Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta Continues 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing Season This Weekend’s Event Features Dual American Superbike and Daytona SportBike Races DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (April 2, 2009) – Round 3 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing Series will be held at the legendary Road Atlanta road course this weekend where the AMA Pro Suzuki Superbike Showdown will feature a full slate of six races in a packed weekend of AMA Pro motorcycle road racing action on the 2.55-mile road course. The Road Atlanta AMA Pro Road Racing races will be the 2009 season’s first on a natural road course after a pair of opening rounds on the superspeedway road courses at Daytona International Speedway (Daytona 200 Week by Honda, March 4 – 6) and Auto Club Speedway (Suzuki AMA Pro Superbike Challenge, March 20 – 22). Road Atlanta has a long history of top-tier AMA Pro Road Racing competition and well over 120 entries from four different classes will add to the legacy this weekend. AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL will co-headline the weekend card, with each division running dual Saturday and Sunday races. The weekend also features the emerging 16 to 21-year-old riders of the AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei division and the team-based competition of AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT. Flag-to-flag coverage of the four featured Road Atlanta races as well as SuperSport and SunTrust Moto-GT highlights will be showcased on the new AMA Pro Prime Time show on SPEED in four consecutive episodes starting next Saturday, April 11. AMA Pro Prime Time airs every Saturday on SPEED at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) and this Saturday’s show will feature complete coverage of the recent American Superbike and Daytona SportBike Sunday finals from Auto Club Speedway. Class points leader Mat Mladin (No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX- R1000) and fellow top American Superbike competitors Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) and Georgia-native Geoff May (No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) all won races at Road Atlanta last year and return this weekend determined to continue their victorious ways. Winning is all Mladin has done in the year’s first two event weekends and he brings a perfect early-season record to Road Atlanta after taking the victory in the Daytona round of American Superbike and sweeping both races at Auto Club. He was also on the pole at both events and remains the clear favorite heading to Road Atlanta where he has won 12 American Superbike races since 2001. His most recent AMA Pro win at the track came in the first of 2008’s dual races on Saturday with then teammate Ben Spies taking the Sunday final. This year, Mladin teams with Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) and up-and-coming rider Blake Young (No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000). Hayden has been the only rider who has been able to challenge Mladin in each of the opening races and he is second in the American Superbike Championship with no finish lower than third in the year’s first three races. Young also came out swinging with a fifth-place finish in the Daytona opener and backed it up with two more competitive finishes at Auto Club, including a strong recovery in race two after overcoming a race-start penalty. The hopes of Road Atlanta area fans ride with May and his Jordan Suzuki teammate Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000), another Georgia native. May, who finished a season-best third in race one at Auto Club two weeks ago, won the 2008 Superstock race at Road Atlanta. Yates also stood on the top step of the victory podium and won Road Atlanta American Superbike races in 2003 and 2005. Hayes actually won two races at Road Atlanta last year – AMA Pro SuperSport and Formula Xtreme – and the victories are part of an impressive tally of five wins on the Georgia road course since 2006 that is matched only by Mladin. This year his focus is exclusively on American Superbike and he joins teammate Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) in leading Yamaha’s effort against several potent Suzuki, Honda, Ducati and Buell teams. Jake Holden (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR) replaced injured rider Neil Hodgson at Auto Club and has been asked back by the Corona team this weekend. A former full-time rider for Corona, Holden celebrated his return with a solid fourth-place finish in race one at Auto Club after dueling with Yamaha’s Hayes and Bostrom. Holden’s own No. 59 Holden Racing Honda CBR1000RR was ridden by Aaron Gobert at Auto Club but the Australian is entered at Road Atlanta on his own No. 96 AGR Inc. Honda CBR1000RR. Ducati’s Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R) led three laps in the Daytona opener and finished fourth. Pegram then recovered from a spill in Saturday’s first race at Auto Club to take the third and final podium spot in the Sunday final. Pegram will lead the Ducati camp at Road Atlanta where he will be joined by sixth-place Daytona 200 finisher and Daytona SportBike regular Barrett Long (No. 29 Longevity Racing Ducati 1098R) who will also run in the American Superbike class. A total of 29 entries are set for the AMA Pro American Superbike opener and the weekend’s first round kicks off Saturday’s racing schedule at 1:30 p.m. local time. Race number two goes down at 4 p.m. on Sunday and closes the 2009 Suzuki Superbike Showdown weekend. Both American Superbike races will be 20 laps for 50 miles. Big Daytona SportBike Field As it has been all season