Own a Piece of AMA Superbike History: Flyin' Fred Merkel's '95 Yoshimura Factory Suzuki GSX-R750 For Sale On eBay

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Flyin' Fred Merkel bends the #27 Yoshimura Factory Suzuki GSX-R750 through a turn at Gateway International Raceway, just east of and over the river from St. Louis, during practice for the AMA Superbike round (and the only AMA event ever held at the track) in August of 1995. Merkel won the '84-'86 AMA Superbike Championship while riding Honda Interceptors tuned by Mike Velasco, one of the Fabulous Burner Brothers of the era (and still is!) Flyin' Fred then went off to Europe in '88 and won the '88 and '89 World Superbike Championships while riding a Honda RC30 for Team Rumi. Those were the first two years of the new series, as well. #27 then returned to the States in the early '90s to run the AMA Superbike and AMA 750 Supersport Series for Muzzy Kawasaki and then Yoshimura Suzuki, winning several races in the 750SS series along the way. He was forced to retire early due to a season and career ending crash at a west coast AMA round at the end of the '95 season. He currently resides in New Zealand, and as a spokesperson and fan favorite for the sport, is sorely missed. Here's to Fred Merkel, one of the original iconic AMA Superbike racers of our once world level racing series.
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A fine piece of AMA and U.S. Road Racing history is currently for sale on eBay. This would make a great addition to anyone's collection. Maybe in glass for an end table or mantle piece for the fireplace? Of course, it would have to be a pretty good size fireplace. I'm just sayin'...................


CycleNews.com reports that Flyin' Fred Merkel's 1995 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R750 Superbike is for sale by the former 3-Time AMA Superbike and 2-Time World Superbike Champion. Bids start at $35K and you still have time to get on the bandwagon with a racing machine for the ages and ridden by one of the true champions, icons, and spokespersons of the sport.


Here's the story as posted by CycleNews.com I found this morning:
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/07/07/merkel-selling-his-suzuki

And here is the listing for this great find over on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-GSX-R-Racebike-Fred-Merkel-Suzuki-1995-GSX-R-Superbike-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2eae44fdf1QQitemZ200492252657QQptZUSQ5fmotorcycles#v4-37
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Team Suzuki Launched an Upgraded Website This Week...Check It Out Here!

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The #1 Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes of Mat Mladin get attention under the awning in the Road America paddock in June of 2006. Mladin was the '99-'01, '03-'05 and '09 AMA Superbike Champion before retiring at the end of the '09 season to his home and businesses in Australia. Further alongside sit Ben Spies' GSX-R600 Supersport bikes and at the far end of the tent his GSX-R1000 Superbikes as well. Spies took the AMA Superbike Championship in '06-'08 before moving on to World Superbikes in '09 where he won the championship, and for 2010 will be Colin Edwards team mate on the Yamah Tech 3 team in MotoGP. Mladin won both superbike events at Elkhart Lake this year with Spies following him home in both.
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One of the team wrenches for the Yoshimura Suzuki works on Ben Spies' #1 GSX-R1000 primary bike in preparation for the weekend's superbike doubleheader at Road America in June of 2008. Spies won race one on the weekend with Mat Mladin on the #6 Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 winning race two. Mladin went on the win his 7th and final superbike title in 2009 while Spies headed across the pond to contest the World Superbike Championship, and won the championship in his 'rookie' year.
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Team Suzuki Racing released an updated and upGRADED website this week that includes a nice archive, photo and results section. Since there isn't much racing going on this weekend other than the British Superbike Series meet in Brands, this would be the time to do some bench and couch racing and catch up on what is happening in the world of Team Suzuki-other then Tommy Hayden bagging his first premier class win at Fontana last weekend, of course. See it here:

http://www.suzuki-racing.com/

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Thanks for coming by and checking us out. Have a Happy Easter Weekend and God Bless to all!

