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."

SEVENTH FOR ULRICH AT ROAD ATLANTA

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki battled through another trying AMA Superstock Championship round this weekend at Road Atlanta, but a determined ride from Chris Ulrich allowed him to climb three championship positions heading into the upcoming season finale.

Still recovering from the hand injury he suffered at Road America, which subsequently ruled him out of two races, Ulrich clawed up from his third row, 11th-place qualifying position (1:28.099) to solidly contend in the race's top ten.

After running 11th prior to an early red flag, Ulrich got a strong restart, running as high as sixth. After mixing it up with Kurtis Roberts and Ben Thompson during the contest, the Californian came away with a hard-earned seventh-place result in the end.

Unfortunately, teammate Robertino Pietri suffered another bout of bad luck, crashing on the opening lap after qualifying on the second row (8th, 1:27.306) while trying to pass some slower riders and getting off into the dirty part of the racing circuit.

The Venezuelan suffered a possible separated shoulder in the fall.

"This weekend was kind of typical of what's been going on lately," Ulrich said. "As my fitness improves, I'm able to pick up speed, but I'm still not all the way back yet, which is frustrating. I can only ride to my fitness level at the moment.

"I got a good restart and passed a bunch of guys in the first turn. I was towing a few guys around, but I was missing some downshifts because my hand wasn't able to keep up on the clutch. I just tried to hang in there and we ended up seventh.

"As for 'Tino, he fried his clutch on the warm-up lap. He switched to his second bike but got caught out when some slower riders in front of him broke early and he was forced onto the inside part of the track and crashed."

Looking ahead to the season finale, Ulrich said, "I'm looking forward to it. I've got a whole month to get fully and completely healthy and I've got an endurance race between now and then. I'm only one point out of fifth so I'm planning on showing up there and dropping the hammer."

Heading into the September 27-28 2008 AMA Superstock Championship season finale at Laguna Seca, Ulrich is ranked sixth with 183 points -- just one point off of his stated goal of a top-five championship finish. Pietri is ninth with 164 points.

ULRICH EARNS AMA SUPERSTOCK TOP TEN IN VIRGINIA

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki endured a difficult weekend at Virginia International Raceway as the recovering Chris Ulrich fought hard for a top-ten AMA Superstock result and Robertino Pietri crashed out of the final after showing impressive speed in the lead-up to the race.

Venezuelan Pietri qualified his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 on the second row in the sixth overall position, qualifying with a best lap of 1:26.170. Meanwhile, Ulrich opened his race from the outside of the third row, qualifying twelfth with a fastest time of 1:28.014.

Pietri raced in sixth position early in the contest, but he crashed out of the race hard while working lap 6, bringing out the red flag. Fortunately Robertino escaped without injury, but his day was over.

Ulrich clawed his way up from 15th at the start to move inside the top ten, finishing ninth in the once red-flagged contest.

With two races remaining for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki in the 2008 AMA Superstock Championship season, Pietri is currently ranked seventh with 164 points while Ulrich, despite missing the Laguna Seca and Road America rounds due to a hand injury and riding at less than 100% since returning at Mid-Ohio, is ninth at 159.

At the end of the weekend, Ulrich explained, "We messed around with some settings in practice and qualifying but we ended up going back to what we knew for the race. And in the race I just got tired -- that's all I had. This place is super physical and my fitness just isn't where it needs to be after missing a lot of training following my injury.

"My execution and lines weren't perfect, either. That's still coming back but we're getting better. My hand is getting better too but I haven't built my strength in it back up just yet. I need to go home and get in some training because I have to make up eight weeks on these guys. But we got ninth and beat one guy we're chasing in the championship -- which is good.

"As for 'Tino, fortunately he's fine. He came off the top and hit the deck hard but bounced right back up. It's a shame because he was quick. I know he is disappointed but he'll come back strong in Atlanta. 'Tino has a lot of fight in him and he's always trying to do his best.

"We've got two more rounds at tracks we both go very well at. Pietri's form has been great and I was riding really well before I got hurt. We've had a bout of bad luck but we're going to come back strong. We look forward to a few more top fives for the team before the end of the season, which would be a dream way to end the year."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action at Road Atlanta on August 29-31.

CHALLENGING WEEKEND FOR PIETRI AND ULRICH AT MID-OHIO

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki encountered a difficult weekend at Mid-Ohio with both Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri dealing with bad luck and injury while hoping to just escape from the weekend with as many points as possible.

Pietri, already fighting hard to find a good set-up aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, was one of the riders caught out in Saturday's chaotic AMA Superbike race crashing in an oil spill.

The Venezuelan quickly recognized the severity of the situation and acted quickly, running to a corner worker station and waving the red flag himself hoping to prevent any further incidents.

Suffering from pain in his lower back following his fall and racing aboard his backup machine, Pietri managed to finish in the Superstock race's top ten, equaling his qualifying position of ninth in the 16-lap race.

The result allowed 'Tino to maintain fifth in the AMA Superstock Championship standings with 164 points following seven of ten races.

"It just wasn't quite there this weekend so at some point we just decided to limit the damage and I think we did that," Pietri admitted. "We're still fifth in the championship.

"The worst thing about the weekend was the crash in the Superbike race. We didn't need that, but it was nobody's fault. Overall, we were already struggling to find speed and then had to switch to the backup bike. My guys worked so hard this weekend. My crew just did a great job. Some weekends are good and some are bad and this was a tough one, but I think we did good just to manage what we did."

Ulrich is still recovering from his Road America practice crash, becoming physically able to squeeze his palm in just the past week. Despite being very limited due to his injured hand, he gutted out the weekend, qualifying 16th fastest overall.

