No
Time to Rest!
Just one weekend following the
four-day combined AMA/World
Superbike round at Miller
Motorsports Park (MMP), the AMA
Superbike Championship heads to Road
America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc., June
6-8, 2008.
The scenic four-mile circuit is a
mainstay on the AMA Superbike
calendar, boasting the tour's second
longest uninterrupted tenure,
trailing only Daytona International
Speedway. The venue has hosted the
series every season since its
inaugural visit in 1980.
Road America is always a favorite
stop for the teams and fans alike.
The woodsy setting, high-speed
action, big crowds, and savory
"brats" lend the round a unique
atmosphere.
AMA SUPERBIKE
CHAMPIONSHIP
PRESENTED BY PARTS
UNLIMITED
Championship Race Turned Upside
Down
Rockstar Makita Yoshimura
Suzuki's Ben Spies entered MMP
trailing teammate Mat Mladin by nine
points and left with a commanding
39-point advantage thanks to his
perfect weekend, along with a
forgettable one for Mladin, the
six-time AMA champ.
Spies upped his all-time AMA
Superbike stats to 19 career
poles--putting him ahead of legend
Doug Polen and all alone in second
behind Mladin's 54--and 24 career
race wins.
With ten races yet to run this
season, it's theoretically possible
for Spies to overtake Miguel DuHamel
(32 wins) for second in all-time
victories in just his fourth AMA
Superbike season.
But Can He Get #7?
Spies brings a six-race win
streak into Road America. Only three
times in AMA Superbike history has a
rider won that many races in a row--Mladin
last season, Spies in 2006, and
DuHamel back in '95--but none have
made it to seven.
The Challenge
The last time Spies won six
in a row, his streak was snapped at
Road America by Mladin. Undoubtably,
the Australian hopes to do the same
this weekend. His seven wins here
only helps to fuel his confidence.
Mladin first tasted victory at
Elkhart Lake aboard a Ferracci-tuned
Ducati back in '97. Since then, he's
added six more wins on GSX-Rs,
including four of the last five (and
the last four in the dry).
Green and Red
Monster Energy Kawasaki and Honda
Racing both enjoyed their best
outings of the season at Miller
Motorsports Park.
Jamie Hacking backed up his
double-podium performance at
Sonoma's Infineon Raceway with a
pair of runner-up results at Miller
on his ZX-10R, while Neil Hodgson
gave the all-new '08 CBR1000RR its
first podiums with two third-place
finishes.
Both bikes are extremely formidable
on the straights, which should bode
well for them at Road America.
AMA PRO HONDA OILS
SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHIP
PRESENTED BY
SHOEI
Two Streaks Snapped
Graves Motorsports Yamaha saw its
perfect season of pole and win
streaks come to an inglorious end
last weekend. Series leader Ben
Bostrom crashed out of a potential
pole run in qualifying and then saw
his race ruined when his primary R6
failed on the warm-up lap. Riding
his backup bike, Bostrom suffered a
late-race crash and ended up 21st.
His teammate Josh Herrin, who had
also contributed to both streaks,
encountered problems with his
shifter during the race and finished
19th.
The Chase is on
While Yamaha struggled, Erion Honda
stepped up with Jake Zemke and Josh
Hayes finishing 1-2. As he did at
Infineon, Zemke got the better of
his teammate by just fractions of a
second at the flag.
Zemke is now tied with Bostrom for
first in the class title race with
155 points apiece.
The Hurt/The Joy
Team M4 EMGO Suzuki's Blake
Young impressed by challenging the
more experienced Zemke and Hayes
throughout the contest but he was
ultimately knocked out of contention
for the win when his machine slowed
just two corners from the flag.
While Young had to endure an
excruciating coast to the stripe,
his teammate, Cory West, sailed by
to claim the first AMA podium finish
of his career.
AMA FORMULA XTREME
SERIES
Streaking
Zemke is also leading the Formula
Xtreme title hunt after securing his
fourth consecutive class victory.
The Californian now has 16 wins in
the class, surpassing Eric Bostrom
for the all-time lead.
Daytona Winner Hurting
Attack Kawasaki's Chaz
Davies broke bones in his left hand
in a high-side crash suffered early
in last weekend's FX contest. Adding
insult to injury, the Welsh-born
rider also binned his Supersport
machine the following day.
Davies will tough it out at Road
America where plenty of pressure is
placed on the riders' hands as they
brake from top gear all the way down
to first or second gear multiple
times per lap.
AMA SUPERSTOCK SERIES
PRESENTED BY DYNOJET
How About Getting #2?
Following years of sitting on the
verge of victory, Jordan Suzuki's
Geoff May took his first-ever AMA
win with a convincing ride in
Saturday's Superstock final in Utah.
The Georgian has long been one of
the tour's fastest riders on
high-speed circuits and no one would
be surprised if he added a second
victory this weekend at Road
America.
More Heartbreak
Blake Young's Supersport race wasn't
his only heartbreaking moment on the
weekend. He was also penalized for
jumping the start in the Superstock
final and was shown the "meatball"
flag (black with an orange disk in
its center), indicating that he had
to come in for a stop-and-go
penalty, after leading the race's
first lap.
Luckily for Young he won't have to
stew for long. This weekend's trip
to the Wisconsin native's home
circuit couldn't come soon enough.
Consistency Pays Off
May's teammate, Aaron Yates,
continues to lead the Superstock
title fight with 170 points thanks
to his two wins and three runner-up
finishes in five outings. Corona
Honda's Jake Holden is second at 156
after claiming his third pole and
fourth podium finish of the season
at MMP, while latest-race-winner May
is ranked third at 141.
RED BULL AMA U.S.
ROOKIES CUP
Benny Solis looks to make it
three in a row at Road America
After winning the first two
races of the Red Bull AMA U.S.
Rookies Cup season, North Hollywood,
Calif.'s Benny Solis has his sights
set on a hat trick this weekend. The
13-year-old has a commanding lead in
the series championship, with a
perfect 50 points. Austin DeHaven,
also from the Los Angeles area, is
second with 26. Rounding out the
top-10 is Tomas Puerta (Colombia),
Leandro Mercado (Argentina),
brothers Hayden Gillim and Frankie
Lee Gillim (Ky.), Austin Medrano
(Okla.), Bryce Prince (Calif.),
Toriano Wilson (Bermuda) and Jake
Gagne (Calif.).
Faster the Favre
14-year-old Jacob Cunningham hails
from Kimberly, Wis., outside of
Green Bay, and will have the home
cooking advantage this weekend at
Road America.
2009 Riders Wanted
Applications are now being
accepted at
www.redbullrookiescup.com for the
2009 Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup
season. Riders must be between 13
and 17 years old during the 2009
racing season. A select number of
applicants will be invited to
participate in the on-track
Selection Event in the Fall at
Barber Motorsports Park.
The Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup
series, in its inaugural year, was
created by and is managed by Red
Bull as a platform for showcasing
young roadracing talent on identical
KTM RC 125s.
TELEVISION COVERAGE ON
SPEED
This weekend's AMA Superbike races
will air on Sunday, June 8 on SPEED.
Saturday's Superbike final will air
at 4 p.m. Eastern, followed
immediately by same day-delayed
coverage of Sunday's race at 5 p.m.
Eastern. The AMA Formula Xtreme and
Superstock races will air on
Tuesday, June 10 at 2 p.m. Eastern.
The Pro Honda Oils Supersport race
will air the next day, Wednesday,
June 11, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern.
TICKETS
Tickets for the Suzuki Superbike
Doubleheader Weekend can be obtained
online at www.roadamerica.com or by
calling 800-365-7223.
