Rising star Taylor Knapp, 22, earned the first AMA pole position of his career by running the fastest lap during Friday’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Superpole competition at VIRginia International Raceway. Knapp’s lap of 1:28.233 on his Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R was 0.43 second faster than any other rider. Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke said he made a big mistake on his Superpole lap, but his time of 1:28.663 was still good enough for second on the front row of the two-by-two rolling grid. Zemke just edged out his teammate Chris Peris, who recorded a lap of 1:28.676 late Friday afternoon. Peris will be joined on the second row of the grid by Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden, who put in a strong Superpole lap (1:28.682) on his ZX-6R. Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin got fifth in Superpole with a 1:28.726 on his YZF-R6. Hayden’s teammate Jamie Hacking was on the pace with a 1:28.765 and finished Superpole in sixth. Seventh-fastest in Superpole was Herrin’s 17-year-old teammate Tommy Aquino, who did a 1:28.891 on his YZF-R6. Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports’ Steve Rapp earned the second spot on the fourth row (eighth) with a time of 1:29.154 on his Yamaha 600. Both Jason DiSalvo, the fastest rider in Basic Qualifying, and Chaz Davies failed to complete their Superpole laps. The shifter came loose on Davies’ Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies during his fast lap, and DiSalvo crashed his Team M4 Suzuki in Turn Five while attempting to claim his sixth Daytona SportBike pole of the season. DiSalvo was uninjured, but he will have to start this weekend’s races from the fifth row, which he will share with Davies. Co-series point leaders Martin Cardenas and Danny Eslick both failed to get into Superpole. Eslick crashed his Rossmeyers Geico RMR Buell 1125R during Basic Qualifying session and ended up 12th in the session. Cardenas, DiSalvo’s teammate, crashed during Friday morning practice and suffered a compound bone fracture in his right hand. He rode in Basic Qualifying but could do no better than 13th. AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL VIRginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 14, 2009 Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Taylor Knapp (Buell 1125R), 1:28.233 2. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 1:28.663 3. Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), 1:28.676 4. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:28.682 5. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.726 6. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:28.765 7. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.891 8. Steve Rapp (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.154 9. Jason DiSalvo (Suz GSX-R600), no time, crash 10. Chaz Davies (Apr RSV1000R), no time, mechanical More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Yamaha’s Hayes and Buell’s Knapp Win AMA Pro Road Racing Superpoles at Big Kahuna at VIR Second 2009 Top Qualifying Effort for Hayes; First Career Pole for Knapp; Cardenas Breaks Hand ALTON, Va. (August 14, 2009) – Josh Hayes (No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1) won his second AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited Superpole of the season while Taylor Knapp (No. 54 Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R) scored his first career Superpole in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL qualifying Friday at the 10th Anniversary Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals at Virginia International Raceway. Hayes turned a top lap time of 1:25.014 (95.702 mph) as the 10th and final rider to qualify in the single-bike Superpole format. He also won the Superpole two races ago at Mid-Ohio where he went on to sweep both of that weekend’s races. Hayes won his first race of the season in May at Infineon Raceway where he broke a season-opening streak of seven straight wins by Mat Mladin (No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000), who he edged for the Superpole Friday at 2.25-mile circuit. “I think we left a little bit out there but it was a good lap,” Hayes said. “I put a lot of effort into it. Our bike had a lot of grip and worked really well. I did a clean lap and it was enough to nip Mat by just a small margin. Since we pulled the bike out of the truck we’ve been pretty fortunate that it’s going around the racetrack well. I’m having a lot of fun riding. This has been a good race track for me.” Mladin, who turned a lap time of 1:25.103 (95.602 mph) held the top spot until Hayes made his run. He still leads American Superbike with a series-high eight Superpoles this season. “It was all good today,” said Mladin, who joined most of his competition in having no trouble handling temperatures in the high 80s. “I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. It’s been a lot worse around this place before, today’s not too bad. The breeze is nice on the bike, we’ve had a lot worse conditions here than today.” Jordan Suzuki teammates Geoff May (No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) and Aaron Yates (No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) turned in a solid Superpole team performance to complete the four-rider front row. May qualified third with a lap at 1:25.720 (94.913 mph) while Yates was fourth fastest at 1:26.126 (94.446 mph). “I was feeling good,” May said. “We just re-analyzed some stuff. Since Road America we’ve had a downward spiral. This weekend we said ‘you know what, we’re going to go back to where we had this bike in the beginning of the year when we first got it.’ It seemed pretty good. So we rolled it out of the truck and haven’t really done much since and we’re back up where I feel we should be.” Yates is on his second straight American Superbike front row after qualifying second fastest one race ago in the Tornado Nationals at Heartland Park Topeka. “It’s just like any other weekend,” said Yates, who joins his teammate May as Georgia natives. “I’m just going out there and riding the thing. I definitely felt like the grip was down a little that time out, but we’ve made a few changes with the front of the bike. It was sitting lower, I don’t think we quite had the load on the rear that we’ve had earlier and it was missing some traction there. It’s like home for me, I like it hot. I didn’t know if was going to be like this, so we’re ready.” Larry Pegram (No. 72 Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R), who won the Superpole at the Tornado Nationals and both of that weekend’s American Superbike races, rounded out the top five in qualifying at VIR. Saturday’s first American Superbike race of the weekend is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. local time for 23 laps/50 miles. The Big Kahuna races will be featured in a pair of same-day telecasts on SPEED. Saturday’s American Superbike and Daytona SportBike finals will be shown that night in a two-hour show at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) while Sunday’s premier class races and other highlights will air in a two-hour show that evening at Midnight ET (9 p.m. PT). Wild Daytona SportBike Friday An AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL Superpole qualifying session that was as notable for those who were not in it as the 10 riders who were saw Knapp break through for his first career top qualifying effort. Knapp clocked in with a lap time of 1:28.233 (92.210 mph) and will share the two-rider front row with Jake Zemke (No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) who lapped at 1:28.663 (91.764 mph). “It’s not only my first pole, but the first time I’ve ever been in a press conference,” said Knapp, who finished a career-high fifth in the Sunday American Superbike final at the Tornado Nationals on the No. 44 Taylor Knapp Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000. “It’s really cool. I had a little spin coming out of Turn 2 or 3, the left hander, the track crowns off on the edge and I got a little wide. It spun up and I bounced off the curb and I didn’t know if that was going to hurt me too much. I just kept stringing the lap together the best I could and ended up on top. Totally cool, I’m looking forward to the races.” Zemke joined teammate Chris Peris (No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) in giving Erion Honda its best starting positions as a team this year. “I actually messed up the lap right at the very beginning going into Turn 1,” Zemke said. “I went in there and my foot slipped off the shifter. I was thinking, ‘I don’t think that thing went into gear.’ I hit the shifter again and it went into gear, but it was the wrong one. It was first gear. I lost a ton of time in the first segment. I just kept my head down and got through the rest of the lap and it turned out okay for us. Congratulations to Taylor on his first pole and it should be a good race tomorrow.” Peris qualified third at 1:28.676 (91.764 mph) and was the only 2009 race winner participating in Daytona SportBike Superpole Friday. “My lap was basically the same as I did in practice this morning,” said Peris, who won the Saturday final at Road America in June. “It was nothing too hairball. Nothing really out of the ordinary, but I wasn’t expecting to move up this far. Everyone went a little bit slower so maybe it was a little bit better. The bike’s working awesome, the team’s been great. It just all worked out.” Roger Hayden (No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) was also in season-best form Friday and qualified fourth at 1:28.682 (91.743 mph). “The bike is definitely working pretty good this weekend,” Hayden said. “My lap was okay. When I came across the start-finish line I didn’t expect it to be a 28.7, I felt like I left a lot of time out there. I think it’s going to be a good race. We’ve been going pretty good all weekend, we just have to get a little bit better. I’m looking forward to it. I’m definitely a lot closer to the front than I’ve been all year. It makes the race weekend a lot more fun.” Notable by their Superpole absence were Daytona SportBike championship leaders Danny Eslick (No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R) and Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600). Eslick laid the bike down in the downhill section during the group session and qualified 12th, missing the Superpole round, while Cardenas suffered a lowside incident in morning practice that resulted in a fractured right hand. After receiving medical treatment onsite at VIR, Cardenas rallied to participate in group qualifying and did well to clock in 13th quickest. “I broke a bone in my hand,” said Cardenas, who crashed in the downhill run at Turn 15. “I made a mistake and hit a curb going downhill. It was a big mistake, I crashed and I hurt my hand. Off the bike, it feels okay and if I don’t move the hand, it doesn’t hurt. On the bike the hardest thing is changing direction, and a little bit under braking, especially turning to the right side. I will just try to deal with it, race tomorrow and do a good job. There is not much you can do, only put ice on it. That’s it, I think.” Also enduring a tough day was Daytona SportBike Superpole leader Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) who was uninjured when he went off course during his Superpole run. DiSalvo, who has a class-leading five Superpoles in 2009, will start ninth on the grid in this weekend’s dual races. Chaz Davies (No. 57 Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R) , who struggled with mechanical problems in the morning practice session and Superpole run, will start 10th. Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) rounded out the Daytona SportBike top five qualifiers. Saturday’s first Daytona SportBike race of the weekend is scheduled to start at 4:10 p.m. local time for 23 laps/50 miles. The Big Kahuna races will be featured in a pair of same-day telecasts on SPEED. Saturday’s American Superbike and Daytona SportBike finals will be shown that night in a two-hour show at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) while Sunday’s premier class races and other highlights will air in a two-hour show that evening at Midnight ET (9 p.m. PT). SuperSport Practice Day Josh Day (No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6) could clinch the AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei East division title this weekend and was the fastest rider in Friday’s opening practice. Day, who won the races at Topeka and Mid-Ohio, turned a top lap time of 1:29.707 (90.695 mph). “We ended up fastest and we still have some