Buckeye SuperBike Weekend/GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio July 14, 2013 Provisional Race Two Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 21 laps 2. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), -0.122 second* 3. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), -13.486 seconds 4. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R1000), -25.752 5. Geoff May (EBR 1190RS), -34.301 6. Aaron Yates (EBR 1190RS), -34.450 7. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), -36.151 8. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), -40.176 9. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), -46.142 10. Taylor Knapp (KTM RC8R), -54.225 11. Cory West (EBR 1190RS), -60.894 12. Dustin Dominguez (EBR 1190RS), -69.271 13. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), -77.257 14. Huntley Nash (Kaw ZX-10R), -77.927 15. Danny Kelsey (Suz GSX-R1000), -83.985 16. Ryan Kerr (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps 17. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), -9 laps, DNF, retired 18. Larry Pegram (Yam YZF-R1), -18 laps, DNF, crashed twice 19. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), -21 laps, DNF, crash *includes five-second penalty for anticipating the start Provisional Championship Point Standings: 1. Hayes, 191 points 2. Herrin, 187 3. Cardenas, 186 4. Hayden, 133 5. Eslick, 130 6. Pegram, 118 7. Fillmore, 107 8. May, 92 9. Anthony, 85 10. Yates, 84 11. Ulrich, 72 12. Clark, 66 13. West, 64 14. Knapp, 56 15. Reece Wacker, 34 16. TIE, Robertino Pietri/Nash, 29 18. TIE, Dominguez/Kelsey, 23 20. Bernat Martinez, 20 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Teammates Herrin and Hayes Battle Against Each Other AND The Clock In Mid-Ohio SuperBike Race 2, And Herrin Wins Lexington, OH – July 14, 2013 – A jumped start by three-time defending SuperBike Champ Josh Hayes at the beginning of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 2 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course today played a huge part in the outcome of the race. Hayes received a five-second penalty for the infraction, which meant that his Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin was the winner of the 21-lap contest. Hayes took the checkered flag first, but he wasn’t quite five seconds ahead of his teammate Herrin, which meant that Herrin, who rides the #2 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1, won the race by a margin of just over one-tenth of a second. It was Herrin’s second win of his sophomore SuperBike season. Neither of the two Yamaha R1 teammates was sure, at first, who won the race, but AMA Pro Racing Timing and Scoring did, even though the appearance on track did not bear that out. “I actually didn’t know I won till (CBS Sports Network Pit Reporter) Danielle Teal interviewed me and told me,” Herrin said. “It was kind of a crazy race, and I was so freaked out that I could hardly talk! Josh (Hayes) is an awesome Champion, and I’ve learned a lot from him. I’ve still got work to do to and, to get this win the way we did is definitely unusual, but we’ll take it. I guess I really won’t believe till I see the (Yamaha) win ad this week.” Despite finishing second, Hayes still added valuable points to the Championship lead that he re-gained with yesterday’s SuperBike Race 1 win at Mid-Ohio. The defending triple-Champ now has a four-point lead in the title chase over his teammate Herrin, who moved into second-place as a result of his race victory today. “I’m proud of the way I rode the race,” Hayes said. “I was pushing absolutely as hard as I could, but Josh (Herrin) rode a great race, and he really stepped up this weekend. As for the start, I really didn’t think I jumped it, and if I did, I thought I had it stopped like Martin (Cardenas) did at Barber, but I guess that wasn’t the case. I’m happy to leave Ohio with the points lead, and I gained a few extra points today.” The Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team now travels across the country to Monterey, CA, where they will be back in action this coming weekend for Round 5 of the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Championship, which takes place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. For more news, results, and other team info, be sure to check out Yamaha’s Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @YamahaMotorUSA. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: NASH FINISHES SUPERBIKE MID-OHIO WEKEND WITH TOUGH CHARGE Lexington, Ohio (July 14, 2013) – Huntley Nash and Neyra Racing set a new high mark with their third AMA Pro Superbike weekend, finishing 13th on Saturday and backing that up with 14th place in a tough event that saw Nash nearly crash in oil on the surface before the event started. Nash took a few laps to recover from his near-mishap and but then began to move up from the back of the field. Nash lost out on one spot late to end up 14th but was able to gain valuable on-track experience for himself and the team and complete another Superbike race. “The first ten laps, I felt like I was just riding around. I wasn’t happy with the condition of the track after I somehow saved a crash on the warm-up lap, and I was unsure of things. I was really disappointed that the race went forward with the circuit in conditions like that,” said Nash. “I finally got going a little better and made up some ground on the track and was able to do some decent laps. I then made one mistake to lose out a position, but overall the weekend was a step in the right direction. I’m not happy about the race at all right now, largely because I was wanting to earn a top ten, but we did make some progress this weekend.” Team owner Justin Neyra commented on the progress. “I know Huntley was a little frustrated with today, but I was happy with his performance,” said Justin Neyra. “I think he showed a lot of integrity and maturity after a tough beginning to mentally get himself in position to turn in some 1:28s at the very end, which were the fastest laps of the weekend. That’s what it’s going to take to be successful in Superbike … to move forward and move forward each weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of AMSOIL: AMSOIL SuperBike riders earn solid finishes at Mid-Ohio LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 14) – Exactly as they did on Saturday, AMSOIL EBR riders Geoff May and Aaron Yates finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in Sunday’s National Guard SuperBike race at the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire, part of the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series. May was happy he met his goals for the weekend aboard the Team Hero/AMSOIL EBR and is hoping it builds some momentum going into next week’s event at Laguna Seca. “With this long straightway here, leaving with two top fives makes me pretty happy,” May said. “The next track favors our bike a lot more. This EBR loves it when it’s cool and runs a lot faster. I’m excited about getting up there and racing with those front-runners and surprise them.” May raced most of the day in a three-bike pack with Yates’s AMSOIL/Hero EBR and Chris Fillmore but said he wasn’t trying to keep those two riders behind him. “Aaron could run faster than me,” May said. “He was running a better pace than me, but I was hitting all my marks and using the whole track. If anybody wanted to get by me, they really had to make a nasty pass. “Fillmore got by me once or twice, then he’d screw up and I’d get around him. I used my experience and rode smart, which put me in fifth today even though some of the guys behind me were a little quicker.” Yates thought about mixing it up with May late in the race, but he didn’t want to make a mistake that could cost both teammates spots on the track. “I just couldn’t get by Geoff,” Yates said. “I didn’t want to put some kind of crazy move on him to make the pass. I was struggling to get stopped at the end of the straightaway after half way. I really couldn’t make a move on the brakes anywhere.” Yates added that his AMSOIL EBR is feeling better every time they hit the track. “We’ve got the bike feeling really good to me,” Yates said. “It’s really getting through the corners well. I could make a mistake and lose some ground to Geoff but make it all back up in a couple of turns. It’s fun to ride. If we get a little more power, we’ll be in the show and in contention for a podium.” Up next for May and Yates is the July 19-21 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: Déjà Vu All Over Again: Herrin Takes Advantage to Record Second AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Win of 2013 at Mid-Ohio LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 14, 2013) – Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes took the checkered flag 4.878 seconds ahead of his up-and-coming teammate Josh Herrin in Sunday’s AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike final. Unfortunately for Hayes — and to Herrin’s good fortune — the Mississippian actually required a margin of five seconds to fully make up for the penalty he was given for jumping the start. As a result, Herrin was awarded his second-career premier-class victory to conclude the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In its early stages, the 21-lap contest looked as if it would shape up to be a thrilling three-man dogfight for the win. Hayes ran in first but was shadowed by both Herrin and National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden over the opening eight laps. However, the race was delivered a pair of big twists moments later; Hayden ran off track, overshooting the hard-braking Turn 