AMA Road Racing: Cardenas Nabs 1st Superbike Win in SBK R1, Eslick Wins DSB R1 at Barber

Wet Race Crowns First-Time Winner in Saturday
SuperBike Action at Barber

BIRMINGHAM, AL (June 18, 2011) - Saturday's AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike action at Barber Motorsports Park started with a front-row shakeup in morning qualifying, as pole-earner Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) and runner-up Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) were joined by Iron Horse BMW/ESP's Chris Peris and National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden. Tommy's Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate, Blake Young - second in points as the series headed to Barber, with four victories to his name - was left to head up the second row, the fifth-place start adding up to his worst yet in 2011.

Once the race itself kicked off, though, Peris and Young both proved that qualifying is an entirely different animal from actual competition-and they weren't the only ones. With a little help from inclement weather, Barber's National Guard SuperBike Race 1 resolved into a podium that delivered M4 Suzuki's Martin Cardenas his first AMA Pro career SuperBike victory, and welcomed second-place finisher Ben Bostrom (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) to the winner's circle for the first time in 2011.

Off the start, Peris was shuffled to the back of the top-ten while Young sailed forward to land on teammate Hayden's - who'd rocketed to the overall lead - rear wheel. Hayes immediately tucked into third with Roger Hayden right behind, and the lead four tore through the next handful of laps just bike-lengths apart. With sixteen laps remaining, however, heavy rain began to spatter riders' windscreens, bringing out the red flag. In a holding pattern, teams waited to see whether the system would pass, or whether it would stay put and mandate a switch to rain tires.

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AMA Superbike Championship Series race 1 podium at Barber Motorsports Park shows Ben Bostrom, winner Martin Cardenas and Blake Young.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
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On the restart, with the majority of the grid and all of the front-runners on full rains, it was Young who took over the lead as the field picked their way almost daintily around the track in wet conditions. With Young, Hayes, and Tommy Hayden all riding conservatively, however - seeming to have switched their focus to a defense of precious championship points -- it wasn't long before new race contenders declared themselves.

First Roger Hayden made a bid for the lead, moving up to second behind Young with Cardenas just behind, and as Cardenas himself stole the lead from Young, Bostrom likewise broke into the lead pack, passing Roger and Young to settle into second position behind Cardenas.

With two laps to go, Bostrom was systematically stalking Cardenas, and while Young trailed in third, all eyes were glued to the lead pair as the white flag flew. Through the last two corners on the race's last lap, Bostrom pounced, trying the outside twice and the inside once but pouring out onto the front straight just tenths behind Cardenas, crossing the line .137 second after the leader.

"We had a very good bike, and the thought was obviously to wait until a couple laps from the end, then attack him," said Bostrom afterward. "I thought I was good on the brakes, but he was also very good on the brakes, so I got snookered there."

And while Cardenas - the reigning Daytona SportBike champion turned SuperBike rookie -- was happy with his first SuperBike victory, he noted that rain victories come with a sort of asterisk, and that he's got work to do yet. "It's always great to win in whatever class you're in, but it's different to win in the dry than in the wet. So this is good, but if it were a dry race it would be much better. We'll see tomorrow in the dry what happens ... I'll give my best. But today, I'm very happy for me and my team."

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AMA Superbike Championship Series action in race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park shows eventual winner Martin Cardenas leading Roger Lee Hayden, Tommy Hayden and Larry Pegram.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
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Sunday's SuperBike Race 2 kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Central time; follow twitter.com/AMAProLIVE for live race play-by-plays.

For complete ticket and schedule information, please visit www.barbermotorsports.com. The Barber SuperBike Classic Weekend, honoring the men and women of the Alabama National Guard, features a host of activities and racing action at the magnificent Barber Motorsports Park facility, and special discounts are available for Guard members and their families.

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.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. 

 

For additional information contact:

AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com

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Daytona SportBike Sees New 2011 Winner, New Points-Leader
in Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park

BIRMINGHAM, AL (June 18, 2011) - "As you can see," said GEICO Powersports/RMR Suzuki's Danny Eslick in the post-qualifying press conference, "this is a pretty mean front row." Sitting beside the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike pole-earner in Barber Motorsport Park's pressroom were the other three most-wanted men in 2011 Daytona SportBike racing: PJ Jacobsen (Celtic Racing/Fast by Ferracci), Josh Herrin (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha), and Jason DiSalvo (Team Latus Motors Racing).

The stakes were sky-high for all four heading into a sweltering Race 1 at the gorgeously green Birmingham facility, as a pair of DNFs at the previous round had seen DiSalvo forced to cede the lead-change to Herrin for the first time this season. In the end, however, victory shone not on points-leaders or former points-leaders, but on those from the road race-proud state of Oklahoma, as Broken Arrow's Eslick led M4 Suzuki's Dane Westby (Tulsa) and Vesrah Suzuki's Cory West (Oklahoma City) to what some OK-fans have labeled an "Oklapodium."

"It's been a tough season so far," said Eslick, who'd gone winless in 2011 until today. "It means a lot to get this win ... it's pretty awesome."

Eslick launched into the lead off the start, and - in an almost unheard-of occurrence in the shark-tank-like Daytona SportBike class - was never forced to release it, save for a brief skirmish with Jacobsen on Lap 1. Instead, he began almost immediately to spin out a modest lead that grew, over the 21 laps, to an unassailable one. Helping matters were that fact that two of his biggest recent threats, Herrin and Jacobsen, were negated early in the contest, Jacobsen sliding out at the end of Lap 1 and Herrin - pounding his tank in fury - having to pit just minutes later with a seized engine.

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AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike Series victory circle at Barber Motorsports Park after race 1 with winner Danny Eslick.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
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DiSalvo, trying desperately to chase down Eslick from second, initially appeared to be the heir-apparent challenger once Jacobsen and Herrin were out, but the Latus rider was likewise soon struggling, getting shuffled back to fifth in the lead pack. With about seven to go, a three-way battle for second kicked off between Aquino, Westby, and West, and as the laps clicked down, it only intensified.

"I could see the numbers on the scoring tower changing position," said Eslick, "[and] I kept seeing different numbers in second, so I knew they were racing pretty hard back there. I just didn't want to do anything crazy and mess up."

While Eslick checked out, heading the field by nearly four seconds at one point, DiSalvo did everything he could to keep the trio in front of him within grasp, but was ultimately forced to settle for fifth, his run of recent bad luck seeming to stretch yet further. And while Aquino was left to a solid but somewhat disappointing fourth, Westby and West each had plenty to celebrate, Westby claiming the race's runner-up position while West took over the overall points-lead in the Daytona SportBike Championship, 136 points to Eslick's 135.

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AMA Pro Road Racing Daytona SportBike Series race 1 action at Barber Motorsports Park sees eventual winner Danny Eslick leading the pack.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
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"It's awesome," said West later, shaking his head. "I can't thank the Vesrah guys enough. Now we just have to try to push on and get another podium tomorrow."

Sunday's Daytona SportBike Race 2 kicks off at 2:15 p.m. Central time; follow twitter.com/AMAProLIVE for live race play-by-plays.

For complete ticket and schedule information, please visit www.barbermotorsports.com. The Barber SuperBike Classic Weekend, honoring the men and women of the Alabama National Guard, features a host of activities and racing action at the magnificent Barber Motorsports Park facility, and special discounts are available for Guard members and their families.

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.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com. 

 

For additional information contact:

AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com

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