Suzuki's Spies Completes Perfect Weekend at Infineon Raceway

Contact: John Cardinale

707-334-9805

 

Suzuki's Spies Completes Perfect

Weekend at Infineon Raceway with Superbike Win

 

SONOMA, Calif.  (IMMEDIATE RELEASE) - Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies
completed a perfect weekend at Infineon Raceway on Sunday, taking the
victory in the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts.

 

Spies led wire-to-wire in the 28-lap Superbike feature to cap a magical
weekend in the Sonoma Valley.  The 21-year-old native of Longview,
Texas, also set the track qualifying record and won Saturday's first
Superbike feature, again wire-to-wire.

 

The effort cemented his place as the rider to beat for the 2006 AMA
Superbike championship. He has now won six consecutive features and
holds a 30-point lead (257-227) over second-place Mat Mladin (Suzuki).
It was an identical podium to Saturday as Mladin was the runner-up with
Miguel Duhamel (Honda) taking third place.

 

Spies tied the AMA all-time record for consecutive wins (six), which was
set by Duhamel in 1995.

 

"If you would have told me that I was going to have six consecutive wins
at the beginning of the year I wouldn't have believed it," said Spies,
who piloted a GSX-R1000. "It's a really easy ride right now. People
wouldn't believe it."

 

Mladin knew he'd be playing catch-up over the 28-lap feature; Spies took
the checkered flag more than five seconds ahead of the six-time AMA
Superbike champion.

 

"Ben was quick again today and we'll go home and do some homework so we
can come back next race," Mladin said. "We're trying our hardest, but
Ben is riding really good. We just got beat, fair and square."

 

Yamaha's Jamie Hacking took the victory in the Repsol Lubricants
Superstock feature and also took the top spot in the points standings
after four races. It was Hacking's second victory of the season. Aaron
Yates (Suzuki) was second with Petaluma High School graduate Eric
Bostrom (Yamaha) third. 

 

"I knew if I got out front and put in some clean laps, I could run a
pretty decent pace," said Hacking. "I was surprised I threw down the
pace I did right off the bat."

 

The 17-lap main event for Pro Honda Oils Supersport was canceled on
Sunday because of rain.

 

.

###

 

---------------------------

John Cardinale

VP of Media/Community Relations

Infineon Raceway

Highways 37 &121, Sonoma, CA 95476

wk: 707-933-3907

cell: 707-334-9805