AMA Pro Road Racing NJMP: Sunday

NEWEST AT TOP

Corona Extra Honda

Neil Hodgson and Jake Holden finished out the 2009 Superbike season right behind each other with fifth and sixth place finishes respectively at the New Jersey Motorsports Park venue finale.  In front of a terrific crowd for the first ever event at the new facility and with almost ideal weather, both riders overcame earlier problems to get on the pace and up in the front pack for an exciting finish to the season.  The race also marked the last ever for multi-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin.  Mat’s skill and determination will be missed.  We wish him the best in his retirement endeavors.

The weekend did not start well for the team with problems for both riders, electrical gremlins for Jake and set-up issues for Neil.  Jake, who had never been to the facility before, struggled to get up to speed with minimal track time caused by a hard to trace misfire at high rpm.  The problem was to plague his practices all weekend and keep him from his usual fast qualifying.  Neil, who had tested at the track earlier in the season, was not able to capitalize on that experience and had a hard time quickly finding a bike set-up that worked for him.

Neil was able to get the bike sorted for final qualifying and posted third fastest time of the day, 1:21.710, and into Superpole.  Unfortunately his Superpole lap, 1:22.649, was not nearly as good as the time earlier and he lost grid positions ending in seventh.  Jake qualified in fifteenth having missed most of the qualifying session with the electrical problems.

Race one was a lesson in frustration for both riders.  Neil had crashed in qualifying practice wrecking his bike and requiring the crew to rebuild it from the frame up for the race.  Jake almost missed the start when an engine mapping problem appeared on the warm-up lap.  He was able to make it to the start just in time after frantic work by the crew.  Neither Neil nor Jake were able to get up to speed in the race and their finishes were not helped by poor starts.  Both struggled getting by slower riders and neither was able to match times posted in qualifying.  The final finishes were eleventh for Jake and thirteenth for Neil.

In the second race the story was much better.  After a red flag on the first lap and full race restart both riders were up in the lead pack and stayed within striking distance of the leaders for the entire race.  Hodgson crossed the strip for the first time in 5th and held that position until lap 17 when Larry Pegram managed to get by.  Neil held 6th position for three laps until gaining 5th again when
Tommy Hayden crashed. Hodgson held that position until the end of the race. Neil’s best lap time was 1:21.879.

Jake Holden also had a much better second race, benefiting from the track time gained in race one!  Holden crossed the stripe in 9th for the first lap, having made up six positions from his start. He held that position until lap four when he passed Cory West for 8th. West managed to retake that position on lap 10. On lap 14 Holden passed Blake Young to take back 8th.  He moved up again on lap 21 when Hayden crashed. The next lap Holden passed West to take 6th a position he held until the end of the race. He posted his best lap time of 1:21.532, the fourth fastest lap of the race, ably showing what a quick learner Jake is!

Jake finished the season championship points standing in tenth place with Neil right behind in eleventh.

The event ended with the traditional end-of-season “Corona party” held in the “Officers Club” at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.  The event was supported by all the major teams, the venue and AMA and attended by everyone it seemed!  The event finished in the wee hours and provided an enjoyable close to the season.

In its “Race to the Lime” Corona Extra Honda Racing is proud to be partnering with; Parts Unlimited, Cycle Gear, Pro Honda Oils, AGV, FMF, Autolite, Hotbodies Racing, K&N, Motion Pro, Vortex, Dainese, GPR, Ogio, CR&A, RK, Dunlop, JE Pistons, Powerstands, Bellco, Adran, K&L, HRC, Acme Garage, Vicci, Fluid Designs, Shock Doctor, EBSCO Media, MTS.

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Rockwall Honda

Millville, New Jersey — RockwallPerformance.com Yamaha had a weekend of ups and downs at New Jersey Motorsports Park, with J.D. Beach earning another podium finish and securing second in the AMA Pro Supersport East championship while his teammates Lloyd Worrell and Marcos Reichert suffered injuries at New Jersey and missed races.

Beach joined RockwallPerformance.com Yamaha at Mid-Ohio and finished on the podium three times, with an additional fourth place finish in the other race. He was ranked second in the final Supersport East standings due to his hot streak to finish the year.

“I didn’t really know I got second in the championship until just now, but I think that’s great considering how my season started. I have to thank RockwallPerformance.com for giving me the opportunity,” said Beach. “We ran at the front and had some good races together and I think we are all pleased at the results.”

J.D. earned third at the New Jersey race to notch his third straight podium result. “It was a real good race. Ricky Parker and Josh Day had a strong pace and I was trying to catch them. I gained some laps and lost others but I couldn’t get the job done for the win this time. In the last few laps, I saw I had a huge gap on fourth place so I slowed down a little bit. It was a great way to end the season and there was no need to risk it.”

Marcos Reichert was on the pace all weekend and looking to produce his best results of the year after a strong qualifying performance, but a race one crash put him out for the weekend with leg and foot injuries. “We were doing really well in practice and we qualified 15th on Friday and we moved up to 13th when some other riders had technical issues,” said the Guatemalan racer. “We were doing good lap times, around 1:24.5 and feeling really confident for the races. It’s a fun track. In the first corner, first lap, Westby and I touched and I went down. I didn’t feel so bad, feeling upset more than hurt. Then I woke up with a lot of swelling and I had to go to the hospital. Thankfully, nothing was broken and it’s just soft tissue damage. We were doing well this weekend and we were just a second off the top guys. Even though we didn’t get to show it in the races, I feel good about how we’ve progressed. At every round we did better and we thought this one was going to be a great weekend for us. I want to thank all the team for supporting me all year and giving me a great bike all year. I’m ready to come back next season and do a good job.”

