AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Championship Presented by AMSOIL Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama May 2, 2009 Provisional Race Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 21 laps 2. Jason DiSalvo (Suz GSX-R600), -0.666 second 3. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), -3.875 seconds 4. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -4.067 5. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), -13.191 6. Steve Rapp (Yam YZF-R6), -13.947 7. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), -15.685 8. Danny Eslick (Buell 1125R), -26.416 9. Taylor Knapp (Buell 1125R), -26.444 10. Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), -33.442 11. Michael Barnes (Buell 1125R), -36.864 12. Damian Cudlin (Yam YZF-R6), -37.704 13. Chris Fillmore (Yam YZF-R6), -37.842 14. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6R), -39.216 15. Daniel Parkerson (Kaw ZX-6R), -39.409 16. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), -39.808 17. Robertino Pietri (Yam YZF-R6), -49.858 18. Ben Thompson (Apr RSV1000R), -50.114 19. Marcos Reichert (Yam YZF-R6), -50.389 20. Shawn Higbee (Buell 1125R), -59.124 21. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), -59.520 22. Russ Wikle (Suz GSX-R600), -60.781 23. Ricky Parker (Yam YZF-R6), -64.811 24. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R600), -85.913 25. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), -89.193 26. Mark Crosier (Yam YZF-R6), -89.209 27. Ryan Patterson (Yam YZF-R6), -94.634 28. Chaz Davies (Apr RSV1000R), -105.211, crash 29. Fernando Aamantini (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap 30. Walt Sipp (Buell 1125R), -1 lap 31. Robert McLendon (Tri Daytona 675), -1 lap 32. Abe Stacey (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 33. Dustin Dominguez (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap 34. Scotty Van Hawk (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 35. Chris Clark (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 36. Alex Lazo (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 37. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 38. Garrett Carter (Yam YZF-R6), -3 laps 39. Tyler Odom (Hon CBR600RR), -7 laps, DNF, crash 40. Jonathan Lawrence (Yam YZF-R6), -10 laps, DNF 41. Bryan Bemisderfer (Buell 1125R), -10 laps, DNF 42. Andres Londono (Yam YZF-R6), -16 laps, DNF 43. Dane Westby (Yam YZF-R6), -19 laps, DNF, crash 44. Alastair Douglas (Suz GSX-R600), -20 laps, DNF, crash Championship Point Standings (after 6 of 20 races): 1. Eslick, 122 points 2. Hacking, 120 3. Herrin, 114 4. Cardenas, 112 5. DiSalvo, 103 6. Zemke, 74 7. Davies, 72 8. Peris, 64 9. Rapp, 60 10. Aquino, 53 11. Barnes, 48 12. Knapp, 41 13. Long, 40 14. Leandro Mercado, 39 15. TIE, Roger Hayden/Fillmore, 32 17. Ben Bostrom, 31 18. TIE, Beck/Cudlin, 25 20. Higbee, 23 More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Mladin Goes Six-for-Six and Cardenas Takes Win No. 2 at AMA Pro Honda Superbike Classic Crozier Motorsports and Team HurtByAccident.com Win in SunTrust Moto-GT BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (May 2, 2009) – Mat Mladin continued his dominance of AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited while Martin Cardenas claimed his second AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL victory in his last three starts in Saturday’s Honda Superbike Classic races at Barber Motorsports Park. Racing the 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 model for the first time today, Mladin dropped back to fourth on the opening lap after starting from pole on the No. 7 Makita/Rockstar Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. However, he quickly began working his way back toward the front, and claimed the lead from Ben Bostrom’s No. 2 Yamaha R1 on Lap 6 of the 21-lap race. Mladin wouldn’t be challenged from that point on as he claimed his sixth AMA Pro American Superbike victory in six 2009 starts, this time by 1.928 seconds ahead of teammate Blake Young. It was also Mladin’s fifth consecutive victory at Barber Motorsports Park and the eighth of his career at the 2.38-mile Alabama road circuit. “At the start of the race, the boys were having a bit of a go,” Mladin said. “Ben came by and I just sort of sat there to see what was going on, just to get a feel for the bike with a full tank of gas and a few laps in. I had a bit of a look at what they were doing and made our way through. I just tried to keep it solid, but try not to wear too much stuff out, because we really didn’t know what the bike was capable of doing or what it was going to do to the tires. This motorcycle, as far as a GSX-R1000 goes, is very, very different to any other one we’ve ever had. It’s a very different motorbike. We have some work to do to try and figure out a few things. We didn’t want to go too crazy today. We were riding hard, but we needed to keep it within a certain envelope.” Young and Bostrom played central roles in a thrilling race-long battle for second place, although both riders also spent time at the head of the field. Young led Lap 2 on his No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 before surrendering the spot to Bostrom, and the two riders resumed their battle — this time for second — throughout the remainder of the race. Young took advantage of several lappers on the second-to-last lap to claim second place for the second-straight race behind his