CARDENAS CAPS OFF GREAT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK WEEKEND WITH ANOTHER PODIUM
M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas backed up Saturday’s momentous first-career AMA Pro Superbike victory at Barber Motorsports Park with an equally impressive ride on Sunday. Cardenas weathered the blisteringly hot Alabama conditions to fight with the lead pack deep into the contest and ultimately secure his third career Superbike podium result.
Cardenas got away in fifth position and not only kept the class’ leading stars in his sights but crept his way up to their rear wheels. One opponent made a mistake allowing Martin to seize control of fourth position on lap 4 of 21. And then on lap 9 another rider dropped out of contention as his bike expired, moving Cardenas up in third, less than a half second removed from first position.
Battling both a sliding machine and the exhausting heat, Martin was just a second behind the leader with three laps remaining before he accepted a close third. The race was his finest dry-race Superbike outing yet as he continues to skillfully adapt to the premier class in stellar fashion.
Cardenas said, “The conditions were very extreme. It was very hot and I think it was even harder than yesterday because the bike was sliding so much. It was very difficult to maintain the pace of the frontrunners. They were gaining some time over me every lap in Turn 2 so I had to push hard each lap to close the gap back up. I was exhausted the last eight laps. It was very difficult to move on the bike because I was dehydrated.
“Third is a very good result. We were closer than ever to the frontrunners so I am very happy. This gives me confidence and also the team because it looks like we’re headed in the right direction. I want to thank all my guys. They did a great job this weekend and I my best. Hopefully we continue in this form or even better in the next races.”
Dane Westby looked more than capable of matching or bettering his Saturday Daytona SportBike runner-up result on Sunday, unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
The Oklahoman again charged up from his third-row starting position to join the fight for the lead. Running in seventh on the opening lap, Westby slotted his GSX-R600 into a close third by lap 4 of 21.
However, just after Dane took control of second place on lap 9, he crashed from contention.
Meanwhile, Santiago Villa responded nicely to Saturday’s disappointment in the SportBike final. The Colombian raced hard in the difficult hot-weather conditions, coming home with an eleventh-place finish.
M4 Suzuki will next head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 6 of the AMA Pro Road Racing tour on July 8-10.
More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Rapp Claims Second 2011 Vance & Hines XR1200 Victory at Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL – Parts Unlimited Harley-Davidson rider Steve Rapp piloted his XR1200 to a second 2011 victory in Barber Motorsports Park’s hot and humid AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 contest. Rapp barely edged out Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing) to take victory by a mere 0.157 of a second. Rounding out the podium was last year’s AMA Pro SuperSport Top Gun Champion Tyler O’Hara.
At the start of the race, J&P Cycles Harley-Davidson’s Michael Beck took the lead but suffered a violent, head-over-heels crash before the end of lap one. (He was checked out by EMTs then released.) Before the start of the second lap, Rapp took over and put his head down, riding an almost perfect race.
“I got a decent start,” said Rapp. “I was in third going through the first couple corners, then got a little bit of a draft going in to Turn 4 and was able to start passing some people. By end of the first lap I was back in the lead, and then I just went as hard as I could without crashing. This class really shows bike skill and rider set-up, that’s what I like about it. I had fun.”
Although Rapp was pleased to be out front, it forced him to endure constant pressure from Fillmore throughout the 11-lap race. Fillmore, who lays claim to two wins in this class, shadowed Rapp through every corner but was never able to find a way by.
“In the beginning of the race when Michael got spit off, it was right in front of me and I ran into the grass,” said Fillmore. “I kind of checked out of the race for a second then realized we had to get back in line. I was pushing hard, pushing hard the whole time, but every time I thought about making a move, the front end would push and the rear would come around — it was really, really greasy out here. I kind of played it conservative. I wish I’d tried some more aggressive moves, but I was pretty much doing everything I could just to stay there. I’m looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio; we kind of struggled here.” Despite the struggles, Fillmore maintains the overall points lead leaving Barber, 135 to Rapp’s 119.
While Rapp and Fillmore created a gap on the 2.38-mile, 17-turn scenic Southern track, O’Hara put in a solid and consistent ride to his first podium in this class. Although he battled with Travis Wyman on his Harv’s Harley-Davidson XR1200, O’Hara came out the victor.