A Thursday crash kept Lloyd Worrell from racing at New Jersey. Lloyd suffered arm and foot injures and that meant the young racer could not capitalize on his recent momentum as he continued to progress in his first season on a 600cc machine.

Lloyd was lapping in Thursday practice when he tangled with another rider in turn one and Worrell crashed. “It threw me into his rear wheel and it drug me into turn one. I guess I was kinda lucky because I could have really gotten hurt in that one. It was one of those deals that happens but I would have liked to finished out the season with a good race. I made it up to eighth in points for championship and learned a lot. I’m coming back next season in Supersport and my plan is to go for the championship.”

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Factory Aprilia Millennium Technoogies

Millville, NJ – September, 2009 – Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team rider Chaz Davies scored his second podium of the year in the first race at the New Jersey Motorsports Park facility this past weekend.  The team came back even stronger for the final race of the season on Sunday and Chaz took the lead on lap two and lead the first half of the race before he lost traction and crashed out of the lead.

The team was able to test at the New Jersey Motorsports Park facility previously and in basic qualifying Chaz finished in the seventh position with a time of 1:24.008, once again making Superpole. In Superpole, Davies and the team continued to make improvements and ended up in the fourth position on the starting grid. Gobert made up huge ground in final qualifying, but crashed early and was not able to put in a really fast lap and had to settle for seventeenth on the grid. The team had made lots of progress with the motorcycle over the course of the weekend and was fastest in final qualifying on Saturday morning with a time of 1:23.666.

The start of the first race went well with both riders making up ground. Davies moved into the third spot and immediately fell into a race long, four bike battle with Rapp, Herrin, and Aquino. Herrin and Aquino worked together to build a gap on Davies and Rapp and had a much easier time with lapped traffic. With a handful of laps to go Chaz moved up to second place and was able to hold off Rapp for his second podium finish of the year..

Gobert struggled with a rear tire that spun on the rim causing a massive vibration, but was able to bring the number 97 LeoVince sponsored Aprilia home in the fourteenth position.

Daytona SportBike Race Two at New Jersey Motorsports Park was the last chance for the Pit-Bull sponsored Aprilia team to get a win. The team had worked hard all year to develop the Aprilia RSV1000R into a competitive bike and Davies was coming off a strong second place finish on Saturday so it was time to put it all on the line.

Gobert had the most to gain at the start. He knew the bike was fast and if he could latch on to lead group, he had the pace to finish in the top five. Gobert got a great run on the inside passing several riders going into turn one. Unfortunately, Garret Carter lost control of his motorcycle and hit Gobert. Gobert saved the crash for a split second, only to be hit by another rider causing him to go down violently. Gobert was transported to the local hospital for evaluation, but was released that night with a sore shoulder and bruising.

Davies moved up to the second spot on the start and was not affected by the chaos happening behind him. On lap two Chaz took the lead going into to turn one on the brakes and never looked back. Behind Chaz was a group of seven riders separated by less than a quarter of a second. The pace at the front was faster than it was all weekend with everyone at the absolute limit. On lap eleven Chaz lost traction on the front tire going into turn nine and crashed out of the lead. Davies was unhurt, but the motorcycle was unable to continue.

Chaz Davies – “It was a great season and the only thing I could wish for is more time. I think that if we could have started the season with the bike we have now we could have been in contention for a Championship. I truly can’t thank my team and my sponsors enough for everything they did this year. Rocky Stargel, Jimmy Le, Chip Spalding, Kevin Hunt and everybody at Millennium Technologies, KWS Motorsports and Aprilia. I also want to thank my personal sponsors, Monster Energy, Shoei, and Alpinestars. Thank You! “

Aaron Gobert – “I am disappointed that the weekend and the season ended the way it did. We only had a short time to work together as a team and we made progress every time we got on track. The team is great and I want to thank everybody involved, especially my crew – Brian Nallin, Marty Ashmore, and Michael Godin and the sponsors, Aprilia, KWS, and Millennium Technologies. I also have to thank the companies that take care of me, Alpinestars, Bell, and Monster Energy.

Kevin Hunt (Team Owner) – “We started this project nine months ago with a new team, new sponsors, new riders, new rules, and a bike that nobody has ever raced at a professional level. We had our work cut out for us, but everybody stepped up to make it happen. Special thanks to everybody at Aprilia and Millennium Technologies. This has been more than just a sponsor/team relationship. These two companies have been an integral part of this project from the beginning. Thanks to everybody at both companies for all your hard work and support, especially Chris Hackl, Rick Panettieri, Gary Pietruszewski, and Mark Render.”

