HAYDEN TIES FOR AMA SUPERBIKE SERIES LEAD

Yoshimura Suzuki team-mates Martin Cardenas and Roger Hayden both had podium finishes at the AMA Pro Superbike Championship second round at Road America in Elkhart Lake at the weekend, with Hayden leaving the event tied for the series lead.

With more than two months since the first round at Daytona International Speedway in March, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Cardenas came into the weekend ready to race. On Saturday, he got a good start in the 13-lap event and piloted his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a third-place result. On Sunday, Cardenas again got a good start and was in second for the first half of the race when it began to rain. The AMA restarted the race wet but because the rain was on-and-off, Cardenas went with slick tires. He got back out in second, but the rain picked-up on the last few laps and the Colombian wound up finishing seventh.

“On Saturday, my position was good but I would like to have been better,” said Cardenas. “In the dry on Sunday, I felt good and strong. Then the AMA stopped the race and the rain came in. They restarted the race and I was running second when the big rain hit the track and I slowed because I thought they were going to stop they race, but apparently not. It’s a shame it ended up like that. Now we go to Barber, and I’ve had good results there so I’m looking forward to that track. The Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working good, so I’m hoping for a good race and good results.”

Yoshimura Suzuki team-mate Hayden admittedly struggled at Road America. The Kentucky native ran in the top-five in Saturday’s race and finished fourth. On Sunday, Hayden was again running fourth when the rider in front of him went down just before the race was rain delayed. After the restart, Hayden – like his team-mates and most of the field – donned slicks and finished the rain-impacted race in third.

“It was pretty good,” said Hayden. “I really don’t deserve third place. I got lucky when the rider in front of me crashed earlier. With the off-and-on rain, I was just glad to finish the race on two wheels, it was kind of sketchy at the end; I’m pretty disappointed about that. But I will take the points and look forward to the next race at Barber.”

Rounding out the Yoshimura Suzuki crew, Chris Clark celebrated two solid races. On Saturday, the Las Vegas native got a top-10 start and finished sixth. Then on Sunday, he turned in solid laps before the rain and was running fifth. After the restart, Clark took advantage of the weather and wound up finishing fourth.

“It was definitely an experience, that’s for sure,” said Clark. “I’ve really been focusing on the rest of the season as a whole. The Yoshimura Suzuki crew did a great job, so I have to thank the team for a positive weekend overall. On Sunday, fortunately, my crew was able to make a decision that benefitted us for the restart. I started seventh and then got up to fourth. But then it was just pouring rain and I could hardly see, so I just tried to hold on and not take too many risks. I think at Barber, we’ll have another good result because the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working well, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next event is the third round of the 2014 AMA Pro Superbike Championships during the weekend of June 21 – 22, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

2014 Road America Superbike Results, Race 1: 1. Cameron Beaubier, 2. Josh Hayes, 3. Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki), 4. Roger Hayden (Yoshimura Suzuki), 5. David Anthony, 6. Chris Clark (Yoshimura Suzuki), 7. Chris Fillmore, 8. Chris Ulrich, 9. Cory West, 10. Jason Farrell.

2014 Road America Superbike Results, Race 2: 1. Josh Hayes, 2. David Anthony, 3. Roger Hayden (Yoshimura Suzuki), 4. Chris Clark (Yoshimura Suzuki), 5. Chris Fillmore, 6. Larry Pegram, 7. Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki), 8. Bernat Martinez, 9. Trent Gibson, 10. Francois Dumas. 

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad Motorsport:

BMW Motorrad Race Trophy: IDM riders storm to the fore, South Africa’s Lance Isaacs maintains narrow lead.

The BMW Motorrad privateer riders in the SUPERBIKE*IDM enjoyed a successful weekend in Zolder, and have consequently taken a big step towards the top of the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy standings.

Munich, 4th June 2014. There continues to be plenty of movement in the overall standings for the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy: big changes have been afoot, with the SUPERBIKE*IDM riders taking big strides towards the top of the table. Zolder (BE) hosted the IDM, and the BMW Motorrad privateers – with the support of BMW Motorrad Motorsport – were once again successful.

