Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won his second race of the 2007 season in convincing fashion over his teammate Mat Mladin and Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom Saturday at California Speedway, in Fontana, California. Mladin grabbed the holeshot and jumped out to an early lead, but Spies was glued to Mladin’s tail section. As early as the second lap, Spies started trying to pass Mladin down the front straightaway, but Mladin countered several times, sometimes aggressively, to retake the lead from Spies. On lap 11 Spies passed Mladin again going into the turn one chicane and the pass stuck. Spies promptly stretched his new lead with a 1:24.3 lap time while Mladin could only do a 1:25.4. From there, Spies stretched his advantaged each lap until he won by 6.739 seconds. Through the second half of the race Mladin had to work hard to hold off a strong challenge from Bostrom. Bostrom passed Mladin and held second for several laps, but Mladin was able to retake the position late. Tommy Hayden brought the third Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 home fourth even though he crashed during Supersport qualifying just moments before the race. American Honda’s Miguel Duhamel raced with Tommy Hayden for much of the event but had to settle for fourth place. AMA Superbike Championship Presented by Parts Unlimited California Speedway Fontana, California April 28, 2007 Provisional Race Results: 1. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 28 laps 2. Mat Mladin (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -6.739 seconds 3. Eric Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -9.024 seconds 4. Tommy Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -13.625 seconds 5. Miguel Duhamel (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -14.871 seconds 6. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -20.793 seconds 7. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -21.214 seconds 8. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -37.967 seconds 9. Jason DiSalvo (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -51.521 seconds 10. Matt Lynn (MV Agusta F4-1000R 312), Dunlop, -59.910 seconds 11. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-10R), Dunlop, -68.025 seconds 12. Martin Cardenas (Kaw ZX-10R), Pirelli, -1 lap 13. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -1 lap 14. David Weber (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -1 lap 15. Dominic Jones (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps 16. Jake Holden (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -2 laps, pitted, ride-through penalty 17. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -2 laps 18. Dean Mizdal (Suz GSX-R1000), -7 laps, DNF 19. Luca Scassa (MV Agusta F4-1000R), -9 laps, Dunlop, DNF 20. Doug Chandler (Hon CBR1000RR), -17 laps, Dunlop, DNF 21. James Ellison (Hon CBR1000RR), -19 laps, Dunlop, DNF 22. Kurtis Roberts (Hon CBR1000RR), -23 laps, Dunlop, DNF 23. Ben Bostrom (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, DNS 24. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, DNS 25. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, DNS 26. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, DNS 27. Jason Curtis (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS Point Standings (After 4 of 19 races): 1. Spies, 141 points 2. Mladin, 127 points 3. Duhamel, 116 points 4. Tommy Hayden, 103 points 5. Zemke, 100 points 6. Yates, 97 points 7. DiSalvo, 93 points 8. Eric Bostrom, 87 points 9. Hacking, 67 points 10. Roger Hayden, 65 points More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Spies & Mladin Bring Home First & Second in CA Speedway Superbike Race I -Yoshimura Suzuki’s Hayden follows his teammates home in fourth position- Round 3 AMA Superbike Series Fontana, CA California Speedway April 27 – 29, 2007 Southern California fans cheered on Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies as he took his second AMA Superbike victory of the season at Fontana’s California Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Teammate Mat Mladin followed Spies home in second place while Yoshimura Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden finished an impressive fourth. Spies’ fourth win at the venue came in the first of two AMA Superbike races this weekend and also marks Suzuki’s ninth straight win at California Speedway. “It was a good race,” said Spies of his 13th AMA Superbike career win. “I got my butt kicked last weekend and we had to go back and regroup for this race. At the start, Mat and I were going back and forth, ruffling each others feathers. But I’ve got to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and thank Suzuki because the GSX-R1000 is working good and it was great to go one-two with Suzuki today.” Earlier on Saturday morning, Spies picked up his second pole position of the season with a qualifying lap of 1:23.117. Mladin was hot on his heels, posting a best time of 1:23.711. Rounding out the front row of the grid, Hayden qualified with a 1:24.475 lap time. “It felt good,” Spies said of nabbing the pole position and the extra point that accompanies it. “We went out on our race setup again and found some stuff overnight that definitely helped. We’ve got the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 working good on the hard Dunlop tires and going at a decent pace. It’s going to be a hard race it’s going to be hot and long. I don’t think anybody is running away with it so I think it’s what’s going to be happening all year a real good race and hopefully we can come out on top.” Spies and his crew did indeed come out on top but it was a hard-fought battle. At the start of the 28-lap race, Mladin got a great start and was in the lead immediately. By lap two, Spies