The Californian also suffered from misfortune during the race when an issue with his rear brake forced him into the pits before he returned to the fray to ultimately finish 22nd in the 16-lap contest.

Ulrich said, "I can't even squeeze a five-pound exercise grip at the moment and it definitely makes it tough to throw the bike around here. I know in my head I can get the bike into the corners better but I physically could not do it. I'm pretty sore but we just needed to get some points.

"Unfortunately in the race I came off the back straightaway and I thought there was something wrong with the engine. But it turns out there was some debris in the rear brake caliper and it pulled me all the way to a stop in turn seven. I got it free and came in to check with my guys to make sure there was nothing wrong. It's bumming me out because otherwise we probably could have scored ten more points than we did.

"But I'm happy to be on a motorcycle and happy to be racing again. I got myself in a little battle with some of the guys which was kind of fun. From here we'll go to the Atlanta test and we've got some time to heal up before VIR. But it's difficult when you know you can beat these guys and run in the top five but your hand is screwed up. We're ninth in the championship, five out of eighth and 12 out of seventh and I think I can get those guys. Top seven wouldn't be too bad considering."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will travel to Road Atlanta for a testing session before heading to the next round of the AMA championships, which will take place on August 15-17 at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, VA.

PIETRI RACES SUPERBIKE CLASS AT LAGUNA SECA

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Robertino Pietri put in a productive weekend at Laguna Seca racing in front of a three-day crowd of more than 130,000 spectators as the MotoGP World Championship joined the AMA Superbike Championship for the high-profile race meeting.

With the Superstock classes taking the weekend off, the former Venezuelan and Latin American Superbike champion focused his efforts on the Superbike class, knowing that the set-up and tire data gleaned this weekend could prove vital when the Superstock season finale takes place at Laguna Seca in late September.

Facing a deep field consisting of the AMA Superbike Championship regulars as well as many of the top Superstock stars, Pietri qualified on the inside of row five aboard his Superstock-spec GSX-R1000, posting the 17th fastest time of the abbreviated qualifying session with a best lap of 1:27.256.

In the race, Pietri jumped up to 14th early aboard his Pirelli-shod racer and picked up one addition spot during the 28-lap final to conclude his Superbike outing in 13th position.

Teammate Chris Ulrich sat the weekend out as he continues to recuperate from his Road America practice crash in preparation for a return to action when the Superstock series picks back up in a couple of weeks.

Ulrich explained, "I sat on the bike and thought about racing this weekend, but my hand is still quite painful and the bone is still healing. I only have about 60 degree of motion so we decided it was best to continue to rest up and come back strong at the next one. I was looking forward to riding, but there was no Superstock race at Laguna Seca and that championship is our primary focus."

Pietri, fresh off his first AMA podium scored in the Superstock race at Road America, and Ulrich, who earned a podium earlier in the season at Barber Motorsports Park, are eager to add to their 2008 trophy haul over the second half of the season.

The next race weekend will take place on August 1-3 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where Ulrich was victorious in the Superstock class in 2002.

PIETRI ON THE PODIUM AT ROAD AMERICA, BARNES FIFTH

Team Roadracingworld.com overcame adversity to claim a tremendous double top-five result in this weekend's AMA Superstock race at Road America.

The weekend started on a down note when Chris Ulrich, who entered the weekend ranked fourth in the Superstock points chase, was injured in a Thursday practice crash and was forced to join teammate Santiago Villa on the shelf. However, reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ Robertino Pietri and super-sub Michael Barnes came through and stepped up in his absence.

On Saturday Pietri earned another front row grid position by posting the fourth fastest time of qualifying at 2:16.431 aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000. Barnes lined up a row behind after clocking the seventh quickest time of the session at 2:17.398.

After the two settled into the fight for the podium, Pietri made a late push past Alastair Seeley for third on the penultimate lap and held on for his first-career AMA podium finish. He crossed the stripe just over three seconds behind race winner Blake Young on the Team M4 EMGO Suzuki.

'Barney' scored a fifth-place finish, making good on Ulrich's pre-race goal for the team to place both riders in the top five in the 10-lap race.

Pietri said, "It was fully wet at the beginning and my visor was fogging up a little bit. Towards the end starts drying a little bit, but since the fog was there I couldn't really see, so it took me a little bit to get into a rhythm. The first four laps were a disaster, I think I was back in seventh or something. Barney passed me and I knew I could roll with him because in the morning I was faster than him and he passed me and he looked very smooth while I was like fighting with the bike. I said, 'Okay, you need to relax, breathe in, start hitting your marks and ride like you did in the morning'. You know I started doing it and I started to feel I was catching the guys at the front a little bit and it was great.

"I'm super excited. This is my first podium and this is my dad's birthday today too, so happy birthday!"

Ulrich explained what happened in his fall. "I've been healthy for a few years now and it seems like we've had pretty good luck crashing lately. It was one of those deals where we looked at what we did last year here in the wet and it was because we went out on Thursday and fine-tuned the bike and tried some settings. With that in mind, we did the same thing this year; I tried some different suspension stuff and we were going okay -- we were already faster than we qualified last year with minimal effort -- and I didn't feel I was pushing that hard. I don't think I was taking any risks because I knew in the back of my head it was only Thursday and we didn't have to. I was just exploring and seeing how everything goes.

"The lap before I went pretty quick and I just went through Turn 6, up shifted into second, went into 7 and just cracked the throttle and it spun. I knew I was in trouble when I was holding onto the bars, looking down at the gas tank. It spat me off, I hit my head a little bit. I landed on my left side, hand-first. I bent my hand back to the point where it blew a 3mm hole in my hand. But that finger was fine. I ended up breaking my second metacarpal and my thumb.

