MLADIN AND YATES FALL AT MID-OHIO
24 July 2005 - Suzuki Racing

Team Yoshimura Suzuki''s Mat Mladin and Aaron Yates both crashed out of today''s second-leg AMA Superbike double-header at Mid-Ohio.

Yates and Mladin were holding strong second and third places behind leader Eric Bostrom (Ducati) when on the 12th lap, Yates crashed and Mladin went down trying to avoid him.

Both remounted, Yates finishing ninth but Mladin had to pit to repair his damaged GSX-R1000 and finished out of the points in 30th.

The five-time AMA Superbike Champion still heads the series after 13 of 17 races but his lead has now been cut to just nine points over team mate Ben Spies, who finished third today.

Steve Rapp raced to sixth place with Jason Pridmore and Jacob Holden seventh and eighth on their GSX-R1000s, putting five of the top-10 finishers on Suzukis.

Final Results: 1. Eric Bostrom (Ducati), 2. Miguel Duhamel (Honda), 3. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki), 4. Neil Hodgson (Ducati), 5. Kurtis Roberts (Honda), 6. Steve Rapp (Suzuki), 7. Jason Pridmore (Suzuki), 8. Jacob Holden (Suzuki), 9. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki), 10. Larry Pegram (Honda).

YATES WINS SUPERSTOCK:

Yoshimura Suzuki''s Aaron Yates extended his points lead in the AMA Repsol Superstock Series title chase by taking his fourth Superstock win of the 2005 season at Mid-Ohio today.

''The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is going good and I was happy with the pace,'' said Yates from the podium. ''I was relaxed enough to think about where I could go faster if I needed to and I was happy with our choice for a rear tyre. I wanted to be in the lead so I wouldn''t have to worry about running into anybody and just keep the GSX-R on the podium.''

For Superstock, Yates qualified just a few hours prior to the first Superbike race of the weekend the previous day. Not feeling any undue pressure, however, Yates posted an impressive 1:27.663 lap time and was gridded on the front row.

''Qualifying was good,'' he said afterwards. ''The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 got us on the front row. But the times were really close, really competitive. But we''re here to race, not qualify, and we''ll see how it goes tomorrow.''

In the race, Yates got the holeshot and was out front immediately. Although he moved back into second briefly, he quickly regained the lead and held it until the 16-lap race''s end.

''It feels good to come out of here with a win,'' added Yates. ''It''s good to have a points cushion but it''s still a little close for comfort. In the race, everything was just working really well and I tried to keep a good pace. I was just really comfortable and trying to run a good race.''

Superstock Results: 1. Aaron Yates (Yoshimura Suzuki), 2. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha), 3. Steve Rapp (Jordan Suzuki), 4. Jacob Holden (Suzuki), 5. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki), 6. Jason Pridmore (Jordan Suzuki), 7. Michael Barnes (M4 EMGO Suzuki), 8. Damon Buckmaster (Yamaha), 9. John Haner (Suzuki), 10. Geoff May (M4 EMGO Suzuki).

SPIES FIFTH IN SUPERSPORT:

Team Yoshimura Suzuki''s Ben Spies carded a fifth-place finish in the AMA Supersport race at Mid-Ohio today.

The young Texan managed the impressive finish in spite of just having taken a podium spot in the AMA Superbike race that was held immediately prior to the Supersport event.

''It was a pretty good race,'' said tired Spies after campaigning back-to-back races in the hot Ohio sun. ''It was tough coming off the Superbike race, but that''s how it goes. I was just glad to get theYoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 up in the top five.''

Spies qualified strongly with a 1:29.947 lap time, putting him firmly on the front row of the grid. Even so, Spies would have preferred taking the pole position.

He said: ''We''re struggling a bit with this track. I don''t really feel comfortable on the bike right now. I''m not sure what the problem is but we''re working on it. But I have faith in my Yoshimura Suzuki crew and the GSX-R600.''

Spies is just six points behind third-place overall in the Supersport title chase.

Supersport Results: 1. Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki), 2. Tommy Hayden (Kawasaki), 3. Ben Attard (Kawasaki), 4. Jason Disalvo (Yamaha), 5. Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki), 6. Robert Jensen (Yamaha), 7. Chris Peris (Yamaha), 8. Damon Buckmaster (Yamaha), 9. Aaron Gobert (Yamaha), 10. Danny Eslick (Suzuki).

www.suzuki-racing.com

More News
  For July 2005
  From Suzuki Racing
  For Superbike
  Biker247.com Home Page