Provisional AMA Superbike Results: 1. Eric Bostrom, Ducati, 28 laps 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki, -5.910 seconds 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki, -7.728 seconds 4. Ben Spies, Suzuki, -9.322 seconds 5. Jake Zemke, Honda, -14.570 seconds 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda, -18.417 seconds 7. Kurtis Roberts, Honda, -77.144 seconds 8. Steve Rapp, Suzuki, -77.673 seconds 9. Jake Holden, Suzuki, -82.079 seconds 10. Jason Pridmore, Suzuki, -83.958 seconds 11. Marty Craggill, Suzuki, -85.308 seconds 12. Larry Pegram, Honda, -86.537 seconds 13. John Haner, Suzuki, -1 lap 14. Jeremy Toye, Honda, -1 lap, 1.845 seconds 15. Tony Meiring, Suzuki, -1 lap, 2.177 seconds 16. Jimmy Moore, Suzuki, -1 lap, 9.012 seconds 17. Lee Acree, Suzuki, -1 lap, 16.996 seconds 18. Cory West, Suzuki, -1 lap, 17.313 seconds 19. Clint McBain, Suzuki, -1 lap, 17.601 seconds 20. Scott Jensen, Suzuki, -1 lap, 19.060 seconds 21. Brent George, Suzuki, -1 lap, 30.544 seconds 22. Levin Lacombe, Suzuki, -1 lap, 30.894 seconds 23. Eric Wood, Suzuki, -1 lap, 33.535 seconds 24. Akira Tamitsuji, Suzuki, -1 lap, 38.621 seconds 25. J.J. Roetlin, Suzuki, -1 lap, 60.779 seconds 26. Cory Call, Kawasaki, -1 lap, 61.849 seconds 27. Shane Turpin, Suzuki, -2 laps 28. James Kerker, Honda, -2 laps, 1.944 seconds 29. David Bell, Suzuki, -2 laps, 2.791 seconds 30. Nicky Moore, Yamaha, -2 laps, 3.227 seconds 31. Mike Sullivan, Yamaha, -2 laps, 13.264 seconds 32. Brian Boyd, Suzuki, -2 laps, 19.135 seconds 33. Matt Lynn, Suzuki, -2 laps, 19.349 seconds 34. Jeff Tigert, Honda, -2 laps, 24.190 seconds 35. Mark Ledesma, Honda, -3 laps 36. Dean Mizdal, Suzuki, -6 laps 37. Geoff May, Suzuki, -15 laps, DNF, retired 38. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, -28 laps, DNF, crash 39. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki, -28 laps, DNF, crash 40. Michael Barnes, Suzuki, -28 laps, DNS Provisional AMA Superbike Championship Point Standings (After 11 of 17 races): 1. Mladin, 358 points 2. Spies, 327 points 3. Yates, 294 points 4. Eric Bostrom, 268 points 5. Hodgson, 249 points 6. Duhamel, 229 points 7. Zemke, 212 points 8. Craggill, 206 points 9. Acree, 192 points 10. Rapp, 188 points 11. TIE, Pegram/Hayes, 178 points 13. Wood, 156 points 14. Jimmy Moore, 150 points 15. Scott Jensen, 141 points 16. West, 131 points 17. McBain, 127 points 18. TIE, Holden/Roberts, 123 points 20. Haner, 113 points More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin increased his lead in the AMA Superbike series after finishing second in the 11th round at Laguna Seca. The five-time champion raced his GSX-R1000 to a 31-point advantage over team mates Ben Spies – who finished third in today’s 28-lapper – and also Aaron Yates who lies third in the series. “I’m glad to see everyone out for the AMA Superbike race,” said Mladin from the podium. “It’s good to have the MotoGP here in the U.S. It’s a shame it’s been 11 years since they’ve been her because America is a great racing community and it’s good to have them back.” In the weekend’s only qualifying session on Saturday, Mladin captured his 44th career pole position as well as his seventh pole position of the year. His blistering 1:24.886 lap time was an AMA Superbike track record at Laguna Seca. “This is the first time that we’ve had the new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at Laguna Seca,” said Mladin after qualifying. “And an hour and 20 minutes just isn’t enough time to get the most out of the motorcycle. But that also says a lot about the new Suzuki.” Team mate Yates was also on the front row in third position, after posting a best time of 1:25.491. Spies, meanwhile, qualified in fifth position with a 1:25.879 lap time. At the start of the 28-lap Superbike race, Mladin was out front and pushing for the lead. Even so, the leader got a slight gap and the confident Australian stayed put in second position. “It was a good race and congratulations to race winner Eric Bostrom,” he said. “I wanted to get to the front and control it from the front. But my one attempt at that sucked pretty badly. Then I started thinking about the championship and backed off a little and Eric was able to pull away.” Meanwhile, Spies and Yates were battling for third position. At the start, Spies had it, but then swapped out with Yates a few laps in. The two rode their Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000s hard and traded positions several more times before Yates settled into third and Spies into fourth. “I was out there racing with my team mate and I really wanted to come out on top so I was pushing pretty hard,” said Yates from the box. “It was probably an exciting race for the fans and I hope they enjoyed it. I know I did. It kept me going. But at the end of the day, we got two Suzuki’s on the podium and that’s a good day.” Added Spies: “It was an ok race, but I haven’t been comfortable with the front end all season. Overall, the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is awesome but we just haven’t found the right set-up for me. Hopefully, we can figure something out and pick up the pace.” Five Suzuki GSX-R 1000s finished in the top 10: Behind Spies in fourth was Steve Rapp in eighth and Jason Pridmore in 10th. Results: 1. Eric Bostrom (Ducati). 