AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT 8 Hours At Daytona Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida October 17, 2009 Unofficial Running Order (after four hours): 1. Westby Racing/Kneedraggers.com (Dane Westby/Dustin Meador/Jeff Wood/Josh Hayes), Yam YZF-R6, GT1, 123 laps 2. Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki (Chris Ulrich/Martin Cardenas/Jason DiSalvo), Suz GSX-R600, GT1, -27.3 seconds 3. Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati 49 (Ryan Elleby/Matt Lynn/Hawk Mazzotta), Duc 848, GT1, 121 laps 4. R&B Motorsports (Michael Barnes/Phil Caudill/Mark Crozier/Skip Salenius), Duc 848, GT1, 116 laps 5. Crozier Motorsports (Mark Crozier/Scott Jensen/David Estok/Michael Barnes), Duc 848, GT1, 115 laps 6. McNology Racing (David McPherson/Mark McCormick), Yam YZF-R6, GT1, 114 laps 7. Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati 38 (Brian Stokes/Dario Marchetti/Frank Shockley), Duc PS1000LE, GT2, 113 laps 8. Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati 77 (Pete Friedland/Corey Rech/Brad Phillips/Brian Stokes), Duc PS1000LE, GT2, 112 laps 9. Pair-A-Nines (Jay Springsteen/Taylor Knapp/Scott Ryan), Kaw EX650, GT2, 111 laps 10. KRM Racing by Motocorse (Chris Boy/Barrett Long/Fernando Ferrer), Duc PS1000LE, GT2, 109 laps 11. Team MIM/Repsol 26 (Paul Onley/Chris Onwiler/Jeff Purk/Mitch Stein), Suz SV650, GT2, 108 laps 12. Riderschoice.ca (Matt McBride/Andrew Nelson/Larry Orde/Pat Barnes), Suz GSX-R600, GT1, 104 laps 13. Team MIM/Repsol 17 (Paul Onley/Chris Onwiler/Jeff Purk/Mitch Stein), Suz SV650, GT2, 102 laps 14. James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing (Shawn Higbee/Paul James/Jeff Johnson), Buell 1125R, GT1, 86 laps 15. Team Hurtbyaccident.com 69 (Santiago Villa/Russ Wikle/Tomas Puerta/Tyler Odom), Suz GSX-R600, GT1, 83 laps 16. Old Pros Racing (Paul Schwemmer/Dave Aldana/J.P. Tache), Tri Daytona 675, GT1, 82 laps 17. Liberty Waves Racing (Eric Pinson/Walt Sipp/David Sadowski, Jr.), Buell 1125R, GT1, 82 laps 18. East Coast Powersports (Kenny Rodriguez/Trey Yonce/Ryan Patterson), Suz SV650, GT2, 70 laps 19. El Rey Beer for Kings 20 (Dave Ebben/Dennis Espinosa/Calvin Martinez), Suz GSX-R600, GT1, 36 laps 20. Team Hurtbyaccident.com 59 (Rodolfo Ramirez/Tomas Puerta), Duc PS1000LE, GT2, 10 laps 21. Team Hurtbyaccident.com 64 (Robert Fisher/John Linder/Justin Filice), Duc PS1000LE, GT2, 0 laps More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT 8 Hours At Daytona Underway at Daytona International Speedway Hayes and Cardenas Swapping Overall Lead in Opening Laps of Race That Runs from 1 – 9 p.m. ET DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 17, 2009) – The green flag has waved to officially start the fourth annual AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT 8 Hours At Daytona and Josh Hayes (No. 13 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) and Martin Cardenas (No. 18 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600) immediately began a battle for the lead that could very well be waged for entirety of the eight-hour endurance race that runs from 1 – 9 p.m. ET. Pole-sitter Hayes led the race’s first two laps from the start but Cardenas swept by in the run through the Daytona International Speedway tri-oval on Lap 3 to lead for the first time. The duo went on to swap the lead in the opening laps and minutes of the race before Hayes opened up to a slight lead just before the 30 minute mark. Hayes will share the No. 13 Westby Yamaha with Jeff Wood and regular riders Dane Westby and Dustin Meador while Cardenas partners with two-time 8 Hours At Daytona winner Chris Ulrich and Jason DiSalvo. “Martin (Cardenas) is going to do two stints and then I’m going to do two,” said DiSalvo, who finished third in last March’s Daytona 200. “My strategy is to try to be consistent and just put my laps in there. We’re not sure who’s going to be on the No. 13 bike when I’m out there. Just going to keep plugging away, hopefully we pick up a little bit of time with our pit stops and I can go out there with a little bit of a gap and just nurse it along during my hour, hour and 10 minutes on the bike. Just keep it steady.” In GT2, the No. 38 Touring Sport DucShop Ducati PS1000LE of Frank Shockley, Dario Marchetti and Brian Stokes has led every lap in the race’s opening hour after starting from the pole. The No. 38 had qualified second but the No. 23 KRM Racing by Motocorse Ducati PS1000LE was moved to the back of the GT2 field after failing post-qualifying technical inspection on Friday. Barrett Long had put the No. 23 on the provisional GT2 pole but the Ducati was found to exceed the allowable horsepower limits for the class. The time was disallowed and the No. 23 was moved to the back of the field along with the No. 26 and No. 17 Team MIM/Repsol Suzuki SV650 entries that were penalized for failing to report to technical inspection. Friday night rain showers brought the coolest temperatures central Florida has seen in weeks and race-day conditions are a sunny 70 degrees with only minimal wind. No rain is in the forecast. While the weather is nearly perfect, the opening minutes of the race have been far from that for several competitors. All three of Team HurtByAccident.com’s motorcycles have encountered problems, including the No. 64 Ducati PS1000LE of Robert Fisher that slowed with electrical problems on the pace lap just before the race start. The No. 69 TeamHurtByAccident.com Suzuki GSX-R600, with Russ Wikle onboard, threw a chain in Turn 1 on the opening race lap. Both bikes were being