Hayes Sweeps Barber, Inches Closer to National Guard SuperBike Top Spot DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (June 26, 2013) – AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike superstar Josh Hayes furthered his recent run of excellence with a second consecutive perfect points haul weekend at Barber Motorsports Park for the Triumph SuperBike Classic presented by America’s First Federal Credit Union. Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s reigning triple champion has made serious inroads to his early-season points deficit and in shockingly quick fashion; just one more weekend like his last two and Hayes will move atop the 2013 championship standings, only three rounds removed from his Daytona double disaster. In Birmingham, Hayes once again demonstrated why he’s the dominant force in GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing, registering another near-flawless performance, despite facing some rather significant obstacles that stood between him and those 63 available points. After locking down his 25th career pole on Saturday morning (handing him sole possession of second on the all-time order ahead of fellow three-time champ Ben Spies), Hayes and second-qualifier Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) crept forward ahead of the lights. Their early jumps directly led to the similar infractions of Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram (lined up behind Hayden), M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing’s Chris Ulrich (also on the right side of the grid), and LTD/Neyra Racing’s Huntley Nash. After carefully reviewing the video evidence, the five riders were hit with five-second penalties as the race was taking shape on track. Hayes and Hayden, who were pulling free at the front, were dropped down the order momentarily, but their pitched battle would push them far enough out in front that their dogfight again officially became one for the lead… and just in time. ’13 points leader Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) ran in third on track the entire time, but the penalties of Hayes and Hayden meant he was actually considered the race leader from lap 1 until the moment that Hayes was more than five seconds ahead on track, which took place on lap 11 of 21 by an impossibly small 0.005-second margin. That nearly non-existent gap could prove critical as the season’s point chase takes shape as it signified a two-point swing in the championship fight — moving the lap leader point from Cardenas to Hayes. Hayes ultimately fended off the spirited challenge of Hayden on the race’s final lap by 0.245-second margin. While they avoided the added hassle of the jump start penalties on Sunday, Race 2 eventually developed into a last-lap rematch as Hayes and Hayden essentially repeated their shootout from the day before. And again, Hayes denied the hungry Hayden with clutch inch-perfect riding in hot and greasy conditions, edging him to the stripe by an even narrower 0.221-second margin of victory. The victories were the 36th and 37th of the Mississippian’s spectacular career. He’s once again proving that he’s the odds-on favorite to become the first man in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike history to win four consecutive championships. However, the early season results have also provided solid evidence that the field has raised its collective game in response to Hayes’ commanding form, stepping up to threaten the champ’s position atop the pecking order in a serious fashion. Consider that while Hayes was leading both races and in strong position to win at Daytona before he was struck down by mechanical issues, he was caught up in fairly intense scraps at the time. Last year at Daytona, Hayes won the opener by 8.332 seconds. If you only take the riders still in the hunt in 2013 into account, Hayes’ Daytona margins grow to 16.202 and 10.284 seconds respectively, margins that were effectively erased this past March. That trend continued at Road America, where he won in 2013 by 11.349 seconds (18.556 seconds ahead of his closest rival still in the series) and 13.906 (13.945). And at Barber Motorsports Park a year ago, Hayes marched to victories of 5.136 and 4.988 (7.299) seconds — a far cry from this past weekend’s nail-biting showdowns. After completing the BMP double, Hayes said, “That was a really hard race. I was driving as hard as I could and trying to push it until everyone’s tires were junk at the end so hopefully nobody could make any moves. I was trying to pick my lines smart so I didn’t make any mistakes. It got pretty greasy and I had my share of mistakes still but fortunately I did it in spots where it wasn’t easy to get by. Fortunately, it was enough. Rog rode an incredible weekend and Josh (Herrin) was riding really well at the beginning… It’s a big testament to my team and a lot of hard work. Fortunately we have a lot of years of development in that machine and we can get to a good place pretty quickly. I really enjoyed the race — it’s fun having a close race and pushing hard all the way to the end. The last lap, for me, was as harrowing for me as lap 2. It was really fun, I really enjoyed it, and I’m really looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio.” Hayes is now seconds in the standings, just ten back of Cardenas (144-134). The emergence of Roger Hayden in Alabama after a couple of relatively disappointing outings to start the year hints that Hayes may