“In the middle of race, Travis was catching me, and on the last lap he really put some heat on me and passed me going into 4 on the inside. [We ended up] drag racing all the way to the museum turn … then I just held it wide open and made it work. I’m definitely really happy to be up here.”
Behind O’Hara was Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), followed by Rossmeyer Daytona Racing’s Michael Corbino in fifth. Kyle Wyman, Travis’s older brother, took sixth on another Rossmeyer Daytona Racing GEICO XR1200. Seventh went to David Estock (Black Hills Harley-Davidson), while Chase McFarland finished eighth on a Latus Motors Racing XR1200. Ninth and tenth went to Payton Sassaman (Harley-Davidson of Macon) and Brett Sassaman (Eagle Harley-Davidson), respectively.
The AMA Pro Road Racing Championship next heads to Lexington, Ohio’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the July 8-10 weekend, Round 6 on the series calendar. For tickets and information, visit www.midohio.com or call (419) 884-4000.
To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us on facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing and twitter.com/AMAProSBK.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Action Heats Up in Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race 2 at Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL – The weather wasn’t the only thing that was hot at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, as the second AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race of the weekend boasted some seriously steamy action. ANT-Racing.com Suzuki rider James Rispoli barely edged out yesterday’s winner, Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com Honda), for the victory, while Hayden Gillim finished third and celebrated his first Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport podium.
At the start of the 17-lap race, Rispoli put on a masterful display of control and pace as he worked his way toward a second career AMA Pro SuperSport win. He couldn’t shake loose Solis, however, who even managed to shoot past Rispoli in the final turn on lap eleven. But Rispoli would not be denied, and he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat by just 0.064 of a second.
“I made a couple mistakes toward the middle of the race,” acknowledged Rispoli, “and I looked back a couple times and saw he was right there, so I knew it was going to be pretty hard to gap him and then keep the tires. So I slowed the pace down a lot — I think it was about a half-second slower through the middle of the race — I was really trying to conserve tires. I saw him try that pass and said, ‘It’s not gonna happen, dude’ [laughs], but it was clean race, and I really trust him, so it was cool. It was like dirt track again — really cool. Hats off to my crew and everyone else … it’s been a great weekend with the second and first, and hats off to all men and women serving overseas — I want to give a big shout-out to them.”
“The whole race was just exciting for me,” added Solis. “I was nervous the whole time, but having a lot of fun. I tried really hard to close the gap [on Rispoli], but once I was there I think I wore out my front tire. Every time I tried to catch him on the brakes, it started stepping out. I couldn’t show him a wheel — I tried really hard and wanted to attempt that last pass again, but I knew it wasn’t going to work out, and I would rather have had second than both of us crash out. But other than that I’m just happy to be on the podium, and it was a lot of fun.”
Behind the lead duo, there was action aplenty as yesterday’s third-place finisher Elena Myers (Team SuzukiScoopFans Suzuki) got another great start and ran as high as third before having to settle for fifth. She had her hands more than full with Tomas Puerta (LTD Racing Y.E.S. Yamaha), Road America winner Travis Wyman (Harv’s Harley-Davidson Yamaha), Stefano Mesa (Rata Racing Ducati), and Dustin Dominguez (Latus Motors Triumph), all of whom put on a great show in the young-gun class.
Gillim, meanwhile, was making quiet but steady progress up through the ranks from his tenth-place starting position. Before some of his competitors realized it, Gillim had worked his way up to third place — just in time to take the last podium spot as the checkers flew.
“I started on the third row, but I knew I could run the same time as these guys,” said Gillim. “I got a decent start and was seventh going into Turn One. From there, I was just trying to work my way up to front. About five laps into the race, I caught Travis and Elena and kind of had to sit back for a little bit; they were both running strong and I couldn’t find anywhere to pass them. [Once I did], I put my head down and just tried to catch [Solis and Rispoli], but they had a four- to five-second lead by then. I’m just happy to be up here — it’s a good Father’s Day present for my dad, and hopefully we can just keep the momentum going.”
