Ben Spies Crash at Assen WSBK Race 2

As we check out Ben Spies leading Mat Mladin and Miguel
Duhamel at Road America in race 1 of the 2006 w/e, I found a
link from the fine folks at www.superbikeplanet.com that they posted
from YouTube.com on Ben's race 2 crash at Assen this last w/e. Pretty
nasty tumble for sure and he AND we are all lucky he wasn't hurt worse
than what it appears on the video. Check it out....and pucker up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEh92QVQTDo

Ben Spies Rolls in Assen to Take World Superbike Superpole #4

As we view some various shots of Ben Spies at Road America in

June of '06--the early part of the year when he won his 1st AMA

Superbike Championship--word comes from across the pond that

Ben Spies not only led all sessions of practice and qualifying this w/e

at Assen, but also managed to take his 4th event Superpole of the year.

And this on a track that before Thursday he had never seen in person.

Great stuff from the Tall Texan who the world is getting to know why he

is called 'Elbows,' as these shots will indeed reinforce. To view the results of

the races in the World Superbike Championship, take a look here:

http://www.worldsbk.com/en/season.html

You can also click on their 'home' page tag to take you to the live timing which

is available during the events of the weekend. The races for Sunday, April 26th

are due to roll off at 0600 EDT and 0930 EDT. Unfortunately, due to licensing

restrictions, the live feed available to other parts of the world are not to us here in

the U.S. But..........they are on tape-delayed on Sunday 4/26 on SpeedTV at 3 and 4

P.M. ET. And for you night owls repeated on Tuesday 4/28 at 0300 and 0400 ET.

So stay tuned as Mr. Spies highlights and shows his talent to the rest of the world for

part 4 of the 14 part World Superbike Series of 2009. You will not be dissapointed in

watching what this very talented young man can do!

The above shots were taken as mentioned at Road America--all of them in turn 14 before or

in mid-corner which leads onto the 3700 foot front stretch in Elkhart Lake, WI. The first two

shots you see Ben leading Miguel Duhamel on the #17 Team Honda CBR1000RR. In the first

shot you will also see multi-time AMA FX Champion Jake Zemke on the #98 Team Honda

CBR1000RR trying to keep them within sight. These two were taken during race 2 on Sunday

afternoon of the weekend. In the other shots, Mr. Elbows is in various forms of practice or qualifying on Friday and Saturday of the w/e event.

So tune in as we see the Tall Texas Elbows Man take on the world again and show them

what the fine state of Texas, as well as the once-fine AMA Road Racing Series has turned out

in the way of talent. Let the pain begin......

Race Fan TV Schedule Link Added

Check out the left side column for the link to all motorsports
content as available on TV. This site is a must for the hard core
and average TIVOers. You can actually know when your upcoming
favorite race(s) will be on. Enjoy!

Moto GP 2009 Starts This Weekend in Qatar

As we view various shots of Nicky Hayden, #69 and

the '02 AMA Superbike Champion and '06 World MotoGP

Champion, we look forward to the MotoGP 2009 Season

starting up this w/e in Losail, Qatar. You can follow the

events of the w/e via the MotoGP feeds on the left side of the

column, or go to http://www.motogp.com/ for the current schedule,

which is available either in local time (+3 GMT) or by clicking

on the link and having it translated to your local time in your

area. You can also follow through Nicky's website (http://www.nickyhayden.com/)

as well as through the other various road racing links and tabs on the left

side, as well, here. The race will also be tape-delayed on SpeedTV on

Sunday 4/12/09 @ 2200 EDT with the usual repeats on Tuesday 4/14

in the afternoon.

This is Nicky's first year since '97 riding anything other then a

racing motorcycle with the famous Honda wings on it. Over the

course of the end of last season we learned he was making the switch

to the Ducati team after having spent over a decade riding Hondas.

The switch has been a challenge, but like all else Nicky has ridden over the

years he will come to grips and should prove to be a contender after

some real track time.

The above shots were taken over the course of the last 11 years of Nicky

throughout several stages of his career. Starting off is Nicky leading James

Toseland on the #52 Tech 3 Yamaha during practice for the Inaugaral Indy

MotoGP Race in September 2008.

