VIR09

VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

CONSISTENT FINISHES FOR CORONA EXTRA HONDA AT VIR
VIRginia International Raceway
Alton, VA August 16, 2009

Corona Extra Honda riders Jake Holden and Neil Hodgson put in solid performances at the hot and humid Virginia International Raceway this weekend. Both riders struggled with traction problems but still Jake came away with seventh and tenth placefinishes, Neil eleventh and eighth.

As usual both Neil and Jake got up to speed in the first on-track session posting 5th and 12th respectively. Hodgson turned a time of 1:26.129. Holden posted a time of 1:27.510 after having gearing problems throughout the session. In qualifying, both went into Super Pole. Hodgson improved upon his morning times with a 1:25.807 for 6th. Holden posted a flyer on his last lap moving him from 12th to 9th to guarantee his spot. He also improved upon his morning time with a 1:26.139.

Superpole saw Hodgson improving for 5th on the grid after posting a 1:26.431 on Friday afternoon. Teammate Holden had problems and had to settle for the 10th starting position after posting a time of 1:26.980. Times for all riders were slower than the times posted in basic qualifying.

In race one of the double header, both Neil and Jake fought through from bad starts to move up the race order. Holden followed Hodgson across the stripe to complete lap one in 12th place. Both riders passed Jeff Wood during the next lap. Holden then got around his teammate on lap three but gave up a position to Knapp. Geoff May crashed on lap 4 to move both riders up a position. Larry Pegram then ran off track on lap 5 to move both riders up another position. Holden managed to get around Laverty on lap 8 to take 7th. Hodgson gave up 10th to Pegram on lap 10 and managed to take back that position during the next lap. Holden's battled with Knapp and took the 7th position on lap 12. He held that position until the end of the race. Hodgson held 10th until being passed by Wood on lap 19. He held 11th until the end of the race. Holden turned his best lap time of 1:26.612 in lap 13. Hodgson turned his best lap time 1:27.231 in lap 7.

Both Corona Extra Honda Racing riders got off to a good start during the Sunday round. Neil Hodgson finished lap one in 8th and battled with Ben Bostrom over the next two laps swapping position each lap. On lap 4 both Hodgson and Bostrom passed Jeff Wood. Hodgson then gave up a position to Taylor Knapp on lap 6 and Aaron Yates on lap 7. He managed to catch and pass Matt Mladin bringing home an 8th place finish but not before he took a 150 MPH excursion through the grass for the entire length of the straight - check out the Speed broadcast to see the terrific save Neil made!

Holden crossed the line at the end of lap one in 10th. He held that position until giving up a spot to Knapp on lap 3. Two laps later Holden managed to pass Wood and then held 10th until the end of the race.

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.