Yamaha's Ben Bostrom is currently 6th in the standings, but a strong test time at Infineon Raceway shows he could easily break into the top five at the Kawasaki Showdown.
Yamaha’s Ben Bostrom posted the best time on Monday as nearly 20 riders hit the track for an AMA Pro Road Racing Test Session at Infineon Raceway.
Bostrom, a graduate of nearby Petaluma High School, recorded the top time on Monday over the 12-turn, 2.22-mile road course at 1 minute, 37.19 seconds.
The teams are testing in advance of the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts, May 15-17, in the Sonoma Valley.
Nineteen riders from 11 teams, including Attack Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati and Corona Extra Honda, attended the test, which concludes on Tuesday. This marks the first of three AMA Pro Road Racing sanctioned tests during the 2009 season.
Bostrom, a native of Redding in Northern California, was followed Monday by teammate Josh Hayes (1:37.6) and Suzuki’s Mat Mladin (1:37.63). Mladin was onboard a brand-new 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the first time at Infineon Raceway.
Attack Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking posted the top time among the Daytona SportBike riders (1:39.4), followed by Graves Yamaha teammates Josh Herrin (1:40.1) and Tommy Aquino (1:41.07).
Testing continues on Tuesday, as the track opens its gates for free to race fans for Two-Wheel Thunder. In addition to testing, the day will also feature a question-and-answer session with riders during the lunch break, as well as Supermoto USA and SB Freaks Street Freestyle demonstrations in the main paddock.
For ticket information to the Kawasaki AMA Superbike Showdown, presented by Supercuts, in May visit
www.infineonraceway.com or call 800-870-RACE.
AMA Pro Road Racing Series Test Session
Infineon Raceway, Sonoma
The top times from Monday’s test session over the 12-turn, 2.22-mile road course at Infineon Raceway. All times were reported by individual race teams:
AMERICAN SUPERBIKE
Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) 1:37.19
Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 1:37.6
Mat Mladin (Suzuki) 1:37.63
Jake Holden (Honda) 1:37.68
Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) 1:37.81
Larry Pegram (Ducati) 1:38.2
Blake Young (Suzuki) 1:38.2
Kevin Boisvert (Suzuki) N/A
DAYTONA SPORTBIKE
Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki) 1:39.4
Josh Herrin (Yamaha) 1:40.1
Tommy Aquino (Yamaha) 1:41.07
Steve Rapp (Yamaha) 1:41.2
Roger Hayden (Kawasaki) 1:41.6
Tyler Odom (Honda) 1:45.9
Chris Clark (Yamaha) 1:46.7
Chip Yates (Suzuki) 1:47.42
Michael Beck (Yamaha) 1:52.5
SUPERSPORT
Leandro Mercado (Kawasaki) 1:42.5
Ezequiel Iturrioz (Yamaha) 1:45.4
