PUERTA THIRD AT ROAD AMERICA FOR LTD RACING Y.E.S. YAMAHA Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Tomas Puerta earned third place in Sunday’s AMA Pro SuperSport race at Road America. Both Puerta and teammate David Gaviria ran at the front in the 10-lap event, but Saturday’s winner Gaviria unfortunately crashed out of the race. Sam Nash rebounded from a tough Saturday to earn a solid ninth. Huntley Nash ran his strongest DSB race yet to take 12th position in Sunday’s Daytona SportBike contest. Heading into the next round at Barber Motorsports Park, Puerta and Gaviria lead the East and West AMA Pro SuperSport points for the LTD Racing Y.E.S. Yamaha team. Puerta, who earned pole for the race, battled for the win once again. The East division points leader has been a contender in each event this year and showed strong form at Road America. “It was a hard race,” said the Colombian. “I pushed as hard as I ever have. The other racers were really doing well and it was a lot of fun. As the race wore on, I felt my tire started to get too hot and I didn’t want to crash, so I couldn’t challenge for the victory as I would have liked. My hat is off to the other riders and to my team for giving me a good bike. I look forward to more good races this year.” Sam Nash found his form after a rough weekend. The part-time racer and full-time law student had two crashes at the 4.0-mile circuit, but charged back to take a top ten finish once again. “I was really sore and a little disappointed after yesterday’s race but the team did a great job for me and we were about to get a good finish. I had a few issues in the race but I thought we really turned the weekend around,” said Nash. “My goal was to get it into the top ten and I was able to, thanks to the team. I can’t wait to race again at Barber.” Gaviria wasn’t as fortunate in his bid for back-to-back victories. He high-sided his machine while fighting for the lead early in the event. “I was racing in the front pack and I got on the gas a little too early,” said Gaviria, who leads the West SuperSport points by 21 with three of ten races to go. Huntley Nash earned a fine 12th position in Daytona SportBike. The 19-year old battled into the top ten before a red flag stopped the action. When the race finally resumed, Nash fought for tenth spot again before eventually being awarded 12th. “It was our best DSB race yet in my opinion. The pack I was in was right behind the lead group fighting at the front. I felt really good and I ran as high as seventh so really I feel this kickstarted our season. We made a lot of progress with the bike and I had confidence in it,” said Nash, who won here last year in SuperSport before being promoted to Daytona SportBike for 2011. “The rear was really good and we made progress with the front. Our biggest issue was us dropping a second and a half per lap in the race so we could have gone even further with our setup. We have our mojo back going into Barber.” More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of GEICO Racing: GEICO riders Fillmore, Eslick go 1-2 in XR1200 action at Road America ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — The Vance and Hines XR1200 class is barely more than a year old but the gang from GEICO Racing already has it figured out as team rider and points leader Chris Fillmore won Sunday’s race in the Subway SuperBike Doubleheader at Road America. Fillmore was followed closely by reigning class champion and teammate Danny Eslick, who yielded the lead to Fillmore with two turns left. “It’s very satisfying, for sure,” said Fillmore, who edged Eslick at the stripe by .126 seconds for his second win of the year. “It was a pretty wild race. I got a good start and settled in with that front group. I’m not even sure how many of us there were up there. We all kind of passed the lead around and it was fun riding. “About halfway through I went off the track at Turn 5 and by the time I got back out I was back to eighth or so. I just had to put my head down from there and play catch-up. “At the end no one really wanted to take the lead because you wanted to ride the draft up the hill to the finish line but when Danny lifted up I had to just go. I think maybe I surprised him a little going by so fast but we got around that last turn and it was on all the way to the finish line. I was able to stay out front and that was important.” As is the norm in the class, no single rider controlled the action. Instead, a breakaway group of eight pros battled throughout the seven-lap contest around the 4.1-mile course. Both Fillmore and Eslick led the race at various points, with each rider picking their favorite spots to pass, and it wasn’t unusual to see riders leapfrog three or four competitors in one motion. “This class is turning out exactly how we had hoped,” creator and sponsor Terry Vance said. “The action is incredible every race. That’s why the fans are responding to it so favorably. I