Corey Alexander put in a solid ride on his Vesrah Suzuki, finishing fourth ahead of Myers and Dominguez. Ricky Parker brought home seventh on his Yamaha, and Puerta took eighth ahead of James Dellinger on another Vesrah Suzuki. Ben Young rounded out the top ten on his Lean Angle Yamaha.
So far this year, there have been six different winners in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class, and the field continues to chase the $25,000 Motorcycle-Superstore.com points-fund bonus. Rispoli currently leads the East Division SuperSport standings, 92 to Puerta’s 69.
The AMA Pro Road Racing Championship next heads to Lexington, Ohio’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the July 8-10 weekend, Round 6 on the series calendar. For tickets and information, visit www.midohio.com or call (419) 884-4000.
To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us on facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing and twitter.com/AMAProSBK.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Herrin Takes Sunday Daytona SportBike Victory, Eslick Takes Points Lead
BIRMINGHAM, AL – Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin had something to prove — and points to regain — in today’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Race 2, and when the light went green at Sunday’s Barber Motorsports Park contest, that’s exactly what he did. After stalking GEICO Powersports/RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick through the majority of the hard-fought race, Herrin turned the misery of yesterday’s DNF into a very sweet .022-second margin of victory, then celebrated by scaling an enormous fence to cheers from fans.
“I consider this my home race, and I was really excited,” said Herrin. “I did the Track Walk yesterday and told a couple fans I’d climb the fence, and they were pretty excited about it. So, I thought I would be nice to the fans,” added the rider who’d just taken a win in 96-degree heat, “to get them out of the shade up there.”
Saturday’s seized engine may come back to haunt Herrin in the overall points chase, but for today, the Yamaha rider — followed across the line by Eslick and Jake Holden Racing’s Cameron Beaubier — is back on top. Only on top of the Barber podium, however, as it’s Eslick who’s taken over the championship points lead now, becoming the fourth rider to do so this year.
For Celtic Racing/Fast by Ferracci’s PJ Jacobsen, today’s event was eerily and unpleasantly similar to yesterday’s, in which he crashed out early in the race after leading briefly. In today’s contest, he lost that lead to a string of other riders before sliding out, but he was far from the only front-runner to suffer sideline fate: M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby followed suit after running as high as third, with former points-leader Cory West (Vesrah Suzuki) ran off just minutes later while trying to move up from fourth. (West was able to reenter, ultimately finishing 20th.)
As Herrin put steadily increasing pressure on Eslick while clearly planning a last-minute attack, it was Y.E.S./Pat Clark/Grave Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino who grabbed the spotlight, putting on a performance unlike anything the 19-year-old’s shown the paddock this year. Though Beaubier ultimately got him at the last minute — “It was a little close,” said Beaubier, “but I had to do it” — Aquino demonstrated he’s still got what it takes to land on the box.
When the white flag flew and the last lap unspooled, Herrin’s attack, which he later labeled part of a “just I hope I can get it, and hope it’ll stick” strategy, let loose on the string of final corners, delivered Herrin to the finish-line less than three tenths ahead of Eslick. “I can say I got beat,” Eslick said later, laughing. “There’s not much else to it. I led every lap down to the last corner pretty much, and he was definitely in a good position. After following me for 20 laps, he knew exactly where I was going on every lap. He definitely had options, and I didn’t know where [the attack] was going to come from, but at that point I knew it was coming pretty quick.”
When asked how the riders handled today’s heat, Eslick quipped, “The same as we do whenever it’s cold — we’re not the smartest people out here.”
Third-place finisher Beaubier later described his strategy as “just trying not to make any mistakes at the beginning. I knew if I didn’t charge hard enough at beginning, I wouldn’t be there at end,” he continued. “It was a really tough race. I had a couple hard moments trying to keep up, but it was an awesome race.”
Behind Beaubier, Aquino, Taylor Knapp (Vesrah Suzuki), Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing), Kris Turner (Turner’s Cycle Racing), Tyler O’Hara (GP Bike Parts Racing), Barrett Long (Longevity Racing), and Tyler Odom (Don Odom Racing) rounded out the top ten.
Today’s Daytona SportBike and National Guard SuperBike races air tonight at 9 p.m. PST/midnight EST on SPEED.