teammate. “It started off pretty good there,” Young said. “After getting out front, I really wanted to see what the track was like. It was obviously really green and not very much grip, but I just tried to get comfortable and put in a pace that I was comfortable doing. Ben came by and he was running a bit quicker, so I definitely just jumped in and tried to learn where he was a little bit better. All of a sudden, Mat came by and he was running even more of a quicker pace, so I knew he was going to go. I was just trying to stay on his rear wheel and wait until he went by Ben and try to go with him. It didn’t end up like that. We had to wait another lap, but I just kept my head down and worked really hard. We’ve got another race tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get up there and race with Mat a little bit longer.” Bostrom also had his hands full keeping the No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki of Tommy Hayden at bay, but the 2009 Daytona 200 winner managed to take his first AMA Pro American Superbike podium result of the season with a third-place run on the No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1. Bostrom’s Daytona 200 victory came aboard an AMA Pro Daytona SportBike. “It’s a lot better than where I’ve been sitting, so I’m not going to be bummed,” said Bostrom of his third-place showing. “I’m going to sleep well tonight. I think it was a fantastic ride and the Yamaha worked amazing. The boys here (Mladin and Young) are out-riding us a little bit and made a couple of amazing passes on me. Mat about scared the (crap) out of me, honestly. It was good racing. It got my heart rate up, and I’m ready to attack again. I’m looking forward to another good day tomorrow. Hopefully, that’s how it goes. I want to maintain this spot up here and keep racing. I really enjoyed racing with these guys. It just seems like a long way ’til today. It’s a big race tomorrow. It’s going to be exciting. Hopefully, we find something, but honestly, these guys are riding amazing, so it’s going to be hard to chip away at it.” Hayden finished fourth on the No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, and Josh Hayes — who led the opening lap of the race — completed the top five aboard the No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1. The second race of the American Superbike doubleheader closes out the Honda Superbike Classic festivities at 4:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. Cardenas Takes Second Career AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Win In an exciting, seesaw battle between Team M4 Suzuki teammates Cardenas and Jason DiSalvo that lasted for the final two-thirds of the race, Cardenas took the lead from DiSalvo for the final time on the penultimate lap to take his second AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL victory in three races on Saturday. While Jamie Hacking and Josh Herrin both led in the early stages of the race, Cardenas and DiSalvo established themselves as the main protagonists for the victory on Lap 7 after both riders dispatched Herrin. Cardenas led Laps 7-12 of the 21-lap race on his No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600, and then DiSalvo took his turn in the lead on the No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 for Laps 13 to 19 before Cardenas’ decisive pass. “This one felt really tough, because I think the track is very demanding physically,” said Cardenas. “I had a huge battle with him for 10 laps or maybe more. At the beginning, I tried to put a gap to him, but I pushed and saw that I wasn’t doing much so I tried to stay in a rhythm. Two laps later, he passed me and I started to look for his stronger points. Two laps from the end, I made a move on him, put my head down and tried to ride as fast as I could. I pulled a little bit of a gap and it worked out to the end. It was a great race and I want to thank the team for giving me a great bike. Suzuki, M4, all the guys, thank you very much.” After starting from the pole and coming tantalizingly close to his first Daytona SportBike victory, DiSalvo settled for a season-best result of second. He previously finished third in the Daytona 200 and the second race of the doubleheader at Auto Club Speedway in March. “Martin and I just had such a fantastic race,” DiSalvo said. “There’s not much I can say. It was awesome. Where he passed me, it was such a great pass. I honestly didn’t think he was going to be able to make it stick, but he did, and then he really put his head down. We hung in there pretty good for the last lap, but there was just nothing we could do. Both bikes were just so evenly matched that it made it difficult. Tomorrow, we’ve just got to try to get out in the lead and stay there.” Hacking’s No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R appeared to be one of the quickest bikes on the circuit for most of the event, and Hacking led the first lap before near disaster struck in the final turn on Lap 2. Hacking nearly crashed but managed to get the bike righted, albeit dropping all the way to eighth in the running order. He chipped away over the remaining laps to take the final spot on the box in third place. “The bike worked great,” said Hacking. “We managed to run down Josh there, and I was able to put in some good laps and make Josh push up to the back of these guys. Once I got around Josh, unfortunately, we got into the lapped riders. Josh got hung up a little bit, and it’s unfortunate