Brett McCormick scores his best finish of the season on Sunday

ALTON, VA (August 15, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) holds onto third place in the championship points race after completing round eight of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, VA this weekend. Brett McCormick, Aaron Yates’ replacement rider, raced to sixth place on Saturday and a season’s best fourth place on Sunday. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke had a tough weekend, scoring eighth place finishes both Saturday and Sunday. Aaron Yates attempted to make his comeback this weekend from the injury he sustained early in the season. Yates practiced Friday and qualified eighth on Saturday but was not quite physically ready to compete.

On Saturday, Michael Jordan Motorsports’ McCormick started in eleventh and made his way up to sixth place by the second lap. Beyond a bit of a battle during the latter stage of the race, McCormick was able to maintain his position, finishing sixth. On Sunday, McCormick’s good start quickly put him up into fourth position. He was able to hold that position, finishing in a season’s best fourth place. McCormick currently sits in ninth place in the championship points race.

“That is now my best finish,” McCormick said. “So I’m really happy, super-pumped with the team this weekend. They worked hard, and keeping me around when Aaron was here obviously worked out in the end because he wasn't able to ride, so it was really cool. (It was) my first time here and doing pretty fast laps, and the last race of the day I was super consistent. I was able to do them the whole day and I’m pretty happy with my finish.”

On Saturday, National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Zemke started in tenth and ran as high as fourth early in the race. Zemke ran in fifth for thirteen laps before falling back to finish in eighth place. Sunday played out much the same, as Zemke ran as high as third, but eventually slipped to another eighth place finish. Zemke still remains third in the championship points race heading into the next event at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

“These last couple races since Ohio we've been struggling quite a bit,” Zemke said. “So we definitely need to get back on track and finish up the season with a bang. I was pretty confident that we had some things figured out coming in here this weekend and things just seemed to get worse. We're looking for some rebound here and to get to New Jersey and Barber and finish off the season strong.”

During the weekend, Zemke’s National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 was proudly sporting the state patch of the Virginia Army National Guard. The corresponding National Guard state patches will be placed on Zemke’s Suzuki for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Look for the 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team at their next event at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ on September 3-5, 2010.

CHICAGO, IL (August 10, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports’ (MJM) Aaron Yates will be back in action at this weekend’s round eight of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) in Alton, VA. Yates broke his leg in a practice crash during round two in Fontana, CA and has been on the mend since late March.

“I’m excited about riding and really looking forward to getting back out there,” Yates said. “It’s been a while and I’ve been getting a little bit bored sitting around the house. I went down to one crutch a couple of weeks ago and have been getting around with no crutches at all for about the last week. I’m feeling pretty good and figured that if I can walk, I can ride. At least I can get out there in practice and see how it goes. It will be good to be out there at VIR with the guys on the team, my sponsors, and my fans.”

Yates’ replacement rider, 18-year-old Brett McCormick, will also be racing this weekend at VIR. McCormick, who sits ninth in the championship points race, will be riding the #45 Jordan Suzuki at VIR, as Yates will be back on the #23 bike.

Practice at the Suzuki White Lightning AMA Superbike Nationals at VIR begins this Friday, August 13^th. The two AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike races at VIR are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

MONTEREY, CA (July 25, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) holds onto third place in the championship points race after completing round seven of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA this weekend. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke scored a sixth place finish and Aaron Yates’ replacement rider, 18-year-old Brett McCormick, finished eighth.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Zemke started in seventh and quickly worked his way up to fifth place. Zemke ran in fifth for ten laps before falling back to sixth place, which is where he finished. Zemke remains a solid third in the championship points race heading into the next event at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).

“The boys did a good job,” Zemke said. “We’ve been struggling since we got here, but we definitely got the bike a lot better for the race. It was good enough to be close to the guys in the beginning. Maybe not the top guys, but that group from third to fifth. We should have had a little better shot at that. I got by Larry (Pegram) but by then I’d pretty much used up everything I had and the tires had gone off pretty bad. He was able to get back by me and I was having a few issues. We brought it home, but it’s been a frustrating two weeks and it’s definitely not where we want to be. We should be up at the front racing with those guys – not back where we are at.”

Michael Jordan Motorsports’ Brett McCormick started in tenth and made his way up to eighth place in three laps. McCormick maintained his eighth place position until lap 16, when he engaged in a battle that put him back to tenth before fighting back to an eighth place finish. McCormick sits in ninth place in the championship points race.

During the weekend, Jake Zemke’s National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 was once again proudly sporting the state patch of the California National Guard’s largest combat brigade, the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The corresponding National Guard state patches will be placed on Zemke’s Suzuki for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Look for the 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team at their next event at VIR in Alton, VA on August 13-15, 2010.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke sits third in championship points

LEXINGTON, OH (July 18, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) maintains third place in the championship points race after completing races eleven and twelve of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH this weekend. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke scored a pair of sixth place finishes and 18-year-old Brett McCormick, Aaron Yates’ replacement rider, had his best result of the season with a seventh place finish on Saturday and a fifth on Sunday.

