Corona Honda Checks in – Heartland Park | AMA Pro
- From: 'the Wire' | Published: August 4th, 2009 - 12:37 pm
Corona Extra Honda riders Jake Holden and Neil Hodgson put in very strong performances at the first ever AMA Superbike event at Heartland Park Raceway, Topeka. Holden placed fourth in race two with Neil just behind in sixth. The first race saw Jake finish seventh and Neil tenth. Jake also set the fastest lap of the weekend and now holds the fastest lap for the track in AMA competition!
Holden immediately got the weekend off to a flying start with very fast times in practice that culminated in best overall qualifying time, a new AMA track record of 1 36.005. In Superpole, Jake was not able to match his speed but still finished on the front row in third, with a 1 36.540, his best start of the season. Neil was struggling with his shoulder injury during practice but still put the #100 CBR1000 into Superpole and a ninth position on the grid.
Race one saw Jake make a poor start and into fifth at lap one. A set-up change to the rear shock prior to the race did not work out as planned and Holden was not able to maintain his earlier pace. Through the race he lost two positions and had to settle for seventh at the flag. Neil rode a somewhat lonely race and ended in tenth at the checkers. Both riders were disappointed with the race but vowed to do better on Sunday!
Sunday dawned with almost perfect weather and high hopes by the Corona Honda Team for good finishes with fast morning warm-up times from both riders. At the drop of the green flag Holden had another poor start and crossed the stripe in 7th place after the first lap. He improved to 5th place after second lap mistakes by Young and Yates. On lap 18 fourth place Bostrom crashed out moving Holden up into the position for his best finish of the season. Hodgson had a good start, holding 10th place after the first lap. During the second lap he also moved up two spots thanks to Young and Yates. He gave up a position to Knapp on lap 8 but got that position back on lap 12. On lap 18 Hodgson passed Michael Laverty for 7th and moved up to his final position of 6th after Bostroms crash. Both riders were pleased with their finishes but felt they could do better. Certainly Jakes times were fast enough run at the front and on the box! Roll on VIR!
