Bruce Rossmeyers/RMR Buell’s Danny Eslick took his first AMA Pro road race win with a flag-to-flag run on his 1125R in Saturday’s AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike race at Auto Club Speedway. Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking came out on top of a race-long, multi-rider battle for second, and Martin Cardenas earned the final podium position on his Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. Cardenas’ teammate Jason DiSalvo slipped back to fourth in traffic, and Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke rounded out the top five on his CBR600RR. AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL Auto Club Speedway Fontana, California March 21, 2009 Provisional Race Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Danny Eslick (Buell 1125R), 21 laps 2. Jamie Hacking (Kaw ZX-6R), -2.510 seconds 3. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), -2.795 4. Jason DiSalvo (Suz GSX-R600), -4.554 5. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), -5.240 6. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -7.625 7. Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), -14.652 8. Chaz Davies (Apr RSV1000R), -15.571 9. Steve Rapp (Yam YZF-R6), -16.169 10. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), -22.657 11. Leandro Mercado (Kaw ZX-6R), -25.890 12. Michael Barnes (Buell 1125R), -38.826 13. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), -45.256 14. Chris Fillmore (Yam YZF-R6), -45.827 15. Shawn Higbee (Buell 1125R), -46.129 16. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6) 17. Garrett Carter (Yam YZF-R6) 18. Damian Cudlin (Yam YZF-R6) 19. Shea Fouchek (Hon CBR600RR) 20. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR) 21. Dane Westby (Yam YZF-R6), crash 22. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R) 23. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 24. Sahar Zvik (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 25. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 26. Larry Myers (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap 27. Josh Bryan (Buell 1125R), -1 lap 28. Dyon Husband (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap 29. Walt Sipp (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 30. Chip Yates (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 31. Robertino Pietri (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, crash 32. Jamie Hall (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps 33. Kevin Boisvert (Suz GSX-R600), -2 laps 34. Tyler Odom (Hon CBR600RR), -6 laps 35. Dustin Ohara (Suz GSX-R600), crash, -6 laps 36. Christopher Clark (Yam YZF-R6), -8 laps 37. Ben Thompson (Apr RSV1000R), -15 laps 38. Alan Schmidt (Buell 1125R), -19 laps 39. Ricky Parker (Yam YZF-R6), -20 laps, DNF, crash More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: CARDENAS EARNS THE PODIUM IN FONTANA FOR TEAM M4 SUZUKI Team M4 Suzuki picked up their second podium finish in as many tries this AMA Pro Road Racing season on Saturday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Martin Cardenas came home third following a thrilling 21-lap, four-rider dogfight for the runner-up position in the Daytona SportBike final. He was followed closely behind by teammate Jason DiSalvo, who gave the squad two riders in the race’s top four finishers. Both Cardenas and DiSalvo took their turn leading the battle for second place aboard their Suzuki GSX-R600 SportBike race machines. The Colombian impressively picked his way up through the field after starting the rolling start from tenth due to Friday’s Superpole misfortune. Meanwhile, DiSalvo showed the speed to potentially break free from the scrap but a miscue saw him swallowed back up and forced to rejoin the dice with a talented group that also included past 600cc champions Jamie Hacking and Jake Zemke. Former Spanish Supersport champ Cardenas said, “It was a good race — very tough from the beginning. I started tenth and I started to work my way up. It was tough passing all those guys and then they passed me back again. In the end I thought I could finish second but two laps from the end Hacking passed me again. I tried my hardest but it wasn’t possible to get back by him today. I will try again tomorrow.” New Yorker DiSalvo remarked, “That was just a really good race. It was Supersport-style racing at its finest. I was really happy to be able to run up front at the beginning. I think I might have been able to break away at the beginning and make some inroads on hunting down the Buell but I made a mistake and pushed the front and almost lost the rear. “We recovered but Martin got past me and then Jake (Zemke) ran it in on me and pushed me out a little bit and (Jamie) Hacking got us both. I was buried back in fifth just two laps from the end. I managed to get Jake back but we ran out of time to do any more than that. All in all I’m super happy. That’s the most enjoyable, most rewarding race I’ve run in three years.” Team M4 Suzuki will look to continue their stellar start to the 2009 AMA Pro Road Racing championship on Sunday in the weekend’s second 50-mile Daytona SportBike final. More, from a press release issued by Paradigm: March 21, 2009 (Fontana, Ca.)