BMW Motorrad Race Trophy: SAM rider Isaacs maintains lead, IDM rider Nekvasil moves into second, with CIV rider Polita third.

As expected, the standings in the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy were once again turned completely on their head this week: the BMW Motorrad privateer riders in the SUPERBIKE*IDM were successful in their quest for BMW Motorrad Race Trophy points in Zolder, and have thus made inroads towards the top of the table. (See standings below).

Lance Isaacs from South Africa, who competes on a BMW S 1000 RR in the Super GP class of the South African Motorcycle Championship (SAM), continues to top the standings. Although he had a weekend off, his points tally was sufficient for him to hold onto a slender lead. Behind him, however, the picture is completely different to last week. IDM rider Marco Nekvasil (AT) picked up 27 Race Trophy points in Zolder, courtesy of pole position and two podiums in the Superstock class. In doing so, he climbed from 11th to second. Alessandro Polita (IT), who starts in the Italian Superbike Championship (CIV), dropped from second to third. However, Polita can resume his assault on the top of the table this coming weekend, when he takes to the track for his next race in Imola (IT).

A further three IDM riders have moved into position behind the Italian. Bastien Mackels (BE) is fourth, while Markus Reiterberger (DE) has climbed from 15th to fifth in the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy on the back of pole position and two podiums in Zolder. Lucy Glöckner (DE) made even greater progress up the standings. She bagged a brace of victories in the Superstock class in Zolder. The ensuing 23 points see her climb from 23rd to sixth in the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy.

The table may well look completely different again after the coming weekend. Races are scheduled in several series: FIM Superbike World Championship (WSBK), the CIV, the Spanish Superbike Championship (CEV) and the Canadian Superbike Championship (CSBK), which launches its season this weekend. Furthermore, the Senior TT is also being held on the Isle of Man. Thanks to the complex and compensative points format, it is safe to assume that participants in these series will climb the standings in the BMW Motorrad Race Trophy, just as their counterparts in the IDM have done this week.

Road Racing: Isle of Man TT.

A dream came true for BMW Motorrad Motorsport on the Isle of Man. Seventy five years after Georg “Schorsch” Meier’s (DE) historic TT victory, BMW Motorrad was back to winning ways at the iconic road-racing event. On Saturday, Michael Dunlop (NI) won the Superbike race at the Isle of Man TT on a BMW S 1000 RR run by BMW Motorrad/Hawk Racing, with the support of BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Yesterday, Tuesday, he claimed his ninth TT win overall: Dunlop also won the Superstock race on his RR.

The specialists from Munich were on site to help all the BMW Motorrad riders and teams – and with success. Michael Rutter (GB / Bathams Prize Winning Ales) was also among the front-runners. He finished fifth in the Superbike race on Saturday, in yesterday’s Superstock race he crossed the line in seventh. Newcomer Peter Hickman (GB / Ice Valley by Motorsave Trade) was 14th on his BMW in the Superbike race and ninth in the Superstock race. Jimmy Storrar (GB), making his first appearance on the Penz13.com BMW Racing team’s HP4, also enjoyed fine results, finishing the races 16th and 15th respectively. The highlight of the race weekend comes in the form of the prestigious Senior TT on Friday 6th June.

Tragically, the treacherous Isle of Man TT is again overshadowed by fatal accidents this year. Sixty five-year-old Bob Price (GB) and former British Supersport Champion Karl Harris (34/GB) suffered fatal injuries in accidents. The whole BMW Motorrad Motorsport family wishes to pass on their deepest sympathy to their families and friends.

SUPERBIKE*IDM in Zolder.

One of the places the BMW Motorrad Motorsport experts were in action last weekend was also Zolder, Belgium, where they supported the BMW Motorrad customer teams at the second round of the International German Motorcycle Championship (IDM). And the BMW Motorrad privateers continued to enjoy success. Markus Reiterberger, riding a BMW S 1000 RR run by the Van Zon Remeha BMW team, ended both races on the podium. The German finished third behind Xavi Fores (ES) and Max Neukirchner (DE) in race one. In a fiercely-competitive second race, he came home second behind Neukirchner. His team-mate Bastien Mackels failed to finish the opening race, but finished fourth in race two. Stefan Nebel (DE) was fifth and seventh on a BMW HP4 for the Wilbers BMW Racing team.

