Triumph SuperBike Classic/AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama June 22, 2012 Provisional Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Dane Westby (Suz GSX-R600), 1:28.113 (new lap record) 2. Tommy Hayden (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.193 3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.279 4. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 1:28.504 5. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R6), 1:28.522 6. Jason DiSalvo (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:28.635 7. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.296 8. Huntley Nash (Yam YZF-R6), 1:29.768 9. Jake Zemke (Duc 848EVO), 1:29.778 10. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.787 11. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.102 12. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.153 13. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.167 14. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:30.795 15. Kris Turner (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:30.986 16. Austin Dehaven (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.060 17. Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.576 18. Kenny Riedmann (Tri Daytona 675), 1:31.600 19. David Gaviria (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.686 20. Ben Young (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.742 21. Jeff Wrobel (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.115 22. Walt Sipp (Bue 1125R), 1:32.512 23. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.531 24. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), 1:33.557 25. David White (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.472 26. Ron Mears (Hon CBR600RR), 1:37.202 27. Jeremy Dunn (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.454 28. Joey Pascarella (Suz GSX-R600), 1:46.830, crash More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of GEICO: Championship leader Cardenas survives sweltering open day at Barber BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 22) The Triumph SuperBike Classic roared to life Friday under punishing conditions at Barber Motorsports Park, but GEICO Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas coolly rode his GSX-R600 to the No. 4 slot in the provisional field with a steady, if not spectacular, 1:28.504 circuit. “Today was okay,” Cardenas said. “In the practice session I felt like I hadn’t been riding for a long time, like a heavy type feeling, which was all on my part and I don’t really know why. Fortunately, by the time we rode in the qualifying session that feeling was gone, so I was much happier. “We improved the set-up and were able to go a little bit faster in the late afternoon so we feel okay. It’s not perfect, but we have time to make the gains we need in the second qualifying session.” The second and final qualifying session, which will set the grid for both AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races this weekend, will take place from 9:20-9:40 a.m. Saturday morning. Conditions should be much more agreeable at that hour with most teams expecting better numbers than today when temperatures were in the 90s. “It was very, very hot today,” Cardenas said. “You have to stay very hydrated to compensate. It will be very tough to go 21 laps in each of the main events but it’s equal for everyone. I am in good shape and I have trained for these summer races. “The grip becomes less when the track gets greasy, especially the right side of the rear tire because there are so many right-hand turns. You have lots of sensations of sliding and spinning. But again, this is the same for everyone so we all need to adapt. I think we’ll be in very good shape and I look forward to tomorrow morning.” With six wins in eight GoPro Daytona SportBike starts this year, Cardenas already has a commanding 47-point lead over his nearest rival. He’ll have two chances to pad his position this weekend, with Race 1 at 2 p.m. Saturday and Race 2 at 2:15 p.m. Sunday. Cardenas, 29, of Medellin, Colombia, won this race last year in the SuperBike category. “I like the track, even when it’s hot,” he said of the tight 2.38-mile, 14-turn course cut into the hills of eastern Birmingham. “I think the fans will see two great races, for sure.” All of the action from this weekend’s races will air on SPEED at 11 p.m. CDT on Monday. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: HOT STREAK CONTINUES FOR NASH, EARNS SECOND ROW IN PROVISIONAL DSB QUALIFYING IN ALABAMA Birmingham, Al (June 22nd, 2012) Continuing his recent string of strong results, Huntley Nash qualified in eighth place in provisional qualifying on Friday at Barber Motorsports Park. The LTD Racing pilot, coming off his best DSB weekend yet when he ran with the lead pack at Road America, didn’t miss a beat and showed he has what it takes to once again run with the lead group his goal for the weekend. “I think it’s going well. I’m happy with eighth overall. The bike feels good and I was able to throw down a good lap with a few minutes to go there at the end. I think we’re going to run the medium tire in the race, but so far all the fastest guys — including me — used a different tire to set their times.” Nash said he was glad to return to Barber, a track where he won in SuperSport. “It’s one of my better tracks. It’s good to have this one after Road America. I feel like I’m continuing to build some momentum.” said Nash. Nash crashed early in the first session but the young rider quickly put it behind him and got up to speed at the 2.38-mile circuit on the hottest day of the 2012 racing season. “It was a good effort by Huntley. He was riding hard and we were able to work together and make a couple of good adjustments to the bike,” said LTD Racing’s Vic Fasola. “The tire is the thing. Everyone’s going to have to use the other tire instead of the soft one we all used today and we have to make sure it’s set up for that. That’ll be our challenge for tomorrow. Huntley’s riding well and we think it’s going to be a good weekend.” The first of two 21-lap DSB races at Barber Motorsports Park is scheduled for 2:00 PM local time on Saturday. More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer: DANE WESTBY LEADS THE WAY IN ALABAMA FOR M4 SUZUKI M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby set a scorching pace aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 to lead the way in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class in the Alabama heat on Friday at Barber Motorsports Park. Westby opened the Birmingham weekend by topping the SportBike free practice and then backed up that extraordinary effort by securing provisional pole during the day’s qualifying session. The Oklahoman actually registered the four fastest times in FP1, headlined by a 1:28.791, and then lowered his mark to 1:28.113 to own the #1 spot on the leaderboard in QP1. ‘The Wolverine’ is determined to hold the position through Saturday morning’s QP1 as he seeks his first-career AMA Pro pole position. “Getting pole would be a momentous occasion for me,” Westby stated. “It was a good lap. We tried doing it with a medium rear and didn’t quite make it happen; did a bunch of ‘29.5s in a row. I think that’s pretty much what the race pace is going to be. But we threw that soft rear on there like we did in the first practice and were able to pull out that extra second. Actually, I think it was like a second-and-a-half. There was a lot of time in that soft tire. It felt good.” Despite his impressive third-place ranking in the SportBike title fight, Westby has been working hard to up his game, particularly to improve his starts and corner exits. He explained, “I went to school last weekend and worked on leaning off more and getting on the meat of the tire out of the corner and that’s pretty much where I was lacking. I was missing these guys on the gas and they were getting away. I’m glad I was able to apply it here. I also spent a day working on my starts. I’m still not perfect but we’ll see on race day how it goes.” M4 Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich enjoyed a solid opening to his BMP weekend in the premier AMA Pro Superbike class aboard his powerful GSX-R1000. The Californian was 10th in practice at 1:28.415 and 11th in qualifying at 1:27.890 in a pair of closely contested sessions. Fellow Superbike pilot Robertino Pietri dropped his times aboard the Team Venezuela Suzuki GSX-R1000 from the low ’30s in practice to a 1:29.950 in qualifying to improve from 16th to 14th as the day progressed. Meanwhile, Elena Myers ended the day ranked 10th in provisional AMA Pro SuperSport qualifying. The two-time SuperSport race winner posted a best lap of 1:31.935 on the Suzuki SportbikeTrackGear.com GSX-R600 in the blisteringly hot conditions. Westby, Ulrich, Pietri, and Myers will claim their final grid positions on Saturday morning before turning their attention to the first races of the weekend on Saturday afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park.