We then see Nicky leading Aaron Yates at Road America in the race one of

the June 2000 AMA Superbike weekend, and a shot of Nicky with his knee down going into a corner at Mid Ohio in late July/early August of 2000, as

well as following Eric Bostrom through the last set of turns at Mid Ohio during

the Sunday races that weekend. And finally, we see The Kentucky Kid pulling

a power wheelie at Mid Ohio in July '97 on his Hyper Cycle Suzuki 750 while

practicing for what was then the 750 SuperSport race in the AMA series. This shot was taken as they come out of the keyhole and head down the backstretch outside of the campground area at Mid Ohio, in Lexington, OH.

Enjoy the shots and get ready to follow and root for Nicky Hayden this year as

he takes on the monumental task of getting used to the Ducati and taking on the

world's best road racers throughout the course of the season. It should be exciting!

Ben Spies '08 Championship Winning Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSXR-1000

As you view the shots above of Mr. Ben Spies 3rd Championship

winning Suzuki in various stages of dress, the updates from across

the pond as he takes his assault to the World Superbike stage are

good and bad.

We'll start with the bad as it occurred in race one at Valencia this last

w/e, as Ben crashed chasing Nori Haga on the Xerox Ducati. Thankfully

it was only a high speed wash out, but the bike appeared to suffer fairly

severe damage from the endo it took into the kitty litter. He did, however,

get right up without appearing to have suffered any serious damage to his

body, and 3 1/2 hours later jumped on his back-up bike, and pulled off a

very valiant effort for 2nd behind Mr. Haga again. While scoring zero points

for the first leg, he grabbed a solid 20 for his second place effort to come out of

the w/e only 40 down from Nori after 3 events and 6 races. We still have 11 events

and 22 races to go and I guarantee we will see MUCH more of Mr. Spies on the box,

and most probably on the top at that. And did I fail to mention he did take Superpole

again for the w/e. Sure, it doesn't pay any points, but after 3 events, and 3 Superpoles

under his belt on tracks he has at best barely seen, well, you can do the math.

Good luck, Ben, we're all behind you and amped up you are doing such a super job.

We'll be following your exploits throughout the season and looking forward to more!

And you can follow all of his exploits through all of the links and feeds on the left-side

column. You won't be disappointed!

All of the shots above I took at Road America in June of '08 in the Yosh camp in the

paddock area. One of the most sanitary looking operations you will see anywhere in

this series, if not in the world. Between Ben and Mat Mladin, they have won 9 championships

since 1999 in the AMA Road Racing Series. That's 9 Superbike Championships, the grand

daddy of the best. Not too mention their current race winning streak of 51 races and

you start to realize you are looking at not only mastery, but history as well. Enjoy their

wares above. They are built for the gods of the series, and they are the gods of

machinery on two wheels.

Take a Ride With Mat Around Road Atlanta

Below you will find a link to an on bike camera with Mat Mladin
as he take his Yoshimura Rockstar Makita GSXR-1000 out for a
few hot laps. If this doesn't get you excited you don't have a pulse!

http://www.onthethrottle.com/content/view/59/1/

Thanks to the fine folks at http://www.onthethrottle.com/ for the link!

And if you are so inclined to keep up with Mat, here is his Twitter update page:

http://twitter.com/MatMladin

And thanks to Mat Mladin for the link and especially the updates! We will be following
them, and him, closely this year. Watch out, as it's going to be a 'Mad' Mat year!!!
Go get 'em Mat! And thanks again!

Mat Mladin Doubles at Road Atlanta AMA American Superbike W/E and wins his 77th Superbike race!

As we view some shots of Mat Mladin in various forms of racing

and smiling for our camera at Road America in 2004, we celebrate

and congratulate the 6-time Champion for his 77th win in AMA

Pro Road Racing's Superbike class. Having won yesterday by over

15 seconds, he still managed to pull today's event win off by over

5 seconds. And the 51st win in a row for the Yoshimura Suzuki

Rockstar Makita Team. That in itself is a way to celebrate greatness,

but without Sir 'Mad' Mat, almost 60% of those wins would not have

been possible. The man is not only ON a mission, he IS the mission!

Go get 'em Mat and even the championships up with the new #7 plate

you are wearing this year. I hope everyone else is listening as closely as

I am.

