Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki's Mat Mladin (Photo: Brian J Nelson)
Mat Mladin continued his perfect AMA Pro American Superbike season on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, bringing his '09 win streak equal to his competition number with his seventh consecutive victory.
At the race's opening, Saturday podium finisher Ben Bostrom stormed into the lead from the second row at the green light but was quickly displaced by his Yamaha USA teammate, Josh Hayes.
Hayes went onto led the opening lap on the #4 'long-bang' R1 but was dropped a position entering the hairpin on lap 2 by Mladin on the brakes on the nearly dry track. Mladin's Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki teammate, Blake Young, who showed shocking speed in the morning warm-up, attempted to followed the Aussie through but came into contact with Hayes on the corner's exit.
Hayes stayed upright but Young wasn't so lucky, his GSX-R1000 hitting the ground in a shower of evening sparks. The Wisconsinite quickly leapt to his feet and sprinted to a nearby ambulance, appearing to be favoring his hand.
Mladin spent the next few laps building up a two-second advantage, which ended up being erased when the Safety Car entered the picture, allowing the ambulance to make an escape with Young as its passenger.
