AMA Pro Daytona SportBike VIRginia International Raceway Alton, Virginia August 14, 2010 Provisional Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Bobby Fong (Duc 848), 23 laps 2. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), -0.001 second 3. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), -0.363 second 4. Tommy Aquino (Yam YZF-R6), -1.666 seconds 5. Steve Rapp (Duc 848), -2.220 6. Michael Beck (Duc 848), -4.529 7. Michael Barnes (Yam YZF-R6), -8.489 8. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R6), -12.343 9. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), -14.916 10. Dane Westby (Yam YZF-R6), -14.940 11. Santiago Villa (Suz GSX-R600), -25.807 12. Kris Turner (Suz GSX-R600), -25.931 13. Jodi Christie (Hon CBR600RR), -35.918 14. Michael Morgan (Suz GSX-R600), -36.354 15. Chris Fillmore (Suz GSX-R600), -37.494 16. Melissa Paris (Yam YZF-R6), -40.585 17. Reese Wacker (Suz GSX-R600), -53.958 18. Abe Stacey (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 19. Sam Rozynski (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 0.892 second 20. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), -4 laps, DNF, crash 21. Paul Allison (Yam YZF-R6), -7 laps, DNF, crash 22. David White (Kaw ZX-6R), -9 laps, DNF, crash 23. P.J. Jacobsen (Suz GSX-R600), -12 laps, DNF, crash 24. Jeff Wood (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Clinton Seller (Yam YZF-R6), -21 laps, DNF, mechanical 26. Josh Day (Yam YZF-R6), -21 laps, DNF 27. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R6), -21 laps, DNF, crashed twice Provisional Championship Point Standings (after 13 of 18 races): 1. Eslick, 286 points 2. Cardenas, 277 3. Herrin, 264 4. Rapp, 231 5. West, 179 6. Aquino, 174 7. Westby, 168 8. Fong, 153 9. TIE, Seller/Fillmore, 134 11. Amantini, 100 12. Jacobsen, 88 13. Beck, 63 14. Lenny Hale,54 15. Turner, 51 16. Tyler Odom, 46 17. Russ Wikle, 45 18. Shawn Higbee, 42 19. Geoff May, 35 20. Villa, 32 More, from a press release issued by Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki: CARDENAS SECOND AFTER PHOTO FINISH IN VIRGINIA Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas missed out on scoring his seventh AMA Pro Daytona SportBike victory of the season by just 0.001 seconds today at Virginia International Raceway. Cardenas, in trademark fashion, lurked at the tail end of the lead group aboard his GSX-R600 for much of the once red flagged and restarted contest before making his move. The Colombian surged into the lead with just four laps remaining and put his head down as he charged to the checkered flag. Martin was unable to shake his rivals, however, and a slingshot bid for the win brought his opponent directly alongside as the two crossed the stripe for the final time. With even the photo finish nearly impossible to decipher, Cardenas was ultimately judged to have finished as the runner-up by the narrowest of margins in what was possibly the closest finish in AMA Pro Road Racing history. Despite falling just short of victory, the second-place result aids Cardenas’ title hopes as he closed the gap to the lead and moved into second place in the Daytona SportBike title fight. He now sits just nine points removed from the championship leader at 277 with five races remaining. “My goal today was to try to win the race and get as many points as I could, but it wasn’t possible to win,” Cardenas said. “I got beat to the line, but it was a very good race with lots of good battles. “My bike worked great today so I can’t complain. We’ll try tomorrow to be as good as today or a little bit better.” John Hopkins demonstrated incredible speed in his first American Superbike race since recuperating from wrist surgery. The Californian clung onto the leading trio deep into the contest as they powered away from the rest of the pack before running off course and ultimately crashing out on lap 19 of 23. Despite the mistake, Hopkins’ ability to immediately match the front-runners’ pace following such a long layoff was extremely impressive. He said, “I got on the throttle and ran out of track. I laid it down before I hit the Airfence. It was my mistake, but to be honest, I’m still pretty excited about how the race went. I managed to run right at the front after not having ridden for three months. Coming straight back out and being that fast is very encouraging. “We do have quite a bit of setup stuff we have to work through, but I know the team is going to keep working hard and they improved it considerably from this morning. If we make another step for tomorrow like we did for today’s race, we should be able to fight for the podium.” Commenting on the condition of his surgically repaired right wrist, Hopkins said, “I feel good. The wrist is good. It’s about 70% right now, which is a lot better than 10%, which is where it was. I can twist the throttle and to be honest, I don’t even notice it when I’m out on the track. Three months ago, three doctors told me I had to retire and now I’m here running at the front in my first race back so I’m really, really grateful and happy to be back.” Meanwhile, Chris Ulrich battled his way up from 13th early to claim another top-ten result at the flag. Ulrich piloted his GSX-R1000 to tenth place, his eleventh top ten result of the season. His consistent finishes see him ranked seventh in the 2010 AMA Superbike Championship with 150 points. Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will look to improve upon Saturday’s strong performances as the VIR weekend concludes on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Vesrah Suzuki: VESRAH SUZUKI’S CORY WEST GOES FROM HERO TO ZERO IN DAYTONA SPORTBIKE RACE 1 AT VIR. Vesrah’s Cory West qualified in 5th place for the Daytona SportBike class at the Suzuki White Lightning AMA Pro Nationals Presented by Foremost Insurance at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, VA and was looking for a good result in Race 1 on Saturday. After loosing touch with the lead group and running alone in 6th place, Cory was given a second chance due to a red flag and a 9-lap restart to the race. On the restart he was able to hang with the lead group and make his way to the front with less than 5 laps to go. Disaster struck just after taking the lead when Cory fell down in turn 4 ending the day in 20th position. Cory remains in 5th place in the championship point standings. Chris Fillmore had a rough time on Saturday with a 4th row starting position and then having several mistakes that resulted in running off the track. Chris brought his bike home in 15th place and remains in 9th place in the standings. Mark Junge Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki “Steak dinner to baloney sandwiches I’m proud of Cory being able to get to the front of the field. We’ll be ready for Race 2 tomorrow and hopefully both Cory and Chris can run with the lead group.” Cory West Vesrah Suzuki #57 “We made good progress today with the bike and dropped a full second in qualifying ending up in 5th. I got a decent start in the race but got hit by anther rider and dropped back a few positions. Then when I got to turn 7 I lost the front and was on the ground but somehow managed to save it. After all that, I pretty much lost touch with the lead pack on the first lap. I rode alone in 6th and was really struggling with grip from the rear tire when the race got red flagged. We made a few changes to the rear shock before the restart and when we got going again the bike felt amazing. It was only a 9-lap sprint so I knew I needed to act fast. I was with the leaders from the start and slowly started picking guys off. I was really strong on the brakes and managed to overtake everyone and get to the lead with 3 laps to go. When I had clear track I felt like I could maybe pull away and win, but I ended up falling in turn 4. I’m pretty disappointed but happy I was leading when it happened. I know we can be there for tomorrow’s race so I am going to try again. I want to thank the Vesrah crew and our Penske and Traxxion Dynamics engineers for giving me such a good bike today. Hopefully I can repay them tomorrow for all of their hard work.” Chris Fillmore Vesrah Suzuki #55 “The weekend started well on Friday when I ended the day in 5th overall. Saturday started out a lot tougher when I was not able to put in any quicker times than Friday and I ended up starting on the 4th row. After the race started I was able to make my way into a solid 8th place before the race was red flagged. On the restart I ran off in turn 1 trying to catch the leaders, got back going only to run off once more heading into turn 7. 15th on the day and not thrilled with my mistakes. Tomorrow I am looking to correct that and get back on track.” Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2010 season Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Dainese Leathers, Boots and Gloves, AGV Helmets, Graves Motorsports, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs More, from a press release issued by Breeann Poland on behalf of DNA Energy Drink CnR Motorsports: DNA Energy Drink/CnR Motorsports Team ends VIR Day One on a high note. West Coast SuperSport championship winner Joey Pascarella qualified second after being a tenth of a second off the pole. Joey got off to a good start and had a great battle with two other SuperSport riders at VIR. After finally passing he formed a nice gap and secured a second place finish. This is Joey’s first podium as a DNA Energy / CNR Motorsports rider. “Today I shredded the gnar, and I am really happy to be back on the podium”, says Pascarella. In Daytona SportBike Race One, Fong and Beck both jolted to the front of the pack after starting in the 3rd row. Fong jumped out front right away battling for top position as Beck worked his way through the field. Before the red flag Fong was in second and Beck was running a strong 6th place. After the restart Fong went back to work battling Cardenas and Eslick for the top spot in the race. Beck didn’t get the restart that he wanted but he was able to work his way between multiple riders to regain 6th place. While Beck was working his way through the pack, Fong was showing his maturity and progression by constantly applying pressure to Eslick and Cardenas. “The race was mint. I can’t believe I finally won my first AMA Pro Race,” says Fong. The race outcome was decided by a photo taken at the finish line. The margin of victory was 0.00. “Today has been absolutely unbelievable. No words can explain how the team and myself feel at this moment. Fong, Beck, Pascarella, and the team have worked really hard throughout the season to achieve the results that we have today”, says Robbie. “We started this year knowing what we wanted to achieve as a small team and today all three of my riders have really raised the bar for my team and my crew. There is no better way to celebrate my birthday than having two of our three riders on the podium. Bobby has really grown as a rider this season. We knew we were going to win a race, we just didn’t know it was going to be this soon. We are looking forward to more solid results on Sunday”, says Crozier. CnR Motorsports would like to thank the following sponsors: DNA Energy Drink, Quality Brands, FMF, Melillimoto Ducati, Motul, Woodcraft, Arai, Shoei, EBC, Cortech, Held, GP Tech, EK Chains, Motion Pro, Puma, Hel, Thrust, RaceTech, Moto-Heaven.com, Ultra Graphix, Yoyodyne, Zero Gravity, GPR