TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI WRAPS UP 2007 SEASON AT LAGUNA SECA

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki put the finishing touches on a successful 2007 season on Sunday at Laguna Seca by claiming two additional top ten Superstock race results. Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri scored their seventh and fifth top tens of the year, respectively, in the red-flagged shortened final race of their '07 campaigns.

On Saturday Ulrich qualified his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 on the second row of the grid, circulating the famed raceway with a fast time of 1:26.804, good enough for sixth overall. Pietri and Red Devil Roadracingworld.com's Gary Mason earned starting slots a row behind him with the Venezuelan qualifying ninth (1:27.120) and the Englishman 12th (1:28.170).

During Sunday's race the three men lined up in formation, with Ulrich holding down ninth and Pietri battling up from 14th to tenth and Mason working from 12th to 11th. The three were positioned for a late-race assault when the contest was stopped prematurely and ultimately called complete following 11 of the scheduled 17 laps due to oil dumped on the circuit.

Ulrich ended the season ranked sixth in the AMA Superstock championship standings with 203 points. He earned a pole position at Road America and finished in the top ten in all but two races this season.

Pietri also ended the year in the top ten, finishing 2007 in tenth with 155 points and five top tens, including his stellar fourth-place run at Miller Motorsports Park.

Mason finished in 17th with two top tens despite not joining the team until late in the season.

"I really would have liked to been able to run full distance," said Ulrich. "All three riders on the team would have benefited. We were stuck behind a rider for a while and I'm confident we would have been able to gain another position or two if we would have had a few more laps, but that's the way it goes. It wasn't too bad considering and all three of us rode hard today."

"All and all, it's been a very successful season for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. I was able to finish sixth in the points and I'm happy with that. Robertino and Gary had some good races as well. We made good progress throughout the season and I feel we'll be even stronger in 2008. It's really exciting to be headed into the offseason healthy and I think we're primed for continued improvement."

Two Up Ride with Chris Ulrich

Team RoadracingWorld.com rider Chris Ulrich gave CycleSpace.com reporter Danielle Teal a two-up ride around Road Atlanta during the 2007 AMA Superbike weekend. Check it out!

ATLANTA TOP TEN FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Despite a bout of bad luck on Sunday afternoon at Road Atlanta, Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki came away with a pair of top ten finishes in the penultimate round of the 2007 AMA Superstock season.

The field was surprised early Saturday morning when the regularly scheduled practice session was transformed into a qualifying session due to weather concerns. However, team riders Chris Ulrich, Gary Mason, and Robertino Pietri responded admirably.

All three riders broke into the top ten with Californian Ulrich leading the way. In his best dry qualifying result of the season (Ulrich was on pole in the wet at Road America), he put his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 on the inside of the second row with the fifth-fastest time of the session (1: 24.012).

Briton Mason joined Ulrich on the second row, qualifying eighth best on his Red Devil Energy Roadracingworld.com Suzuki with a fast lap of 1:24.514 around the 2.54-mile circuit. Venezuelan Pietri opened the 15-lap Superstock final one row behind his teammates, qualifying tenth overall at 1:24.877.

Ulrich got off to a terrific start in the race and ran solidly inside the top ten. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue caused him to slow his pace by two seconds a lap and allowing five riders to erase the advantage he had built over them and to pass him late in the race. He still soldiered on to finish in tenth.

Once Ulrich encountered his difficulties, Mason took up the charge and finished an impressive seventh at the checkered flag. Pietri was right in tow, but his race ended prematurely when a red flag was momentarily shown on the course, leading the reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champion to think the race had been called and he returned to the pits instead of securing what should have been another top ten result.

At the end of the weekend, Ulrich said, "The race was great until around halfway and we had a problem that dropped my pace from the '24s to the '26s. I had a strong run going and had a second and a half gap over the riders behind me at the time. It's still a tough pill to swallow. Gary stepped up and put in a strong weekend, and 'Tino was doing well, too, before he backed off and pulled in because of that errant red flag.

"I think all three of us are looking forward to going to Laguna and ending the season on a high note," said Ulrich, who is sixth in the season's points standings.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will conclude the 2007 season in two weeks when the series returns to Laguna Seca for the finale on September 15-16.