was in second place behind him. The two diced early on before Spies took over the lead midway through the race. He held on until the checkered flag. “I was doing the best I could and riding as hard as I could,” said defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies. “I got a decent start on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and we were mixing it up for the first few laps. But I got around Mat and got a decent gap and brought it on home. We ended up with the win today, but I know it won’t be as easy tomorrow.” Meanwhile, Mladin was riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 for all he was worth. The Australian had made a few last-minute changes to his bike, however, and he wasn’t pleased with the result. “I knew about a half a lap into the race that I was in trouble,” said six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin. “Things just weren’t clicking for me today. I really had to work hard for second place and now I’ll try to get it together for tomorrow. Congratulations to Ben and his crew and thanks to my crew for doing such a great job.” Hayden, meanwhile, put in a particularly impressive ride, especially considering that less than an hour earlier he’d crashed during AMA Supersport qualifying. Even so, the Kentucky native brought home a strong fourth-place finish. “I’ll take fourth place, all things considered,” said Hayden. “The crash I took before didn’t help. I wasn’t 100 percent and that held me back a little. Hopefully, tonight I can recover a little bit and do better tomorrow.” Yoshimura Suzuki will return for the second AMA Superbike race of the double-header weekend at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Sunday, April 29. AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 4. Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki 5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 6. Jake Zemke, Honda 7. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki 8. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki 9. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 10. Matt Lynn, MV Agusta AMA Superbike Points Standings: 1. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 4. Tommy Hayden, Yoshimura Suzuki 5. Jake Zemke, Honda 6. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki 7. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 8. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 9. Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki 10. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office: Reigning AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies headed a Yoshimura Suzuki one-two at the opening leg of the California Speedway double-header in Fontana, California today. Spies took the lead and held it to the end of the 28-lapper to finish 6.7 seconds ahead of team-mate and six-time champion Mat Mladin. New Yoshimura Suzuki team rider Tommy Hayden raced to fourth place, four seconds behind Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom. “It was a good race,” said Spies of his 13th AMA Superbike career win. “I got my butt kicked last weekend and we had to go back and regroup for this race. At the start, Mat and I were going back and forth, ruffling each others feathers, but I’ve got to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and thank Suzuki because the GSX-R1000 is working good and it was great to go one-two with Suzuki today.” Earlier on Saturday morning, Spies picked up his second pole position of the season with a qualifying lap of 1:23.117. Mladin was hot on his heels, posting a best time of 1:23.711. Rounding out the front row of the grid, Hayden qualified with a 1:24.475 lap time. “It felt good,” Spies said of nabbing the pole position and the extra point that accompanies it. “We went out on our race setup again and found some stuff overnight that definitely helped. We’ve got the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 working good on the hard Dunlop tyres and going at a decent pace. It’s going to be a hard race – it’s going to be hot and long. I don’t think anybody is running away with it so I think it’s what’s going to be happening all year – a real good race and hopefully we can come out on top.” Spies and his crew did indeed come out on top but it was a hard-fought battle: At the start of the 28-lap race, Mladin got a great start and was in the lead immediately. By lap two, Spies was in second place behind him. The two diced early on before Spies took over the lead midway through the race. “I was doing the best I could and riding as hard as I could,” said defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies. “I got a decent start and we were mixing it up for the first few laps, but I got around Mat and got a decent gap and brought it on home. We ended up with the win today, but I know it won’t be as easy tomorrow.” Meanwhile, Mladin was riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 for all he was worth. The Australian had made a few last-minute changes to his bike, however, and he wasn’t pleased with the result. “I knew about a half a lap into the race that I was in trouble,” said Mladin. “Things just weren’t clicking for me today. I really had to work hard for second place and now I’ll try to get it together for tomorrow. Congratulations to Ben and his crew and thanks to my crew for doing such a great job.” Hayden, meanwhile, put in a particularly impressive ride, especially considering that less than an hour earlier he’d crashed during AMA Supersport qualifying. Even so, the Kentucky native brought home a strong fourth-place finish. “I’ll take fourth place, all things considered,” said Hayden. “The crash I took before didn’t help. I wasn’t 100% and that held me back a little. Hopefully, tonight I can recover a little bit and do better tomorrow.”