be facing even bigger challenges ahead. Hayden pushed Hayes to the brink at Mid-Ohio a year ago and typically grows stronger and stronger as the season progresses. Hayden said similar things after both races. On Saturday he admitted, “It’s a little bittersweet to be that close to actually beating Josh and him getting me just by a little bit there at the end.” And on Sunday the Kentuckian reported, “I just sat behind Josh the whole race but never got close enough to pass him. Sometimes he got a small gap but the last couple laps I was right on his back tire just trying to find a place to make a pass. I was starting to slide around a little bit and so was he. Every time I tried to get a good run on him the last two laps I could never get that little bit more I needed to take a shot at it.” Looking ahead, Hayden said, “I’m pretty happy — the first two races haven’t start out that good. I knew we were a lot better than we showed at Daytona and Road America. Hopefully this is a turnaround for my season.” Hayes’ Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, came into Barber Motorsports Park with big expectations after qualifying second and claiming a strong runner-up result at the track a year ago. However, he struggled on Friday and was never truly on the pace as he rode to fourth on Saturday. But Herrin stepped up his game on Sunday, winning the holeshot, riding in Hayes’ wheel tracks early, and even taking advantage of a minor mistake on the part of the champ to retake the lead and hold down first place for a couple laps mid-distance. Herrin suffered a big moment while running a close second, which allowed Hayden to slip by and pick up the challenge on Hayes. And while Herrin couldn’t maintain the leaders’ pace, he did regroup to pull free from Saturday podium finisher Cardenas as the two traded third and fourth-place finishes on the weekend. Herrin, who is now third in the title race with 131 points, said, “It was good at the beginning — as you can see, I still need to work on how fast I go once I get the lead. I was trying my hardest. The middle of the race is what I need to work on. Both days I was decent in the beginning, seem to fall off in the middle, and then regroup at the end and seem to hold the gap to first. So at least I know I can ride good on the tires at the end of the race. Now I just need to go home and work on my fitness a little bit more… I can’t wait until Mid-Ohio. Mid-Ohio is going to be the middle of the season and it’s time to turn things around and prove that I can run up front the whole race.” Cardenas may have expected more after his excellent Daytona and Road America performances, along with his stellar BMP track record, but still managed to retain his points lead on the strength of third and fourth-place results. The Colombian said, “My (Saturday) race was a little bit tough. Physically, I think for everybody, but I thought I had a little bit better rhythm going into the race. But early on I found out that I wasn’t as fast as these two guys. I tried my best and tried to stay as close as possible, but halfway through the race I lost a lot of time. I just tried to finish in third place and get some points. ” He added, “For Sunday, we changed a few things and we had some good speed at first, but from the middle to the end of the race, I had a hard time keeping the pace. Next we go to Mid-Ohio, and I like the layout of that track. I’ve had some good results there and I hope to come back stronger for that race.” Larry Pegram was the only rider penalized whose five-second penalty dropped him in the official order. He finished fifth on track but sixth in the final results, as KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore followed him across the stripe to steal away the position. Pegram came back the following day and took full advantage of an improved set-up on his YZF-R1 to track down Jordan Suzuki’s Danny Eslick and earn the top-five result that eluded him the day before. On Saturday Eslick spent the bulk of his race making up for an early mistake in which he went off track and dropped to 13th. He eventually made his way up to eighth. On Sunday he showed his true BMP form, in which he held down fifth deep into the contest before finally relenting to Pegram’s pressure and finishing sixth. “Sunday was definitely better than Saturday,” said Eslick. “On Saturday, I got off to a good start but another rider had a big moment in front of me and I ran off the track. That put me back and I had to make my way back up to eighth. Sunday was good, I got an awesome start and I was right there with the lead pack. I tried to hold on but I wasn’t comfortable with their pace. Then I ran around in fifth and had a little battle at the end so I ended up sixth. Now I’m looking forward to Mid-Ohio. I’m feeling good on the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I’ve done well at Mid-Ohio in the past.” Fillmore, meanwhile, won out in a huge five-rider brawl for seventh on Sunday to back up his Saturday fifth. The KTM ace made a late move to come out on top of the tilt that also involved Team Hero EBR’s Geoff May, his KTM teammate Taylor Knapp, Motul Fly Racing’s David Anthony, and Team AMSOIL/Hero EBR’s Aaron Yates. Fillmore said, “The majority of the race was about a five-man battle for 7th position. I was fortunate enough to make a great pass on Geoff May with a few laps remaining that pushed me ahead of him and allowed me to pull a small gap as we crossed the checkers. My