The AMA Pro Road Racing Championship next heads to Lexington, Ohio’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the July 8-10 weekend, Round 6 on the series calendar. For tickets and information, visit www.midohio.com or call (419) 884-4000.
To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us on facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing and twitter.com/AMAProSBK.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
Young Takes Revenge on Sweltering SuperBike Race at Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL – After settling for third in yesterday’s rain-soaked AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike contest, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young demanded a swap from Race 1 winner Martin Cardenas (M4 Suzuki) and went right through Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes to get it. With all three riders visibly exhausted after the extremely hot race, Young — who started from the second row — said, “I just kept thinking to myself, ‘If I’m hurting this bad and this tired, he’s gotta be hurting too, so just keep after it.'”
As sapped as the podium trio felt post-race, however, a pair of Hayden bothers — Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy and National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger — undoubtedly felt worse. Tommy, who got the holeshot off the start and lead through the first third of the race, was handed sudden misfortune when his bike began spewing smoke and flames, sidelining the eldest Hayden.
Roger, who’d been running a very strong fourth before a ride through the grass relegated him to a much more distant sixth, had been making up impressive ground on the frontrunners — closing the gap from over two seconds to less than a half-second — when a crash ended his race with seven laps to go. Although the Jordan rider walked away shaking his head, however, one thing his Barber runs have made clear is that the SuperBike class could soon see a new contender for front-runner status.
Hayes and Young, meanwhile, continued to trade the lead while testing each other’s lines, often running just inches apart and swapping spots in consecutive corners. With six laps left in the race, Young took back the lead and tried desperately to shake the Yamaha rider off, and he was able to eek out just enough of a margin to keep himself safe while the pair made their final charge up the front straight.
“I knew he’d be there,” said Hayes — “he always is. Blake knew the areas where I was fast, and I really thought maybe the end would come my way a little bit because it seemed like he was having to use his bike more defensively than me. But at the end, I think we were both in hot water: pretty hot, pretty tired, and the bikes were getting extremely hot. I made the best run I could at him, but he rode a smart race, and he beat me.”
“Today conditions were very extreme, very hot,” Cardenas agreed, “and I think today’s race was even tougher than yesterday’s because we were sliding even a bit more than yesterday, so it was very difficult to maintain the pace. Roger and Tommy and Josh and Blake were running very fast and gaining some time over me in Turn 2 every lap, so I had to push very hard each lap to close the gap. But at the end I was just exhausted, and the last eight laps were very difficult for me to move on the bike because I was very tired and dehydrated. But third is a very good result, and we were closer than ever to the frontrunners, so I am very happy.
Behind Cardenas, Steve Rapp (San Diego BMW), Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki), Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing), Geoff May (Amsoil EBR Racing), Chris Clark (Y.E.S./Pat Clark/Graves Yamaha), Chris Peris (Iron Horse BMW), and JD Beach (Cycle World Attack Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten.
Today’s National Guard SuperBike and Daytona SportBike races air tonight at 9 p.m. PST/midnight EST on SPEED.
The points race has tightened considerably, with Young trailing Hayes, 233 to 235. Tommy Hayden sits third with 182 as the AMA Pro Road Racing Championship next heads to Lexington, Ohio’s Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the July 8-10 weekend, Round 6 on the series calendar. For tickets and information, visit www.midohio.com or call (419) 884-4000.
To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us on facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing and twitter.com/AMAProSBK.
More, from a press release issued by Witchkraft Racing:
WITCHKRAFT RACING WRAPS UP AMA EVENT AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
June 20, 2011 – Shelby Twp., MI – Witchkraft Racing’s Jeff Wrobel completed a hard-fought and challenging weekend at the Barber SuperBike Classic held at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama this past weekend. Fighting the initial damp and extremely hot conditions throughout the three-day event, Jeff finished 11th in Saturday’s Supersport race and suffered a DNF in Sunday’s 17-lap event after his machine overheated, appearing to drop water on the front tire causing a low side crash ending his weekend. While the team always strives to be at the front, weekends like these show how strong the AMA competition is and that running at the front is no easy task. Jeff currently sits 12th in the AMA Supersport East point standings.