know that as more people get to know about this style of racing and the fans see it in person or on TV, it’s going to sky-rocket.” Eslick certainly had fun, riding the freight-train draft to perfection time and again, seemingly passing at will. But the nature of the spec class is that everyone competes on the same equipment so it’s nearly impossible for a single rider to pull away. “I could sling-shot around people in certain spots and I knew I needed to do that coming onto the final straightaway,” Eslick said. “Fillmore slipped by with a few turns left and I was planning to ride right behind him and then pull out and drag race to the finish line but he tucked in and got far enough away to take the win. “I’m happy for Chris because he’s riding for the championship. The points are important to him and to the entire GEICO/Bruce Rossmeyer/Lucas Oil race team.” Team riders Kyle Wyman and Michael Corbino rounded out the top 10, securing ninth and 10th place. Up next is the Barber SuperBike Classic, which runs June 17-19 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. More, from another press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of GEICO Racing: Road America finally smiles on Eslick as he grabs runner-up result Sunday ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — GEICO SportBike rider Danny Eslick loves Road America, the site of this weekend’s AMA Subway SuperBike Doubleheader. But it wasn’t until Sunday in the second Daytona SportBike race of the weekend that Road America started loving him back. Eslick finally found the podium at the historic track in the rolling hills of Wisconsin, taking second place in the main event, just .093 seconds behind winner Josh Herrin. Eslick rode so well in the race he even collected the Ultra Graphix Ultra Performer Award. “It was an amazing race,” Eslick said. “Everyone was riding so hard. I tried to get inside on so many turns and would just get pinched off. Guys were going for it. Cory (West) even got into me one time and rubbed the GEICO logo right off my leg. I think he was trying to go after my sponsor! “I definitely wanted to be leading before the final few turns. I got around at the bottom of the hill and thought I had it. You can usually feel when someone is drafting up behind you but I didn’t feel it. Then Josh just sling-shot past me. It was a little disheartening because we wanted the win but this is my best finish ever here. I’d never even been on the box at Road America so to get it done is cool.” For the second race in a row, Eslick, the 2009 Daytona SportBike champion, was able to make up serious ground in the standings as former points leader Jason DiSalvo wrecked out once again. Eslick entered the weekend 49 points behind DiSalvo but managed to erase 42 of those with his 4-2 finish here. The points are now led by Herrin, with Eslick 24 markers back in fourth. “This race was so good on so many levels,” Eslick said. “All the points we earned will be huge by the end of the year. We’re just getting going this season so we’re excited to be up with the lead pack in the standings. If every race is like today’s race, it’ll be an awesome year. I can’t even wait to get home and watch this race on TV. That’s how good it was.” Up next is the Barber SuperBike Classic, which runs June 17-19 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Suzuki: WESTBY EARNS THE PODIUM FOR M4 SUZUKI AT ROAD AMERICA M4 Suzuki put forth an extremely successful combined effort to complete out the AMA Pro Road Racing weekend at Road America on Sunday, adding to their 2011 season trophy haul. Dane Westby was a prominent player in the day’s incredible Daytona SportBike final, running up front and occasionally leading a seven-rider train for victory in the dramatic, twice-red flagged race. Westby repeatedly charged up multiple positions on the brakes, courageously slicing past his rivals over and over again as the SportBike stars jockeyed for position in the thrilling pack war. The Oklahoman put his GSX-R600 into the lead to open the final lap and — after multiple last-lap position changes — locked down a podium finish. Dane crossed the line with a hard-fought third-place finish only 0.303 seconds behind the win. “I knew they were going to come back by — there was a lot of drafting going on,” Westby said. “I just tried to set up the brakes and when that white flag came out and I was leading, it honestly surprised me a little bit. There was some really close racing but everything worked out great.” Meanwhile, Santiago Villa repeated yesterday’s strong run to 11th place in the SportBike contest. The Colombian diced in a drafting battle for 9th position and ultimately came up just 0.063 seconds short of securing a top-ten result of his own. Superbike star Martin Cardenas backed up his Saturday fourth with another fourth on Sunday but came away much more satisfied with today’s effort. The reigning Daytona SportBike champ manhandled his