WIKLE SECOND IN AMA PRO SUPERSPORT EAST POINTS

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki continued to make progress during the penultimate round of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season at Virginia International Raceway.

Chris Ulrich found some more positives with his '09 GSX-R1000 and left the weekend optimistic that the team is headed in the right direction while Russ Wikle picked up a top-ten result in SuperSport to enter the final race of the East Division season ranked second in the points.

Ulrich helped initiate a new program by legendary tuners Yoshimura by running a customer engine at VIR as Yosh prepares to offer those services in the paddock next season.

The Californian qualified 14^th fastest at 1:26.856 for the weekend's twin 50-mile AMA Pro American Superbike races.

Saturday's final was a grueling affair with the bike's set-up proving uncooperative, further exasperating the difficulties created by the hot and humid conditions along with a less than ideal start. Chris battled up from 18^th after the opening lap to finish 13^th.

Sunday's setting was much improved but another imperfect start and an early incident that tore off his knee puck prevented him from finishing higher than 12^th.

"I think there are a lot of positives from the weekend," Ulrich said. "Right off the bat we got a new engine from Yoshimura and that helped quite a bit. It's a new deal for them; they're going to offer customer engines next year and they wanted us to try it out. I was happy to be a part of that and my guys were on board and positive about it.

"We looked pretty good in qualifying on Friday but we went with a different combination and different rear tire on Saturday. It turned out over race distance it was really difficult to ride the bike that way. We faded and it was physically draining; my right shoulder was very sore after that.

"This morning we changed the gear back and did some other stuff. We went to the shorter gear and it made life easier so we went back to Friday's setting but it turned out in the race we needed a little bit taller gearing. It cost us some speed down the front straight but everywhere else it was pretty good.

"Yesterday's race was so hard but we got a 13^th. Today's was a lot easier but we shot ourselves in the foot both days with bad starts. Today I got in on the first lap in the chicane and stuck my knee into the curb and my knee puck went flying off and ripped my suit open. I was pretty lucky Dainese has pretty good protection there and I didn't damage my knee. It just meant I had to ride the race without a knee puck but I still went faster than yesterday's race and the gap was closer."

Ulrich heads into the season finale ranked 12^th with 139 points.

Russ Wikle continued to show competitive form in the AMA Pro SuperSport class, qualifying on the second row aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 at 1:31.404 in eighth position and then picking up a tenth-place race result in Sunday's race.

While he was unable to challenge for a podium finish at VIR like he has on multiple occasions this season, Wikle sits second in the SuperSport championship standings on 90 points with just one East Division round remaining.

Chris said, "Russ struggled a little bit. I think the time off will do him some good because he can go back to being a teenager for a little bit, go home and hang out with his friends, and then come out fresh in New Jersey. Sometimes in racing when you spend so much time on the road and if you're not really used to it, it can burn you out. That said, Russell is still doing well. We all worked with him at the WERA weekend and tried to help educate him about what different changes do to his motorcycle and we got some positive things out of that."

Unfortunately, Colombian Santiago Villa suffered a setback this weekend, injuring himself in a practice crash while riding for a Moto-GT team not associated with Team Roadracingworld.com and being forced to sit out the two AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races.

"Santiago broke his leg," Ulrich said. "That's tough luck for the toughest man in racing. He did the right thing this time instead of gutting it because there could be some serious damage."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will head to the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 4-6.

"I think New Jersey is going to be good for us," Ulrich said. "We've got Thursday practice and we've got the bikes to a decent baseline. We'll work on our game a little bit. We've got a couple weeks off so I'll get some training in and have some fun and them come out swinging at New Jersey.

"I'd like to close the season out strong for the whole team. I worked hard to develop that K9 by myself and now we've got some good help. This year has gone really fast and it's been a weird year but we've got positives things going."

WIKLE SECOND IN AMA PRO SUPERSPORT EAST POINTS

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki continued to make progress during the penultimate round of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season at Virginia International Raceway.