that happened, but it’s just the way things go. Once I got around him, I managed to somewhat reel these guys (Cardenas and DiSalvo) in just a little bit. I could see them, but by that time, the race was pretty much over. I’m glad to finish third, actually.” Herrin, who led five laps, came home fourth on the No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6, one spot ahead of teammate Tommy Aquino, who finished fifth on the No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6. Danny Eslick came home eighth on the No. 9 Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R to retain the Daytona SportBike points lead. The second race of the Daytona SportBike doubleheader at the Honda Superbike Classic is slated for 2:00 p.m. local time tomorrow afternoon. Wikle to Start from AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei Pole After Qualifying Rainout Moments after the green flag flew on this morning’s AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei qualifying sessions, a steady rain began falling on Barber Motorsports Park. The session was quickly stopped, and teams were allowed to switch to rain tires. However, standing water on the circuit ultimately brought the session to an end before any rider could post a meaningful time. As a result, AMA Pro Racing officials determined that the starting grid for Sunday’s third round of the 12-race 2009 AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei East championship would be determined by times from Friday’s practice sessions. Russ Wikle posted the quickest lap in the first of the two SuperSport presented by Shoei practice sessions on Friday at 1:31.659 (93.477 mph) on the No. 5 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600, and he will start from the pole for the first time this season. Due to the rainout, however, he did not earn a bonus point toward the championship. Nevertheless, he looks to return to the podium for the first time since finishing third in March’s season-opener at Daytona. “Luckily, we put down a pretty fast one in the very first morning session that seemed to hold for the whole day,” Wikle said. “No one went any faster. It was a pretty good advantage coming out of the truck and going fast like that. Definitely, being at Barber in a 17-lap race, you can kind of work your way up from being in the back, but it’s definitely an advantage to start in the front and not have to worry about passing anybody. You just have to worry about making yourself big and not let anybody pass you. Just ride defensively. I feel like I’m pretty good at that. I need to try and keep those guys like Leandro Mercado and Josh Day behind me.” Day will start second on his No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6 with a best lap at 1:32.203 (92.926 mph). It is the first SuperSport East race that Day will not start from pole, and the youngster heads into Sunday’s race looking for his first win in AMA Pro competition. Mercado, who claimed his first SuperSport victory last month at Road Atlanta, has a front-row seat as he goes for two in a row tomorrow. Mercado turned in a best lap at 1:32.215 (92.913 mph) on the No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. Colombian Tomas Puerta starts fourth on the No. 12 Yamaha YZF-R6. Puerta, who is making his first SuperSport appearance this weekend, turned in a best lap at 1:32.286 (92.842 mph) on Friday afternoon. Ricky Parker completed the top five with a best lap at 1:32.422 (92.705 mph) on the No. 96 Graves Motorsports/Hattiesburg Cycles Yamaha YZF-R6. Parker is also making his SuperSport debut this weekend. The SuperSport presented by Shoei race goes off from a standing start at 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. The race is scheduled for 17 laps (40 miles). Crozier and Caudill Take Overall AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT Win; Filices Take Moto-GT2 Off and on rain showers throughout the day at Barber Motorsports Park shortened the scheduled two-hour AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT race as part of the Honda Superbike Classic to one hour and 15 minutes, but not before No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675 co-riders Mark Crozier and Phil Caudill scored their first victory of the season. It was redemption of sorts for the whole Crozier Motorsports team, as the No. 14 Triumph ran out of fuel within 15 minutes of the checkered flag in the season-opening round at Daytona International Speedway, and mechanical problems prevented them from contending for the victory last month at Road Atlanta. Everything worked out this weekend for the team, as Crozier put the No. 14 machine on the pole for the first time this season in qualifying on Friday. The No. 14 Triumph led a race-high 19 laps of what would be a 40-lap race, including the all-important final six laps. It was Crozier’s first victory since 2006 and was the first-ever in SunTrust Moto-GT competition for Caudill. “We’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations this year,” Caudill said. “We’ve been quick in practices and qualifying, but have had trouble putting the whole race together. It did come together for us today, regardless of all that. The Crozier Motorsports, Augusta Triumph team has been working hard. That’s what has kept us at the top and kept us today with the result we’ve got.” Finishing second was the No. 69 HurtByAccident.com Suzuki GSX-R600 of co-riders Rodolfo Ramirez and Armando Ferrer. It