PICKERINGTON, Ohio - The
AMA Superbike Championship springs back into
action for the fourth stop of the 2008 season on
May 16-18 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
Photo Finishes
The series' most recent race weekend at Auto
Club Speedway delivered plenty of drama as four
of the weekend's five races were decided by
0.174 seconds or less.
Picturesque Setting
Located just 30 minutes north of San
Francisco in the heart of California's wine
country, the undulating Infineon Raceway circuit
is one of the most scenic on the tour. The track
has undergone a host of safety upgrades in
recent years, which have elevated its status to
that of a rider and fan favorite.
2008 is the 40th season of racing at Infineon
Raceway, which also plays host to NASCAR,
IndyCar, and NHRA events.
Who's Who Winners List
The AMA Superbike Championship first raced at
Infineon Raceway in 1977 and the track has seen
a number of the sport's icons stand on top of
the Superbike podium over the years, including
former world champions Freddie Spencer, Wayne
Rainey, Fred Merkel, Kevin Schwantz, Doug Polen,
Colin Edwards, and Nicky Hayden.
AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED
BY PARTS UNLIMITED
Rivalry Reignited
Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben
Spies ended teammate Mat Mladin's perfect season
start by claiming the pole and a pair of wins at
Auto Club Speedway's doubleheader.
Spies' come-from-behind, 0.011-second victory
over Mladin in Sunday's race was a highlight of
the 23-year-old Texan's rapidly developing
career.
The two-time reigning AMA Superbike champ's big
weekend tightened up the points chase as well,
although Mladin is still firmly in control,
leading his rival by 20 points, 178 vs. 158,
heading into Sonoma.
Legendary Company
On Saturday at Auto Club Speedway, Spies tied
multi-time Grand Prix world champion Freddie
Spencer for third on the all-time list with his
17th career AMA Superbike pole. The following
day he tied three-time AMA Superbike and
two-time World Superbike champ Fred Merkel for
third on the all-time list with his 20th career
AMA Superbike race win.
Win Streaks and Podium Sweeps
Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki now
boasts a remarkable 32-race win streak in the
AMA Superbike class. The team further
demonstrated its power by sweeping the podium in
the past three races. Unfortunately, Tommy
Hayden, who landed four straight Superbike
third-place finishes, was injured in the
Supersport race at Auto Club Speedway, suffering
a dislocated left ankle and broken left tibia
among other injuries. The Kentuckian is
currently recovering from surgery to repair his
ankle.
Wall of Famer
Spies and Mladin are the pre-race favorites once
again at Infineon Raceway. Spies swept the
doubleheader at the circuit in '06 while Mladin
has taken eight wins at the track, including
doubleheader sweeps in '03, '05, and '07, and
additional race wins in '99 and '04. In honor of
Mladin's dominance at this circuit, the six-time
champ was added to the track's Wall of Fame last
year.
AMA PRO HONDA OILS SUPERSPORT
CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY SHOEI
On a Roll
Local favorite Ben Bostrom is riding
high in the Supersport class after scoring his
second victory of the season at Auto Club
Speedway. Bostrom now has a pair of wins, a
runner-up finish and two poles so far this
season.
His Graves Motorsports Yamaha teammate, Josh
Herrin, is second in the championship on the
strength of his consistent, podium-placing
performances. So far, the 17-year-old has a win,
a runner-up finish, a third, and pole position
at the last race.
Breaking Up the 1-2
Erion Honda's Jake Zemke snapped Graves
Motorsports Yamaha's 1-2 race and qualifying
streak at Auto Club Speedway by getting between
the blue duo in the last race with a
second-place finish.
Missing From Action
A trio of Supersport front-runners have been
sidelined by early-season injuries. In addition
to Tommy Hayden's misfortunes, his younger
brother, reigning class champion Roger Hayden,
is recuperating from a spill at Barber
Motorsports Park. Also, former Spanish
Supersport champ Martin Cardenas of Team M4 EMGO
Suzuki suffered a broken left femur in the same
opening-lap crash that took out Tommy Hayden.
