Team M4 Suzuki’s Jason DiSalvo earned his sixth AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Superpole win of the 2009 season Friday by lapping the new 2.2-mile, 12-turn road course in 1:23.840 on his GSX-R600. Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s 17-year-old Tommy Aquino bounced back from a huge crash on Thursday to lead both practice and Basic Qualifying sessions on Friday, but he came up just short of DiSalvo in Superpole with a lap of 1:24.013 on his YZF-R6. Aquino’s 19-year-old teammate Josh Herrin qualified third with a 1:24.118 during Friday’s Superpole. Herrin, the double race winner at the Virginia International Raceway round, still has a mathematical shot at winning the Daytona Sportbike Championship, but when asked about the situation he pointed out that point leader Danny Eslick would need to fail to finish at least one race this weekend for him to have any shot at the title. Rossmeyers RMR Geico Powersports Buell’s Eslick finished 13th in Basic Qualifying and failed to qualify for the Superpole competition. Joining Herrin on the second row of the two-by-two rolling grid will be Chaz Davies, who was quite pleased with qualifying fourth (1:24.189) on his Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies RSV1000R. Reigning AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Jake Zemke was fifth in Basic Qualifying and fifth in Superpole, with a time of 1:24.329 on his Erion Honda CBR600RR. Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports’ Steve Rapp was satisfied with his sixth-best lap of 1:24.354 on his Yamaha YZF-R6. Taylor Knapp became only the second person this season to qualify for Superpole in both of the premier classes, but he also found it a curse as he tried to quickly adapt to his two machines’ vastly different tires. He finished seventh in Daytona SportBike Superpole with a lap of 1:24.510 on his Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R. Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden was happy to finish third in Basic Qualifying, but he was not happy when he recorded an eighth-fastest 1:24.567 on his ZX-6R in Superpole. Paradigm Racing’s Bobby Fong also dropped back during the session, falling from fourth-fastest in Basic Qualifying to ninth-quickest (1:24.690) in Superpole, a difference of three rows on the grid. Zemke’s teammate Chris Peris (1:24.690) started and finished the Superpole session in 10th. DiSalvo’s teammate Martin Cardenas, who currently sits second in the Daytona SportBike Championship point standings, told reporters Friday afternoon that he was withdrawing from the event due to complications with his right hand, which he broke less than three weeks ago. Cardenas was 20th in Basic Qualifying Friday. AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey September 4, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Jason DiSalvo (Suz GSX-R600), 1:23.840 2. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), 1:24.013 3. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), 1:24.118 4. Chaz Davies (Apr RSV1000R Factory), 1:24.189 5. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 1:24.329 6. Steve Rapp (Yam YZF-R6), 1:24.354 7. Taylor Knapp (Buell 1125R), 1:24.510 8. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:24.567 9. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R6), 1:24.690 10. Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), 1:24.690 More, from a press release issued by Buell: KNAPP DOUBLES UP AMA SUPERPOLES Eslick Qualifies 14th in Daytona SportBike Millville, NJ (Sept. 4, 2009) Latus Motors Racing’s Taylor Knapp became just the second rider in AMA Pro Racing competition this season to qualify for Superpole in both the American Superbike and Daytona SportBike classes at the same event Friday at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Riding the new 1125RR in the American Superbike qualifying session, Knapp set a 1:22.866 lap time to qualify ninth for Saturday and Sunday’s double-header races. Less than a half hour later, he switched mounts to his Latus Motors Buell 1125R and ran a 1.24.510 to qualify seventh in the Daytona SportBike class. Factory Yamaha rider Ben Bostrom earlier achieved the rare feat at the season opener in Daytona. “It meant a lot to put both bikes in Superpole. It was definitely cool, and it’s good for Buell,” Knapp said. “In [Daytona] SportBike I came into Superpole in ninth and came out in seventh, so I made some ground up and we’re solid for tomorrow.” “It’s hard,” Knapp said about running back to back races in both classes, as he’s done for most of the season. “I’ve just got to go all out in race one, but I don’t want to conserve anything for the second race. I’ve got a little bit of a break to clear my head, and then go all out again. When I’m done I’m beat, but that’s the only option.” Knapp nearly missed making the 10-rider Superpole shootout in Daytona SportBike after crashing early in the Basic Qualifying session. “I went out in Daytona SportBike and I thought I was still on that Superbike, but the tires were not quite as good,” Knapp said. “My mind was still in the slicks mode, so I just threw it in there a little too early and tucked the front. We had to get the backup bike and luckily that was all ready to go.” Knapp was joined in the American Superbike Superpole session by Cory West, who is racing a Buell 1125RR for the first time this weekend. West qualified a position ahead of Knapp in eighth with a 1:22.649. “I got to ride yesterday for the promoter practice, and came to grips