AMA Formula Xtreme Championship Barber Motorsports Park Birmingham, Alabama April 19, 2008 Provisional Race Results: 1. Jake Zemke (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, 16 laps 2. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -3.726 seconds 3. Chaz Davies (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -7.924 4. Larry Pegram (Duc 848), Pirelli, -18.313 5. Steve Rapp (Kaw ZX-6R), Pirelli, -19.537, crash 6. Aaron Gobert (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -23.598 7. Josh Hayes (Hon CBR600RR), Dunlop, -24.147, crash 8. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -25.943 9. Garrett Carter (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop, -37.919 10. Payton Sassaman (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, -40.675 11. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop, -50.600 12. Andrew Nelson (Duc 848), Pirelli, -61.665 13. Barrett Long (Duc 848), -61.874 14. Matt McBride (Suz GSX-R600), Pirelli, -62.408 15. Mark Crozier (Tri Daytona 675), -65.696 16. Eric Wood (Duc 848), Dunlop 17. Shane Narbonne (Tri Daytona 675), Dunlop 18. Chris Siebenhaar (Suz GSX-R600), Dunlop 19. Brian Hall (Kaw ZX-6R), Dunlop 20. J.B. Layman (Yam YZF-R6) 21. Scott Ryan (Kaw ZX-6R) 22. C.R. Gittere (Suz GSX-R600) 23. Thomas Moore (Yam YZF-R6) 24. Blake Kelly (Hon CBR600RR) 25. Dan Ortega (Yam YZF-R6) 26. Eric Haugo (Yam YZF-R6) 27. Jeremiah Johnson (Suz GSX-R600) 28. Rodney Vest (Suz GSX-R600) 29. Nate Kern (BMW HP2 Sport), DNF, mechanical 30. Robert McLendon (Tri Daytona 675), DNF 31. Walt Sipp (Buell XBRR), DNF 32. Chad Herrmann (Yam YZF-R6), Dunlop, DNS Championship Point Standings (after 2 of 11 races): 1. Davies, 65 points 2. Cardenas, 59 points 3. Rapp, 58 points 4. TIE, Zemke/Pegram, 56 points 6. Amantini, 41 points 7. Eslick, 32 points 8. Long, 30 points 9. Wood, 28 points 10. Richard Cooper, 26 points 11. TIE, Gobert/Hayes/Brian Parriott, 25 points 14. Bobby Fong, 24 points 15. Bostjan Skubic, 23 points More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: M4 EMGO’s Suzuki’s Cardenas Picks up First Formula Xtreme Podium of the Season Round 2 AMA Formula Xtreme Series Birmingham, Alabama Barber Motorsports Park April 18 – 20, 2008 Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas celebrated his first AMA Formula Xtreme podium finish of the season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday afternoon. After getting a good start, the young Colombian rider piloted his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 to an impressive second-place finish in the 17-lap race. Previously this year, Cardenas finished in fourth place at the season-opening Daytona Formula Xtreme race. Martin Cardenas: “I had a good qualifying session yesterday and I was to start on the second row on my M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600. I knew I had a good rhythm for the race, but I also knew the other guys were going to be very fast so I knew the start would be important. Today, I knew it would be tough but I got an OK start and I tried to keep the pace with the guys up front. At the end, I tried to maintain my position and keep a gap on third place. I was able to finish in second position and I would like to thank the M4 EMGO Suzuki team for working so hard and helping me get a podium finish.” More, from a press release issued by M4 EMGO Suzuki: CARDENAS EARNS SECOND PLACE IN BARBER FX FOR TEAM M4 EMGO SUZUKI Saturday saw an outstanding performance from Team M4 EMGO Suzuki at Barber Motorsports Park, as the squad scored a podium result and earned two front row grid positions for Sunday’s races. Martin Cardenas guided his Pirelli-shod GSX-R600 to a runner-up finish in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme final. The Colombian made another quick escape off the starting line and was immediately in a five-rider mix for the lead. The dramatic 16-lap race had several crashes among the lead pack and Martin’s steady ride up to a podium position saw him combine his speed with prudent racing. He worked his way up to second place and held the position to the checkered flag. “After qualifying I knew I had a good rhythm for the race,” the former World 250 Grand Prix rider said. “I made a good start. I knew that it was going to be a fight with the two Hondas and the Kawasakis. I started as good as I could and tried to stay with them. “(Steve) Rapp crashed on second lap I think. I tried to maintain the gap with Jake (Zemke) and Hayes. I didn’t know what happened to Hayes. I heard that he crashed out but I didn’t see it. In the end I tried to maintain the position and I finished second. It was a very good race. “I’d like to thank my team, M4 EMGO Suzuki, Pirelli, and my mechanics.” Blake Young continued his assault on the top of the charts, claiming starting positions on the