Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates came from behind on his Dunlop-shod GSX-R1000 to win the AMA Superstock race Thursday at Daytona International Speedway. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young took the lead from Yates immediately after the start and set the pace for most of the first half of the race. Yates, meanwhile, slipped back to third behind Young and new Jordan Suzuki rider Geoff May. May and Yates started challenging Young’s lead near the halfway point with each man taking a turn at the front. On lap nine, Yates led into the infield and tried to make a breakaway. Young was able to stay with Yates, but May was not. Yates led the final four laps of the 13-lap event, and won the 14th AMA Superstock race of his career. Young closed on Yates each time they flew through the tri-oval, but the 20-year-old Wisconsin rider could not get past the veteran and had to settle for a close 0.111 second margin of victory runner-up finish and the first AMA podium finish of his career. May dropped off the pace of Yates and May but held on to finish third in his debut race for his new team. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich was ninth on the first lap, but he worked his way up to fourth by the end of the race. Ulrich took the position by inches, or 0.039-second, over Evan Steel Performance’s Chris Peris at the line with Celtic Racing’s Michael Barnes on an ex-Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 inches behind Peris. AMA Superstock Championship Presented by Dynojet Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 6, 2008 Provisional Race Results: 1. Aaron Yates (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, 13 laps 2. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -0.111 second 3. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -4.538 seconds 4. Chris Ulrich (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -10.639 seconds 5. Chris Peris (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -10.679 seconds 6. Michael Barnes (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -10.687 seconds 7. Hawk Mazzotta (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -12.542 seconds 8. Robertino Pietri (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -12.724 seconds 9. Jeff Wood (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -24.380 seconds 10. Scott Jensen (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -24.554 seconds 11. Ben Thompson (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -24.873 seconds 12. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -26.942 seconds 13. Jake Holden (Hon CBR1000RR), Dunlop, -31.616 seconds 14. Seth Starnes (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -44.002 seconds 15. Horst Saiger (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -45.762 seconds 16. David Loikits (Suz GSX-R1000), -47.702 seconds 17. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -50.115 seconds 18. James McBride (Suz GSX-R1000), -62.899 seconds 19. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R1), Dunlop, -68.593 seconds 20. Shane Narbonne (Suz GSX-R1000), Dunlop, -70.004 seconds 21. Lloyd Bayley (Suz GSX-R1000), -71.369 seconds 22. Scott Young (Suz GSX-R1000), -80.485 seconds 23. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R1000), Pirelli, -96.140 seconds 24. Scotty Van Hawk (Suz GSX-R1000), -101.322 seconds 25. Brian Boyd (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap 26. Scott Russell (Yam YZF-R1), -5 laps, DNF, retired 27. Brian McCormack (Suz GSX-R1000), -8 laps, DNF 28. Reno Karimian (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS 29. Eric Haugo (Suz GSX-R1000), DNS AMA Superstock Championship Point Standings (After 1 of 12 races): 1. Yates, 37 points 2. Young, 33 3. May, 29 4. Ulrich, 27 5. Peris, 26 6. Barnes, 26 7. Mazzotta, 25 8. Pietri, 23 9. Wood, 22 10. Jensen, 21 More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway: Yates Nets Basketball Legend Michael Jordan First Daytona Win DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates gave the NBA legend Michael Jordan his first victory at historic Daytona International Speedway in Thursday’s 13-lap AMA Superstock Series event. Yates held off his Jordan Suzuki teammate Geoff May, who finished third, and M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young, who came home second. “That was a nail biter for me,” Yates said in Gatorade Victory Lane. “I knew going in it was going to be tough. “I got a good draft off of Geoff. I got by him and tucked my head down. I know it was a little bit after half way and I just rode as hard as I could, put in some good laps. With about a lap to go, I heard a bike right behind me in turn one, so I just dug deep and decided to keep the thing in line and just go as hard as I could and I pulled it off for the Jordan’s crew.” Suzuki’s Blake Young led for six of the 13 laps and finished in second place, .112 seconds behind Yates. “It was great,” Young said. “We started off really good, got on the front row. Our plan coming in here was to try get into a decent qualifying, which we did. “It played out to where we ended up second. I can’t say enough about my bike, my new team, M4 Suzuki, thanks to all the guys. This is a great bike, but first things first. This is the first podium for me and I want to dedicate this to my dad, who passed away. This is for him.” Rounding out the top five in the Superstock was Chris Ulrich and Chris Peris. Yamaha’s Scott Russell, in his return at DIS, completed eight laps and finished 26th aboard Jamie James’ Yamaha. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Rome, Georgia: M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young blasted home to a tight second place finish in the Superstock race at Daytona International Speedway, aboard his Pirelli Superbike Slick shod GSX-R1000. Young crossed the line in a near photo-finish merely 0.111 seconds behind race-winner Aaron Yates. This was Young’s first podium ever in the AMA Superbike series and his first race in this series for M4 EMGO Suzuki and Pirelli tires. Young said, “At the start Aaron came up inside me but I really wanted to lead it so I held him off. Aaron ran a good race and after he eventually got by I tried to find the place to be to get by him at the end. If I was going to do anything I needed a good drive out of the kink. I just wasn’t close enough. I’m looking forward to a whole lot more this season.” In all, Pirelli riders took six of the top-ten Superstock finishing places with Chris Ulrich ripping through the pack to move up to fourth on his Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, after a race-long battle with four other riders. Ulrich was quoted after Pirelli’s December Daytona tire testing saying this would be his best season ever, and it appears he might have prescience about his performance. In sixth was Michael Barnes riding a Suzuki for Celtic Racing, followed by Hawk Mazzotta on a HALOF Racing/Bravo Condom Suzuki in seventh, Ulrich’s teammate Robertino Pietri in eighth, and Scott Jensen in tenth. In Formula Xtreme, Defending Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp’s new teammate Chaz Davies topped the times in morning practice, bettering the competition by nearly half a second on a set of Pirelli Superbike slicks. Rapp joined Davies with the third quickest time of the session as their Attack Kawasaki team prepared for afternoon qualifying. Qualifying for the 67th Daytona 200 ended with Davies winning the second spot on the grid, at only .089 of a second adrift of pole. Rapp will be next to Davies on the front row of Saturday’s race in the third spot. Davies said, “It’s only my second time doing the race here so I’m still practicing finding the draft of other riders and all the things needed for a fast lap. On my best lap I had no traffic and everything went smoothly. We have a great package so I’m looking forward to the race.” Rapp said, “Much of a great lap here has to do with chance, where other riders are, catching a draft, so I feel good about how we did. I’m happy with the bike and think our race set up is good, so we’re ready to race. Also qualifying well was last year’s third place finisher in the Daytona 200, Michael Barnes, on an M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 taking a position on row two with the seventh fastest time. Barnes teammate Martin Cardenas qualified ninth, Larry Pegram qualified tenth on his Ducati 848, and Joshua Day will be next to these two on row three with the 11th quickest time. In Friday’s Supersport race, Pirelli Diablo Supercorsa riders finished 4-7th led by Attack Kawasaki’s Chaz Davies. M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young was fifth with his teammate Martin Cardenas sixth, and Davies’ teammate Steve Rapp seventh. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Jordan Suzuki’s Yates Wins Season-Opening Superstock Race at Daytona M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Young, Jordan Suzuki’s May round out podium Round 1 AMA Superstock Series Daytona Beach, FL Daytona International Speedway March 6 – 8, 2008 Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates secured a sound victory in the season-opening round of AMA Superstock at Daytona International Raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Thursday afternoon. M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young picked up his first-ever AMA podium by following Yates home in second place, while Yates’ Jordan Suzuki teammate Geoff May completed the podium with a third-place finish. With Yates starting the race from pole position, all three riders got off the line together with Young in the lead. The trio of Suzuki GSX-R1000 riders battled for the lead amongst themselves for all 13 laps of the race. At one point, each rider took a turn leading the event, though it was Yates who brought home the win in the end. Aaron Yates: “It was really good to get the first race of the season over with. I knew it would be a big challenge because the M4 EMGO bikes are always strong at Daytona. From the beginning, I knew it was going to be tough and Blake was really strong at the start of the race. Going into the race, I was really thinking about it, and trying to come up with some sort of strategy. But I