Laguna Seca: Superstock race notes

Yates completes title campaign with fifth win of '08

Jordan Suzuki's Aaron Yates completed his tremendous 2008 AMA Superstock Championship campaign in perfect fashion, winning the season finale going away from pole. The win was the Georgian's fifth in ten races this season, and he never finished lower than second in any race.

Team M4 EMGO Suzuki's Blake Young added a runner-up result to his earlier Supersport victory to close out his '08 season on a high. Young edged Yates' teammate, Geoff May, to the checkered flag, but the Georgian's third was enough to secure a Jordan Suzuki 1-2 in the final championship standings.

The Superstock race was actually split up into two legs, with the first half being run prior to the Supersport and Superbike finales, and the conclusion run at the end of the day due to live television considerations.

The race was red-flagged when Corona Honda's Jake Holden crashed out first at speed in Turn 6 shortly after taking the position away from Young. Holden was transported to Participant medical center in Turn 11 for observation (and later released).

Holden actually crashed out of the lead at the Laguna Seca Superstock finale in '07 too, but was awarded the victory when the race was called and it was determined that oil, not Holden, was responsible for the incident. No such luck this year.

The race was postponed until following the Supersport and Superbike contests due to live television considerations, which made for an interesting statistic. Yates' average speed in the final results is listed at 9.374 mph.

Team ESP's Chris Peris finished fourth just ahead of Millennium Technologies/KWS Motorsports' Ben Thompson.

Foot & Leg Healthcare's Ryan Elleby took sixth with Race Tech-backed David Anothiny, Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki's Robertino Pietri, Lee's Cycle's Jeremy Toye, and HALOF Racing's Hawk Mazzotta completing the top ten.

Yates' final points tally was 348, followed by May (284) and Holden (269). Young finished fourth at 265 with Peris winning out in a tight fight for fifth at 211.

-credit: ama