Chip Spalding (Team Manager) – “This has the been the best season KWS Motorsports has had to date and I am very much looking forward to bigger and better things next year. I want to thank all the sponsors and the team for all the sleepless nights, all the time away from family, all the travel, and all the blood, sweat, and tears. Rocky Stargel, Brian Nallin, Chris Hackl, Marty Ashmore, Jimmy Le, Michael Godin, Chaz Davies, Aaron Gobert, Kevin Hunt, and everybody else who sacrificed so much to make this season a success, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Rick Panettieri (Aprilia Brand Manager) – “We knew at the beginning of the season that with a new team and riders getting on the podium was going to be difficult, we are really pleased that the team was able to qualify for superpole at the last eight events, finish in the top five in seven races and get a pair of podium finishes. We want to thank the team for all their hard work and dedication this past season.”

The Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team is proudly sponsored by:

Aprilia USA, Millennium Technologies, KWS Motorsports, Pit Bull, LeoVince Exhaust, Motion Pro, Bazzaz Performance, Sebimoto Bodywork, Yoyodyne, Slednecks, EK Chains, Motul, Performance Friction Brakes, Worldwide Bearing, K&N Filters, Zero Gravity Windscreens, Suzuka Tire Warmers, Stomp Grip, Hel Brake Lines, Spider Grips, ETI FuelCel and ASV Inventions.

For Information:  http://www.kwsmotorsports.com

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Damian Cudlin

Damian Cudlin filled the shoes of Celtic Racing’s Michael Laverty at the final round of the AMA Superbike Championship on the weekend, and the young Aussie didn’t disappoint.

On his first ride aboard the Celtic Racing Suzuki, in his first appearance at the New Jersey Motorsports Park circuit, Cudlin instantly made his presence felt mixing it with AMA’s big guns from the start, eventually securing a Top 10 Superpole berth in qualifying. Despite being unable to improve in the Superpole session, Cudlin was in a confident mood heading into Saturday’s first race and showed the paddock a glimpse of his potential by finishing a strong 9^th and disposing of regular names such as May, Holden and former World SBK Champ, Neil Hodgson in the process.

“Securing a Superpole berth was really a target of mine coming into this weekend and I was happy when I held off the charge of Geoff May and Blake Young at the end of qualifying, although we all know it’s in the race that counts and that’s where I wanted to be strongest.” Cudlin explained.

“I made a clean start and hung onto the group in front until I realized Hodgson and May where holding me up a bit. I got around Hodgson but found it tougher to get around May so in the end I decided to wait till the end and try and come home strong. I made the pass stick, and then held him off to the line for 9^th. It was a good race to open my SBK account with.”

Sunday’s second Superbike race marked the end of an era in AMA racing with reigning champ Mat Mladin taking to the track for the final time. Huge crowds packed the grandstands and were treated to a real show for the final race of the year.

Cudlin made a cracking start in the race however was lucky to narrowly avoid a crashing Ben Bostrom, which resulted in a red flag and a full restart. In the restart Cudlin again got away cleanly and focused on staying attached to the group in front. Losing touch slightly when Taylor Knapp was forced into the pits, Cudlin fought hard to regain ground and for a short period proved to be the fastest rider on the track, setting personal best lap times in his tireless pursuit of the leading group. However a mistake into turn 3 forced the Aussie into the grass, losing precious time. Despite the small setback Cudlin kept pushing and began chasing down Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Blake Young. With a lap to go, Cudlin made a daring pass into turn one and brought his Celtic Suzuki home in front, securing an 8^th place finish for 7th overall.

“I wanted to make sure I left nothing on the table in that race and I proved to myself that I can run with these guys. The Celtic Suzuki worked great and again we were able to come home strong at the end. I made a mistake which put me into the grass one lap, but I never gave up and just kept my head down. The Celtic boys were all pretty pleased so I’m wrapped.” Cudlin gleamed after the race.

“I’m just really thankful I was given this opportunity to show what I can do, and I hope that it leads to a job for next year. I really want to make it in the AMA and I’m determined not to go home with my tail between my legs.”

The man who played a role in securing Cudlin the deal at Celtic Racing, 7 time AMA champion Mat Mladin, finished 2^nd in his final appearance on US soil.

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Roadracingworld.com Suzuki

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich ended his 2009 AMA Pro American Superbike campaign on an encouraging note in the New Jersey Motorsports Park season finale.

Over the course of the weekend Ulrich unlocked some crucial secrets to his ‘09 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and showed competitive speed despite being prevented from displaying his true potential in either race.

The Californian opened the weekend’s twin 23-lap Superbike main events from the inside of the fourth row after qualifying 13^th with a best time of 1:22.615.

In Saturday’s final Chris battled with some well-proven Superbike contenders for a top-ten finishing position before ultimately accepting twelfth. He was anxious to capitalize on the positive outing and improve even further on Sunday but was controversially judged to have jumped the start. Even after serving his ride through penalty, Ulrich raced his way to a 13^th-place result but felt he was good for much more on the day if not for the call.

Ulrich closed out the season ranked 12^th in the 2009 AMA Pro American Superbike standings with 156 points and a pair of top-ten finishes.

“It was a positive weekend for us actually,” Ulrich said. “We made some drastic changes during the Thursday test day here, some stuff that I would have never thought of. Mike Fitzgerald from Öhlins brought over some information and we made the change and it was worth 1.2 seconds. It was a significant for my confidence with the K9. That was big.

