The Corona AMA Superbike Finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is on. Rumors that the September 27-28 season-ender might be in jeopardy were firmly refuted by Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca CEO Gill Campbell. “I’m spending money on advertising and I wouldn’t be doing that if I didn’t have a race. We’re having a race,” she said. “We’ve got two major things going on, we’ve got the AMA season finale, end of an era, and then we’ve got dirt meets asphalt on Supermoto USA event, two events one weekend, packed full of stuff.” The 371th and final AMA Superbike race, as we know it, will line up on Sunday, September 28. (The DMG American Superbike class is similar to Superstock. If the Motorcycle Industry Council creates a series in 2009, it will be called U.S. Superbike and start with a clean record book.) For the track, which began life as Laguna Seca, it will be the 32nd Superbike race dating back to August 1, 1976, when Reg Pridmore rode a BMW to victory. It may also be the final showdown between Rockstar Makita Suzuki teamamates Mat Mladin and Ben Spies. Spies has MotoGP aspirations, but could remain in the U.S. for one more year. It’s unlikely he’d be on a Suzuki. It’s also unknown whether the AMA Superbike Championship will be decided in Monterey or before. Spies currently holds an insurmountable points lead, pending the outcome of Mladin’s appeal for being disqualified from both races at Virginia International Raceway. Even if Mladin gets his points back, Spies needs to only finish 12th or better for his third crown in a row. Either way, the race promises to be historic and the track has surrounded the racing with fan-friendly events. Campbell said there would be a Friday night fan party at the Embassy Suites from 6:00-9:00 p.m. that would feature a number of motorcycles, vendor booths, raffles, giveaways, and a demonstration by Supermoto USA. At the track they’ll have the Corona Beach Party in the vendor area, the Yamaha marketplace. Corona is bringing in sand for the beach party, which will feature beach volleyball. There will be Supermoto races on both Saturday and Sunday, run at the same time as the road racing, with at least 400 participants, including a women’s class.