AMA FORMULA XTREME SERIES
Teammate vs. Teammate
Superbike and Supersport aren't the only classes
to feature tight teammate vs. teammate rivalries
at the front. Following a pair of missteps at
the season's opening two races, Erion Honda
teammates Jake Zemke and Josh Hayes finally got
in a full flag-to-flag showdown at Auto Club
Speedway. After 17 laps of intense battling, the
two were separated by just 0.013 seconds at the
checkered flag with Zemke picking up his
second-straight FX win and the championship
lead.
Hayes, who scored a combined eleven wins in
2007, is still searching for his first victory
in 2008.
Duck in the Hunt
Leo Vince Foremost Insurance Ducati Team's Larry
Pegram made the Fontana race a three-way affair
most of the way. In the end, Pegram claimed his
second podium result of the season and expects
to be even more of a threat as his new Ducati
848 continues to develop.
AMA SUPERSTOCK SERIES PRESENTED BY
DYNOJET
First-Ever Win
Jake Holden's victory in Fontana was Honda's
first ever in the Superstock class. This is all
the more notable because Honda has historically
been a powerhouse in the other series. Big Red
leads in all-time Supersport and Formula Xtreme
wins and in Superbike, was only recently passed
in overall wins by Suzuki's recent domination of
the class.
Holden's victory was the Corona Honda rider's
second career AMA win, but it marked the first
time he's claimed the checkered flag while
leading a race. His first career win was scored
following a red flag at the 2007 season finale
at Laguna Seca.
Still in Control
While Michael Jordan Motor Sports
Suzuki's Aaron Yates saw his win streak snapped
at Auto Club Speedway, the Georgian still
controls the class, currently leading
second-ranked Holden by 18 points thanks to his
two wins and runner-up finish.
Yates has an impressive resume at Infineon
Raceway with wins in multiple classes (Supersport,
Superstock, H-D Supertwins, and his first career
Superbike win in 1996).
On the Rise
One week after Chris Ulrich gave Team
Roadracingworld.com Suzuki its first podium
result in the 1000cc Superstock competition,
teammate Robertino Pietri enjoyed the best race
of his AMA career, leading the most laps at Auto
Club Speedway and ultimately finishing fourth in
the race. Ulrich is currently ranked third in
the class with Pietri sixth.
RED BULL AMA U.S. ROOKIES CUP
Also occurring at Infineon Raceway
is the Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup series. Now
in its inaugural year, the series was created by
and is managed by Red Bull as a platform for
showcasing young roadracing talent between 13
and 16 years old on identical KTM RC 125's.
Seven states and six nations are represented
amongst the 23 riders. Former 500cc World
Champion Kevin Schwantz is the series' Rider
Coach. The Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup runs
concurrently with the European-based Red Bull
MotoGP Rookies Cup, now in its second year.
Benny's Back for More
Thirteen-year-old Benny Solis of North
Hollywood, Calif., held off 16-year-old
Argentine rider Leandro Mercado by 0.530 seconds
at Barber Motorsports Park to claim the win at
the first-ever Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup
race. Hayden Gillim of Owensboro, Ky., also
13-years-old, rounded out the podium.
Local Boys
Cameron Gish, 13-years-old, from
Shingle Springs, and 15-year-old Joey Pascarella
from Vacaville will represent Northern
California at their "home" race. Gish finished
ninth at Barber, while Pascarella crashed out
with two laps remaining when battling for
third-place.
COVERAGE ON SPEED
Both rounds of the AMA Superbike Championship
presented by Parts Unlimited from Sonoma will be
telecast nationally on SPEED. The races will be
shown on Sunday, May 18 starting with Saturday's
race at 10:30 am Eastern followed by Sunday's
race at 10:00 pm Eastern.
The AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship
presented by Shoei will be airing at 12:00 pm
Eastern on Tuesday, May 20 on SPEED, followed
immediately by coverage of AMA Formula Xtreme
and AMA Superstock presented by Dynojet at 1:00
pm Eastern, Tuesday, May 20.
For a complete listing of SPEED coverage of the
AMA Superbike Championship presented by Parts
Unlimited, log on to
www.speedtv.com.
Tickets
Tickets are available online at
www.infineonraceway.com/tickets/individual_event_tickets.
