TOOELE, UT – Monday’s AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike race at Miller Motorsports Park’s BigM Weekend didn’t let the frontrunners on track or the fans in their seats relax for a second, as Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) and Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates Blake Young and Tommy Hayden tore through MMP’s fifteen turns in a relentless display of determination and skill. Hayes launched smoothly into the lead off the start, Young attached to his rear wheel with Martin Cardenas (M4 Suzuki) and Tommy Hayden right behind. A few bike-lengths behind the lead trio, Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) led a train of riders all looking for a way by, Iron Horse BMW’s Chris Peris heading JD Beach (Cycle World/Attack Performance Kawasaki), Steve Rapp (San Jose BMW), Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki), and Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance/Pegram Racing.) With the stage set for the sixteen-lap contest, the riders got down to business. Cardenas, coming off an Infineon Round 2 podium-finish but having qualified a disappointing sixth here at MMP, declared himself an immediate factor in today’s race, setting himself up just off Young’s rear wheel as the factory Suzuki rider continued to pressure Hayes. Fourth-place Tommy Hayden wasn’t giving the Colombian rider any room, however, while back in seventh position, a new contender was about to announce himself. Beach, the 19-year-old class rookie (MMP was his second career SuperBike race), notified the field of his intention by posting the quickest lap the race had seen yet, then making a move that carried him up into sixth position, just a bike-length behind Roger Hayden. Behind them, Peris tucked the front, crashing out of eighth and allowing the second group of riders to shuffle forward in the standings. Kawasaki’s Beach, meanwhile, was taking his expected learning curve literally, trying for pass on Roger that saw him briefly rise to fifth, only to be sent back to start by the veteran rider. Not at all discouraged, Beach tried again less than a lap later and this time made it stick—- a feat that held the attention of race-watchers until Cardenas suddenly crashed out of third, relegated to MMP’s muddy sidelines. With ten laps to go, Roger reclaimed fifth from Beach and shut the kid down, at least for the moment, and all eyes returned to the battle for first between Hayes and Young, which had meanwhile been joined by a head-down Tommy Hayden. As the top three tore down Miller’s 3,500-foot straightaway, Young set up a pass and took over the lead seconds later, only to see Hayes immediately strike back. That kicked off a chain of lead-swaps that wouldn’t abate in number or intensity throughout the rest of the race, as Hayes and Young ripped toward a last-lap showdown. With just five left to go, Beach had retaken fourth from Roger and was looking solid, but just seconds after Pegram was left ride-less thanks to a mechanical, Beach lost the front and went down in Clubhouse Corner, his bike tumbling end-over-end along with his hopes for a top-five finish. At the front, Young pushed Hayes back behind him, sandwiching the Yamaha between the pair of Suzukis as Young took a glance behind to be sure it was true. It wasn’t—- at least not for long—- as Hayes punched his way to the front again and did everything he could to break away. Young and Hayden were far from about to let that happen, however, Young trading the lead with Hayes several more times as the trio headed for the last lap. Though Hayes was first to take the white flag, Young was already setting him up as they approached Turn 1 for the last time, delivering the final blow seconds later when he swooped into the lead and managed to spin out a few bike lengths in his forward charge. Hayes rode the wheels off his Yamaha as they filtered through the last set of turns, running up on the curb and giving Hayden a momentary look at second, but Young had the lead in hand as the frontrunners poured out onto the front straight, taking the win by .757 seconds. Young, Hayes, and Tommy Hayden were followed across the line by Roger Hayden, Rapp, Clark, Geoff May (EBR Racing), Bostrom, David Anthony (ADR Fly Racing), and Jeremy Toye (San Diego BMW). For coverage of today’s Round 3 National Guard SuperBike race, tune in to SPEED TV tonight at 8 p.m. PST. As the series heads for next weekend’s Round 4 at Elkhart Lake’s Road America, June 3-5, Hayes leads the overall AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Championship by five points over Young, 134 to 129. Tommy Hayden sits third with 122. For detailed results, visit http://results.amaproracing.com/. To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us via facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing, twitter.com/AMAProSBK, and twitter.com/AMAProLIVE. Blake Young, 1st: “For the beginning of the race I just tried to settle into a comfortable pace and just really try to hit my marks, and just for some reason I found myself not being able to do that. When I’d allow myself to get comfortable, Josh would get a gap that was a little bit more than that I was comfortable with him having, so I’d have to run it back down and settle back into my pace again, and it just didn’t seem like that was the way to win the race. So I made the decision that I was just going to put my head down from there, and halfway through, I just tried as hard as I could to the checkers and left it all on the track. I’m pretty comfortable racing with either one of these guys handlebar-to-handlebar like that, because they know what they’re doing there out there. And I’m glad I did that; I think it was great racing, I had a great time racing out there, and it was hopefully a good show for the fans.” Josh Hayes, 2nd: “I felt that if we were all on the same boat and all had tires go off at the end, that it would be harder to pass than it would be to lead. If I could kind of dictate how the race was going … I’m a little more comfortable at the front. At the same time, [I was thinking] if he is faster than me, I don’t want to allow him that opportunity, so I have to attack right back. I didn’t really know how it was going, but I know I had a plus-zero on my board the whole time, then he started coming up alongside and, you know, it was just good racing. We’d get alongside each other and neither wanted to give up. You try to be respectful and safe—- if he was inside of me, I tried to leave him at least a way out—- and he treated me a little bit the same, and hopefully the TV was on us for a lot of that, because I thought it was a pretty damned good race.” Tommy Hayden, 3rd: “[The battle between Young and Hayes] looked like what you saw, except I was a little closer. I had a great view; those guys were really going at it. There were a couple times when I thought they were going to make it easy for me and give it to me—- they were a couple inches apart through some of those sections—- but they were both riding well and riding hard. I was able to close the gap, but when I had that gap and I did those kind of quick laps, I was on the limit and didn’t save anything and maybe burned my tires up a little bit, because once I got on the back of them I was struggling to get off the corners and get a good drive to make any passes. But like I said, those guys were just a little bit better than me today. I rode good enough to win today, I think, I just didn’t race well enough to win today. We’ll take third today, it’s another podium, but I’m glad we get to race next week.” More, from a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing: TOOELE, UT – Drag Specialties’ Michael Barnes launched into the lead of Monday’s AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 event at Miller Motorsports Park’s BigM Weekend, only to be forced back to third a lap later by a hard-charging Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited) and Chris Fillmore (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), Fillmore pressuring Rapp unmercifully as the field blasted through the start of the eight-lap contest. Rapp took over the lead with just four laps to go, followed within a second by Fillmore, Barnes, and the reigning class champion, RMR Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing’s Danny Eslick. Eslick, however, had other plans for the running order, quickly getting up the inside of Fillmore and setting his sights on Rapp. A string of riders following behind the lead trio, Fillmore made a close inside pass on Eslick to retake second position. And though Fillmore rebuffed Eslick’s first attack, which came almost immediately, he was forced to cede the position several turns later. With three laps left to go, the dicing between Fillmore and Eslick had allowed Rapp to put a half-second between himself and the other podium contenders—- a comfortable difference if the two Bruce Rossmeyer teammates stayed focused on each other. As Rapp kept his head down and continued to drag footpegs through MMP’s flowing turns, he posted the quickest lap the race had seen yet. Elbows out, Eslick and Fillmore took the white flag almost side-by-side, having left Barnes several seconds behind but simultaneously lost touch with Rapp, the latter rider now unstoppable more than a second ahead. The pair swapped position heading for the back section of the Utah track, Fillmore making a final bid for the second step but ultimately unable to fend off Eslick, who blasted by and made it stick as the pair tore onto the front straight for the final time. Third-place Fillmore was