FONTANA09

AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

HOLDEN TAKES CORONA HONDA SUPERBIKE TO FIFTH AT AUTOCLUB SPEEDWAY

Fontana, CA March 22, 2009

Jake Holden, standing in for Corona Extra Honda Racing’s injured Neil Hodgson, took his Honda CBR1000RR to a terrific fifth place in the first Auto Club Speedway Superbike race ahead of the factory Yamaha’s of Hayes and Bostrom following a race-long duel that saw another photo-finish at the line.

Holden quickly got up to speed in practice but his first time on the bike was limited by an AMA test of the pace car concept. However, his time had him into the Super Pole which saw each of the top ten riders get a full flying lap on a clear track. Jake further improved and finished in a fine fifth place.

When the green flag dropped in race one Jake did not make the best start but luckily escaped being taking out in the first corner by a crashing Larry Pegram. The incident brought out the red flag and a restart which saw a slightly better start for Holden who was eighth after the first lap. There then followed a race long duel with Hayes and Bostrom.

He picked off Bostrom on lap twelve and went after Hayes finally pipping him on the line by two thousandth’s of a second! A delighted Jake said, “I didn’t get a very good start and just tried to be consistent. The Yamaha’s sort of held me up. I had a hard time getting past them. I was getting more confident on the bike over the race and we were closing on Blake (Young) by the end, another couple of laps!”

Race day two started wet, blustery, and very un-Californian with warm-up practice in heavy rain. Holden spent the session getting acclimated to the Honda Superbike’s power in the wet. Afterwards he said, “I’m hoping for a dry race as I know I can run with all the front runners now!” Jake’s wish came to pass and by the time the green flag dropped conditions had improved dramatically, the sun was out and the track and was fully dry.

Just like race one, a red flag came out on the first lap. On the restart Jake settled into sixth for a few laps before charging up right on fourth and fifth. He was setting up to make the pass when a misfire on his bike slowed him down and eventually forced him to retire. A disappointed Jake said, “I had the two guys in front all setup for the pass when the bike started missing. I thought it was fuel so dropped to the trackside and then got back on it but it just got worse and I pulled in!”

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