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'Tommy Gun' Hayden Breaks His AMA Superbike Cherry at Fontana Race 2

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Tommy Hayden on the #22 Team Yamaha YZF-750 is sandwiched by the Team Harley VR1000's of #21 Pascal Picotte and #4 Scott Russell as they traverse the carousel part of the track at Mid Ohio during race two of the AMA Superbike Honda Supercycle Weekend in Lexington, OH., in July of 2000. After all these years Hayden put it on the top of the box in the premier class yesterday in race 2 at Fontana's Auto Club Speedway.
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'Tommy Gun' Hayden practices the #22 Team Yoshimura GSX-R1000 Superbike at Barber Motorsports Park outside of Birmingham, AL., for the April '07 running of the AMA Pro Road Races at the pristine facility. After having raced in the Superbike class for the better part of 13 years, Tommy Gun got it done yesterday in race 2 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. and got his first premier class win. He dedicated the win to father Earl.
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After having won races and championships in just about every other AMA Road Racing class he has raced in, Tommy Hayden finally got it done in the premier class yesterday to break his cherry in AMA Superbike racing by winning race two at Fontana to beat Josh Hayes to the line by less then a half a second. Tommy took the win aboard his Team Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Having suffered from the classic 'bride's maid' runner up for so many times and after 13 years of on/off running in the Superbike class, Hayden was able to hold off the charges of Hayes on the Graves Yamaha and of his own team mate, Blake Young on another Team Yosh GSX-R1000. Tommy dedicated the win to his Dad, Earl Hayden, who has been the man behind the three brothers-Tommy, Nicky and Roger Lee-that have raced and triumphed on the track since they barely able to swing a leg over a race bike.

The race was marred by a crash involving Aaron Yates on the #23 Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki during the morning warm-up. After setting fast time in the only qualifying session-due to the intense winds on Saturday causing cancelation of session two-and putting it on the box in race one, Aaron again set face pace for the second race warm up, only to crash and get hit by Chris Ulrich when he went down-to no fault of Ulrich's as all in hand said it was a case of 'no where to go.' Here is a clip from the folks at On The Throttle TV from another link over at RoadRacingWorld.com that has Yates' crew chief Richie Alexander talking about what happened and what directions the team may have to go if Aaron isn't able to return by the next round at Road Atlanta April 16th. That part doesn't sound too good as he apparently suffered two breaks in the fibula and tibia parts of the leg. More on that here as well:

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39899

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?lnk=rss&article=39911

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Congrats to Tommy and Team Yoshimura for the break out win, and for finally getting the monkey off the back. We've been watching him race for a long time now and to see him get that big class win is monumental. Many years of hard work and dedication does pay off. And it doesn't hurt that he's a great guy! Great job Tommy Gun!

You can read the official race review and results below, and check out the video of official press conference.

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Thanks to the folks at RoadRacingWorld.com for the link to the video as well as the link to the provisional results from yesterday afternoon's great race:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39907
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Results from AMA Superbike race 2 from Fontana:
http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=39903
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Thanks as well to Paul Carruthers from CycleNews.com for this link to the story of the race and Tommy commenting on his first premier class win:
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2010/03/28/hayden-gets-his-first
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Ben Spies Nails Superpole #11 for the Year In Portimao, Portugal WSBK Season Finale....

In his quest to run down Nitro Nori Haga on the Team Xerox Ducati for the
10 point lead in the championship finale, Ben Spies put an impressive ride in today
during Superpole at Portimao to clinch the top spot on his Yamaha R1 by over
.58 seconds over the second place man on the grid, Shane 'Shakey' Byrnes on
another Ducati. Here's the link to the official results in pdf form:

http://sbk.perugiatiming.com/pdf_frame.asp?p_Round=POR&p_Anno=2009&p_Manifestazione=14&p_Gara=01&p_Sessione=Q6A&p_Stampa=RIE


Going into the final 2 races of the season tomorrow, Ben's philosophy has been to go
in and win both races to guarantee him taking the title over Nitro Nori, before he moves
on to MotoGP for the 2010 season. This should be a good start to doing so.
You can follow the races by checking out the links on the left side column. The Official
World Superbike site http://www.worldsbk.com/ will have live timing of the races as they go
off beginning on Sunday a.m. Keep in mind Portugal is 5 hours ahead of EDT.

