AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin June 5, 2009 Revised Superpole Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Jason DiSalvo (Suz GSX-R600), 2:20.153 2. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 2:20.908 3. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R6), 2:22.021 4. Chaz Davies (Apr RSV1000R), 2:22.122 5. Taylor Knapp (Buell 1125R), 2:22.164 6. Chris Fillmore (Yam YZF-R6), 2:22.223 7. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), 2:22.883 8. Damian Cudlin (Yam YZF-R6), 2:24.180 Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), 2:19.835, time disallowed (had been 1st at 2:19.835) Chris Peris (Hon CBR600RR), 2:20.860, time disallowed (had been 3rd at 2:20.860) Update: Details are still coming in, but at 6:28 p.m. local time AMA Pro Racing announced in the media center that the Superpole times recorded by Erion Racing Honda’s Jake Zemke and Chris Peris have been disallowed due to issues related to their fuel. All bikes in AMA Pro Road Racing are required to run Sunoco 260 GTX fuel. That means that Team M4 Suzuki’s Jason DiSalvo has been promoted to pole position and his teammate Martin Cardenas will start alongside him on the front row of the two-by-two rolling grid. Second Update: The fuel found in the CBR600RRs ridden by Zemke and Peris was tested by AMA Pro Road Racing officials and found to be “clearly outside tolerances.” Because the times turned by Zemke and Peris were disallowed, the Superpole session only set the top eight – not the top 10 – grid positions. Zemke and Peris will attempt to earn grid positions nine and 10 during Saturday morning’s Final Qualifying session. More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Road Racing: Mladin and DiSalvo Continue Their Pole-Winning Ways in Qualifying at Road America Aussie Dave and Pair-A-Nines Take Poles in Moto-GT; Mercado Leads SuperSport ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (June 5, 2009) – A pair of familiar faces found their way to the top of the charts in Friday’s Superpole qualifying sessions for the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader at Road America, as Mat Mladin and Jason DiSalvo claimed pole positions in AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL, respectively. As he has done for every American Superbike race thus far in 2009, Mladin put the No. 7 Rockstar/Makita/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 on the pole, this time with a lap at 2:13.218 (109.391 mph). The six-time American Superbike champion has won eight of the season’s nine races to date and goes in search of his ninth Road America victory in Saturday’s first race of the doubleheader. “It was a decent lap for us,” Mladin said. “We left a little bit out there, but it wasn’t too bad. It’s more important to get things sorted out for tomorrow, and we’re definitely lacking some speed this week. A couple of other bikes have somehow picked up a lot of speed in the last month or so, straight-line speed. It looks like it might be a rough and tumble race and we’ll see how it goes in the end.” Starting alongside Mladin will be teammate Blake Young on the No. 79 Rockstar/Makita/Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Young, who hails from nearby Madison, Wis., posted the second-quickest lap of Superpole at 2:13.736 (108.967 mph). Young is returning to American Superbike action this weekend for the first time since he was injured in the second race of a doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park early last month. “This is the favorite track on the circuit for me, obviously to have the fans and friends and family here,” Young said. “It’s good to be back on the motorcycle. I’m really happy and it went really good for us. We moved up a spot, so we’re just going to have to work on a few more things for tomorrow morning’s warm-up session and we’ll be back at it.” Josh Hayes qualified third on the No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1 with a lap at 2:13.995 (108.756 mph). Hayes is the only rider other than Mladin to stand atop the American Superbike box this season, which he achieved with his victory in the first race of the doubleheader at Infineon Raceway last month. He was quick to point out that he and his team have some more work to do if they are going to celebrate another victory this weekend. “We need a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work,” Hayes explained. “Mat’s still setting the benchmark, so we’re just out there working and we’ll see if we can catch up to him and make him race for it a little bit. ” Geoff May completes the American Superbike front row following a Superpole lap at 2:14.280 (108.525 mph) on the No. 54 National Guard/Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. The first American Superbike race of the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader goes off from a standing start at 3:00 p.m. local time tomorrow afternoon. The scheduled distance is 13 laps (50 miles). DiSalvo Continues March in Daytona SportBike Superpole In the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL Superpole session, DiSalvo claimed his fourth straight pole on the No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 at 2:20.153 (103.978 mph). While DiSalvo is riding a four-event streak of pole positions, he heads into tomorrow’s race still looking for his first Daytona SportBike victory. “It’s good to have a front-row start,” DiSalvo said. “With the rolling start format, it’s always really important to be up front. I think tonight the guys are going to really tuck in and do some work. We’ve got to go crunch some numbers and just try to figure out where we’re going to find our couple of missing tenths (of a second) out there. We’re pretty close now.” Joining DiSalvo on the front row is his teammate, Martin Cardenas on the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. Cardenas posted a Superpole lap at 2:20.908 (103.421 mph) to earn his best starting spot of the season to date. The Colombian has won the last four consecutive Daytona SportBike races and five of the last six dating to his first victory at Road Atlanta in April. “It’s going to be very difficult to duplicate the results that I’m having, but we’ll see tomorrow in the race what happens,” Cardenas said. “I’ll do my best. The lap was okay. I made one mistake and I was a little bit disappointed because I’ve been feeling good since we rode the bike yesterday and the bike is going pretty good. I was hoping for a little bit better lap, but it wasn’t possible. We’ll try tomorrow.” Bobby Fong will start third on the No. 27 GreenerAcres.org Yamaha YZF-R6 following his Superpole lap of 2:22.021 (102.610 mph). It was also Fong’s best Daytona SportBike qualifying performance to date and was his second consecutive appearance in the 10-rider Superpole session. He qualified ninth last time out at Infineon Raceway. Chaz Davies completed the second row with a lap at 2:22.123 (102.537 mph) on the No. 57 Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Aprilia RSV1000R. Jake Zemke originally qualified the No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR on the Daytona SportBike pole and his teammate Chris Peris was originally third on the No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR in Superpole, but both riders’ times were disallowed in post-qualifying technical inspection due to a fuel infraction. The remaining eight riders in Superpole were moved forward accordingly. Zemke and Peris will be allowed to participate in final qualifying tomorrow morning with a best starting position of ninth available to all remaining Daytona SportBike riders. The first Daytona SportBike race of the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader closes out Saturday’s activities beginning at 4:00 p.m. local time. The scheduled distance is 13 laps (50 miles). Aussie Dave Racing and Pair-A-Nines Take Poles for SunTrust Moto-GT In qualifying for tomorrow’s two-hour AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT race at the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader the No. 2 Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 claimed the overall and GT1 class pole, while the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines entry took the GT2 pole position. The No. 2 Suzuki, which is co-ridden by David Anthony and Hawk Mazzotta, was quickest overall in the 30-minute qualifying session with a lap at 2:26.970 (99.155 mph). It will be joined on the front row by the No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675 of Mark Crozier, Phil Caudill and Doug Polen, which qualified second at 2:27.519 (98.786 mph). In GT2, the No. 9 Kawasaki being shared by Nick Cummings and AMA Hall of Famer Jay Springsteen starts from the class pole with a lap at 2:36.306 (93.232 mph). Starting second in GT2 will be the No. 64 TeamHurtByAccident.com Ducati PS1000LE being shared by Justin and Jimmy Filice, another AMA Hall of Famer. The No. 64 Ducati posted a best qualifying lap at 2:36.308 (93.231 mph). It originally appeared that both class poles would be won by Ryan Elleby, who took the GT1 class honors on the No. 4 Scooter Superstore/Hooters Aprilia RSV1000 with a lap at 2:26.491 (99.479 mph) and posted the fastest qualifying time in the GT2 class at 2:33.247 (95.093 mph) on the No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati/Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE. However, both times were subsequently disallowed. The No. 4 Aprilia encountered engine problems toward the end of qualifying and was unable to complete its mandatory run on the dyno after qualifying. The dyno test of the No. 77 Ducati, meanwhile, revealed that the bike exceeded the maximum horsepower allowed for the GT2 class. The fourth round of the nine-race 2009 SunTrust Moto-GT season takes the green flag at 11:00 a.m. local time. Mercado Tops SuperSport presented by Shoei Practice Leandro Mercado topped the time charts in both AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei practice sessions with an overall best lap at 2:23.685 (101.422 mph) in the afternoon session on the No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. The Argentine is looking for his second SuperSport victory of the season after claiming his maiden win in April at Road Atlanta. Second quickest on the day was Ricky Parker on the No. 96 Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 with a lap at 2:24.328 (100.970 mph) in the afternoon session, followed by Russ Wikle on the No. 5 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600 at 2:25.399 (100.226 mph) in the morning session. The SuperSport race wraps up the weekend’s activities for the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader with a 10-lap (40-mile) race beginning at 4:00 p.m. local time on Sunday afternoon. This weekend’s race at Road America marks the first time since the season opener at Daytona that the SuperSport East and West championships will race together. 