long, the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike entry is the biggest of the four classes racing at Road Atlanta this weekend. A total of 53 Daytona SportBikes are heading to Georgia and the size of the field is complemented by a diverse line up of motorcycles and riders from around the world. Bostrom won the season-opening Daytona 200 from the pole in a one-off Daytona SportBike race where young talent Danny Eslick (No. 9 Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R) served notice he and the Buell team would be a force to be reckoned with in 2009. They proved it at Auto Club where Eslick and Buell – like Mladin and Suzuki in American Superbike – swept both races. Eslick teams with veteran race winner Michael Barnes (No. 34 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R). Eslick’s biggest challenge at Auto Club came from Daytona SportBike points leader Jamie Hacking (No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) who has taken the early championship lead on the strength of two second-place finishes at Auto Club and a fourth-place showing at Daytona, where he ran as high as fourth. Hacking has raced and won at Road Atlanta in every top category and could score his sixth career victory on the Georgia track this weekend. He also benefits from the return of teammate Roger Hayden (No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) – Tommy Hayden’s youngest brother – who is making his first start of the 2009 season. Young Argentinean rider Leandro Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) filled in capably in Hayden’s absence and a third Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki has been entered for him at Road Atlanta. Hayes joined Bostrom in Yamaha’s four-rider effort in the Daytona 200, but the team’s full-season Daytona SportBike riders have proven they can carry their weight as well. Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) and 16-year-old teammate Tommy Aquino (No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) have been competitive in both qualifying and races this season. Herrin finished second to Bostrom at Daytona while Aquino qualified a strong fourth at Auto Club in single-bike Superpole qualifying. Another team to emerge as a front-of-the-pack force in the year’s opening races is Team M4 Suzuki and lead riders Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) and the equally quick Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600). Each rider scored a third-place showing at Auto Club and DiSalvo earned his by just edging Cardenas at the line in the Sunday final. DiSalvo also finished third in the season-opening Daytona 200. Jake Zemke (No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) finished 11th in the Daytona 200 but returned to racing with the leaders at Auto Club. He and Canadian teammate Chris Peris (No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) will once again be Honda’s flagship Daytona SportBike team at Road Atlanta. Other notables include double-duty rider Long (No. 29 Paradigm Racing Yamaha YZF-R6), Chaz Davies (No. 57 Factory Aprilia /Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV), Steve Rapp (No. 48 Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha R6), Dane Westby (No. 213 Westby Racing/Kneedraggers.com Yamaha YZF-R6) and dozens more. Race one for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike will be Saturday at 3 p.m. local time with the weekend’s second race for the division getting the green flag at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Like American Superbike, both races are 20 laps for 50 miles. SuperSport East Back To Action The Daytona 200 by Honda weekend marked the debut of the new AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei class, which is AMA Pro’s showcase of America’s future motorcycle racing stars today. SuperSport is divided into East and West Championships but Road Atlanta will be the first time contenders from the East division will run their own race. The Daytona kick-off was a combined race for both championships while the recent Auto Club round was the first stand- alone race for the West series regulars. Dustin Dominguez (No. 44 House of Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) is contesting SuperSport East this year but that didn’t stop him from showing up at Auto Club in California and trouncing the competition. A similar winning performance at Road Atlanta would be even more impactful as he could make up for some lost points that came after an early exit from the Daytona opener. Another rider who left Daytona with minimal points was Josh Day (No. 4 Kerker Racing Yamaha YZF-R6), who was the fastest in practice and qualifying but was taken out in a contact incident early in the race. Like Dominguez, he has what it takes to recover from the early disappointment and score maximum points at Road Atlanta. Other SuperSport East riders to watch include Daytona runner-up Joey Pascarella (Joey Pascarella Yamaha YZF-R6) and third-place finisher Russ Wikle (No. 5 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600). Fourth-place Daytona finisher Chris Clark (No. 48 Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6) is heading to Road Atlanta after also racing at Auto Club while 17-year-old Mercado (No. 92 Leandro Mercado Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) will add to his Daytona SportBike track time with Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki by also running in the SuperSport race. A proving ground series, SuperSport is reserved strictly for up-and-coming riders between the ages of 16 and 21 who compete on 600cc sport bikes that are only minimally modified from what you will find at your local Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda or other motorcycle dealerships. The green flag is scheduled to drop for the only 16-lap (40 miles) SuperSport race of the weekend at 3 p.m. on Sunday. In related class news, AMA Pro Road Racing announced today that post entries will be accepted for the SuperSport class commencing with the upcoming event at Barber Motorsports Park the first weekend in May. Competitors may file last-minute entries for that event as late as Thursday during at-track registration hours. Similar post entry options will be available at other SuperSport races this season. SunTrust Moto-GT Returns Following a one-race absence after a dramatic season-opening event at Daytona, the AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT series returns to action at Road Atlanta with a two-hour race that closes the Saturday schedule at 4 p.m. local time. SunTrust Moto-GT It is the only class in AMA Pro Road Racing that features multi-class racing with teams of riders that share a single motorcycle in a race. As a result, SunTrust Moto-GT is the only series in AMA Pro Road Racing that features rider changes and refueling during planned pit stops. Another distinguishing element is that Moto-GT features two classes of bikes racing at the same time for overall and class honors. The faster GT1 class features a line-up of motorcycles as diverse as Daytona SportBike with top machines from Aprilia, Triumph, Ducati, Kawasaki, Buell and Suzuki all set to do battle. The slightly smaller GT2 class features bikes from Kawasaki, Buell, Suzuki and Ducati. Daytona GT1 winner Calvin Martinez (No. 20 Wisconsin Racing Ducati 848) and a to-be-named teammate will be looking for a repeat victory at Road Atlanta. On the GT2 front, Hall of Famer Jay Springsteen (No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650) leads the Daytona-winning Pair-A-Nines team. 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 Team HurtByAccident.com: CZAIA & GALLAGHER HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR THEIR TEAMHURTBYACCIDENT.COM TO SCORE A TOP FINISH AT ROAD ATLANTA Bradenton, Fl–Filled with confidence and determination, Czaia & Gallagher’s Team HurtByAccident.com has high hopes for a strong run at the upcoming round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Series at Road Atlanta, April 3-5. “Our plan for this event is to run in both GT-1 and GT-2 in the SunTrust Moto-GT Series and to also run in the AMA Pro SuperSport class,” explains team owner C.J. Czaia, recent head of the Manatee County Democratic party and well known Florida Personal Injury attorney. “We got off to a rough start at Daytona when our radiator broke on our GT-1 bike. We had a great lead and it was really a heart breaker. But we’re back and ready to roll. Our lineup for this race will see Venezuela champion Armando Ferrer on our Suzuki GSX-R600 in SuperSport. He will then team with Miami resident Rodolfo Ramirez for an all-out assault in GT-1. In GT-2 our Ducati PS1000LE will be piloted by John Linder of Tampa, Fla., and Robert Fisher of Sarasota. All four riders are extremely skilled and I think this is going to be a good event for us.” Good events are nothing new to the Czaia & Gallagher team. TeamHurtByAccident.com or RightsForBikers.com as they were previously known, have scored a number of Podium finishes over the last two years in the SunTrust MOTO-GT Series. In fact, it was John Linder who earned the class win in the 8-Hours AT Daytona last season. “Everyone on the team is excited about Atlanta,” continues Czaia. This will mark the first time that the SunTrust MOTO-GT has competed at Road Atlanta. Luckily for us all of our riders are very familiar with the track and all have done well in the past.” “I am looking forward to running in SuperSport as well as MOTO-GT,” smiles Ferrer, who brought home the 600 Super Sport title in Venezuela last year. “I have been racing 600cc sport bikes in my country and here for a number of years and have done very well. Road Atlanta is a excellent track and both Rodolfo and I have run there a number of times. He will be my crew chief for the SuperSport event and then we will team up together for the two hour GT-1 race. We are definitely looking for a victory in both classes.” Also, pleased to be running at Road Atlanta is Robert Fisher. Fisher, who owns Roaring Toyz is known for both his racing ability and as a world renown builder of custom specialty sportbikes and custom sportbike components. “This is the first race I have been able to run in quite a few months,” he explains. “And, I can’t wait to get back on the track. I love Road Atlanta. In fact, it is one of my favorite tracks and I have done well there in the past. John and I are definitely a good fit. We work well together and I think we will have an excellent run. “I’ve grabbed both a second and a third in the Suzuki Cup Final at Road Atlanta,” adds Linder. “This time, with Bob’s help, we should be able to take the checkered. We took a fourth at Daytona so we have some making up to do. But this is only the second race and a couple of top finishes will get us where we need to be.” “We are going to win an AMA Pro Racing championship this year,” says Czaia with firm conviction. “I know this is going to be a good year.” Headquartered in Bradenton, Fla., with offices in many Florida cities, Czaia & Gallagher P.A. is one of the larger personal injury and accident law firms in the state of Florida. Extremely involved in community activities, they are dedicated to supporting numerous causes including the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies, Family Health Centers, Herocare, Healthy Start and AFCAAM to name just a few. In addition, they are strong supporters of Biker Nights held around the state. Utilizing