Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies raced his GSX-R1000 to a second consecutive AMA Superbike Championship double-header victory at the second Fontana race in California. The 23-year-old Texan took the lead from the start from team mate Mat Mladin, lost it, then moved to the front again to win by 4.4 seconds over the six-time champion. Aaron Yates, who finished third in the Superstock race earlier in the day, finished eighth overall.
“I really have to thank the Yoshimura Suzuki crew for giving me another Suzuki GSX-R1000 to win on,” said Spies from the podium. “I don’t know if the rest of the races will be quite this easy but we’ve got to keep on it because Mat is a six-time champion and he’s going to come back even harder. So we’ll go home, do some homework and see what we can come up with for Infineon.”
Spies started the afternoon’s 28-lap race from pole position and took the lead immediately. He led for several laps before being overtaken by Mladin. With about 10 laps to go, however, Spies passed his team mate back and rode on to victory.
“Fontana has always been a good track for me,” explained Spies. “We caught a break yesterday, with Mat having some problems, but I had to work for it today. I just tried to set a good pace and then the gap started growing and I just tried to stretch it out.”
Like Spies, Mladin’s start was strong and he led for a number of laps before settling into second place. “With about 10 laps to go, I was wishing I was at the beach,” joked Mladin. “We just didn’t have it today, that’s it. This is the fifth race into the championship and we had to shut it down today to bring it home. It’s good to have somebody here to help me pick up my game and I’m looking forward to the next race.”
Yates was feeling some after-effects from the shoulder he injured at Fontana during testing back in February. “This track is a little rough on my shoulder,” he said about finishing eighth. “And we’ve been having some set-up issues with the bike as well.”
AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers: 1 Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki)
2 Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki)
3 Jake Zemke (Honda)
4 Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
5 Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6 Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)
7 Ben Bostrom (Ducati)
8 Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki)
9 Jason Pridmore (Jordan Suzuki)
10 Larry Pegram (Honda)
Championship Points (after 5 rounds): 1 Spies 182,
2 Mladin 163,
3 Duhamel 140,
4 Hodgson 130,
5 Yates 126,
6 Hayden 124,
7 Bostrom 119,
8 Zemke 110,
9 Pridmore 108,
10 Pegram 93.
Yates Races To Superstock Podium Team Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates claimed his third AMA Superstock podium in as many races this afternoon at California Speedway despite the race being red-flagged.
Said the defending Champion: “Man, I’m glad that race is over. That was tough and I’m just happy to have my Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 up here on the podium and to finish in the top three; so thanks to my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and Dunlop tyres and for all the fans for coming out.”
On the previous Saturday afternoon, Yates posted a fastest lap time of 1:24, 470 which was quick enough to get him into the second spot on the starting grid. “Qualifying was really good,” said Yates. “I was a bit surprised at the time we ended up with and I thought we had a shot at pole position. But the race is where it’s at and I’m looking forward to putting the Yoshimura Suzuki back on top.”
The Georgian got a good start in the 17-lapper and was running with the leaders when a downed rider caused a red flag. With the re-start, he was again out front and finished strong with a podium position.
“My Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 got me off the line really good,” said Yates. “Before the red flag, we had used a different Dunlop tyre than everyone else. It didn’t have as much grip but I hoped that would work out towards the end of the race. But then we had the red flag and we changed the tyre and adjusted the bike. I ended up struggling with a couple of sections on the track so I’m just happy to bring home third place.”
Superstock Top 10 Finishers: 1 Jason Disalvo (Yamaha)
2 Jamie Hacking (Yamaha)
3 Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki)
4 Geoff May (M4 EMGO Suzuki)
5 Eric Bostrom (Yamaha)
6 Steve Rapp (Jordan Suzuki)
7 Jason Pridmore (Jordan Suzuki)
8 Josh Hayes (Honda)
9 Jake Holden (Jordan Suzuki)
10 Matt Lynn (Suzuki)
Related Linkswww.suzuki-racing.com
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