Kris VanOrden
03-26-2009, 02:00 AM
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 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, maybe just 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
acclimatized 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!" Jakes wish came to pass and by the
time the green flag dropped conditions had improved dramatically,
the sun was out the race 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.
For more information please visit Corona Extra Honda Racing online
at www.corona-racing.com (http://450forum.com/forum/www.corona-racing.com),
call 310 521 9802.
Corona Extra Honda Next Race:
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia April 3-5, 2009
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 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, maybe just 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
acclimatized 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!" Jakes wish came to pass and by the
time the green flag dropped conditions had improved dramatically,
the sun was out the race 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.
For more information please visit Corona Extra Honda Racing online
at www.corona-racing.com (http://450forum.com/forum/www.corona-racing.com),
call 310 521 9802.
Corona Extra Honda Next Race:
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia April 3-5, 2009