MLADIN WINS AT ROAD AMERICA Jun 3, 2006 ... - Suzuki Marine

MLADIN WINS AT ROAD AMERICA
Jun 3, 2006
Team Suzuki Press Office – June 3rd, 2006.
Mat Mladin continued Yoshimura Suzuki’s total
domination of the AMA Superbike Championship by
winning today’s Road America Championship round
ahead of team mate Ben Spies.
Six-time Champion Mladin won a hard-fought victory and
stopped Spies taking the AMA record for consecutive race
wins, which he now shares with American Honda’s Miguel
Duhamel at six.
Duhamel led from the start but Spies took the lead by
the end of the first lap.
Mladin was fourth on lap two after a poor start, third on
lap three and into second on the sixth lap, before taking
the lead
Mat Mladin continued
Yoshimura Suzuki’s
total domination of the
AMA Superbike
Championship by
winning today’s Road
America Championship
round ahead of team
mate Ben Spies.
Ben Spies took his
Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-
R1000 to provisional
pole for this weekend’s
AMA Superbike doubleheader
at Road
America and set a new
lap record in the
process.
In the closing stages, Spies closed on Mladin, but the Australian held the 23-year-old Texan behind.
“It feels good to get the win,” said the defending AMA Superbike Champion. “Ben pushed me the whole way. I tried to get
a gap and just couldn’t hold it. But what can you say about the Yoshimura Suzuki team and the GSX-R1000? One -two all
season and eight race wins in a row.”
As thrilling as the race was, the excitement of Road America actually started with Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.
Spies broke the track record with an ultra-fast 2:12.156 lap time and captured provisional pole. On Saturday, however,
Mladin came back with blistering lap time of 2:11.970. The result was Mladin taking his second pole position of the season
and his 49th career pole. Spies remained in the second spot on the grid, while team mate Aaron Yates was fifth.
Ben Spies raced his
Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-
R1000 to its sixth
consecutive victory at
today’s second-leg AMA
Superbike
Championship doubleheader
at Infineon
Raceway in California.
The 16-lap race on the lengthy and flowing 4.0-mile Road America circuit was a nail-biter. Although Spies was out front for
the first several laps, Mladin was able to reel him in and hold him off to take the win.
“As I’ve been saying all season, Ben’s been riding really well,” said Mladin. “I’ve learned some stuff off him from the last
few races, places where he’s stronger than me. And I’ve worked on that at the last few tests. That’s not easy – they say
you can’t teach an old dog new tricks and I’m only 34, that’s not really old, but I’ve been racing for 30 years and I’m
pretty set in my ways.”
Even so, Mladin pulled off the victory. It was close, though, with Spies right on Mladin’s GSX-R for the remaining laps. In
fact, Spies finished less 0.149 of a second behind his team mate.
“Hats off to Mat,” said Spies, who currently leads the AMA Superbike points chase. “He rode great right from the get-go
and we just didn’t have what it takes today. I rode as hard as I could and I wouldn’t have done anything differently. The
Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000’s handling is awesome and it’s really going good. We just have a few adjustments to make
before we come back tomorrow.”
Yates, meanwhile, was battling tyre grip and some bad luck at Road America. Although he got a good start, the Georgian
got caught up in some turn-one confusion and lost several spots. “I got a good launch,” he said ruefully. “And I tried to go
to the outside but then I fell way back. It took awhile to get around everybody and I think I chose the wrong front tyre. I
just didn’t have any confidence and wasn’t going forward.”
Superbike Results:
1. Mat Mladin (Yoshimura Suzuki)
2. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki)
3. Jake Zemke (Honda)
4. Miguel Duhamel (Honda)
5. Neil Hodgson (Ducati)
6. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki)
7. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki)
8. Ben Bostrom (Ducati)
9. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki)
10. Steve Rapp (Suzuki)

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