Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix/GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 28, 2012 Provisional Combined Qualifying Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 1:27.575 2. Tommy Hayden (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.004 3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.465 4. Jake Zemke (Duc 848EVO), 1:28.568 5. Dane Westby (Suz GSX-R600), 1:28.577 6. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.710 7. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.050 8. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.188 9. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:29.491 10. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.725 11. Joey Pascarella (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.755 12. Aaron Gobert (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.818 13. Huntley Nash (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.855 14. Tyler O’Hara (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.887 15. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.932 16. J.D. Beach (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.971 17. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.466 18. Ben Young (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.735 19. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.404 20. David Gaviria (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.578 21. Nahun Alvarez (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.236 22. Brian Pinkstaff (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:32.379 23. Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.852 24. Ted Rich (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.205 25. Matthew Presting (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.978 26. Chris Duran (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.737 27. Melissa Paris (Suz GSX-R600), 1:34.771 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Two’s A Pair For Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha As Teammates Hayden And Beaubier Qualify On Front Row At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, CA July 28, 2012 In one of the most abbreviated final qualifying sessions in AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike history, both Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha pilots put their identically prepared Yamaha YZF-R6’s on the front row for tomorrow’s only Daytona SportBike race of the weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. And, as it turned out their fast laps from Friday’s second practice session are actually what got them up front. Due to morning fog that cancelled the first DSB qualifying session and oil spilled on the track from AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike qualifying that delayed and shortened the second DSB qualifying session, Tommy Hayden was only able to get in three laps, while Cameron Beaubier only ran four laps in the dramatically shortened Q session. GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Racing counted Friday’s second practice as the first qualifying session, and Tommy’s and Cameron’s lap times from Friday were actually what put them on the front row. “I only ran three laps,” commented Tommy. “So, I really wasn’t able to improve on my time from yesterday. But, we went well in practice and it counted, so I’m happy to be able to start at the front for tomorrow’s race.” Cameron said, “I guess that just emphasizes how important it is to go fast in practice. I did that yesterday, so I’m glad about that. I wish I’d been able to improve my time from practice, but three laps just weren’t enough. We’re on the front row, though, so I’ll focus on getting a good start in tomorrow’s race and go from there.” Sunday’s Daytona SportBike Race is scheduled for 11:15 AM PST. For more news, results, and other team info, be sure to visit Yamaha’s Facebook page. More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of GEICO: Cardenas conquers qualifying in Laguna, earns fourth pole of the year MONTEREY, Calif. (July 28) — Qualifying for the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike category was limited to just three circuits around the 11-turn, 2.24-mile course at Laguna Seca, but GEICO Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas made the most of his brief time on track, posting a top-qualifying time of 1:27.575 to lead the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. This marks the fourth time in eight rounds this year that Cardenas has qualified on top of the field. He’s gone on to win from the pole three times, twice at Road Atlanta and once at Miller Motorsports Park. “It’s definitely the best position to start the race,” Cardenas said. “We are very happy. I’m glad we had a chance to put a few laps down today because it is a little bit cooler and we found some time and managed to improve by four hundredths of a second.” There were two qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday but AMA officials scrubbed the early one due to fog and moisture on the racing surface. The second round was then shortened by an accident that collected six riders. “My work day was very easy; only three laps,” Cardenas joked. “I would have liked to had more time, as I’m sure everyone else would agree, but this weekend is busy with the MotoGP riders here so they just combined yesterday’s practice times with the few laps we made today and set the field.” With six victories and a 40-point lead in the championship points, the 29-year-old Colombian already was a favorite for Sunday’s main event, a fact that was punctuated by the performance from his Frank Aragaki-tuned GSX-R 600 on Saturday morning. Cardenas was the only rider in the top 10 to improve. “Although we lost some track time today I don’t think the bikes could be any better than they are right now,” Cardenas said. “Frank and the crew have done a remarkable job all year and they are really impressing me right now. “It’s fun to lead the way at any race and maybe a bit more when the eyes of the motorcycle world are on us. I am ready to race and anxious to get another win.” More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: LIMITED TRACK TIME FOR NASH AND DSB FIELD ON SATURDAY AT FOGGY LAGUNA SECA Monterey, CA (July 28, 2012) — Saturday at Laguna Seca proved to be of limited benefit to Huntley Nash and LTD Racing as track time was limited to just a handful of laps because of weather, track clean-up issues, and red flags. Nash was able to only get three flying laps after the delays but fortunately felt the setup for his Yamaha R6 was improved from Friday’s single session. “Our first session today was scratched and basically the second session was, too. We made a bunch of changes to the bike overnight and the three flying laps I got to do today, one before the red flag and two after, it seemed pretty decent,” said Nash. “I didn’t feel any problems and the problems from yesterday were fixed from what I could tell. Hopefully in the morning we can get a warm-up session and see how it feels. It’s tough for everyone with this little track time and it’s very frustrating but out of our control.” A former SuperSport winner at Laguna Seca, Nash will race the 20-lap Daytona SportBike final at 11:15 local time on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer: LIMITED TRACK TIME FOR AMA PRO RACERS AT LAGUNA SECA ON SATURDAY M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby didn’t get much track time on Saturday at Laguna Seca, but the Daytona SportBike standout is hopeful he can continue his recent hot streak. Westby has vaulted to second in series points after finishing first or second in each of the last four races, but weather issues, track clean-up problems, and a red flag meant he and the rest of the field had only a few laps to qualify at the USGP. “Well, it was regretful because we only had one out lap and three fliers. I always need more time at Laguna Seca so I was disappointed,” said Westby, who went one second faster than he’d ever gone before at Laguna Seca on Friday. “I didn’t get up to speed as quick as I’d like today but it was what it was. Before the red flag I was jittery because I knew we only had 15 minutes and I needed to get up to speed fast and I wanted to improve my time. After the red flag, I just got de-stressed because it was just about impossible to go any faster; you just wanted to do some good laps and we did. I should be good for the race and I’m looking forward to it but a little uncertain.” Dane will start in fifth place for the 20-lap race. Elena Myers had a solid race on her Suzuki SportBikeTrackGear.com GSX-R600 on Saturday. Myers earned a strong seventh in the 16-lap race as she improved here race pace to around a half-second quicker than her qualifying time. In Superbike, Chris Ulrich was able to avoid a pile-up in the first qualifying session and was well into the top 10 for most of the session before losing a few positions in the closing minutes. After a very short final qualifying session the veteran ended up qualifying 15th for tomorrow’s race. In 2012, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 32nd consecutive racing season and marks its sixth year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on Team Hammer-prepared racebikes have earned 53 AMA Pro National race wins; 122 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 4 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships and assorted other race wins and titles.