“We also had a new engine package with our in-house program that was very, very good. I’m very pleased with the hard work our guys have been putting in.

“On Saturday I was in the fight for ninth with Geoff May and Jake Holden. I made a couple mistakes but the pace was good. I was very happy with that. Today we felt like we could build on that and improve and we had good pace but we got robbed. The officials said I jumped the start, but I saw the video and I did not move at all. It’s unfortunate because I feel a strong earned top-ten finish was stolen from me today.”

Russ Wikle impressed in Saturday’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike final, claiming 18^th in the extremely competitive class. Unfortunately, the youngster suffered a Sunday morning crash and sat out the day’s SportBike and SuperSport finales as a result.

He joined Santiago Villa on the sidelines after the Colombian wisely decided to rest his healing leg after making a courageous effort early in the weekend.

Wikle finished the season ranked fifth in the SuperSport East Division with 90 points and 26^th in SportBike at 41 points. Villa ended the year 31^st in SportBike with 23 points.

“Santiago tried to give it a go, but it was too dangerous,” Ulrich explained. “Two-and-a-half weeks post-op on a broken leg isn’t exactly a great idea, but hopefully the toughest man in racing will be back with us next year.

“We diverted Santiago’s crew to Russell. He learned a lot of stuff this weekend and did a good job on Saturday. But he had a big crash in practice this morning and was pretty beat up. We opted to sit it out. I know how it is — it’s no fun after you crack your head that hard. It’s tough luck, but he showed some great progress this year.”

Ulrich summed up the season by saying, “100% I wish this was the first race rather than the last. We finally got everything together. I just needed to get a bike under me that allowed me to prove what we can do. I’m happy with that and confident for next season. I think we can be competitive for top tens in AMA Superbike next year.”

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M4 Suzuki

The 2009 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park turned out to be a virtual repeat of Saturday’s stirring charge for Team M4 Suzuki and Jason DiSalvo.

After running wide in the opening corner of Saturday’s 23-lap final, DiSalvo was pushed off in the same spot on Sunday, dropping all the way down to 28^th position following the conclusion of the opening lap.

DiSalvo, who picked and weaved his way up to 13^th from 35^th on Saturday, was even more impressive today, guiding his GSX-R600 to a remarkable eighth-place result at the checkered flag.

“It was the same story as yesterday only today wasn’t my fault,” DiSalvo said. “Chaz Davies got in there pretty deep and I stood it up to avoid impact but we still go together a little bit. He got into my front tire and I just had no place to go really.

“It was very frustrating. I was sitting out there in the gravel trap thinking, ‘I’ve got to do this again?’ But I just put my head down and started picking guys off and was surprised to end up in eighth place. I didn’t look at my board the entire race until the very final lap. I couldn’t believe I was that high up and I was surprised the race was over that quick because I was in traffic the entire time. It made the race fly by.

“2009 is in the books so now we’re looking forward to 2010.”

The 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing series was an extremely successful season for Team M4 Suzuki. Despite being forced to sit out this weekend’s finale due to injury, season-long title contender Martin Cardenas ended the year ranked third in Daytona SportBike with 340 points. The Colombian led the SportBike class with seven victories and earned ten podiums in all to go along with his first career pole position.

DiSalvo, who finished fifth in the championship with 283 points, scored a class-leading six Superpole wins and earned six podium finishes of his own.

Cardenas and DiSalvo twice earned a 1-2 result for the team and were on the podium together on three occasions.

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LTD Racing

Millville, New Jersey (September 6, 2009) – Tomas Puerta finished fifth in the New Jersey Motorsports Park SuperSport race, earning his best finish of the year. Huntley Nash showed impressive form in two Sunday races, including claiming 17th in the premier Daytona SportBike event with some late-race passes. Jake Gagne’s first SuperSport race was memorable as he scored sixth and built speed the entire weekend.

Tomy’s best race of the year was a challenge for the Colombian rider. A good start was followed by a few uncertain moments, but he responded to consolidate his position on the track. “It was a good race. The first couple of laps, I was pushing hard and I did my best time of the weekend,” said Puerta. “After that, I made some mistakes but I managed to keep it together and focused and was able to get my times back down to 1:26 flat. I’m happy with the result and thanks to the team for working so hard for me.”

Huntley showed strong form in the Daytona SportBike race. “I was a little apathetic about going out for Daytona SportBike because I thought I didn’t have the pace and we’re concentrating on SuperSport this year. I got an okay start and a lot of drama went down in the first turn with some other riders. I got in a group with Mike Barnes, Fernando Amantini, and Josh Gallister. They are all good racers so it was quite a challenge for me. At the end of the race, I managed to get past all of them and was 17th, so that’s a good feeling. It was fun. In SuperSport, we turned some pretty good laps. I think we accomplished our goal of making the bike better this weekend so now we are looking good for Daytona. All of the mechanics worked hard this weekend and I want to say thanks to everybody.”

Jake Gagne had an impressive weekend for LTD Racing. The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup star dipped down into the 1:25 range in his first 600cc race. “I was nervous because I had never started a 600 in a race before but it was fine,” said the Californian. “I got away and settled in and then I got going. I learned a lot. Sixth place is not bad for your first 600 race but I was looking for a top five. It was fun to get to race at New Jersey and thanks to the team for the opportunity.”

