HOLDEN TAKES CORONA HONDA SUPERBIKE TO FIFTH IN AUTOCLUB SPEEDWAY EVENT Jake Holden, standing in for Corona Extra Honda Racing’s injured Neil Hodgson, took his Honda CBR1000RR to a terrific fifth place in the first Auto Club Speedway Superbike race ahead of the factory Yamaha’s of Hayes and Bostrom following a race-long duel that saw another photo-finish at the line. Holden quickly got up to speed in practice but his first time on the bike was limited by AMA test of the pace car concept. However his time had him into the Super Pole which saw each of the top ten riders get a full flying lap on a clear track. Jake further improved and finished in a fine fifth place. When the green flag dropped in race one Jake did not make the best start but luckily escaped being taking out in the first corner by a crashing Larry Pegram. The incident brought out the red flag and a restart which saw a slightly better start for Holden who was eighth after the first lap. There then followed a race long duel with Hayes and Bostrom. He picked off Bostrom on lap twelve and went after Hayes finally pipping him on the line by two thousandth’s of a second! A delighted Jake said; “I didn’t get a very good start and just tried to be consistent. The Yamaha’s sort of held me up. I had a hard time getting past them. I was getting more confident on the bike over the race and we were closing on Blake (Young) by the end, maybe just another couple of laps!” Race day two started wet, blustery, and very un-Californian with warm-up practice in heavy rain. Holden spent the session getting acclimatized to the Honda Superbike’s power in the wet. Afterwards he said: “I’m hoping for a dry race as I know I can run with all the front runners now!” Jakes wish came to pass and by the time the green flag dropped conditions had improved dramatically, the sun was out the race and was fully dry. Just like race one, a red flag came out on the first lap. On the restart Jake settled into sixth for a few laps before charging up right on fourth and fifth. He was setting up to make the pass when a misfire on his bike slowed him down and eventually forced him to retire. A disappointed Jake said: “I had the two guys in front all setup for the pass when the bike started missing. I thought it was fuel so dropped to the trackside and then got back on it but it just got worse and I pulled in!” For more information please visit Corona Extra Honda Racing online at www.corona-racing.com, email [email protected] or call 310 521 9802. Corona Extra Honda Next Race: Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia April 3-5, 2009 More, from a press release issued by Honda: Holden Replaces Hodgson in Southern California Corona Extra Honda’s Jake Holden finished fifth in his first race as the replacement for the injured Neil Hodgson during the AMA Pro Road Racing double-header at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Holden was drafted back onto the team he raced Superstock for in 2008 after Hodgson suffered serious injuries in a motocross training accident earlier in the week. The 2003 World Superbike Champion punctured a lung, broke five ribs, and dislocated his left shoulder in the accident, when he unavoidably hit a downed rider. Hodgson spent a week in hospital before being released Sunday morning, hours before the second Superbike race at Auto Club Speedway. Whether he’ll be fit for the next round of the series, at Road Atlanta in two weeks’ time, has yet to be determined. “As you can imagine I am doing everything in my power to get healthy as quickly as possible, so hopefully I’ll be back racing sooner rather than later,” Hodgson said. Holden is no stranger to Fontana. The Oregonian claimed his first win on the Corona Extra Honda in last year’s Superstock race. On Saturday, Holden battled with the factory Yamahas of Ben Bostrom and Josh Hayes before making the definitive pass on the final lap to secure fifth in his first ride on the Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR Superbike. On Sunday Holden was in line to duplicate, or even improve on, his Saturday result when an electrical problem knocked him out before the midpoint of the race. The problem was sudden and unexplained, and though Holden hoped it would clear out, it never did. “These guys worked hard and it was a great opportunity to work with the Honda guys here,” Holden said, putting aside the disappointment of Sunday’s DNF. “So pretty happy with fifth yesterday and I was looking forward to maybe another top five today.” Both races were won by Mat Mladin (Suzuki) from teammate Tommy Hayden. Geoff May (Suzuki) finished third on Saturday and Larry Pegram (Ducati) completed the Sunday podium. Now the series has one weekend off before resuming at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia on April 4-5. Jake Holden 5th, DNF It was a good finish, even though it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a race-prepped Superbike. The Honda guys, they were great. I think it was kind of a race that kind of showed me”¦I could see who I could get in the next race, race two, and I kind of sized everybody up. I was looking forward to another dry race, because we got the bike set up pretty good from race one. I was a little hesitant to pass the Yamaha guys I was racing with under the brakes, because there’s a set-up issue I was chasing and I really didn’t feel that comfortable getting them on the brakes. Race two will be another scenario. The Honda’s great. The bike’s super-fast. I was looking forward to mixing it up with the front pack today (Sunday). We’re just kind of trying a bunch of things and I’ve never ridden a proper Superbike before and it’s all new to me and it was a great experience. The second start, after the first one was red-flagged, I got a decent start and got around Josh Hayes on the straightaway and started catching (Geoff) May and (Ben) Bostrom and I was ready to pick them off and we just had a little issue with the bike. It was coming out of turn nine I just noticed something was going wrong. It felt like it was clogged fuel or something. I thought it would clear out and I let Pegram and Bostrom go by and I went on the straightaway and it wouldn’t clear out, so I knew it wasn’t good. Team Principal Tim Saunders Jake (Holden) rode a very good race. We’re very happy with his ride, but at the same time we’re very disappointed for him. We seem to have had some electrical problem which hopefully will be fixed. I just wish we could’ve been up at the front. It looks like he had the measure of the guys ahead, everyone other than Mat (Mladin) and maybe Tommy (Hayden), but that’s racing and hopefully we’ll come back to fight another day. Saturday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 3. Geoff May (Suzuki) 4. Blake Young (Suzuki) 5. Jake Holden (Honda) 6. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 7. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 8. David Anthony (Suzuki) 9. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki) 10. Aaron Gobert (Honda) Sunday Superbike: 1. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 3. Larry Pegram (Ducati) 4. Geoff May (Suzuki) 5. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 6. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 7. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki) 8. David Anthony (Suzuki) 9. Blake Young (Suzuki) 10. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) Championship Standings: 1. Mat Mladin (94) 2. Tommy Hayden (72) 3. Geoff May (50) 4. Blake Young (46) 5. Ben Bostrom (45) 6. Josh Hayes (43) 7. Larry Pegram (39) 8. Aaron Yates (31) 9. Aaron Gobert (30) 10. Taylor Knapp/David Anthony (26) More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Hacking Leaves California With Solid Points Lead Fontana, Calif. Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking finished just one-tenth of a second behind from first place as he and his Ninja ZX-6R crossed the checkered stripe at Auto Club Speedway during the second AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race of the weekend. Hacking matched his runner-up finish from Saturday, but the gap between him and the leader was drastically different during the second race of the double-header weekend. Teammate Leandro Mercado made a last lap drive to push his way into to 11th. Never Give Up Hacking has never been the type to settle for second and during the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race, he pushed it all the way to the end. Although he did finish second, he made an amazing run catch the leader. At one point, Hacking erased a five second lead to finish right on the winner’s rear wheel. “We made a few changes from the set-up yesterday and they did the trick when it came to catching the lead rider,” said Hacking. “I tried to think of some way to get past, but in the end I just barely missed out on the win. ” Inclement Morning Weather When the riders arrived at the track on Sunday they were met with a wet track. Although the weather didn’t look promising throughout the morning, by noon the sun was out and the track was drying. The riders were fortunate as the rain held off the rest of the afternoon. Playing It Smart For only 17-years-old, Mercado is learning quickly to adapt to different bike set-ups and race scenarios. During the 21-lap event, Mercado held down 14th for most of the race until a last lap charge bolted him up to 11th at the finish. “Today wasn’t much different,” said Mercado. “The tires were spinning a little bit in the corners. On the last lap, I figured out how to use that to my advantage and got by a few guys at the end.” Fan Walk Prior to the start of the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race, all the riders line up on the grid to greet fans along side their race bike. It’s a good time for the spectators to get an up-close look at their favorite riders and machines. Leaving the Golden State In Front With another great ride on Sunday, Hacking secured his points lead as the series moves east in two weeks. “I feel excellent about leading the points,” said Hacking. “That’s the main goal. We (the team) want to win the title. It’s still a long ways until the final round but if we keep progressing like we do, I hope to keep the No. 88 out front.” Making the Move East With the first of three California rounds in the books, the riders and teams now head to Road Atlanta in two weeks. “I’m looking forward to Atlanta,” said Hacking. “We now have another base setting for the bike that we worked on this weekend. I think this will really help us. If we can progress the way we did here, it won’t matter how fast the next bike is. I’m confident in the ZX-6R.” Results AMA Pro Road Racing Series Auto Club Speedway- Fontana, Calif. March 22, 2009 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Results 1. Daniel Eslick, Broken Arrow, Okla., Buell 2. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI 3. Jason DiSalvo, Las Vegas, Nev., Suzuki 4. Martin Cardenas, Miami, Fla., Suzuki 5. Josh Herrin, Clovis Calif., Yamaha 6. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda 7. Chaz Davies, Carlsbad, Calif., Aprilla 8. Tommy Aquino, Saugus, Calif., Yamaha 9. Steve Rapp, Hawthorne, Calif., Yamaha 10. Chris Peris, Calgary, Canda, Honda 11. LEANDRO MERCADO, LODI, CALIF.., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Point Standings 1. JAMIE HACKING, DENVER, N.C., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI, 69 2. Jason DiSalvo, Las Vegas, Nev., Suzuki, 60 3. Daniel Eslick, Broken Arrow, Okla., Buell, 57 4. Josh Herrin, Clovis Calif., Yamaha, 56 5. Martin Cardenas, Miami, Fla., Suzuki, 51 6. Jake Zemke, Paso Robles, Calif., Honda, 41 7. Chaz Davies, Carlsbad, Calif., Aprilla, 41 8. Steve Rapp, Hawthorne, Calif., Yamaha, 33 9. Ben Bostrom, Malibu, Calif., Yamaha, 31 10. LEANDRO MERCADO, LODI, CALIF., MONSTER ENERGY ATTACK KAWASAKI, 31