Road Atlanta Supersport highlight on Hacking

Hacking hoping for back-to-back AMA Pro Honda Oils U.S. Supersport victories at Road Atlanta.

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (May 13, 2003) -- Jamie Hacking returns to Road Atlanta this Sunday, May 18, in search of his second-straight victory at Road Atlanta in the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei. Winning two years consecutively in Road Atlanta's Supersport race has proven to be a difficult task. Only Eric Bostrom and Mike Smith have managed to accomplish the job since the series started in 1987. Hacking looks to have a strong shot at defending his victory of last year. The 31-year-old Yamaha rider from South Carolina is riding a two-race winning streak and leads the series standings by 21 points over teammate Damon Buckmaster.

Hacking's confidence has never been higher, especially considering he's coming off a victory two weeks ago at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., a track that had given him a great deal of problems in the past. "To win at a track where I haven't had a lot of luck shows that I've matured as a rider," Hacking said after his recent victory. "Going into Road Atlanta I expect to do well there since I have in the past. Even though I have a pretty good points lead I'm not going to relax. There's still a lot of racing to be done."

Hacking has finished on the Supersport podium three times at Road Atlanta in the last five years.

Buckmaster comes into the race knowing that he needs to start winning if he's to catch Hacking in the championship. Road Atlanta hasn't been the best track for the likable Aussie. He's never finished better than fourth in the Supersport race there. "There are no team orders this early in the season," Buckmaster said. "Everyone still has a shot at the championship at this point. I need to start getting some wins and I'm hoping it happens this weekend."

Aaron Gobert is making a strong comeback after sitting out most of last year due to injury. Yet another Yamaha rider, Gobert will be racing at Road Atlanta for only the second time. He finished ninth in the Supersport race in 2001.

Leading the non-Yamaha charge in the class is Jake Zemke of Erion Honda. He's coming off his first podium of the season at Infineon.

Supersport racing legend Miguel Duhamel is questionable for Sunday's race. He broke his collarbone at Infineon and is hoping to be in the field. Surprisingly Duhamel, the winningest rider in AMA Supersport history, has never won a Supersport race at Road Atlanta.

Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies and Team Kawasaki's Tommy Hayden, fifth and sixth in the points chase respectively, also hope to do well at the twisty Road Atlanta circuit.

The Pro Honda Oils Supersport race from Road Atlanta will be shown live on Speed Channel at 12 p.m. EST. For ticket information call (800) 849-RACE or visit www.roadatlanta.com.

For immediate post-race results, points, live transponder scoring, in-depth series and rider information, regular columnists and much more, log onto www.USSuperbike.com, the official website of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship.

About AMA Pro Racing
AMA Pro Racing is the leading sanctioning body for motorcycle sport in the United States. Its properties include the AMA Supercross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship, the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Superbike Championship, AMA Progressive Insurance U.S. Flat Track Championship and the AMA Red Bull Supermoto Championship. Nearly 2 million race fans attended AMA Pro Racing events during the 2002 season. For more information about AMA Pro Racing, visit www.amaproracing.com.

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