LTD Racing will compete at the Daytona event October 16-18.

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Ducati

Millville, New Jersey (September 6, 2009) – Foremost Insurance Pegram Ducati’s Larry Pegram earned fourth in the final AMA Pro American Superbike race of 2009, capping off an excellent season that saw Larry win three races and finish fourth in the series points standings while mounted on Ducati’s 1098R.

On Sunday, Pegram and the top American Superbike stars put on an excellent show for the New Jersey fans with a tight 23-lap contest. Pegram’s race was the opposite of Saturday’s as the Ohio native was strongest in the final laps. Pegram and the Ducati 1098R were a close seventh at the halfway point but Larry climbed to fourth by the race’s end.

“We had a real chance to do even better but I couldn’t get by Neil (Hodgson) and Blake (Young). The only real place to pass here is the main straightaway,” said Pegram. “Once I got past those two, I started catching back up with the leaders. It was a little too late for today, though. I feel good about our season and think we accomplished a lot.”

Pegram’s season consisted of numerous highlights. At Daytona, Larry and the Ducati 1098R went through the speed trap at an impressive 199 miles per hour. In the race, Larry finished a close fourth. Fontana saw Larry injured in a first-lap pileup and it took several races for him to fully recover his health. By Infineon, Pegram had earned the podium and the team’s momentum grew. At Road America, Larry won a duel with seven-time AMA Superbike champ Mat Mladin that saw numerous lead changes and was perhaps the most exciting AMA Superbike battle in years.

Pegram bettered the Elkhart weekend with his Topeka event, however. Larry won pole and emerged victorious in both races at Heartland Park, dominating the best in American Superbike. In addition to pure speed, Pegram and Ducati showed remarkable consistency, finishing every race in the points except for the aforementioned first Fontana race.

“We won three races and we ran competitive lap times at every track. I’m happy with where we are at right now. I think we could contend for a championship next year and I am really looking forward to 2010,” said Pegram.

For more information on Team Foremost Pegram Racing please visit www.pegramracing.com. To learn more about Ducati’s line of racing inspired motorcycles and the 1098R that Larry piloted to victory at Road America and Kansas, please visit www.ducatiusa.com.

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Suzuki

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin celebrated his AMA Superbike swan song with a podium appearance at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, on Sunday afternoon. Seven-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin announced his retirement from AMA Superbike racing earlier this season and this weekend’s double-header event marked the end of the newly crowned 2009 AMA Superbike Champion’s career. In Saturday’s race, Mladin was in a battle for the lead when he crashed out of the race. On Sunday, he raced his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 as hard as ever and battled for the lead for most of the race before finishing in an impressive second place. Mladin was joined on the podium by Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates in third place. Yates and Mladin and Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden had all been battling for podium spots and Hayden was actually making a pass for the lead when he crashed out of the race. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young finished up the weekend in ninth place after struggling a bit with throughout the weekend.

Mat Mladin:

“It’s been a good weekend but everything comes on to an end. I have had a fantastic career but it’s time to spend some more time with my family and move on to other areas of my life. This weekend, we had a really good race and I felt really good for most of it. I really didn’t want to be in second place, I wanted to lead and do as much as I could from the front. I felt a little pressure from Josh (Hayes, race winner) in a couple of spots, but we had a good race today and we put in as much as we could… It was a good, fun race and I’m looking forward to hanging ‘em up, moving on.”

Aaron Yates:

“It feels really good to end the year with a couple of decent finishes. It feels really good to be up and running with these guys. We’ve gone back and forth with our bike… It was a really good race, it was a lot of fun. I was going back and forth with Mat and there was no way to get around him again on that last lap.”

Blake Young:

“Starting as far back as we did definitely makes the weekend tough and that showed in both races. It’s pretty hard to get up front and mix it up with those guys when you’re starting from the third row. But I was happy with the weekend because we saw improvement throughout the whole weekend, even though it was tough come race time. But we tried our best. Today the bike was working good – we just struggled trying to get around some of the guys — but lap times were good and I was happy with the way the race was going. It’s not the best result we’ve had all year, but we learned a lot for off-season testing and we’ll come back stronger next year.”

Tommy Hayden:

“It was a fun race, I was having a good time. It was interesting to watch and there was a lot of passing. I really wanted to win a race before the year was over and I wanted to try and get second in the championship and I knew that one would take care of the other. Josh was riding good and hard and Mat was too. It came

down to the end and I thought it was going to be me and Josh and I thought that was pretty cool – kind of the way it’s supposed to be in the last race: two guys are battling it out and they’re the two guys who are battling for overall positions. I just made a little mistake, went in a corner a little too hot and lost the front. It’s a shame. On the one hand, I’m bummed and on the other hand, I left it all out there and that was one thing I wanted to make sure and do today. We learned a lot and we’re looking forward to next year.”

AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers:

1. Josh Hayes, Yamaha

2. Mat Mladin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

3. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki

4. Larry Pegram, Ducati

5. Neil Hodgson, Honda

6. Jake Holden, Honda

7. Cory West, Buell

8. Damian Cudlin, Suzuki

9. Blake Young, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

10. Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki

AMA Superbike Points Standings:

1. Mat Mladin, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

2. Josh Hayes, Yamaha

3. Tommy Hayden, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

4. Larry Pegram, Ducati

5. Ben Bostrom, Yamaha

6. Blake Young, Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing

7. Aaron Yates, Jordan Suzuki

8. Geoff May, National Guard Jordan Suzuki

9. Taylor Knapp, Buell

10. Jake Holden, Honda

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AMA Pro Road Racing

MILLVILLE, N.J. (September 6, 2009) – Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1), Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) and Yamaha doubled up to close out the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season with a pair of repeat race wins Sunday in the AMA Pro Superbike Championships on Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP).

Hayes won his fourth straight and seventh overall AMA Pro American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited race of the year while Herrin also went four for four with AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL victories.  Both riders moved to second in their respective series’ championships after winning the Saturday finals and then locked the runner-up positions down in Sunday’s season-ending races.

For the second-straight day, Hayes had a classic battle with recently crowned 2009 American Superbike Champion Mat Mladin (No. 1 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000).  This time Mladin’s teammate Tommy Hayden(No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) was also in the mix with each rider taking turns up front before Hayes took the lead for good on Lap 15.  The race saw seven official at-the-line lead changes between the three riders with the total more than doubling when multiple lead swaps within a lap were taken into account.

“It was one of those deals where I just tried to keep myself close to the front,” Hayes said.  “I rode as hard as I could the whole race.  I had to keep putting together good laps to see if I could keep the pressure on.  The Yamaha was great.  It was a great bike to ride this weekend.  I’m really proud of how the end of the season has come around.  Congratulations to Mat on his career.  Like I said on the podium, I only hope that I can achieve half of what he’s done in his career.”

Mladin was making his final American Superbike start in a record-setting career and raced true to form before gearbox issues emerged in the later part of the race.  Mladin is retiring with an unmatched total of seven AMA Pro American Superbike championships and a record 82 career victories.

“Today was a really good race,” Mladin said.  “I felt pretty good for most of it.  I really didn’t want to be in second place and I was trying to lead and was doing as much as I could from the front.  We put it in as much as we could.  About 10 laps to go, I couldn’t get the thing in fifth gear.  I had to go straight through to sixth and in the end we just couldn’t keep up.”

Hayes crossed the finish line 2.254 seconds ahead Mladin while Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) was third for the second straight day. Mladin passed Yates on the last lap to take second.

“It feels really good to be up here and finish the year out with a few decent finishes,” said Yates, who posted his sixth podium finish of the season.  “Racing with Josh and Mat, it feels good to be up here and running with them.  Mat definitely wasn’t joking about it not getting into fifth gear back there.  It was twice running up through the bridge there that we got pretty close.  I thought I was going to run right over him or into him.  I got by Mat on the front straight and he came by me on that last lap, came up beside me, got on the brakes and I thought he was done, then he just slipped off to the inside.”

Three-time 2009 race winner Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R) finished fourth to improve on Saturday’s fifth place showing while Neil Hodgson (No. 100 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR) had his best result since finishing second in the Daytona opener to round out the top five.

Pegram jumped to fourth in the final American Superbike standings with 347 points, one spot behind Hayden, who locked down third with 373 points.  Hayden stepped up to challenge Hayes in the closing laps of the race but was uninjured when he lowsided after just taking the lead a little under three laps from the finish.

“I really wanted to win a race before the year was over and I wanted to try and get second in the championship, and I knew that one would take care of the other,” Hayden said.  “I just made a little mistake, went in a corner a little too hot and lost the front. It’s a shame. On the one hand, I’m bummed and on the other hand, I left it all out there and that was one thing I wanted to make sure and do today. We learned a lot and we’re looking forward to next year.”

Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) was also uninjured when he lowsided two laps into the race, but he still finished fifth in the final American Superbike championship standings with 333 points.

Sunday’s American Superbike final and other action from the New Jersey AMA Pro Superbike Championships can be seen in late-night coverage tonight on SPEED tonight at 12:30 a.m. ET (9:30 p.m. PT).

Herrin Helps Yamaha to Manufacturer Title

Like Hayes, Herrin swept both this weekend’s AMA Pro Superbike Championships as well as the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) three weeks ago to end the season as the hottest rider in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL.

His victories in the final four races vaulted him to second in the final championship standings, just five points behind 2009 Daytona SportBike Champion Danny Eslick (No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R).  Eslick finished seventh Sunday and ended his successful championship run with 387 points to Herrin’s 382.  Eslick’s No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell team also won the Daytona SportBike Team Championship with the same 387-point total.

Herrin’s late charge helped Yamaha win the Daytona SportBike Manufacturer Championship.  Yamaha’s total of 441 points edged Suzuki and Buell who ended up tied with 416 points.

Herrin and most of the other front runners survived an opening lap dust up in Turn 1 that shuffled the running order and ended with four riders going down or off course.  Herrin was in sixth place at the end of Lap 1 but was up to fourth and mixing it up with the leaders two laps later. He was challenging Saturday runner-up Chaz Davies (No. 57 Factory Aprilia /Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R) for the lead on Lap 11 when the Aprilia rider slid off course.  Davies was uninjured but his weekend was over.