pretty quick with the race track. We started throwing good tires on it this morning and got down to some pretty decent lap times and managed to get it into Superpole. Everybody’s real happy and I’m glad that me and Taylor both could get into the top ten.” Despite having his fastest lap disallowed in Basic Qualifying for passing the pace bike on track at the start of the session, Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO Powersports rider Danny Eslick, who qualified 14th, saw his chances of winning the 2009 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike championship improve with the unexpected withdrawal of his main rival, Team M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, who trailed him by 17 points coming into the weekend. Cardenas, who broke his right hand last month in practice at the AMA Pro Race at Virginia International Raceway, practiced on Friday but withdrew from the weekend’s event mid-way through the qualify session citing pain and danger of infection in his unhealed hand. Eslick’s closest remaining challenger, Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin, who lies 36 points back, qualified third on Friday. In other qualifying results Friday, Eslick’s teammate Michael Barnes qualified his GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R in 25th in Daytona SportBike Basic Qualifying, while Bartels’ H-D/Buell/Higbee-racing.com’s Shawn Higbee qualified 22nd in American Superbike. In Moto-GT, the James Gang/Hoban Brothers Racing team of Paul James and Shawn Higbee qualified in fourth position in the Moto-GT1 class, followed by the Liberty Waves/H-D/Buell of Antelope Valley squad of Eric Pinson and Eric Haugo in sixth. In Moto-GT2, the Old Glory H-D/Buell team of Jaycent Gebers and Dennie Huff qualified seventh. Founded by visionary motorcycle designer and former privateer racer Erik Buell in 1983, Buell Motorcycle Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, Inc., produces sport motorcycles, motorcycle parts, accessories and apparel, including the 1125R superbike, 1125CR café racer, and air-cooled XB-series Ulysses, Firebolt, and Lightning. To learn more about Buell motorcycles, or to locate the dealer nearest you, log onto www.buell.com. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Mladin and DiSalvo Win Superpoles in AMA Pro Superbike Championships at New Jersey Westby Racing on SunTrust Moto-GT pole, Day Paces SuperSport; Cardenas Sidelined MILLVILLE, N.J. (September 4, 2009) – Mat Mladin (No. 1 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) won his eighth AMA Pro Road Racing pole of the season and will end his AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited career with a record 63 pole positions after earning the top Superpole qualifying spot Friday at the AMA Pro Superbike Championships at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP). Mladin, who announced his retirement last month, will start on the pole for both of this weekend’s dual finals, which will be the final American Superbike races of his career. “I thought we had a little bit more in it but we ended up getting the pole today, so that was good,” said Mladin, who turned a top lap time of 1:21.558 (97.109 mph). “I definitely won’t place a career of winning on this weekend, whether it’s a good or bad result. Anytime you want to race, and you want to race hard, there are always places to pass whether you have to move people out of the way or not. We’ll see how we go tomorrow.” Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1), who won his second Superpole of the season one race ago at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), was second fastest Friday with a lap at 1:21.872 (96.736 mph). “I think the track has a really fun layout, it’s actually a lot of fun to get around,” said Hayes, who swept both VIR races. “It feels a little small on a Superbike, I think the 600 would be really fun to get around here on. With a Superbike, it’s a lot of work but it’s challenging, which is always fun. I think I have a good bike to be on around here.” Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) continued his recent strong Superpole runs and was third fastest to join Mladin as Suzuki riders in the top four. Yates lapped at 1:22.069 (96.505 mph). “It’s different, a new place for us,” Yates said. “Anytime we go somewhere new, it’s exciting, it’s a challenge. The place is a bit of work, a lot of direction change. You spend so much time on each side of the bike around those couple of corners back there that you kind of get tired of hanging off the thing. It’s the same for everybody; it’s going to be a long race. We’re working hard to get the Jordan Suzuki going and I think it’s coming around pretty good.” Yamaha also put a pair of bikes on the front row with Hayes’ teammate Ben Bostrom (No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) locking down the fourth and final spot with a lap time of 1:22.076 (96.496 mph). “The track is awesome,” Bostrom said. “Everyone’s times are very tight. I can’t complain, I haven’t been that good in Superpole all year. The bike’s great, I have a really good race bike and I think it should be on for Saturday and Sunday. Expect really close racing with everybody. We haven’t won one so we can do our best.” Mladin’s teammate Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) rounded out the top five while two riders making their American Superbike debuts were competitive enough to make the 10 rider Superpole cut. Cory West (No. 53 Erik Buell Racing Buell 