in Formula Xtreme for the entire year. AMA Formula Xtreme 17 Laps Formula Xtreme results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10 1. Aaron Gobert – Honda 2. Larry Pegram – Ducati 5. Chris Peris – Yamaha 6. Chaz Davies – Yamaha 7. Ryan Andrews – Honda 9. Ryan Elleby – Honda Formula Xtreme Championship Points after 10 of 10 races: Top three riders 1. Hayes 324 (Champion) 2. Rapp – 279 3. Gobert – 247 Dunlop returns to the AMA Superbike road racing tour in 2008 for the first round at Daytona International Speedway. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies has won the 2007 AMA Superbike Championship from team mate Mat Mladin at Sunday’s final round at Laguna Seca in California as Suzuki GSX-R1000s swept the first three places – and dominated the entire series. The Texan rider, defending his first title, beat the six-time champion after sitting behind the Australian for most of the 28-lap race, winning the title by just over two seconds after slowing on the final lap to celebrate to his fans. Spies, who went into the event three points behind Mladin, took the title just one point ahead – 652 to 651. Newly-crowned Spies’ victory also belongs to the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, which won all 19 AMA Superbike races this year – the first time a manufacturer has accomplished this feat. Ben Spies: “We came into 2007 looking to win two championships – Superstock and Superbike – and I told myself I wouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than that. We got the Superstock title in Atlanta and now we won the Superbike Championship. I’d like to thank Yoshimura Suzuki and my crew for working hard all year and for giving me a great bike to race in the GSX-R1000. With this win, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. At the beginning of the race, I thought about the fact that we only had 45 minutes left in the season. I knew it was time to get it done.” Mat Mladin: “Ben was stronger all weekend and I knew it. He got a chance to get by me and I didn’t so much as pass him back as get sucked in. I had a few problems with lappers and Ben had put his head down. I did everything I could but in the end we just weren’t fast enough today. Now I’m looking forward to the off-season to try and pick up my pace a little more and see if we can give it another shot next year.” Aaron Yates: “I got a decent start on the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 but Mat and Ben were already pulling away. We’ve been struggling all weekend in the first six-to-eight laps. It takes a little while to get the bike to work like I need it. But then I put my head down and the bike was getting better and I was able to get into third place and bring it home.” Tommy Hayden: “Today’s race was all right. I was working my way up in the race and ended up seventh. My times on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 were better than we’ve been running. Hopefully, in the off-season I can get healthy again and come back strong next year.” AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki) 2. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki) 4. Jake Zemke (Honda) 5. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 6. Tommy Hayden (Yoshimura Suzuki) 7. Jason Disalvo, (Yamaha) 8. James Ellison (Honda) 9. Jake Holden (Jordan Suzuki) 10. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta) AMA Superbike Points Standings: 1. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki (652) 2. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki (651) 3. Jake Zemke, Honda (468) 4. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki (465) 5. Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki (454) 6. Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki (403) 7. Eric Bostrom Yamaha (362) 8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda (360) 9. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha (359) 10. Roger Hayden, Kawasaki (344) More, from a press release researched and written for Honda Racing by Cycle News reporter and columnist Henny Ray Abrams: Zemke Clinches Third in AMA Superbike Championship American Honda’s Jake Zemke clinched third place in the AMA Superbike Championship after holding a podium position until the final laps of the final race of the 2008 season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Starting from the front row, Zemke got away with the lead Suzukis of Mat Mladin and Ben Spies, the teammates who were racing for the championship. Zemke kept the pair in sight for the first 10 of 28 laps before slightly slipping back. Still, he was comfortably in third until the 26th of 28 laps when he was passed by Aaron Yates (Suzuki). But Zemke wasn’t conceding the position. The Californian fought back in traffic, but Yates was just slightly quicker at the end, and also in the signature Corkscrew turn, and bested Zemke by little more than half a second. But the fourth place finish gave Zemke the points he needed to finish third in the championship. Spies defended his championship title by beating Mladin. The difference after 19 races was a single point. Now the American Honda team has a short break before preparing for the 2008 season. Testing begins in October with Miguel Duhamel, who was injured over a month ago and missed this race, and former World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson, who joins the team in ’08. Jake Zemke, 4th Place We kept them (Spies & Mladin) in sight for ten laps at least. You know, I was actually surprised. I thought their pace was going to be a bit quicker in the beginning like they normally do. It didn’t seem like they were going flat out from the beginning. It seemed like they were playing cat and mouse with each other and just kind of hanging out to see who was going to do what, I think. While I