Mat's 1st Year On The Team Yosh Suzuki

For you nostalgic types--such as myself--here is a shot I took of Mat Mladin,
who yesterday announced his retirement at the end of the '09 AMA Superbike
season after having withdrawn from the Topeka Tornado Superbike Races after
concerns of lack of proper safety areas on parts of the track.
Take a look back at the first year of what was to become an over decade run of race wins,
race poles, and the other little thing in that he won 6 titles in the supreme class of motorcycle
road racing on the North American continent. Now, keep in mind Mat had already had 2 years
of racing, and also winning, here in America, but was riding a Ferraci Ducati for those years.
The story of the day was Mat wasn't satisfied with the level of--or lack of for better words--testing with the team. And as a result that was what led to him being signed by the winningest
team in AMA Superbike history, Yoshimura Suzuki. And to say what was to come in the next
12-13 years was going to change the course of modern racing as we know it, well let's just
say that would be a gross understatement.
Mat Mladin--and of course Team Yosh--not only re-wrote the record books, they took over
the publishing--at least in the sense of totally dominating in every and all aspects of the sport for
6 of 7 years in winning titles and races, but continuing to decimate the competition even as
Ben Spies came along as his team mate and ALSO managing to bag 3 more championships.
But Mat needs to be given credit for MUCH more then all the wins, the poles, the podiums,
and that other little thing again of 6--and it very well could end up being 7 as he does have a
126 point lead going into this w/e's event/clusterf... at Topeka--he needs to be given credit for
the safety aspect of the series. He has been the most active, vocal and outspoken lead man to
help lead to widespread and house-cleaning changes in areas of track run-off, safety and SOLID
barriers, track surfaces that seep, bleed, or GUSH rivers of water, all of the areas of concern when you are a racer--not to mention a hard core fan and afficianado of the sport--that come into question when you are racing an over 200hp, 350 +/- lb. crotch rocket at speeds at over 180 mph. And if you've ever seen in person--or even on tv--a motorcycle, or worse yet a motorcycle racer, come into contact with something that should never have been there in the first place and the ensuing damage and chaos it causes, then you can begin to appreciate safety
and the measures you MUST take when competing at this level to ensure it DOESN'T happen!
And for THAT, more then all the big and other little things Mat has done for us, this wonderful sport, and the rider who may avoid those problems thanks to him being so vocal, so sure, and so
correct in standing up for those beliefs, we should ALL take a knee to the master!

Bravo Mat!!! It HAS been a great run, and the sport is already lonelier and at a loss without you.....

The shot above I snapped of Mat at Road America in June of '98. This was just out of turn 8
during qualifying for that w/e's event. I was able to get him to sign it for me a little over 2 months later at another event that raised MANY major safety concerns after the teams, riders,
and we fans, had showed up to see a race and it had been CANCELED due to safety concerns.
That event was the August '98 scheduled event in Joliet, IL., at the then-new Route 66 Raceway. They DID run the flat track races that w/e on the 1/2 mile dirt track--Rich King won
on a Corbin-sponsored RS750 Honda--and under the bleachers during a break Mat took the time to not only sign this shot but look at some of my others--and comment on safety issues at
race tracks.

Mat Mladin Announces He Will Retire at The End of The '09 Season...

It is with great sadness that news comes to us from the folks at
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/ that 6-Time AMA Superbike Champion--
and still possibly 7 after this year--Mat Mladin will retire at the end
of the 2009 season.
Having obviously been on the end of a what he has surely felt like a
losing game with the takeover of the AMA Road Racing Series by the Daytona Motorcycle Group and the difference of opinions on how a professional motorcycle series should be run, and coupled with the fact that he withdrew from this w/e's competition at Topeka's Heartland Park event due to some overlooked safety issues on the part of said AMA/DMG people, it is not surprising to see him ride off into the sunset on top of his game. The hush you
hear now is the air being let out of the bag as the motorcycle racing community mourns the loss--on track--of one of the all-time true champions.
You can read the official announcement here as you catch your breath and pinch yourself to make sure you aren't dreaming:



http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Jul/e/n090731e.htm

It's been a GREAT ride Mat! We will definitely miss your spirit, enthusiasm, direction, and most assuredly your zeal to whip ass! Thanks for all you have done for the true road racing fans in America--and all over the world!

Hell is Beginning to Thaw & All is Well in The World Again...