The podium in the Superstock class was monopolised by BMW Motorrad riders, with Lucy Glöckner unbeatable on the Superstock version of the Wilbers BMW HP4. She bagged a brace of victories in Zolder. Glöckner won the Superstock class in the first race, ahead of Marco Nekvasil (Interwetten Racing by Fritze Tuning) and Dominik Vincon (DE / BMW Stilgenbauer). In race two, she came home first ahead of Leon Bovee (NL / Van Zon Remeha BMW) and Nekvasil.

2014 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy – Current Standings.

Status: 4th June 2014

16. Denni Schiavoni (IT/CIV/36,25), 17. Mark Albrecht (DE/IDM/30,75), 18. Daisaku Sakai (JP/MFJ/30,00), 19. Stefan Nebel (DE/IDM/29,25), 20. Marc Neumann (DE/IDM/27,00). 21. Ivan Silva Alberola (ES/CEV/25,60), 22. Uwe Gürck (DE/SWC/25,08), 23. Luciano Ribodino (AR/BRSBK/16,50), 24. Robert Muresan (RO/WSTK/16,00), 25. Thomas Hainthaler (DE/IDM/15,75), 26. Alessio Velini (IT/CIV/15,00), 27. Daniel Rivas Fernandez (ES/CEV/14,40), 25.), 28. Kohji Teramoto (JP/MFJ/14,00), 29. Lucas Teodoro (BR/BRSBK/9,00), 30. Lucas Barros, 31. David Datzer (DE/IDM/6,00), 32. Shinya Takeishi (JP/MFJ/6,00), 33. Imre Toth (HU/WSBK/5,00), 34. Peter Sebestyen (HU/WSBK/1,50), 35. Jordan Szoke (CA/CSBK/0,00), 36. Filip Altendorfer (DE/EWC/0,00), 37. Florian Bauer (DE/EWC/0,00), 38. Rico Löwe (DE/EWC/0,00)

It is still possible to register for the 2014 BMW Motorrad Race Trophy on the websitewww.bmw-motorrad.de/motorsport. The deadline for registrations for the current season is not until 2nd November 2014, entry is free. Regardless of when the registrations are received, each participant will receive points for all the race events he/she has competed in since the start of the scoring period on 15th February 2014. So the ranking can also continuously change as new participants are added.

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

PRINZ PODIUMS AT QATAR SUPERBIKES

Suzuki International Europe’s Nina Prinz returned to the podium at the penultimate round of the Qatar Superbike Championship at the weekend and closed the points-gap to third place in the series with two races remaining.

With temperatures in Qatar reaching 50 degrees Celsius in the daytime, the races at the Losail International Circuit are held at night under floodlights. “It is still a massive challenge for the riders and the bikes,” said Prinz. “The temperatures can still remain around 40 degrees after sunset.”

Despite the conditions the German Suzuki rider climbed onto the podium again, adding valuable points to her overall tally.

Said Prinz: “Following my crash at the race two weeks ago the mechanics brought my HPC Power Suzuki back into top shape. I was able to test some suspension parts during free practice and I was doing quick laps and secured fourth place on the grid.”

Prinz wasn´t totally comfortable with the set-up as the soaring heat in the afternoon limited her opportunity to further test in the warm-up session. But the 31-year-old still managed to get an excellent start and immediately found herself in the lead group. “We battled hard over each metre of the track and around mid-race, the positions were sorted and I had a lonely race, securing third place no problem,” she said.

In race two, Prinz had another great start and was fighting for the podium at one point, before coming home in fourth. Said Prinz: “Obviously I would have preferred to score another top-three result but it didn´t happen; although it has still been a very positive weekend. I managed to reduce the gap on third place in the championship and will give it my very best at the closing round.”

The final round of the Qatar Superbike Championship will be held on June 6-7th.

