AMA Pro Road Racing GoPro Daytona SportBike Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida March 16, 2012 Provisional Combined Qualifying Results (3.5-mile course, all on Dunlop tires): 1. Martin Cardenas (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:49.560 2. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:49.742 3. Jason DiSalvo (Triumph Daytona 675), 1:49.772 4. Joey Pascarella (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:50.155 5. Jake Zemke (Ducati 848EVO), 1:50.867 6. Jake Gagne (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:50.895 7. Dane Westby (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:51.031 8. Tommy Aquino (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.061 9. J.D. Beach (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.280 10. Huntley Nash (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.489 11. Cory West (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:51.514 12. Benny Solis (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:51.557 13. Tommy Hayden (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.609 14. Barrett Long (Ducati 848EVO), 1:51.639 15. Bobby Fong (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:51.875 16. Michael Beck (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.064 17. Robertino Pietri (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.074 18. Kris Turner (Triumph Daytona 675R), 1:52.166 19. David Gaviria (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.381 20. Fernando Amantini (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:52.383 21. Paul Allison (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:52.786 22. Austin Dehaven (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:53.050 23. Ben Young (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:53.705 24. Michael Barnes (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:53.940 25. Bryce Prince (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:53.968 26. Reese Wacker (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.154 27. Shane Narbonne (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.244 28. Shawn Higbee (Buell 1125R), 1:54.272 29. Melissa Paris (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.305 30. Bostjan Skubic (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:54.386 31. Scotty Ryan (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.479 32. Nico Vivarelli (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.619 33. Josh Galster (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.651 34. Dalton Dimick (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:54.922 35. Matthew Sadowski (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:54.952 36. Jeff Wrobel (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:55.252 37. David Sadowski, Jr. (Suzuki GSX-R600), 1:55.859 38. Anthony Fania (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:56.054 39. Darren James (Buell 1125R), 1:56.074 40. Frankie Garcia (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:56.260 41. Pat Mooney (Buell 1125R), 1:56.463 42. Dario Marchetti (Ducati 848EVO), 1:56.666 43. Eric Haugo (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:56.936 44. Sam Rozynski (Yamaha YZF-R6), 1:57.077 45. Ricky Orlando (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:57.632 46. John Ashmead (Kawasaki ZX-6R), 1:58.783 109% OF FAST TIME: 1:59.420 47. Shane Horton (Suzuki GSX-R600), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of GEICO: GEICO Suzuki rider Cardenas earns pole for 71st annual Daytona 200 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 16) — GEICO Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas powered his GSX-R600 Daytona SportBike around the 3.5-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway in a blistering 1:49.560 seconds Friday afternoon to secure the pole for the prestigious 71st annual Daytona 200. For his efforts, Cardenas was awarded a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona watch, the coveted timepiece traditionally presented to the polesitter of this race. “I almost won the Rolex in 2010 but Danny (Eslick) managed to get me by a fraction of a second right at the end of qualifying,” Cardenas said. “So it’s especially satisfying to finish the job this time. “Of course, this is just qualifying and being on the pole is not worth any championship points so we need to carry this momentum into race day and have a strong showing. Then I will be satisfied. But certainly, this is a great start for the GEICO team.” Cardenas and his Team Hammer crew worked hard to find the proper balance between rider and machine during Thursday’s practice session. The extra effort paid dividends Friday as Cardenas was second quickest in the morning session (1:49.775 lap time) before grabbing the pole in the final qualifying round. “Yesterday we were playing a little bit with the set-up of the bike,” Cardenas said. “We weren’t getting enough grip with the rear tire so we worked on it and found something that helped quite a bit. “I could tell a big difference this morning and rode pretty fast. Then, in this afternoon’s session, I was able to improve, so we are quite happy. “It was a bit of pressure. I started good but made a mistake and ran off the track. I re-entered and found someone to draft down the straightaway, which helped me quite a bit. Then I got behind Cameron (Beaubier) and although there was a bit of a gap I rode as hard as I could and was able to go slightly quicker to get the pole.” Beaubier ended up second with a best lap of 1:49.742, while Joey Pascarella filled out the front row by finishing third with a 1:50.155. This is the second career pole for Cardenas, who also took the top spot at the 2009 event in Laguna Seca. Cardenas has 16 victories in the Daytona SportBike class, the most of any rider in history. More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.: Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Rider Beaubier Qualifies On Front Row For Daytona 200 Daytona, FL March 16, 2012 Competing in just the second Daytona 200 of his young career, Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha rider Cameron Beaubier earned second position in today’s final qualifying session, and he will start on the front