Dunlop Motorcycle Tires Race Report: 2007 AMA Superbike Series, Round 11, Laguna Seca

Monterey, Calif.--The 2007 AMA Superbike Series concluded at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif., September 15-16 with an exciting flourish, culminating with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies winning his second consecutive AMA Superbike title. The Supersport race was won by Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Josh Herrin, his first ever AMA win, while the series crowned a new champion, Kawasaki Road Racing’s Roger Hayden. The Superstock and Formula Xtreme series, which crowned their champs two weeks earlier, offered spectators some thrilling action as Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden took his first AMA win and Erion Racing Honda’s Aaron Gobert got the Formula Xtreme victory.

Dunlop-supported racing teams also enjoyed an incredible season of success in America’s premier road racing series. In the 19 Superbike events in 2007, Dunlop riders swept every podium and represented every one of the top 10 finishers in each race save for one (109 out of 110 possible). Support class performance was also impressive. For example in the 10 Supersport competitions, Dunlop riders collected 80 percent of the podium positions (including five sweeps) and 66 percent of the top 10 finishing positions. For the four racing classes overall, Dunlop riders represented a whopping 84 percent of the podium positions (121 out of 144 possible) and 77 percent of top 10 finishers (371 out of 480 possible).

Coming into Laguna Seca, two of the four championships had already been decided and two were still on the line. Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes locked up the Formula Xtreme title at the previous round at Road Atlanta, as did Suzuki’s Ben Spies with the Superstock crown. For the Superbike and Supersport showdowns, weather would not be an issue as the Monterey, Calif. setting was a picture perfect setting with 70-degree temperatures and no threat of rain. Laguna Seca’s relatively short straights between turns emphasize cornering traction and the recently repaved surface provides consistent and considerable grip. To provide a variety of tire choices, Dunlop brought approximately 2000 tires to support the factory teams and support riders in Superbike, Superstock, Supersport and Formula Xtreme, including a predominance of N-Tec multi-compound rear tires and next-generation multi-compound front tires.

Superstock Race

While Spies, the newly crowned class champ, sat out the final round there was still one race to run and the final standings to be sorted out. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom was the initial race leader, but was passed first by Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and then by Holden’s teammate, Aaron Yates. The planned 17-lap event was cut short after oil spilled on the track on lap 12, taking out Holden who was leading at the time. Because Holden did not cause the crash, he was awarded the win; Yates was second and Bostrom third. Holden’s race-shortened win was no fluke, however, as he led all but the first lap and also notched the fastest race lap, a 1:24.960, on his GSX-R1000. “It felt good to lead some laps and to get the win. I’m really happy for my Jordan Suzuki crew because they’ve worked hard for me over the last several years and we’ve just been pressing forward. It’s good to finally get the first one under my belt… Hopefully, we’ll get more wins next year.” Dunlop riders amassed seven of the top 10 spots, culminating a year in which Dunlop riders took 61 percent of the top 10 Superstock positions.

AMA Superstock – 11 Laps (shortened from 17 by a red flag)

Superstock results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 101. Jake Holden - Suzuki

2. Aaron Yates - Suzuki

3. Ben Bostrom - Yamaha

4. Jamie Stauffer - Yamaha

6. Blake Young - Suzuki

7. Ben Thompson - Yamaha

8. Danny Eslick - Suzuki

Superstock Championship Points after 9 of 9 races: Top three riders

1. Spies – 292 (Champion)

2. Bostrom -264

3. Yates - 251

Supersport Race

The closest racing of the year took place in the Supersport series and the final round pitted Kawasaki Road Racing teammates Roger Hayden (the points leader) and Jamie Hacking (the defending class champ) against Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes. Though he trailed the Kawasaki riders, Hayes had the momentum with a win at Road Atlanta and he put everyone on notice with an incredible pole position performance of 1:26.706, nearly .8 second faster than Hayden’s pole record set earlier in July--and achieved on two broken ankles suffered in an earlier practice session. In the race Hayes immediately took the lead but he was passed soon by Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s Josh Herrin on his YZF-R6. Lurking close behind were Hacking and Hayden. The torrid pace at the front brought out the red flag when Hayes crashed on lap five, effectively ending his heroic bid to win the title from behind. In the restart Herrin rushed to the front and was never headed, taking his first-ever AMA win by 1.401 seconds over Hacking and M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas. “I got to plus-two and I looked back and they were like 20 bike lengths back and I said, ‘There’s no way this is possible,’’’ exuded Herrin. “It’s going to be good going into the off-season after winning a race.” The championship meanwhile played out further back in the pack as Hayden, working his way forward on his ZX-6RR after a skirmish in the corkscrew, managed to finish fifth--just enough to take the title with three points to spare over Hacking. “It definitely took awhile but it was worth the wait,” said Hayden of his first AMA title. “I want to say hi to all my family and friends back home, my parents, my brothers, my sisters, everybody who has been following my career, this is a dream come true.” Hayden joins his older brothers Nicky and Tommy with rings in the Supersport class. On the day, Dunlop riders took seven out of the first 10 finishing positions.