team has been working really hard this year and it is great to finally get two good results for them.” May took seventh and eighth place results on the weekend after showing so strongly a year before in Alabama, when he qualified second provisionally and walked away with a pair of fourth-place finishes. Teammate Yates finished 10th on Saturday to go along with his close Sunday 11th aboard his Erik Buell Racing 1190RS. Fillmore’s teammate, Knapp, had to work hard just to get up to 13th on Saturday after a warm-up lap issue forced him back into pit lane for some quick repairs. He got away dead last before starting his charge. Sunday’s competitive ninth showed considerable promise, however. David Anthony also finished ninth on Saturday as the Aussie scored two more top tens on the weekend, a feat he has managed in five of six races this season. M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing’s Chris Ulrich battled with Motosport.com/EBR’s Cory West both days. Ulrich’s Saturday penalty meant he had no realistic chance of beating the Arkansas native for eleventh on Saturday, but he came back and outpaced him for 12th on Sunday. “We’ve been making big, steady gains on the chassis,” Ulrich remarked. “Finally, this week we rolled off the truck with a pretty decent baseline and were just trying to work forward. We haven’t had too many of the electronic glitches like we had at Road America — we worked pretty hard to get that sorted. The chassis is getting better and we’re almost to a point where we can stop messing with it so much and concentrate on riding it.” Meanwhile, former SuperSport standout Huntley Nash decided to shift his focus away from AMA GoPro Daytona SportBike in order to concentrate on the premier AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike class in Birmingham. Nash had a couple difficult outings but is excited about his future prospects in National Guard SuperBike: “I wasn’t really happy with the way this race went from my standpoint as a competitor. I was looking to be higher in the results, maybe into the top ten, and show what we can do. I wasn’t really happy with my riding and I felt like I needed to be more aggressive. This track is tough on a Superbike and we were fighting the grip level out there. Having said that, we made good progress with the Neyra Racing Kawasaki this weekend. We were able to improve the bike under braking and continued to try some things with the suspension. The team worked really hard and I’d like to thank Justin, Gary, and the crew. This is a very promising project and we’re looking forward to giving it another shot in Ohio.” The rolling Hayes will look to make it six straight wins and move into the championship lead when the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season resumes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on July 12-14 for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire. Next Up The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will resume on July 12-14 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire. For tickets and more information regarding the event, please visit http://www.midohio.com/Schedule/Buckeye-Superbike-Weekend-2013 This season’s GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action is being broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular. Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder at http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder In addition to the live broadcasts on CBS Sports Network, AMA Pro Live will be live streaming multiple channels of behind-the-scenes video of the weekend’s activities alongside Live Timing & Scoring. AMA Pro Live puts fans in the director’s chair, allowing them to choose from a variety of viewpoints including track cameras, paddock cameras and a press conference channel at http://www.amaprolive.com 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 2013 schedule consists of nine 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 Harley-Davidson 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 Ben Young Racing: Young 9th in Points after Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, AL – June 26, 2013 – Ben Young continues to impress with a personal-best qualifying effort of 12th in the Daytona Sportbike Class and two solid finishes of a 12th and 13th place this past weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Young’s consistency has strengthened his position of 9th overall in points. After some minor changes to his ‘B’ bike Young took to Barber Motorsports Park’s 2.38-mile natural road course for the first practice session of the weekend putting his best lap of a 1:32.321 on the second last lap of the session. “We knew we’d have some work to do to adapt the bike’s set up to the Alabama heat. Our current set up has been progressing well over the last two rounds but the temperatures have been a little cooler than it’s been here.” Said Young. Young’s first qualifying session earned him a tentative 14th place on the grid however this was nowhere near the pace he knew he’d have to run to stay within the top ten. Feeling more comfortable after some changes to the rear suspension of his of #86 Yamaha YZF-R6 Young returned to the historic Barber Motorsports Park circuit for the second of the two qualifying sessions. The changes resulted in a more stable ride allowing him to achieve a personal-best qualifying effort of 12th, placing him on the third row for the first