6, at nearly the same time that Hayes was judged to have jumped the start and assessed his five-second penalty. Informed of the situation by his crew, the defending triple champ immediately went to work in an attempt to shake Herrin and assemble the requisite gap on track. However, Herrin’s recent efforts, which included running lap after lap by himself during practice and qualifying this weekend in order to improve his clear track pace — allowed him to cling onto Hayes for an extended period and then maintain lap times that proved just strong enough even after the champ pulled clear and eliminated Herrin’s ability to gauge off his teammate’s rear tire. Despite their physical separation on track, the race to the checkered flag was as tense and exciting a conclusion as the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing series has enjoyed in some time. Hayes whittled away at the five-second penalty and took the white flag with 0.737 left to be made up. Despite his relentless pace, he ultimately came up a meager 0.122 seconds short of accomplishing the goal and closing out his third consecutive double victory weekend. While Hayes was very aware of what he was up against, Herrin later admitted that he was clueless that he was actually battling for the win. Incredibly, the Georgian later explained that he was pushing hard because he was afraid he was being tracked down and in danger of losing what he thought to be a runner-up result. Race winner Herrin remarked, “I guess that was kind of a crazy race. I had no idea that I won the race until I was interviewed for television and I was kind of shocked for a second. I couldn’t even say anything… Josh really rode a great race as he does every time he gets on the bike. He’s proven over the past three years that he’s a GP quality rider… I just have to thank him for all the help that he’s given me. I really lucked out today. We’ll take it — a win’s a win — and we’ll move onto Laguna with a lot of confidence, just in the way that we rode. I think we rode pretty well today, even though Josh beat me by so much. I was proud of the way I was able to keep a consistent pace by myself and hopefully Laguna goes just as well.” Hayes said, “You know, I’m proud of the way I rode the race. I made one little mistake and the race was going okay… I was pushing absolutely as hard as I could and I had a few moments in the six-to-three laps to go range. On the white flag lap I had a little front-ender but I just kept pushing as hard as I could. I was able to stay in the ’25s and I put in the best last lap that I could. “Big congratulations to Josh — he did a great job. I know he’s been working on pace and I know he got stuck out there by himself, so I think the work paid off for him today. He was able to keep a good enough pace that I couldn’t overcome it.” Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Martin Cardenas rode a lonely race to complete a double third-place weekend, hitting the stripe more than 13 seconds off the win (and more than 18 seconds behind Hayes’ genuine pace). The Colombian said, “It was a very tough race for me today. I didn’t quite have the pace today. I had maybe the same pace as yesterday but these guys were a little bit faster. I did everything I could and maybe halfway through the race I had a few moments and realized I wasn’t going to catch the front. So I tried to stay conservative and maintain the gap that I had behind me. Today’s race was a little bit disappointing for me — I was hoping for a little better. But anyway, thanks to the Yoshimura team — we’ve been working hard and we’ll keep trying.” Jordan Suzuki’s Danny Eslick finished some distance back in fourth but also well clear of the heated three-man scrap for fifth, waged by Erik Buell Racing teammates Geoff May and Aaron Yates, and KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore. Fillmore held the spot early but was ultimately overhauled by both fifth-place finisher May on the Team Hero EBR 1190RS and sixth-placed Yates aboard the Team AMSOIL/Hero-backed machine. Hayden recovered well enough to charge back to eighth as minor consolation in what’s what’s been a deeply disappointing weekend for the Kentuckian. Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing’s David Anthony and Fillmore’s KTM/HMC Racing teammate, Taylor Knapp, rounded out the top ten. Defending champion Hayes leads an extremely tight title fight into Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next weekend, boasting 191 points to Herrin’s 187 and Cardenas’ 186. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Cameron Beaubier extended his magical season on Sunday at Mid-Ohio, winning his sixth of seven races in the 2013 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike season. Beaubier had to work for this one, topping JD Beach by just 0.655. Beach’s RoadRace Factory/Red Bull teammate Jake Gagne finished third in the race shortened to 15 laps after a crash on the fan lap caused a lengthy clean up. Beaubier had to move through the field and gain positions one at a time, having gotten off the line in fifth place. Although Beaubier was able to take the lead from Beach on lap six, Beach did not concede the win. Beach actually closed on Beaubier late by virtue of the race’s fastest lap on the white-flag lap. “At the beginning, I was a little timid going into the left-hander,” said Beaubier. “I could hear JD on me the whole race, especially in the last turn. He was there the whole time, and it was tough.” Cameron added that he had tried to pull away, but couldn’t shake Beach. Beach earned his best-ever Daytona SportBike result in the contest and did a great job of holding Gagne at bay, too. Gagne had a tough time with National Guard Celtic Racing’s James Rispoli, who ultimately finished fifth. As has been the case in other races this year, Rispoli was very strong in the opening laps but managed to earn his best Daytona SportBike finish yet even though Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha) edged him out of fourth place by 0.2). Meen Motorsports’ Jake Lewis earned sixth, ahead of GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing’s Dane Westby, Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing), and Bobby Fong (D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph.) AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport In AMA Pro Motorcycle-SuperStore.com SuperSport, Hayden Gillim won an eventful contest to begin the day of racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Team 95’s Gillim emerged victorious in the red-flagged race despite opposition from the likes of RoadRace Factory’s Tomas Puerta and Harv’s H-D pilot Travis Wyman. Although Gillim had earned spectacular SuperSport victories in Utah and New Orleans in previous seasons, the Kentuckian had been shut out in the win column in 2013 until Sunday. After a restart, Gillim was fourth but quickly dispatched Miles Thornton (CTR Racing) as Puerta passed Wyman for the lead. But Puerta had a machine issue just as he took the lead, and he pitted. Gillim and Wyman dueled at the front until the end, trading the lead until Gillim seized it with a bold move on the last lap. “These guys were running a really good pace, too,” said Gillim, who won by 0.184 of a second. “Travis got out in front. The last couple of laps, we were going at it. I wasn’t aware that he had a penalty, so I was racing for the win. It was a really fun race.” Miles Thornton topped off his excellent weekend with third place. Thornton emerged on top of the scrappy battle with points contenders Corey Alexander and Stefano Mesa. Alexander (National Guard/Celtic Racing) made a tight pass on Mesa late. Mesa responded with his best lap of the event but couldn’t counter a move. Alexander now leads the points by 9, but now Gillim is second after his great weekend with Mesa a further five points back. “I’m in the points lead after Stefano falling yesterday, but Hayden is coming on strong,” said Alexander. “Every position is crucial.” Nick McFadden (TOBC Racing) was next in the running order. He nudged Oklahoma’s Connor Blevins of Ajax Kawasaki. AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series Suburban Harley-Davidson’s Steve Rapp kept his AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series win streak alive, notching his third victory in a row today. However, unlike his previous two blowouts, Rapp’s Mid-O win was earned by only fractions of a second — both at the race’s start and its conclusion. Polesitter Rapp found himself in danger of missing the start altogether when the zipper on his leathers got stuck and then was ripped off in an attempt to free it. As his opponents took the warm-up lap, Rapp scrambled for a solution and jumped into a pair of borrowed leathers just in time to mount his machine and make the race. He immediately dropped several positions down the order as his tires warmed up but then started systematically working forward. He ultimately arrived at the front, overtaking an on-form Travis Wyman (Harv’s Harley-Davidson). Wyman didn’t back down, however, and challenged Rapp to the checkered flag. Rapp won by a scant 0.173 seconds over Wyman, who also finished second in the day’s SuperSport race. Rapp explained what happened with his leaders: “It’s so embarrassing… It’s never happened ever in all the years I’ve raced. The zipper got stuck and I couldn’t get it up or down. Then we were really getting on it and the whole zipper broke off, so I had no suit. Luckily the guys from Surburban ran back and got me Brice Cooper’s suit. I put it on last second. I missed the warm-up lap and jumped over the wall just as they were taking the grid, but I was able to go from my grid