"It's unfortunate. We're out for this weekend for sure but we've got six weeks until Laguna for Superbike and we're going to do that and I should be 100% by Mid-Ohio."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action at Laguna Seca as the AMA series plays host to the MotoGP World Championship on July 18-20.

INJURED VILLA OUT FOR 2008 SEASON

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Santiago Villa will miss the rest of the 2008 AMA road racing season due to injuries suffered in a crash Sunday at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

Villa, a promising racer from Bogota, Colombia with several Colombian National Championships to his name, joined Team Roadracingworld.com for 2008 and has been competing in the AMA Superstock Championship. Villa broke his femur and his hip at Miller Motorsports Park and doctors have told him he will be unable to race for three to four months while he recovers.

Santiago hopes to return to racing at Daytona in October.

"Santiago was making steady progress despite injuries from his crash in April at Fontana and the serious burns he suffered--while riding for another team--in a refueling accident at Daytona in October, 2007," said Team Roadracingworld.com's Chris Ulrich. "He was soldiering on like the true motorcycle racer that he is and was making progress at the difficult tracks. It's a bummer for us and for Santiago. We know he wants to be out there competing and learning. It's a big disappointment for us because he is a pleasure to work with and we were pleased with his efforts. We hope his recovery goes to plan so he can get back to racing, which is something he loves doing and certainly has a talent for."

TOP FIVE IN SUPERSTOCK POINTS FOR PIETRI AND ULRICH OF TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki rung up two more top-ten finishes in AMA Superstock competition on Saturday at Miller Motorsports Park, near Salt Lake City, UT. Despite a rocky weekend, Robertino Pietri and Chris Ulrich came through in the 9-lap race to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.

The two leave Utah ranked in the top five in the championship hunt, with Ulrich fourth with 128 points and Pietri fifth at 113.

Venezuelan Pietri qualified on the second row with a quick time of 2:51.421 aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, while Ulrich was a row further back, qualifying ninth at 2:51.697. Teammate Santiago Villa qualified on the fourth row, posting the 15th best time of the session at 2:55.070.

Pietri, reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ, held down his qualifying position most of the race and ultimately finished in sixth position. Ulrich fought his way up from 10th early and chased Pietri to the checkered flag, finishing just over a second back in seventh.

Villa climbed up to as high as 13th before registering a DNF and being awarded 25th after completing 7 laps.

Afterwards, both Pietri and Ulrich expressed disappointment, expecting even more this weekend.

"It was a very tough weekend," Pietri remarked. "We didn't expect it to be to be this tough. We came in here after a couple good runs and we went great here last year, and last year Fontana and Infineon were my weakest tracks. The expectation for this race was pretty high even though it was a new track with the longer configuration. We knew were behind because we didn't test here and we ran intoa lot of problems. My guys worked so hard and I really appreciated their
effort.

"We qualified sixth and finished sixth. That's not too bad and we leave here in fifth place in the championship. It was a great team effort but we're ready to move onto Road America."

Ulrich said, "I'm upset. For me, we had some technical problems at the start of this four-day marathon and it put us behind the eight ball. We were catching up and catching up but it was a little too little, too late. For sure I'm disappointed, I don't feel I should be racing for seventh or eighth, I should be up in the top five. The gap to the frontrunners that tested here was a little disturbing.

"We're going to go the next round and put the hammer down. We're going to charge at Road America pretty hard. I'm not finishing seventh there."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action next weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI on June 6-8.

PIETRI ON FRONT ROW, ULRICH THIRD IN SUPERSTOCK POINTS AFTER INFINEON

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki scored a pair of top-ten finishes in the AMA Superstock race on Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. Robertino Pietri and Chris Ulrich were awarded sixth and seventh place, respectively, after the race was red flagged and called complete following 14 of the event's scheduled 17 laps due to a two-rider incident.

Venezuelan Pietri continued to show his speed with Pirelli's sticky qualifying tires on his GSX-R1000 racebike, circulating with a fast time of 1:37.315 on Saturday to qualify fourth and log a second consecutive front-row qualifying performance.

Meanwhile, Ulrich struggled with mechanical woes during the session and could do no better than tenth with a best time of 1:38.659. The team's third rider, Colombian Santiago Villa, qualified in 17th with a best time of 1:41.866.

Pietri got away in fifth in the race with Ulrich ninth, but the two came together as the South American fell to eighth and the Californian closed in on his teammate.

A collision involving Jason Pridmore and Lee Acree stopped the race late and ultimately promoted the Pietri to sixth and Ulrich to seventh in the final results. Villa matched his qualifying effort by finishing 17th in the race -- a fine result in a difficult race for the Colombian racer who spent his time off the bike at Infineon getting around on crutches because of his injuries from a crash earlier this season.

Following four rounds of the 2008 AMA Superstock Championship, Ulrich is tied for third in the points with 104. Pietri is sixth at 88 while Villa is 17th with 38.

Afterwards, Ulrich said, "For sure for me it was frustrating. It was difficult from the get-go. We had some problems we tried to work out and we tried some different forks. We went back to the standard stuff this morning and that's what we raced on.

"Qualifying was definitely really hard on me. I ended up tenth on the grid due to a mechanical problem we had with the shocks. A little part failed on it and ruined our qualifying.

"But on the bright side, 'Tino did a good job this weekend and sixth and seventh isn't too bad. We got a little bit of help, but we'll move on from here to Miller. This was a hard, hard weekend for me and I'm glad to get out of here with good points. VIlla had a tough challenge this weekend but he put in a fine effort."

Ulrich admitted that his expectations have been raised as the team has continued to improve. "Last year this would have been a fantastic result for us. But this year we're leaving frustrated about the finish. We need to keep digging and I'm excited about what's to come. 'Tino goes really well at Miller and I go really well at Road America. I'm looking forward our team leading more races and getting some more podiums this year. Hopefully, Santiago will continue to recover and we're trying to get him up to speed as well."