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki). 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki). 4. Ben Spies (Suzuki). 5. Jake Zemke (Honda). 6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda). 7. Kurtis Roberts (Honda). 8. Steve Rapp (Suzuki). 9. Jacob Holden (Suzuki). 10. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki). Championship Points: 1 Mladin 358, 2 Spies 327, 3 Yates 294, 4Bostrom 268, 5 Hodgson 249, 6 Duhamel 229, 7 Zemke 212, 8 Craggill 206, 9 Acree 192, 10 Rapp 188. More, from a press release issued by Parts Unlimited Ducati Corse: ERIC BOSTROM BLASTS TO LAGUNA SECA VICTORY Monterey, CA (July 9) – Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin’s Eric Bostrom was victorious at Laguna Seca on Saturday, winning the AMA Superbike race held in front of a record crowd at the 2.2-mile circuit. Bostrom took the lead at the start and officially led all 28 laps of the race to take his 14th career AMA Superbike victory and his second of 2005. Bostrom won over the highly competitive field by a margin of 5.91 seconds for the Ducati 999’s third triumph in the last four AMA Superbike contests. “It was a fun race,” said a jubilant Bostrom, also a winner at Pikes Peak this year. “Everyone was unsure with what the tires would end up doing because no one was able to do race distances (in practice). The whole race strategy was a question mark. Usually, around halfway, you can guess where the set-up is going to go for the rest of the race, but I didn’t know if I was going to finish the race in the 1:29s or the 1:25s. Everything stayed consistent with the Ducati 999 and it worked out really well.” Bostrom’s only challenge of the race was when series champion Mat Mladin tried to pass Eric in the slow turn 11 early in the race. Mladin was not able to keep Eric behind him on the exit. “He wasn’t able to quite stick to the inside so I was able to square him up and get him right back,” said Eric after the race. From that point, Bostrom expertly controlled his Ducati 999 through the corners to pull out his winning margin over the next 25 laps. “We couldn’t be happier! It feels fantastic for the entire team when we are winning races,” said Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin team owner Terry Gregoricka. “With the time issues this weekend because of the limited practice, there was a lot of pressure on every member of the team to get things done quickly. It was great for Eric to win in front of all the Ducati fans at the track today. It’s a shame Neil’s day ended early because he might have been right up there with Eric.” Neil Hodgson saw his race last only half a lap when another rider knocked him out of the event at the Corkscrew. “I’d cycled thousands of miles between the races getting ready for today … it’s so frustrating. The team had put in so much effort to get ready for the race. We’d been having a few problems this weekend and we’d just gotten through them and we were looking forward to having a good race, like Eric’s. We felt confident. I tipped it into the Corkscrew on the first lap and then it was out of my hands.” Hodgson said he felt no ill effects from the crash apart from a sore ankle. Bostrom, Hodgson, and Parts Unlimited Ducati Austin will race next at Mid-Ohio on July 22-24. Race Results (28 laps) – 1. ERIC BOSTROM, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999, 2. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 4. Ben Spies, Suzuki 5. Jake Zemke, Honda 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda DNF NEIL HODGSON, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 AMA Superbike Points Standings (After 11 of 17 races) – 1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki 358 2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 327 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 294 4.ERIC BOSTROM, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 268 5. NEIL HODGSON, PARTS UNLIMITED DUCATI AUSTIN 999 249 6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 229 More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: Climate: Sunny Temperature: 18 degrees Crowd: 59,000 Hondas Battle at Laguna Seca On the same track where former American Honda rider Nicky Hayden earned the first pole position of his young MotoGP career only hours earlier, American Honda teammates Jake Zemke and Miguel Duhamel battled almost to the finish. The pair fought for nearly entire duration of the AMA Superbike race, round 11 of the championship, held in support of the Red Bull U.S. GP at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Zemke was balked on the first lap by an incident in the Corkscrew, the track’s signature corner, which caused him to lose touch with the leaders and caused him to play catch up to his teammate. The delay motivated the Californian to fight back and he stalked Duhamel for much of the race before making the decisive pass on the 24th of 28 laps. Duhamel wanted to retaliate, but his aggression caused him to run off the track, allowing Zemke to pull away to a secure fifth place. Duhamel came sixth. The race was won by Eric Bostrom (Ducati) from Mat Mladin (Suzuki). Aaron Yates came third on the second Yoshimura