Chris Ulrich found some more positives with his '09 GSX-R1000 and left the weekend optimistic that the team is headed in the right direction while Russ Wikle picked up a top-ten result in SuperSport to enter the final race of the East Division season ranked second in the points.

Ulrich helped initiate a new program by legendary tuners Yoshimura by running a customer engine at VIR as Yosh prepares to offer those services in the paddock next season.

The Californian qualified 14^th fastest at 1:26.856 for the weekend's twin 50-mile AMA Pro American Superbike races.

Saturday's final was a grueling affair with the bike's set-up proving uncooperative, further exasperating the difficulties created by the hot and humid conditions along with a less than ideal start. Chris battled up from 18^th after the opening lap to finish 13^th.

Sunday's setting was much improved but another imperfect start and an early incident that tore off his knee puck prevented him from finishing higher than 12^th.

"I think there are a lot of positives from the weekend," Ulrich said. "Right off the bat we got a new engine from Yoshimura and that helped quite a bit. It's a new deal for them; they're going to offer customer engines next year and they wanted us to try it out. I was happy to be a part of that and my guys were on board and positive about it.

"We looked pretty good in qualifying on Friday but we went with a different combination and different rear tire on Saturday. It turned out over race distance it was really difficult to ride the bike that way. We faded and it was physically draining; my right shoulder was very sore after that.

"This morning we changed the gear back and did some other stuff. We went to the shorter gear and it made life easier so we went back to Friday's setting but it turned out in the race we needed a little bit taller gearing. It cost us some speed down the front straight but everywhere else it was pretty good.

"Yesterday's race was so hard but we got a 13^th. Today's was a lot easier but we shot ourselves in the foot both days with bad starts. Today I got in on the first lap in the chicane and stuck my knee into the curb and my knee puck went flying off and ripped my suit open. I was pretty lucky Dainese has pretty good protection there and I didn't damage my knee. It just meant I had to ride the race without a knee puck but I still went faster than yesterday's race and the gap was closer."

Ulrich heads into the season finale ranked 12^th with 139 points.

Russ Wikle continued to show competitive form in the AMA Pro SuperSport class, qualifying on the second row aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 at 1:31.404 in eighth position and then picking up a tenth-place race result in Sunday's race.

While he was unable to challenge for a podium finish at VIR like he has on multiple occasions this season, Wikle sits second in the SuperSport championship standings on 90 points with just one East Division round remaining.

Chris said, "Russ struggled a little bit. I think the time off will do him some good because he can go back to being a teenager for a little bit, go home and hang out with his friends, and then come out fresh in New Jersey. Sometimes in racing when you spend so much time on the road and if you're not really used to it, it can burn you out. That said, Russell is still doing well. We all worked with him at the WERA weekend and tried to help educate him about what different changes do to his motorcycle and we got some positive things out of that."

Unfortunately, Colombian Santiago Villa suffered a setback this weekend, injuring himself in a crash and being forced to sit out the two AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races.

"Santiago broke his leg," Ulrich said. "That's tough luck for the toughest man in racing. He did the right thing this time instead of gutting it because there could be some serious damage."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will head to the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 4-6.

"I think New Jersey is going to be good for us," Ulrich said. "We've got Thursday practice and we've got the bikes to a decent baseline. We'll work on our game a little bit. We've got a couple weeks off so I'll get some training in and have some fun and them come out swinging at New Jersey.

"I'd like to close the season out strong for the whole team. I worked hard to develop that K9 by myself and now we've got some good help. This year has gone really fast and it's been a weird year but we've got positives things going."

TOP TEN FOR ULRICH AND TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki came away from the AMA Pro Road Racing series' return to Heartland Park Topeka in Topeka, KS in a positive mood, as Chris Ulrich broke back into the American Superbike top ten and Russell Wikle continued to run up front in the AMA SuperSport class.