AMA Supersport – 12 Laps (shortened from 17 by a red flag)

Supersport results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Josh Herrin - Yamaha

2. Jamie Hacking - Kawasaki

5. Roger Hayden - Kawasaki

6. Blake Young - Suzuki

7. Aaron Gobert - Honda

8. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

9. Garrett Carter - Yamaha

Supersport Championship Points after 10 of 10 races: Top three riders

1. R. Hayden – 297 (Champion)

2. J. Hacking - 294

3. Hayes - 260

Superbike Race

The season-long battle between Yoshimura Suzuki teammates Mat Mladin (six-time AMA champ) and Ben Spies (defending champion) came down to the last race and a winner-take-all shootout. Spies struck first by winning the pole position with a record time of 1:23.105, besting his own record set in July by .3 second. The race went off cleanly and Mladin surged to the front with Honda Racing’s Jake Zemke and Spies in pursuit. Spies got around Zemke on lap two and set off after Mladin; from there the duo ran nearly nose-to-tail on their GSX-R1000s for 13 more laps. As they neared a lapper at the top of the corkscrew on lap 15, Spies made a daring pass and came out ahead of both riders as they snaked down the hill. Spies then put together a string a torrid laps, including the fastest of the race, a 1:23.614 on lap 17. He built his lead to nearly five seconds and Mladin was unable to close the gap. “I dropped back about nine-tenths in the middle of the race and I was like, ‘There’s only about 20 minutes left in this race, it’s 100 percent from here on out,’” explained Spies. “I think I proved a lot of people wrong today and I’m happy to be coming back next year,” he said of his convincing win, the seventh of the season. Following Mladin in second place was Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates, completing a podium sweep for Suzuki. As was the case in 18 of the 19 Superbike races this season, all of the top 10 finishers rode on Dunlop tires.

AMA Superbike – 28 Laps

Superbike results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Ben Spies - Suzuki

2. Mat Mladin - Suzuki

3. Aaron Yates - Suzuki

4. Jake Zemke - Honda

5. Eric Bostrom - Yamaha

6. Tommy Hayden - Suzuki

7. Jason DiSalvo - Yamaha

8. James Ellison - Honda

9. Jake Holden - Suzuki

10. Matt Lynn - MV Agusta

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

1. Spies – 653 (Champion)

2. Mladin - 651

3. Zemke - 468

Formula Xtreme Race

The final race of the year went off without the class champion, Erion Racing Honda’s Josh Hayes, who was injured in the Supersport competition. But his teammate, Aaron Gobert, picked up the slack and ran a masterful race on his CBR600RR to finish 3.635 seconds ahead of Leo Vince Ducati’s Larry Pegram and Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp. Though Gobert took the pole with a record time of 1:25.840, he had to claw his way to the front and pass both Pegram and Attack Kawasaki’s Ben Attard before he could settle into the lead. “I’ve got to thank Pro Honda Oils, Parts Unlimited, Erion Honda, all the Dunlop boys for keeping me going on their tires…” said Gobert. He added, “I’ve had a few DNFs and thrown it down the road so it’s good to finish off the year with a third in the championship.” Six of the top ten riders were on Dunlops, closly matching the company’s success in Formula Xtreme for the entire year.

AMA Formula Xtreme – 17 Laps

Formula Xtreme results, Sunday September 16: Dunlop finishers in the Top 10
1. Aaron Gobert - Honda

2. Larry Pegram - Ducati

5. Chris Peris - Yamaha

6. Chaz Davies - Yamaha

7. Ryan Andrews - Honda

9. Ryan Elleby - Honda

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

1. Hayes – 324 (Champion)

2. Rapp - 279

3. Gobert - 247

Dunlop returns to the AMA Superbike road racing tour in 2008 for the first round at Daytona International Speedway.

About Dunlop TiresDunlop Tires is the largest supplier of original equipment and replacement motorcycle tires in the U.S. and the only manufacturer of motorcycle tires in North America. With North American operations headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Dunlop has been making and selling high-quality tires in the U.S. since 1923. For more information, please visit www.dunlopmotorcycle.com.

from Dunlop Tire Press