Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki riders Aaron Yates and Jake Holden return to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, Virginia, August 17-19, 2007 for the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals. The riders will compete on the challenging 2.25 mile North Course in both the AMA Superbike Doubleheader and in the AMA Superstock race.
For Holden, VIR is his first chance to race in AMA Superstock competition since late June. With the abbreviated race schedule in July and the weather related cancellation of the last scheduled Superstock event at Mid-Ohio Car Course, Holden is eager to get back on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. “It’s sad I couldn’t race two weeks ago, ” said Holden. “I qualified second and felt really good about the weekend. I can’t wait to get back on the bike and race at VIR. ”
At last year’s event at VIR, with a qualifying time of 1:25.228, Holden earned a fourth place start and quickly moved into third place on lap one before crashing out during an aggressive pass for second. With only three Superstock races left in this season, Holden hopes this is the weekend he earns his third podium finish for his Jordan Suzuki crew and proves he is still a contender in the AMA Superstock Championship.
Yates, who is coming off several exciting race weekends, moved into sixth in overall points in the AMA Superbike Championship after he earned back-to-back fourth place finishes in the Mid-Ohio doubleheader. At the 2006 Suzuki Big Kahuna National event, Yates earned a second and a fifth place finish in AMA Superbike races and qualified his GSX-R1000 for a front row start with a time of 1:25.208.
In addition to his AMA Superbike and Superstock race duties, Yates will also compete in Thursday’s Enduro Kart Challenge. Featuring four person teams each including an AMA star such as Yates, the Enduro challenges teams to record best aggregate times on brand new 270cc Stratus karts. Racing in heats, each team member has only seven laps to set an individual best time. At the end of the competition, the team members’ best times are added together, with the quickest total time winning the competition. Yates, who frequently races his Dodge Dart at his local drag strip in Georgia, returns to VIR Karting action for the third year.
| 
|