time in his AMA Pro GoPro Daytona Sportbike career. The Canadian pilot got a great start in the first of the two scheduled AMA Pro GoPro Daytona Sportbike races of the weekend and held the position until he crossed the start/finish line. Reflecting on the race Young stated; “I got a good start but it took a few laps to get the tires to work well. When they finally did the guys in front just had too much on me and made it difficult to make up lost ground. It was a long and lonely race but I’m happy to finish 12th.” Eager to make his way back in to the top ten in Sunday’s race Young’s enthusiasm may have got the better of him as he was penalized five-seconds for jumping the start resulting in a 13th place finish just behind fellow Canadian Kenny Riedmann. “With my eagerness to get another good start, I ended up jump starting and receiving a five-second penalty – making the race even more challenging. We ran a hard compound front tire in this morning’s practice and it worked well but as soon as the heat kicked-in I lost all feel for it. I didn’t feel as comfortable with the front for the remainder of the race. With the high temperatures of the weekend, correct tire choice was critical. I can’t be to disheartened with 13th as it keeps us 9th in the overall points.” said Young. The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will resume on July 12-14 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire. This season’s GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action is being broadcast on CBS Sports Network across the U.S. and Canada as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular. Ben Young and the BYR team would like to thank; Tim Hortons – Sudbury, Scotbuild Developments, Fogi Racing Development, Arai Helmets, AXO, GP Tech LLC, Hindle Exhaust Systems, DUA Motorsports Bodywork, KICK Energy Drink, K&N Filters, Performance Cycleworx , Thornbury Home Hardware, BCL Motorsports Pit Kit, Vortex Racing, Motul Oils, Bickle Racing Tire Warmers, GB Racing and The North American International Motorcycle SUPERSHOW, Jerry Daggett, the fans and family. To keep up-to-date on Ben Young throughout the year visit; www.fogi.us, www.facebook.com/BenYoungRacing and on Twitter @bcyoung86. More, from a press release issued by TOBC Racing: TOBC Racing’s 16-year-old McFadden Takes the Podium In His First AMA Pro Competition at Barber Motorsports Park TOBC Racing made the trek to Alabama this past weekend to make their second AMA Pro Motorcycle Road Racing appearance at the picturesque Barber Motorsports Park facility. The team has been honing their skills at various club level events in preparation for the Barber round and confidence was high that good results were in the team’s future. For 16-year-old Nick McFadden, this would be his first AMA Pro Event and for 25-year-old Curtis Murray, it would be an opportunity to build on his Daytona results. Under the guidance of Team Manager Scott Harwell and Crew Chief Tim Bemisderfer, Nick and Curtis would contest the AMA SuperSport class on their TOBC Racing prepared 2012 model Suzuki GSX-R600s. In his final qualifying attempt on Saturday morning, Nick surprised many in attendance with the 3rd fastest lap time. This near perfect start to the weekend would guarantee Nick a front row start for both Saturday’s afternoon race and the Sunday morning re-match. Curtis also improved on his Friday session and locked in his spot on the third row, qualifying 10th. In Race 1, on Saturday, both Nick and Curtis had to elevate their game as the competition set an incredible race pace. Nick turned his fastest lap of the race on his final circuit and was able to put his TOBC Racing entry on the 3rd place step of the podium in his Pro debut. Curtis’ race did not go as planned, but Curtis rode hard and was constantly challenging for a top 10 result, running as high as 8th before finishing 11th out of the 41 SuperSport Competitors. Race 2 on Sunday morning would prove challenging, as track conditions changed with the cooler morning temperatures. Nick and Curtis both made some adjustments to their bikes to compensate for the cool track, and confidence was high that both riders could improve on their Saturday results. Sunday’s race pace was even faster than Saturday’s and Nick’s fellow competitors were hungry for trophies of their own. Nick was slotted into 4th place late in the race and had no intentions of settling for that position. With the battle for 2nd just a few bike lengths in front of him, Nick dug deep to catch up to the back of the 3rd place bike. Lowering his personal best lap time en route to putting the TOBC Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 back in a possible podium position, Nick pushed the bike beyond its limits and crashed out while running 4th. Despite the incident, Nick rode the best he has ever ridden and walked away unscathed and satisfied knowing he can run with the best in the business. Curtis, too, had picked up the pace in Race 2. Running nearly a full second per lap faster than he had ever gone, Curtis was solidly in the top 10 and was focused on getting in the top 5. However, Curtis also pushed beyond the limits of traction and crashed out while running in 7th position. A testament to the value of the Roadracing World Action Fund AirFence soft protective barriers, Curtis impacted the cushion guarded Armco steel barrier in turn 1 at extraordinary speed and walked away in one piece. Disappointed and bruised, Curtis’ performance was an eye-opener and future top 5 finishes are not out of the question. All fans are encouraged to come out to the Mid-Ohio facility on July 13 to see some fantastic racing and meet the whole TOBC Racing family. TOBC Racing is a privately-funded team focused on the support of Amateur Road Racing and the development of younger racers through the National Endurance, Team Challenge, and Sprint Series hosted by CCS, WERA, CMRA, ASRA, and now AMA Pro. Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/tobc.racing or on the web at www.tobcracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Meen Motorsports: Meen Motorsport’s Wyatt Farris Earns Top Five Finish at Barber Motorsports Park Campbell, CA (June 26, 2013) – Meen Motorsport’s rider Wyatt Farris earned his first top five finish of the 2013 AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport series at the third GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing round held at Barber Motorsports Park. “I am happy with the progress my team and I made this weekend, finishing at the top of the class. It was definitely a challenge, with Barber being another new track for me to learn this year, but now we have some great results to build off from and we are going to take this momentum to Mid-Ohio,” notes Farris. Earning his best qualifying of the season, Farris started eighth, ending in 7th position on Saturday and impressively moving up the pack on Sunday, capturing a clean 4th. In the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike series, Meen Motorsport’s Jake Lewis also had a solid showing at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing a consistent 11th on Saturday and 7th on Sunday. “This past weekend definitely did not bring the results the team and I had been working for after Road America. Qualifying in a not ideal position was a significant challenge, but the whole team worked together to manage the small set-backs and now we are ready to regroup and move on. At this point I’m just looking forward to getting back-up front at Mid-Ohio,” states Lewis. “Barber is a very technical track where it is important to find a set-up to make the bike manageable. Due to some things that were in our control and out of control, like our crew chief’s absence, we definitely had a tricky weekend when it came to set-up at Barber. Overall Jake and Wyatt did an excellent job working along-side the team to tackle any issues and now we are ready to head to Ohio with our full staff. Congrats to Gary Dean on his marriage,” comments Meen Motorsport’s team owner Ameen Sajjadi. The Meen Motorsports team will be heading next to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire. Meen Motorsports would like to thank the following team sponsors for 2013, Yamaha, Graves Motorsports, South Valley Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, San Jose Ear And Sinus, Hawaiian Ola, San Jose Yamaha, Yamaha Generators, Yamalube, Radiomedics, G Squared, DID, Mot Y Designs, Galfer, Vortex, Sharkskinz, Zero Gravity, Apex Mfg, Roclun Int’l (Lewis) and Jon Block Group Sports (Farris). Meen Motorsports is a professional motorcycle racing team established in 2012 formally known as GP Bike Parts Racing (2011). If interested in being a partner/sponsor of Meen Motorsports please contact [email protected]. For more about the team please visit, www.meenmotorsports.com. Become a Facebook Fan, search Meen Motorsports. Follow the team on Twitter and Vine @meenmotorsports, as well as on Instagram @meenmoto. More, from a press release issued by Damian Cudlin’s publicist: IDM Superbike Championship leader Damian Cudlin endured a race he’d soon rather forget at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on the weekend. Coming straight off the back of a double podium finish at Oschersleben just one week earlier, Cudlin headed into the Red Bull Ring round in a confident mood with a comfortable lead in the championship standings. The RAC BMW was tipped to be a pace setter from the start at the Red Bull Ring however technical issues, predominantly brake problems, throughout practice and qualifying put Cudlin and his crew on the back foot. Despite the issues, and a crash caused by a front brake seizure in qualifying, Cudlin still managed to qualify 3rd on the grid for Sunday’s two Superbike races. As the first race got underway in hot and humid conditions, Cudlin made a cautious start before making his customary charge through the field after a couple of laps. Soon though his efforts were thwarted as a handlebar issue, followed by more brake problems halted his charge. He slipped further and further back through the field as the race went on, hoping only for points as the race drew to a close. Eventually coming home in 7th, Cudlin was bitterly disappointed as his championship rivals Nigon and Reiterburger clawed back valuable points in the championship. “It was very frustrating watching the other guys ride off into the distance as I struggled with technical issues.” Cudlin explained. “The brakes look to be an issue for everyone around here, but we seem to be suffering the worst. It’s clear that we still have the pace to win, but these problems keep holding us back. It’s annoying that’s for sure, but I’m confident me and my crew can find a way around them.” For the second race, Cudlin’s crew opted for a complete brake system change in the hope of turning their fortunes around. Unfortunately they would only become much worse. As Cudlin approached