row for Saturday’s 71st running of the prestigious Daytona 200. Cameron’s freshly recruited teammate for the Daytona 200, veteran rider Tommy Hayden””who was called into service late yesterday as a replacement for the injured Garrett Gerloff””qualified on the fourth row. Tommy is very much in position to move up during Saturday’s race, as he gets more seat time and acclimates to his Yamaha YZF-R6® during the main event. Commenting on his qualifying session and the upcoming 200-mile race, Cameron said, “We’ve got a good race setup for tomorrow’s 200. It’s 57 laps, so we’re happy to be on the front row for the start. I’ll be working hard to keep myself up front and in position to win my first Daytona 200.” Yamaha is well represented at the front of this year’s Daytona 200 starting grid. There are 6 Yamaha R6 Daytona SportBikes in the top 10 for the race. Start time for Saturday’s Daytona 200 is 1:00 PM. Check your local TV listings for Speed TV’s telecast of the race. More, from a press release issued by Daytona International Speedway: GEICO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas Captures Daytona 200 Pole, Rolex watch Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes Dominates Opening Round of the AMA DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Colombia’s Martin Cardenas captured the pole and the coveted Rolex watch on Friday afternoon for the 71st running Daytona 200 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike at Daytona International Speedway. Cardenas, riding the GEICO Suzuki, toured the 3.51-mile road course at one minute, 49.560 seconds, 115.334 mph. “I was very close to winning that watch in 2010,” said Cardenas about his second career AMA Pro pole. “Danny (Eslick) beat me by a small amount of time. This time I wanted to give 100 percent to try to get it. I’ve got the pole and I’m very happy for it.” Rounding out the front row for Saturday’s Daytona 200 are Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier (115.143 mph), Jason DiSalvo on a Triumph (115.111) and Yamaha’s Joey Pascarella (114.711). “The results for that session weren’t indicative of what our team is capable,” said DiSalvo, who is running a special tribute paint scheme on his No. 9 Triumph for the late Gary Nixon. “We definitely know where there are a couple of things we need to tighten up on. We’re going to come out swinging tomorrow. It’s just one of those things. Some of your performances, no matter how prepared and dialed in you are, we’re just not going to be there.” National Guard SuperBike Race 1: Two-time defending AMA National Guard SuperBike champion Josh Hayes began his title defense with a dominating victory in the 15-lap opening round. Hayes topped Yoshimura Suzuki’s Blake Young by 8.332 seconds to earn his first Daytona SuperBike win with Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden finishing third. “It was a fantastic day,” Hayes said. “(The team) has improved our bike so much from last year and today it showed. I knew they were working hard and I’ve been working hard and hopefully this is the first of many to come.” “I’m pretty disappointed in my performance,” Young said. The second round of the AMA National Guard SuperBike is set for Saturday at 11 a.m. Vance & Hines XR 1200/Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport: In the Vance & Hines XR1200, Kyle Wyman used the traditional Daytona slingshot move coming out of the chicane to edge Tyler OHara and veteran Michael Barnes to win the seven-lap season-opening event. “I just wanted to be in the right place at the right time and it worked out good for me, said Wyman, who was the inaugural winner of the Vance & Hines XR1200 event at Daytona in 2011. Celtic Racing’s James Rispoli survived a furious eight-bike battle in the 10-lap Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport and nipped Jake Lewis at the start/finish line to win the race by a margin of .031 seconds. Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway). More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: LTD RACING’S NASH AND GAVIRIA STRONG IN QUALIFYING FOR THE DAYTONA 200 Daytona, FL (March 16, 2012) — Huntley Nash and David Gaviria qualified for the 71st Daytona 200 on Friday, with Nash earning a remarkable 10th and Gaviria earning 17th out of a packed field of 46 riders. Both young LTD Racing competitors showed they can run at a quick pace, with Nash earning 7th in the afternoon session, although some riders were able to post their best times in the morning qualifying. Nash was excited to show his speed after his injury-plagued 2011 season. His best lap was 1:51.489 “I was seventh in the session but tenth overall because some people went quicker in the morning,” said Nash. “We might make a couple of small changes but we’re on the right track with the bike. I just need to stay with the groove. I did both of my fastest laps alone. I can do mid-1:51s, a solid race pace, and I’ll really focus and try to stay with the front pack. On the start, I want to get with the main group until the first pit stops. That’s my plan. I still have my starts down.” David Gaviria was slightly disappointed not to be higher up the grid but showed he can turn similar lap times as the fast boys. His best was 1:52.381. “It wasn’t so good for me. I don’t have anything to complain about the bike,” said David, in his first DSB race this weekend. “I stopped with three or four minutes to go and tried to get in a group or something but I couldn’t make it. I was up to tenth or 12th at the beginning of the session but at the end I was 17th. The times are pretty close and I feel good about that. I am going to make my best effort and it is a long race, so you have to have a lot of smart thinking. This is my first endurance race. I have to learn about it and then practice the things I learn this year. We will practice the pit stops but it is kind of weird for me.” “Both the boys have done what they need to do in order to set themselves up to have a good race on Saturday,” said LTD Racing’s Gary Medley. “They have been smart and worked with the crew to improve the bike setup over the two days. Huntley’s raced the 200 once and David never has, so we lack a little experience but we have good racers who will give a great effort and the crew is excited