It was a Suzuki sweep in the AMA Superstock race at California Speedway in Fontana with Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies winning the race and Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Holden and Aaron Yates bringing home second and third place, respectively.
With this second Superstock victory of the year, Spies took over the overall championship points lead: “I just want to thank my crew and Yoshimura Suzuki, ” said defending AMA Superbike Champion Spies. “And congratulations to Jake and Aaron, they rode a great race. Jake pushed me all the way to the end. I just tried to keep my head down the whole time. There for a few laps, though, I forgot how to ride but then I was able to get in a groove. “
After taking the AMA Superbike pole the previous day, Spies went back out and nabbed the AMA Superstock pole after turning a 1:24.804 lap time. Yates and Holden picked up the second and third-place spots with 1:25.203 and 1:25.237 lap times.
“The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working great, ” said Spies. “Everything is going exactly as planned. Hopefully we can keep it up and get a win in the Superstock race tomorrow. “
In the 17-lap race, M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May took the lead immediately but was passed within a few laps by Spies. The young Texan began gapping the field almost immediately and brought home the win.
“It was a good race, ” said Spies. “The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working good, though I wish we had a little more time to devote to testing the Superstock bike. But we were able to get it done today and, hopefully, we’ll be able to do that for the rest of the season. “
Like Spies, Holden got a good start on his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was in fourth position for the first few laps. He methodically worked his way up into second position and followed Spies home.
“It’s nice to be up here, ” said Holden of his second Superstock podium. “I’ve been waiting to get up here for a long time. It’s been a long journey but I’m glad to be here with the Jordan Suzuki crew. I gave it all I had and I’m looking forward to a good season. Hopefully, we’ll be up here a good bit. “
Holden’s Jordan Suzuki team mate Yates rounded out the podium in third place. Early on in the race, Yates and Holden diced for position before Yates settled into third.
“It was a good race, ” said Yates. “Jake came by me and he was gone; he was on rails. Jake and Ben rode an awesome race. I wanted to be up there battling with them but I was struggling with grip a little bit and so I just tried to bring it home for the Jordan Suzuki crew and get as many points as possible. “
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