Infineon Race #1 2007

Mladin wins race #1 Infineon

(AMA SuperBike Release) Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin registered a brilliant, overpowering performance to win Saturday’s AMA Superbike contest at Infineon Raceway going away.

The race was arguably the most one-sided contest the recently competitive series has seen since the height of the six-time champ's domination as Mladin claimed the checkered flag with more than 19 seconds to spare.

Mladin and archrival Ben Spies started to break free from the remainder of the field as early as the opening lap. Then the Australian etched out some breathing room from the defending champ as they opened their second circulation; Spies ran off track briefly attempting to cling onto the lead GSX-R1000's rear wheel in Turn 2, costing him more than two seconds in the process.

Any thoughts of Spies clawing his way back up to his teammate were quickly erased as Mladin continued to add big chunks to his advantage each time he crossed the stripe.

Mladin ultimately worked the margin up to 19.135 seconds at the checkered flag (with a massive 27.696 seconds back to third), where he claimed his record-extending 55th career AMA Superbike victory.

Just as importantly, his triumph narrowed the points deficit to just five (206-201), meaning that a repeat of today’s results tomorrow would create a tie for the championship lead when the series heads to Road America.

“It was a good race for us,” Mladin understated. “We got a good start and just put our head down and tried to go as quick as possible and really reel off some good laps on the first five or six laps. I tried to keep it as clean as possible. It definitely got greasy there around half-race. We got into some lappers and I lost a bit of rhythm but it seemed like everybody did the same. It was nice to get another win and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Asked if the blowout reminded him of his walkaway wins earlier in his career, Mladin pointed out that -- despite losing his #1 plate -- things have been going his way more often than not in recent days as well. “I’ve won nine of the last eleven races in 2006 and 2007, so I’m not thinking about earlier the decade, I’m thinking about now.”

After the race Spies was asked if things might have been different if he hadn’t taken an excursion through the dirt early. The Texan admitted, “That didn’t make a difference. Sometimes things change. I don’t think I forgot how to ride a motorcycle but I just couldn’t… I rode as hard as I could the whole race. You can’t put a finger on it but sometimes things don’t work the same. I did everything I could and ran off the track big on the second lap and just tried to get as many points as I could today. There was no way I could ride that pace today and I knew that right off the start. Not disappointed at all, actually, I’ve just got to come back strong and try to run with him tomorrow. It’s a long season; today was a little frustrating but it’s just one race.”

American Honda’s Miguel DuHamel picked up his fourth podium of the season on his California-developed CBR1000RR. He bided his time behind an impressive Jason DiSalvo before finally overtaking the young Yamaha USA ace on lap 14 of 28 and then built up a comfortable margin in third.

“I got a decent start and then just followed Jason. He was riding really well. I was a little stronger here and there so finally when I got by him, I put a gap on him and held it... I focused on Ben and tried to keep a good pace and keep him honest.”

While he faded slightly late, DiSalvo managed to fend off a charge from DuHamel’s teammate, Jake Zemke, to finish fourth, easily the best performance the Superbike rookie has enjoyed in the class thus far.

Team Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden picked up sixth after dueling with Zemke for much of the race, a full twenty seconds ahead of big brother Tommy, who took seventh on the third works Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Corona Extra Honda’s James Ellison got back into the top ten, taking the flag in ninth, followed by FBF MV Agusta’s Matt Lynn, who stole the position from Jordan Suzuki’s front-row qualifier, Aaron Yates, three laps from the finish.

Reigning champ Spies will attempt to answer Mladin’s powerful salvo in Sunday’s 100k Superbike rematch which will get underway at 3:00 pm local time.