Sunday afternoon's AMA Superbike race at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia was all about Suzuki as the manufacturer swept the podium with Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin and Ben Spies taking first and second place and Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki's Aaron Yates rounding out the podium in third place.
This marks the third podium sweep for Suzuki this year. Mladin's and Spies' Yoshimura Suzuki team mate Tommy Hayden carded a strong fifth-place finish.
For six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin, this is his 10th win of the year and his sixth-straight at Virginia. Overall, it's his 61st career AMA Superbike victory. Defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies remains in command of the championship points chase, but this victory puts Mladin just six points behind his team mate.
Mat Mladin: "The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 - what can you say? All three spots on the podium and so many wins in a row, it's unheard of in AMA Superbike racing. I'd like to thank my guys for working hard this weekend and giving me a good motorbike to race… I'm enjoying this season more than any I've had so far, because it's such a good challenge for the race and to get the measure of Ben and, to be honest, I hope we can win the next couple in Atlanta because I really want to be able to go to Laguna Seca and winner take all, because that would just be the ultimate. Laguna's never been one of my strongest tracks, but to me it's a challenge that I'd really enjoy -- to be able to have to go there and put it on the line at Laguna Seca and win one."
Ben Spies: "I didn't get a great start and I definitely didn't get it done today, though the start didn't help matters. Obviously, second place isn't getting it done. I'm not upset because I rode 100 per cent; I rode as hard as I could. At the start, I ended up having to work my way up from sixth or seventh place and when I got into second, I tried to be as consistent as possible. But I had a few tire problems and just tried to bring home second."
Aaron Yates: "The Jordan Suzuki did a hell of a job out there today. We made some changes to the bike last night that helped the GSX-R1000 get through the turns a little easier and flick a little better. It felt good to keep Ben in sight for the whole race -- that was the first time this year I've been able to do that. It just shows you how
the Jordan Suzuki is coming along. And it's great to have Suzuki on the podium one-two-three."
Tommy Hayden: "Today went better all the way around. I got a better start on my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and my pace was considerably quicker the whole entire race. My result was better than it's been in a long while. Also, I'm having a nice little battle for third place in the Superbike Championship points standings. I need to pick things up a little bit because it would be a good end to the season if I could end up in third place. That's what I'm going to shoot for the rest of the year."
All of Suzuki's road race teams will return for round 10 of the AMA Superbike Series at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA, the weekend of Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2007.
AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers- Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki)
- Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki)
- Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki)
- Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki)
- Tommy Hayden (Yoshimura Suzuki)
- Jake Zemke (Honda)
- Luca Scassa (MV Agusta)
- Matt Lynn (MV Agusta)
- Jake Holden (Jordan Suzuki)
- Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki)
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