GSX-R1000 and willed it forward, giving chase to the factory bikes ahead of him. Cardenas tracked down the works Suzukis and looked set to enter the scrap for second position but lost the draft when he ran wide in Turn 5 with just a few laps remaining. Martin immediately got back on the pace and started clawing his way back towards the front but simply ran out of time. “Today was much better,” Martin confirmed. “I finished fourth again but it was a different type of fourth. I was much closer to the front guys so I’m much happier today. “I ran wide just after catching those guys and from that point on it was very difficult. I tried to push again but it seemed like I was just maintaining the gap. I was gaining a little bit and pushed as hard as I could but fourth was the best we could do today. I’ll try to keep improving and maybe get on the box again soon.” M4 Suzuki will next head to Barber Motorsports Park on June 17-19, the scene Cardenas and the team’s double victory and SportBike championship triumph of one year ago. More, from a press release issued by American Suzuki: TEAM ROCKSTAR MAKITA SUZUKI CELEBRATES A WIN & THREE PODIUMS AT ROAD AMERICA Blake Young takes the win on Saturday, while he & Tommy Hayden both card podium finishes on Sunday ELKHART LAKE, WI Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider and Wisconsin native Blake Young captured an AMA Superbike win as well as a podium in front of his cheering home crowd at Elkhart Lake’s Road America this past weekend. His Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Tommy Hayden was right there too, dicing with Young in both races and piloting his Yoshimura-equipped Suzuki GSX-R1000 to two podium finishes. For Young, though, this weekend in front of his hometown crowd was almost as good as it could get. Young was second in final qualifying on Saturday and then he went out and won that afternoon’s AMA Superbike event after a race-long battle in which Young and another competitor swapped the lead throughout all 13 laps. Saturday’s victory marks Young’s seventh career AMA Superbike win. On Sunday, Young battled for the lead for most of the race before bringing home a solid third-place finish. “My Rockstar Makita Suzuki team has been working really hard for me and I’m happy,” said Young. “I’m happy to be home, happy to be at Elkhart this facility is phenomenal and I’m happy to put on a good show for the home crowd. Now we’ve got a few weeks off and I’m looking forward to getting back to my training and to being with my family. I’m just glad I could bring home a win yesterday and third is pretty good today.” Meanwhile, Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Hayden also had a good weekend with two podium finishes and a strong showing in qualifying. Hayden qualified for the third spot on the grid, and then he finished up in second place on Sunday and brought home a third-place result on Saturday. “On Saturday, I did my best to hang in there,” said Hayden. “The Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was working well and I wanted to be there to take advantage if I could make a pass, but in the end, I couldn’t make it happen. On Sunday, there were a couple of places on the track where I was better, but my lap times were pretty similar to yesterday. I’m happy to make a little improvement today, move up a spot, but I would rather have been the winner. Overall, the bike is running good, and I have everything I need to get the win.” The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event of the 2011 AMA American Superbike Championship series is at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, on June 17-19, 2011. Road America Superbike Race 1 Results: 1. Blake Young 2. Josh Hayes 3. Tommy Hayden 4. Martin Cardenas 5. Larry Pegram 6. Roger Hayden 7. Ben Bostrom 8. Chris Clark 9. Jason Farrell 10. Geoff May Road America Superbike Race 2 Results: 1. Josh Hayes 2. Tommy Hayden 3. Blake Young 4. Martin Cardenas 5. Roger Hayden 6. Steve Rapp 7. Larry Pegram 8. Chris Peris 9. Chris Clark 10. Ben Bostrom 2011 Superbike Class Standings: 1. Josh Hayes 191 2. Blake Young 181 3. Tommy Hayden 168 4. Martin Cardenas 103 5. Larry Pegram 94 6. Ben Bostrom 89 7. Roger Hayden 88 8. Chris Clark 85 9. Steve Rapp 68 10. Geoff May 60 More, from another press release issued by American Suzuki: TEAM SUZUKISCOOPFANS’ ELENA MYERS LEADS AT ROAD AMERICA & BRINGS HOME SEASON’S BEST FINISH Myers finishes fourth & increases championship points standings at Road America ELKHART LAKE, WI Team SuzukiScoopFans rider Elena Myers continues to show skill and determination in her charge toward the 2011 AMA SuperSport Championship. Myers carded an impressive fourth-place finish in Sunday’s race at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, and a strong seventh-place finish the day before. These combined results mean that the 17-year-old Californian is now in fifth place in the West Division’s overall