The shots above are of Ben running down Mat Mladin during race 1 of the AMA Road Racing
W/E at Barber Motorsports Park in 2007 and of Ben during qualifying.

Go get 'em Ben!

Update 1620 EDT:

Larry Lawrence has a great write up about Ben winning Superpole #11 for the year today over
on his bitchin' site www.theriderfiles.com. You can go to the link below to get the scoop from
ole Double L. Thanks again Larry!

http://www.theriderfiles.com/?p=1459

A Few Interesting Links Concerning AMA/DMG Road Racing....

While checking out Mat Mladin trying to check out from Ben Spies, Jamie Hacking, Eric Bostrom, Neil Hodgson, Aaron Yates, Miguel Duhamel, and the rest of the field in race 2 at Road America,
during the June '08 w/e, here are a few interesting links to stories that have come out in the
last couple of weeks about the current regime of the AMA Road Racing series as we know it being run by the DMG folks.
These will help you to form your own opinions as to the current and future state of road racing
in the U.S. as it is presented and run by these people. And to the level of discontent, name-calling, rules-bending and the 'what we will do to handle things today'-way that they have
taken in running this once great series into the ground. And their very own interpretations
of how they have been doing so, what they plan to do to change it, how they plan to change it,
and most likely how they eventually will kill it off like a dying animal. Or something to that effect.
And as I said, you can make and form and think your own opinions on this level of mayhem that
has infected what was once a great championship series, once you have read these stories and
tales and then you can realize, as I have, that the animal may just be begging for mercy. Or a
good hospice to wait out the inevitable.......

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2009/09/19/a-spec-harley-xr1200-class-for-ama-racing

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38226

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38227

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38237

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=38197

http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/ama-sbk-new-world-order-prepare-for-invasion/

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Sep/090910a.htm

I can guarantee one thing. When you get done reading this short link list of articles, you'll
either be laughing your a.. off about the whole discombobulated situation, or you won't be
able to sleep. Or you'll be laughing so hard you can't sleep. Or you may just want to lay
down and beg for mercy just like that animal.......your option......or theirs.

Thanks to the fine folks at http://www.roadracingworld.com/, http://www.cyclenews.com/,
ww.SpeedTV.com and http://www.superbikeplanet.com/ for the links and the great coverage
of all that is messed up in AMA Road Racing as we know it under the DMG umbrella. And for
being able to report the truth of the whole situation as well as the truisms as spouted by the
DMG phobes. You are not dead to us.

The Mat Who Would Be King.....

.....IS King again for the 7th time!

Mat Mladin, who has managed to dazzle, ruffle, and keep our interests alive for the better

part of the last 13 years in the AMA Superbike Series, managed a 9th/2nd place finish over

the weekend at Virginia International Raceway, and took his 7th Superbike title in the

premier class of American roadracing. Not that winning his 7th--and unfortunately what

looks to be his last as he announced his retirement a couple of weeks ago--was going to be a

stretch. Through and including the Laguna Seca round over the 4th of July w/e, Mat had won

a total of 10 races, while managing to build a lead in the series standings that he would not relinquish. The formalities were all but done by race time yesterday, as in the Sunday race he

only needed 2 points to take the title from his team mate, Tommy Hayden, no matter where

Tommy Gun finished.

