Bostrom takes first victory of season

From AMA Pro Racing

MONTEREY, CA - Today's AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike race at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix was won by a rider who loves everything about Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and he has the record to prove it. Ben Bostrom and his Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha team culminated a very special weekend by winning from the pole position to capture his third career AMA Pro SuperBike victory on Sunday. Bostrom also won here last year in Daytona SportBike and also a World SuperBike race here in 1999. 

"Every time I ride into this track, it reminds me of home," Bostrom said. "I love the fog and when I can ride up here and see the blue sky start to break through, it makes me happy and a happy rider rides well."

Finishing second was points leader Josh Hayes aboard his Team Graves Yamaha. Hayes led the race early and fought all the way until the checkered flag on what was on paper a fine weekend. Hayes was disappointed with himself but he admitted that this was a difficult track for him and he paid tribute to his Team Graves Yamaha team for their hard work in giving him a bike he could win with. 

"I wanted to win here. This has always been a very, very difficult racetrack for me," Hayes admitted. "I don't have a single excuse. I had a great motorcycle but I was very inconsistent this week but I am happy with second. Now we are going to two tracks that are really good for me that I had great weekends last year so I want to hurry up and get there and let's get back to business."

Third place went to Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden. Hayden maintained second in the points standings despite having a weekend where he felt he didn't get the best from himself and his machine. Once again, his mental toughness was on display as he took a solid points haul when his situation wasn't at its best. 

Bostrom almost gave the game away early on in the race when he came into the famous Corkscrew turns at the top of the circuit and had a big moment under braking and had to run off the track and rejoin, albeit very carefully! Streaking by was a very strong starting Jake Holden on his M4 Monster Energy Suzuki as he took full advantage of the moment to lead until Hayes got by in a hold-your-breath pass on the front straight. Hayes and Holden were side-by-side coming out of the last corner and held station right next to each other until Hayes was able to squeak by to take the lead that he would hold for the next 12 laps.

It took Bostrom a little while but he eventually got by Holden for second and set sail after Hayes. Bostrom closed up on Hayes and the two rode in synchronized fashion for a number of laps until Bostrom got by Hayes in turn five on lap 15. Hayes didn't let up whatsoever but Bostrom was in sync on a track he loves and he captured his third career AMA Pro SuperBike win in fine fashion.

Ben wasn't the only Bostrom that had a great day at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. His brother Eric, riding the new Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki put in a stellar performance in only his second appearance this year. Starting sixth, he fell back to 16th at the start and then began a sterling comeback ride to seventh at the flag. He battled his way back into contention with the likes of Geoff May on his Buell, a strong running Chris Peris of Calgary on the Team Iron Horse BMW and Saskatoon's Brett McCormick, who rewarded the hard work of his Jordan Suzuki team with eighth place after a couple of off-track excursions in Saturday's qualifying sessions.

Foremost Insurance Ducati's Larry Pegram also ran well, continuing his solid year. He and Jake Zemke aboard his National Guard Jordan Suzuki had their own battle but Pegram was able to pull away to finish fifth with Zemke in sixth, well ahead of the aforementioned Eric Bostrom in seventh. 

Next up for AMA Pro Road Racing will be Aug. 13-15 at Virginia International Raceway.

Race Results
1. Ben Bostrom (Pat Clark Motorsports) Yamaha YZF-R1 23 Laps
2. Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R1 +0.440
3. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.331
4. Jake Holden (M4 Monster Energy Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +10.170
5. Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance ·Pegram Racing) Ducati 1098R +18.033
6. Jake Zemke (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +22.257
7. Eric Bostrom (Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +35.516
8. Brett McCormick (Jordan Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +40.806
9. Chris Peris (Team Iron Horse BMW ·ESP) BMW S1000RR +41.817
10. Geoff May (Erik Buell Racing) Buell 1125RR +42.126
11. Taylor Knapp (RidersDiscount.com) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +46.969
12. Jeremy Toye (San Diego BMW Racing Powered by Lees Cycle) BMW S1000RR +1:03.394
13. Ricky Corey (RCR Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1:10.563
14. Jason Pridmore (Celtic Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1:19.026
15. Hawk Mazzotta (Ace Racing) Yamaha YZF-R1 22 Laps
16. Brian Parriott (Sutter Home Family Vineyards Racing Team) Aprilia RSV1000R Factory +3.712
17. Chris Siebenhaar (BCS Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +3.971
18. Skip Salenius (Run 1 Racing Motorsports) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.197
19. Steve Atlas (MotoUSA Yoshimura Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +21.356
20. Trent Gibson (Gibson Motorsports) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +29.984
21. Chris Clark (Pat Clark Motorsports) Yamaha YZF-R1 20 Laps
22. Johnny Rock Page (Aussie Dave Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 16 Laps
23. Chris Ulrich (M4 Monster Energy Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2 Laps
Did Not Start
Miguel Duhamel (Moto Forza/Nova Tac Racing) Ducati 1098R
Race Time: 32:45.180
Margin of Victory: 0.440
Best Race Lap: Josh Hayes (1:24.691)

Point Standings (Top 20 plus Canadians)
1. Josh Hayes 311
2. Tommy Hayden 302
3. Jake Zemke 260
4. Larry Pegram 225
5. Ben Bostrom 223
6. Blake Young 197
7. Chris Ulrich 150
8. Taylor Knapp 141
9. Brett McCormick 112
10. Jake Holden 93
11. Chris Clark 89
12. Geoff May 64
13. John Hopkins 62
14. Aaron Yates 59
15. Shane Narbonne 58
16. David Anthony 56
17. Johnny Rock Page 54
18. Chris Peris 43
19. Eric Haugo 40
20. Eric Bostrom 35
33. Jordan Szoke 11