Ben Spies (Suzuki) fought through bike problems to take the win in the dramatic first race of this weekend’s AMA Superbike double-header at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Championship favorite Mat Mladin (Suzuki) led the race for a time before retiring with a mechanical failure, handing the lead to Ducati’s Neil Hodgson. Spies moved past Aaron Yates (Suzuki) to take second and began to apply pressure to Hodgson, making the pass for the lead when Hodgson made a mistake and ran off on the final lap. Yates also passed Hodgson to take second.
Mladin’s DNF drops him to third in the points standings, with a total of 115 points. Ben Spies now leads the championship race with 123 points, followed by Neil Hodgson with 120.
For more info, results, and points, check out the official AMA Superbike website.