can’t really do that, I just have to see how the start of the race is and go from there. So that’s what we did and that worked for us. I’d like to say thanks to Suzuki for giving us the GSX-R1000 and thanks to Dunlop for the awesome tires that helped keep us out front.” Blake Young: “It feels great to get my first AMA podium. I’m glad to get it out of the way and I’m looking forward to getting a whole lot more of them through the season. I can’t thank the M4 EMGO Suzuki guys enough because my team built me an awesome motorcycle to race in the Suzuki GSX-R1000. It works great in the double-draft here at Daytona. This weekend, we’ve gone back and forth with a lot of tires and suspension, but those guys have been working hard and gave me a bike that I felt comfortable pushing hard.” Geoff May: “Aaron was definitely keeping me honest in the race, and I knew he would be tough to beat here at Daytona. I have to admit that we’ve had a rough two days. Right from the get-go, we were struggling but my guys worked really hard so I’ve got to give them credit for this because they gave me a bike that I could put on the box. I’m just happy to get the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 up on the podium, it’s great to be up there.” More, from a press release issued by Jordan Suzuki: MICHAEL JORDAN MOTOR SPORTS WINS AT DAYTONA Aaron Yates Takes First with Teammate Geoff May Third Daytona, FL (March 6, 2008) Michael Jordan Motor Sports Suzuki riders Aaron Yates and Geoff May finished first and third, respectively, in Thursday’s season opener of the AMA Superstock championship at the famed Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, FL. Yates, who earned pole position during Wednesday’s qualifying session with a time of 1:38.231, continued the momentum, riding his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the checkered flag first. “I did the best I could in the infield and tried to get a pretty good gap,” said Yates. “That’s what I did.” This is Yates’ first podium in the 1000cc Superstock class at Daytona. Previously, he earned the top podium spot in both the 600 and 750cc Supersport events. His new teammate, Geoff May, earned the third slot on the podium and his first podium finish as a Jordan Suzuki rider. During qualifying, May rode his Suzuki to a fast lap of 1:38.287, giving the rider a second spot start in the 13 lap (60K) event. “My guys worked real hard, and they put me on a bike that I could go out there and put on the box,” said May. “For Aaron and I to come here and put it on the box after a couple of sessions, there’s something to be said for that.” At Daytona in 2007, May earned third place in Superstock and fifth place in Superbike races. In 2006, he led the most laps (seven) in the Superstock event. May achieved his career fastest speed of 198 mph on a Superstock Suzuki GSX-R1000 at Daytona. The former AMA Superbike Rookie of the Year finished fourth in overall points in the 2007 AMA Superstock series and earned six top-five finishes, including four podium finishes, in nine race starts. Both Yates and May will also compete in the 15 lap (70k) AMA Superbike race on Saturday at Daytona. Yates will start from the second row in seventh place, with his teammate May starting 12th from the third row. AMA Superstock action continues April 18-20, 2008 at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, AL. For more information on the Jordan Suzuki team, visit the race team website at www.23race.com. Fans can watch the AMA Superbike Championship series on SpeedTV. Legendary NBA star Michael Jordan formed Michael Jordan Motor Sports 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. More, from a press release issued by M4 EMGO Suzuki: YOUNG EARNS DAYTONA SUPERSTOCK PODIUM Blake Young’s debut AMA race as a member of Team M4 EMGO Suzuki was a magnificent performance as the 20-year-old earned his first career AMA podium result in Thursday’s Superstock final at Daytona International Speedway. Young didn’t wait long to prove to the field that he was a serious contender, grabbing the holeshot aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 from the outside of the front row and leading the race’s opening six laps. The Wisconsin native later showed his resiliency by tracking Aaron Yates down after the former class champion made a breakaway attempt. Young narrowly missed scoring his first win, pulling into Yates’ draft and posting the fastest lap of the race on the final circulation, falling a scant 0.112 seconds short of the victory at the flag. After claiming the runner-up result and earning the bonus point paid for leading the most laps, Young said, “I knew if I was going to do anything to get close I needed to get into the kink and get a good drive off onto the banking and make sure I didn’t spin the rear tire too much. As soon as I came out of the kink I looked up and saw that he had a lapper there to get a draft. Maybe if he wasn’t there we would have had a chance.” He continued, “Our Pirelli tires were great and I can’t say enough about my bike and my new crew. All the guys at M4 EMGO Suzuki worked really hard for me this weekend. It feels great. I’m