work to do on the front end, but I was pretty happy with that time,” Day said. “The E.S.P. guys have been working really hard and we have just been able to carry the setup that we found since Mid-Ohio and it has pretty much worked at every racetrack so far. We have just had to change and fine tune a few things. I am really not thinking about the championship, and trying not to. I don’t want it to mess me up and I am just going to come out here and try and do my best and just try to stay on top.” Day has a 45-point lead over Leandro Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R), 126 – 81. That equates to more than a full-race lead and guarantees he will leave the Big Kahuna on top of the standings even if he fails to clinch the crown. Even if Mercado scores all 32 available points at VIR, Day only needs to finish third or better to leave Virginia with the East title. Mercado was 10th fastest Friday. Sunday’s SuperSport final is18-laps for 40 miles and is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. Westby Rolls In SunTrust Moto-GT Qualifying Westby Racing riders Dane Westby and Dustin Meador (No. 13 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) continued their roll in AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT and won the pole for tomorrow’s two-hour team race at 11 a.m. Meador turned a quick lap of 1:31.439 (88.977 mph) to qualify first overall and in the GT1 class. “This is a good team,” Meador said. “We are just going to keep working hard and racing hard and get our third win. I have done this kind of racing before and I like it and like running with Dane and the Westby guys.” Championship leaders Mark Crozier and Dave Estok (No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675) qualified second despite Crozier’s lowside during the session. The team/owner rider was uninjured and turned the No. 14’s top lap of 1:32.638 (87.826 mph). “We are fine and the bike is fine,” Crozier said. “We got back going and finished qualifying and now we have to keep it clean and win a championship.” Day and teammate Dominic Jones (No. 27 Four Feathers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) will start third after Jones turned a lap of 1:33.787 (86.750 mph). The No. 63 Coatzymoto International Racing Ducati PS1000LE of Fernando Ferreyra and Robertino Pietri won the GT2 pole with a lap time of 1:36.150 (84.618 mph). The SunTrust Moto-GT race starts tomorrow at 11 a.m. 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 Buell: Knapp Scores First Career Pole in Daytona SportBike at VIR Points Leader Eslick Barely Misses Top 10 Shootout East Troy, Wis. (August 14, 2009) Taylor Knapp scored his first career AMA Pro Racing pole position and the second of the season for a Buell motorcycle aboard his Latus Motors Buell 1125R during Daytona SportBike Superpole shootout qualifying today at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. Finishing Basic Qualifying earlier in the day in second position, Knapp was the second to last rider to take to the track in the evening’s 10-rider Superpole shootout, besting second place starter Jake Zemke (Erion Honda) by 0.430 second with a 1:28.233-second lap. Knapp secured his first career Superpole when the final rider in the shootout, Team M4 Suzuki’s Jason DiSalvo, crashed during his hot lap. “It’s my first pole position and it feels awesome,” said Knapp. “I’m always fighting my way to the front, so I’m looking forward to the race. I thought I made a mistake, coming out of 2 or 3 and spun up, but the rest of the lap was good.” Knapp’s performance topped a dramatic day in Daytona SportBike action that saw co-points leader Martin Cardenas crash in practice and break his hand, but still put in a Basic Qualifying performance good enough for 13th position on the grid, one spot behind his championship rival Danny Eslick aboard the Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR/GEICO Powersports Buell in 12th place. Eslick and Cardenas are tied atop the Daytona SportBike standings with 318 points apiece heading into the final four races of the season. 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 Team M4 Suzuki: TOUGH DAY FOR CARDENAS AND DISALVO AT VIR Team M4 Suzuki endured a frustrating opening day to the AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Virginia International Raceway on Friday. Teammates Martin Cardenas and Jason DiSalvo both suffered costly crashes during the day that prevented them from displaying their full potential. AMA pro Daytona SportBike co-title leader Cardenas suffered a metacarpal fracture of the right hand due to a crash in the opening practice session, momentarily putting his weekend participation in doubt and jeopardizing his title hopes. However, the Colombian came back to register a courageous effort aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 in the afternoon Basic Qualifying session after the team quickly assembled a makeshift metal plate to protect his injured hand. His gritty ride resulted in an impressive 13th-place qualifying effort with a time of 1:29.520 despite being considerably less than 100% The tough championship hopeful is planning to fight through the pain in the weekend’s twin 23-lap SportBike races. Cardenas explained, “In one of the downhill corners I hit the inside curb with the front tire and lost the motorcycle. I hit the ground with my hand and I broke a bone. “We made a plate so I can ride and I rode in qualifying and it was not so bad. It was good considering. To change directions, to brake, it was a little bit uncomfortable, but today I didn’t feel as much of a pain as I expected. We’ll see tomorrow. Most of the time the next day is worse, but we’ll see. I have to try my best.” DiSalvo’s weekend got off to an extremely strong start as he stormed to the fastest time in the morning free practice at 1:28.250 and then further improved to claim the provisional pole at 1:27.551. Unfortunately, the New Yorker’s Superpole streak ended at five when he crashed early during his flying lap. As a result, DiSalvo will start the weekend’s twin 50-mile SportBike races from the ninth position on the rolling grid, yet optimistic that his impressive pace will allow him to cut a path up to the front of the order in search of his first victory of the season. Team M4 Suzuki will tackle the weekend’s first SportBike final tomorrow at 4:10pm.