championship standings. Sunday afternoon’s race saw Myers get a great start on her SuzukiScoopFans 2011 Suzuki GSX-R600 and take the lead almost immediately. She continued to battle aggressively for the lead during the first half of the 10-lap race. Although she dropped back to fourth position by the end of the race, there’s no question that Myers had her head down and was giving it everything she had for all 10 laps. “My starts have always been good but that was one of the best I’ve ever had,” said Myers. “Getting third going into the first turn after starting from the third row isn’t exactly too bad! I was trying to stay smooth and work with the SuzukiScoopFans Suzuki GSX-R600 instead of against it. Everybody was going at it and obviously some people crashed, and I’m glad I wasn’t any part of that. I’ve been trying to focus on being smooth and consistent in the last few races and that worked out for me this time.” The day before, Myers also got a good start and she ran consistently in fifth place on Saturday. Although she fell back a few spots, Myers said that Saturday’s race was a good learning experience and she definitely picked up some information that she used in Sunday’s race. “On Saturday, I got a really great start on my SuzukiScoopFans Suzuki GSX-R600,” said Myers. “I just went for it right off the bat, I wasn’t even paying attention to what was going on around me. A couple of people fell down, but I hung in there and was around fifth. I went back a little after that, and I think it was because we chose a softer tire and I need a little more practice with learning how to manage that. But at the end, I picked it up again and gave it everything I didn’t even care if I crashed or anything and I picked up a little more speed.” The 2011 SuzukiScoopFans team’s next event of the 2011 AMA SuperSport season will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, on June 17-19, 2011. More, from a press release issued by ANT Racing: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ANT Racing, StarSchool, NationalGuard.com rider James Rispoli came away with a podium finish at the AMA Pro Racing Motorcycle-Superstore.com Supersport series race at Road America this weekend. The young New York rider used the non-points counting west coast round to sort out the team’s brand new 2011 Suzuki GSX-R600s. After shaking out the new build during free practice and qualifying with a lack luster 7th position and second row grid start, the ANT Racing rider threw the hammer down in race one on Saturday and charged to the front of the pack with a brilliant launch at the start of the race. Riding hard and getting into second position for several laps Rispoli was overtaken and finished third and on the box. “It was an exciting race for sure” Rispoli said. “We made some chassis changes from qualifying and the bike worked a lot better. We still have some work to do on our side grip and getting a little more feel from the front but I am happy with the result and the new bike overall. It’s great we can now moth ball the 2008 bikes and concentrate on the new one the rest of the season.” On Sunday the team made additional chassis changes and in the morning warm up session Rispoli threw down the quickest time that would have been fast enough for the top qualifying position and pole position. “Yeah in the warm up the new chassis setting worked awesome. The front had a lot more feel and I had better side grip as well. I wasn’t pushing very hard and still through down a good time on the last lap on worn tires. I knew I had a set up that could bring home the big W with a little luck” said Rispoli. In race two Rispoli got a less than desirable start and was in 7th or 8th position going into turn one. “I got pinched off early after not being able to control a wheelie off the start enough. I knew I had to carve my way to the front quickly otherwise I had a chance of letting the front group get away. I was able to make a couple of quick aggressive moves and within a couple of turns found myself into the third spot on the first lap” Rispoli said. “The front three or four riders were not going at a fast pace and it was a challenge not running into the back of them on the brakes. I knew I could get around them but also knew I needed help if I wanted to break away. I was hoping to see Travis (Wyman) get up front early and knew he and I had the pace and together we could break away from the group. Unfortunately on lap four Corey (Alexander) came in hot trying to go underneath me in the chicane area and just lost the front end. He collected me like a bowling ball going for a spare and my day was done.” David Ashi – “I’m really proud of the team this weekend. We received our new bikes just three weeks ago and we thrashed to get the parts, motors and everything else we needed done in time for this test round in preparation for the next point counting east coast round at Barber. James not only had a new bike to