Ulrich qualified on the outside of the third row aboard his developing GSX-R1000 K9, posting the twelfth best lap time during Basic Qualifying at 1:38.835. He picked up a position in Saturday's 50-lap final by finishing eleventh.

The Californian continued his improvement over night, scoring a ninth-place ride on Sunday, his second best result of the 2009 season.

Ulrich is currently eleventh in the AMA American Superbike championship race with 122 points.

"It's good to get back in the top ten," Chris declared. "It's a decent finish. We need to work on the gap a little bit and close down the distance to the top guys, but we moved forward and the bike was continuing to feel more comfortable for me this weekend. We got some new parts and we're pretty happy with that.

"It's encouraging that we're moving farther forward but there are some guys we know we should be racing with that we've still got to track down. We've got to work on that for VIR. We've got the chassis to where we're pretty happy with it, so now we've got to start dicing with those guys. I got away with them but they were just about to pull a tenth here and a tenth there and the next thing you know, they've got a few seconds on me.

"Our goal for the rest of the year is to stay in the top ten and close the gap. It's going to be difficult but I think it's doable."

Russ qualified sixth fastest for the SuperSport contest despite some tricky wet-dry conditions. Facing a deep field comprised of the top riders from both the East and West divisions, Wikle fought an entertaining battle with newly crowned West champ Ricky Parker and just missed out on fourth place by 0.239 seconds.

His fifth-place result has him ranked third in the AMA Pro SuperSport East standings with 79 points.

"Russell did a great job again," Ulrich said. "They changed his bike a lot before that race and he did a good job to ride that bike well. He got himself into a really good battle with Ricky Parker. He's fighting and he's pretty gritty. We're really pleased with his performance once again."

Santiago Villa was an innocent victim of another rider's mistake on Saturday, being collected in a crash in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race through no fault of his own.

The gritty Colombian came back to finish 20^th aboard his GSX-R600 on Sunday, however, his eighth top 20 of the 2009. Villa also earned the podium in a Moto-GT ride with another team this weekend.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will head to Virginia International Raceway for the penultimate round of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season on August 14-16.

TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM ANSWERS THE CHALLENGE AT MID-OHIO

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki battled through a difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 8 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season.

Chris Ulrich gained valuable experience with his developing '09 GSX-R1000 American Superbike during the stop at a venue where he boasts a past AMA Superstock victory, but misfortune in qualifying and the races prevented him from showing his full potential.

Ulrich wasn't able to get in his planned fast lap when Superbike qualifying was red flagged and concluded a few minutes short of the scheduled time. As a result, he started from 14^th on the grid with a fast time of 1:28.183.

The Californian picked up a position in the opening race, finishing a lonely 13^th and hoped to improve on Sunday after further dialing in his racebike with the knowledge gained in Saturday's 50-mile final. However, an electrical problem dashed those hopes and ended his race early.

"In qualifying we put the soft tire on too late and that was pretty much the deal," Ulrich explained. "The red flag came out for the incident when David Anthony crashed, so that kind of caught us out. We went out with three minutes to go and were trying to push hard. The balance of the bike has been improved but we're still lacking in some areas with the machine and we're trying to sort those out before Topeka.

"We learned some stuff in Saturday's race and applied that to the Sunday race but the bike had s small technical issue that put us out of the race, unfortuantely."

Ulrich is currently ranked 12^th in the American Superbike title race with 100 points.

AMA Pro SuperSport East Division title hopeful Russ Wikle had a similarly tough outing. After qualifying ninth at 1:32.935, Wikle was running seventh in the race aboard his GSX-R600 but crashed out while exiting Turn 1 on lap 6. Despite the spill, he holds down third in the championship battle with 63 points.

Ulrich remarked, "Tough luck for Russ and that hurts in the championship but what can you do? Sometimes you have bad weekends and this happened to be a bad one for us."

