Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta Recap: AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike
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DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (April 26, 2012) - At
Road Atlanta, the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class returned to a more
conventional event after last month's DAYTONA® 200. Instead of the single
endurance race on the banks of Daytona International Speedway replete with pit
stops, the doubleheader sprint race format came to Braselton, Ga.'s 2.55-mile
natural road course for the M1 PowerSports-promoted Triumph Big Kahuna Atlanta
presented by Dunlop Tire and LeoVince. Martin Cardenas of GEICO
Suzuki won both 20-lap races in Dixie and assumed the points lead for his
efforts in what was an impressive display.
Cardenas won the
GoPro Daytona SportBike championship the last season he raced in the class
before moving to AMA Pro National Guard last year and earning a rare
first-season win. Cardenas was right there with the lead pack at the front in
Daytona and finished fourth, a result that went a bit under the radar with
Joey Pascarella's flawless run to victory and Jason
DiSalvo's brilliant charge getting most of the accolades.
On Saturday at
Road Atlanta, Cardenas ran away with the win, taking the checkers 4.461 seconds
in front of the scrapping behind him. Cardenas had a couple of moments in the
victory, but did not crash either time and quickly recovered to go even
faster. "I thought it
was going to be a battle between four or five bikes. I don't know why, but it
didn't happen that way this time," said Cardenas. "The first few laps, I got a
good gap and that was it. I ran a very good pace and I kept pushing."
Dane
Westby of M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki took second place with a charge
through the field. Westby had a poor start but his run through the field was
exciting as he picked off rivals with skill. "By the time I
got up there, Martin was pretty far away. I couldn't see him over Turn 3 or a
couple other corners. Maybe if I had been up there at the start it would have
been easier on me," Westby said. "The guys on the pitboard kept giving me the
'plus zero' -- they wanted me to catch Martin so I was really on the stick the
whole time."
Martin Cardenas leads Jason DiSalvo, Benny Solis and Tommy Hayden early in one of the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Series races at the Big Kahuna Road Atlanta round in April 2012. AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Tommy
Hayden earned third for Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha. Hayden faced a stiff
challenge when he was drafted to replace the injured Garrett
Gerloff on the second day at the season-opening round at Daytona.
Following a successful test at Homestead, Hayden had a much better grasp on
things at Road Atlanta. The Kentucky-native had a race-long battle with
Benny Solis (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) that ended with
just over a lap remaining in the race when Solis crashed at Turn 10A.
Jake
Zemke on the Ducshop Ducati showed steady progress in his run to fourth
on Saturday and hard-braking Cory West earned the top five for
Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki in his race. After a season away from the AMA Pro
Road Racing scene, former GoPro Daytona SportBike race winner Bobby
Fong proved tough on the Meen Motorsports Yamaha to get sixth.
Local rider
Huntley Nash got his best GoPro Daytona SportBike result yet
for LTD Racing when he took seventh after being in the top 10 all weekend. He
led a pack of riders including Daytona winner Pascarella, now riding for SGA
Yamaha, J.D. Beach (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull) and
Michael Beck (Full Tuck Yamaha) that finished within one
second.
Beck put a
decent gap on the competition in the chase for the $5,000
Sunoco "Go The Distance" Award, given to the rider
that completes the furthest total distance in 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing
race-weekend events. The Californian has logged 731.04 miles to second-place
Beach's 711.9 miles.
On Sunday,
Cardenas had a tougher go of it. Zemke got the holeshot ahead of fast-starting
Hayden (from the second row) and Jake Gagne (RoadRace
Factory/Red Bull).
By lap two,
Cardenas made his way to the front with a bold pass at Turn 10A. Unlike
Saturday, Hayden was able to hang with Cardenas, as was Castrol Triumph's
DiSalvo until he had a mechanical issue on lap 12. The trio lived in the
low-1:29 second range, a hot pace for the 20-lap race. With less than
two laps to go, Cardenas fared better through traffic and then put in a flyer to
take the impressive win by 1.220 seconds.
"Tommy put the
pressure on me the whole race, so it was very difficult," said Cardenas of his
18th career GoPro Daytona SportBike victory. "I tried to pull a gap on him but
it wasn't possible. At the end, we found a few lapped riders and I think that
helped me a bit."
"We made a few
changes and that made a few of the sections more comfortable for me," said
Hayden. "I've been chipping away at it and I feel like I am getting closer and
closer. It was important for me to take the next step."
The battle for
third proved to be highly contested. Westby, Zemke, and Gagne rode in tight
formation for much of the race. Westby could not move through the group on
Sunday, but started to consolidate the placing starting with five laps to go. It
wasn't over, though. Zemke, riding for a small team based out of Atlanta,
regrouped and made a pass for position at Turn 10A with three remaining. Westby,
who was quicker than Zemke through the Esses, managed to wrest third with the
pass and hold it to the flag.
"I was able to
get in there on the brakes in Turn 10 and stick it to (Zemke)," said Westby, who
clearly enjoyed his battle with the California native. Zemke's two
fourth-place results showed the progress his new Ducshop Ducati team has been
able to make despite limited testing opportunities.
Gagne took
fifth, a stellar result for the class rookie who has more experience racing in
Europe than the US; the young standout won the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup two
years ago and raced a Moto2 bike in Spain last year. With 29 GoPro Daytona
SportBike points, he continues to lead in the $5,000
Saddlemen Rookie of the Year award program. Fong was sixth
in another impressive run, holding off Beach in his best result of the year of
seventh. Nash was eighth
on Sunday despite some arm pump issues and showed that he, too, is a young rider
to watch in the class. Solis responded
from his Saturday crash by beating Pascarella for ninth by less than 0.3
seconds.
Cardenas has now
won five of the six AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike races held at Road Atlanta.
The Colombian now leads the points 82 to 62 over Westby, with Hayden just two
back in third.
Next
Event
AMA Pro Road
Racing will next head west for Round 3 with a stop at scenic Sonoma, Calif. The
Great Clips West Coast Moto Jam will take place at Infineon Raceway in two weeks
time, May 4-6. For tickets and event information, please visit www.infineonraceway.com.
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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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