1125RR) qualified eighth while fellow American Superbike rookie Damian Cudlin (No. 8 Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000) was 10th. Saturday’s American Superbike final is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET for 23 laps/50 miles and can be seen in same-day coverage on SPEED that night at 7:30 p.m. ET. Daytona SportBike Super Six for DiSalvo In AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL, Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) won a class-leading sixth Superpole of the season with a top lap of 1:23.840 (94.466 mph). He is one of three riders in Friday’s Daytona SportBike Superpole top four looking for their first wins of the year in this weekend’s season-ending pair of races. “I think it’s going to be a really, really tight race,” DiSalvo said. “The lap times have been super tight all weekend. It’s just kind of blowing me away having 16 guys within a second of each other. We just have to do a little more work to the bike tomorrow morning. Our settings are really, really good. We got a lot of work done yesterday during the practice. I’m sure it’ll be a good race. We’ll try to lead off the start and see if we can’t stay in the lead for 21, 22 laps.” Tommy Aquino (No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) will share the two-rider front row with DiSalvo after his best qualifying effort of the year. Aquino turned a lap of 1:24.013 (94.271 mph). “I’m pretty happy,” Aquino said. “This is my best qualifying yet, and it should be really good for the race. A win is always the goal for this season. This is my first season, so we’re just going for race wins, to see what we can do and figure stuff out for next year. A race win would be really awesome.” Aquino’s teammate Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) was third fastest at 1:24.118 (94.154 mph) and is the only rider in the top four who has scored a race win this season. “I want to end the season well,” said Herrin, who swept the most recent weekend of racing at VIR. “The last four or five rounds have been going our way. We did better in qualifying than we have in the last couple of rounds. Everything is going well; we just have to run a smooth race and put the Yamaha back on top of the box again. The track is awesome, I couldn’t complain about anything and I’ve been having a lot of fun this weekend. I can’t wait to come back next year.” Chaz Davies (No. 57 Factory Aprilia /Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R) turned in a solid qualifying effort with the fourth fastest lap of the Superpole session at 1:24.189 (94.074 mph). “We rolled out yesterday with the same settings as what we tested with,” Davies said. “It felt weird straight away so we’ve been playing catch up today, trying to get back to the same sort of feeling that we had at the test. It was good, an okay lap. It’s working well and I think, like Jason said, the lap times are close with everybody. It’s going to be a real good dogfight. I’m looking forward to it.” Jake Zemke (No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) rounded out the Daytona SportBike Superpole top five. In other Daytona SportBike developments, this weekend’s anticipated championship showdown between Danny Eslick (No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R) and Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) will not happen. The Colombian rider withdrew from the New Jersey round due to a compound fracture of his right hand sustained three weeks ago in Friday practice for the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at Virginia International Raceway. “I had surgery 15 days ago but the scar is coming apart in one section and it’s beginning to be too painful,” said Cardenas, who participated in Friday morning’s practice session. “I am worried about infection so I think the better thing to do is to stop for this weekend and heal up properly for next year. It was a very good season. Unfortunately I made a mistake, a very stupid mistake, at VIR and I got this injury. The year didn’t finish the way I wanted it to but things are like that. Hopefully next season will be no problem.” Eslick also had a tough day and missed the Superpole session after running 13th in group qualifying. He can improve in tomorrow’s final qualifying session but can start no higher than 11th behind today’s 10 Superpole qualifiers. With Cardenas out of the running, however, all Eslick needs to do is basically record a pair of solid finishes in each of this weekend’s Daytona SportBike races to leave New Jersey with the title. Cardenas’ withdrawal leaves Herrin as Eslick’s only remaining championship challenger. Herrin is third in the championship but will need nothing short of another dominating weekend coupled with a pair of bad results by Eslick to have any chance at taking the Daytona SportBike championship. “We’re just going to go into it like we did at VIR, not even think about the championship, and just go for those race wins,” Herrin said. Saturday’s Daytona SportBike final is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. ET for 23 laps/50 miles and can be seen in same-day coverage on SPEED that night at 7:30 p.m. ET. SunTrust Moto-GT and SuperSport The No. 13 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 of Dane Westby and Dustin Meador continued to roll in AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT, winning the overall and GT1 class pole for Saturday’s two-hour race. The Westby team won in its debut at Mid-Ohio, was victorious again one race