Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128209
AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series Rounds 2/3: California Speedway Mat Mladin was in a class of his own at Califomla Speedway, winning both rounds of the AMAIChevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Series In resounding fashion on his GSX·R1000. Drought-buster Mladin x 2 at California Speedway By PAUL CARRUTHERS PHOTOS By BRIAN J. NELSON FONTANA, CA, APR. 5·6 hen Mat Mladin won the first of two races at California Speed· way this weekend, it ended a drought of 623 days since he'd won an AMA Superbike National. That said, it only took him a single day to replicate the effort, the Yoshimura Suzuki rider completely dominating both portions of the doubleheader at California Speedway. On Saturday, Mladin was untouch· able. The Australian stormed away from the field to give the Suzuki GSX· R1000 its first· ever AMA Superbike victory. A determined Mladin put his head down and didn't lift it until he had some 16 seconds in hand over his teammate Aaron Yates. Only with those 16 seconds in hand did Mladin ease the pace, finally settling in to a 14.965-second victory. It was the 15th win of Mladin's AMA Superbike career and his first since his victory at MidOhio on July 21, 2001. More importantly for Mladin and his team, it proved that when armed with the GSX-R1000, W 20 APRIL 16, 2003' eye I CIS race he enters - and in the AMA Superbike National Championship. streak, Mladin came back the following day to win yet again.· This time he had a little luck on his side, though Not about to start another winless he might have won even without it. he will again be a major force in every e n e _ s He thinks so, at least. The Australian jumped the start and was consequently brought in for a stop-and-go penalty. When he reentered the track, he was 11.4 seconds behind race leader Yates, who was in a feverish battle with Kurtis Roberts, the Erion Honda rider in top form and looking to win the first AMA Superbike National of his career. Mladin, however, kept chipping away at the leaders, and on the 11 th lap with 17 laps left to run - he was in fourth place and 7.8 seconds behind the leader, who by this point was Roberts. He was gaining ground at a decent pace, and it looked like by the end of the race it would come down to him and Roberts for the victory. Could he pull it off? Could he become the first rider to ever undergo a stopand-go penalty in a Superbike National and still win? As it turns out, we'll never know. When Yates crashed (and remounted) and Dream Team Ducati's Larry Pegram did likewise in the same spot a lap later, the red flag was thrown, and the race was stopped. That meant that all Roberts' hard work was for naught. Ditto for Eric Bostrom, who was tailing the Honda rider. For Mladin it meant a reprieve. He would start fresh, right with everyone else. Ditto for Yates, who didn't lose a lap in his crash and would also get a second chance. Pegram, too, would get to restart. Given his second chance, Mladin took full advantage. He won again for career victory number 16 - a victory