Colombian Santiago Villa rung up 20^th and 27^th place finishes in the weekend's AMA Pro Daytona SportBike finals while Wikle came home in 26^th and 29^th. Wikle is 23^rd in the points at 38 while Villa is 28^th with 22.

On July 31-August 2 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will travel to Heartland Park Topeka, in Topeka, KS for Round 9 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing championship.

"We're going into the unknown," Ulrich said of the new addition to the calendar. "Russell did a track day there last week and I've been there doing two-seaters. We're going to go out there and see if we can make something happen. We'll strive to make some forward progress."

SUCCESS AT LAGUNA SECA FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki enjoyed an encouraging weekend of racing in front of over 105,000 fans at Laguna Seca, scoring yet another AMA Pro SuperSport podium finish while also making vital progress with their developing American Superbike program.

New parts for Chris Ulrich's #18 GSX-R1000 aided the Californian's adaptation to his 2009-spec machine this weekend. He qualified on the inside of the fourth row, posting the 13^th fastest time at 1:26.751 and then went one better in the race, coming home twelfth following a hectic affair that included a pair of opening-lap red flags and Safety Car and grid-related confusion.

After suffering from some set-up woes at the most recent two rounds, Ulrich felt the weekend marked a turning point in the season even if the race didn't go exactly to plan.

"There are some things I don't understand about that race that went on, mainly how some of those guys who crashed were able to restart in good grid positions, but I guess we'll leave that up for others to figure out," said Ulrich, who is ranked twelfth in the championship with 92 points.

"We made a lot of progress over the weekend. We had some problems adapting to the K9 but we got some new parts and the bike was working good. We were a lot better off in practice.

"It came down to a decision on Sunday morning because it wasn't quite steering as well as we wanted and we thought about a ride height change. Instead, we decided to do it with some rebound to the front and it didn't work. We took the rebound out and it was a little bit better but for the most part, we missed it today. There were a lot of encouraging things that came out of the weekend, especially in qualifying. We are a lot closer. This should be the turnaround for the rest of the season."

Russell Wikle put in another terrific effort in SuperSport action in what was a non-points paying West Division race weekend for him. The Alabaman qualified second on the grid at 1:30.745 and backed that up with a runner-up result in the race, his fifth podium ride of the '09 season.

"You can't be disappointed with a podium finish but I'd like to be on top," Russ said. "I got a mediocre start, second into Turn 2 and I really wanted to put my head down and fight for the win but I made a couple mistakes early on. After that I concentrated on bringing it home in second place."

Wikle was joined on the team by the up-and-coming James Rispoli for the weekend. Rispoli, 17 years old and from Attica, New York, finished a terrific fourth in the one-off ride, crossing the stripe less than a second away from giving the squad another podium result.

"It was a great weekend, overall. It was awesome. I had never ridden this bike before or raced here at Laguna Seca, so we knew we had some work in front of us. We got faster with every lap the entire weekend. It was phenomenal and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot,” said James.

Ulrich said, "We had two kids that did great for us this weekend. First off, Russell was solid as usual and did a fantastic job once again. We're going to kick up the support for him for the remainder of the season and hopefully he can get some wins.

"James did a great job riding for us this weekend as well. He was a bit of an unknown but he ended up fighting for the podium and we see a lot of talent in James. We'll be keeping an eye on him."

Santiago Villa put in yet another gritty AMA Pro Daytona SportBike performance riding at less than 100%. The Colombian put in his third top-20 result in his last four attempts, finishing 18^th position, right behind Wikle who took 17^th.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will next head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 17-19. Mid-Ohio. The circuit has traditionally been a strong venue for Ulrich, who claimed a victory at the track in 2002.

"I love Mid-Ohio," Chris said. "We've been getting some fantastic support out of Öhlins and we're making great progress and everyone is behind us, so we excited for the remainder of the season."