While Eddie Kraft remains out of action with complications to his wrist injury from 2010, Witchkraft Racing’s Crew Chief Joe Kraft flew down to assist the team, including SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Brian Van and Jake Arch throughout the course of the weekend.
The next AMA Pro Road Racing Championship event is at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, July 8-10 – where Jeff and the crew will look to rebound and continue the learning progression in competing at the AMA level.
Witchkraft Racing would like to recognize the support of their sponsors: Honda East of Toledo, SportbikeTrackGear.com, DuPont, Oakley, Hanshaw Engines, 35 Motorsports, Pit Bull, Sharkskinz, Graves Motorsports, Dynojet, RS Taichi, Teknic, Bell Helmets, NGK Spark Plugs, Worldwide Bearings, Motul, GP Tech, Full Spectrum, Knox Armour, Three J’s Wreck Tech, Trademark Custom Interiors, Motion Pro and Spiegler. For more information on the team, visit witchkraftracing.com.
More, from a press release issued by Turner’s Cycles Racing:
TURNER’S CYCLE RACING BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
CHATTANOOGA, TN: Turner’s Cycle Racing completed another successful weekend at BarberMotorsportsPark, pulling a 7th place finish on Saturday and another 7th place on Sunday in the Daytona Sportbike class.
“Saturday’s race was a good race for me, before this weekend I would consider that success. After not riding since Daytona, it was a good feeling to know I could come back and still have the same pace I had to begin with. It felt like a long race being by myself for most of it but we kept it on two wheels and rode it out to a solid top 10 finish which I’m happy with,” says Kris Turner, talking about the first race of the weekend
Sunday’s race would show Turner picking it up a step and racing with the lead pack for a while,
“I was really happy with today’s race. I always knew that I had it in me to be able to run with the leaders and I wanted to prove to everyone else that I could. I got a great start and just tagged on to the back of the train and one by one tried to pick them off, a couple went down here and there so I was really just trying to keep it up to start with. I got up to 5th behind Aquino for a couple laps and I think we were running the leaders down and I guess I just got a little ahead of myself coming on to the front straight, got a little loose and almost highsided. That mistake put me back a little and I had a fun little duel with DiSalvo til the end of the race and he got me on the last lap.
“Looking back on the race, I’m happy that I finally put my mark on the group up front but at the same time I’m a little disappointed that I made that mistake. I feel like my dad and the rest of the Turner’s Cycle Racing crew, Donald and James Parton, helped put together a bike good enough to win. I know I felt confident enough in the bike and in myself to at least go for a podium spot. But we put together a good weekend, no big mistakes to speak of, no crashes or major mechanicals and really didn’t have to do that much adjusting to the bike. It was just a great package right out of the truck.”
Also commenting on other various aspects from the weekend:
“The biggest thing that really helped boost my confidence was the Dunlop Tires. I haven’t always got along the GPA’s in the years past but it seems like this year they have really put together a great set of tires. I always knew what the front tire was going to do and had a comfortable window with pushing it and letting it tuck a little in areas. The rear tire is very controllable; I don’t think I have ever had the back end of that bike as far out as I did a few times this weekend. I really appreciate Dunlop working so hard to continue making their tires better.”
Turner’s Cycle Racing looks forward to the next race at Mid-Ohio in just a few weeks and would like to thank all the sponsors that put us here today.
Turner’s Cycle, Arai, MJ Moto Gear (mjmotogear.com), Moto Liberty, RS Taichi, DP Brakes, Spider Grips, Sidi, Vortex.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:
TEAM ROCKSTAR MAKITA SUZUKI WINS AMA SUPERBIKE RACE AT BARBER!!
Blake Young wins on Sunday & pulls within two points of the championship points lead
BIRMINGHAM, AL Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young had a lot to celebrate after this weekend’s AMA Pro Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. The young rider rode smart in the rain on Saturday and picked up a podium finish, and then went all out on Sunday and carded the win. This win marks Young’s fifth AMA Pro Superbike victory of the season and moves him to within a mere two points of the overall championship points lead.
