GEICO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas led Friday afternoon’s AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike qualifying session at the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta at Road Atlanta with a lap of 1:28.938 on his GSX-R600. “The Suzuki has been working great since the start this morning,” Cardenas, the 2010 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion, told reporters. “We made a couple of small changes between one bike and the other. We chose one this afternoon, and we went for a couple of hot laps to try to make a good time. I did a 1:28.9 and I think it was enough to secure the pole for today. Tomorrow we will try to improve a little bit because I know everyone will improve quite a bit tomorrow. And I hope the conditions will be better than today, the weather.” Considering his performance Friday and that his pole position at Daytona International Speedway in March, Round One of the Championship, was the second of his career, Cardenas was asked if he has changed his approach to qualifying sessions in an attempt to earn more of the bonus points that come with earning pole positions. “I don’t think so,” the Colombian rider said. “The thing is I think this bike suits me very well since I rode it. I feel very comfortable on the bike. It gives me a very good feeling so I can push a little bit harder or something, but no, it hasn’t changed the approach in qualifying. So far it has been good, and I hope it continues like that.” Cardenas’ time came up just short of Tommy Aquino’s 2010 lap record time of 1:28.804, but it was better than Cardenas’ best qualifying lap from 2010, a 1:29.118. Jason DiSalvo, riding his Team Latus Motors Racing Triumph Daytona 675R, was not far off Cardenas’ pace and ended up second-best at the end of the session with a lap of 1:28.986. Jake Zemke was third-quickest with a 1:29.601 on his Ducshop Racing Ducati 848EVO. Dane Westby earned the final spot on the provisional front row with a time of 1:29.900 on his Team M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki GSX-R600. Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta/AMA Pro Road Racing GoPro Daytona SportBike Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia April 20, 2012 Qualifying Session One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), 1:28.938 2. Jason DiSalvo (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:28.986 3. Jake Zemke (Duc 848EVO), 1:29.601 4. Dane Westby (Suz GSX-R600), 1:29.900 5. Joey Pascarella (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.026 6. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), 1:30.085 7. Huntley Nash (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.426 8. Tommy Hayden (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.472 9. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.493 10. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.793 11. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), 1:30.862 12. Benny Solis, Jr. (Suz GSX-R600), 1:31.314 13. J.D. Beach (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.437, crash 14. Barrett Long (Duc 848EVO), 1:31.509 15. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), 1:31.538 16. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), 1:31.674 17. Kris Turner (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:31.687 18. Austin DeHaven (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.080 19. Kyle Wyman (Tri Daytona 675R), 1:32.354 20. David Gaviria (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.410 21. Derek Wagnon (Duc 848EVO), 1:32.780 22. Ben Young (Yam YZF-R6), 1:32.938 23. Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), 1:33.029 24. Walt Sipp (Buell 1125R), 1:33.671 25. Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.164 26. Paul Allison (Yam YZF-R6), 1:34.701 27. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), 1:35.022 28. Matthew Sadowski (Suz GSX-R600), 1:35.477 29. Jeff Wrobel (Yam YZF-R6), 1:35.501 30. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), 1:36.954 31. Sam Rozynski (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.295 32. Melissa Paris (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.318 33. David White (Yam YZF-R6), 1:37.519 34. David Sadowski, Jr. (Suz GSX-R600), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media: Cardenas’ GEICO Suzuki remains the quickest in AMA Daytona SportBike class BRASELTON, Ga. (April 20) — Just as it was at the season-opening Daytona 200 a month ago, Martin Cardenas’ GEICO Suzuki remains the quickest bike in the Daytona SportBike category. The affable Colombian posted a lap of 1:28.938 around the 2.55-mile circuit of Road Atlanta Friday evening to earn provisional No. 1 qualifier honors at the Triumph Big Kahuna Nationals. Cardenas was twice challenged by Jason DiSalvo, the leader in the opening practice session, but he answered the call and edged his rival by .048 seconds. “It was a pretty good session,” Cardenas said. “Both of the GEICO Suzukis have been strong since this morning and we selected one for the qualifying session and it was perfect. I put together a couple of hot laps and posted the 1:28.9. That was good. “I knew Jason was running well and whenever I made a pit stop for adjustments I would see where he was on the timing system. You always watch that when you can and I think it pushes you a little harder in your mind when you see where the others are in relation to how you are running.” Saturday’s final qualifying session for Group A riders is slated to begin at 9:20 a.m. Weather conditions have been cooler than expected and there has been rain in the surrounding areas, which could rearrange the top positions. “We’ll work to get quicker because I think everyone will step it up in the second qualifying session,” Cardenas said. “We run pretty early in the day so conditions should be better than they were today. “This bike suits me very well and I am extremely comfortable on it. I feel good when I have to push the bike to the limit. I can trust in it completely. I hope it continues like this all season long.” The class leader with 16 career victories, Cardenas doubled-up and won both races the last time the AMA Road Racing Series visited Road Atlanta in 2010. He’s already established himself as a favorite this time through and will have two more chances to add to his wins total this weekend. Saturday’s main event begins at 2 p.m. and will consist of 20 laps equaling 50 miles. Using the same starting grid, Sunday’s race begins at 2:15 p.m. and also runs for 20 laps. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: BEST DSB QUALIFYING SESSION YET FOR HUNTLEY NASH AT ROAD ATLANTA Braselton, GA (April 20, 2012) — LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash qualified seventh provisionally for the twin AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races at Road Atlanta. The young racer turned in a sparkling lap timed at 1:31.646 in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session. Nash jumped up firmly in the top ten in the closing minutes by nailing his attempt at a scorcher. “I hit the Esses perfectly and was on the gas the whole way,” said Nash. “I missed one apex, but I think the lap was pretty good. I could have been a little faster but I’m really pleased with it. I’m happy with seventh because I’m up there with the fast guys. I’m really proud of the lap time because it’s close to the front. I think it will be ’29s and ’30s in the race. Right now, I have to get more consistent and that will be my goal.” David Gaviria put in solid laps after his crash at the Homestead test left him sore. The Colombian was 20th in the tough class but is looking to improve. “My shoulder was sore and I need to gain some confidence after the big crash at Homestead. It was a bad crash and I’m lucky not to have worse injuries,” said David. “It was much better in the afternoon than in the morning. We have a new bike and we’re getting it dialed in. I need to recover a little more confidence and then I’ll be able to go fast.” Both riders will contest the 20-lap Daytona SportBike race at 2:00PM on Saturday. More, from a press release issued by RoadRace Factory/Red Bull: Braselton, Ga. (April 20, 2012) – The opening day of the Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince saw the young riders of RoadRace Factory/Red Bull jump back into the AMA Pro Racing fray after last month’s Daytona debut. Each of the riders pushed to set fast times in preparation for the two Daytona SportBike and SuperSport contests this weekend. Jake Gagne qualified ninth provisionally with a time of 1:30.493. The Californian, in his first visit to Road Atlanta since he won the Red Bull AMA US Rookies Cup race in 2008, worked hard as he continues to adjust to racing a Daytona SportBike-spec Yamaha R6 after racing in Europe. “It was decent. Qualifying was all right but we never got a flyer in there with some traffic issues,” said Gagne. “It has potential. I’m pretty happy but we’re hoping the weather is good on Saturday and I can gain a few spots for the race. It’s close up there, so I’m always trying to go faster. The R6 is a lot different than the Moto2 bike I rode last year and the tires are different, but I have had enough time on it to get acquainted with it.” J.D. Beach suffered a small crash on Friday and was still looking to find the quick pace after his lap of 1:31.437 earned him 13th in provisional qualifying. “It hasn’t been the greatest and I crashed in the last session,” said Beach. “I feel good, but I’ve done fast laps here and I know what it feels like. We’ll keep working and hopefully it will go our way.” In SuperSport, Hayden Gillim put his machine on the provisional front row with a lap of 1:31.646. Gillim was pleased to return to Road Atlanta, a track he’s raced several times and one that allows him to use his physicality on the bike. Tomas Puerta was 7th out of 41 riders entered. Tomy’s time of 1:31.646 was impressive but put him just short of his goal of a front-row start. He will try to rectify that in Saturday morning’s final qualifying session. “We’re probably getting ahead of ourselves, but we’re pushing it,” said RoadRace Factory/Red Bull’s Danny Walker. “J.D. was making some big gains when he tucked the front and had a little tipover. We had a little mechanical issue on Jake’s bike. We’re starting to push the edges already. Before I’ve talked about how I wanted to see us take our time to get to where we need to be as a brand-new team. We’re in a hurry to be competitive.” “In SuperSport, Hayden was on the front row but he’s not happy with fourth,” continued Walker. “The biggest thing with Tomas is getting his confidence back and he’s working hard. All in all, not a bad day.” For additional information contact RoadRace Factory: Danny Walker, 970-227-2385, [email protected] More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer: PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW FOR WESTBY AT ROAD ATLANTA M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Dane Westby marked the AMA Pro Road Racing series’ return to Road Atlanta with an outstanding effort on Friday. The Oklahoman was immediately quick, claiming a spot on the provisional front row for the weekend’s twin AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races. Westby put his GSX-R600 on the outside of the provisional front row with the session’s fourth best time at 1:29.900. Westby understands there is still much work to be done, however. He said, “Provisional is provisional and I have a little bit of history getting bumped back in the second session. I really want to get on the front row and get a good start and not have to use up my tires fighting my way up there. So I need to put in a good lap tomorrow. “I’ve been here to Road Atlanta a lot and the Öhlins guys have really helped me this weekend.” SuzukiScoop Fans SportbikeTrackGear.com M4 Suzuki’s Elena Myers, who was victorious in last month’s Daytona SuperSport contest despite riding with a broken scaphoid, ran competitive times on Friday. While she had surgery to repair the injury less than a month ago, Myers managed to post the session’s tenth best lap during provisional qualifying today, clocking in at 1:33.472. M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich was 14th in the day’s opening Superbike qualifying session. The Californian’s best time was a 1:27.784 on a largely overcast, sometimes damp, day. Team Venezuela’s Robertino Pietri wasn’t far behind. Pietri hustled his GSX-R1000 Superbike with a best time of 1:28.235 to rank 16th on Friday. On Saturday morning the SportBike, SuperSport, and Superbike riders will decide their grid positions in the weekend’s second qualifying sessions before turning their attention to the weekend’s opening race action in the afternoon.