BARBER09

BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK

JAKE HOLDEN TAKES CORONA EXTRA HONDA SUPERBIKE TO SEVENTH, EIGHTH AT BARBER

Image by Brian J. Nelson Barber Motorsports Park
Leeds, AL May 3, 2009

Jake Holden, handling the riding duties for Corona Extra Honda Racing, rode the CBR1000RR Superbike to solid eighth and seventh place finishes at this weekend’s Barber Motorsports event. The weather was a key factor in the race weekend planning with thunderstorms, heavy rain showers and tornados converging on the beautiful Birmingham area facility being the cause of extended delays throughout the weekend.

Qualifying saw Jake get into Superpole and eighth place on the grid. At the drop of the green flag, after more than an hour’s delay owing to wet areas around the track, the race settled into a procession with the lead group including Jake breaking away from the rest of the field. Jake opened up a gap of several seconds over ninth but was unable to make a dent in catching seventh. He maintained his eighth spot throughout the race and though slowing towards the end brought the Corona Honda Superbike home in the same slot.

Race two featured major excitement prior to the start when a tornado threatened the paddock facility, sending everyone dashing for protection under the media building. Though the winds and rain were stunning, it passed and eventually the track dried allowing the race to start several hours late and shortened from 21 to16 laps.

Jake was able to work up to seventh before the pace car came out due to a crash. He lost a place on the restart but was able to take back the position and make a challenge on sixth but came up three one-hundredths of a second short at the flag - just needing another lap!

Jake said, “I was starting to get comfortable on the bike in the second race and though the track was a bit sketchy in places was able to get my head down and catch Larry (Pegram) and have a go for the position but just ran out of time. Still it was really close at the end.”

In its “Race to the Lime” Corona Extra Honda Racing is proud to be partnering with: Parts Unlimited, Cycle Gear, Pro Honda Oils, AGV, FMF, Autolite, Hotbodies Racing, K&N, Motion Pro, Vortex, Dainese, GPR, Ogio, CR&A, RK, Dunlop, Powerstands, Bellco, Adran, K&L, HRC, Acme Garage, Vicci, Fluid Designs, EBSCO Media, MTS.