On Saturday, National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Zemke ran as high as fourth before dropping back and eventually finishing sixth.  Sunday, Zemke ran in fifth place until the last lap when he was passed by his Michael Jordan Motorsports teammate, McCormick. Zemke is a solid third in the championship points race heading into next weekend’s event at Laguna Seca.

“Yesterday we killed both tires and today we killed one,” Zemke said. “By halfway today, the front tire was completely done and it was all I could do to hang on ‘til the end. It was definitely a frustrating weekend. Coming to Ohio, it’s always been a good track for me. We were looking for good things here and we just never quite got there with the bike this weekend. So we’ll come out with something a little different for Laguna and regroup and move on.”

On Sunday, McCormick started in seventh and quickly worked his way up to sixth just behind Zemke. McCormick made the pass on Zemke on the last lap, which gave him his first top five finish of the year. Saturday, Michael Jordan Motorsports’ McCormick ran as high as sixth before settling in for a seventh place finish. McCormick sits in ninth place in the championship points race.

“I guess I got a seventh in Fontana and then a seventh yesterday,” McCormick said. “So this was the best finish when nobody crashed, nobody in front of me.  I’m definitely really happy. I had a battle with Jake (Zemke) there and that was a lot of fun. And it was finally nice to go up there and race with somebody that’s closer to that top five and cool to learn stuff from these guys, for sure.”

During the weekend, Jake Zemke’s National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 was proudly sporting the state patch of the Ohio National Guard’s 19^th Special Forces Group, whose primary mission is to train and assist foreign indigenous forces in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The corresponding National Guard state patches will be placed on Zemke’s Suzuki for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Look for the 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team at their next event at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA on July 23-25, 2010.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke third in championship points
 
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 6, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) holds onto third place in the championship points race after completing races nine and ten of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI this weekend. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke scored a fifth place finish on Saturday and took third in Sunday’s race. Brett McCormick, Aaron Yates’ replacement rider, had his best result of the season scoring two top ten finishes with a ninth place finish on Saturday and an eighth on Sunday.
 
On Saturday, Zemke ran in third place for a number of laps before dropping back and eventually finishing fifth.  On Sunday, Zemke initially ran with the leaders before settling into a solid third place for the entire thirteen-lap race. Zemke dropped to third in the championship points race heading into the next event at Mid-Ohio.
 
“I got a decent jump off the line,” Zemke said. “The first lap these guys (Josh Hayes and Tommy Hayden) were setting a great pace. Josh, I saw him jump to the front and I knew exactly where he was going. He was going to go as hard as he could to separate the pack; that's what he likes to do. Unfortunately, I got mixed up with Blake (Young) there and we passed each other back and forth a couple of times and that let Tommy (Hayden) and Josh (Hayes) get away. They had a little bit of a gap. And I just put my head down as hard as I could to catch them; it was just to no avail. The pace was too fast for me, but my guys did a great job.”
 
“Friday in qualifying,” Zemke continued, “I made one lap and then completely totaled my bike, so my boys had a lot of work to do. They built me a brand new bike that night out of parts out of the trailer. So my hat goes off to my whole crew, because they had a hard weekend in front of them. In yesterday's race, we were fighting the bike quite a bit and had been all weekend. Last night they put their heads together and came out this morning and the bike was really good. I just wish I could have gotten off the line so I could've made it a three-rider battle instead of two."
 
During the weekend, Jake Zemke’s National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 was proudly sporting the state patch of the Wisconsin National Guard’s 64th Troop Command, one of the state’s four major commands responsible for providing command level support to subordinate units. The corresponding National Guard state patches will be placed on Zemke’s Suzuki for the remainder of the 2010 season.
 
Look for the 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team at their next event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH on July 16-18, 2010.
 

Chicago, IL (April 30, 2010) - Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) is the subject of a featured segment on ESPN's "E:60" airing on Tuesday, May 4th at 7pm ET.  ESPN's Hannah Storm spent the day with the team and owner Michael Jordan during the first round of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Daytona International Speedway in early March.  The ESPN crew was on hand as National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Jake Zemke scored the first superbike win in MJM's history.

E:60 combines investigative reporting, in-depth profiles on intriguing sports personalities and features on emerging start athletes.  A preview of the MJM feature can be viewed at http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/e60/.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Zemke currently leads the AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship by four points.  The 2010 MJM team's next event will be at the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on May14-16, 2010.

BRASELTON, GA (April 18, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) scored a podium and maintains the championship points lead after completing races five and six of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA this weekend. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke scored a third place podium finish on Saturday and finished fourth in Sunday’s race. Aaron Yates’ replacement rider, Brett McCormick, had a tough first weekend, crashing out of Saturday’s race and experiencing a mechanical issue on Sunday after nine laps.
 
National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Zemke found himself involved in a four-man battle at the front for the entire 20-lap race on Saturday. Zemke had slipped into second in the final stages but was unable to hold off the pack as he crossed the line in fourth. Zemke was later awarded a third place podium finish after the race winner, Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes, was assessed a 21.4 second penalty. On Sunday, Zemke was slightly off the pace, maintaining a fourth place position throughout most of the race and finishing fourth. Zemke heads to the next event at Infineon Raceway with a four point lead in the championship.
 