SUCCESSFUL MID-OHIO TEST FOR TEAM ROARDRACING WORLD.COM SUZUKI

Just days following an eventful weekend of AMA Pro Road Racing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki trekked to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for a midseason testing session on Wednesday.

Chris Ulrich continued to learn the nuances of his new '09 GSX-R1000 American Superbike while Santiago Villa came into the test motivated following his best career finish in Saturday's Daytona SportBike final.

SuperSport ace Russell Wikle sat out in order to heal up following his painful Saturday SportBike crash and inspiring fifth-place SuperSport ride on Sunday.

Ulrich summed up the test session, commenting, "We made some progress. We figured out some things and tried out some different links on the new bike and determined that we need some more chassis parts. We kind of already knew that but they weren't available yet. We're going to get that stuff and be ready to go with it at Laguna Seca.

"This bike seems to be a little more finicky than the bikes in the past. We're learning, just working on getting the balance right and moving forward and making progress. We did make some gains during the test at Mid-Ohio but it wasn't a huge breakthrough -- just steady progress."

Colombian Villa continued to improve as well. Ulrich said, "Santiago tested a bunch of tires with the Dunlop guys and made some good progress with his lap times. He did a good job. He had a little low side in the middle of the day but got right back up and everything was okay so no big deal. He found some improvements so we're looking forward to seeing his results at Laguna."

The team now has a few weeks to rest before sharing the spotlight with the MotoGP World Championship at Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA on July 3-5.

"It's been a long couple weeks and I've been a little banged up," Ulrich admitted. "I'm happy to go home and get some downtime before Laguna and we expect to come out strong for the second half of the season."

WEEKEND OF DRAMA FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki had numerous obstacles thrown their direction during Round 6 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing championships at Road America, but the team showed their collective grit and determination to repeatedly make the best of the difficult circumstances.

Chris Ulrich twice charged up through the field in the American Superbike class, Russell Wikle came back from a painful crash and machinery drama to claim a SuperSport top five, and Santiago Villa made a stirring run up through the field after dropping to last place while avoiding an opening corner crash to score the best AMA Pro finish of his career in Saturday's Daytona SportBike contest.

Ulrich battled the conditions, bike set-up, and tire issues during the weekend, as Saturday's wet weather further complicated the difficulties the Californian was already encountering in his attempts to dial in his new 2009 GSX-R1000 racebike.

After showing strong form in the ten-minute wet weather warm-up, Ulrich suffered a tire issue during the race's opening three laps before it came around. He dropped down to 22^nd but recovered to make his way all the way up to eleventh, missing out on a top ten result by just 0.107 seconds.

Ulrich's misfortune continued on Sunday as he was cited for jumping the start. Chris dropped down to 20^th after coming in for his ride through penalty but made his way back up to 14^th by the time he crossed the checkered flag.

Chris said, "We'll start out a positive note: last year I left Road America with two pins in my hand on my way home to have another surgery. At least this year we're leaving in one piece.

"We were just behind the whole weekend. We had some set-up issues and we're just trying to get the hang of the K9. We thought we left Infineon with a pretty good setting but we struggled with the bike this weekend. The bike was unstable from the get-go and we made some drastic changes. We never found a cure but we have a test coming up at Mid-Ohio which should help a lot.

"In Saturday's race, we looked pretty good in the warm-up and the tire worked really well. We put a new tire on for the race and that thing almost crashed me several times on the first three laps. I lost so many positions over the first three laps I could not believe it after showing such good pace in the warm-up. But then it stopped sliding and snapping and once the tire built pressure it got better and I dropped into some decent times -- times that would have put me about sixth, but by then it was too late. I almost caught up to the guy in tenth but just ran out of laps in the end.

"Apparently I moved at the start today. I never moved out of the box but I moved in the box and the rule says that any movement is a jumpstart and they called me for it. We came from 20^th back to 14^th. I don't agree with the rule. I don't believe I gained any advantage. I think the rule needs some review. The interpretation is very harsh and I don't think there should be any penalty if there is no advantage gained."