On Sunday, Young got a great start on his Yoshimura-prepped Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was running second behind teammate Tommy Hayden. When Hayden unexpectedly pulled out of the race, Young took over the lead and didn’t look back. He made no mistakes and took the checkered flag with style. On Saturday, a mid-race rain shower resulted in a red flag and the mounting of rain tires. When the race was restarted, Young, who’d been running second prior to the red flag, got another good start on his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and took the lead. He battled to stay up front, and wound up as part of the Suzuki sweep of the podium finishing in a solid third place.
“For me, the weekend went really, really well,” said Young. “We got off to a slow start but then showed that our Rockstar Makita Suzuki team is really strong. In Saturday’s wet race, we got a good start and I just tried to have as much fun as I could and ended up third. On Sunday, I knew we had a good set-up and was looking forward to the race. I got another good start and got behind Tommy, who was setting a fast, comfortable pace, which made life a little easier for me. I ended up getting up front, and I was confident in my GSX-R and my tires and equipment to pull out the win. It was a tough weekend, but we had great results. I’m happy to win this one and happy for my team.”
Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden, however, had a rough weekend at Barber. Wanting to earn as many points as possible on Saturday, Hayden rode conservatively in the wet race and finished seventh. On Sunday, the Kentucky native got a great start and was leading the race for the first nine laps when a rare mechanical mishap caused him to DNF.
“It was a fairly disappointing weekend,” said Hayden. “We were fast but we don’t have any results to show for it. Saturday, when it was dry, I was leading and I felt like I had a good chance to fight for the win. Then it started raining, and I didn’t feel comfortable at all. Today, I felt good and I led for nine laps, and I was in good shape for the race”¦ Unfortunately, we had some kind of freak mechanical incident, this is the first time I’ve ever had a mechanical issue in a race since I joined the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team. They’re a top-notch group of guys working on my bikes, this is a very rare incident for us and I don’t expect anything like this to happen again in the future. We have a lot of races left, and now I’m just looking forward to having another chance at it at Mid-Ohio.”
The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event of the 2011 AMA Pro American Superbike Championship series is at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, on July 8-10, 2011.
Barber Superbike Results, Race 1:
1. Martin Cardenas 2. Ben Bostrom 3. Blake Young 4. Josh Hayes 5. Larry Pegram 6. Roger Hayden 7. Tommy Hayden 8. JD Beach 9. Trent Gibson 10. Jeremy Toye
Barber Superbike Results, Race 2:
1. Blake Young 2. Josh Hayes 3. Martin Cardenas 4. Steve Rapp 5. Ben Bostrom 6. Larry Pegram 7. Geoff May 8. Chris Clark 9. Chris Peris 10. JD Beach
2011 Superbike Class Standings:
1. Josh Hayes 235 2. Blake Young 233 3. Tommy Hayden 182 4. Martin Cardenas 155 5. Ben Bostrom 130 6. Larry Pegram 125 7. Roger Hayden 106 8. Chris Clark 103 9. Steve Rapp 95 10. Geoff May — 82
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:
TEAM SUZUKISCOOPFANS’ ELENA MYERS CELEBRATES FIRST PODIUM OF THE SEASON!!
Myers cards impressive third-place finish in Barber SuperSport race
BIRMINGHAM, AL Team SuzukiScoopFans rider Elena Myers is truly coming into her own. The 17-year-old Californian rode a flawlessly determined AMA Pro SuperSport race on Saturday to capture her first podium of the 2011 season at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL.
In Saturday’s 17-lap race, Myers got a great start on her SuzukiScoopFans Suzuki GSX-R600 and charged into the lead after just a few laps. She went on to lead the pack for several laps before settling into third position. Even so, while battling for her podium spot, Myers posted the fastest lap of the race. She and the other front-runners went on to gap the field and Myers was on the box for the first time this season.
“I got a good start on my SuzukiScoopFans Suzuki GSX-R600 in Saturday’s race,” said Myers. “I was starting on the second row from the fifth spot that’s my best qualifying this year and I felt pretty good about that. I was second off the line, then we had a red flag. In the restart, I had another good start and was trying to put my head down and I led for a few laps, and even went back and forth with the lead guys, but they ended up pulling a gap. I made my way home in third place and I’m really excited about that. It’s my first podium of the year and this was my first podium since my win last year. It’s definitely a big confidence-booster for me.”
