ESLICK AND GEICO POWERSPORTS RMR SUZUKI WIN IN SONOMA, EARN POINTS LEAD GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick registered an epic performance at Infineon Raceway, earning his first victory of the 2010 season. The reigning AMA Pro Daytona SportBike champion also added another podium finish to his tally on the weekend and took control of the season’s points standings in the process. The charismatic Oklahoman again proved to be equally fleet and consistent, twice working up from his second row grid position (5th, 1:39.052) to fight for victory in his trademark paint-swapping fashion on both days. Eslick narrowly missed scoring that breakthrough win on Saturday. His efforts were thwarted on the race’s final lap following an unfortunate run through lappers at the tail-end of a thrilling showdown for the top step on the podium. Danny came back the next day, however, and rectified the situation. He scrapped hard again and took the victory this time. After claiming the seventh AMA Pro Daytona SportBike victory of his career, Eslick laughed and said, “I was going to be mad if I didn’t win today after leading a bunch of laps yesterday and then again today — all year really! I knew the guys were there and I was just trying to keep a good pace. I was trying to keep putting in good, strong laps and keep my head down. “I had a couple little issues at the end and when one guy got by, I was just about ready to settle for second. I rode hard but was almost on the ragged edge so I wanted to be smart for the championship and then he ended up having a moment and letting me back by. I didn’t plan on getting it that way but I’ll take them anyway I can get them. I looked back once, saw I had a bit of a gap, and cruised to the win. “The other guys might not want to hear this but I want to keep on winning. You’ve got to start somewhere and getting a good win and solid points is the best way to keep moving towards that second straight championship. We’ll keep the big picture in mind and just go race-to-race and try to keep scoring as many points as possible and win as many of these as we can.” Eslick has now logged five podium results in seven races this season and finished no lower than fourth in any race. He’s led the most laps in four of those races to go along with a pair of pole positions. That stunning form has put him in first place in the 2010 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike championship standings by ten points with 168 to his name. He’ll look to pile on to that advantage at the next round of the championship which takes place on June 4-6 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. More, from a press release issued by Acorn Woods Communications/Suzuki Racing News: Brea, Calif. On the Infineon track this weekend in Sonoma, California, Suzuki made history. Elena Myers took her GSX-R600 to her first career AMA Pro Racing SuperSport victory on Saturday, and in the same moment became the first female ever to win an AMA professional motorcycle sprint road race. Meyers, from Discovery Bay, California, has been consistently fast on her GSX-R600 in 2010, her first year in AMA pro racing. She reached the top step of the podium after moving to lead just before the race was red flagged. Meyers, who is 16 years old, hopes to continue racing well this year and appear on the podium as much as possible. In the AMA Daytona SportBike class, Suzuki GSX-R600s took the wins on both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s race saw Martin Cardenas grab yet another victory on his Suzuki GSX-R600. He battled with another Suzuki rider, defending champion Danny Eslick, and came out on top after a great display of racing. Cardenas has won four races so far this year and is currently third in overall points. On Sunday, it was Eslick’s turn to take the top spot. Eslick earned his first win of the season after a heated and intense race. Eslick switched to a Suzuki this year and has been in contention for great finishes, but finally nailed his first victory aboard his GSX-R600 at Infineon. Eslick led 19 laps of the race, and although the competition was tough, he rallied to put himself across the finish line first and also put himself at the top of the series championship points chase. He’s now got a 10-point lead over second place, and he looks forward to trying to extend that at the next round of racing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on June 4-6. More, from Damian Cudlin’s publicist: DOUBLE PODIUM MAINTAINS CUDLIN’S LEAD Australia’s Damian Cudlin has consolidated his IDM Supersport Championship lead with a double podium finish at Oscherseleben in Germany on the weekend. After a dominant win at the opening round in Lausitzring, Cudlin headed into Oschersleben with high expectations however the weekend proved tougher for the Team MRC rider as mixed weather conditions played havoc on the IDM competitors. Whilst challenging for pole position in the opening wet qualifying session, Cudlin suffered a hard fall in the slippery conditions. While the team worked frantically to repair the machine for the second qualifier, a battered and bruised Cudlin managed to secure 5th position on the grid. With no let up from the rain in freezing conditions, Cudlin rode a steady race in the opening leg, settling for 3rd after a series of frightening moments. “This race was one of survival today” Cudlin explained about the race which saw over 20 riders fail to finish. “I moved into 2nd position but could see from early on in the race that I wouldn’t be able to fight for the win today. I had a few scary moments like the one that caught me out in qualifying and I decided to play it safe and bring it home.” The weather improved for Sunday’s second race, and having set a blinding pace in the dry conditions on Friday, Cudlin was confident of getting back to winning ways. Pole setter Michi Ranseder got off to a flying start while Cudlin clawed his way through the field and moved into 2nd position. The Aussie then set after the former GP regular, slowly closing the gap. However after lap 8 it appeared Cudlin was struggling to advance any further as Ranseder kept a consistent pace at the front. Unable to lap at the same pace he’d shown earlier in the week, Cudlin was forced to settle for 2nd position and another podium finish. “It’s a shame I couldn’t get the win today as I really thought we had the package to do it.” Cudlin said after the race. “Once I moved into 2nd I tried to chase Michi down but I had a big problem with the front tyre and I wasn’t able to go as fast as I’d been previously. Michi rode a great race regardless, but I think this was one that got away from us today.” Despite the set back in the race, Cudlin’s string of 3 podium finishes in as many races has kept him at the top of the title chase as the series heads to Nurburgring in two weeks time. Cudlin will now turn his attention to the next round of the World Endurance Championship at Albacete in Spain this weekend, where he hopes to advance from 8th in the World Championship standings with his BMP Elf Honda Team.