repaired behind the pit wall when word came that Tomas Puerta on the No. 59 TeamHurtByAccident.com Ducati PS1000LE lowsided on course. Puerta was uninjured but the No. 59 was later retired. The No. 69 has continued well down in the order but the No. 64 has yet to take the green flag. Another expected GT1 contender that has yet to complete a lap in the race’s first 45 minutes was the No. 20 El Rey Beer for Kings Ducati 848 of Calvin Martinez that encountered mechanical problems. The No. 20 won the SunTrust Moto-GT season-opening race at Daytona last March. Jay Springsteen also continued after a minor spill on the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650 team at the 45-minute mark. The No. 9 was riding just behind the No. 23 when the Ducati momentarily stalled as it ran out of fuel and Springsteen went down to avoid contact. Springsteen was uninjured and returned to the pits where Taylor Knapp continued on the minimally damaged Kawasaki in the top five. The No. 23 also continued after refueling. More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Close Fight Up Front as AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT 8 Hours At Daytona Hits Halfway Mark No. 13 Westby Racing Yamaha & No. 18 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki Locked In Lead Battle DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (October 17, 2009) – The fourth annual AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT 8 Hours At Daytona hit the halfway mark at 5 p.m. ET and the No. 13 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 and the No. 18 Team Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600 continue to wage a tight and intense battle for the overall and GT1 class victory on the 3.55-mile Daytona International Speedway (DIS) road course. As they have from the drop of the green flag at 1 p.m. ET, the No. 13 Yamaha and No. 18 Suzuki have repeatedly swapped the race lead back and forth and have collectively proven to be the class of the field. Dustin Meador was up front on the No. 13 Yamaha when the clock hit the halfway mark but Martin Cardenas remained in hot pursuit on the No. 18 Suzuki. The leaders have completed 124 laps so far in the red-flag free race, a full three laps ahead of the third place No. 49 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati 848 of Ryan Elleby, Hawk Mazzotta and Matt Lynn. Meador is sharing the No. 13 with Dane Westby, Jeff Wood and top AMA Pro American Superbike rider Josh Hayes, who won the pole Friday on the Yamaha. The riders have combined to lead 57 laps, 10 less than Cardenas and his No. 18 teammates Chris Ulrich and Jason DiSalvo who have led a race-high 67 laps. “It is all pretty even and we both have good crews and good riders on the teams,” Meador said. “Right now it is just about turning real consistent laps and not making any mistakes. So far each team has incurred some penalties in the pits for speeding, so we just need to watch that and we will be okay.” Ulrich is the only rider in the race who has finished on the overall podium in each of the three previous 8 Hours At Daytona, including being on the winning Team Roadracingworld.com effort each of the last two years. “I am not surprised to see the 13 do well,” Ulrich said. “Josh Hayes rode for Team Hammer back in the 90s and he is one of the best endurance racing guys to come out of our team. I am not surprised at his pace and he won seven American Superbike races this year. He’s a good competitor but no matter what, they have put together a good team and all of the guys are a very like size.” Ulrich is nearly a foot taller than the shorter DiSalvo while Cardenas falls somewhere in the middle of the two when it comes to height. “We are struggling with our size difference,” Ulrich said. “I am on the bottom and Jason can’t press the forks hard enough so we are actually going to change some stuff on the fly to help Jason. Martin is also doing a fantastic job for us and I just got on the bike to give those two a rest. We know how to win this race but I made a pit speed mistake and caught us a ride through penalty. We have had a few more penalties than the 13 but we are getting better mileage by as much as three or four laps.” In GT2, the No. 38 Touring Sport DucShop Ducati PS1000LE of team owner/rider Frank Shockley, Dario Marchetti and Brian Stokes has led every lap since the race start. The team’s championship-leading No. 77 Ducati PS1000LE of Pete Friedland, Brad Phillips and Corey Rech has trailed its sister bike in second for the majority of the race, but hasn’t been able to shake the persistent No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650 that runs in third. Jay Springsteen recovered from an early race spill and joined teammates Scott Ryan and Taylor Knapp in putting the No. 9 back in winning contention while also maintaining a remote chance at the GT2 Championship. “In GT2 we are running one and two, which is really exciting, but of course there is a long way to go,” Shockley said. “And our GT1 bike is running well, we are in third, which is not bad for a last minute effort. So right now we are really happy with how things are going and we just have to keep it clean and together until the end. It is all going to plan, but as we have seen in the past, all that could all go out the door really quick.” Notable retirements include both the No. 59 and No. 64 TeamHurtByAccident.com Ducati PS1000LE machines, the No. 20 El Rey Beer for Kings Ducati 848, the No. 10 East Coast Powersports Suzuki SV650 and the No. 37 Old Pros Racing Triumph Daytona 675.