...unless you are one of the fine folks from the DMG Group. And then
you are bummin' again as Mat Mladin pulled off his 8th of 9 event wins this
afternoon in the AMA American Superbike Series race at Infineon Raceway in
Sonoma, CA. After having suffered defeat yesterday for the first time this season,
Mat stormed back to the win by an unofficial margin of 1.8 seconds over
Yamaha R1-mounted Ben Bostrom, the former '98 AMA Superbike Champ having his
best outing of the season as of yet in the 'new' AMA American Superbike Series.

Thanks to the fine folks at http://www.roadracingworld.com/ for the link to the top 10 results:

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=36593

The shots above were taken of Mat during practice and qualifying during the race w/e
at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL., for the 'old' AMA Superbike Series in April of '07.

Hope everyone had a fine w/e. Now it's back to work to look forward to the 3-day w/e coming
up and celebrating Memorial Day, first and foremost, to honor all of the fine men and women that have served, fought, and died for this wonderful country. And to get pumped up for all of the fine racing to see and view for the upcoming 3-day w/e. Should be fun as one of the series
that kicks into gear next w/e is the AMA Flat Track Championship. returning after a 2 1/2 month break after Daytona, to the beautiful Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Il. Up first
for Saturday night are the 450 class bikes in the TT shoot out at the rodeo stadium, and then
the Infamous Springfield Mile on the fairgrounds dirt track for Sunday afternoon. It's going
to be a fun and fast w/e and nothing is better then seeing the flat track bikes on The Mile.
Stay tuned for the action and have a safe week!

Straight From The 'Guess Who Won Their 5th & 6th SuperPole' Dept.--Mat Mladin Wins AMA 5th SuperPole and Ben Spies Wins 6th WSBK SuperPole

As we begin to get into the thick of the motorcycle road racing seasons
in the AMA American Superbike Series as well as the World Superbike Series,
two names keep coming to the top in both.
Having fought one another tooth and nail for the previous three years in America
in the AMA Superbike Series, Mat Mladin and Ben Spies are both setting and maintaining
new records in their quests to win a 7th AMA title and 1st WSBK title, respectively.
Yesterday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA., Mad Mat took his series-leading title
venture to another, and not surprising, level in winning the 5th SuperPole session of the year
in the new AMA American SuperBike Series. This morning, Ben 'Elbowz' Spies took his
World Superbike-leading 6th SuperPole win at the South African round of the WSBK Series.

Both riders, besting a field of multi-talented and race-winning riders, managed to pull off
another milestone in each of their series to lead their fields off the line in each of their w/e's
upcoming races.
You can follow Mat's ventures via the link below in the AMA series at Infineon this w/e. This
afternoon's race starts at 3 P.M. west coast time and tomorrow's race at 4 P.M. west coast time:

http://www.amaproracing.com/rr/events/event.cfm?eid=2009010925

....and you can get the live timing link here as well:

http://wire.ama-cycle.org/

As for following Mr. Spies venture at Kyalami in South Africa, tomorrow's races are at 6 A.M. and 9:30 A.M. east coast time. The link is below and the live timing is located on the right side
of the Official WSBK website:

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

The shots we view as we keep up on their exploits were taken at the beautiful Barber
Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL., just outside of Birmingham, at the AMA round in April
of '07. In both we see Elbowz chasing Mad Mat in both shots, as he did in both races that
particular w/e, while defending and ultimately winning his 2nd of 3 AMA Superbike Championships.

Good luck to both Mr. Spies and Mr. Mladin in their quests to show the U.S. and the World as
to really who is top man in each of their indicidual series they are competing in this year.
It just doesn't get any better than on 2 wheels!

Follow Mat Mladin on Blogspot

As Mat waves to the crowd after having won the 2nd of both w/e races
at Barber Motorsports Park back April of '07 in the REAL AMA Superbike
Series, news this week is that he has started his own blog here on Blogspot.
After having announced several weeks back that he is now on Twitter--see post
below--Mat this week announced his intentions to keep us up to date on his new
blog, as well. If you would like to follow Mad Mat this year, check out the link and
hang on for a fast and furious ride as he rips through the ranks of the NOW AMA
American Superbike Series--think Superbike-Lite compared to what we have been
used to here in the good ole U.S. of A. Nonetheless, Mr. Mladin is spanking the competition
on the DE-tuned bikes just as he has done so for the better part of the last 12 or 13 years,
now having amassed a total of 7 wins this year aboard the '08 and now '09 model GSXR-1000
Suzuki. The competition has a long year ahead of it. Read on and right on!