front row for the Supersport and Superstock contests, which will take place on Sunday afternoon. He was third fastest in both classes, lapping at 1:26.093 on his GSX-R1000 in Superstock and 1:26.735 aboard his GSX-R600 Supersport racer. Young said, “Coming into this round I wanted to concentrate on Superstock more than Supersport, but it just seems the harder and harder I try in Superstock the less progress we make. So today I just tried to ride both bikes and not try to concentrate on one more than the other and everything is starting to come around. “Supersport is going to be really good. I’m really comfortable and really happy with our race set-up. As far as the 1000 goes, we need to get some more time on it tomorrow morning and get a race set-up going.” Cardenas will open his quest for a second podium finish of the weekend from the second row of the Supersport grid. He was seventh fastest during qualifying with a time of 1:27.920. Cory West will start from the inside of the fourth row in the Supersport race, qualifying 13th with a fast lap of 1:28.876. More, from a press release issued by Team Pongo NCR Ducati: In what was only the second outing for the Team Pongo NCR Ducati 848, the team was able to make some definite progress forward. After running well within the top 10 at the opening round of AMA Formula Extreme at Daytona (before experiencing a costly pit stop), everyone was looking forward to racing at Barber Motorsports Park – a favorite track of team rider Eric Wood. Team tuner Bruce Meyers of Meyers Performance had a new motor all prepared for number of parts that the team anticipated to receive from acclaimed NCR factory in Italy. The NCR engine package was to add an expected 20 Hp to the potent 848. In spite of the best efforts from NCR, the motor package was not quite ready for this round. The team was forced to ride the stock engine which was used in the Daytona 200. Team rider Eric Wood quoted, “I really appreciate the efforts of Joe Ippoliti and the crew at NCR…they tried really hard to get the parts we needed for Barber. But, I know that parts this good take time to make. I do know that when we bolt them in they’ll be fully developed and work the first time. So, now we need to go out and focus on the chassis and make whatever progress we can”. Crew members Mike Donavan, Carl McAllister and Gary Zawistowski worked hard Thursday & Friday as the team tested a number of chassis variations, and Bruce Meyers joined the crew for a long night on Thursday to try to get the bike in the best state of tune possible. The hard work paid off as Eric put the bike 9th on the grid. Team sponsors Rodney and Lynn Capron of Pongoresume.com was on hand for the firs time this season and was pleased with the progress of the team. “Qualifying in the top 10 with a stock engine is something the Eric & the crew should be proud of. We are excited to see a top rider out there fyling our company banner and cannot wait until he gets the engine package from NCR.” The Saturday race had Eric racing for 8th place with Matsushima Suzuki’s Garrett Carter before a missed shift caused him to run off the track into the gravel trap in turn 2, losing more than 20 seconds and nearly 10 positions on the track. Eric recounted, “I’m not sure why, but on lap 5 I stared getting a cramp in my left shin and downshifting (with GP shift) became increasingly difficult. We were still making forward progress, and I had just cut my fastest laps of the race and then I missed the downshift into turn 2. The front tucked and I had to stand it up and run off into the gravel. I got back going again but had my aggression tempered by a few rocks (which filled my belly pan) coming out at some inopportune times. My apologies to my friend Shane Narbonne – I think I broke his windscreen with one of the small stones that came out of my belly pan.” “I am obviously disappointed with missing out on a sure top 10 finish, I can only say that we are going to work very hard between now and next round we will attend at Elkhart Lake. We’ll have our motor package by then and the entire team is looking forward to putting out Ducati up front where it belongs. Thanks to all the sponsors who are behind our program, I can’t wait to get out there again.