glad to get my first podium out of the way and I look forward to doing it a whole lot more this season.” Young, along with Team M4 EMGO Suzuki teammate Martin Cardenas, also featured heavily in the afternoon’s Supersport contest aboard their GSX-R600s. Young again challenged for the lead early while Colombian Cardenas held down the eighth and final spot in the leading eight-bike train. The two came together as the race settled in, making up half of a four-rider struggle for fourth position. Young earned his second top-five of the day with his fifth-place result, taking the checkered flag just 0.053 seconds behind fourth and a similarly slim 0.055 seconds ahead of sixth-placed Cardenas. The team’s third Supersport contender, Cory West, bounced back from an early crash suffered while running in the top ten to charge all the way up from 40th position on the fourth lap to 19th by the conclusion on the 22-lap affair. Final qualifying for the prestigious Daytona 200 also took place at the track on Thursday. Michael Barnes, who finished third in last year’s 200, qualified on the second row aboard his Team M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600, posting the day’s seventh fastest lap at 1:40.431. Cardenas qualified on the inside of the third row, clocking the ninth best time at 1:40.661. The team will have Friday off as the Daytona Supercross takes center stage before returning to the track on Saturday for the Daytona 200. More, from a press release issued by Pilot USA: Santa Clarita, CA – March 7, 2008 – Pilot USA was proud to have former AMA Superbike and FIM World Superbike Champion Scott Russell wear Pilot leathers when he came out of retirement for the 2008 AMA Daytona Superstock race on Thursday. Pilot is the official clothing sponsor for Jamie James Yamaha Champions Riding School (supported by Yamaha Motor Corp, USA). When 5 time Daytona 200 winner Scott Russell decided he was also going to wear Pilot leathers, the apparel manufacturer was up to the task. Many of the world’s champions have raced in Pilot gear including Ben Spies, John Hopkins, Josh Hayes, Jamie James, Tom Kipp, Mike Smith, Jay Springsteen, Gary Nixon as well as Russell. Pilot is also the official clothing supplier to the MOTO-ST race series. “We were all rooting for Scott on Thursday,” Josh Bennett, president of Pilot USA said. “We are excited about being part of the Jamie James Productions racing efforts as well as the school and are proud to be a part of Scott’s return to racing. This was a last minute decision of Scott’s to enter the Superstock race but we were up to the challenge to get him geared up in a very short period of time. To have a World Champion like Scott wearing Pilot really shows the quality and fit of our products. Welcome back Scott, you looked great!” Although Russell withdrew from the race early, he is expected to participate in other AMA Superstock races this season wearing Pilot products. More, from a press release issued by HALOF Racing: HALOF Racing starts season off with a great 7th place finish at Daytona After spending the week before with CCS at Daytona the HALOF Racing, Bravo Condoms crew were excited to get the AMA season underway. After completing all the practice sessions well in the top 10 rider Hawk Mazzotta was gaining more confidence and becoming more comfortable with his Suzuki GSX-R 1000. Qualifying 11th may have seemed a little lack luster but Hawk wasn’t phased a bit. “I just couldn’t get it done like I wanted to,” said Mazzotta. “The Bravo Condoms Suzuki GSX-R1000 is super fast but I just couldn’t find drafting help to get me that little quicker time I was looking for. Ill just try for a great start and see what happens from there.” A great start is exactly what the Carmel Valley CA rider got and he set off for the front. Running 8th on the first lap Mazzotta quickly made his way to the front and pass for Peris for 5th on lap 4 and looked very fast as he raced and drafted with the top runners. On lap 6 of 12 Hawk hit a false neutral in the chicane and lost a few spots as well as the draft with the top 4 riders. After putting his head down and finishing strong he managed to catch the group in front of him and make a pass for the 7th position where he would finish. “Its a quick flip-flop there and I just didn’t hit the shifter hard enough,” a very excited Mazzotta said. “I got the start I wanted and was racing with the front group and very settled for a great run to the end. I’m not going to get down about it at all. This is a learning curve year for me and this is my first time racing 1000’s. My crew chief Jeremy, and the HALOF Racing crew did an awesome job getting the bike right for me and I’m looking forward to racing in the front of Superstock all year. I want to thank my parents, the team, Spectrum Motorsports, Bravo Condoms, Pirelli, and all the companies that make this possible.” Look for the HALOF Racing, Bravo Condoms, Spectrum Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R 1000 at the next AMA event April 18 – 20 at Barber Motorsports Park. If Daytona is any indication of the year, you will probably have to look towards the front of the pack.