After having started the year on a tear in not only claiming pole wins, Mat amassed win after

win in what seemed from the start of the season a cakewalk. However, after having to deal with

a new '09 motorcycle several race events into the season, it took some time for Mat to come to

grips with the handling and performance of the new machine. Never failing to take it to the edge,

he showed everyone why he is the all time champion by protecting his point lead while

developing the bike, and coming to grips with the nature of the new beast at hand. Not too

mention the new beasts involved with the Damaged Motorcycle Guys people who have

attempted to re-work the series ala NASCrash and their rule making/changing ways to re-

formulate the series. That's another story for another time. This is about Mat.

For the man who stepped up and has taken the U.S. series by storm since he emerged on

the FBF Ducati in 1997, yesterday was the final crown and the final exclamation point to

a very storied career. Not that a chance of another win or two might not be possible in 2

weeks at the season-ending event in New Jersey, but yesterday was the culmination of all the

dedication, effort, training and focus that Mat Mladin has shown all of us here, let alone the

world, for all of these years, and shown how/why he is now a 7-time champ after having won

his 7th crown in the last 11 seasons. I've said it from the start, the man is a machine, and he has

rolled over all of us in showing what kind of champion and competitor he is. And unfortunately,

after the end of this year, Mat Mladin will go back to being a mere mortal. He will walk away from the sport and series he has decimated virtually since the start, and we will all be

worse off without him as a result. Not seeing Mat Mladin on the grid in 2010 in the AMA
Superbike Series is going to leave a hole the size of Texas in the series and we all will suffer

as a result. However, we can say we have been treated over the last decade plus to one of the

finest performances by one of the premier athletes at his job, and boy, were WE wowwed by it!

For Mat Mladin, we all bow at your feet for what you have done and shown us, and we are all

better for what you have done and shown us over the years. You will be surely missed, and

we will appreciate even more, when you are gone, how much you have truly done for us.

Thanks for the memories, Mat, and congrats on Number 7! We never doubted it would come!

The shots above are all of Mat at Road America in 2004, in various stages of practice, qualifying,

and generally kicking everyone's a.. over the w/e while winning both races that year.

Their may be some people out there that won't miss him when he's gone, but I can tell you I WON'T be one of them.....Thanks again Mat!!

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!

Ben Spies On Top of The World at MMP WSBK While Winning SuperPole #7

For a guy that is supposed to be a 'rookie' in a new series for him, that in
most cases other then this w/e he hasn't even seen the majority of the tracks
he is riding on, Ben Spies is setting the world, let alone the World Superbike Series,
on fire.
Having broken a 17 year old record yesterday in winning 7 SuperPoles in a row, a previous
record held by another Texan and former AMA Superbike Champion as well, Ben stole the
record that was held by Doug Polen when he contested the World Superbike Series in the early
'90s, while winning the championship in '91 and '92 on the Fast by Ferracci Ducati. Yes, for a man that came into a new series this year, on a new team, and on a new and advanced Yamaha R1 motorcycle, Ben is doing his best to show everyone that he is no rookie, and be damned the
hype that you can't win or compete in WSBK on tracks you haven't seen or ridden on previously.
And just to add insult to injury to anyone else who had any doubts, he took this new record yesterday on a track that for once, he had ridden on, let alone seen. And did it while the clouds
were getting ready to open up and shower the track at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.
And to have broken a record that had stood for 17 years in the now 22 year old series is in itself
quite an accomplishment. Not bad for a 'rookie.'
Both races today at the beautiful MMP in Utah will be a challenge for all entered, and Ben will still have to come out ahead of rival Nitro Nori Haga in order to get back into the championship hunt after a couple of crashes and DNF's due to lack of fuel load and shifter-related problems--both of which occurred as he was either about to win or in the process of leading races. Nitro Nori did suffer a massive get-off yesterday during practice, so he is likely to be a rightfully-so sore today after pounding the MMP pavement from this big highside as made available by the wonderful folks at http://www.superbikeplanet.com/:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/image/2009/wsbk/miller/haga/

Can you say 'ouch'?