the Remus curve at approximately 270kph, he suffered a complete brake failure, sending him and his BMW hurtling towards a tyre wall at horrifying speed. Moments before impact, Cudlin threw his machine on its side ‘speedway style’ and slammed into the barrier. Cudlin was taken to hospital directly following the incident however was later released with no acute fractures or internal injuries. “I was really lucky to tell you the truth. It certainly could’ve been much worse. The doctor’s tell me nothing’s broken which is a big relief. I feel like I’ve gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson this morning though, only I still have both ears!” Cudlin joked. When asked about the crash itself, Cudlin only reiterated the words of RAC Team Manager Evert Slager, stating a brake failure as the cause but still unsure as for the reason why. “All I know is that the brake failed completely and I went into the wall because I couldn’t slow down. The guys found the problem with the system, now they just need to analyze why it happened. For now, all I want to focus on is recovery and making sure we come back swinging at Schleiz. We’re still leading the championship, so now we just need to dig deep to keep hold of it until the end!” Cudlin will return to action in the IDM Superbike Championship at Schleiz on the 2/3/4th of August. More, from a press release issued by K-Tech Suspension/Orient Express: K-Tech Suspension Equipped Riders Capture Wins & Podiums At Barber AMA Weekend K-Tech Suspension is pleased to report another great weekend of racing for K-Tech equipped riders. The third round of the 2013 AMA Pro Road Racing season at Barber Motorsports Park saw Roger Hayden qualify in second position on the grid for Superbike. Hayden would ride his #54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 to double second place finishes in both races, keeping pace with eventual race winner Josh Hayes both Saturday and Sunday. Danny Eslick qualified fifth on his #23 Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000, and finished both races with top ten finishes – eighth on Saturday, improving to sixth on Sunday. Both Hayden and Eslick’s machines feature 20DDS fork cartridges with 35DDS Pro rear shocks. In the fiercely competitive Harley Davidson XR1200 class, Steve Rapp rode to his second straight win of the season with K-Tech Suspension. Rapp rode the #5 Suburban Harley Davidson XR1200 to qualify in second position on the grid, and then was able to work a 5.4 second lead by the time the eleven lap race had ended. Tyler O’Hara took third place on the podium with his K-Tech Suspension equipped Scrubblade XR1200, after a strong fourth place qualifying effort. The incredibly popular SuperSport class had forty-one riders on the grid for both races at Barber, with Miles Thornton taking second position on the grid with his K-Tech equipped #72 CTR Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, ahead of Corey Alexander on his #5 National Guard Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R600. Thornton and Alexander would do battle among the lead pack in Saturday’s race one, with Thornton finishing fifth ahead of Alexander in sixth. Sebastiao Ferreira on the EDR Performance Yamaha YZF-R6 would take ninth, with teammate Charles Weaver finishing tenth, both on K-Tech equipped machines. Four of the top ten finishers on Saturday had K-Tech 20DDS fork cartridges and 35DDS Pro rear shocks. Race two on Sunday saw Thornton and Alexander finish in fifth and sixth again, after continued battles with the lead pack, with Charles Weaver finishing just outside the top ten in eleventh. James Rispoli rode his #43 National Guard Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 hard to qualify in fifth position for the Daytona Sport Bike class, ahead of Joey Pascarella on the #52 Riders Discount Racing Triumph Daytona 675R in sixth. Both machines are equipped with K-Tech Suspension 20DDS fork cartridges and 35DDS Pro rear shocks. Saturday’s race one saw Rispoli slip to seventh at the finish despite running up front with the leaders early in the race, with Pascarella finishing ninth. On Sunday, Rispoli was able to improve his finishing result with a strong sixth place finish, but Pascarella would fall to tenth at the checkered flag. K-Tech Suspension engineers the finest in cutting edge suspension technology for motorcycles. The unique Direct Damping System (DDS) offers precision control, accurate adjustments, and incredible feel which serve to improve rider confidence and reduce lap times. The popular 20DDS pressurized front fork cartridges are available to fit all late model sport bikes, and feature a closed system design with 31mm control pistons, 20mm displacement pistons, and 8mm piston rods. Likewise, the aluminum bodied K-Tech 35DDS rear shock provides independent circuits for compression and rebound damping adjustments, and is easy to tune and setup with a unique bypass valve adjustment feature. Remote hydraulic spring preload adjustment, as well as adjustable shock length allow custom configurations for every rider. For more information regarding K-Tech Suspension components, please contact Orient Express, the exclusive North American importer and distributor. Orient Express is pleased to be your source for high performance service, tuning, and parts since 1973. Visit http://www.orientexpress.com , call 800.645.6521, or email [email protected] to explore what we can do to help your racing ambitions!