followed across the line by Barnes, Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), Tyler O’Hara (GP Bike Parts), Chase McFarland (Latus Motors Racing), Kyle Wyman (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), Joe Kopp (Latus Motors Racing), and Michael Corbino (RMR Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing). Tune in to SPEED TV tonight at 9 p.m. PST for highlights from today’s XR1200 contest. As the series heads for next weekend’s Round 4 at Elkhart Lake’s Road America, June 3-5, Fillmore leads the overall AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Championship by six points over Rapp, 78 to 71. Wyman sits third with 51 points. For detailed results, visit http://results.amaproracing.com/. To learn more and be a part of AMA Pro Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com and join us via facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing, twitter.com/AMAProSBK, and twitter.com/AMAProLIVE. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: CARDENAS CHALLENGES BEFORE CRASH IN UTAH SUPERBIKE M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas demonstrated the pace to challenge the best of the best in the AMA Pro Superbike class on Monday at Miller Motorsports Park, but unfortunately the end result did not reflect his strong form. The Colombian was immediately on the charge, racing up from the second row to dice in a four-rider pack that contested the lead in the early stages of a thrilling Memorial Day Superbike final. Pushing hard from third and fourth position, the reigning Daytona SportBike champion’s day came to an unfortunate and early end when he lost the front entering Turn 6 on lap 5 of 16. Martin held on through the drawn out front-end slide and nearly saved it, but it just wasn’t to be. Despite the crash, he was encouraged by his front-running speed as he continues to gradually come to grips with his powerful GSX-R1000 Superbike. In the first three events of 2011, Cardenas and M4 Suzuki have showcased their position as one of only three teams to have successfully earned the AMA Pro Superbike podium. Cardenas explained, “I was going good until I made a mistake and lost the front in Turn 6. It’s a shame because I was feeling really strong and I think I could have gotten a nice result. But that’s the way it is; I’ll have to wait until next race. “I was on my knee for a little bit and I thought maybe I could save it but no, the grip did not come back.” “In general I’m happy with my progress in Superbike — sometimes yes, sometimes not as much. I’m not pleased with the two races I crashed, but otherwise I think I’ve done okay. We’re just trying to improve a little bit each race.” Next weekend M4 Suzuki will head to Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI — where Cardenas twice finished on the podium last season including a spectacular, hard-fought victory — for Round 4 of the 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing series. More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson: Rapp Wins AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Race at Miller Eslick and Fillmore Battle for Podium Spots Milwaukee (May 31, 2011) Veteran racer Steve Rapp charged from a fourth place start to take his first win in the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series with victory at Miller Motorsports Park May 31 aboard his Parts Unlimited Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycle. Following challenging conditions throughout the weekend that threw rain and temperatures in the 30s and 40s and even a brief hailstorm on the starting grid at the racers, Monday’s 8-lap race went off on a mostly dry race track with scattered rain drops. Polesitter Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties) took the early race lead, but Rapp and Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing’s Chris Fillmore each took turns at the front on Lap 2. After dropping to eighth on the opening lap from his seventh place start, 2010 XR1200 Series champion Danny Eslick rallied back up to the lead pack, picking off multiple riders in each of the opening four laps until he reached the second position just a half-second behind leader Rapp. But strong pressure from Fillmore on the Oklahoman allowed Rapp to build a gap at the front as the Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing teammates battled throughout the last third of the race. Eslick and Fillmore ran side by side across the start-finish line to begin the final lap, with Fillmore taking the initial lead into turn 1. The pair traded positions on the final lap until Eslick cut underneath Fillmore a few turns from the end and held on to the advantage. At the checkered flag it was Rapp with the win, Eslick in second 0.974 second back, with Fillmore just 0.081 behind Eslick