Triumph Superbike Classic/AMA Pro Road Racing Championship Series
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
June 21, 2014
Provisional Superbike Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Josh Hayes (Yam YZF-R1), 19 laps
2. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000), -12.058 seconds
3. Chris Clark (Suz GSX-R1000), -18.000
4. Larry Pegram (EBR 1190RS), -27.453
5. Cory West (EBR 1190RS), -38.318
6. Sean Dwyer (Suz GSX-R1000), -38.679
7. Reese Wacker (Suz GSX-R1000), -53.177
8. Trent Gibson (Kaw ZX-10R), -56.975
9. Johnny Rock Page (Suz GSX-R1000), -70.184, started from pit lane
10. Frankie Babuska (Suz GSX-R1000), -70.429
11. Bernat Martinez (Yam YZF-R1), -70.910
12. Chris Fillmore (KTM RC8R), -3 laps, DNF, mechanical
13. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), -4 laps, DNF, crash
14. Chris Ulrich (Hon CBR1000RR), -13 laps, DNF, crash
15. Cameron Beaubier (Yam R1), -14 laps, DNF, crash
16. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R1000), -19 laps, DNF, crash
Championship Point Standings (after 5 of 11 races):
1. Hayes, 115 points
2. Anthony, 98
3. Hayden, 97
4. Clark, 90
5. Beaubier, 89
6. Fillmore, 69
7. Cardenas, 65
8. West, 58
9. Martinez, 48
10. Gibson, 45
11. Ulrich, 39
12. Pegram, 38
13. Babuska, 31
14. Diego Pierluigi, 28
15. Wacker, 27
16. Taylor Knapp, 26
17. TIE, Jason Farrell/Stefano Mesa, 20
19. TIE, Dwyer/Francois Dumas, 19
More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Alabama Shakes: Hayes and Yamaha outlast rivals in brutal contest at Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 21, 2014) – In the opening stages of Saturday’s AMA Pro SuperBike showdown at Barber Motorsports Park, the race for victory appeared to be shaping into a rematch of the epic clashes featured at last year’s Triumph SuperBike Classic. However, the brutally hot conditions ultimately delivered a result more reminiscent of the race of attrition endured last time out at Road America, albeit due to heat instead of precipitation.
And as was the case in Wisconsin, it was the experience and rock solid riding of three-time AMA Pro SuperBike champion Josh Hayes that won out in the end. The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha rider held strong at the front all afternoon despite the extremely trying circumstances while all of his major rivals faltered.
As a result, the early advantage Hayes spotted his competition with his Daytona DNF back in March has effectively been erased. The 39-year-old now owns the inside line to a fourth-career SuperBike crown with a commanding 17-point advantage as the season approaches its halfway point.
2011 Barber Motorsports Park SuperBike race winner Martin Cardenas was the first to see his chances end with a crash, falling out of the race on its opening lap. The Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing star was joined a handful of laps later when Hayes’ Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate, Cameron Beaubier, fell in the same area of the racetrack.
That spill marked the conclusion of a long day for the rookie standout. Beaubier started from the second row of the grid after crashing in Qualifying 3. He then ran off track while running a close third on lap five and tumbled out of the race a lap later.
“I had a really good lap going in qualifying and for whatever reason I tucked the front,” Beaubier said. “I got in a little hot. Same thing this afternoon – I just felt like I had no grip compared to earlier and I made a mistake. And then I was trying to catch back up and I just washed front in the last right-hander. I don’t know – I’m pretty disappointed at this point. I’m sick of crashing.”
GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing Honda’s Chris Ulrich crashed in Turn 1 on the next lap, bringing out a red flag. At the restart, Hayes and title hopeful Roger Hayden immediately resumed the intense fight for first they waged prior to the stoppage.
Hayden, who twice pushed Hayes to the checkered flag at Barber Motorsports Park last season only to come up fractions of a second short of victory, battled hard to overcome him this time around. However, perhaps the Yoshimura ace battled just a bit too hard, crashing away a potential win while running in Hayes’ shadow on lap 16 of 21.
