AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia April 17, 2010 Provisional Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 20 laps 2. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), -0.844 second 3. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), -0.878 second 4. Dane Westby (Yam YZF-R6), -1.196 seconds 5. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), -1.299 6. Steve Rapp (Duc 848), -14.411 7. Clinton Seller (Yam YZF-R6), -14.656 8. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -25.123, ran off track 9. Chris Fillmore (Suz GSX-R600), -27.786 10. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), -28.200 11. Russ Wikle (Suz GSX-R600), -51.760 12. Dominic Jones (Yam YZF-R6), -52.071 13. Kris Turner (Suz GSX-R600), -53.101 14. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), -53.752 15. Lenny Hale (Yam YZF-R6), -54.624 16. Barrett Long (Duc 848), -66.873 17. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R6), -69.768 18. Mark Crozier (Duc 848), -73.945 19. Andres Londono (Suz GSX-R600), -75.985 20. David White (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap 21. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 4.734 seconds 22. Abe Stacey (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 4.972 23. Alex Lazo (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 23.337 24. Reese WAcker (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 25.892 25. Melissa Paris (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 46.491 26. Wes Humphryes (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 80.624 27. Marie-Josee Boucher (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap, 83.166 28. Bobby Fong (Duc 848), -11 laps, DNF 29. P.J. Jacobsen (Suz GSX-R600), -11 laps, DNF 30. Ryan Clay (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF 31. Jake Holden (Duc 848), -15 laps, DNF, mechanical More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki: CARDENAS AND TEAM M4 MONSTER ENERGY SUZUKI WIN AT ROAD ATLANTA On Saturday at Road Atlanta Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas returned to the scene of his first career AMA Pro win and came away with another stunning AMA Pro Daytona SportBike victory. Just a little over a year following that breakthrough first triumph, Cardenas now boasts nine wins, but few have been more breathtaking than Saturday’s remarkable display of racecraft. The Colombian rocketed into the lead from his front-row grid position earned earlier in the day before quickly finding himself caught up in a race-long multi-rider dogfight for first. With positions being swapped repeatedly on just about every lap, Cardenas bid his time before finally striking just over two laps from the end. Ducking out of the draft aboard his GSX-R600 on the fast back straight, Cardenas moved from fourth to first in an instant thanks to a deft maneuver in which he took full advantage of both his machine’s speed and stability on the brakes. Once in the lead, Martin laid down a pair of perfect laps that allowed him to just break the draft of his pursuers and seal his second win of 2010. Cardenas said, “I got a good start and I led the first couple of laps before some of the guys came by. I was kind of sitting behind them and I was just trying to hang on. I was trying to keep them very close to me because I knew the last few laps were going to be decisive. Any of the four leaders could have won. “Two laps from the end, I got a good draft and passed them on the braking. I pushed for two laps, put my head down, and tried to not make any mistakes and go as fast as I could so I could gap them a little bit so they couldn’t draft back by me on the back straight. It worked out. It was very good racing and very tough. “It’s nice to have two wins this year. But also, there are two crashes, so tomorrow I will try not to crash and make up some more points. I’ll always try to win if possible, and if not, I’ll do the best I can.” The AMA Pro American Superbike final was a dramatic affair for the team as well, and despite some ups and downs, Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki registered fifth and seventh-place results. Starting from sixth on the grid, Hopkins was fighting for position when the race was red flagged in the early going. When he returned to the pits, it was discovered that he had a serious tire issue and was forced to fit new rubber, which resulted in him being dropped to the back of the grid for the restart. Despite the setback Hopkins quickly clawed his way up through the field aboard his GSX-R1000 before arriving in sixth position. With the gap too large to make up any more spots, the former MotoGP frontrunner settled in and accepted the solid result, which was later elevated to fifth when a penalty was assessed to another rider. After the Superbike race, ‘Hopper’ commented, “It was one of those races. At the first start, I was just starting to get into a little bit of a rhythm when the red flag was thrown. I came into the hot pit and one of the mechanics was rubbing the tire down to get the stones off of it before putting the warmer on it and noticed a massive chunk out of the tire and it was deemed unrideable and I had to start from the back of the grid. “It was a crazy start. I got around a lot of people fast and once I got past Chris, it was pretty clear in front of me and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make up the difference to the top guys so I just got into a rhythm. “In the end fifth is not too bad. It definitely could have been a lot worse, but I want to get out of these fifths and sixths and work my way towards the podium. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow because I’ll get my normal starting position back and we found some things with the bike that should help quite a bit.” Meanwhile, Chris Ulrich claimed his fourth top-ten result of the young season. Battling his way up the order after qualifying in 11th, he powered his way to seventh place, further solidifying his standing among his Superbike peers. On Sunday Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will look to return to the podium at Road Atlanta in the final half of the weekend’s SportBike and Superbike doubleheaders. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: BRASELTON, GA (April 17, 2010) – This year’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL action could not have been more exciting and competitive. With two winners in three races and one more rider who could have, or should have, won a race or two himself, today’s first of two weekend AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races was another chapter in what has been a series of races that just keep on delivering one wild and crazy race after another! After a rocking early morning qualifying session where any number of riders topped the time sheets, it was Friday’s pole sitter Tommy Aquino on his Team Graves Yamaha that reclaimed the top spot when it looked like he would be beaten by his own Team Graves Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin and also Daytona pole position winner and reigning AMA Pro Daytona SportBike champion Danny Eslick on his bright yellow GEICO Powersports Suzuki and also M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas. Aquino came through at the end of qualifying and he looked very strong for the race. Under bright blue skies and warm temperatures, the standing start went off without a hitch and it was Cardenas who led the field into the uphill turn one. Aquino was in second, Herrin third, a strong starting Cory West, riding his Vesrah Suzuki was up to fourth ahead of Eslick, who was already starting his usual charge to the front. It didn’t take long for the action to start as Herrin moved up and passed Cardenas and Aquino in one move and as the front six broke away from the rest of the field, Eslick jumped up to first on lap three. These three now put on their usual show with pass after pass lap after lap, this after it was thought there weren’t too many places to pass on the challenging and scenic Road Atlanta track. That theory was completely put to rest as the riders continuously made major passing moves at the top of the track at turns six and seven and also at the run down into the turn ten complex. The man on the move in this race was West, who worked his way past Cardenas, Herrin and was all over Eslick, each passing the other and West really riding hard each and every lap. Herrin, indicative of just how hard everyone was running, just slid wide at the final turn and found himself in the gravel but in an excellent move kept his bike moving and was able to escape the gravel and rejoin the race, unfortunately back from the lead group. Aquino was still part of the mix and Dane Westby, riding for local team Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha, also took a turn leading the race. At one point, Eslick got slowed by another of the many passing moves into and out of the turn ten complex that leads up to the bridge turn coming down the hill onto the front straight and it looked as if it was now between West and Cardenas. Cardenas was able get by West on the penultimate lap and he rode very hard to make sure no one could pass him at turn ten. West tried as hard as he could, backing up the good form he really has shown all year by finishing second, followed by Eslick, who had a light touch with Aquino on the front straight with two laps left. Westby took fourth ahead of Aquino with Steve Rapp on his Team Latus Motors Racing Ducati who, while well back from the lead group, had a good race with Clinton Seller on the other Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha who finished just behind Rapp. Herrin was a disappointed eighth, followed by Chris Fillmore on the second Vesrah Suzuki in ninth, rounding out a good day for the Vesrah Team. Taking tenth place was local Georgia rider Geoff May who, on his own team’s GMR Suzuki, ran a strong race at his home track in front of friends and family. Another rider who showed extreme courage and heart was Alex Lazo who, on his TriangleCycles.com Yamaha, rode today’s race with a broken left foot. It’s his second year in AMA Pro competition and he soldered through to take a worthy twenty-third place. Race two of the double header Suzuki SuperBike Showdown at Road Atlanta will be tomorrow and if the first four races are anything to go by, it will be another chapter of must see AMA Pro Road Racing motorcycle competition. Flag-to-flag coverage of this weekend’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL action can be seen in same weekend coverage on SPEED. Check your local listings for broadcast times. AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.