spot.” Meanwhile, Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade’s Tyler O’Hara won out in a three-man scrap for third, edging ahead of Rapp’s Suburban Harley-Davidson teammate, Ben Carlson, and reigning class champ Michael Barnes on the Spyke’s Harley-Davidson XR1200. Eric Stump (Fernet Insurance), Nicholas Hansen (H&S Distributors), Josh Chisum (Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade), Hayden Schultz (Happy Trails MC Connnection), and Shane Narbonne (Mob Racing) completed the top ten. Next Up The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will pick right back up next weekend (July 19-21) in Monterey, California as the series shares the spotlight with the global superstars of the MotoGP World Championship for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing. About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing: GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The 2012 schedule consists of 12 rounds of competition on the country’s finest road courses. The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/. 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. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer PR: TOUGH DAY AT MID-OHIO FOR TEAM HAMMER Team Hammer closed out the GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio with a couple more top-10 finishes to its credit. Sunday’s Daytona SportBike race was delayed about an hour when a three-corner section of the racetrack was covered in oil dumped by a spectator’s bike during the fan ride. SportBike competitors were given an additional 10-minute practice session to assess the reduced traction and to see where absorbent material had been spread on the pavement. That session was followed by the race, which was shortened from 21 to 15 laps. GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing’s Dane Westby managed to not crash after being bumped by another rider and thrown up and out of the seat on the first lap of the race, but lost touch with the lead pack. Westby salvaged what he could, ultimately backing up the previous day’s sixth-place finish with a seventh-place ride aboard his Team Hammer-prepared CBR600RR. M4 Broaster Chicken Racing’s Benny Solis also fought to a place in the top 10. The young pilot earned his fourth-straight top-10, finishing 10th. Broaster Chicken/MPH Racing’s Melissa Paris guided her Team Hammer Contract Services-prepared Honda CBR600RR to 18th on the day. Meanwhile, M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing’s Chris Ulrich won a close fight for 13th in Sunday’s 21-lap AMA Superbike final on the still-oily racetrack. Ulrich got a bad start and then ran off the track, completing the first lap down in 17th position before working his way forward. After the race Ulrich explained, “That was a funny race with strange conditions. The start did it; obviously qualifying back on the fourth row isn’t exactly the best place to be at the start of the race. The launch was OK and I moved past a few people, but I left the door open a little bit in the Keyhole turn and a couple of guys got by me that maybe shouldn’t have. “But the bigger issue today was that we took a chance and switched to the optional harder front tire–which we hadn’t tried in practice–because the conditions had changed. It took about 10 laps for the tire to come in and for me to get used to it. When it eventually started working well I charged forward and made passes, and even went quicker than I had qualified on the second-to-last lap. “We learned a couple things and we’re sorting out the bike and electronics, which has not been easy. Going forward, we’re going to roll off the truck with a better set-up, and once we can do that, then we can improve in qualifying. If you qualify a row forward, that’s obviously less work you have to do in the race. Ideally you want to be on the first two rows of the grid; in our situation right now, we need to shoot for the first three rows, work hard and carry on. Top 10s are still the initial goal and we’re getting closer, but we want to do way better than that. As hard as the crew is working, we’re going to get a handle on the electronics and set-up and keep moving forward.” Team Hammer packed up and immediately headed to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca where the AMA Pro Road Racing series will share the spotlight with the MotoGP World Championship at next weekend’s Grand Prix. About Team Hammer: In 2013, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 33rd consecutive racing season, and is marking its seventh year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on Team Hammer-prepared racebikes have earned 56 AMA Pro National race wins; 132 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 5 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships and assorted other race wins and titles.