about our chances. We’re looking forward to the race.” More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer: POSITIVE DAY AT DAYTONA FOR WESTBY, ULRICH, AND MYERS M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Dane Westby secured a second row grid position for Saturday’s 71st running of the Daytona 200 following another day of displaying impressive race pace as he prepared for the arduous contest. Westby hustled his GSX-R600 Daytona SportBike around the intimidating Daytona International Speedway circuit with a best time of 1:51.031 to qualifying seventh overall. The Oklahoman’s confidence continued to soar as he matched up with his fellow competitors during qualifying. He explained, “I ran with some of the guys and finally got in the draft of about five riders to see what the race would be like. I came out on top of all the individual battles and my plan is to methodically chip away in the race in that manner. There are some other fast guys but it’s a long race and I feel I have a good chance. “I know I have the ability to win. I’m going to go into the race with that mindset and just hammer away and do my best.” SuzukiScoopFans Sportbike TrackGear.com M4 Suzuki’s Elena Myers ran in contention for the win throughout the 10-lap AMA Pro SuperSport season opener. Myers made a pre-race statement by posting the fastest time in the morning’s qualifying, which moved her up to third on the combined grid at 1:52.822. She proceeded to run near the front of the pack, crossing the stripe in second position on multiple occasions, but got balked and subsequently caught out on the final run to the flag and was shuffled down to sixth at the stripe. “I’m a little disappointed,” Myers said. “I was forced to back off a little bit there in the final race to the flag. But we proved that we were right there and there’s always tomorrow.” M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich fought his way to 11th in the AMA Pro Superbike season opener in what was promising outing for the Californian. Starting from the fourth row after qualifying in 14th with a fast lap of 1:40.544, Ulrich steadily tracked down the group in front of him and ultimately won out in a fight to claim 11th at the checkered flag by a narrow 0.044 second margin. “It was a hectic first few laps with a lot of bumping and banging,” Ulrich said. “My rear tire developed a vibration on the second lap and that had me a little concerned. But we settled in and caught up to the group in front of us. I was able to beat one competitor to the line and felt like we had something for the crew just in front of him too if we had a few more laps. “It feels good to get a race in and get a good solid result. Last year at this time I wouldn’t have been happy with 11th but circumstances change and I’m pretty pleased with this after my injuries last year. It’s something we can build upon for tomorrow.” Saturday will feature the Daytona 200 along with the second half of the weekend’s Superbike and SuperSport doubleheaders at Daytona International Speedway. More, from a press release issued by RoadRace Factory/Red Bull: Daytona, FL: Friday was overwhelmingly positive for RoadRace Factory/Red Bull at the Daytona International Speedway. Jake Gagne and J.D. Beach both qualified inside the top ten for the 71st Daytona 200 and Tomas Puerta and Hayden Gillim scored nice finishes in their first AMA Pro SuperSport race of the season. Gagne qualified sixth in Daytona SportBike and was the top rookie in the field. The Californian found a quicker pace in the morning to rocket up the charts. “We’re sixth, so I’m fairly happy,” he said. “The first session was good and we had some issues in the second so I couldn’t improve my time. I was slow yesterday but we figured out some stuff with the bike big time. So I’m pretty happy with where we start and I want to improve on that some more in the race.” Jake’s best time was 1:50.895. J.D. Beach will start the race in ninth position with a time of 1:51.280, a solid mark considering he faced traffic issues in both sessions and never set an ideal lap. “I kept getting stuck behind a few guys and it was hard to get a clean lap in,” he said. “I felt I could have gone a little faster. I don’t think I’ve gotten a draft all weekend, even though I have pulled a few people. The bike is working well, so the race should be good. Ninth is not bad and it’s a long race.” The SuperSport contest saw both RoadRace Factory/Red Bull teammates fight hard in the 10-lap race. Puerta was able to charge to fourth, just 0.697 seconds back. “It was a hard race for me,” said Tomy. “I couldn’t be in the draft early. I started from the third row but I made up some positions. I struggled a little on the banking but I kept at it. I couldn’t make the passes I needed to get the lead and we came up a little short for the podium but we will try hard tomorrow.” Hayden Gillim was eighth but showed remarkable toughness. He chose the wrong gearing but maximized his event to gain as many points as possible and finished just 2.374 seconds back. “It was pretty good but could have been better. Our gearing was off just a little bit,” said Hayden. “I couldn’t run with the leaders on the front straight like I wanted and it held us back some. Once we got to the Kink, it hurt. Tomorrow’s a different story and we hope to run at the very front.” Manager Danny Walker said the team performed to his expectations on Friday. “We’re excited. Our vision is longer than just this race. We did what we wanted to do today,” he said. “Of course we wanted to win and to do well, but the important thing is to be competitive and be smart with our young riders and that’s where we are at right now at the first race. We’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. All four riders put in good performances today. The SuperSport race was awesome. I think Tomas rode his butt off. We’ve worked on getting his confidence up and it is working. Hayden had some issues with his gearing but he earned some valuable points. In Daytona 200 qualifying, Jake and J.D. showed they will be factors in the race and they have done the right things so far. I’m proud of the riders and the RoadRace Factory/Red Bull crew.” Saturday will see both the second SuperSport race of the weekend as well as the Daytona 200.