“Turn 1 was definitely really scary,” Herrin said.  “I thought we were done for, but luckily we got out of there.  I think we were in seventh going into Turn 3 and it was definitely harder than I wanted it to be.  A little more stress on us, but we made it happen.  My Graves Yamaha crew has been working really, really hard all year.  We came up five points shy but it’s the best that we’ve done since I’ve been in AMA Pro so hat’s off to them.”

Herrin’s final battle for the lead was with Jake Zemke(No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR), who joined his teammate Chris Peris (No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) in having one of Honda’s best races of the season.  Zemke passed Herrin for the lead on Lap 21 only to have the Yamaha rider draft past two laps later in the fast run down the front straight to start the last lap.

“On the white flag lap we went down into Turn 1 and I thought ‘There’s no way he’s going to make the corner, I’m just going turn right back underneath him,’” Zemke said.  “As soon as I took the thing in, I lost the rear and it skidded away.  It gave Josh a nice little gap.  I was able to close back up a little bit there at the end but it was just not enough.  So, congratulations to Josh and congratulations to Danny on his first championship, that’s great to see.  It’s been a long year for us.  It would have been nice to finish it off with a win but we’ll take the second place.  It’s going to be a long winter but we’ll come out swinging next year.”
The young Yamaha standout crossed the line just .063 of a second ahead of Zemke for the win while Herrin’s teammate Tommy Aquino (No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) finished third.

“I got a really clean start and apparently I was the only one,” said Aquino, who led the first lap.  “I was out in the lead for a little bit.  I got passed a couple of times and I just settled in.  Once I thought I was settled in, somebody else would kind of stuff me, but I was trying to ride my race.  Eventually some people either moved out of the way by themselves or I moved them out of the way.  It went pretty good and I’m happy with this.”

Peris finished fourth after running as high as second while Jamie Hacking (No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) rounded out the top five.

Hacking’s teammate Roger Hayden (No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) edged Eslick for sixth place at the line, but the 2009 Daytona SportBike Champion raced to the end while wrapping up the title.

“Going back all the way to three weeks before Daytona, I didn’t have a ride,” Eslick said.  “The season has been amazing and with just the first couple of wins, we would have been happy with that.  We’ve kept on going and won a couple more races, had some off weekends and made the best of what we have.  My guys have worked so hard.  The GEICO Powersports/Bruce Rossmeyer/RMR Buell team has just worked so hard all year long and never given up.   It’s been a long, hard fight the whole way and this weekend is no different. We’ve had some tough times a month ago, but we made it through.  Who would have thought I’d have any wins coming into the season, and to leave with the championship, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Superpole winner Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) had another challenging race and finished eighth. Saturday’s third place finisher Steve Rapp (No. 48 Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6) was also uninjured in a lowside incident in Sunday’s race.

Of the riders involved in the opening lap incident, only Aaron Gobert (No. 97 Factory Aprilia /Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R) required medical attention, but he was examined and released.

Sunday’s Daytona SportBike final and other action from the New Jersey AMA Pro Superbike Championships can be seen in late-night coverage tonight on SPEED tonight at 12:30 a.m. ET (9:30 p.m. PT).

SuperSport Double Day

The AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei National Championship Shootout will not be run until next month at Daytona, but apparently nobody told 2009 SuperSport Champions Josh Day(No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6) and Ricky Parker (No. 96 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6).  The two riders waged a thrilling SuperSport shootout of their own Sunday at NJMP with SuperSport East Champ Day ultimately winning the race by .460 of a second over SuperSport West Champ Parker.

“Ricky really made me work hard for it today and I just want to say hats off to him for riding it smooth and not doing anything dirty out there today,” said Day, who won his fourth straight SuperSport race.  “It was definitely a tough race for us all.  It was all close racing; we were just out there having fun.  It was just awesome to come out on top though.  We’ve still got Daytona at the end of the year. I’m sure Ricky’s going to be right with me there and it’s going to be a tough race there too.”

Like Josh Hayes and Josh Herrin, Day doubled up on race wins at the AMA Pro Superbike Championships.  Day and Scott Charleton rode the No. 27 Four Feathers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 to the overall and GT1 class win in yesterday’s AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT race.

In SuperSport, Day clinched the East title one race ago in Virginia but officially ended his 2009 campaign with 189 points after today’s victory.  He was credited with leading 16 of the SuperSport race’s 19 laps in New Jersey but the number of unofficial lead changes within laps was almost impossible to follow.

“It came down to who made the most mistakes on each lap,” Parker said.  “I think we had about the same pace.  Once I caught back up to him I would just out-brake him one time, then he’d out-brake me, that’s part of it.  Our plans are definitely to go down there and try to get in front of Josh next time in Daytona.”

J.D. Beach (No. 73 Rockwall Performance/Red Bull Yamaha YZF-R6) finished third for his third straight podium finish.  He also moved to second in the final SuperSport East standings with 107 points.

“It was a good race today,” Beach said.  “I saw the race between Ricky and Josh the whole time.  I had a front row seat there, so it was really cool to see that.  I just couldn’t do it today.  I got kind of close but just couldn’t reel them in.  We really pulled it together from Mid-Ohio on.  We got on the podium at the last three races. I really wanted to win this race but just couldn’t do it.  I am looking forward to next year.”