Race 1: 1. Alex Cudlin, AUS, (Kawasaki), 2. Nasser Al Malki, QAT, (BMW), 3. Nina Prinz, GER, (Suzuki), 4. Rajini Krishnan, IND, (Suzuki), 5. Fahid Al Sowaidi, QAT, (Honda).

Race 2: 1. Nasser Al Malki, QAT, (BMW), 2. Mashel Al Naimi, QAT, (Honda), 3. Saed al Sulaiti, QAT, (Kawasaki), 4. Nina Prinz, GER, (Suzuki), 5. Rajini Krishnan, IND, (Suzuki).

Championship Standings (after 12 of 14 races): 1. Alex Cudlin 255 points, 2. Nasser Al Malki 229, 3. Mashel Al Naimi 179, 4. Nina Prinz 155, 5. Saed al Sulaiti 123. 

More, from a press release issued by Motosport.com/Meen Yamaha:

Morgan Hill, CA (June 4, 2014) – Meen Motorsports perseveres through a challenging weekend at Road America, for the second tour of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing series.

MotoSport.Com Meen Yamaha Sportbike rider Jake Lewis started eighth on the grid. In race one Lewis battled with the front pack, swapping places with Yamaha Extended Service Monster Energy Graves rider Garret Gerloff and Yamalube rider Dane Westby, making a three lap red flag restart a memorable race. Unfortunately Yamaha Extended Service Monster Energy Graves rider JD Beach drafted Lewis on the last lap, leaving him one position shy of a podium finish in fourth place. In race two Lewis was off to a great start from the third row, leading portions of the first lap when Yamaha Extended Service Monster Energy Graves rider Garret Gerloff had a mechanical, causing a crash that involved Lewis. With a little less than 10 minutes to rebuild their MotoSport.Com Meen machine, the Meen Motorsport’s crew pieced back together Lewis’ YZF R6 with the help of the Monster Energy Graves Yamaha team. Half a lap down, Lewis was able to finish 14th place despite restarting the race with cold tires and racing with a sticky throttle. Lewis leaves Road America third in points.

“This weekend was challenging for our team struggling with our DSB bike set-up early on during the weekend. Once we had them dialed we then ran into some bad luck in DSB race two. Overall, I am happy Jake came out of that race ok and that we leave Road America with some much needed points. I am very happy with our DSB rookie rider Tucker Lancaster, he figured out the track and dropped his times every time he put his leg over the Yamaha R6. Both our Supersport riders also worked hard this weekend, both achieving top ten finishes. I look forward to Barber,” states Meen Motorsports owner Ameen Sajjadi.

MotoSport.Com Meen Yamaha Sportbike rider Tucker Lancaster had a notable weekend. Improving each time out on the track, the rookie rider was able to work his way through the grid capturing two 13thplace finishes in spite of qualifying 20th. Lancaster looks forward to continuing his progress in the Daytona Sportbike class at the historical BarberMotorsportsPark in Birmingham, Alabama.

Meen Motorsport’s Supersport rider Andre Ochs had a regrettable mechanical in race one, yet was able to rebound in race two, finishing 10thplace. Supersport teammate Erick Yahir Sanchez, a new addition to the team, had a great qualifying, starting in sixth position. Sanchez finished ninth in race one and 12th in race two.

Meen Motorsports would like to thank their following sponsors, MotoSport.com, Yamaha Racing, Graves Motorsports, Roclun International, Yamalube, Yamaha Generators, MOTO-D, Core Moto, Bursig, Dynojet, Shorai, Cortech, Shoei, Next Moto Champion, Designstar3.com, Motopia, Pacific Track Time, Vortex, D.I.D, Sharkskinz, Zerogravity, Concept 5, Drippinwet and G Squared Studio.

Meen Motorsports is a professional motorcycle racing team established in 2012 aka GP Bike Parts Racing (2011). If Interested in being a partner/sponsor of Meen Motorsports please contact www.meenmotorsports.com. Become a Facebook Fan, search Meen Motorsports. Follow the team on Twitter @meenmotorsports, as well as on Instagram @meenmoto.