It was a busy Independence Day weekend of motorcycle racing, highlighted in the US by the 2009 Red Bull Laguna Seca USGP. The Monterey circuit played host to the premier MotoGP class, as well as the AMA Pro Road Racing series. (For full coverage of the USGP racing, visit the Laguna Seca USGP page) Other American races included Round 6 of the AMA Motocross series at the RedBud MX track. Major international series included the sixth round of the British Superbike series and the 11th round in the 2009 FIM World Motocross Championship.

MotoGP Laguna Seca

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa scored an upset with a flag-to-flag victory in the 2009 Red Bull Laguna Seca USGP. Former USGP winners Casey Stoner (2007) and Valentino Rossi (2009) tried to match the pace, but were unable to better it. Stoner would eventually yield his podium place to Yamaha pilot Jorge Lorenzo, who would go onto challenge his teammate Rossi for second before accepting third in a valiant race. Stoner settled for fourth, with two-time USGP winner Nicky Hayden the top finishing American in fifth – the best result of the season for the Kentucky Kid. Rossi maintains a nine-point lead over Lorenzo in the championship. For more MotoGP info read the MotoGP Laguna Seca Results.

AMA Pro Road Racing Laguna Seca

Controversy continues to follow the DMG-owned AMA Pro Road Racing series, as another pace car blunder marred the American Superbike race at Laguna Seca. No surprise as to the finisher, however, as Mat Mladin led an all Suzuki podium, with teammate, Blake Young, second and Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates third. Yamaha riders Josh Hayes and Ben Bostrom finished fourth and fifth, with Honda riders Neil Hodgson and Jake Holden following. For more on the pace car troubles read the AMA American Superbike Laguna Seca Results. 

Ben Bostrom took the checkers in the Daytona SportBike race at Laguna Seca. Not a usual SportBike competitor, Bostrom picked up where he left off at the Daytona 200 opener by beating Aprilia’s Chaz Davies in the final laps of the red-flagged affair. Joining Bostrom and Davies on the podium was regular Graves Yamaha rider Josh Herrin. A crash-filled race, many key contenders suffered DNFs including points leader Martin Cardenas, as well as Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden, Suzuki’s Jason DiSalvo and Honda’s Jake Zemke. Cardenas still holds the points lead, with a 39-point advantage over Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking, who finished ninth. More info at AMA Daytona SportBike Laguna Seca Results.

AMA Motocross RedBud

Yamaha’s Josh Grant celebrated the 4th of July with an impressive overall victory at RedBud MX. Grant’s 2-1 result beat the points leader, Suzuki’s Chad Reed, who finished 1-3 in the pair of motos. The overall win is the first for Grant in the premier 450 class. Other notable performances included strong runs by Honda riders Ivan Tedesco (4-2) and Andrew Short (3-4), finishing a respective third and fourth overall with a podium apiece for the factory Red Bull team. Reed still holds the championship lead in an injury-plagued MX field. Read the full report at AMA Motocross RedBud Results. 

FIM Motocross Swedish GP

Maximilian Nagl scored the overall victory in the FIM Motocross Swedish GP via a 1-2 result. The KTM rider edged out Yamaha’s Antonio Cairoli, who finished fourth in Moto 1 but took the win in the second contest. Other podium finishers included the Belgium duo of Ken de Dyker (Suzuki) and Clement Desaille (Honda) in Moto 1, with Nagl and Yamaha Monster Energy’s David Phillappaerts in Moto 2. Carioli’s strong finish keeps his sizable advantage over Nagal in the title chase, leading by 53 points. For the full report read the FIM Motocross Sweden Results.

British Superbike Knockhill

Airwaves Yamaha rider Leon Camier continued his domination of the 2009 British Superbike Championship with a double victory at Knockhill. HM Plant Honda rider Josh Brookes managed a double podium (3-2), with fellow CBR1000RR rider Stuart Easton also scoring a second-place rostrum appearance in Race 1. Camier’s Yamaha teammate, James Ellison, also finished on the steps with a third-place finish in Race 2. Camier enjoys a 78-point lead over Ellison for the championship lead. Read more on the BSB race in the British Superbike Knockhill Results.