“Saturday wasn't horrible,” Zemke said. “We got out there in the race and the pace was quite a bit slower than what we'd been running in practice and with the guys in front of us, we just couldn't seem to get off the corners. Today, it seemed like I was getting yanked off the slower corners, so we changed quite a bit on the bike - changed the gearing, changed everything to try and fix that problem and we just ended up shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. Every time we're going out, we're learning and unfortunately we learned a hard one this weekend. We’ve definitely got to get our act together if we're going to win this championship, so we'll put our heads together and see what we can come up with for Infineon. I'm still leading the points, but it's not even worth saying I'm leading right now. Tommy's running good right now and obviously Josh and Blake this weekend, they were definitely running real strong as well, so it's going to be a fight to the end and that's why we got to get on our game and make sure we're there every week.”
 
This weekend’s event was particularly significant for Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. Jake Zemke’s National Guard Suzuki GSX-R1000 was sporting the state patch in honor of the historic combat brigade. The corresponding National Guard state patches will be placed on Zemke’s Suzuki for the remainder of the 2010 season.
 
The 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team’s next event will be at the West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on May 14-16, 2010.

FONTANA, CA (March 28, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) scored a double podium and maintains the championship points lead after completing races three and four of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA this weekend. National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke scored a second place podium finish on Saturday and finished fourth in Sunday’s race.  After a strong third place finish in Saturday’s race, Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates crashed in the Sunday practice, sustaining a fracture to his lower right leg.
 
During Saturday’s race, Zemke came up just short of the win at the line with a second place finish after leading 12 of the 21 laps.  Zemke had started the wind-delayed race from the second row but was in the lead by turn three.  On Sunday, Zemke struggled a bit from a poor start, ending up with a fourth place finish. Zemke leaves Fontana with an 11-point lead in the championship.
 
“I got a great jump at the start of Saturday’s race and was able to get to the front after a few turns,” Zemke said. “Aaron and I mixed it up for about the first 10 laps or so. My bike was working great and I was feeling pretty good. (Larry) Pegram was able to get by me there near the end and I tried to catch him at the line but just came up short. It was great to be up on the podium with my teammate. The whole team did a great job. Today’s race was a different story for me. I didn’t get the jump at the start like I did on Saturday and that made it tough starting from the second row. I just wasn’t able to hook up with the front group, so I had to settle in for fourth. My crew did an awesome job once again and we learned a lot from this weekend so we’ll come back even stronger for Road Atlanta.  It’s a bummer Aaron broke his leg – it was a bizarre, unfortunate incident. I hope to see him back out here as soon as possible.”
 
Jordan Suzuki’s Yates started out the weekend on a positive note by setting the fastest time in Friday’s first qualifying session, earning the pole since Saturday’s second session was cancelled due to the high winds. Yates was strong in Saturday’s race one, leading several laps and ending up on the box with a third place finish. Yates had already thrown down the fastest time in Sunday morning’s practice session when he crashed coming out of turn 10 and was run over by M4 Monster Suzuki's Chris Ulrich. Ulrich was right behind Yates when he crashed and was unable to avoid the contact. Yates sustained a fracture to his right tibia and fibula and will require surgery later this week.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 5, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) has a lot to celebrate this week as National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke pulled off another victory completing the sweep of the opening superbike doubleheader and owning the points lead of the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke took up where he left off yesterday with only a couple of minor exceptions. In today’s race, Zemke led 9 of 15 laps and was in second place behind fellow Suzuki rider, Tommy Hayden, on the last lap coming out of the chicane. Zemke ended up catching Hayden at the line for a scant margin of victory of .009 seconds. Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates duped his first race result as well finishing only .212 seconds behind Zemke in fourth place.

“I think for everybody here when you’re sitting at home all winter long this is what you’re thinking about – coming out of here with two wins,” Zemke said. “For that to actually happen, it’s not real often that all your plans come the way you imagine them in your head. It was the closest race I’ve ever been in. I was riding around on the cool-off lap and looking at all the towers and the numbers. I was like, well, I’m on top now but when are they going to change it. I didn’t celebrate until I got into Victory Lane. My crew did an awesome job once again. To be able to come into Daytona and be able to pull this off – it’s their first Superbike win and we just did it back to back. For the team, for the sponsors, it’s their first win as well and I’m just happy to be in this position.”

Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates was optimistic about his two fourth place finishes, especially considering the margin between him and fellow MJM teammate Zemke. “Today I got the hole-shot and tipped it in and went across the paint and the thing lit up and spun and got a little crazy on me,” said Yates. “I couldn’t pass anybody on the banking and everybody else was passing me there. We were real close to the winner there, within a second or a half a second to the winner. You never know what’s going to happen here with the draft, but we’ll take it on to the next track and the Jordan Suzuki this year is going to be real strong so I’m looking forward to getting to some tracks with some turns.”