** SPOILER ** AMA Racing at Fontana

[GunMD]

WOW! The first race was great (I was there Saturday and had a blast) but today's race was literally a photo finish. Spies and Mladin down to the wire. The time between first and second was only .011 seconds. That's crazy.

And yet another one, two, three for the factory Suzuki boys both days). Good for them.

Tommy got taken out by Cardenas in the first lap of the Supersport race and they both went to the hospital. No word on either one yet.

I met Earl and chatted with him for nearly ten minutes. He's the down to Earth guy you'd expect. Earl told me that he owns 29 acres in KY and has six race tracks on his land. No wonder those boys are fast!

 

[Kevin Daly]

What was amazing was how Spies realed Mlandin in ~1.5 sec at the end of the race and in just 3 laps. that was fun to watch

 

[GunMD]

Yes it was fun...and impressive. I am probobly most impressed w/ Tommy. He's come a long way this season in a very short time. I'm really hoping that he's OK after that nasty get-off w/ Cardenas.

 

[Kevin Daly]

So are you planning on going to Laguna Seca for MotoGP this year?

 

[GunMD]

Nope...can't make it to Laguna. I will be in Tooele UT the end of May though. Miller Motorsports park for the WSBK / AMA Superbike weekend. Good times.

 

[Randy]

A whole slew of awesome races.

Take the 1st superbike race out of the mix and 4 races had a TOTAL margin of victory of less than 3 tenths of a second

Supersport - gap = 0.070 seconds

Superstock - gap = 0.174 seconds

FX - gap = 0.013 seconds

Superbike Race 2 - gap = 0.011 seconds

 

[GunMD]

Update on Tommy Hayden. (Stolen from Cycle News Online)

Early reports say that Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Tommy Hayden suffered a broken ankle in the Supersport race at Auto Club Speedway yesterday. Hayden was T-boned from behind by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki's Martin Cardenas on the opening lap of the Supersport final in turn five. Initial reports have Cardenas suffering a broken femur in the incident.
This marks the second week in a row that the Haydens have been hit from behind and taken down. Roger Lee was hit from behind by Robertino Pietri last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park and suffered a broken pelvis and a badly damaged pinkie finger.

 

[Randy]

Sucks for Tommy, but, time to break out that often-used phrase - that's racing. It could have been a lot worse. Rather than doing all he could to try to stop the thing, he could have kept 'er wide open and t-boned someone. Injuries would have been much worse than a broken ankle. Even with a broken ankle, I would be surprised if Tommy is not on the grid in 3 weeks at Infineon.

Nicky better be looking left and right this weekend.

 

[GunMD]

For those of you keeping tabs on Tommy's injuries...

Stolen from Cycle News

Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden was successfully operated on for the injuries he suffered in Sunday’s Pro Honda Oils Supersport race at Auto Club Speedway.
Hayden, seen here with his brother Nicky, suffered a broken left tibia and dislocated left ankle, along with a cracked rib, bruised lung, bruised kidney, and lumbar damage, when he was rammed by Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas on the opening lap.

Dr. Thomas Bryan, an orthopedic surgeon and personal friend of Mat Mladin who was at the race, performed the procedure at the Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, Cal. Dr. Bryan inserted two plates and 16 screws in a three-hour procedure that ended after midnight .

Hayden was originally transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, but Dr. Bryan chose to have him moved to West Covina.

Hayden will likely spend at least one more night in the hospital.

Yoshimura Suzuki team manager Don Sakakura said it was too early to know how long Hayden would be sidelined. Dr. Bryan followed up with Hayden today and was planning on seeing him again tomorrow, at which point he’ll have a better idea how long the rehabilitation might be.

The crash comes just as Hayden was starting to flourish on the Suzuki GSX-R1000. Earlier in the day, Hayden finished third for the fourth race in a row, giving the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team podium sweeps in the past three races. Hayden sits third in Superbike points behind teammates Mat Mladin and Ben Spies.

Sounds like he's more screwed up than they first reported. Bummer for him, bummer for RMY Suzuki team.

 

[Bugnatr]

Man that really bites! Big time bonehead move by Cardenes, did you watch it in slow mo? He was way off the track before he slid back on and into Tommy. Quite the battle Between Ben and Jake. Some close racing this weekend for a change, good stuff.