Nonetheless, Nitro may be sore but Ben 'Elbowz' Spies, or The Texas Terror should you have it, will still have his hands full with a field of major stars. Both races will be run today @ 2 P.M. and 5:30 P.M. EDT, and both will be shown tape-delayed on SpeedTV today at 5-7 P.M. EDT as well. And if you are like me, you can follow them both on the net courtesy of the fine folks at the Official World Superbike site here via this link. The live timing is on the right side of the page and pretty easy to spot about 1/3 of the way down:

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

You can also check out Miller Motorsports Park's website here:

http://www.millermotorsportspark.com/

Finally, the shots above were taken at Road America of Ben leading a various cast of U.S.-based stars from the AMA Superbike Series in June '06 in what was race 2 on Sunday afternoon of the 'old' REAL Superbike Series. On the Team Honda CBR1000RR mounted #17 Miguel Duhamel and #98 Jake Zemke, #22 Tommy Hayden on the ZX-based Team Kawasaki, team mates on the Ducati-factory efforts #100 Neil Hodgson--also a former World Superbike Champion--as well as Ben Bostrom on the #155 and also not only a former multi-time winner on the WSBK scene, but the winner of the '98 AMA Superbike Series, the '08 AMA SuperSport Champion, and this years winner of the AMA Daytona 200. Also to be seen in pic #2 is perennial crowd/fan favorite Aaron 'Yikes' Yates on the Team Yoshimura GSXR-1000, at the time Ben Spies' team mate along with multi-time champ Mat Mladin.

Enjoy the races this weekend, and have a good week. Thanks for coming by to share in the fun
and the speed and the rush that is Stu's Shots R Us! God Bless!

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!

Ben Spies Runs Out of Fuel and Wins

Although, just not in the same race outing.

After winning his 5th SuperPole of the season in WSBK competition at Monza,
Mr. Elbowz suited up for the racing end of things at the Italian circuit. After leading
the majority of the race, his Yamaha R-1 ran out of fuel in the last set of turns onto the
final run relagating him to a 15th placing, and 1-point outing for the day in the championship
hunt. Later in the 2nd race of the day, Ben pulled off another win, while his main competition
for the title, Nitro Nori Haga, binned it early in the race to card ZERO points for the race. While
taking home a 2nd place in race 1, Nitro managed to give up a few points to Ben to make the
championship a now 54 point differential going in to next weekend's race at the South African
round of the World SuperBike Series.

You can view all results straight from the official site here:

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

The shot above is Mr. Spies in SuperStock-class qualifying mode at Barber Motorsports Park
in Alabama during the April '07 round of the good OLD AMA Superbike Series.

Ben Spies Takes 5th SuperPole of the Year at Monza WSBK

While we see Ben Spies bend it into turn 11 at Barber Motorsports Park
during qualifying for the old AMA SuperStock class in April of '07, word comes
from across the pond that young Mr. Spies has claimed his 5th SuperPole of the year
in the World Superbike Series in Monza, Italy.
Being a 'rookie' racing in Europe this year, Elbowz Spies has now amassed 5 Superpole wins, 4 wins, 1 second, and also, unfortunately, 3 crashes. The 3 crashes, with ZERO points each for those three races, mean that Mr. Spies comes into the 5th round of the year 60 points in arears
of one Nori Haga on the Team Xerox Ducati in the fight for the '09 World Superbike Series
Championship. However, with the 2 races for tomorrow, and the other 9 events and 18 races
to go in the season, anything can happen. And Nitro Nori in this young season has made ZERO
mistakes so far, having captured 2nd place to Mr. Spies 4 wins.
You can keep your fingers crossed and watch the tape-delayed races tomorrow on Speed TV, or
even catch the live timing during the races 'live' on your computer. The races roll off at 0600 and 0930 ET in the morning, and will be shown 16-1800 ET on Speed, or the night owl times of
0300-0500 on Wed. 5/13 on the same. You can also follow along with the
updates from the website on the left side column, or click here:

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

It should be a great round to see.
Go get 'em Ben!!!

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

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......

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!

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.