American Superbike 2008 – Round Two/Three – Barber
Round 2 – AMA Superbike Series – Birmingham, Alabama – Barber Motorsports Park – April 18 – 20, 2008
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin picked up his 65th career AMA Superbike victory after leading every lap and winning Saturday’s race at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. This race is the first of two in the double-header AMA Superbike weekend. This win is also the second of the season for six-time AMA Superbike Champion Mladin, as well as his sixth win at Barber. All of this comes on top of Mladin’s picking up his 54th career AMA Superbike pole position on Saturday morning. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden joined Mladin on the podium, thanks to an impressive third-place finish. This result marks Hayden’s second AMA Superbike podium with Suzuki. Teammate and defending AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies crashed on lap two, but rejoined the race and worked his way up into 11th place to salvage as many championship points as possible.
Mat Mladin:
“It was a pretty good race for us, though the guy I like to race with the most wasn’t in it. We got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I had my head down, so I didn’t realize Ben had crashed. But he’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll put on a great show, and hopefully we’ll win another one. I’d like to keep it going as long as we can. I have to thank my guys for giving me a Rockstar Makita Suzuki
GSX-R1000 that will hopefully give us another win tomorrow.”
Tommy Hayden:
“It’s really good to get the weekend started with a podium finish, even though my start wasn’t too good; I got a bit boxed in going in to Turn Two. But hats off to my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team for giving me a bike that was able to help me pick off the guys as the race went on. Thanks also to Dunlop tires, I had really good grip and was able to make some good passes. I actually had more grip as the race went on and was able to get some good runs and get past some guys. I’ve got a few corners I’m struggling with, but that’s me, not the bike. In the end, I tried to make a charge, but overall I’m happy to bring it home in third place and get on the podium. Hopefully, we can come back tomorrow and do a little bit better.”
Ben Spies:
“I got a pretty good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I was right there with Mat. Then, I just rushed it because I got a little bit impatient. We have the speed and I’m satisfied with the Suzuki’s performance, so we’re looking good for tomorrow. I just need to be a little more patient.”
AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers:
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki
2. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 15.6
3. Tommy Hayden, Suzuki 17.6
4. Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki 20.4
5. Neil Hodgson, Honda 24.9
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 30.2
7. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 31.9
8. Geoff May, Suzuki 44.9
9. Chris Peris, Suzuki
10. Jordan Szoke, Kawasaki
Round 3 – AMA Superbike Series – Birmingham, Alabama – Barber Motorsports Park – April 18 – 20, 2008
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing swept the AMA Superbike podium in the second of two AMA Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday afternoon. A large crowd turned out to see six-time AMA Superbike Champion follow up Saturday’s win with a victory on Sunday. This win is Mladin’s third win of the season, his seventh win at Barber and his 66th career AMA Superbike victory. Defending AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies charged hard on his Suzuki GSX-R1000 but was unable to catch his teammate. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden also put in an impressive ride and picked up his second podium of the year and of the weekend by finishing behind Spies.
Mat Mladin:
“Today was a great day for me and my guys, and it was a great day for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. For me, it was a pretty good race. I just tried to put in a good, solid ride and be consistent. Our goal all along was to come out and win as many races as possible. We’ve gone three for three, we’ve gotten both pole positions and led the most laps so I reckon that’s not too bad. Hopefully, we can do it again next weekend at Fontana.”
Ben Spies:
“We got a not-so-good start and then I made my way into second place but I just couldn’t keep Mat’s pace. But we’re going to some tracks that I like and we’re going to keep giving it all we’ve got. He’s riding really good right now and we’re chasing him so we’ve got to step it up. I have to thank my guys for building me a new Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 last night after I crashed yesterday. Now we’re focusing on Fontana next weekend and we know what we need to do. We just need to go faster.”
Tommy Hayden:
“Rockstar Makita Suzuki – one, two, three – that’s the way it should be and I’m just glad to do my part to make that happen. It feels good to be up on the podium twice this weekend and thanks to my team for everything. We did a lot of work this winter and we’ve come a long way. I’m definitely happy with today’s race, even happier than yesterday. I felt like I got a bit of a gift yesterday with Ben crashing. Today, I really had to earn this one. I just tried to keep my head down. It was a hard race but it feels good to start off the season with two podiums. My goal was to get more podiums right out of the gate and hopefully I’ll keep on seeing these guys a little more often.”
AMA Superbike Top 10 Finishers:
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki
2. Ben Spies, Suzuki 8.1
3. Tommy Hayden, Suzuki 14.9
4. Jason DiSalvo, Yamaha 18.5
5. Neil Hodgson, Honda 20.8
6. Eric Bostrom, Yamaha 23.1
7. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 29.9
8. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 33.3
9. Matt Lynn, Honda 57.3
10. Geoff May, Jordan Suzuki 58.0
AMA Superbike Points Standings
1. Mat Mladin, Suzuki – 113
2. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha – 88
3. Tommy Hayden, Suzuki – 85
4. Ben Spies, Suzuki – 84
5. Neil Hodgson, Honda – 76
6. Miguel Duhamel, Honda – 67
7. Geoff May, Suzuki – 65
8. Jamie Hacking, Kawasaki – 63
9. Aaron Yates, Suzuki – 60
10. Chris Peris, Suzuki – 60
AMA Supersport Race
1. Josh Herrin, Yamaha
2. Ben Bostrom, Yamaha 0.132
3. Jake Zemke, Honda 5.42
4. Blake Young, Suzuki 11.37
5. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki 11.39
AMA Supersport Points Standings
1. Bostrom – 71
2. Herrin – 69
3. Young – 53
4. Zemke – 52
5. Rapp – 50
