AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Presented by AMSOIL Infineon Raceway Sonoma, California May 15, 2010 Provisional Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 22 laps 2. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), -0.841 3. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), -9.120 4. Dane Westby (Yam YZF-R6), -9.625 5. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -13.914 6. Chris Fillmore (Suz GSX-R600), -32.521 7. Clinton Seller (Yam YZF-R6), -32.820 8. Steve Rapp (Duc 848), -34.086 9. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), -34.906 10. P.J. Jacobsen (Suz GSX-R600), -47.235 11. Michael Beck (Duc 848), -51.668 12. Russ Wikle (Suz GSX-R600), -70.109 13. Lenny Hale (Yam YZF-R6), -75.270 14. Tyler Odom (Hon CBR600RR), -76.232 15. Gabriel Santacoloma (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap 16. Sebastiao Ferreira (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 0.231 second 17. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap, 2.991 seconds 18. Stevie Bonsey (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 21.863 19. Shaun Summers (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 40.593 20. Melissa Paris (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 51.744 21. Craig Mason (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 52.705 22. Brian Pinkstaff (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap, 53.277 23. Matthew Presting (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 63.459 24. Oscar Covarrubias (Kaw ZX-6R), -1 lap, 84.235 25. Ted Rich (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 84.642 26. Jay Ruess (Kaw ZX-6R), -2 laps 27. Kevin Boisvert (Suz GSX-R600), -2 laps, 1.514 seconds 28. Eli Edwards (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps, DNF, crash 29. Bobby Fong (Duc 848), -12 laps, DNF, crash 30. Terry Heard (Kaw ZX-6R), -16 laps, DNF 31. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R600), DNS 32. Chip Yates (Suz GSX-R600), DNS 33. Timothy Jones (Yam YZF-R6), DNS 34. Howard Crow (Duc 848), DNS More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki: MARTIN CARDENAS AND M4 MONSTER ENERGY SUZUKI WIN AT INFINEON RACEWAY Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas scored his fourth victory of the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season on Saturday at Infineon Raceway with yet another brilliant display of racecraft. Coming off his remarkable double victory at Road Atlanta, the Colombian was back in top form again today, constantly tussling for position in a thrilling race-long contest for the win. Once again proving capable of elevating his game in race conditions, Martin was on the pace from the start despite qualifying on the second row in sixth at 1:39.214. He systematically worked his way up from fourth early to ultimately move into the lead on lap 15 of 22. At that point the race transformed from a four-rider dogfight to a two-man duel for the checkered flag. Cardenas ultimately won out in that match up with his trademark late-race excellence. After the race, Martin said, “This weekend we had a-not-so-good qualifying; it didn’t go as planned. We had a few problems and I made a lot of mistakes but I knew we had a good bike for the race and the pace was good. “I got a good start. In the beginning I was struggling a little bit with the grip of the bike. I don’t know why. It was not great from the start so I was trying to hold onto the leading group but as the race went on it felt better and I started to try to pass them. As soon as I got to second, I was behind for a few laps and then I moved into first and he came past me right back and we switched positions a few times. But at the end I could hang on and take the win. “It was a great race with a lot of passing and in the end it worked out for me. I hope tomorrow will be the same, and hopefully for me again, but you never know. Every race is different but I will try as hard as I can.” The win is the eleventh of Cardenas’ AMA Pro Road Racing career and moves him into second place in the 2010 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike title standings, just four points removed from the lead with 133 points. Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s American Superbike riders Jake Holden and Chris Ulrich picked up a pair of solid top-ten results for the squad on the day. Holden, riding in place of the injured John Hopkins, backed up his seventh-place qualifying effort (1:36.646) by finishing in that same position in the race after running in a tight pack contending for second in the race’s early stages. Ulrich, who qualified ninth at 1:37.864, improved to eighth in the race, claiming his sixth top ten in seven races this season aboard his GSX-R1000. The Californian’s consistent form sees him ranked seventh in the season’s standings with 89 points towards his 2010 championship campaign. On Sunday, Cardenas will look to complete his second consecutive double, both of the season and at Infineon Raceway, where he won both SportBike races in 2009. More, from a press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki: 2 TOP TEN FINISHES FOR VESRAH SUZUKI IN DAYTONA SPORTBIKE RACE 1 AT THE WEST COAST MOTO JAM AT INFINEON RACEWAY IN SONOMA CA. Vesrah Suzuki riders Chris Fillmore and Cory West came away with top 10 finishes in Daytona Sportbike Race at Infineon Raceway after struggling in practice and qualifying trying to set up the team’s Suzuki GSX-R 600 race bikes. The 2 teammates ran together for most of the race with Chris finishing 6th after a hard fought battle that included last lap heroics while Cory came home in 9th position. The team will be working to further refine the set up on the machines and looks forward to Daytona Sportbike Race 2 tomorrow. Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki “With this being the first time at Infineon for the team and no previous data to rely on, the team has been affected in terms of finding the proper set up for this race track. Both of my riders and their crews are working hard trying to find the set up necessary for this track.” Chris Fillmore Vesrah Suzuki #55 ” Tough start to the day due to a crash in qualifying this morning and didn’t get enough time on the bike to really set it up how I’d like. I was hoping to make up a few positions on the start because of where I qualified on Friday.” “Cory and I battled back and forth the majority of the race. At about the halfway point, we were making up some time on the rider in front of us so I felt an urgency to make a move on Cory because laps were running out. At about 8 laps to go I passed Cory and with 3 laps left I caught the rider in front of me and passed him on the next lap. I tried to stay defensive on the last lap, mistakenly hit neutral and got together with the rider trying to pass me. I managed to recover and get the best out of the drag race to the checkered flag. My 6th place today is my best finish in my 2 years of AMA Pro Roadracing so I am pretty happy. “ Cory West Vesrah Suzuki #57 ” So far we have been struggling to find a happy set up for our bike and it has shown in our results. I got a decent start in the race but had to relearn my shift points because we changed gearing after practice and that kind of killed me in the braking areas. I had a good battle with my teammate for most of the race but my rear tire grip really fell off towards the end and I could not keep the pace. We will do our homework tonight and come back tomorrow ready to fight. “ Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2010 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Dainese Leathers, Boots and Gloves, AGV Helmets, Graves Motorsports, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: SONOMA, CA (May 15, 2010) – In his usual quiet, yet effective way, Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas once again took a well-judged and hard-fought victory here today in the first of two AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL motorcycle races at Infineon Raceway. Once again, the Daytona SportBikes showed the fans and SPEED TV viewers just how competitive this class is with another thrilling battle in the hills of Sonoma, California’s 2.32-mile, eleven-turn road course. Cardenas, a double winner here last year and also at the last race at Road Atlanta, continued his winning ways with a race-long battle with pole position winner Tommy Aquino (Team Graves Yamaha), reigning Daytona SportBike Champion Danny Eslick (Geico Powersports/RMR Suzuki) and 2010 Daytona SportBike points leader Josh Herrin. Also in the mix was Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha rider Dane Westby and DNR Energy Drink/CNR Motorsports Ducati man Bobby Fong. Aquino led from pole, again in search of his first win, but the ever-present Eslick passed Aquino but couldn’t get away from the tightly bunched first four riders. Herrin, Cardenas and Westby were right together and eventually Cardenas passed Herrin and then got by Aquino and thus began a stirring battle between the aggressive Eslick and the smooth yet fast Cardenas. Westby and Fong were having their own private battle until Fong unfortunately suffered a fall in turn four, ending his day. As the leaders battled amongst themselves, the many other Daytona SportBike competitors began to become factors as the fast guys sliced and diced their way through the traffic. More than once it seemed that disaster was imminent only to have the leaders pull through and continue their battles unabated. Cardenas pulled a superb passing maneuver by going around the outside of Eslick going into the turn nine right/left complex. But, Eslick is never beaten and he got back by Cardenas at the top of the circuit a couple of times with an inside move of his own. Cardenas never lost his cool and he repassed Danny after the two ran side-by-side through what was thought to be a one line only series of turns. The matter was finally and unfortunately settled coming out of the last turn on the penultimate lap when a back marker just bulked Danny enough coming out of the turn, allowing Cardenas to get the slightest gap he needed to hold off the ever-charging Eslick for the win in race one of two Daytona SportBike races this weekend. Aquino and Westby also battled all the way to the flag, followed by a traffic-delayed Josh Herrin. Vesrah Suzuki rider Chris Fillmore was sixth and Westby’s Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha teammate, Clinton Seller in seventh. Front-row starter Steve Rapp had a slight problem at the start on his Team Latus Motors Ducati but battled back from 24th to eighth place at the finish. Race two of the doubleheader AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Infineon Raceway will be tomorrow and it remains to be seen if Eslick can get his first win of the season, or if Aquino can take his first Daytona SportBike win. Visit www.infineonraceway.com for schedule and ticket information for the many activities during the West Coast Moto Jam here at Infineon Raceway. Visit www.amaproracing.com for live timing of all the race action. Flag-to-flag coverage of this weekend’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL races can be seen in same-weekend broadcasts on SPEED. Be sure to check your local listings for broadcast times.