Martin Cardenas took a hard-fought victory in the action-packed RaceFuelZ Pro Superbike race at the Yamaha SoCal Nationals, part of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha series, Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Cardenas and his teammate Roger Hayden, Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes, and SIC/Motul/Fly Racing’s “Aussie Dave” Anthony all battled for the lead throughout most of the 20-lap race.
Hayes led most of the laps, but he had to defend the position from Cardenas on several occasions. Then late in the race Hayes said he made some poor decisions in dealing with back markers, resulting in him running off the course and losing the lead.
Beaubier took advantage of the slower riders and Hayes’ mistakes and moved into first place ahead of Cardenas with just a few laps to go. Beaubier and Cardenas swapped the lead several times, including on the last lap, but Cardenas got the best of the duel and won the race by 0.082 second over Beaubier.
Hayes dropped back to fifth when he ran off the track but was able to recover quickly enough to salvage third place when he nipped Hayden at the finish line by 0.003 second. Hayden said he was having mechanical troubles late in the race that slowed him down and led to him falling prey to Hayes and finishing fourth.
Privateer Anthony was racing with the factory riders until he ran off the track in the closing laps and lost three seconds. The Australian native was able to hold his position, however, and finished fifth.
Chris Fillmore crossed the finished sixth on his KTM/HMC Racing RC8R. Chris Clark took a lonely seventh on the third Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Chris Ulrich raced with Fillmore and Clark early on, but he said he made a mistake that caused him to lose the draft of the others and finish eighth.
Daytona Anderson, a 17-year-old Californian making his Pro Superbike race debut, crossed the line ninth on his GSX-R1000. Mathew Orange rounded out the top-10 finishers in the race on his OC Racing BMW S1000RR.
Yamaha SoCal Nationals/GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented by Yamaha
RaceFuelZ Pro Superbike
Auto Club Speedway
Fontana, California
April 27, 2014
Provisional Race Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), 20 laps, 27:18.906
2. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), -0.082 second
3. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), -4.357 seconds
4. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), -4.360
5. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), -5.252
6. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), -29.838
7. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), -39.859
8. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), -45.031
9. Daytona Anderson (Suz GSX-R1000), -74.567
10. Mathew Orange (BMW S1000RR), -84.037
11. Sebastiao Ferreira (Kaw ZX-10R), -85.183
12. Marcel Irnie (BMW S1000RR), -1 lap
13. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), -1 lap
14. Jeremy Armitage (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Teammates Beaubier and Hayes Both Notch Podium Finishes In Pro Superbike Race At Yamaha SoCal Nationals
Fontana, CA – April 27, 2014 – Round One of the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Presented By Yamaha was an absolute barnburner as the dynamic duo of Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes fought hard for the win in today’s Yamaha SoCal Nationals Pro Superbike Race at Auto Club Speedway. At the checkers, Cameron took second place while Josh finished third.
Josh led for the majority of the race, but he was balked in the closing laps by a couple of slower riders who not only forced the three-time Superbike Champion off his preferred racing line, but he and his #4 Yamaha YZF-R1 ended up literally off the track. The incident unfortunately pushed Josh back to fifth.
Meanwhile, Cameron was also in the lead pack and took up the cause for the Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team, where he led the 20-lap race for part of lap 17 and all of lap 18. Cameron battled with his old Sportbike nemesis Martin Cardenas for the win, and Martin ultimately got the victory.
Josh got back up to fourth place and, right before the finish line, he managed to pass Roger Hayden for third.
After the race, Cameron said, “Martin and I had a great battle just like we used to in Sportbike. He was doing a good job blocking the inside line, so I tried to go on the outside and square him up. It was a fun race, and I wished I’d won, but I’m happy to get second today.”
“Overall, I feel pretty good about my day,” Josh commented. “I had about five guys come right up the back of me with only about three laps to go in the race, and I went off the track. I fought back and, on the last lap, got a really good drive coming onto the front straight. I passed Rog right at the stripe, so I’m really glad to get on the podium for my team.”
Tune In To MAVTV For The Yamaha SoCal Nationals Pro Superbike Race
Today’s Pro Superbike race was taped for airing later on MAVTV. Log on to www.MAVTV.com for the exact time and channel, and don’t miss it!
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