Next up for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki is the combined AMA/World Superbike race weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, UT on May 29-June 1.

PIETRI LEADS AT FONTANA, FINISHES FOURTH IN SUPERSTOCK

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki backed up their first-ever AMA Superstock podium finish a week earlier at Barber Motorsports Park with another tremendous showing this weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA.

Robertino Pietri scored his best finish of the season and equaled the best of his AMA career by finishing fourth in the AMA Superstock race aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000. Meanwhile, teammate Chris Ulrich fought up from outside the top ten to take seventh in the race and hold down third in the 2008 points race.

Venezuelan Pietri demonstrated his speed in qualifying, securing his first-career AMA front row grid position by clocking the fourth best time of the session at 1:25.744. He elevated his game another notch in the 16-lap, red-flagged race, taking control of the contest on lap 2 and leading until lap 14, earning the bonus point paid for most laps led.

Pietri was ultimately shuffled back to fourth in the late stages of the race but made his mark with a breakthrough, confidence-building ride.

After the race he explained that this result was even sweeter than his fourth place taken last year at Miller Motorsports Park. "This time I earned the fourth because I really had to fight for it. Before this weekend, I never earned a front row start and I never led a lap in the AMA and today I led the most laps, which was great. And nobody crashed ahead of me or anything so I was the fourth fastest guy in the race, which I'm very proud of.

"I want to thank my dad for believing in me, John Ulrich for giving me a chance, and my mechanics for working so hard. The first couple races this year have been pretty tough for me. I've always been fast but for some reason something always happened but this time everything went great.

"I asked my guys to believe in me and they did. This is a real confidence booster; now we know we can run up front with these guys."


Following a restart due to a red flag brought out by teammate Santiago Villa's early race crash, Ulrich didn't get the opening lap his was looking for coming off his Alabama podium result, running off course momentarily and falling well down the order.

However, the Californian battled his way up through the field, ultimately climbing to seventh position and holding off Scott Jensen for the position at the flag by less than two tenths of a second.

"We had a pretty good run back up from as low as 14th place," Ulrich said. "I had a great launch but I ran off the track. From there, I was just working my way back up. We'll take the points and that will go towards our season's goal.

"It was a great day for the team with 'Tino leading most of the race. I could see what was happening in the lead pack ahead of me and as you might imagine it was fantastic to see our bike out front. We're always working hard to improve as a team and today was a great day for us."

Unfortunately, after qualifying on the fourth row with the 16th best time of qualifying at 1:30.143, Villa's early-race crash brought out a red flag, and the Colombian was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.

Thanks to another consistent run, Ulrich now sits third in the points at 80 while Pietri is ranked sixth at 63.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will head to Infineon Raceway on May 16-18 for the fourth round of the 2008 AMA Superstock Championship.

ULRICH, PIETRI, AND VILLA TEST IN ALABAMA FOR ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Expectations are sky high for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki following their terrific 2008 AMA Superstock season opener at Dayton International Speedway. Coming off a pair of top-ten results, including Chris Ulrich's fourth-place run, Ulrich and teammates Robertino Pietri and Santiago Villa are eager to carry the momentum they gained earlier this month in Florida into next month's second round at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL.

The team traveled to the Alabama circuit this week for two days of testing in order to put themselves in the best position possible to meet their goals.

After working through settings on their GSX-R1000s and a number of Pirelli tires, Ulrich declared the test a success and laid out his aim to better what was one of the team's best-ever combined results in Daytona when they next travel to Barber Motorsports Park.

He said, "The team had a successful test. We ran through a lot of different settings and got to try some off-the-wall stuff before coming back to what was working for us. Robertino ended up going about a second or so faster than he ever went before at Barber. He's recovering from Daytona and got a lot done with his setup. As far as my side of the team goes, we made some changes and learned a lot. We weren't quite able to reach our goal of last year's pole time, but we achieved some very competitive laps and are encouraged for the race. Testing and racing are always two different things and we feel good about coming back."

Colombian Santiago Villa also tested for the team in Alabama. Santiago is the newest member of the team and finished 17th in Superstock at Daytona. "Villa made progress at the test. Every time he gets on the bike, he's moving forward and improving his lap times," said Ulrich. "We're happy to see faster lap times and think his part of the program is going well. The objective with Villa is to find some more speed and he's going faster every time he gets on the bike."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki faced some challenges at the test. "The weather wasn't that great and the temperature will be higher when we come back. We didn't have the actual race tire we'll use in April but Pirelli has some stuff in the pipeline that's going to be an improvement," said Ulrich.

"Our goal is to get both Robertino and me in the top five, and continue the progress with Santiago," Chris continued. "Traditionally, Barber is one of the tougher races for Pirelli but we think they will come up with some good tires for the race. It will be interesting to see what Robertino can do when he's healed up some more."

Ulrich has another unconventional test coming up before the Alabama event. "I'm going to spend two days at Huntsville Dragway working on my starts before the race. The crew is pumped to get racing again, too. We're looking forward to carrying our Daytona momentum into the next few races."

The second round of the 2008 AMA Superstock Championship will take place at Barber Motorsports Park on April 18-20.

ULRICH FOURTH IN DAYTONA SUPERSTOCK

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki opened their 2008 AMA Superstock campaign in stellar fashion at Daytona International Speedway. Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri guided their Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000s to a pair of top-ten finishes, including Ulrich's fourth-place result, equaling Pietri's finish last season at Miller Motorsports Park as the best AMA result in team history.