17-year-old Wikle was a victim of the treacherous Saturday conditions, crashing hard in the opening turn of a chaotic Daytona SportBike race. After returning to competition on Sunday when x-rays showed no broken bones from the painful spill, the Alabaman had an eventful Sunday as well. After choosing to sit out the SportBike final in order to concentrate on his SuperSport duties, Wikle ran into the back of a competitor whose machine stalled in front of him but managed to avoid crashing and carried on even with the resultant problems with his GSX-R600.

Despite the extreme circumstances, Wikle still came through to pick up a superb fifth-place result.

"Russell had a very difficult race on Saturday, crashing and then having to go get some x-rays," Ulrich explained. "And then his bad luck continued today. He ran into the back of a rival whose bike stalled and he bent the brake rotor. The pads were knocked back so every time he put on the brakes he had to pump them like crazy and the bike was shaking going into the corners.

"It was a character building weekend for Russell but he came through it with a top-five result in the end. It would have been real easy for him to wreck in that deal but he showed his maturity once again."

Colombian Santiago Villa had to fight to overcome a great deal of drama as well. Villa was forced to the very back of the field in Saturday's SportBike contest when he took evasive action to avoid Wikle's fall. Santiago kept his wits about him and fought all the way back up to eleventh, beating a number of the class' top-ranked riders to the checkered flag in the process.

On Sunday he picked up 22^nd despite suffering technical problems that came about due to his broken hand. Villa moved his brake lever out to try to get leverage with his broken hand but he moved it far enough that after a couple laps it was hitting the throttle housing.

Santiago said, "The first race was full of crazy things. I got a great start, but in turn one, my teammate highsided so to avoid hitting him I ran out of the track. At that point I was last and start passing people until the first pace car. I saw my pit board and I was in 29^th so I just put my head down and started passing people. The second pace car came out and at that point I was 14^th. On that race start I made a pass on a couple of riders and someone crashed, so I ended 11^th, my best result of the year. I just want to thanks to my crew, James and Peter for giving me a great bike, my Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, my sponsors Addict By Bosi, P3 Racing, Bodytech, Moto Xtreme, and to my wife Diana for her support."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will next head to Mid-Ohio to test before picking back up on July 3-5 at Laguna Seca for Round 7 of the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing championship.

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.

WIKLE THIRD IN DAYTONA OPENER FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki kicked off the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing season at Daytona international Speedway with a strong opening round, claiming a podium result and putting in several gritty rides during a sometimes-trying week.

Chris Ulrich found himself fighting an uphill battle early in the opening round of the new AMA Pro American Superbike era, battling limited track time and struggling to find grip as he set up his GSX-R1000.

The Californian qualified on the fourth row, posting the 14th fastest time at 1:41.147. He got a terrific launch off the line from there, quickly working his way past a number of premier-class competitors. However, his race got a whole lot tougher when he ran wide while still working the opening lap, dropping all the way to the back of the field.

Ulrich spent the remainder of the 15-lap race dicing up through the pack, ultimately reclaiming his starting position, finishing 14th at the checkered flag.

"I'd say the whole weekend was hectic," Ulrich said. "Not too much track time and this is the big class now so it's a big adjustment. We searched for grip all week. The first practice started perfect -- we were in the top ten but in the second practice we tried some stuff to find some more grip and it didn't work and we got caught out. In qualifying we had issues with the radiator when we came in for the tire, so that was bad luck. I wasn't that confident going into the race.

"I got a good start and went by (Ben) Bostrom and the other guys right off the bat. I went into Turn 3 looking for my hole and I was maybe just a little bit wide and the back came around and it swapped a couple times. Once I got it collected back together, there was no way I was going to make the turn without crashing. I went straight and came back on and was dead last. I worked up from 33rd to 14th, which isn't a bad day, but going from 14th to tenth would have been better. We stayed the same from qualifying to race, but we're a little bit disappointed.

