AMA Formula Xtreme Championship VIRginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 16, 2008 Provisional Race Results: 1. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 17 laps 2. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -7.797 seconds 3. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -17.177 4. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -17.245 5. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -17.736 6. Chaz Davies (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -21.116 7. Jeff Wood (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -26.270 8. Larry Pegram (Duc 848), Pirelli, -32.097 9. Taylor Knapp (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, -48.578 10. Nicky Moore (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -48.696 11. Andrew Nelson (Duc 848), Pirelli, -50.045 12. Tony Meiring (Yam YZF-R6), -61.970 13. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, -62.725 14. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -86.046 15. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -1 lap 16. Eric Pinson (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -1 lap 17. Dennys Passeto ((Duc 848), -1 lap 18. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6), Pirelli, -1 lap 19. Arnold Hastings (Duc 848), -1 lap 20. J.B. Layman (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 21. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 22. Jeremiah Johnson (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 23. Jessica Zalusky (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 24. Gary Cain (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 25. Eric Wood (Duc 848), Dunlop, -6 laps, DNF 26. Steve Kennedy (Hon CBR600RR), -9 laps, DNF 27. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -10 laps, DNF, crash 28. Chad Herrmann (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -10 laps, DNF 29. Terry Taylor (Suz GSX-R600), -11 laps, DNF 30. Blake Kelly (Hon CBR600RR), -13 laps, DNF 31. Jonathan Lawrence (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -15 laps, DNF 32. John Hart (Suz GSX-R600), DNS 33. J. Seth Starnes (Suz GSX-R600), DNS Provisional Championship Point Standings (after 8 of 10 races): 1. Zemke, 267 points 2. Rapp, 222 3. Hayes, 216 4. Pegram, 215 5. Gobert, 178 6. Davies, 172 7. Cardenas, 157 8. Amantini, 146 9. Eslick, 138 10. TIE, Moore/Siebenhaar, 121 More, from a press release issued by Pirelli Tire North America: Cardenas Takes Pirelli to Thrilling FX Podium Rome, GA: Racing fans received a fantastic frantic show in Formula Xtreme Saturday at Virginia International Raceway (VIR), with Martin Cardenas charging through the field for a podium finish on his M4 EMGO Suzuki. Starting on the outside of the second row, Cardenas was fourth at the end of lap one. Cardenas was in a tight battle for third throughout most of the race, putting in the deciding pass in turn one on the last lap then holding off all competitors to the checkered flag, on the strangely technical yet finely groomed VIR North Course. After the race Cardenas said, “I knew there were only two places to pass on this track, so I took third place going into turn one on the last lap. I was able to hold off Aaron from there to the flag.” Eventual race winner was Josh Hayes Next up for Pirelli at race’s end was Steve Rapp, who had run third for much of the race on his Attack Kawasaki, eventually finishing fifth. Rapp’s teammate, 2008 Daytona 200 winner, Chaz Davies was sixth, with Larry Pegram eighth on his Leo Vince/Foremost Insurance Ducati 848, after running second, for a couple laps early in the race. Ninth and tenth in Formula Xtreme were captured by independent privateers Taylor Knapp and Nicky Moore, giving Pirelli sixth of the top-ten positions. In FX Points for the season Rapp is registered in second place, with Pegram in fourth and Davies in sixth. Blake Young took top honors for Pirelli in Supersport qualifying, earning fifth on the grid for Sunday’s race. Young’s M4 EMGO Suzuki was joined in the top ten qualifying by Steve Rapp’s Attack Kawasaki. Superstock qualifying saw Blake Young again qualifying fifth, with Robertino Pietri earning the sixth spot on the grid for his Roadracingworld.com Suzuki team. Ryan Elleby and David Anthony round out the top ten qualifiers in Superstock, earning the ninth and tenth positions respectively. Pirelli Tire North America specializes in the manufacture and marketing of high-performance tires for passenger vehicles, motorcycles and motorsports. An industry leader in technology and quality, Pirelli operates its highly advanced Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) in Rome, Georgia, to better serve the North American OEM and Replacement markets. For more information please visit: www.us.pirelli.com, or www.us.pirellimoto.com. