Kris VanOrden
05-19-2009, 04:16 PM
The Infineon Superbike event marked the return of Corona Extra Racing pilot Neil
Hodgson into the AMA Superbike fray. Neil joined Jake Holden who has been
handling the riding duties in Neil’s absence at the picturesque Napa valley
circuit. The weather was beautiful with peak temperatures hitting well into the
high 90’s.
Neil took the riding chores as easy as possible to get back into the swing but
was still able to qualify for Superpole along with Jake. The riders went out
one after the other and finished eighth for Jake with Neil right behind in
ninth. Neil said he was having a hard time with his shoulder and Jake was
getting used to being back on his Superstock bike after the factory Superbike.
Come the race both Jake and Neil got good starts and were right in the lead pack
for the first lap. Misfortune was soon to befall both however. On the second
lap, while in eighth, Jake ran wide at turn seven, rejoining almost last, in
eighteenth, but really on the gas. Neil started out in eleventh after lap one
but worked up to ninth on lap two and was right in the mix but lost the front
end in turn eleven on lap four and went down. He was not able to restart. Neil
said; “The track got really greasy because it was so hot. I was going in hard
and the front end just washed out!” Jake really had his head down after his off
track excursion, making up two places every lap and working back up to twelfth
by lap six but then the Turn eleven gremlin bit him and his bike threw its chain
as he came out of the corner.
Day two dawned even hotter with numbers nudging the high nineties when the flag
dropped on the second Superbike race. Jake got a good start and held his
position for the opening laps. He moved up as high as sixth before a mechanical
problem with his suspension slowed him down and eventually forced him to pull
off. Overall it was a very disappointing weekend for Jake.
Neil rode a steady pace after his get-off in the first race. Early in the race
he lost a couple of positions over his start but worked back up to ninth and
held it to the finish with a strong cushion of fourteen seconds over tenth.
Neil Said; “I wanted to make sure I finished so decided to take it very
conservatively and not push it. I actually felt a lot better today than I did
yesterday even after getting off!”
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, Email media@corona-racing.com or call 310 521 9802.
Corona Extra Honda Next Race – Miller Motorsports Park, Toele Utah May 29-31,
2009
Hodgson into the AMA Superbike fray. Neil joined Jake Holden who has been
handling the riding duties in Neil’s absence at the picturesque Napa valley
circuit. The weather was beautiful with peak temperatures hitting well into the
high 90’s.
Neil took the riding chores as easy as possible to get back into the swing but
was still able to qualify for Superpole along with Jake. The riders went out
one after the other and finished eighth for Jake with Neil right behind in
ninth. Neil said he was having a hard time with his shoulder and Jake was
getting used to being back on his Superstock bike after the factory Superbike.
Come the race both Jake and Neil got good starts and were right in the lead pack
for the first lap. Misfortune was soon to befall both however. On the second
lap, while in eighth, Jake ran wide at turn seven, rejoining almost last, in
eighteenth, but really on the gas. Neil started out in eleventh after lap one
but worked up to ninth on lap two and was right in the mix but lost the front
end in turn eleven on lap four and went down. He was not able to restart. Neil
said; “The track got really greasy because it was so hot. I was going in hard
and the front end just washed out!” Jake really had his head down after his off
track excursion, making up two places every lap and working back up to twelfth
by lap six but then the Turn eleven gremlin bit him and his bike threw its chain
as he came out of the corner.
Day two dawned even hotter with numbers nudging the high nineties when the flag
dropped on the second Superbike race. Jake got a good start and held his
position for the opening laps. He moved up as high as sixth before a mechanical
problem with his suspension slowed him down and eventually forced him to pull
off. Overall it was a very disappointing weekend for Jake.
Neil rode a steady pace after his get-off in the first race. Early in the race
he lost a couple of positions over his start but worked back up to ninth and
held it to the finish with a strong cushion of fourteen seconds over tenth.
Neil Said; “I wanted to make sure I finished so decided to take it very
conservatively and not push it. I actually felt a lot better today than I did
yesterday even after getting off!”
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, Email media@corona-racing.com or call 310 521 9802.
Corona Extra Honda Next Race – Miller Motorsports Park, Toele Utah May 29-31,
2009