in third, to take his third podium of the season. Barnes, Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), and Tyler O’Hara (GPBikeParts.com) completed the top six in the running order with a spirited battle for fourth. “I don’t know what was going on behind me, but it was an exciting race for me,” Rapp said. “I looked back a couple of laps from the end just to see what was going on. It doesn’t take much to get passed on one of these, so I was kind of worried.” “It was a lot of fun to get back on the Harley,” said Eslick, who sat out the first two races of the season to focus on his Daytona SportBike effort. “[Fillmore’s] put the whupping on me in supermoto so I had to show him how road racing is done. I knew he couldn’t get by me before the line unless I really messed it up in the last corner. On these things you get a lot of drafting but it’s done at the end of the straightaway, so I knew if I led him out of the last corner I’d get him at the line.” Memorial Day weekend also saw XR1200 racing action in two other international racing classes, with the debut of the Harley-Davidson XR1200 Class as part of the Canadian Superbike Series at Circuit ICAR won by Cody Matechuk and the first round of the XR1200 Trophy class as part of the British Superbike Championship at Thruxton won by James Webb. The AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series returns to action after a short turnaround this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI. Miller Race Result: 1. Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited), 8 laps 2. Danny Eslick (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +0.975 second 3. Chris Fillmore (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +1.056 4. Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), +5.389 5. Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), +5.502 6. Tyler O’Hara (GPBikeParts.com), +5.804 7. Chase McFarland (Latus Motors Racing), +9.944 8. Kyle Wyman (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +13.221 9. Joe Kopp (Latus Motors Racing), +19.893 10. Michael Corbino (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +47.514 11. Josh Chisum (Troy Lee Designs), +58.502 12. Michael Morgan (Python Exhaust), 1:07.406 13. Paul James (James Gang/Hoban Brothers/H-D of Appleton), +1:07.488 14. Gerry Signorelli (Kuryakyn), +1:25.934 15. Troy Siahaan (HOG Racing), +1:31.569 16. Matthew Heidel (Shar-Tuff), +2:01.615 XR1200 Series Points Standings 1. Chris Fillmore, 78 2. Steve Rapp, 71 3. Kyle Wyman, 51 4. Joe Kopp, 45 4. Michael Beck, 45 6. Michael Barnes, 44 7. Chase McFarland, 43 8. Michael Corbino, 38 9. Tyler O’Hara, 33 10. Paul James, 26 Company Background Harley-Davidson Motor Company produces heavyweight custom, cruiser and touring motorcycles and offers a complete line of Harley-Davidson motorcycle parts, accessories, riding gear and apparel, and general merchandise. For more information, visit harley-davidson.com. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: TEAM ROCKSTAR MAKITA SUZUKI DOMINATES AMA SUPERBIKE AT MILLER MOTORSPORTS PARK!! Blake Young wins & Tommy Hayden podiums in nail-biter of a race TOOELE, UT (May 30, 2011) Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki celebrated in style this Memorial Day weekend at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Blake Young piloted his Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki GSX-R1000 to victory in what was arguably the most exciting AMA Superbike race of the season. Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden was right there with Young, running up front and finishing in an impressive third place to round out the podium. Because the AMA Series was running in tandem with the World Superbike Series at Miller, there was only one AMA Superbike race instead of the usual two. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammates certainly made the most of it. On race day, Young and his Suzuki were running with the race leader almost immediately. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider firmly slotted his GSX-R into second place and aggressively battled for the lead throughout all 16 laps. He passed for the lead on several occasions but was unable to make it stick until the final lap. At that point, Young made his move, got out in front, put his head down and brought home the checkers. “My Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was running great and I got up to the race leader pretty quick,” said Young. “At first, I was just trying to settle into a comfortable pace for me, but it seemed like every time I tried to relax, Josh would get away a little bit. So I just put my head down and did what I had to do. I wanted to put on a good show for the fans and I think we did that. I’m happy to come out of here with a win for