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: Team M4 EMGO’s Suzuki’s Cardenas Podiums in VIR Formula Xtreme Race Round 8 AMA Formula Xtreme Series Alton, Virginia Virginia International Raceway (VIR) August 15 – 17, 2008 Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas continues to visit the AMA Formula Xtreme podium and this weekend’s race at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, was no exception. The Colombian rider raced his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 to his second consecutive podium finish in Formula Xtreme on Saturday afternoon. Cardenas made a last-lap pass to capture an impressive third-place finish in the 17-lap race. This result also marks Cardenas’ third overall podium finish in Formula Xtreme for the year. Although Cardenas missed several rounds this season after he was injured in a crash at the beginning of the year, the M4 EMGO Suzuki rider is currently in seventh place overall in the championship points chase. Martin Cardenas: “At the beginning of the race, I got a good start on the M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600. I think I was in maybe third place”¦ I had some good battles in the race and there was a good bit of passing. Toward the end, I was passed but I tried to stay close so I could make a move on the last lap. We got into some lappers and that helped me a bit and I was able to make the pass. Then I just tried to maintain my position to the end and it worked out.” AMA Formula Xtreme Top 10 Finishers: 1. Josh Hayes, Honda 2. Jake Zemke, Honda 3. Martin Cardenas, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki 4. Aaron Gobert, Honda 5. Steve Rapp, Kawasaki 6. Chaz Davies, Kawasaki 7. Jeff Wood, Yamaha 8. Larry Pegram, Ducati 9. Taylor Knapp, Yamaha 10. Nicky Moore, Kawasaki More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer, Inc.: BRILLIANT PODIUM FINISH FOR MARTIN CARDENAS IN VIRGINIA Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas claimed his second consecutive Formula Xtreme podium finish in dramatic fashion on Saturday at Virginia International Raceway. At the start of the 17-lap contest, the Colombian made one of his trademark spectacular starts, immediately jumping up from the outside of the second row into third aboard his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600. From there he was involved in a thrilling multi-rider dogfight for the podium, battling with class rivals Steve Rapp, Chaz Davies, Larry Pegram, and Aaron Gobert as they shuffled their positions back and forth. On the final lap Cardenas took control of third position with a late-braking maneuver past Gobert and successfully kept the Australian at bay by less than a tenth of a second at the checkered flag. The third-place result was the former Spanish Supersport champion’s third Formula Xtreme podium result of the 2008 season. “At the beginning I got another good start and moved up to third,” said Martin. “I battled all throughout the race and made a lot of passes going into turn one on the brakes. “At the end Gobert came and passed me and Rapp. I tried to stay as close as possible to make a move on the last lap. We got behind some lappers and that helped me get close enough on the final lap to make my move. I tried to maintain that position for the whole lap and it worked out. “I really want to thank my M4 EMGO Suzuki team and Pirelli. Everybody did a great job this weekend.” Blake Young twice qualified in fifth position on Saturday and will open both the Superstock and Supersport finals from the inside of the second row on Sunday. He posted a best lap of 1:26.039 aboard his GSX-R1000 Superstock machine and then followed that up with a 1:26.914 on his GSX-R600 Supersport racer. “Superstock started off a bit slow,” Blake explained. “We went out on some used tires and tried to get comfortable on the bike. It didn’t really seem like we could get real close on times but we came in and put on a new front and a little bit softer rear and went out and made some laps and tried to work on the bike from there. We made some progress and we hope to make some more in the morning warm-up. We’ll see what the race brings. “On the 600 it was kind of the same story. We don’t get a whole lot of time to work on the bike. We’ve just got to set it up and get going. We ended up fifth in both so that’s pretty good.” Cardenas and Cory West will open the 60k Supersport final from the third row. Cardenas was tenth best in the session at 1:27.432 while West was 12th at 1:27.553. Team M4 EMGO Suzuki will round out the VIR weekend on Sunday in their attempt to continue their recent run of podium finishes in the Superstock and Supersport finals.