later in Topeka and was leading at VIR when mechanical problems set in. The No. 13 will share the front row with GT1 championship leading No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675 of Mark Crozier and Scott Jensen. The No. 13 won the pole with a lap time of 1:26.257 (91.819 mph), while the No. 14 turned a top lap of 1:26.927 (91.111 mph). “We’ve missed pole before so it’s nice to start at the front,” Westby said. “I’ve never been here, except for the test. I think it’s a really nice facility. I hope they get a great crowd because this place is super nice.” In GT2, the class-leading No. 77 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE of Frank Shockley and Huntley Nash continued the team’s near-perfect season and moved one step closer to leaving New Jersey with the class championship. Only an unlikely finish out of the points in tomorrow’s race will prevent the No. 77 squad from wrapping up the title in New Jersey. “This team has been doing a great job with everything,” said Nash, who turned the No. 77’s quick lap of 1:30.012 (87.989 mph). “The bikes are really good and we have been doing good in the pit stops. Frank’s times are pretty close to me and hopefully we can come home with a win tomorrow.” The No. 77 team now has a 45 point advantage over nearest challengers Jay Springsteen and Scott Ryan and the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines Kawasaki EX650 team, which qualified second at 1:31.418 (86.635 mph) In AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei, recently crowned East division championship Josh Day (No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6) set the pace in Friday’s opening practice. Day lapped at 1:24.666 (93.544 mph). Sunday’s only SuperSport race of the weekend will start at 3:10 p.m. for 19 laps/40 miles with qualifying scheduled for tomorrow. “The bike is definitely getting a lot better than we started out with at the beginning of the weekend,” Day said. “We were chasing everybody else in the first session, but it’s really good now. The whole team has been working really hard to get the bike how I want it to work for me. It’s definitely paid off in the long run. The way the times look right now, it looks like it’s going to be a really tough race, but we should be good to go.” 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. From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT. AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: M4 SUZUKI’S DISALVO WINS NEW JERSEY SUPERPOLE Team M4 Suzuki encountered both the highs and lows of racing at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Friday to kick off the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing finale weekend. Jason DiSalvo came up big once again to claim his sixth AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Superpole victory of the season, but his triumph didn’t come until after the disappointing confirmation that championship hopeful Martin Cardenas’ injured hand would prevent him from competing this weekend. The Colombian, who emerged a breakout SportBike star this season with his class-leading seven victories, came into the New Jersey finale ranked second in the title race, 17 points out of first. However, the broken right hand he suffered at Virginia International Raceway wasn’t sufficiently healed after his recent operation and he was forced to withdraw from his bid to secure the SportBike crown this weekend. “I got surgery like 15 days ago but the scar is coming apart in one section. It’s becoming too painful and I’m worried about infection. I think the best thing is to just stop for this season and heal up properly for next season,” the former Spanish Supersport champion explained. While disappointed with the way the season concluded, Cardenas reflected on his highly successful ’09 campaign with Team M4 Suzuki. “It was a very good season,” Cardenas said. “Unfortunately, I made a mistake at VIR and got this injury. The year didn’t finish the way I wanted it to but things are like that sometimes. Hopefully next season there will be no problems.” Despite qualifying sixth provisionally, New Yorker DiSalvo once again demonstrated his unparalleled ability to click off a lightning quick lap when needed during Superpole, jumping up to the top spot with a 1:23.839 lap aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600. “I think it’s going to be a really, really tight race,” DiSalvo said looking to tomorrow. “The lap times have been super tight all weekend. It’s just kind of blowing me away having 16 guys within a second of each other. In the practice leading up to this, we did a ‘23.9 on our eighth lap, and I called it for the session because my back had been hurting. I got a little nervous at the end of the session when all of these guys started bumping up there and we ended up, thankfully, seventh and still inside the top 10 to make Superpole. “We just have to do a little more work to the bike tomorrow morning. Our settings are really, really good. We got a lot of work done yesterday during the practice. We have really good settings. I’m sure it’ll be a good race, we’ll try to lead off the start and see if we can’t stay in the lead for the entire distance.” With Cardenas’ title hopes out of the picture, Team M4 Suzuki will concentrate on helping DiSalvo close out a terrific season for the squad by capitalizing on his stellar qualifying effort to claim his first Daytona SportBike victory. Saturday’s 23-lap lap SportBike main event is scheduled to get underway at 4:10pm local time.