The Californian Ulrich had to battle hard to earn his top-five placing, nearly running off course at the start of the second lap and dropping to tenth position. Ulrich sliced his way back up the pack in the short 13-lap contest and finally found himself in a late-race dogfight to the checkered flag with Michael Barnes and Chris Peris.

Ulrich moved into fourth with just over two laps to go and held strong thanks to some successful high banks strategy. He took the flag just fractions of a second ahead of his rivals, 0.04 seconds ahead of Peris and 0.047 seconds ahead of Barnes.

Venezuelan Pietri got his season off to a solid start as well, claiming eighth place just over two seconds behind Ulrich. Pietri showed his speed during the race, posting the fifth-best lap of the race at 1:39.114.

Following his fantastic season opening ride, Ulrich was in a positive mood while reviewing the race and looking ahead to the rest of the season.

He said, "I came through at the end of the first lap and almost ran off the track. I was all the way out on the white paint in Turn 1. I got a big draft and I thought that I was in big trouble. Then I started passing people, one guy here, one guy there. All of the sudden I was past Peris and saw Barnes. I was like, 'Wow, I'm catching Barnes and I'm catching the leaders too.'

"I got Barnes and just put my head down really hoping he'd hold Peris up. I got by him and saw +0 on my board. I looked back going to the white flag and thought, 'If he doesn't pass me now, he's not passing.' In the infield and in the chicane I just made sure I got a really good drive. Peris pulled up next to me but I pulled it down to the yellow line. He wasn't getting by. Right at the line I felt someone sucking on my draft but we just got to the line first. It was close but we got fourth. It was a great finish.

"It's very good to start the season on a high note. The crew was very happy. I ran really fast the entire time. It's taken me a while to get back to the level where I feel I should be but I'm very optimistic about the season. I changed a lot of things during the winter and I feel pretty good. In '06 we were hoping for top tens, last year it was top fives, and now we feel we will be fighting for podiums and the top three in the championship."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will head to Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, AL for the second round of the 2008 AMA Superstock Championship on April 20-22.

2-Up Rides at 11/24-25 Fundraiser with Chris Ulrich at California Speedway

Team Roadracingworld.com and Chris Ulrich, the sixth-place finisher in the 2007 AMA Superstock Championship, will be holding a fundraising event November 24-25 at Fontana, California's California Speedway, in association with Fastrack Riders Association (FRA).

In exchange for a cash donation, which will be split between the Red Flag Fund (a non-profit organization that provides financial support and assistance to road racers who are seriously injured, like Ulrich's former teammate Vincent Haskovec) and the Roadracing World Action Fund (a non-profit organization which advocates and promotes the use of soft barriers to prevent racetrack injuries), Ulrich will take donors for a couple of fast laps around California Speedway's 2.3-mile, 21-turn infield road course on the back of his Pirelli-slick-shod,185-horsepower, 198-mph GSX-R1000 racebike, which has been fitted with a passenger seat and footrests.

Ulrich normally uses the retired racebike as an outreach tool during the race season, giving rides on the racetrack to local mainstream media representatives prior to AMA Championship events to help them better understand the sport of motorcycle road racing. Prior to the Suzuki Superbike Challenge Weekend earlier this year at California Speedway, Ulrich gave rides to KTLA-TV Sports Anchor Damon Andrews, KNBC-TV's Amanda Maynard, Squeeze OC reporter Laila Derakhshanian and 1993 500cc GP World Champion Kevin Schwantz.

1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz relegated to passenger duties

Last November, Ulrich and FRA put together a similar fundraiser, giving rides to 44 individuals, including tourists who just happened to be visiting the racetrack that day before returning home to Denmark. Ulrich, Team Roadracingworld.com and FRA are teaming up again to hold another ridealong fundraiser to benefit the Red Flag Fund and the Roadracing World Action Fund this Thanksgiving Day weekend. Gates for the FRA event open at approximately 6:45 a.m. each day, and rides on the two-seater will be available from approximately 9:00 a.m. until approximately 5:00 p.m. contingent on weather, the condition of the track, the condition of the bike, etc. Full professional riding gear will be provided on loan free of charge courtesy of FRA and Team Roadracingworld.com, however, due to limited supplies, all sizes may not be available and not everyone will be able to ride. All rides will be on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservations are required. The minimum donation amount will be $50. Larger donations will earn additional laps. Photos and videos of the rides may be available for an extra donation.

Video footage from a 2007 two-seat ride with Ulrich at California Speedway

Squeeze OC's ride with Ulrich, go to http://www.squeezeoc.com/video/ and look for the "Fast and Furious" video.

Watch Team RoadracingWorld.com rider Chris Ulrich give CycleSpace.com reporter Danielle Teal a two-up ride around Road Atlanta during the 2007 AMA Superbike weekend.

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."

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.

TOP TEN RESULTS FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki was back in action following an extended two-month AMA Superstock layoff at Virginia International Raceway. Anxious to get back to work, Chris Ulrich and Gary Mason enjoyed strong outings this weekend, claiming a pair of top tens for the team.

After qualifying on the second row for the 17-lap Superstock final with the eighth best time (1:27.337) on Saturday, Californian Ulrich led the charge on the Sunday. Pushing with the lead pack in his sights much of the race, he ultimately settled into a fine seventh place finish aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000.

Red Devil Roadracingworld.com's Gary Mason also outperformed his qualifying position in the race, taking 10th after qualifying 11th (1:28.740) in his first ever visit to the tricky VIR circuit.

Robertino Pietri, the reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champion, appeared to be in line for a successful weekend as well, unfortunately, a pair of falls damaged the frames on both his machines and prevented him from racing on Sunday.