was an impressive comeback for Ferrer, who was sent to the UAB Medical Center in Birmingham after a crash during qualifying yesterday. The performance enabled the No. 69 team to move into a first-place tie with the No. 37 Old Pros Racing team — which finished seventh today — in the Moto-GT1 point standings with three of nine races now complete. The No. 2 Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 of co-riders David Anthony and Hawk Mazzotta completed the GT1 podium with a third-place performance. It was the No. 2 machine’s first appearance of the season. In the Moto-GT2 race, the father and son team of Jimmy and Justin Filice celebrated a victory on the No. 64 HurtByAccident.com Ducati PS1000LE. While the Filices have previously ridden to victory together in the 8 Hours At Daytona, this was the first time they did it by themselves. “This is a great facility and I like coming here,” said AMA Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Filice. “To win with my son here is pretty cool. Justin did the first stint and he did a wonderful job. I just got on the bike and kept it upright. Our strategy worked well, the bike worked good, and I’m just happy that his (Daytona SportBike) team, R&B Racing, let him do this with me.” “It was just unbelievable today, just the circumstances that it came down to with the weather and tire choice,” added Justin Filice. “We didn’t ever even intend to go to dry (tires) in the beginning. We stuck with wets because, really, we were doing a rain dance out there. We were just hoping for rain. I was praying for it when I was on the bike. The tires started to go away a little bit in the dry and they were flexing, but the Dunlops today were unbelievable tires. They worked great all the way through my stint, even in the torrential downpour that we had. I didn’t slip one wheel the entire time I was out there. To ride with my dad here was unbelievable. It was a great experience and I’m glad we could win.” The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE scored its third top-two result in as many starts this season with a second place run in the hands of co-riders Frank Shockley and Dane Westby, who started the race from the class pole position. The No. 77 team now leads the GT2 point standings by 15 points, 83-68, over the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines team, which finished sixth in class today. Co-riders Lyles Sanders and Greg Melka came home third in GT2 aboard the No. 83 D & D Cycles Suzuki SV650. Next up for SunTrust Moto-GT will be Round 4 of the nine-race championship at Road America on the weekend of June 5-7. 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 M4 Suzuki: CARDENAS AND DISALVO DOMINATE IN BIRMINGHAM DAYTONA SPORTBIKE RACE Team M4 Suzuki dominated Saturday’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race at Barber Motorsports Park, clearing off at the front en route to a brilliant 1-2 result for the team. Martin Cardenas and Jason DiSalvo emerged from the pack early to establish themselves as the men to beat aboard their Suzuki GSX-R600s and engaged in a thrilling showdown to the checkered flag. Cardenas moved into the lead on lap seven of 21 and attempted to pull a breakaway. The former Spanish Supersport champion was unable to escape from his teammate, however, and DiSalvo took over the top spot himself on lap 13. Cardenas studied DiSalvo’s lines and struck back with just a lap-and-a-half remaining, storming by on the brakes at the end of the back straight. The New Yorker looked to retaliate but couldn’t make it happen as the Colombian put in a flawless final lap to claim his second career AMA race victory just one race meeting after earning his first. “This win was very tough because the track is very demanding physically,” Cardenas remarked. “Jason and I had a huge battle for ten laps or more. At the beginning I tried to put a gap to him but I pushed and could see I wasn’t able to get away so I tried to stay in a rhythm. After a couple laps he passed me and I tried to look for his stronger points and mine. Two laps from the end, I made the move and put my head down and rode as fast as I could. It was a great race and I want to thank the team for giving me a great bike.” Superpole winner and race runner-up DiSalvo said, “Martin and I just had such a terrific race. It was awesome. He led for a little bit and I think he was trying to pull a gap but then settled into a rhythm. I made the move on him and put my head down for a lap or two but I don’t think there was anything I could do we were so closely matched. All I could do was sit in front and try to figure out where he was going to try to come by and ride defensively. But where he passed me, it was just such a great pass. I didn’t think he’d be able to make it stick but he did. We hung in there pretty good but again, both bikes were so evenly matched it just made it difficult. Tomorrow we’ll just try to get out in the lead and stay there.” Qualifying for the AMA Pro SuperSport class was canceled on Saturday following a delay in the schedule due to the track conditions. As a result, the grid will be based on Friday’s practice times, which means the team’s talented youngster, Kris Turner, will start from the inside of the fourth row on Sunday, posting the 13th fastest time at 1:34.344. On Sunday Team M4 Suzuki will look to continue their incredible Daytona SportBike form with high hopes of claiming another race win and additional podium finishes.