 

[feejer222]

That sounds like good racing guys, the word here is that Spies is ear marked for the GP's next year.

 

[GunMD]

Some close racing this weekend for a change, good stuff.

Yep, it was good stuff for sure. I'm totally bummed about Tommy though...he was really coming on strong this season.

That sounds like good racing guys, the word here is that Spies is ear marked for the GP's next year.

Yes, that's the latest from the Suzuki camp. That's great news for MotoGP I think. I also have to wonder if Mladin is going to retire...??

 

[Randy]

Man that really bites! Big time bonehead move by Cardenes, did you watch it in slow mo? He was way off the track before he slid back on and into Tommy. Quite the battle Between Ben and Jake. Some close racing this weekend for a change, good stuff.

Woah.....before you send Cardenes to the gallows, did you read this? https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=32231

 

[squeezer]

I'm guessing that Mladin steps down. He's been such a master of the liter bikes for so long, I can't see him very interested in running 600s (assuming, of course, that's where the "premier" series goes). If I had my wish, we'd get to see him try a couple of seasons on the liter bikes in WSBK, but I've never heard of any interest from him in doing that.

I finally watched the AMA Superbike races Tuesday night. I'm normally bored by rovals, but that was pretty exciting stuff. Spies' comeback in race 2 was amazing. I thought that one was over.

I think the race for the 3rd step on the podium is going to be great this year. Hodgson, Yates, EBoz, DiSalvo, Duhamel all seem to have a shot at it and who has the best shot should change as the bikes are developed. I think that's going to be cool to watch all season.

I hadn't heard about Tommy until I allowed myself to read this thread today. That is really sad. He seemed to be coming to grips with the bike. Get well soon.

Didn't Yates crash twice there last year?

 

[Randy]

I'm guessing that Mladin steps down. He's been such a master of the liter bikes for so long, I can't see him very interested in running 600s (assuming, of course, that's where the "premier" series goes). If I had my wish, we'd get to see him try a couple of seasons on the liter bikes in WSBK, but I've never heard of any interest from him in doing that.
I finally watched the AMA Superbike races Tuesday night. I'm normally bored by rovals, but that was pretty exciting stuff. Spies' comeback in race 2 was amazing. I thought that one was over.

I think the race for the 3rd step on the podium is going to be great this year. Hodgson, Yates, EBoz, DiSalvo, Duhamel all seem to have a shot at it and who has the best shot should change as the bikes are developed. I think that's going to be cool to watch all season.

I hadn't heard about Tommy until I allowed myself to read this thread today. That is really sad. He seemed to be coming to grips with the bike. Get well soon.

Didn't Yates crash twice there last year?

In Superbike? I don't think he did. Maybe in practice or qualifying, but, he had a 7th and 9th place finish last year in Superbike and 3rd in Superstock.

From what I have heard, Mladin is making more racing in the US than he could in WSBK. He has a home set up in the US. I think it would take a pretty big offer to get him to pack up and leave. If the offer is right, he'll ride whatever they want him to ride.

Additionally, while there has been a lot of discussion on the future Superbike format, nothing has been finalized. As far as I know, the contract with DMG hasn't even been signed yet.

 

[squeezer]

Hmmm... Well, I never trusted my memory on such things anyway.

And, yeah, I can't think of any logical reason for Mladin to go to WSBK. It's just one of those "I would like to see it" things.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

I'm guessing that Mladin steps down. He's been such a master of the liter bikes for so long, I can't see him very interested in running 600s (assuming, of course, that's where the "premier" series goes). If I had my wish, we'd get to see him try a couple of seasons on the liter bikes in WSBK, but I've never heard of any interest from him in doing that.

From what I have heard, Mladin is making more racing in the US than he could in WSBK. He has a home set up in the US. I think it would take a pretty big offer to get him to pack up and leave. If the offer is right, he'll ride whatever they want him to ride.

That's pretty much what I heard him (Matt) say in the tv interview -- I work for Y/Suz and will race whatever they pay me to....

 

[Bugnatr]

OK, a break failure of some type would explain his actions. Still sucks for Tommy. Isn't Mladin's business here too? Some type of distribution company I think. He wasn't looking to happy after the close finish.

 

[Bugnatr]

er, that would be ""brake failure"