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. From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT. AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. More, from a press release issued by Paradigm Racing: Paradigm Racing rider Damian Cudlin was able to secure his second SuperPole appearance in his three races with the team. The battle for SuperPole came down to the wire as riders shuffled each other up and down the order throughout the thirty minute session. Cudlin began by consistently lowering his time lap by lap and pushed the Paradigm Racing Yamaha R6 harder and harder as the session progressed. Late in the session Cudlin swapped from the medium to hard composition tire and was able to get in a few last laps as time was running out. The tire swap proved to be an extremely beneficial decision and allowed him to best his previous fastest lap by over a second. Additionally, a clear track as well as a helpful tow came at the perfect time. The combination of factors provided the extra push needed to get the team into SuperPole. The pressure was high as the green flag waved Damian on. On his hot lap things were going well until an issue with the brakes brought his efforts to a quick end. Despite the brakes issue, Cudlin brought the R6 home in one piece and secured a valuable starting position for the weekend’s races. Crew Chief Perry Melneciuc is more than pleased with the day’s results. “I’m really happy with the way things went today. We had a slight issue with the brakes that caused us to slip down a spot. However, we have sorted things out and we are in a great position for the rest of the weekend. Damian did a great job getting us into SuperPole and we are all really excited. Anytime a team puts the amount of work into a bike and program like we have done it’s always rewarding to have a rider who really responds and gets the job done. For more information on Paradigm Racing please visit www.paradigmracing.net, or follow the team throughout the weekend on Twitter at www.twitter.com/paradigmracing. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: DISALVO AND M4 SUZUKI WIN ROAD AMERICA SUPERPOLE Team M4 Suzuki carried their dominating form into Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Friday, coming away with from the opening day of action at Road America with a spectacular 1-2 result in Daytona SportBike qualifying. Jason DiSalvo once again outpaced the field, guiding his GSX-R600 to a fourth consecutive Superpole victory. The New Yorker posted a lightning quick 2:20.152 lap around the high-speed venue to continue his run of qualifying excellence. DiSalvo’s teammate, Martin Cardenas, will open the weekend’s twin SportBike finals right alongside, directly behind the Safety Car, after clocking the session’s second best time at 2:20:908. The starting spot is the best yet of the season for the Colombian. Cardenas has taken control of the championship race by scoring five wins in his last six attempts despite opening the races from some less than ideal grid positions. While he admittedly struggled to adapt to the flying-lap qualifying procedure utilized in Superpole earlier in the season, Martin proved that he’s coming to grips with it quite nicely this weekend. DiSalvo and Cardenas were originally credited with second and fourth following Superpole but a pair of rival times were disallowed for the use of non-compliant fuel, ultimately increasing DiSalvo’s Superpole streak to four. “It’s good to have another front row start,” said DiSalvo who is aiming for his first race victory of the season this weekend. “With the rolling start format it’s always really important to be up front. If you’re not, it’s tough to make up the time you lose when the leading pack gets away. “I think tonight the guys are going to tuck in and crunch some numbers and just try to find a couple more tenths.” Cardenas remarked, “It’s going to be very tough to duplicate my recent results, but we’ll see what happens in the race and I’ll do my best. This has been my best Superpole so far because I was having a hard time getting used to it, but still, I made one mistake and I was a little bit disappointed because my bike is feeling so good. I was hoping for a little bit better lap but we’ll try even harder tomorrow. “I’m happy to be starting from the front this week, however, and for sure that makes my job a little easier but you never know how a race is going to play out. We’ll find out tomorrow.” In the last six races, Team M4 Suzuki has started each from pole, claimed five victories, and two 1-2 finishes. The squad look to continue that remarkable trend tomorrow afternoon at Road America when the Daytona SportBike race gets underway at 4:00pm local time.