AMA
Superbike tied going into Road America
(AMA Pro Racing Release)
Road America is set to host one of the hottest rivalries in AMA Superbike
Championship racing history. With the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader on
June 1-3, at the scenic four-mile circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis., fans
will have the opportunity to see a battle royale between Superbike’s top
two riders – defending champ Ben Spies, of Longview, Texas, and six-time
AMA Superbike title holder Australian Mat Mladin. After seven rounds the
Yoshimura Suzuki duo are tied for the series lead – a rarity coming into
mid-season.
Road America has been hosting AMA Superbike races since 1980, but not
since the days of Eddie Lawson vs. Freddie Spencer in the early 1980s or
Wayne Rainey vs. Kevin Schwantz in the late ‘80s, has there been such an
intense rivalry in the championship.
Not only have there been superb duels on the track, the two have also
traded verbal jabs in the press. Mladin often claiming he was not on top
of his game last year when his domination was broken by Spies, and Spies
saying that he receives no respect from his more veteran racing
colleague.
Now the drama-filled series moves to the high-speed Road America, a track
where Mladin has claimed six of his record 56-career AMA Superbike wins.
The Aussie sensation is coming off a sweep of the doubleheader at
Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on May 19-20.
“It was a great weekend for us,” Mladin said of the last round. “We're
looking to getting up to Road America, to a racetrack that I really enjoy
a lot. As far as for me, it's one of my favorites, because of the speed,
and the type of corners they have. So I'm looking forward to getting up
there. It was good to get two wins at Infineon, to close up the points,
and we'll head up to Wisconsin in a couple of weeks.”
Even though Spies has yet to earn a Superbike win in Elkhart Lake, he
seems up for the challenge the longest track in the series presents.
“It was a little frustrating [at Infineon Raceway], but speed-wise we
weren't too bad,” Spies said. “We weren't quite as quick, obviously, but
it wasn't demoralizing, just a little frustrating. So we're going to Road
America. I've never won there, but it's my favorite track, for sure, and
hopefully we can turn that around there.”
Between them, Mladin and Spies have won every race so far this season.
The rider who most frequently keeps the Suzuki riders in sight is veteran
Honda rider and five-time Road America Superbike winner Miguel Duhamel.
The Montreal native, who now calls Las Vegas home, is third in the
rankings, 41 points behind the leaders.
“Obviously Road America has been one of the strongest tracks for me over
the years,” said Duhamel, who swept the doubleheader there in 2002. “It’s
been really tough to have such a great bike in my Honda CBR1000RR and
still not have a win to my credit. I’m hoping we can change that real
soon.”
Eric Bostrom is another former Road America winner. Bostrom is back in
Superbike with the factory Yamaha squad. Yamaha’s return to Superbike
racing has been marked by moments of excellence, especially early in
races. Bostrom, and his teammate Jason DiSalvo, are hoping to find the
combination to put Yamaha back atop the Road America Superbike podium for
the first time in six years.
Like Yamaha, Kawasaki has gone through a long dry spell at Road America.
Roger Hayden and Jamie Hacking are now piloting the Monster Energy-back
Kawasaki ZX-10Rs and both say the bikes have the speed, now they have to
perfect the handling. The long straights at Road America could play right
into the strengths of their bikes.
Eraldo Ferracci experienced success at Road America in the early-to-mid
1990s with his riders Doug Polen, Pascal Picotte and Alessandro Gramigni.
Now Ferracci is fielding a new Superbike team running MV Agustas with
Italian Luca Scassa and Georgian Matt Lynn. The exotic MV Superbikes have
been steadily improving as the season progresses.
This will be the home race for the Jordan Suzuki team. The Chicago-based
squad has a bona fide Superbike contender this year in Aaron Yates. He
barely missed scoring a podium finish at Barber Motorsports Park in
April. The team is hoping that Yates, or teammate Jake Holden, can
finally give the team its long-awaited Superbike podium in Elkhart Lake.
Road America’s AMA Superbike races will air on SPEED on Sunday, June 3.
Saturday’s race will be shown at 2:00 pm Eastern and the Sunday’s race
will broadcast live at 4:00 pm Eastern.
Road America is not only popular with racers, it’s also a fan favorite.
Tickets are available for the event, including a discount four-day
Superticket. Order on-line at
www.roadamerica.com
or by phone at 1–800-365-7223.
