RoadAtlanta08

Road Atlanta
Flowery Branch, GA August 31, 2008

HOLDEN TAKES FOURTH, TWO TOP-TENS FOR LYNN, AT ROAD ATLANTA

Jake Holden took fourth in Superstock and teammate Matt Lynn garnered ninth and tenth place finishes in Superbike at this weekend’s AMA National event at Road Atlanta. Racing their Corona Extra Racing Honda CBR1000RR’s, both riders showed grit and determination against adversity. Lynn’s bike developed a fuel delivery problem half way round the last lap of the first Superbike race, robbing him of a secure 8th place while Jake crashed in qualifying, hurting his confidence for the race.

The weather is usually a factor at Road Atlanta but this time the conditions were good, apart from the usual heat and humidity that gives everyone cause to complain! With Hurricane Gustav rolling in across the Gulf, the expectation was for wind and rain, but the weather gods held back and all the races were held in near perfect conditions. Matt showed a good turn of speed in qualifying, getting his Superbike within a few tenths of the factory bikes and onto the third row of the grid - in twelfth. When the green flag dropped, Matt was in the thick of the “pack,” in ninth, keeping in touch for most of the race. He put his head down and chased down DuHamel on the factory Honda. As he made his move on the penultimate lap, a misfire started slowing him down. The bike quit halfway round the last lap - the problem was found to be a vapor lock in the gas tank caused by the hot weather. Lynn, who was almost eight seconds ahead of ninth having inherited a spot when Hacking crashed, had to settle for tenth.

Jake Holden did not get the set-up he was hoping for in Superstock and struggled with gearing for the high-speed track. Trying at the limit for pole, he crashed but was still able to post a front row start, one of only four riders into the 1: 25’s. His race start was poor and he found himself in sixth after the first lap. A red flag on the third lap gave him a second chance and this time he was in fourth after the restart, a position he held to the finish. Jake said, “The (stock) gearbox ratios just wouldn’t work for this track and I couldn’t make up time on the three in front. I didn’t want to throw it down again so rode my own race!” Jake remains 2nd in the championship. With a second place finish, Aaron Yates clinched the Superstock Championship - well done Aaron!

The second Superbike event was again a good race for Matt. He got a good start and was up to tenth after the first lap. There followed a race long dice with Aaron Yates and the two went at it tooth and nail! Matt got past Yates on lap 19 and held him at bay until lap 24 when Aaron got back again. The order remained at the flag with 0.36 of a second separating the two! Matt said, “It was a great race with Aaron - I just couldn’t get past him at the end!” Matt finished in ninth after the retirement of Hacking. Going into the season finale at Laguna, Lynn is 13th in the championship points.

Corona Extra Honda Racing is proud to be partnering with industry leaders: Parts Unlimited, Cycle Gear, Dainese, Castrol, Dunlop, FMF, Sidi, Hotbodies Racing, GPR, Motion Pro, K&L, Thetrackclub.com, HRC, Ohlins, VP Racing, Race Tech, Vortex, Ogio, CR&A, Adran, DynoJet, RK, Rage’n Trailers, Brembo, Marchesini, Galfer, STM, Powerstands, Taylormade, K&N, Cox Racing, Face Lift, JETT Tuning, EFI Technology, Performance Solutions, Bellco, EBSCO Media, MTS.