SPIES WINS SUPERSTOCK OPENER
 Team
Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies picked up his first-ever victory
at Daytona International Speedway in Florida by winning the
opening round of the AMA Superstock Championship.
"At the beginning of the race I had a little issue but
it was all me and the bike came through," said Spies.
"I can't say enough about the power of the Yoshimura
Suzuki GSX-R1000."
In qualifying, Spies picked up the first Superstock pole
position of the year after posting a 1:38.355 fast lap time
on the production-class Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.
"It was a really good qualifying session though we struggled
a bit at the end," said Spies. "We went out on race
tyres and went good and were consistent. I used the first
'Q' and that didn't work too well. I used another one and
I had a good lap going but I came up on another rider and
that cost us a little bit."
Although Spies would have preferred to have posted a quicker
lap time, he was extremely pleased with the overall performance
of his bike.
"The GSX-R1000 is working good, the team is doing a
great job and I'm happy with my riding," said Spies.
"We know what everybody else is doing on race tyres and
I'd like to say we're going to go out there and win the race.
Our lap times are right there with the Superbike's and this
GSX-R is right off the showroom floor. It's definitely the
best bike in the class. Now we just have to go out there and
win the race."
In the 13-lap race itself, Spies got a great start and took
the lead immediately. A few laps in, however, he was passed
and settled into second for most of the race. But with just
a few laps to go, the defending AMA Superbike Champion retook
the lead and captured the victory.
"We've always been so close here," said Spies.
"Today's race played out like I hoped it would at first
and then I rode like a provisional novice and made a bunch
of mistakes. Geoff May was riding good and got by me…
eventually I was able to get to the front and tried to get
a gap. When I realised that I had about a second on the field,
I put my head down and tried to check out. I'm just glad we
were able to bring home the win."
Yoshimura Suzuki will return for round two of the AMA Superstock
Series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on
April 20 - 22.
AMA Superstock Top 10 Finishers:
1 Ben Spies (Yoshimura Suzuki)
2 Ben Bostrom (Yamaha)
3 Geoff May (M4 EMGO Suzuki)
4 Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki)
5 Danny Eslick (Suzuki)
6 Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
7 Blake Young (Suzuki)
8 Scott Jensen (Suzuki)
9 Tristan Palmer (Suzuki)
10 John Haner (Suzuki)
HAYDEN PODIUMS IN SUPERSPORT
Newly signed Yoshimura Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden brought
home an impressive podium finish in his first AMA Supersport
race aboard the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 at Daytona International
Speedway.
"I was really glad to get on the podium," said
Hayden. "Hats off to my Yoshimura Suzuki crew for giving
me such a great bike in the GSX-R600. They did a great job
and welcomed me and helped make the transition to a new team
as easy as possible."
Hayden, who carded a front-row starting position after posting
a 1:42.610 lap time, said: "It was good to get on the
front row. We definitely made a jump toward the end. Being
on the front row is important at Daytona because it makes
the first few laps easier. I hope I can get away with the
front group."
Because Hayden was injured during testing at the end of 2006,
he hadn't put that many laps on the GSX-R600, which makes
his third-place grid position even more impressive.
"I felt more comfortable on the GSX-R600 towards the
end," said Hayden. "I missed the Daytona test so
I'm a little behind. Overall, we did pretty good, especially
considering how few laps I have on it. We're making it a little
better every time I ride it."
In the 22-lap race, Hayden got a great start and took the
lead immediately. As the lengthy race played out, however,
Hayden moved back into fifth position but took advantage of
lappers to eventually get into third place, which he held
onto until the chequered flag.
"It felt like I was surrounded by five or six people
for almost the whole race," said Hayden. "I got
a good run with a lapper and put my head down because I knew
it was my best chance. I was going a lot faster on the Yoshimura
Suzuki GSX-R600 than I had been all weekend."
AMA Supersport Top 10 Finishers:
1 Roger Lee Hayden (Kawasaki)
2 Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki)
3 Tommy Hayden (Team Yoshimura Suzuki)
4 Michael Barnes (M4 EMGO Suzuki)
5 Josh Hayes (Honda)
6 Ben Attard (Kawasaki)
7 Steve Rapp (Kawasaki)
8 Chaz Davies (Yamaha)
9 Geoff May (M4 EMGO Suzuki)
10 Cory West (Yamaha)
|