Sunday’s race again saw Myers get up front fairly quickly and she was running in third for several laps before bringing home a solid fifth-place finish. Although Myers is contesting all the 2011 AMA SuperSport rounds, officially she is only competing in the West Coast Championship. This weekend’s races at Barber were East Coast rounds and did not affect Myers’ overall championship points standings. She remains in fifth place in the West Division.
“Today went pretty well,” she said. “I finished in fifth place. I didn’t get such a great start but I was battling with the top guys again. I think overall it was a good weekend a third and a fifth, you can’t be too upset about that. My leathers are clean, I’m clean and my Suzuki looks good. A big thanks to everybody at Suzuki and my crew and everybody who really made this weekend a good one for me. Thanks to all the fans for coming out, and now I can’t wait for Mid-Ohio.”
The 2011 SuzukiScoopFans team’s next event of the 2011 AMA Pro SuperSport season will be at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH, on July 8-10, 2011.
More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson:
Rapp Wins AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Race at Barber
Fillmore Retains Points Lead with O’Hara in First Podium Finish
Milwaukee Parts Unlimited rider Steve Rapp prevailed in an 11-lap duel with series points leader Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing) to win his second AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 race of the season at Barber Motorsports Park June 20 by a margin of 0.157-second.
At the start of the race, Rapp, the polesitter, and Fillmore broke to the front of the pack along with fellow front-row starter Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), but exiting the track’s final turn onto the front straight to complete the first lap, Beck lost control of his motorcycle in a dramatic high-side crash, which he remarkably walked away from uninjured. The resulting chaos as following motorcycles attempted to avoid Beck and his crashed motorcycle allowed Rapp and Fillmore to make a break at the front, which widened as the laps ticked off.
Riding on the ragged edge of control as the sweltering 95-plus degree temperature degraded the track’s available grip and tire condition, the pair ran nose to tail for the remainder of the race, but ultimately Fillmore was unable to find a way around Rapp, who earned his second victory of the season.
“I got a decent start. I was in third going through the first couple corners, then got a little bit of a draft going in to Turn 4 and was able to start passing some people. By the end of the first lap I was back in the lead, and then I just went as hard as I could without crashing,” said Rapp, who was credited with leading each of the race’s 11 laps. “This class really shows bike skill and rider set-up, that’s what I like about it. I had fun.”
“In the beginning of the race when [Beck] got spit off, it was right in front of me and I ran into the grass,” said Fillmore. “I kind of checked out of the race for a second, then realized we had to get back in line. I was pushing hard, pushing hard the whole time, but every time I thought about making a move, the front end would push and the rear would come around. It was really, really greasy out here. I kind of played it conservative. I wish I’d tried some more aggressive moves, but I was pretty much doing everything I could just to stay there.”
Some 11 seconds back, a battle for third place emerged as Tyler O’Hara (GPBikeParts.com), who made an exceptional start from eighth on the grid to third place was eventually chased down by Travis Wyman (Harv’s Harley-Davidson) and Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties). On the final lap, Wyman crashed while attempting to overtake O’Hara, who earned his first podium finish of the season.
“In the middle of race, Travis was catching me, and on the last lap he really put some heat on me and passed me going into 4 on the inside. [We ended up] drag racing all the way to the Museum Turn, then I just held it wide open and made it work. I’m definitely really happy to be up here,” O’Hara said.
Barnes finished fourth, followed by Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing teammates Michael Corbino and Kyle Wyman, and Dave Estok (Black Hills Harley-Davidson) in tight formation. Chase McFarland (Latus Motors) and brothers Payton and Brett Sassaman rounded out the top 10.
The AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series returns to action July 9-10 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, OH.