sort out he had new suspension as well. To come away with a podium right out of the box, and then set a fast enough time in the Sunday warm up to have pole position I couldn’t have asked for more out of the weekend. The team collected some good data and is now preparing for Barber Motorsports.” More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson: Fillmore Wins AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Race at Road America AMA Pro Announces XR1200 Series to Appear at Indy MotoGP Race Milwaukee (June 6, 2011) Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing rider Chris Fillmore emerged victorious from a classic multi-rider drafting battle to earn his second season victory in the AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race Sunday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The top seven riders were separated by just 0.955 second at the end of the 7-lap race. Several riders took turns at the head of the lead pack, including Danny Eslick (Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited), and Fillmore. Other riders in the mix included Travis Wyman (Harv’s Harley-Davidson), Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), and Shawn Higbee (WFO Racing), with riders swapping the lead sometimes several times per lap as they drafted and outbraked each other on the 4-mile track’s three long straights. As the final lap approached, riders planned their strategies for the run up to the checkered flag out of Canada Corner, the penultimate corner of the 14-turn course. “The Harleys push a pretty big hole in the air, and if you’re the fourth or fifth guy in line you can get a pretty good head of steam. Generally somebody would pass me back going into Canada Corner, which is perfect. That’s what I was hoping for the last lap and it just didn’t work out,” said Eslick, who eased up enough to allow Fillmore to pass but couldn’t make the gap back up in the run up to the finish line. “The draft was a huge part of the race today, and Chris definitely outsmarted me on that one.” “[Eslick] wanted to give me the position all the way just before coming up into Canada corner. He pretty much checked up and I got a good run,” Fillmore said. “You really can’t make up much time there, so I figured I could make a little bit of a jump and cross my fingers and hoped that nobody got me at start/finish. And it worked. I think it was the only lap that nobody passed me on the front straight.” Third place finisher Travis Wyman, who hurried from the post-race podium ceremony to make the start of the Supersport race, went on to win that race for his first AMA Pro victory. The AMA Pro Racing Vance & Hines XR1200 Series returns to action June 18-19 at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, AL. Vance & Hines XR1200 Class Added as Support Race for Red Bull Indianapolis GP Harley-Davidson V-Twin engines will roar around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this summer when the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series competes at the fourth annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 26-28. The XR1200 Series adds a fourth class of racing to the Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend, as it joins the three World Championship classes MotoGP, Moto2 and 125cc competing on the 16-turn, 2.621-mile circuit that combines part of the famed IMS oval with an infield section. “The sound of Harley-Davidson motorcycles resonates with riders across the globe, and we are excited about this opportunity to bring the thunder of XR1200 racing to a worldwide audience at one of the greatest racing venues in the world,” said Steve Piehl, Harley-Davidson director of customer experience. Road America Race Result: 1. Chris Fillmore (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), 7 laps 2. Danny Eslick (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +0.127 second 3. Travis Wyman (Harv’s Harley-Davidson), +.258 4. Michael Barnes (Drag Specialties), +395 5. Steve Rapp (Parts Unlimited), +.463 6. Shawn Higbee (WFO Racing), +.692 7. Michael Beck (J&P Cycles), +.955 8. Tyler O’Hara (GPBikeParts.com), +3.209 9. Kyle Wyman (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +13.982 10. Michael Corbino (RMR/Bruce Rossmeyer’s Daytona Racing), +29.389 11. Michael Morgan (Python Exhaust), +54.337 12. Paul James (James Gang/Hoban Brothers/H-D of Appleton), +57.276 13. Bryan Desimone (Kuryakyn), +1:33.102 14. Matthew Heidel (Shar-Tuff), +1:42.010 15. Gerry Signorelli (Kuryakyn), -2 laps, crash 16. Chase McFarland (Latus Motors Racing), -3 laps, crash 17. Nicholas Hansen, -4 laps, DNF 18. Josh Chisum (Troy Lee Designs), -5 laps, DNF 19. Sammy Halbert (HOG Racing), -6 laps, DNF XR1200 Series Points Standings 1. Chris Fillmore, 110 2. Steve Rapp, 87 3. Kyle Wyman, 63 4. Michael Barnes, 62 5. Michael Beck, 59 6. Danny Eslick, 50 7. Michael Corbino, 49 8. Chase McFarland, 48 9. Tyler O’Hara, 46 10. Joe Kopp, 45