The shots above were all taken at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI., in

June of '04. In no particular order we have Mat running his familiar lines of

using the berms as a strengthening tool coming out of turn 14 as he gives chase

to Jake Zemke on the #98 Erion Racing Honda CBR-1000RR, who in turn is giving

chase to ultimate Sunday race winner Miguel Duhamel, himself a former series champ,

on his Team Honda #17 CBR-1000RR.

In another shot we also see Sir 'Mat' coming out of the carousel at R.A. during

Friday practice. And finally, after all of the work he put in and was about to put in

for the w/e, he was gracious enough to sign a couple of my pics and give us a nod and

smile for the camera. A very gracious, but very intense man. This wasn't the first time

he took to sign some shots for me over the years--and I hope not the last!--and has always

been as approachable as ever and always having the time to shake my hand and sign and

comment on the shot(s) at hand.

And, just in case you are interested, YOU can buy the very bike that Mat Mladin has won

the first 5 races in the first 3 events this year. And if you can still make it to Road Atlanta, in

beautiful Gainesville, you can still pick it up...for $59K no less:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=36005

Now, the bike MAY look just a BIT different after what happened to it, let alone Mat, after

this happened this morning:

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/us-superbike/ATLANTA/66crash/

http://superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/us-superbike/atlanta/matcrash/

But, then again, he DID win after this happened, and did I mention by over 4 seconds?!

For 59 thou, not a bad deal at that, even taking into effect it is based on a 2008 model that

was pulled off of a dealer floor 3 weeks before Daytona. And also considering that this new

American Superbike class isn't the old Superbike class of old, now more like Stock-class

bikes. But, over 5 or 6 years ago Erion Honda won the old Extreme class on a liter-based

bike that they at the time valued at $85K. So considering......a pretty killer deal by anyone's

current economy. But don't think you can or will beat or even run with Mat. He'll be on

the '09 model at the next round at Barber in good ole Sweet Alabama the first w/e in May.

So good luck with that part of that thought.

Thanks again, Mat, and thanks for all the great memories and for those about to be formed!!

And thanks to John Ulrich and his crew for the link from http://www.roadracingworld.com/ and to

Dean Adams and his bunch from http://www.superbikeplanet.com/ for their links of the crash incident.

Mat Mladin Wins R1 At Road Atlanta--76 Total Now

As we view various shots above from the 2000 AMA Superbike

Series from beautiful Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI., and the

wonderful Mid-Ohio in Lexington, OH., we get word from the far

reaches of the internet, that Mat Mladin, the 6-time AMA Superbike

Champion, and the Yoshimura Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSXR-1000 have

added another Superbike win to his now total of 76. And with another race

tomorrow afternoon, his win total is likely to be 77 before everyone tucks themselves

in after the w/e. And not to mention, as well, that the Yoshimura Suzuki team has now

won 50 Superbike races in a row. Yes. I did say in a row. And I'm not positive on the

exact number, but I'm pretty sure Mat is responsible for about 32 or 33 of those. Since

the summer of 2006. I mentioned in one of my last posts not to make this guy mad. But

I think it's too late. 'Mad' Mat is on a roll and there appears to be no one at the present who

can prevent that.

The above shots were all taken during the 2000 series season.

The various shots from Mid-O and Road Am are of Mat on the #1 Yoshimura

Suzuki GSXR-750--before they changed the series to a full liter-bike class--

as well as his team mate and former Superstock and Supersport

Champion as well as multiple Superbike race winner, #20 Aaron Yates. Nicky Hayden, the former Supersport and Formula Extreme and '02 Superbike Champion, and '06 MotoGP

World Champion, on his #69 Team Honda RC-51, as well as his team mate, '95 Superbike Champion, 5-time winner of the Daytona 200, multiple-time Supersport Champion and

race winner, Miguel Duhamel, on his #17 RC-51 Honda.

But this w/e, and without a doubt for sure after 4 races and half-way into 3 events of the

2009 AMA Pro Racing Series, Mat Mladin is making this year about him. And I see

many more of these wins this year with the roll he has going and the point he is out to

make this year. We have definitely not heard the last of 'Mad Mat' this year--or beyond for

all we know at this point--and personally I'm looking forward to him handing their as..es to

them on a platter. Or for that matter on a Yoshimura Suzuki GSXR-1000 AMA-spec

Superbike. This is gonna be fun!

Enjoy the shots and enjoy the wonderful spring weather we are having in Indy today!