AMA Superbike Infineon

Ron Lieback
AllAboutBikes.com Staff Writer

Race 1

Going into Round 5 of AMA Superbike, Mat Mladin had won every pole and race. The Australian again grabbed the pole Friday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., but as for winning the first of a double-header on Saturday, his streak came to an end.

Josh Hayes took the win from Mladin, making Race 1 of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown presented by Supercuts Hayes’ first win in his Superbike career. Hayes, riding the No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA R1, started in second place, and was pushed back to fourth after two laps. But on the third lap, he passed Mladin’s No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-1000R at the bottom of the Carousel on Turn 6, and led the remaining 20 of 22 laps on Infineon’s 12-turn, 2.32 mile circuit.

After winning with a six-second margin, the 34-year-old grabbed his first podium of the season, ending Suzuki’s dominance. Suzuki has won all 55 Superbike races since 2006; the last race won by another manufacturer was on June 18, 2006, when Jake Zemke rode to victory on a Honda at Miller Motorsports Park. Hayes’ win also marked the first non-Suzuki superbike win at Infineon Raceway since 2004 when Miguel Duhamel won on a Honda.

“It was a pretty good day,” Hayes told reporters. “I think the pace was slower than any of us expected and the heat played a role. I was feeling things out (at first) and I saw Ben (Bostrom) being aggressive and then he had his miscue. Mat had some problems; it was not his race today. We all have bad races and Mat had his. I expect (Race 2) that will not be an issue for Mat.”

Race 1 was the best finish for Hayes this season during his first Superbike campaign on the Yamaha. The two-time AMA Formula Xtreme champion (’06, ’07) had crashed out of the season-opening Daytona 200, and his best finish before his win at Infineon was fourth.

Hayes was followed to the checkered flag by Mladin’s teammate Tommy Hayden on the No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-1000R. Third place went to Ducati's Larry Pegram on the No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R, followed by Aaron Yates on the No. 23 Jordan Suzuki GSXR-R1000 and Mladin in fifth, nearly 25 seconds behind the winner and battling mechanical problems with his front end.

Race 2

Mat Mladin’s seven-race winning streak may have ended in Race 1 at Infineon Raceway, but the Australian captured first place in Race 2, marking his 80th career victory. When he reached the winner’s circle, the 37-year-old dropped to his knees, performing pushups before spraying the crowd with champagne.

Remembering Day 1 of the 2.32 mile, 12-turn track, Mladin remarked on the defeat of Race 1: “We don’t have enough time to talk about the changes we made…that was a completely different motorcycle. ... the changes, we’ll keep them to ourselves for now.”

Mladin’s fifth-place finish by a margin of 1.833 seconds in Race 1 was a huge upset due to a poor-handling Suzuki, but helped ascend the spirit of Josh Hayes, who dominated 20 out of 22 laps, winning by a six-second margin. But Hayes took a satisfying fourth place during Race 2.

Things were looking fast for Ben Bostrom, who led the 30-minute Sunday warm-up in temperatures that pushed past 120 degrees, but the side-burned Yamaha rider took second place. Third place went to Mladin’s teammate Tommy Hayden, followed by Hayes on a Suzuki and Larry Pegram in fifth on a Ducati.

Round Six for AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited will be the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin at Road America June 5-7. Will Mladin again dominate?