2007 AMA Superbike Series, round four, Infineon Raceway
Dunlop Tire Press Release - May 22, 2007

Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., was the setting for round four of the 2007 AMA Superbike Series, May 18-20. Situated at the gateway to the state’s fabled wine country just north of the Bay Area, the beautiful setting was more than agreeable to Yoshimura Suzuki’s Mat Mladin and Erion Honda Racing’s Josh Hayes, each of whom collected two victories over two days of racing. Six-time Superbike champ Mladin swept both Superbike main events on his GSX-R1000 and Hayes notched wins in the Formula Xtreme and Supersport classes on his CBR600RR. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies took the weekend’s fifth contest in the Superstock series on his GSX-R1000.

 

It was a strong weekend for Dunlop Motorcycle Racing as well. Of the top-four qualifying positions in each event, Dunlop-supported racers occupied 13 of the 16 possible front row slots. When it came down to what really matters, Dunlop swept the podium in both Superbike races and the Supersport competition, giving up only two of the available 15 podium positions in all five races. Every pole position and every race win was achieved on Dunlop’s multi-compound N-Tec™ rear tire. There was depth to Dunlop’s performance as well, as 80 percent of the top 10 finishers in all five races combined (40 of 50) rode on Dunlop tires. Punctuating Dunlop’s dominance, the first 16 finishers across the line in Superbike Race One were on Dunlop tires.

 

Though Friday’s chilly temperatures and gusty winds were a reminder of the racetrack’s close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the weekend weather was nearly perfect for racing. To best equip the factory and support-team riders Dunlop brought more than 1800 tires, including three front and three rear tire (3/3) options for Superbike riders, 2/4 for Formula Xtreme, 5/4 for Superstock and 3/3 for Supersport.

 

Superbike Race One

Mladin was utterly dominant in the first of the weekend’s two signature events, taking the checkered flag with more than 19 seconds to spare. “It was a good race for us,” Mladin said of his 55th career Superbike victory. “I’d like to thank my Yoshimura Suzuki crew, who’ve worked really hard in the off-season and in testing to try and get the number-one plate back. 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 in the first five or six laps. It was nice to get another win, and we look forward to tomorrow.” Mladin’s Yoshimura Suzuki teammate and defending series champion Ben Spies was second and Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel was third.

 

Superbike Race One Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki

2. Ben Spies - Suzuki

3. Miguel Duhamel - Honda

4. Jason DiSalvo - Yamaha

5. Jake Zemke - Honda

6. Roger Hayden - Kawasaki

7. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

8. Jamie Hacking - Kawasaki

9. James Ellison - Honda

10. Matt Lynn - MV Agusta

 

Formula Xtreme Race

Hayes had a spirited scrimmage with his Erion Honda Racing teammate Aaron Gobert before hanging on for a 1.157-second victory. “Everything was going well," said Hayes of his third straight win. “We were out there in the lead. Once Aaron got there, I knew what kind of pace Aaron could run. And I know what machine, the Honda 600. So I tried to go a little bit faster and I started making some mistakes and he was right there to capitalize on them.” Following Gobert in third was Attack Kawasaki's Steve Rapp. Overall, Dunlop took six of the first ten finishing positions.

 

Formula Xtreme Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Josh Hayes - Honda

2. Aaron Gobert - Honda

5. Larry Pegram - Ducati

6. Marty Craggill - Ducati

8. Jason Perez - Yamaha

10. Ryan Andrews - Honda

 

Formula Xtreme Championship Points: Top three riders

1. Hayes - 139

2. Rapp - 120

3. Gobert - 96

 

Superstock Race

Spies rode a comfortable pace to win the 1000-class event by 11-plus seconds over M4 EMGO Suzuki's Geoff May. It was Spies third win this season. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was awesome. I’ve got to thank my guys and the team. We didn’t really need to make any changes to the bike and that says a lot for the Suzuki.” Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom took third to complete the podium as six Dunlop riders finished in the top 10.

 

Superstock Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Ben Spies - Suzuki

3. Ben Bostrom - Yamaha

4. Danny Eslick - Suzuki

5. Blake Young - Suzuki

7. Aaron Yates - Suzuki

10. Jason Curtis - Suzuki

 

Superstock Championship Points: Top three riders

1. Spies - 141

2. Yates - 118

3. Ben Bostrom - 117

 

Supersport Race

Hayes won his second race of the weekend in a closely contested affair with Kawasaki Road Racing’s Jamie Hacking and Roger Hayden as a red-flag shortened the competition by three of the scheduled 17 laps. Hacking, the 2006 class champion, and Hayden completed the Dunlop podium sweep and eight of the top ten finishers took the checkered flag on Dunlops. Hayes second win of the year puts him into the series lead for the first time.

 

Supersport Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Josh Hayes - Honda

2. Jamie Hacking - Kawasaki

3. Roger Hayden - Kawasaki

4. Chaz Davies - Yamaha

5. Josh Herrin - Yamaha

8. Aaron Gobert - Honda

9. Ben Attard - Kawasaki

10. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

 

Supersport Championship Points: Top three riders

1. Hayes - 96

2. Roger Hayden - 92

3. Rapp - 80

 

Superbike Race Two

Mladin reinforced his claim to the Superbike throne with a second win on Sunday, this time by 9.476 seconds over Spies. “I came here ready to ride as hard as I had to,” said Mladin after notching career win number 56. “I just want to get as much out of me as I can and to get as much out of the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 as I can. I’ll worry about everything else later.” Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke was third as Mladin moved into a tie with Spies for the series lead. Dunlop riders represented the first 12 overall finishers.

 

Superbike Race Two Results: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10

1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki

2. Ben Spies - Suzuki

3. Jake Zemke - Honda

4. Miguel Duhamel - Honda

5. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

6. Jason DiSalvo - Yamaha

7. Eric Bostrom - Yamaha

8. James Ellison - Honda

9. Jake Holden - Suzuki

10. Jamie Hacking - Kawasaki

 

Superbike Championship Points: Top three riders

1. Spies, Mladin – 238 (tied)

3. Duhamel - 197

 

The next stop for Dunlop and the 2007 AMA Superbike Series is Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wis., June 1-3. Round five features a doubleheader for the Superbike series.