Dunlop Motorcycle Tires Race Report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, Round Eight, Mid-Ohio

Lexington, Ohio--The eighth round of the 2007 AMA Superbike Series took on a Jekyll and Hyde character this weekend, August 3-5, as a beautiful day of racing on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was followed by a near total rainout on Sunday. Saturday’s race winners were Yoshimura Suzuki’s six-time Superbike champion Mat Mladin and reigning Formula Xtreme title holder Josh Hayes riding for Erion Honda Racing. Superbike race two went off late in the day on Sunday and again Mladin took the win. Darkness prevented the Supersport and Superstock races from running.

As the dominant tire of the Superbike and support series--Formula Xtreme, Supersport and Superstock--Dunlop brought nearly 1900 tires to tame the storied Mid-Ohio circuit. Notable among the tire offerings were next-generation N-Tec Superbike and Superstock rear tires with enhanced grip and a multi-compound front tire (a first at this track) front tire for the Superbike, Superstock and Supersport riders with improved cornering feel. Despite the race-shortened weekend, Dunlop riders were dominant, capturing 28 of 30 possible top-ten finishing positions.

Superbike Race One

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies, the 2006 Superbike champ, was in form leading up to the weekend’s first Superbike competition, ripping off a 1:24.424 in Friday’s practice session that was nearly a half-second faster than his qualifying record set last year. Then he qualified on Saturday with a 1:24.139, thanks in no small part to the next-gen N-Tec multi-compound rear tire and multi-compound front tire mounted on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. At the start of the race, Spies leapt into the lead and appeared en route to the victory when a red flag wiped out his six second lead over teammate Mladin. On the restart, it was Mladin’s turn to shine. He quickly worked his way up from fourth to challenge Spies and in the process turned several race-record laps, including an incredible 1:23.712. He took the lead on lap 18 and never looked back, winning the race by 4.807 seconds over Spies. “I’ve said that if I could get a good start I could race with Ben and when I found myself in fourth place just after the re-start, I knew I had to put my money where my mouth was,” said Mladin of his 58^th career AMA Superbike win. “I tried to keep the pressure on and now we’ll try to come back tomorrow and get off the line a bit quicker.” Honda Racing’s Miguel Duhamel rode a spirited race and held off Jordon Motorsports Suzuki’s Aaron Yates by just .027 seconds at the checkered flag to take third, his sixth podium of the year. Dunlop riders took every one of the top ten finishing positions.

AMA Superbike – 24 Laps (shortened by red flag)

Superbike results, Saturday, August 4: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki

2. Ben Spies - Suzuki

3. Miguel Duhamel - Honda

4. Aaron Yates - Suzuki

5. Roger Hayden - Kawasaki

6. Eric Bostrom - Yamaha

7. Jason DiSalvo - Yamaha

8. Jake Zemke - Honda

9. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

10. James Ellison - Honda

Formula Xtreme Race

Erion Honda Racing’s Josh Hayes brought a 34-point lead into the Formula Xtreme event at Mid-Ohio and he worked hard all weekend to build on it. Hayes qualified with a time of 1:26.661 on his CBR600RR, more than a second faster than last year’s pole-sitter, topping even Ben Spies’ 2003 class record of 1:27.229 when Formula Xtreme allowed 1000cc machines. In the race Hayes went flag-to-flag and his winning margin was just over five seconds. “The saving grace I had was my Dunlop tires and a fast motorcycle,” said Hayes of his fifth victory of the year. “The Hondas an amazing motorcycle. There's a reason it's got the number one plate on it, and we're in good shape to keep it on there right now.” Celtic Performance Yamaha’s Chaz Davies rode an inspired race on a Supersport-spec YZF-R6 with Dunlop multi-compound tires front and rear, just missing second place by .107 seconds to take third. Eight of the top ten riders were on Dunlop tires.

AMA Formula Xtreme – 16 Laps

Formula Xtreme results, Saturday, August 4: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Josh Hayes - Honda

3. Chaz Davies - Yamaha

4. Aaron Gobert - Honda

5. Larry Pegram - Ducati

6. Marty Craggill - Ducati

7. Ryan Andrews - Honda

8. Ryan Elleby - Honda

10. Chris Peris - Yamaha

Formula Xtreme Championship Points after 8 of 10 races: Top three riders

1. Hayes - 249

2. Rapp - 199

3. Gobert - 186

Superbike Race Two

After an all-day delay caused by incessant rain, a shortened 18-lap Superbike race took place after the riders concluded a brief 15-minute practice. Nearly all the Dunlop riders selected the same compounds they used on Saturday to compete on the drying track. Factory Yamaha’s Eric Bostrom took the lead going into turn one but by the end of the first lap, Spies had taken over. >From a fourth-place start Mladin quickly worked his way forward on his GSX-R1000 and he was behind Spies by the end of lap two. Steady pressure and a string of ever-faster laps brought Mladin up to Spies’ rear wheel and he took the lead on lap six. Mladin slowly motored away, turning his fastest lap on the ninth circuit with a time of 1:24.803, and he took the checkered flag on his 59^th career Superbike win with 1.868 seconds to spare. “The track was a little bit sketchy right after the rain and there was not quite as much rubber down,” said Mladin. “But we had a good race, I was happy to get the win and we look forward to the race a couple of week from now.” Spies took second and Kawasaki Racing’s Jamie Hacking took third, his second third-place finish of the year for his team’s first year in the Superbike series. Of the top-20 finishers, all but one rode on Dunlop tires.

AMA Superbike – 18 Laps (shortened from 26)

Superbike, Sunday, August 5: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Mat Mladin - Suzuki

2. Ben Spies - Suzuki

3. Jamie Hacking - Kawasaki

4. Aaron Yates - Suzuki

5. Jake Zemke - Honda

6. Miguel Duhamel - Honda

7. Eric Bostrom - Yamaha

8. Roger Hayden - Kawasaki

9. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

10. Matt Lynn - MV Agusta

Superbike Championship Points after 14 of 19 races: Top three riders

1. Spies – 486

2. Mladin – 469

3. Duhamel – 360

Supersport Championship Points after 7 of 10 races (no race at Mid-Ohio): Top three riders

1. Roger Hayden - 214

2. Hacking - 201

3. Hayes – 185

Superstock Championship Points after 6 of 9 races (no race at Mid-Ohio): Top three riders

1. Spies - 215

2. B. Bostrom – 176

3. Yates - 170

The next stop for Dunlop and the 2007 AMA Superbike Series is Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Virginia, August 17-19. Round nine features a Superbike doubleheader.


from Dunlop Tire