The mounting mistakes ultimately left Hayes all alone out front with ADR Motorsports/Sic/Motul Fly Racing’s David Anthony and HMC/KTM Racing’s Chris Fillmore embroiled in a scrap for second and third position.
Unfortunately for Fillmore, his hopes for a debut podium for KTM evaporated in heartbreak, as his race ended with him sitting aboard an expired RC8R in the gravel. Fillmore’s loss was Chris Clark’s gain, as the third Yoshimura pilot readily accepted a first-career AMA Pro SuperBike podium of his own.
“To me, the race was very reminiscent of last year,” said Hayes after claiming AMA Pro SuperBike victory No. 43. “It was hot, greasy and very easy to make mistakes. … Fortunately, once the pressure was off, I was able to back things down a little bit and I felt pretty safe and sound the last few laps.
“But up until that point, I had a pretty good race going. I started off a little relaxed and maybe a little too complacent. I didn’t dig deep for fast laps because I knew the second half of the race was going to change things – and it still was hard for some, even at the beginning of the race. After the red flag, my start was okay and I was just kind of so-so on the first couple of laps. And then I thought, ‘OK, let’s see if (Hayden) has really got some speed here’ in the second half and I started trying a few things. I made a few mistakes but after that I calmed down I started clicking off better and better laps. I was hoping I could put some pressure on, and if he wasn’t ready for it, just get him half a second off and I knew making that ground back up would be really difficult to do.
“I don’t know what happened behind me with him. I hate that he went down – I hate that all the guys went down. But hey, it was a hard race and I’m glad I was able to wrestle that R1 around and not fall off of her and get her to the finish line and do a good job for my team.”
For Australian Anthony, today’s finish marked his second career AMA Pro Road Racing podium, coming directly on the heels of his Road America breakthrough.
Anthony’s stellar season actually sees him ranked second in the points chase following five races.
“I think everyone will say the same – it was a matter of attrition out there,” said Anthony. “I was just trying to keep it on two wheels – it was pretty slippery out there. That was my goal – just bring it to the end. I knew some people would go down and a few of them did.”
“To earn a first (AMA Pro Road Racing) podium in the SuperBike class out of all of them is something pretty special,” said Clark after his third-place finish. “It was definitely a race of attrition – if everybody would have stayed up, I probably wouldn’t be up here, but that’s how the race went.
“I’ve been putting in a lot of training in Florida. … When I knew it was going to be a hot race, I thought we’d have a chance at doing something special. I can’t speak for all the riders, but when you’re in a race that long and hot, the brain starts to fade and mistakes can happen. I just put in a really solid race and I’m really thankful to be up here.”
Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram climbed his way up to fourth, while Team AMSOIL Hero’s Cory West made it two EBR 1190RSs in the top five.
Vicious Cycle Racing’s Sean Dwyer, Pilot Travel Centers Racing’s Reese Wacker, Seven Sports’ Trent Gibson, United America All Nation’s Johnny Rock Page and Babuska Racing’s Frankie Babuska made for an interesting top ten by placing sixth through tenth, respectively.
On Sunday, Hayden, Beaubier, Cardenas and company will have a shot at redemption while Hayes will look to continue his march to reclaim the No. 1 plate.
AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike
Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Dane Westby won the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race on Saturday, snatching an epic victory after 19 laps of battling with Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha pilot JD Beach to win by 0.310 seconds in the Alabama heat.
The Oklahoman was under assault the entire event, with Beach and polesitter Jake Lewis in his shadow. Beach made a move to the lead with four to go, but Westby countered in the Museum Turn moments later.
“I saw one guy go flying past and I knew in the last couple of laps they were going to try to do something, so I just tried to attack back as quick as I could,” said Westby of his third career DSB win and first since forming his own squad. “It’s so ridiculously hot here today – the humidity. I was dying in the truck before this race, but we come out and you get going and there’s no one in front of you … that stuff just disappears.”
Bobby Fong and his Latus Motors/Castrol/Triumph Racing entry went from the ground to the podium at Barber, with the team repairing crash damage during the red flag he brought out for a fall and the rider making moves to earn third place after restarting last.
Team H35’s Benny Solis was fourth, ahead of veterans Danny Eslick on the Riders Discount Racing Triumph and Steve Rapp on his D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph.