-The first race at the second round of the 2009 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike season is in the books. Team Paradigm Racing finished in 13th position with another strong performance by rider Barrett Long. Starting from 9th position it was a battle from the beginning. Initially Long fell back several positions as he struggled with the grip that the rear tire had to offer. The Paradigm Racing Yamaha R6 performed impeccably, but was unable to get a strong drive off of the corners. A fallen rider made things even more precarious and slowed the momentum. After resolving that issue several laps passed before Long was held up by a lapped rider, which again slowed the pace. Overall, Long was pleased with the bikes performance, but hindered by grip issues. “All in all the bike ran great. I’m really happy with the performance and abilities of the bike itself. The sun came out around lunch and helped to warm the track surface up from this morning. The track surface was much better as a result, but come race time the grip in the tire that we selected for the race wasn’t quite what we wanted. I couldn’t ask for more from the motor and brakes, but we need to get the grip issues sorted out for tomorrow’s race. The weather guys are saying we might get some rain so things might get even more interesting! I actually like racing in the rain. We’ll have to wait and see though.” More information on Team Paradigm Racing can be found at www.paradigracing.net. More, from a press release issued Buell: Eslick Dominates Fontana AMA Daytona SportBike Race One Commanding Flag-to-Flag win is first for Eslick and 1125R East Troy, Wis. (March 21, 2009) Danny Eslick took his inaugural AMA Pro Racing victory aboard the Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R sponsored by GEICO Powersports and Shelly Rossmeyer Motorcycles of Daytona in Saturday’s AMA Daytona SportBike race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. His win was also the first in AMA Pro Racing competition for the Buell 1125R. Starting from second place on the grid, Eslick jumped out to the lead on Lap 1, and as Team M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking, Team M4 Suzuki’s Jason DiSalvo and Erion Honda’s Jake Zemke engaged in a dogfight for the second and third steps on the podium behind him, he broke away for a commanding wire-to-wire victory. The 22-year-old Broken Arrow, Okla., rider lead by more than seven seconds at one point before backing down on the final lap to take a celebratory wheelie across the start-finish stripe. His victory margin was 2.5 seconds over second place Hacking’s ZX-6R and the third place GSX-R600 of Cardenas. Eslick also recorded the fast lap of the race, a 1:27.832. “I got a good start and broke away from those guys,” said Eslick. “They were battling each other back there and I had sort of a lonely race up front. I just kept my head down and kept watching my lap timer. The Buell 1125R was awesome. Our plan is to do it all over again tomorrow.” “We are so honored to have this great Bruce Rossmeyer/RMR/GEICO team and a rider like Danny Eslick,” said Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company. “Danny is exploring all the differences of the Buell, like ZTL brakes and fuel in the frame, and he likes what he’s finding. AMA Pro Racing’s new Daytona SportBike class is great competition, with six brands finishing in the top ten. It’s going to be an incredible season to watch motorcycle racing in America, and best of all to watch an American sportbike finally battling for wins.” Eslick’s teammate Michael Barnes finished 12th on his GEICO Powersports/RMR 1125R, followed by fellow Buell riders Shawn Higbee (Bartels’ H-D/Buell/Higbee-racing.com) in 15th and Josh Bryan (Latus Motors H-D) in 27th. Latus Motors H-D rider Alan Schmidt, who pitted early in the race with a mechanical problem, finished 38th. 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 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.