was chasing them, I was really happy with my bike. The crew did a great job. I think that’s probably where we would have been or should have been back in July (at the USGP) when we were here. Aaron (Yates) just seemed to have a couple tenths a lap on me. I could see him coming, see him coming. Then he made a mistake. Then we got into lappers and he caught back up pretty quickly. There, the last three, four laps, when he got by me, we got into a couple of lappers and I just kind of got out of rhythm and I ran a couple slow laps there in a row and the last lap I picked it back up, but it was too late. He was going good. He did a good job, but my guys did a great job this weekend. We had a good bike all weekend. Team Manager Ron Heben Jake (Zemke) rode really rode well this weekend, from the beginning of the weekend. Started out in practice and got up there with some really good competitive times and qualified on the front row, which is a real plus. Makes his life a lot easier for him out there on the race track. Got a good start. Raced with Mat (Mladin) and Ben (Spies) for a while and little at the end had a couple little hiccups, but overall not a bad way to end the season. For Jake, he ended up finishing third in the championship. That’s not what we started out to do, but it’s also better than some of the other riders and programs out there. We’ll learn from what happened this year and start regrouping and get ready for ’08. Superbike: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Jake Zemke (Honda) 5. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 6. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 7. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 8. James Ellison (Honda) 9. Jake Holden (Suzuki) 10. Matt Lynn (MV) Final Point Standings: 1. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 652 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 651 3. Jake Zemke (Honda) 468 4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 465 5. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 454 6. Jamie hacking (Kawasaki) 403 7. Eric Bostrom (Yamaha) 362 8. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 360 9. Jason DiSalvo (Yamaha) 359 10. Roger Hayden (Kawasaki) 344 More, from a press release issued by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki: CARDENAS EARNS THE SUPERSPORT PODIUM AT SEASON FINALE Team M4 EMGO Suzuki concluded the AMA season in impressive fashion, elevating their podium tally on the year into the double digits. On the final lap of Sunday’s Supersport final at Laguna Seca, Martin Cardenas took over third position to give the team their tenth top three across all classes during the ’07 campaign. Colombian Cardenas again proved to be one of the series’ most promising racers, claiming his third Supersport podium and fourth overall since joining Team M4 EMGO Suzuki as a midseason replacement for the injured Michael Barnes. The former Spanish Supersport champion battled with the front group throughout the once-stopped final aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600. He put on a late charge to pick up a position on each of the race’s final four laps to ultimately end the contest in third. “The first half I got a good start and then some guys passed me and I passed them again,” Cardenas said. “I was catching up on the frontrunners and then the red flag came out. The restart, I got a great start again and at the end I got third. It was a very good race. “This year was very good for me. I started on a private team and when Michael Barnes got injured I was given the opportunity for ride for the team. I’m very thankful and it turned out very good. Next year I’ll come back knowing the tracks and that’s going to make a big difference. It will still be difficult because there are lots of guys who go very fast in the championship but I hope that next will be even better.” Michael Beck enjoyed a successful run in the Supersport race as well, fighting up from his fifth row starting position to end the race in 13th. The Californian steadily worked his way up the field after opening the first lap down in 24th. Geoff May had a less satisfying Supersport run, crashing out of the race on lap eight of 12. However, the Georgian fared better in the Superstock race, being credited with fifth after the race was red flagged and called complete following eleven of a the scheduled 17 laps. In the season points standings, May was fourth in Superstock points and eighth in Supersport. Cardenas was 11th in Supersport despite not joining the class until the fourth round. He was also 13th in Formula Xtreme but did not race the first five races. Michael Beck was 16th in Supersport points this year. More, from a press release issued by Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki: TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI WRAPS UP 2007 SEASON AT LAGUNA SECA Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki put the finishing touches on a successful 2007 season on Sunday at Laguna Seca by claiming two additional top ten Superstock race results. Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri scored their seventh and fifth top tens of the year, respectively, in the red-flagged shortened final race of their ’07 campaigns. On Saturday Ulrich qualified his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 on the second row of the grid, circulating the famed raceway with a fast time of 1:26.804, good enough for sixth overall. Pietri and Red Devil Roadracingworld.com’s Gary Mason earned starting slots a row behind him with the Venezuelan qualifying ninth (1:27.120) and the Englishman 12th (1:28.170). During Sunday’s race the three men lined up in formation, with Ulrich holding down ninth and Pietri battling up from 14th to tenth and Mason working from 12th to 11th. The three were positioned for a late-race assault when the contest was stopped prematurely and ultimately called complete following 11 of the scheduled 17 laps due to oil dumped on the circuit. Ulrich ended the season ranked sixth in the AMA Superstock championship standings with 203 points. He earned a pole position at Road America and finished in the top ten in all but two races this season. Pietri also ended the year in the top ten, finishing 2007 in tenth with 155 points and five top tens, including his stellar fourth-place run at Miller Motorsports Park. Mason finished in 17th with two top tens despite not joining the team until late in the season. “I really would have liked to been able to run full distance,” said Ulrich. “All three riders on the team would have benefited. We were stuck behind a rider for a while and I’m confident we would have been able to gain another position or two if we would have had a few more laps, but that’s the way it goes. It wasn’t too bad considering and all three of us rode hard today.” “All and all, it’s been a very successful season for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. I was able to finish sixth in the points and I’m happy with that. Robertino and Gary had some good races as well. We made good progress throughout the season and I feel we’ll be even stronger in 2008. It’s really exciting to be headed into the offseason healthy and I think we’re primed for continued improvement.” More, from a press release issued by Robertino Pietri’s publicist: En la categoría Superstock del circuito AMA Superbike de los Estados Unidos PIETRI EN EL TOP TEN EN LAGUNA SECA El venezolano cruzó la bandera de cuadros en el décimo lugar en la última válida del campeonato. Robertino Pietri culminó su temporada, en el torneo AMA Pro en la categoría Superstock, logrando llegar en el puesto número diez en la última válida disputada el pasado fin de semana en el Laguna Seca Mazda Raceway. Pietri salió de noveno en la parrilla de salida, pero a pesar de ser constante durante las once vueltas, el anzoatiguense no pudo mantener su posición original perdiendo un lugar ya casi finalizando la carrera. “Me siento bien. Aunque quedar de décimo no era mi objetivo, estoy satisfecho por lo hecho en esta carrera porque di lo mejor de mí”, dijo Pietri que con este último resultado termina la temporada en el décimo lugar de la tabla general con 155 puntos acumulados. Este veredicto puede que no sea definitivo, debido a que horas después de finalizada la carrera se anunció la supuesta descalificación de los equipos a los que pertenecen los dos pilotos (Jordan Suzuki y M4 Emgo Suzuki) que llegaron primero y segundo en esta válida, Jake Holden y Aaron Yates, respectivamente. Esto, debido a que estas escuderías realizaran modificaciones ilegales en sus motocicletas para aumentar su velocidad. De hacerse oficial esta medida, Robertino Pietri se vería beneficiado porque llegaría de octavo en esta carrera y terminaría el campeonato de noveno. Se espera una respuesta oficial en cualquier momento. De cualquier forma, el campeonato de esta categoría fue conquistado por el norteamericano Ben Spies con 292 unidades. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: JORDAN SUZUKI’S AARON YATES EARNS AMA SUPERBIKE PODIUM Yates Third at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Season Finale Monterey, CA (September 17, 2007) Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki rider Aaron Yates earned his third Superbike podium of the 2007 season in the finale of the AMA Superbike championship series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Yates, who finished third, bettered his fourth place, front row starting position after qualifying his Suzuki GSX-R1000 in a time of 1:24.267. This was Yates’ fifth front row start for the Jordan Suzuki team in the series premier Superbike class. Yates, who joined Jordan Suzuki at the start of this season’s 19 race AMA Superbike series, has been instrumental in helping the team develop its Superbike program. “It’s what I like to do,” stated Yates. “I like changing stuff, making it better and I’ve spent a lot of time with a factory team, so I know what they are doing over there. I think I brought some information to the Jordan team, along with having the knowledge of what works well on a motorcycle.” Jordan Suzuki recently announced that Yates has renewed his contract for the 2008 season. In July at Laguna Seca, the Jordan Suzuki team participated in an abbreviated AMA class schedule alongside the U.S. Grand Prix (MotoGP), competing only in Sunday’s 28-lap (100K) Superbike event. At that time, Yates earned the team its first AMA Superbike podium with a third place finish. Yates later earned a second podium in the premier class at Virginia International Raceway with another third place finish. Yates entered this weekend with a five-point deficit for third place in the overall championship points. Sunday’s strong finish moved him within three points of third place, yielding him the highest finish for a privateer rider in over 10 years. “There are a lot of things that affect the way a bike goes around a track: temperature, fuel load etc., so we have some challenges to work on in the off season,” commented Yates. “We need to work on making the bike as strong at the end as it is in the start of a race. If we do, we’ll definitely have something for those others guys next year.” This was the last weekend of AMA Superbike road racing, concluding the 11 stop race series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Racing resumes March 5-8, 2008 at Daytona International Speedway. Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motorsports in 2004 as a result of his passion for motorcycle racing. His mission is to bring a new level of excellence and style to the motorcycle racing industry.