my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, and now we have just a few days until Road America in my home state. I’m looking forward to racing on that track and it’ll be great to race in front of my friends and family back home in Wisconsin.” Meanwhile, Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Hayden was right there in the hunt for the entire race. Like Young, Hayden quickly got up to speed and into the top three on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. In fact, he was less than a second behind his teammate throughout the event. After charging hard and riding flawlessly, Hayden brought home a solid third-place finish. “Overall, I think the race went well,” said Hayden. “I felt comfortable on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I was able to get up front pretty quick. We’ve been on the podium at every race this year and we’ve been consistent, but I think we need to try and win a few more races. I’m looking forward to Road America I’m glad it’s right around the corner. It’s one of my favorite tracks and hopefully we’ll have a good result there.” The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event of the 2011 AMA American Superbike Championship series is at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on June 3-5, 2011. Miller Superbike Class Results: 1. Blake Young 2. Josh Hayes 3. Tommy Hayden 4. Roger Hayden 5. Steve Rapp 6. Chris Clark 7. Geoff May 8. Ben Bostrom 9. David Anthony 10. Jeremy Toye 2011 Superbike Class Standings: 1. Josh Hayes 134 2. Blake Young 129 3. Tommy Hayden 122 4. Martin Cardenas 67 5. Ben Bostrom 64 6. Larry Pegram 64 7. Chris Clark 60 8. Roger Hayden 57 9. Steve Rapp 49 10. Jeremy Toye 47 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.: Herrin Wins, Hayes Second in AMA Road Races Tooele, Utah May 29, 2011″¦”¦ Josh Herrin grabbed his first Daytona SportBike win of the 2011 AMA Road Racing season aboard his Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha YZF-R6, with Cameron Beaubier third on another R6, at Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, Utah on Sunday, May 29. Teammate Josh Hayes nearly duplicated the result in Superbike on Memorial Day, but came up less than a second short behind rival Blake Young. With his win, Herrin advances to third in the Daytona SportBike points, while Hayes happily maintains his points lead in the premier Superbike class. Over the weekend, the AMA Superbike riders were joined at Miller by the World Superbike stars, who raced their familiar double-race format on Monday. In the twin rounds, Yamaha’s Eugene Laverty posted fifth- and fourth-place finishes, while teammate Marco Melandri finished tenthth and sixth. Herrin is one of the riders to beat in Daytona SportBike once again this year. He qualified third on Saturday and stormed into Sunday’s race ready to win. But victory certainly did not come easily. Rival PJ Jacobsen took the early lead, followed by Herrin and other rivals Cory West, Dane Westby and Jason DiSalvo and later by Yamaha-mounted Beaubier. While Jacobsen led most of the 16 laps, as the race progressed on a wet-but-drying track, it was West who found himself in the lead, with Herrin studying him for any opportunity. The Yamaha rider attacked twice on the final lap, made his pass stick, and held off Jacobsen by just 0.161 sec. at the flag. Making Herrin’s win and Beaubier’s podium ever sweeter for Yamaha, three more R6 racers, Josh Galster, Paul Allison and Y.E.S./Pat Clark Motorsport’s Tommy Aquino, finished eighth through 10th, respectively, giving Yamaha five of the top 10 positions in this competitive class. Yamaha road racing team manager Tom Halverson said, “Josh rode a smart race in very tricky conditions and it was great to see him back on top of the podium.” In AMA Superbike, Hayes was ready to follow up his victory at California’s Infineon Raceway on May 14. His practice and qualifying times were formidable, and the R1 rider again earned the pole position on Sunday. When the field finally stormed through the first turn in Monday’s 16-lap race, Hayes, Young, Martin Cardenas and Tommy Hayden gapped the field immediately, engaging in a race-long battle that saw the Yamaha ace trading the lead with Young on several occasions. Young attacked leader Hayes once more at the start of the final lap, nipping ahead in turn one, then riding a defensive line to protect his lead and ultimately besting Hayes by a heartbreaking 0.756 sec. “Josh has won every pole and led the most race laps at every event this year, and it’s frustrating to not get the win at Miller,” Halverson added. “But that just fuels the entire team to work even harder at the next round!” Congratulation also goes to Y.E.S./Pat ClarkMotorsport’s Chris Clark who rode his R1 to a career best finish of sixth in AMA Superbike.