Next up on the SuperSport schedule is the National Championship Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, October 16 – 18. The lucrative non-points race is open to any rider that has run at least one SuperSport race this season, with the winner earning the title of SuperSport National Champion.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines.  From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT.  AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series.  Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

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Buell

Millville, NJ (Sept. 6, 2009) Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO Powersports rider Danny Eslick made history today by clinching the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, his own and Buell Motorcycle Company’s first professional AMA road racing championship.

Coming into today’s race, the second of the double-header weekend at NJMP, with a 22-point lead over Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin, his only remaining title rival, Eslick needed to secure at least a 12^th place finish to hold off the fast-charging Herrin. Herrin needed to sweep both weekend races to have a chance at catching Eslick, including today’s thriller that featured a dramatic Lap 1, Turn 1 three-rider incident that forced both Herrin and Eslick to ride off track.

As Herrin worked his way to the front, battling with Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke for the eventual victory, Eslick settled into a comfortable pace inside the top ten and spent much of the race dicing with Attack Kawasaki’s Roger Lee Hayden. The pair traded positions several times and crossed the finish line a mere 0.001-second apart, with Hayden nipping Eslick for sixth place. Eslick’s seventh place finish gave him 387 points on the season, good for a five-point margin over Herrin and the Daytona SportBike championship.

“I went down into Turn 1, and I’m not sure who it was, [but he] just nailed me,” Eslick said. “I saw somebody come flying by me and wasn’t slowing down at all and T-bone Josh pretty good. I thought “Alright!” About the time I said that, I got hit [too] and we both ended up in the dirt. I tried to gather my stuff back up, and a few other guys went off. I knew where I needed to be to seal the deal. Me and Rog had a nice little battle and it made the race go by fairly fast, especially when you’re riding with somebody you can trust and you know won’t do anything crazy.”

Eslick celebrated his first AMA championship in style, with a burnout-laced, flag-waving victory lap around the 2.2-mile circuit. Eslick’s Daytona SportBike championship is also the first for an American manufacturer since the AMA split road racing and dirt track racing into separate competition disciplines in the early 1970s.

“Going all the way back to three weeks before Daytona, I didn’t have a ride, so it’s been an amazing season. Just those first couple of wins, we would’ve been happy with that. My crew guys have worked so hard all year long and never gave up. It’s been a long hard fight the whole way and this weekend’s been no different,” Eslick said. “We had some tough times here about a month ago [with the death of team sponsor Bruce Rossmeyer], but we made it through.”

For Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company and a former privateer AMA racer who founded Buell in 1983 as a racing motorcycle manufacturer, Eslick’s championship is literally the culmination of a lifetime’s dream.

“It’s an amazing moment. It’s been an incredible racing season. I’ve gotten to see the AMA turned around from boring racing to the most exciting racing I’ve seen in years. I’d have been happy to just be part of it, but it’s incredible that we won our class championship. Danny is an incredible rider. I’m so proud to be part of a privateer team that can show what a rider like that can do,” Buell said. “It’s very emotional. I appreciate so much all the people over the years who helped us get to where we are. That’s the big perspective I’m looking at, not just this moment.”

In other Daytona SportBike weekend and season results, Eslick’s teammate Michael Barnes finished today’s race in 18^th position and 15^th position overall in the final championship standings with 118 points. Latus Motors Racing’s Taylor Knapp finished 12^th today and 11^th overall in championship with 178 points. Bartels’ H-D/Buell/Higbee-racing.com’s Shawn Higbee finished 20^th in the championship with 70 points.

In the final race of the weekend and the 2009 AMA Pro Racing season, Cory West finished seventh in the American Superbike class, improving on his eighth place start and eighth place finish in yesterday’s race to cap a successful debut weekend aboard the Buell 1125RR superbike.

“Immediately I felt the [rear] tire was not as hooked up as yesterday. I didn’t know if it just wasn’t up to temperature because it was overcast and the track temperature was lower, but I was hoping it was going to come in, and all of a sudden I got passed by three guys,” West said. “I didn’t quite have the grip off the corners I had yesterday, and it seemed like everybody did their homework last night so it was a little harder today. The last two laps my [rear tire] was sliding going in and sliding coming out, so I just tried to hold my position. I’ve got to thank Erik Buell for giving me the opportunity to ride this weekend, I had a really good time.”

Latus Motors Racing’s Taylor Knapp’s race went from bad to worse after he was involved in a Turn 1 incident that caused a red flag on the American Superbike race’s original start and was later penalized for jumping the restart and speeding in pit lane after serving a stop-and-go penalty for the jump start.

On the initial start, Knapp was forced off track and crashed after making contact with the Ducati of Larry Pegram, who was trying to avoid Factory Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom after he high-sided in Turn 1.

“When Ben high-sided, [Larry] Pegram stood his bike up and hit me, and then I just crashed,” Knapp said. “I can’t believe they called a jump start [on the restart]. I thought I was black-flagged for something falling off.”

After the stop-and-go penalty, Knapp recovered to finish in 12^th position, including the 10-second post-race penalty. Bartels’ H-D/Buell/Higbee-racing.com’s Shawn Higbee finished 17^th.

Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike, 1125CR café racer, and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt, and Lightning. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, or to locate the dealer nearest you, log onto www.buell.com.