Mladin Takes Superpole in Sonoma

ATTACHED IS AN IMAGE OF SUPERBIKE SUPERPOLE WINNER MAT MLADIN.

 

PHOTO BY NATE JACOBSON.

 

 

                                  

Mladin Continues Streak with Superbike Pole 

at Infineon Raceway

 

SONOMA, Calif. (May 15, 2009) - AMA series leader Mat Mladin rode to his
fifth American Superbike Superpole of the season on Friday, setting up
what promises to be a dramatic weekend as he pursues an unprecedented
eighth straight AMA victory at the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown,
presented by Supercuts. 

 

Despite difficult wind conditions, a new bike and a crash in the second
practice, Mladin shaved more than half a second from his Basic
Qualifying time to record a 1:36.231 (86.791 mph) on his Suzuki.

 

"Getting on the front row is good for us," Mladin said. "Right now we're
trying to improve the motorcycle and get it to a point where we feel
comfortable. We've struggled with that so we went out with something
very different for the one lap to give us some direction for (Saturday).

 

"It worked pretty well so maybe we have found a bit of direction. But,
then again, who knows? It's a very different motor bike and we've got a
lot to do to figure it out compared to the old one."

 

Mladin is the first rider in AMA history to start a season 7-0, and the
seven straight wins matches a series record. Mladin holds a commanding
77-point lead in the season standings.

 

Yamaha's Josh Hayes, who sits sixth in the standings, put himself in
contention for his first podium of the year with a strong, second-place
qualifying performance (1:36.861).

 

"Superpole has gone pretty decent for me so far this year," Hayes said.
"The formula has worked: put in a clean lap, make few mistakes and get
on the front row. But we're getting our butt kicked on Saturdays and
Sundays.

 

"There's still work to do. We'll see what we can come up with -- we have
a couple of ideas. ... We'll see if we have a magic bullet so that we
can get closer to the times we want."

 

Tommy Hayden, Mladin's Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, delivered his
best Superpole performance of the season. He will start third after
posting a 1:36.941.

 

"It was the first time we went faster than (basic) qualifying so we feel
good about that," Hayden said. "The last two races we missed the front
row so this is important. I'm happy with this."

 

Fans could hardly ask for a better front row for this weekend's two
races, with the lineup set at Mladin, Hayes, Hayden, and Petaluma native
Ben Bostrom, who pushed his Yamaha to fourth on the grid with a time of
1:37.005.

 

"I didn't think (qualifying) was so good but I'm up here so that's
good." Bostrom said. "I thought we'd be better. I didn't put it together
like these other guys, but we're on the front row and we hope we can get
up front. It will be a good race."

 

Mladin is the Infineon Raceway career record-holder with eight Superbike
victories.

 

Jason DiSalvo (Suzuki) claimed the Daytona SportBike Superpole. He was
clocked at 1:39.517, followed by Josh Herrin (Yamaha) at 1:39.990, Chaz
Davies (Aprilia) at 1:40.081, Yamaha's Tommy Aquino at 1:40.338 and
Jamie Hacking, who turned in a 1:40.522 on his Kawasaki.

 

Action returns on Saturday with a full slate of racing, including 20-lap
main events for Superbike and SportBike. Tickets are available at the
gate; visit www.infineonraceway.com <http://www.infineonraceway.com/>
for details.

 

American Superbike Superpole
1. Mat Mladin/Suzuki -- 1:36.231 (86.791 mph)
2. Josh Hayes/Yamaha -- 1:36.861 (86.227)
3. Tommy Hayden/Suzuki -- 1:36.941 (86.156)
4. Ben Bostrom/Yamaha -- 1:37.005 (86.089)
5. Geoff May/ Suzuki -- 1:37.226 (85.903)
6. Aaron Yates/Suzuki -- 1:37.554 (85.614)
7. Larry Pegram/Ducati -- 1:38.023 (85.205)
8. Jake Holden/Honda -- 1:38.198 (85.053)
9. Neil Hodgson/Honda -- 1:38.698 (84.622)
10. David Anthony/Suzuki -- 1:38.858 (84.485)

 

###

 

 

 

Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts  

May 15-17 

 

Wine Country Classic 

historic car races  

May 30-31 

 

Toyota/Save Mart 350

NASCAR Weekend 

June 19-21 

  

FRAM Autolite NHRA Nationals 

July 24-26 

 

NHRA Division 7 drag races, presented by Korbel  

July 31-Aug. 2

 

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

Aug. 21-23

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

John Cardinale

VP of Communications and Marketing

Infineon Raceway

Hwys 37 and 121

Sonoma, Calif 95476

707-933-3907 (work)

707-334-9805 (cell)