Suzuki. Jake Zemke, 5th Basically when the crash in the Corkscrew happened, I had to almost stop up there. And Miguel (Duhamel) went by. Shoot, the whole rest of the front pack was gone. And times being fairly close, with all the short practice and everything, everyone seemed to be about the same time on a race tire or generally close. We didn’t have anything to catch them. I was just kind of riding around there and hanging out and waiting to the end. But we had a little bit of a problem with our bike and then with grip. We did the best we could with what we had. Miguel Duhamel, 6th Everybody rode a really solid pace. Nobody made any mistakes. My only problem was after Jake (Zemke) passed me, going into turn ten, the rear end just came around on me. I had to get out of it to save it. I was able to save it, but I wasn’t able to stay on the track. I went off in the dirt and came back onto the race track. With two laps to go and I tried to get back into the 27’s, but there was nothing I could do. Jake was riding good. I think if that wouldn’t have happened it would have been a hell of a battle for me and Jake for fifth place. It would have been hard fought. AMA Superbike: 1. Eric Bostrom (Ducati) 2. Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 3. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) 4. Ben Spies (Suzuki) 5. Jake Zemke (Honda) 6. Miguel Duhamel (Honda) 7. Kurtis Roberts (Honda) 8. Steve Rapp (Suzuki) 9. Jacob Holden (Suzuki) 10. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki) . Championship Point Standings: 1. Mat Mladin (358) 2. Ben Spies (327) 3. Aaron Yates (294) 4. Eric Bostrom (268) 5. Neil Hodgson (249) 6. Miguel Duhamel (229) 7. Jake Zemke (212) 8. Marty Craggill (206) 9. Lee Acree (192) 10. Steve Rapp (188) More, from a press release issued by Mat Mladin Motorsports: Mat Mladin on Laguna Seca Podium, Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki Puts in Strong Performance MONTEREY, Calif. (July 9, 2005) – Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin extended his AMA Superbike Championship lead to 31 points by carding an impressive second-place finish in the AMA Superbike race at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif., on Saturday afternoon. Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Marty Craggill, meanwhile, returned to the track after a month off and qualified strongly and finished in a notable 11th place. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mladin continued to rack up the pole positions at Laguna Seca. Carding the 44th of his career and the seventh out of a potential seven for this season, Mladin also broke the Laguna Seca lap record for AMA Superbikes with an ultra-fast lap time of 1:24.886. This feat is more impressive, considering this race weekend is the first time Mladin has ridden the new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at this very technical track. “We decided to test another day in Fontana instead of coming to Laguna because of the weather,” said Mladin. “You elect to do what you need to do to win the most races.” In the race itself, Mladin was out front but did not capture the lead. With a care in mind about winning the AMA Superbike Championship at the end of the season, Mladin remained in the second spot until the finish. “This is the hardest track on the circuit for me,” admitted Mladin after the race. “I can go fast here, but it’s not easy. I’ve struggled here for 10 years. But it was a good race today and congratulations to Eric (Bostrom) for the win. We just couldn’t get it done today.” Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, #1 2nd Place – AMA Superbike 1st Place – Overall Marty Craggill, Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000 Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki rider Craggill started out the weekend strong and by the end of Saturday morning’s qualifying, Craggill was slated in the 11th spot on the third row of the grid. After posting a 1:27.406 lap time, Craggill was pleased. “It was good,” said Craggill, who’s only ridden at Laguna Seca three times. “We made some improvements to the bike, and the Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000 is getting better. I rode a lot better today than yesterday in practice, and I haven’t actually ridden in a month so I’m happy about that.” In the 28-lap Superbike race, Craggill was out in 11th place and had begun to work his way forward. He’d gotten up to ninth place when a run-in with a lapped rider caused him to run off the track and lose a few positions. With only a few laps left, Craggill couldn’t catch up and he finished in 11th. “I had a good race,” said Craggill. “I was struggling over the start/finish hill and so I tried to be aggressive and I hit a lapper with about five laps to go and I ran off the track.” Added Team Owner Mladin,” I was really happy with his qualifying this weekend and I think that they’re doing a great job. I think they’re gong in the right direction.” Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki will next campaign the AMA Superbike race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, the weekend of July 22-24. Marty Craggill, Mat Mladin Motorsports Suzuki, #16 11th Place – AMA Superbike 8th Place – Overall