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki: Attack Kawasaki’s Davies Keeps Points Lead in Formula Xtreme Birmingham, Ala. Attack Kawasaki’s Chaz Davies added another podium finish to his season in the AMA Formula Xtreme class at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. Teammate Steve Rapp made a great comeback to finish fifth. In the AMA Superbike class, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jamie Hacking worked his way up through the pack to finish fourth. Podium Number Two Davies made the most of an up and down race to finish on the box for a second time this season. When he took his parade lap, he noticed something was not right. The team worked to get the bike right and he was able to finish in third and maintain the points lead. “The first couple corners were really good,” said Chaz. “My start wasn’t too good but I was able to pass a few people right away. I was pushing it really hard. Once I saw the first-place rider go down, I decided to not push as hard and try to ride smart.” Points Control After his win in Daytona and a follow-up podium finish, Davies was able to maintain the AMA Formula Xtreme points lead. “Its good to have the points lead, but it’s a long season,” said Davies. “We just need to keep being smart and try to repeat these good finishes.” Nothing Keeps Him Down Rapp got an incredible jump off the line to go into the first turn in the lead. On the second lap, he went down but was able to quickly jump back on the bike and rejoin the field in 16th. He used the last 15 laps to make up 11 positions to finish with a respectable fifth place. “The bike was running really good,” said Rapp. “My team worked really hard on the bike and I was obviously not happy to go down, but definitely glad to come back to finish fifth.” Ups and Downs The AMA Superbike class had its ups and downs as well with leaders crashing and constant position changes. Hacking got a good start from the seventh position and pushed the rest of the race to made smart passes, eventually coming across the finish with a solid fourth. “My race had its ups and downs,” said Hacking. “I didn’t get that great of a start. The rest of the race I was trying to make a charge toward the front and was able to get up to third. I got passed, but held on to it for fourth. It’s a much better start this year than last year and we are going to keep making adjustments to make sure we are constantly up front.” Roger Hayden Update During the AMA Superbike qualifying session on Saturday, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden went down and was taken to the hospital for further examination. He broke his pinky finger and will require surgery to repair it. He was really sore on his left side, mostly on his hip and back. He stayed overnight at the hospital for further observation and is expected to be released on Monday. Matching Number to Suit At the second round of the AMA Superbike series, Hacking showed off a new design for his number two machine. The design inside the number also matches a design that appears on the back of his leathers. Teamwork With the ups and downs before the start of the AMA Formula Xtreme race, Davies’ team was able to work together to get him back on the track with a podium-finishing bike. The team that supports the rider is extremely crucial to the results. More, from a press release issued by Pirelli: Pirelli Sweeps Barber AMA FX from Second to Fifth Rome, Georgia: Led by Martin Cardenas, Pirelli riders dominated the top five positions in Saturday’s Formula Xtreme race at Barber Motorsports Park, taking every position from second to fifth. Tacked to the tail of the M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R600 of Cardenas was Daytona 200 winner Chaz Davies, who is now the only rider with a podium-only season in FX. Behind Davies’ Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R was Larry Pegram on his team Leo Vince/Foremost Insurance Ducati 848 in fourth, and Davies’ teammate Steve Rapp rounding out the top five. Race winner was Jake Zemke. In Formula Xtreme points for the season the top three positions are all Pirelli, showing the clear domination of the Pirelli Superbike Slicks. Davies leads the points followed by Cardenas and Steve Rapp in second and third. Pegram is currently tied for fourth, except in the abstract consideration of the season ending today. Saturday’s Supersport qualifying had Pirelli riders lapping the competition on the Diablo Supercorsa DOT racing tires, with M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Blake Young and Attack Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp earning positions on the front row for Sunday’s race, respectively with the third- and fourth-fastest times. Martin Cardenas, Young’s teammate, put his GSX-R600 on the second row, directly behind Young, with Chaz Davies earning a grid position on row three with the 10th-quickest time of the day. Cory West, also teammate to Young, qualified 13th, matching his competition number. Speaking of Blake Young, in Superstock qualifying for Sunday’s final Young put his M4 EMGO Suzuki GSX-R1000 on the front row with the third-best time at the picturesque and pastoral Barber circuit. Chris Ulrich has ensured a good race for himself by qualifying on the second row with his Roadracingworld.com Suzuki in the seventh spot on the grid, while his teammate Robertino Pietri qualified in ninth.