News - April 09, Road Atlanta
Suzuki Superbike Showdown Race #2
Road Atlanta, Braselton, GASuzuki sweep podium. Tommy sixth.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Sweeps Road Atlanta Superbike Weekend Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mladin, Young finish first & second, with National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s May in third. Tommy in sixth.
Suzuki followed up Saturday’s all-Suzuki podium sweep with another such feat on Sunday afternoon in the second of two AMA Superbike races at the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Mat Mladin again got a great start on his GSX-R1000 and led all the laps to take the win, which means the six-time AMA Superbike Champion celebrated his 77th career AMA Superbike victory. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Blake Young followed Mladin home for a second-place result. This is Superbike rookie Young’s best result so far in the premier class.
Rounding out the second all-Suzuki podium of the weekend was National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Geoff May, thanks to an impressive third-place finish. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden followed his fellow Suzuki teammates home in sixth position.
Tommy Hayden
“I didn’t get the best of starts and I was a little far back and started working my way through the field. But I had an issue where I ran off the track and I lost a couple of positions and a little time. I was able to run the pack back down, but I just struggled passing today. I could run the pace pretty easy but I was having trouble being aggressive and passing. It’s a bummer because the results weren’t great but it could’ve been worse. We’re still second in points and we’re going to Barber next, and that’s one of my favorite tracks.”
Mat Mladin
“I had a bit of a tumble in practice this morning and, as usual, my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team got the bike together for me and ready for the race. It was a good race for us, we had a bit of a crack at it and put in some good laps. Around lap 10 or 11, I was trying to figure out whether I should keep pushing it, but my boys get a bit nervous when I do that. I figured I’d pushed my luck today enough already so I just decided to have a bit of fun at the end of the race.”
Blake Young
“I got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and after a few laps, Geoff (May) came by with some good pace. I definitely jumped in and tried to see where he was a little bit better than me. I’ve got to give a ‘heads up’ to my guys for giving me the best motorcycle I’ve had all weekend long. We never took a step back at all this weekend, everything was going forward.”
Geoff May
“Today my start was a little worse than yesterday. I was worried I was going to get run over and just end my day right there. I just put my head down again and we really had the National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 set up for the end of the race and we really worked hard on giving it a little extra at the end of the race.”
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on the weekend of May 2-4, 2009.
Suzuki Superbike Showdown
Road Atlanta, Braselton, GASuzuki sweep the podium, Tommy second
Suzuki Celebrates 50th Consecutive Superbike Win at Road Atlanta with Triple Podium - Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Mladin, Hayden take first & second, with National Guard Jordan Suzuki's May in third
Suzuki followed up Saturday's all-Suzuki podium sweep with another such feat on Sunday afternoon in the second of two AMA Superbike races at the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Mat Mladin again got a great start on his GSX-R1000 and led all the laps to take the win, which means the six-time AMA Superbike Champion celebrated his 77th career AMA Superbike victory. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Blake Young followed Mladin home for a second-place result. This is Superbike rookie Young's best result so far in the premier class. Rounding out the second all-Suzuki podium of the weekend was National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Geoff May, thanks to an impressive third-place finish. Finally, Rockstar Makita Suzuki's Tommy Hayden followed his fellow Suzuki teammates home in sixth position.
Tommy Hayden
"I didn't get the best of starts and I was a little far back and started working my way through the field. But I had an issue where I ran off the track and I lost a couple of positions and a little time. I was able to run the pack back down, but I just struggled passing today. I could run the pace pretty easy but I was having trouble being aggressive and passing. It's a bummer because the results weren't great but it could've been worse. We're still second in points and we're going to Barber next, and that's one of my favorite tracks."
Matt Mladin
"I had a bit of a tumble in practice this morning and, as usual, my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team got the bike together for me and ready for the race. It was a good race for us, we had a bit of a crack at it and put in some good laps. Around lap 10 or 11, I was trying to figure out whether I should keep pushing it, but my boys get a bit nervous when I do that. I figured I'd pushed my luck today enough already so I just decided to have a bit of fun at the end of the race."
Geoff May
"Today my start was a little worse than yesterday. I was worried I was going to get run over and just end my day right there. I just put my head down again and we really had the National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 set up for the end of the race and we really worked hard on giving it a little extra at the end of the race."
Blake Young
"I got a good start on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and after a few laps, Geoff (May) came by with some good pace. I definitely jumped in and tried to see where he was a little bit better than me. I've got to give a 'heads up' to my guys for giving me the best motorcycle I've had all weekend long. We never took a step back at all this weekend, everything was going forward."
Rockstar Makita Suzuki Factory Racing will race next at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on the weekend of May 2-4, 2009.