Ulrich, who now stands seventh in the Superstock championship race, summed up the VIR round: "I think I had a pretty good weekend. We went around on Thursday and worked with some settings and then on Friday morning we got down to it pretty quick. It felt pretty good. My attitude this weekend was very good; I was calm and relaxed -- I had a little bit of time off. It's been a little stressful lately and I stayed pretty mellow all weekend and just kind of did my own thing and it worked out really well for me.

"My two guys, Rick Kress and Scott Crawford, do a great job. We had a bit of a breakthrough at the Atlanta test. We really got our heads down and got the communication and feedback working better. We carried that momentum into here and we hope to carry that momentum through the rest of the year.

"For sure it feels good to finally race again. It's been a couple months. It's been a good weekend. Gary got a good top-ten finish and it's his first time here. 'Tino was going pretty good in practice and I was happy with his progression through the weekend. Unfortunately, he crashed his main bike on Thursday and broke the frame. And then I think he was going for a good lap and he crashed his back-up bike and broke the frame again. At that point we're out of frames. It's unfortunate -- we only carry so many spares. I guess two strikes you're out."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action in two weeks at Road Atlanta on August 31-September 2 for the second-to-last round of the 2007 AMA Superstock season.

NO RACES FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI AT MID-OHIO

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki faced a less-than-satisfying conclusion to the Mid-Ohio weekend as the AMA Superstock race was ultimately cancelled. Sunday showers delayed the action late into the day and by the time the conditions finally allowed for the AMA Superbike race to be completed, it was assessed by the sanctioning body that darkening conditions and water in turn one made it impossible to fit the support class races into the revised schedule.

It was especially frustrating that the cancellation occurred at one of Chris Ulrich's best circuits, the scene of a 2002 Superstock victory and 2000 250GP podium finish for the Californian. Ulrich came into the round with his sights set on a top-five result.

The squad showed impressive speed during the lead up to Sunday, with Ulrich leading the way. He qualified on the second row aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, circulating the 2.4-mile circuit in 1:27.222, eighth best in the session.

Venezuelan Robertino Pietri was also in the top ten in qualifying, posting the tenth fastest lap at 1:27.660.

The team's latest addition, Red Devil Roadracingworld.com's Gary Mason, was competitive at Mid-Ohio as well, qualifying 13^th fastest at 1:28.433.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will look to make up for this lost opportunity in the series' next round, which takes place at Virginia International Raceway on August 17-19 in Alton, VA.

MASON AND ULRICH EARN TOP 15 FINISHES AT LAGUNA SECA

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki faced its fair share of drama in Sunday's AMA Superbike final at Laguna Seca, but in the end was pleased to pick up a pair of top-15 results against a stacked Superbike field. Gary Mason was 14th, Chris Ulrich was 15th, and Robertino Pietri did not finish the race.

The team entered the weekend stronger than ever, recently adding a third rider to the fold. Former British Superbike star Gary Mason joined the team on his Red Devil Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000, and qualified in tight formation with his new teammates, Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri. Ulrich led the way in 19th at 1:27.907, with Pietri 21st (1:28.060) and Mason 22nd (1:28.308).

The race started in difficult fashion for the squad as Pietri ran into the back of Ulrich's machine on lap 3, knocking the Californian into the dirt and into last place, while the Venezuelan's brake lever was broken off in the impact, ending the reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champion's race almost as soon as it got started.

Ulrich fought hard to regain position and managed to just battle his way into the top 15, finishing 15th at the flag.

Team newcomer Gary Mason made an impressive debut, riding a steady race to finish one place ahead of Ulrich in 14th.

The team should be able to leverage all that they learned this weekend in the Superstock season finale when the series returns to Laguna Seca to conclude the 2007 season in September.

At the end of the weekend Ulrich said, "100% it was a test for us, but still, we race to win. In the Superbike class we're at a technological disadvantage from the get-go since our team's focus is on the Superstock this year. With the amount of guys out there on really fast Superbikes, a top-15 finish was our goal. At the end of the day, we had two riders in the top 15, although it wasn't without a lot of drama.

"A couple laps in, Robertino ran into me. He sent me off the track in Turn 2 and I think I was dead last when I came back on. I just started catching guys and working my way through and at the end we got pretty lucky because a couple guys ran out of gas.

"For the team, we've got a new rider, Gary Mason, and he did great -- 14th right ahead of me. He's going to run out the year with us on his Red Devil Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. He's a great teammate to have and 'Tino has been doing a great job the past couple weeks, too, even if he didn't have his best outing today.

"We learned a lot this weekend and that's the biggest thing. We tried a lot of stuff in a limited amount of track time and we went over a second faster than we did last year. It's a good bonus."

In two weeks time (August 3-5) Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will race at Mid-Ohio, one of Ulrich's best circuits. He scored the Superstock win at the venue in 2002 and finished on the podium in the 250GP class in 2000.

"Mid-Ohio is my favorite place in the world," Chris said. "It's a shame we don't go there twice anymore, but I'm definitely looking forward to that. I'm going to push very hard and shoot for a top-five finish there."

EXCELLENT UTAH WEEKEND FOR TEAM ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com enjoyed their finest AMA weekend yet, ringing up fourth and seventh place finishes in Sunday's Superstock final at Miller Motorsports Park.

Robertino Pietri found himself right at home on the European-style circuit, effectively leveraging his skills through the track's fast and flowing corners. The reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ was on the pace all weekend long aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, even leading Saturday morning's session for a time before ending up an exceptional third in the practice.

Pietri claimed a second row grid position by qualifying seventh in the class with a time of 1:53.344, two positions ahead of teammate Chris Ulrich who headed the third row with a best lap of 1:53.943.

Following an early red flag and complete restart, Pietri got away clean in fifth, while Ulrich stumbled a bit early down in 12th. The Venezuelan rode a consistent race near the front, ultimately working his way up to a superb fourth-place result at the checkered flag.

