Russell Wikle Rides Laguna Seca

And shows those Californians some Alabama Engineering!

WIKLE ON THE PODIUM AT SONOMA FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki enjoyed a positive weekend of racing in extremely grueling conditions at the hot and physical Infineon Raceway for the fifth stop on the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing tour.

Chris Ulrich showed major progress in his second weekend aboard the team's all-new 2009 GSX-R1000 and registered a season's best result of eighth on Saturday, backing up a strong qualifying effort (1:38.015). Sunday's race didn't quite go to plan, however, will a crash costing him a shot at a second top-ten result on the weekend.

"We made a lot of progress this weekend," said Ulrich. "The conditions were tough with the heat but it was a good weekend for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki.

"I had a good race on Saturday and was able to finish eighth. The gap to the front was a lot closer and we were pleased with that.

"On Sunday I was mixing it up some guys for eighth place in the early laps and I touched a paint line and I went down. I broke some stuff on the bike so I couldn't continue and that was that.

"Obviously, we're still learning with the new bike and developing our stuff. We're happy with how it's going. For Road America, we'll have some new chassis parts that will help us run even stronger."

Rising star Russ Wikle again showed great promise and maturity, putting his Suzuki GSX-R600 racer on the podium after starting from the front row (3^rd, 1:42.606) during Sunday's SupeSport contest.

Making the feat all the more impressive, Wikle registered 15^th and 17^th-place results in the hotly-contested Daytona SportBike class and put in his third-place SuperSport ride immediately following Sunday's SportBike final, both contested in 100-degree weather on a racetrack that offers racers very little opportunity to catch their breath.

"Getting off the Daytona SportBike, I was just hoping to be able to finish the SuperSport race," Wikle admitted. "I'm really excited I was able to stick in there and finish third. That was a hot race but it was fun. It was kind of low pressure because it was a non-points paying race for me because I'm in the East division. It was more a 'bragging rights' kind of race."

Ulrich added, "Russell did great in SuperSport and got on the box again, plus he did well in Daytona SportBike on a track he'd never seen before. This was a good experience for him and we think it will pay off when we get to a track that he knows."

Santiago Villa picked up a pair of solid results in Daytona SportBike as well. The gritty Colombian once again put his courage on full display, riding to two of his best rides of the season despite being far from 100%.

Villa finished a season's best 17^th on Sunday to improve on Saturday's 20^th.

"Villa got two top 20 results with a broken right hand and a broken left wrist," Ulrich said. "That guy gets the Iron Man award again."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will next head to Road America on June 5-7 for the sixth round of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing series.

RUSS WIKLE EARNS THE PODIUM FOR ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI IN ALABAMA

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki came away from the Barber Motorsports Park round of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing championship with a pole position, a podium finish, and having earned a great deal of vital experience.

Chris Ulrich worked to learn the nuances of the all-new and radically revised 2009 GSX-R1000 in American Superbike, Russ Wikle starred in SuperSport and impressed in Daytona SportBike, and Santiago Villa once again proved his grit and courage.

Putting in his very first laps on the new GSX-R1000 on Friday, Ulrich qualified 13th for the twin American Superbike finals with a fast lap of 1:27.494. The Californian's inexperience with the machine cost him mightily in Saturday's race when a gamble on the bike's set-up didn't pay off and he finished 14th. Improvements were made for Sunday's race, allowing Ulrich to claim 11th and feel confident that he knows what direction he needs to take the new bike in order to tap its vast potential.

He explained, "We had some setting problems in qualifying with the new bike and wanted to go one direction but per one of our experts we were told to go in another direction but that turned out to be completely wrong. We went back to the stuff we needed and this morning it was quite good.

"The bike is a lot different compared to the '08. Everything you know about it you've got to chuck out the window. We got out of here with an okay finish -- I don't want to say great because I think we should have been in the top ten as always.

"We've learned tons and we've got a good direction. We know what it likes now. We'll be ahead of the curve when we show up at Infineon. All the other guys racing '09s had at least one test before we showed up. We came in here 'cold turkey' and kind of paid the price for it, but that happens sometimes."

Wikle put in another tremendous performance, claiming the pole position for Sunday's SuperSport by posting the quickest lap in practice on Friday at 1:31.659 as Saturday's scheduled qualifying session was canceled due to track conditions.

The teenager charged into the lead at the start of Sunday's race, which was held under extremely challenging wet conditions, and posted the fastest lap of the race. Racing in front of his home fans, the Huntsville, Alabama resident pushed his GSX-R600 to a runner-up finish, his second podium result of the season.

Immediately following the SuperSport race, Wikle took on the Daytona SportBike final and improved from his 22nd-place run on Saturday to earn a fantastic top-ten result in Sunday's contest, picking up ninth place despite a very deep and talented field of competitors.

"I knew starting from pole I would have an advantage and I got a real good start," Wikle remarked about the SuperSport race. "I just made myself wide and I led a couple laps. It was a good race. I just tried to keep my head smart and ended up second.

"Finishing in the top ten in the SportBike race was awesome. I was comfortable coming right off the SuperSport bike and jumping on the SportBike. I put my head down right at the beginning and tried to pick up as many positions as I could."

Ulrich said, "Russ is holding up team honors. He's doing a great job and showed maturity beyond his years. He just keeps impressing me. He was thrown into a difficult situation but kept it up and turned the fastest lap of the race. In SportBike, he just kept his head down and did a great job."

Villa finished 24th in Saturday's Daytona SportBike race and was hoping to show further improvement on Sunday. Unfortunately, the he crashed on the damp circuit on the opening lap of Sunday's race, but he managed to pick up his GSX-R600 and soldier on despite breaking two bones in his left wrist.

The Colombian put in a courageous ride to finish 33rd. After taking the checkered flag, Villa had to park his bike on the side of the track because he was in so much pain. The valiant effort to finish did not go unnoticed by his team and fellow competitors.

Ulrich commented, "Santiago broke his wrist and he's kind of iffy for Infineon. I hope he gets better soon, because he is continuing to progress. He spent a couple days with his Crew Chief, James Lickwar, at Utah and learned a lot and it showed in his lap times. It's unfortunate he has to deal with another injury, but we'll get him some milk and get him back on that horse. He showed us a lot today."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action at Infineon Raceway as the championship heads to Sonoma, CA on May 15-17.