"It's Daytona and Daytona is weird. Some guys left here without any points and we got some. We'll roll on to Fontana. We've got two races there and plenty of time to make up ground."

17-year-old Russell Wikle proved to be one of the stars in the debut of the new AMA Pro SuperSport class, a new category designed to groom the stars of the future. The Alabama native took full advantage of his front row qualifying position (3rd, 1:44.738) and fought for the win throughout the race on his Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600. After leading nine of the race's 12 laps, Wikle ended up third at the flag, just 0.002 off of second.

"I was sitting pretty fat and happy in third," Wikle explained of his final-lap strategy. "I thought I was going to be able to draft by both of them with ease. But coming out of the chicane I kind of timed it a bit wrong I think. I was right alongside Joey and we went side-by-side around the whole banking and I couldn't quite get in his draft. Just about got second -- 0.002 of second is pretty close!"

Ulrich said, "Russell did a fantastic job. He led all the good laps except the last one. He never ceases to amaze me. He's very mature considering the time he's spent in this paddock. First round he's already got a podium and we're looking for big things from him."

Wikle and Santiago Villa rounded out the week by handing the team a pair of top-20 results in the 72-rider deep Daytona 200, contested Friday night under the lights.

Wilke edged the vastly more experienced Miguel DuHamel in the run to the checkered flag by a mere 0.094 seconds to claim 14th position in his first-ever attempt at the 200-miler. Meanwhile, Villa raced up from his 41st-place starting position to cross the stripe in 19th in the end.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will next head to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA for the second round of the AMA Pro Road Racing Championships on March 20-22.

RUSSELL WIKLE JOINS TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI FOR 2009

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will support promising racer Russell Wikle during the 2009 season. Wikle, a second-generation racer from Huntsville, Alabama, will contest the AMA SuperSport East Division and will also enter selected West Division races. Additionally, Wikle will race in the Daytona 200 and other AMA Sport Bike events this year.

Wikle, 17, has raced in WERA endurance and sprint competition the last several seasons, winning six championships while ranked as a Novice. He earned an Expert ranking for the 2008 season, and he responded to the challenge with numerous top-10 finishes while racing a Suzuki GSX-R1000 and a GSX-R600. Russell also impressed with the M4 Avteq endurance squad, competing in MOTO-ST.

Russell closed the 2008 season in strong fashion, adding to his impressive resume at Road Atlanta and the Daytona International Speedway. At the Suzuki Cup Finals at Road Atlanta, Wikle earned third place in the GSX-R600 Cup Final. A week later, Russell also won pole position and a top-five result in the ASRA Superbike event at Daytona in October, then followed that result with second place in the Factory Pro Sportbike race.

"I'm excited that Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki is giving me this opportunity to race in the AMA SuperSport class this year," said Russell. "I'm really glad there's now a class to help us young guys get to the 'big leagues.' I'm expecting to run in the front in SuperSport and to get in the top 10 when I get a chance to race in Daytona Sport Bike. I have been waiting for an opportunity like this for a good while and I know I am ready for the challenge. I can't wait to get started."

Russell's father, Luther Wikle, was also a racer of note, competing in AMA Superbike, WERA endurance and at the Suzuka 8-Hour race. Russell, who is named after the late racer Russ Paulk, began riding at four years old.

"We've had our eye on Russell for a long time," said Team Roadracingworld.com's Chris Ulrich. "He's the son of a racer and his family has a connection to our team, so we've been watching Russell's progress for a good while. We think he's ready to take the next step and we're happy to welcome him to the team. He's impressed us along the way, including at Daytona last fall when he ran in a fast pack and held his own against some good pro racers. He's also quick in the rain and I watched him duke it out with an AMA pro rider for a full hour stint in an endurance race last year. We think he will blossom into a front-line racer. "