Jensen Victorious In Formula USA SportBike Final DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., – Robert Jensen came out on top of an intense four-rider last-lap battle to the flag Sunday in the Formula USA SportBike final at historic Daytona International Speedway. Jensen used the draft to perfection to take the victory over Geoff May, Jason Perez and Jeff Wood with only 10 bike lengths separating the top four finishers. “Normally I’d pass them every time coming into Turn 2,” said Jensen, the defending F-USA SportBike champion from Chaffee, N.D. “This time, I let those two stay up there and I stayed right behind them. (In the) chicane, I backed off just a second just to get into the chicane and get a good run at them. “I was drafting the guy on the Yamaha (Perez) and he was getting us up to May and then when those two got together and began pushing on to each other I went on the outside and got to the lead. I was sitting up off the seat trying to get a good nice smooth (draft). It worked. It was great. I lucked out.” M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec won the SuperBike class in a good battle with Floridian Michael Barnes. “We were riding slicks, Barney was on DOT tires,” said Haskovec, a native of the Czech Republic. “That was a major difference. My bike is definitely faster than his because they are on a Supersport bike. We definitely have some power on them. On the other hand, I didn’t have any practice. I just jumped on a bike and rode it for the first time.” Jeff Wood broke away early and took victory in the Formula SportBike class on his Arclight Suzuki. Wood thought the new 2.95-mile motorcycle course layout played a part in helping him pull away. “It adds more technical riding to the track,” Wood said. “I think it’s a good thing.” Michael Barnes won the ThunderBike race on a Suzuki SV650 and donated his earnings and trophy to a fellow rider who was injured in an accident Homestead-Miami Speedway earlier this year. Racing resumes at the Speedway with the American Historic Motorcycle Racing Association races on Monday and Tuesday. The AMA Road Racing program begins on Wednesday. Tickets to any of the motorcycle events at Daytona International Speedway are available online at ~http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com~ or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Sunday’s Results Formula SportBike (15 laps) 1. Jeff Wood, Mansfield, Mass., Suzuki 2. Lee Acree, Greensboro, N.C., Suzuki 3. Scott Harwell, Lincolnton, N.C., Suzuki SuperBike (15 laps) 1. Vincent Haskovec, Athens, Ala., Suzuki 2. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Yamaha 3. Jeff Wood, Mansfield, Mass., Suzuki ThunderBike (10 laps) 1. Michael Barnes, Boca Raton, Fla., Suzuki 2. David Yaakov, Rockville, Md., Suzuki 3. Dan Bilansky, Delafield, Wisc. Sportbike (15 laps) 1. Robert Jensen, Chaffee, N.D., Suzuki 2. Geoff May, Cumming, Ga., Suzuki 3. Jason Perez, Brentwood, Ca., Yamaha Expert Middleweight Grand Prix 1. Chris Peris, Calgary, Alberta, Yamaha 2. Heath Small, Waller, Texas, Yamaha 3. Trey Yonce, Charleston, S.C., Yamaha Amateur Middleweight Grand Prix 1. Gustavo Laya, Miami, Fla., Honda 2. Brian McCormack, Waterford, Ireland, Yamaha 3. Chris Porter, Warrington, Pa., Honda Expert Speedscreen Unlimited GP 1. James McConnell, Orlando, Fla., 2. Takashi Tezuka, Tokyo, Japan, Honda 3. Gary Berbaum, Washington, N.J., Ducati Amateur Speedscreen Unlimited GP 1. Andrew Moates, Casselberry, Floa., Suzuki 2. Gene Gilchrist, Columbus, Ohio, Suzuki 3. J.B. Layman, East Ellijay, Ga., Yamaha Expert Lightweight GP 1. Mark Stiles, Darien, Wisc., Yamaha 2. Nate Kern, Phoenixville, Pa., BMW 3. John Costa, Miami, Fla., Buell More, from a press release issued by Michael Barnes’ publicist: BARNES GOES WIRE-TO-WIRE IN FORMULA USA THUNDERBIKE Daytona, USA Michael Barnes won the opening round of the Formula USA Thunderbike series today in a convincing fashion with a dominating wire-to-wire performance. Riding the Prieto Racing/Mike Mills Suzuki SV650, Mike earned the pole position on Saturday in qualifying with a time of 1:49.313, more than a second faster than the rest of the field. In Sunday afternoon’s race, Mike never relinquished the lead. “I got the hole shot at the start, and was looking for a good race with Dave Estok”, said Mike. “Unfortunately, he had a mechanical on the first lap and dropped out, and it was a pretty easy ride from that point on.” Again getting the hole shot on both of the two restarts after red flags interrupted the race, Mike was never challenged for the lead and won with a very comfortable margin. Mike will be donating all of his Thunderbike winnings to “Scuba” Steve Servis, who suffered a cervical fracture earlier this year in a CCS race at Homestead. More, from another press release issued by Michael Barnes’ publicist: Venemotos Yamaha Venezuela/Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes finished on the podium in the opening round of the Formula USA Superbike series today. After posting the fourth fastest qualifying time on Saturday just behind the contingent of AMA Supersport factory riders in attendance, Mike was awarded the pole position when the Yamaha team elected to yield. During Sunday’s race, Mike battled on his Yamaha YZF-R6 Superbike with Rob Jensen for the lead until the race was stopped for a red flag. On the restart, Mike kept Vincent Haskovec, the eventual race winner, within sight and finished second. “Vincent was on his AMA FX bike, and it was real fast. We just didn’t have the power to keep up with him on that bike today.” Starting in ninth place on the grid in the Sportbike race, Mike suffered a punctured radiator on the first lap and had to park the bike when all coolant was lost. “We caught a stone in the radiator and that was the end of my race”, said Mike. “The bike overheated real fast and I couldn’t continue.” Other Venemotos Yamaha Venezuela/Prieto Racing team members had good results, all also riding Yamaha YZF-R6’s. Armando Ferrer finished ninth in both the Superbike and Sportbike races. Victor Chirinos placed twentieth in Sportbike, but was unlucky to be out of the Superbike race after just nine of the fifteen laps. The team will remain at Daytona for action in the AMA Supersport event next week.