both their racing program and appearances at Biker Nights one of Czaia & Gallagher’s goals is to educate Florida motorcycle riders of their rights. Be sure and follow TeamHurtByAccident.com as they go for the championship. More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America: PEGRAM RACING PREPARES FOR PODIUM RETURN AT ROAD ATLANTA Ducati rider Larry Pegram is set to continue Team Foremost Pegram Racing’s podium success from round two. Braselton, GA (2 April 2009) Team Foremost Pegram Racing has arrived and begun preparations for the third round of the AMA Pro Racing American Superbike Championship; to be held this weekend at the Road Atlanta road course in Braselton, Georgia. Team owner and rider Larry Pegram is entering this weekend’s doubleheader confident he can return his Ducati 1098 R to the podium and fight for race wins. Despite a major highside collision at Fontana’s Auto Club Speedway two weeks ago -leaving him severely bruised- Pegram is upbeat about this weekend’s races. “The crash at Fontana hurt pretty bad,” commented Pegram. “I guess you could say I made the podium in race two out of sheer stubbornness; as I was in pain the whole time. I’m pretty bruised up and haven’t trained since, but I should be good to go once I get back on the bike tomorrow. The Ducati will be fast here so I’m planning on scoring as many points as possible to make up a few spots in the championship.” This weekend’s races mark the series return to road courses after two consecutive superspeedway rounds. Qualifying begins tomorrow at noon; and both races can be seen April 11th at 10pm EST on SPEED. For a race report, photos and team information please visit www.pegramracing.com; for more information on Ducati and the revolutionary 1098 R Superbike please visit www.ducatiusa.com More, from a press release issued by Buell: Eslick Looks to Continue Winning Streak at Road Atlanta Knapp Joins Latus Motors Team on Buell 1125R East Troy, Wis. (April 2, 2009) Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO rider Danny Eslick shocked the motorcycle racing community with a double-header sweep of the second and third rounds of the AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike class at California Speedway March 20-21 to claim the first major wins in AMA Pro Racing against its Japanese and European competition. Eslick’s historic wins were the first for an American manufacturer in a premier AMA road racing class since Cal Rayborn won an AMA Grand National race at Laguna Seca aboard a Harley-Davidson XR750 in 1972. Controversy erupted after the race, led by Kawasaki factory rider Jamie Hacking who finished second in both races, but Eslick is not letting critics distract him from his bid to continue the winning streak at Road Atlanta this weekend. “I like Atlanta. My expectation is to keep winning, but the goal is to stay on the podium and be consistent. We definitely want to go for the championship this season,” the 22-year-old Broken Arrow, Okla., rider said. Message boards and enthusiast websites lit up in the weeks following the races. Some critics dismissed the Buell as an overdog with a displacement advantage, but a post-race laptime analysis released by AMA Pro Racing showed that Eslick’s times on his 1125R were only the third fastest posted during the weekend, and his performance significantly outpaced that of other riders on similarly prepared Buells. “The rules allow [the 1125R] in the class, as well as other brands with large displacement, and our bike passed post-race inspection,” Eslick said in an interview following a taped appearance for SPEED’s AMA Pro Prime Time television show that will air Saturday night at 10pm ET. “It’s not like we have any special parts. We’ve got the same stuff as the others guys [on Buells.] I’ve heard a lot of whining, but it just goes in one ear and out the other.” Like his GEICO Powersports/RMR teammate Michael Barnes, the Buell 1125R Eslick raced in the Daytona and Fontana rounds was equipped with a stock crate engine, modified only with an aftermarket muffler and a recalibrated engine computer. “Some people want rules specifically made for motorcycles that are only produced by four import manufacturers. That’s not the American way. In America we embrace diversity. AMA Pro Racing has written rules that allow fair competition among many more brands, and we had six brands in the top eight at Fontana. Some people say we have an unfair displacement advantage, but this class allows bikes like the BMW 1200, the Aprilia 1000, and the KTM 990 to also compete,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company. “The fact is that a privateer racer on a street bike beat the Japanese factories’ barely disguised race bikes, and I’m proud of that,” Buell said. “As an ex-privateer racer, who personally experienced dealing with never having equipment comparable to what the factory guys had, this is a great moment. It also proves that Buell’s American innovations like the ZTL front brake, underslung exhaust, and fuel in the frame work as well on the track as they do on the street.” Road Atlanta also marks the debut of privateer racer Taylor Knapp aboard Latus Motors Racing’s 1125R in the Daytona SportBike class. Knapp, who finished in the top ten in both American Superbike races at Fontana on a Suzuki GSX-R1000, tested last week with the team at Talladega Grand Prix and replaces Alan Schmidt, who has left the team. In the Moto-GT series, Old Glory H-D/Buell joins the action in the Moto-GT2 class with riders Jaycent Gebers and Dennie Huff on a Buell XB12R. Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt, and Lightning. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, or to locate the dealer nearest you, log onto www.buell.com.