Meanwhile, Ulrich charged up the leaderboards, climbing up from outside the top ten to seventh by the conclusion of the 13-lap affair.

Pietri's fourth place run is a career best in AMA competition and he feels there is more to come.

"It was a great weekend for us," he remarked. "We've been improving a lot and we knew this track would suit me. I think we've finally found a good base setup for the bike that should work at every track. My mechanics are working really hard and doing a great job.

"This is the type of track I like to ride on -- no stop-and-go corners. This is one of those tracks where you need courage. How fast can you go through the corners? We looked good since the promoter practice on Thursday and I think we impressed some people by finishing third in one of the practices, too.

"Pirelli gave us some good tires and I got a good start after the red flag. I knew I could hang in there for a top five and I was real happy with that. I think we can carry this momentum on and with our base setup I think we should be able to continue doing well."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action on July 20-22 at Laguna Seca, near Monterey, CA.

WET WEEKEND FOR ROAD AMERICA POLESITTER ULRICH AND TEAMMATE PIETRI

The Road America round of the 2007 AMA roadracing tour proved to be a roller coaster ride for Team Roadracingworld.com . Emotions ran the gamut as the squad experienced among their season's brightest highlights and most trying times during their visit to Elkhart Lake, WI.

Chris Ulrich's highlight of the weekend was Saturday afternoon when the Californian made the most of a wet qualifying session to earn the pole position for Sunday's 60k Superstock race. He led the way with a time of 2: 51.375 aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 around the four-mile long circuit.

Afterwards Ulrich commented, "I just tried to be smooth and ride like I know how. In the wet it's just a different game. It doesn't matter how much you weigh. It just matters how well you can ride. It was great getting the pole and the team worked really hard to earn it."

Unfortunately, Chris' weekend took a turn for the worse from there. He suffered a fall in Saturday's Superbike contest, injuring his left knee. To make matters worse, an incorrect tire choice in Sunday's race prevented him from capitalizing on his fantastic qualifying performance.

Ulrich came away with a 12th place result after racing hard on the damp but drying surface.

"We experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows it seemed like this weekend," Chris said. "Getting pole position was a great accomplishment but it's unfortunate our race didn't go to plan. I took a pretty nasty spill on Friday and again in the Saturday Superbike race. I have a big hole in my knee that's going to require some more medical work but that really didn't have an effect on our result today in Superstock. We made the wrong tire choice for the conditions and it came back to bite us. I ran as hard as I could but 12th was the best we could do today."

Robertino Pietri salvaged the day for Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki, however, as the Venezuelan claimed his best result of the season. The reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ took his third straight top-ten finish of the year, taking the checkered flag in seventh position after running as high as fourth during the contest.

"I'm really proud of 'Tino," Ulrich commented. "He and his crew nailed the tire choice and Robertino always seems to go well at the fast tracks. It was good to see him get his best result of the season today. That side of the team did a great job and hats off to his crewchief for picking the right tires."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action in three weeks time as the AMA series picks back up in Tooele, UT on June 22-24 for the sixth round of the '07 season.

ULRICH SIXTH, PIETRI NINTH AT INFINEON RACEWAY

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki bounced back strong after the difficult, controversial round at California Speedway to score their best Superstock results of the season at Infineon Raceway. Despite some unusual circumstances, riders Chris Ulrich and Robertino Pietri registered excellent race day performances to claim a pair of top-ten finishes for the team.

After qualifying on the outside of the second row aboard his GSX-R1000 with a quick time of 1:39.039, Ulrich was forced to start the race on his 'B' bike after focusing all of his efforts throughout the weekend prepping his primary machine.

Despite the change, the Californian found himself in a spirited battle with Blake Young for a top-five finish and fell just short of claiming the spot at the checkered flag. Still, Chris' sixth-place finish equaled his best finish of the season, claimed at the Daytona International Speedway season opener.

"It was a difficult race for sure," Ulrich remarked. "I had to start on my backup bike which had never turned a wheel on the racetrack until the parade lap. I had a crash this morning and it was pretty close to the race. We were trying some new settings and I think I just clipped the paint line and threw the thing down the road.

"I came back down to talk to my guy about running a different compound front tire because I was a little worried that the front I chose wasn't going to be the better choice. We got sorted and I was looking at the machine and, 'Whoa! We're starting on the backup bike?' They said it was precautionary -- fair enough. I got on it and it didn't feel very good on the warm-up lap."

"My launch was okay," he continued. "I got into turn one and didn't lose any positions, which is good. I got myself in a tussle with Blake. At the end I made a small mistake coming down the hill into the chicane and that gave him the opportunity to pass me. I knew I had to be perfect on the last lap and I wasn't perfect. But sixth place after throwing the thing down the road wrecking a bike this morning and having chassis struggles all weekend, you can't complain."

Reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champion Robertino Pietri opened his race directly behind his teammate, qualifying 12th on the grid at 1:40.218. Pietri waged a couple of dogfights himself before bringing his GSX-R1000 home in ninth, his best finish of the season.

"He did a good job," Ulrich said of his teammate's performance. "He improved on his lap times. He's got some work to do but for sure he's coming along. It was the best combined finish that we've ever had. It equals our best performance of the year. We'll roll onto Road America and the big horsepower of the Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will come in handy there."

Ulrich is currently seventh in the Superstock title race with 92 points while Pietri sits in tenth with 61 despite missing the opening round.

The fifth round of the 2007 AMA season will take place on June 1-3 at the high-speed Road America circuit in Elkhart Lake, WI.

ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI DISAPPOINTED WITH AMA RULING AT CALIFORNIA SPEEDWAY

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Chris Ulrich endured a frustrating race at California Speedway following a promising lead up to the third round of the 2007 AMA Superstock Championship. Ulrich's race was negatively impacted by a controversial decision to penalize the Californian that robbed him of a chance to claim a top-six finish in front of his home fans.

After getting away from the sixth slot on the grid with a strong start aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000, Ulrich was forced off course on lap 3. He immediately followed the procedures the AMA had previously instructed the racers to follow in case such a scenario played out. The result of his correctly following the instructions was a lap was more than two seconds off his pace at the time and Chris lost two positions in the running order.

Ulrich got back into a rhythm and worked his way up to eighth position. He was climbing up the ranks of a multi-rider fight for sixth when his afternoon took a disappointing turn.

Confident that he had done nothing wrong, Ulrich was shocked to see the 'meatball flag' shown to him a number of laps after the incident in question, forcing him into the pits for a penalty. The Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki rider came in on lap 11 of 17 and dropped to 12th place, ultimately where he finished in the race.

"I did exactly what the AMA's Morgan Broadhead told me to do in the riders' meeting. He said, 'You get off the track over there, you have to have to go through the cones pointing in. I did that exactly that, following the printed bulletin the AMA had given to the riders. I lost two positions and countless seconds, yet still I was penalized.

"That was a potential sixth place, a very good finish. And now it's 12th place and probably lost another position or two in points. I'm extremely disappointed in how it turned out. I do not think the ruling was fair or correct."

Meanwhile, teammate Robertino Pietri enjoyed his best outing of the young season, finishing with a top ten result after qualifying 11th fastest for the Superstock final. The reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champ improved upon his 13th place showing a week earlier at Barber Motorsports Park to claim tenth at California Speedway.

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will tackle the fourth round of the 2007 AMA championship at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on May 18-20. "Infineon is a physical track and we should do well there," said Ulrich. "I think the Pirelli tires work great at the track and we are extremely motivated."

ANOTHER TOP TEN SUPERSTOCK RESULT FOR ROADRACINGWORLD.COM SUZUKI

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Chris Ulrich backed up his sixth-place run at the season opener with another top-ten result in the second round of the 2007 AMA Superstock Championship held at Barber Motorsports Park.

On Saturday Ulrich qualified on the second row for Sunday's 17-lap final, circulating the scenic Birmingham, AL track with a best lap of 1:27.383, seventh fastest in the session.

Unfortunately he was unable to fully capitalize on his fine starting position, completing the race's first lap in tenth. The 27-year-old Californian kept his head down, however, and ultimately piloted his Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000 racebike to eighth at the checkered flag.

Teammate Robertino Pietri, the reigning Latin American and Venezuelan Superbike champion, was back in action after being forced to miss the season opener due to difficulties obtaining his visa. Pietri made a solid return to AMA Superstock competition, qualifying 15th with a quick time of 1: 29.476, and then improving in the race to claim 13th.

Afterwards, Ulrich reflected on the weekend, commenting, "It was a tough weekend for us and we did the best we could. We were solidly in the top ten again and that's good. I think we were capable of running down Geoff May for seventh place but we lacked just a little grip, which is a common problem at Barber. 'Tino was 13th in his first AMA race of the year and our mechanics all did a good job this weekend. I'm seventh in the points and just four points behind fifth place, so we hope to make up ground next weekend in California."

"Our goal there is a top-five finish and that's what we expect," he added. "It's early in the season but our team is doing a good job of building on what we learned last year."

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki will be back in action next weekend, April 27-29, at California Speedway in Fontana, CA.

ULRICH HAS 'BEST DAYTONA EVER' IN 2007

Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki opened the 2007 AMA Superstock season with a tremendous result this week at Daytona International Speedway. Chris Ulrich was fast from the opening practice and went on to secure his best-ever AMA race results at the famed circuit in Thursday's race.

After qualifying on the second row for the 13-lap final, posting the seventh fastest time of the session at 1:42.117, Ulrich figured to get away with the leaders early aboard his 2007 Pirelli-shod GSX-R1000.

An early race incident forced Chris offline, however, yet he quickly recovered and put his head down to ultimately take the checkered flag in sixth position, an outstanding result to kick off the new season.

The satisfied Ulrich said, "This is the best Daytona I've ever been to. I've been coming here racing AMA since 1998. 2007 is the best year I've ever had. It was just a very good weekend -- a confidence building weekend.

"We made a lot of changes to the bike and it was just good. I'm riding hard and I've got some new crew guys. Everyone is working really hard and the bike has changed so much set-up wise."

Ulrich is confident the Daytona round is a sign of things to come. "I'm looking forward to a really strong season. We started out right. We should have finished fifth but we had a small vibration coming through the rear. It didn't work out but I've got great faith in Pirelli and my Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki crew guys. We're going to put this thing on the box sometime this year."

The only negative for the squad this week was the absence of second rider Robertino Pietri. The reigning Venezuelan and Latin American Superbike Champion unexpectedly encountered difficulty obtaining his visa, preventing him from racing in the AMA season opener at Daytona, the scene of last season's seventh-place run.

"It's a bummer that 'Tino wasn't here," Ulrich remarked. "Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki does everything by the book. We do it as the law says. We ran into some problems getting his visa and getting him over here. What can you do? We're going to do everything correctly to make sure our guy is here for the long run.

"We missed Robertino. I think he could have had a strong finish. He did quite well here last year. This is his track and he's quite light and small. He likes it. We probably could have had two Team RoadRacingWorld.com Suzuki bikes in the top eight, but it didn't work out. We're going to try to get his visa problems sorted so he can be with us next race."

The second round of the 2007 AMA season will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL on April 20-22.