Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The AMA Pro Road Racing action from Laguna Seca can be seen Sunday, July 5 at 9:00pm PT (late Sunday/early Monday, July 6 at Midnight ET).
Jake Holden led an unpredictable AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited practice session while Roger Hayden topped the charts in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL practice in the opening day of Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on-track activities at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Riding the No. 59 Corona Extra Honda CBR1000RR, Holden posted a best lap time at 1:25.525 (94.204 mph) to pace a 33-rider field in Friday practice. The rider from Puyallup, Wash. is currently 11th in the American Superbike championship standings and owns a best result this season of fifth from the first race of a doubleheader at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. in March. Holden won his first AMA Pro race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Superstock competition in 2007.
"This is definitely surreal," Holden said. "I mean, this is my favorite racetrack, I've had my first win here, so Laguna and Jake Holden have a lot of history. I love this track. I feel really good on this bike. I'm paying for a lot of the stuff on this thing. Corona is helping me out with some stuff, but I definitely still need some help and some tire money and all that stuff to finish out the season. We're looking for a win here, now. After the first practice I feel good."
Second quickest on the day was Tommy Hayden on the No. 22 Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at 1:25.807 (93.894 mph). Hayden, whose brothers Nicky and Roger are racing in this weekend's MotoGP and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, respectively, owns four career AMA Pro Road Racing victories at the famed Monterey, Calif. circuit. He is currently second to teammate Mat Mladin in the AMA Pro American Superbike championship standings and is looking for his first career American Superbike win this weekend.
Mladin was third in Friday practice on the No. 7 Rockstar/Makita/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at 1:25.946 (93.743 mph). The Aussie is 110 points clear of Hayden in the point standings, 325-215, and owns nine victories from this season's 11 races. He owns three previous American Superbike victories at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, including wins in each of the last two American Superbike races at the venue.
Larry Pegram, who earned his first American Superbike victory in 10 years last time out at Road America, was fourth quickest today on the No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R. Pegram's best time was a 1:25.960 (93.727 mph). Josh Hayes, who joins Pegram and Mladin as the only riders to win in American Superbike competition this year, completed the top five on his No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1. Hayes' best lap was at 1:26.225 (93.439 mph).
The American Superbikes will qualify from 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. local time on Saturday. On Sunday, the 23-lap (50-mile) race wraps up the weekend's activities at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix and is scheduled to roll of from a standing start at 4:15 p.m. local time.
