DANVILLE, VA. – Six-time AMA Superbike champion Mat Mladin, on board a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, fired off a best lap of 1:25.239/95.449 mph in qualifying for the two AMA Superbike races over VIRginia International Raceway’s 2.25-mile North Course.

“It’s slick out there,” said Mladin following his qualifying run on a hot, sunny August afternoon. In the first day of qualifying for the AMA Big Kahuna Suzuki Superbike Nationals presented by Dunlop and ROCKSTAR Energy Drink, Mladin’s time beat out teammate and current champion Ben Spies, on a similar Suzuki, by 1.117 second. Spies’ 1:26.122 was only .224 second ahead of the Kawasaki ZX-10R ridden by Jamie Hacking.

Mladin is seeking his 60th feature Superbike victory this weekend and VIR and with the speed shown in qualifying, appears well on his way to both the new record and his seventh series crown. Mladin and Spies have won every race in the 2007 season, with Spies holding a slim 17-point lead over his elder teammate.

Racing over VIR’s North Course, Mladin has won the last four Superbike contests, plus the Saturday race in 2003. His closest competition for dominance at VIR is from Miguel Duhamel, who topped both races in 2004, but is at his home in Canada, recovering from severe injuries suffered in a crash during testing at Road Atlanta two weeks ago. Before that, in the first two Superbike races at VIR, Nicky Hayden won. Following that victory, Hayden has gone on to become defending World Champion in MotoGP.

VIR’s round of the AMA Superbike series is promoted by Colorado-based M1 Entertainment. Plenty of tickets for the weekend’s action are available at the gate. The racing is capped by a pair Superbike races Saturday and Sunday afternoons. For more information on the Big Kahuna Nationals, link your browser to: www.moto1usa.com.

The three-day double-header brings the cream of road racing riders to VIR’s scenic 2.25-mile North Course. As always, the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals offers a variety of ticket packages. Standard general-admission tickets with paddock access are available ($65 advance/$75 at gate), one-day Saturday ($50/$60) and Sunday ($50/$60). General car parking will be available for $5, and infield car parking is priced at $10. Motorcycle parking will be free. Camping is available as is a parade lap of the track.

VIR’s next major event is the GT Live/Koni Challenge event, the weekend of October 5-7. With the widest variety of motorsports available, the headliner event will be the Koni Challenge races for high-performance production sports cars, coupes and sedans. With limited modifications, these are the same cars seen on the highways every day. The VIR races will be the finales for the two classes, both featuring a six-hour enduro format. The big engined Grand Sport (GS) racers will take the track in the weekend’s capstone, while the smaller Street Tuner (ST) class attracts the import and hot compact crowd.

GS races feature Porsche, Nissan, BMW, Mustang and Pontiac, while the ST cars attract entries such as Mazda RX-8, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Dodge SRT-4, MINI Cooper S, Acuras and a variety of BMWs. The entire field races on Hoosier tires, further equalizing the competition.

Other attractions of the GT Live weekend include such diverse programs as:
• GT Sim Race: Ride in some of the world’s hottest cars in cars on VIR’s 3.27-mile Full Course.
• Tarzan’s Lap Battle: Drive your own car in on the 1.1-mile Patriot Course in a Time Attack, competing for lap times
• Rally-X: drive your car on VIR’s gravel rally stage roads in.
• Karting Zone: race karts in the on VIR’s Plantation Valley Kart Track.
• Car and bike shows and fan festivals for Mazda, Nissan/Infiniti, Subaru and Mitsubishi EVO.
• GT Track Attack pitting American tuners against Japanese tuners for cash prizes.
• US Drift Shootout: the best amateur and professional drifters competing on the Patriot Course for cash.
• The best motorcycle stunt riders in the business compete for cash prizes in the invitation-only XDL U.S. Stunt Riding Championship.

VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Virginia. Reopened in 2000, VIR hosts a wide range professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing and track events, and is well established as “America’s Motorsport Resort.” In addition to its historic 3.27 mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America's first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park and Motorsports Technology Park, which includes the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research (“VIPER”); the Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8 mile paved natural terrain karting circuit; an expanding variety of on-site lodging (including 45 hotel rooms and the trackside Villas which are for sale); Camp Motorsport for enthusiasts of all ages; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse.

For information on the track and other event schedules, call 434-822-7700 or check our web site at www.virclub.com.