rramseyr
08-02-2009, 10:41 AM
TOPEKA, Kan. (August 1, 2009) - Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R) dominated the AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited race in the Tornado Nationals presented by BriggsAuto.com at Heartland Park Topeka. Today's racing action can be seen in a same-day delay telecast at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT) on SPEED.
After winning his first pole since 1996 in Friday's Superpole qualifying, Pegram took the lead at the race start and was never seriously challenged in the American Superbike race. He crossed the finish line 2.184 seconds ahead of Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) and Blake Young (No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) finished third.
"For me, it's just validation," said Pegram, who also won earlier this season at Road America. "Here we beat everybody again, and I proved to myself I can win at this level because I had lost a lot of confidence over the years riding bikes that weren't capable of winning. You start to wonder if it might be you, but I always knew at the bottom of my heart that I could win races, especially if I got on a great motorcycle like this Ducati 1098R."
Bostrom stayed in front of the tight group of riders that also included Young, his teammate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) that battled in the top five throughout the race.
"It's a great track, and there are passing spots here believe it or not," said Bostrom, who finished second for the second consecutive race and third time this year. "The bike was fantastic, and the R1 did a good job. The rider just kind of sat on it and rode, and I was hoping to obviously race for the win. I did think I could catch Larry. Blake and I had a bit of a battle going, and Larry jumped out there and put in really, really fantastic laps. We can't let him do that for the next one, and tomorrow's a new day. We will just start again tomorrow. I am pretty much over second place already."
Young was in the thick of the battle for the final podium spot throughout the race and was under heavy pressure from Hayden and Yates in the closing laps.
"We just ran out of time a little bit," said Young. "I wish we would have got more time on the bike. I think we missed the set up a little bit, but today was a really good race. We jumped in behind Ben, learned what he was doing and made some improvements. I switched up my riding style a little bit and tried to help the bike out as much as I could. I am happy with the way the race went. We learned a lot today on our setup and what to do for tomorrow. So I am going to chalk this one up and go after it twice as hard tomorrow."
Hayden finished fourth and Yates completed the top five.
Sunday's American Superbike final will close the Tornado Nationals weekend at 4 p.m.
After winning his first pole since 1996 in Friday's Superpole qualifying, Pegram took the lead at the race start and was never seriously challenged in the American Superbike race. He crossed the finish line 2.184 seconds ahead of Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) and Blake Young (No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) finished third.
"For me, it's just validation," said Pegram, who also won earlier this season at Road America. "Here we beat everybody again, and I proved to myself I can win at this level because I had lost a lot of confidence over the years riding bikes that weren't capable of winning. You start to wonder if it might be you, but I always knew at the bottom of my heart that I could win races, especially if I got on a great motorcycle like this Ducati 1098R."
Bostrom stayed in front of the tight group of riders that also included Young, his teammate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) that battled in the top five throughout the race.
"It's a great track, and there are passing spots here believe it or not," said Bostrom, who finished second for the second consecutive race and third time this year. "The bike was fantastic, and the R1 did a good job. The rider just kind of sat on it and rode, and I was hoping to obviously race for the win. I did think I could catch Larry. Blake and I had a bit of a battle going, and Larry jumped out there and put in really, really fantastic laps. We can't let him do that for the next one, and tomorrow's a new day. We will just start again tomorrow. I am pretty much over second place already."
Young was in the thick of the battle for the final podium spot throughout the race and was under heavy pressure from Hayden and Yates in the closing laps.
"We just ran out of time a little bit," said Young. "I wish we would have got more time on the bike. I think we missed the set up a little bit, but today was a really good race. We jumped in behind Ben, learned what he was doing and made some improvements. I switched up my riding style a little bit and tried to help the bike out as much as I could. I am happy with the way the race went. We learned a lot today on our setup and what to do for tomorrow. So I am going to chalk this one up and go after it twice as hard tomorrow."
Hayden finished fourth and Yates completed the top five.
Sunday's American Superbike final will close the Tornado Nationals weekend at 4 p.m.