Points leader Jake Gagne and his RoadRace Factory/Red Bull machine crashed with Garrett Gerloff just after the restart. Gerloff said after the race that he had fractured his radius bone in the incident and could miss time as he heals.
AMA Pro SuperSport
On Saturday, Hayden Gillim won his second AMA Pro SuperSport race in a row. The TOBC Racing team and Gillim managed to take the race by 5.987 seconds over Houston Superbike’s Dustin Dominguez and De Keyrel Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel in the hottest event of the year.
“I’ve been able to get good starts this year,” said Gillim. “We were able to get out front. I didn’t believe my pitboard, so I kept my head down and pushed as much as I could. I was second in qualifying, so I didn’t think I could get away like I did.”
De Keyrel scored his first finish on the podium. The 17-year old fought with Dominguez until the checkered flag, getting by his more experienced counterpart before losing the position at the end.
“I figured instead of duking it out with two to go, I’d do a little studying,” said Dominguez. “It was a pretty cool pass.”
Miles Thornton was back in the top five as the D&D Cycles/Triumph/Castrol pilot earned fourth, ahead of a second TOBC Racing entry underneath Curtis Murray.
Points leader Corey Alexander crashed out of the race while in the top five.
AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series
Reigning AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series champ Steve Rapp is desperately looking to get his title defense on track this weekend in Alabama following a pair of disappointing results in the season’s first two rounds. The Suburban Motors Harley-Davidson star is off to a good start toward those ends this weekend, securing the provisional pole with a scorching 1:35.497 lap.
“I hadn’t crashed the bike in three years before Road America, so the boys took it apart and went through everything,” said Rapp. “It was good and we’ll see how things go tomorrow.”
Rapp will be joined on the front row by his Suburban Motors teammate, Ben Carlson, and Road America winner Kyle Wyman on the KWR/Millennium XR1200.
Points leader Tyler O’Hara (Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels Harley-Davidson) will start from the middle of Row 2.
How to Watch
FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also provides coverage of IMSA’s development and single-make series, and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series.
About AMA Pro Road Racing
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 series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about 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 Yamaha:
Josh Hayes Gets Five For Fighting, Wins Fifth Barber SuperBike Race In A Row Aboard His Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1
Birmingham, AL – June 21, 2014 – Barber Motorsports Park was just what three-time AMA Pro SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes needed to put himself back in control of a fourth SuperBike title, as he won Saturday’s SuperBike Race 1 in convincing fashion aboard his #4 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1.
The win launched Josh into a 17-point lead in the standings after coming into the weekend in third place. It was a brutally hot day, with three qualifying sessions followed by a long race, but Josh’s Mississippi roots and topnotch fitness clearly helped him win the day.
“It was hot, greasy, and easy to make mistakes out there,” Josh said. “It was a very hard race in these hot conditions, so I’m happy to finish with the win. Five SuperBike wins in a row at this track seems hard to believe, but I guess you could say that I feel at home here in Alabama. We’ll come back tomorrow and try to make it six wins in a row. I know I’ve got the bike and the crew to do it.”
As for Josh’s teammate and SuperBike rookie Cameron Beaubier, his day was the polar opposite (and, by “polar,” were definitely not talking about the Birmingham-area climate). Cameron lowsided his #2 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1 while running in fourth place. The 2013 Daytona SportBike Champion was unhurt, but his R1 SuperBike didn’t fare quite as well. The race was red-flagged after another rider crashed, so Cameron’s crew chief Rick Hobbs and the rest of the team worked diligently to get the bike race-ready for the restart.
Unfortunately, they ran out of time, and Cameron was credited with 15th place and enough points for fourth place in the points standings. He and his team will regroup and come back strong for Sunday’s SuperBike Race 2 from Barber Motorsports Park, which is set to go green at 3:00 PM CST.
Watch FansChoice.tv. For All The Racing Action This Weekend At Barber Motorsports Park
If you can’t make it to Birmingham, AL, this weekend for the SuperBike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park, you can catch all the action live and online at http://www.FansChoice.tv
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, check out: www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racingor your favorite Yamaha social media channel.