http://matmladin.blogspot.com/

From The 'So, What's New' Dept. Mat Mladin Doubles at Barber

As we also see of the shot above from Mid Ohio in 2008 after winning
both Superbike events of that w/e, Mat Mladin, now on the #7 Team Yoshimura
Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSXR-1000 (my now that is a mouthful!), Mat won
both events this w/e at Barber Motorsports Park just outside of Birmingham, AL.,
in the wonderful town of Leeds.
Being at the top all w/e for when it counted--winning Superpole and both main events,
and for the first time this year now mounted on the new 2009 K9 models, Mat showed
the competition--not to mention the suits at DMG--that you don't make him mad by
changing the rules to try and beat him. Mad Mat simply delivered on the same goods
he has been delivering to us for over 13 years of competition now--by showing everyone
that may or may not have doubted, that Mat is NOT going away. And just making him even
madder by criticizing, putting him on probation, stripping him of real wins by means of petty
rule interpratations---did I spell that right??!!---and by thinking for any iota of a moment
that you are going to keep or kick him down, well, ya all have a new thing coming then. Cuz
Mat Mladin will not break, and he will not be allowed to be beat down by overzealous suits
or rules that were intent in many ways to alter his domination. And if it really came down to
it, don't you think he could do it on a scooter, too?! Come on! Wake up people. Or at least
a few of those suits......
Go get 'em Mat! I only wish we could see this live!

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

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.

While we are celebrating Mat's 75th win today..

Just a few more shots of Mat inflicting pain and embarassment to the rest of the field

at Road America in '06, several years before we were forced to put up with a DMG-run

and dumbed-down AMA Superbike Series. These were taken in turn 14 during various

practice, qualifying and race sessions during the course of the w/e.

These shots of 'Mad' Mat are on the old-series speced REAL Superbikes. In other

words BEFORE the DMG people decided to dummy-down the series to little more then

radical Stock bikes. No more trick suspensions and trick factory superbike engines. And

worse yet, losing the identity of having one of the premier racing series in the world.

But that's another rant for another time. Let's all enjoy Mat from Road America and

party away the fact that no matter what they put under him, he is going to win or find

a darn good way to win. You can count on that. And you can count on Mat! Go get 'em man.

Take Number 7 and do it your way regardless of what they force you to do now and force us to watch. You're still the best. And as far as I'm concerned, you could have quit trying to prove it

to me a long time ago. It was pretty obvious you were, are, and probably for a long-darned time

will be 'The Master' in mine and alot of other eyes. I'm not going to enjoy watching dumbed-

downed superbikes any more than you will be enjoying riding them. But I'm darned sure

going to enjoy watching you feed the machine to DMG and their cronies. This is gonna be good.

The Song Remains the Same 2009 Version:

'Mad' Mat Mladin 'The Master' just wrapped up win's

Number 74 and 75 at the Fontana round of the new AMA

Superbike Series. The man is undeterred in showing us

all that no matter the formula of motorcycles he is forced

to ride due to the radical change of rules in the Superbike

class, he IS the man! And no matter what the DMG-run

series throws at him, he is going to dig deeper and deeper

and show them, as well, that he is the man and regardless

of the dribble running from the mouths of babes of turning

the series around to gain more parity they forgot one thing.

Mat Mladin wasn't going anywhere this year and he was even

more focused on showing the DMG people that they made a big

mistake in thinking otherwise.

Go Mat. Long time fan here who has always been treated

very well when going after autographs of shots taken of him.

And the dude always says what's on his mind. You don't have

to agree with the man. But you better respect what he has to say.

He didn't win 6 Championships and NOW 75 races just hangin'

around being a wallflower. Kick their a..es Mat!

The above shots are of various states of battle-readiness at Road

America in June of '06, as well as 'Mad Mat' using turn 7 during race

one of the weekend as a berm-buster. Check out the body english

as he wrestles the-then SUPER Superbikes. The man is a master.

But don't make him Mad.

Ben Spies Doubles in Losail WSBK

For those of you that follow the WSBK circus, Ben Spies
put it to them again this w/e at the Losail, Qatar circuit
and doubled the World Superbike rounds. Having just seen
the track for the first time this w/e, he started off out of the
gate by leading most or all of the practice sessions, winning
Superpole, and then won both races...by an average of over 1.5
seconds each. Not bad for a 'rookie.'
Here are some shots of Mat Mladin, his former U.S. Suzuki team
mate, keeping him honest in last year's race 1 at Road America,
in Elkhart Lake, WI., in June. Spies won both events this w/e as well.
It should be a very interesting year in World Superbike this year with
seven manufacturers and 28 full time riders/teams. And with the Pirelli spec
tires this series is getting ready to blow wide open as far as one of the most
competitive of motorcycle racing series in the world. Keep an eye out, and you
can follow it on the feeds on the left side column. Or go to: http://www.worldsbk.com/
Enjoy and thanks for coming by.