Barber Race Result: 1. Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited), 11 Laps 2. Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +0.157 3. Tyler O’Hara (GP Bike Parts), +11.915 4. Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), +12.919 5. Michael Corbino (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +29.104 6. Kyle Wyman (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +29.213 7. David Estok (Black Hills Harley-Davidson), +29.675 8. Chase McFarland (Latus Motors Racing), +32.773 9. Payton Sassaman (Harley-Davidson of Macon), +37.654 10. Brett Sassaman (Eagle Harley-Davidson), +54.772 11. Gerry Signorelli (Kuryakyn), +1:18.617 12. Matthew Heidel (Shar-Tuff/Davis H-D), +1:18.849 13. Paul James (James Gang/Hoban Brothers/H-D of Appleton),), +1:23.609 14. Travis Wyman (Harv’s Harley-Davidson), 10 Laps 15. Bryan Desimone (Kuryakyn), +1:50.698 16. Jeremiah Johnson (BE-EV.com ·New Roc Harley-Davidson), 9 Laps 17. Shawn Higbee (HOG Racing/Harley Owners Group), 5 Laps 18. Michael Morgan (Python Exhaust), 2 Laps 19. Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), 0 Laps
XR1200 Series Points Standings 1. Chris Fillmore, 135 2. Steve Rapp, 119 3. Michael Barnes, 80 4. Kyle Wyman, 78 5. Tyler O’Hara, 67 6. Michael Corbino, 65 7. Chase McFarland, 61 8. Michael Beck, 59 9. Danny Eslick, 50 10. Joe Kopp, 45
More, from a press release issued by Ohlins USA:
Ohlins Equipped Racers Bolster Points Leads at Barber in all Sportbike Classes
Hendersonville, North Carolina: In the AMA Pro SuperBike Championship, the Battle between the top two racers in the series, Josh Hayes and Blake Young, each using Ohlins suspension components, heated up at the superhot and broiling races at Barber Motorsports Park, with Young riding his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a win and beating Hayes on his Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 in each race of the double-header, though Hayes’ bike with Triple Tuning Forks earned the pole point. Ohlins USA congratulates these riders for an ongoing awesome show with a championship split of merely two points between their first and second places after nine races, a cool 50 points from the nearest other competitor of theirs or of Ohlins.
A special shout out goes to Steve Rapp, Chris Peris, and Larry Pegram, each piloting BMWs and the first two mentioned riding them for “underfunded” teams, in the glacier-melting sun at Barber. On his Iron Horse BMW ESP S1000RR, Peris stunned the paddock with a third-fastest, front-row qualifying position, the best ever for a BMW in AMA Pro Racing since your daddy graduated from high school. Rapp rode his San Diego BMW/Locust Powered by Lee’s Cycle S1000RR to a fourth place finish on Sunday, equaling his best finishing position this season but bettering it on the clock. Rapp’s fourth on Sunday and Pegram Racing’s Pegram’s sixth on Saturday were the first finishes for BMW’s this year where the bikes crossed the finish line at less than 20+ seconds from the winner, the two recording best weekend finishes within eight seconds of the SuperBike race winners.
The climate was the same in the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike class where Ohlins suspension did the damping for the winning bikes in both of those Barber races, with GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick earning the pole and then setting an unmatched pace in Race 1. Team M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby had his best finish of the season, taking a hard-earned and close-placed second in the sweltering heat and steaming humidity of central Alabama. In Daytona SportBike Race2, on Sunday, the battle for the win came down to Eslick and Josh Herrin, with the later nipping the earlier by a scant 0.022 seconds at the line. With eight races run and seven, to maybe nine, remaining, the top three riders in Daytona SportBike are Ohlins equipped. By the end of the weekend at Barber, Eslick had surged to a tiny three point lead over Herrin, and Jason DiSalvo sits nearby in third, down a paltry 17 points from second on his Team Latus Motors Racing Ducati.
AMA Pro SuperSport saw Benny Solis riding his Roadracingworld.com Erion Honda CBR600RR to a win in Race 1 and a second-place finish in Race 2, putting him into the point lead for the AMA Pro SuperSport West championship. With this weekend’s win Solis has the most recorded in the class, at three.
Ohlins USA distributes and services the world’s leading performance suspension for automobiles, motorcycles, ATVs, and snowmobiles. Ohlins develops its proprietary and innovative suspension components at the highest levels of racing from open-wheel car racing, to Moto GP, to off-road competition on two and four wheels. Ohlins USA also provides training for service centers and dealers. www.Ohlinsusa.com.