AMA Pro Road Racing Reviews Miller Motorsports Park SuperSport & XR1200 Series Round

AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Recap

TOOELE, Utah (May 30, 2012)  The AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport class has now seen five different winners in 2012. The class for new talent and fast local riders has boasted large grids this season and the Utah round added another name to the select group of winners this season - Hayden Gillim of the RoadRace Factory/Red Bull team. Gillim won pole for the race, but crossed the line sixth after the first lap of the 13-lap race. By lap two, he was up to fourth and he then took the lead while working lap three. The Kentuckian quickly worked a gap and took a strong lead of around four seconds over the pack behind him, consisting of Road Atlanta winner Jake Lewis (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki), Infineon Winner Dustin Dominguez (Latus Motors Racing Triumph), and Tomas Puerta (RoadRaceFactory/Red Bull). Lewis, Dominguez and Puerta put on a spirited battle for the podium behind the leader.  In the closing laps, Gillim's solid lead began to evaporate as his tire started going away. He was able to hold on for the victory by 1.062 seconds, though. "I felt really good for the race today. I knew I could win, but I didn't have any idea I could get out front and get a gap. I thought these guys would be right behind me the entire way," said Gillim. "My tires started going away at the end, and they started reeling me back in but I had built up a big enough of a gap that they couldn't quite catch me. The RoadRace Factory/Red Bull team did a fantastic job for me this weekend. This whole year, we've been working up and I got all the points I could possibly get this weekend." In order to equalize the points paying opportunities between SuperSport's East and West Divisions, points were paid for final grid positions and one additional bonus point was paid for fastest lap of the race. Gillim grabbed every available point this weekend, closing to within 21 points of West leader James Rispoli (Orient Express Celtic Racing) who had trouble in the race and didn't show his characteristic strength.  Lewis took second place after leading early. "I was in the lead on lap two but Hayden came by and dropped the hammer. He was going fast," Lewis said. "At the end, Dustin and I had a really good battle. It was fun." Dominguez got some relief from Puerta after his rival made a mistake on the last lap, but Dominguez scored his fifth straight podium.  "It was a good race," said Dominguez. "I got a bad start. I got pinched in by some guys and had to work my way up through traffic. Jake Lewis and I had a good race. Hats off to him and Hayden. They rode fantastic. We're East coast so I was happy with that in my first time here." Miller Motorsports Park winner Hayden Gillim #69 and runner-up Jake Lewis #85 congratulate one another after the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Series race at Miller Motorsports Park.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson. Stefano Mesa was fifth, less than nine seconds back. The Kneedraggers.com Yamaha pilot had a gap on Tyler Linders (Nexx/Cortech/Hypercycle).  Daytona winner Elena Myers (SuzukiScoopFans Sportbiketrackgear.com M4 Suzuki) and Rispoli fought for seventh, with Myers taking the spot by less than 0.2 of a second.  Ryan Matter (Citizens of Humanity) won out over Sebastio Ferreira (Life In Christ Race Team) by less than half a second for ninth. AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Recap Bartel's Harley-Davidson's Tyler O'Hara delivered a rare blowout performance in AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series action at Miller Motorsports Park. O'Hara made his intentions known when he stormed to pole by a margin of eight tenths of a second -- or about the combined margin by which the three previous Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races were decided.  The Californian ripped free at the start and ultimately assembled a 4.261-second margin of victory over the eight-lap contest. "Ever since we unloaded the bike off the truck it's been awesome," O'Hara said. "I rode here a few years ago on the Supermoto track and wanted to be out here. I'm just really comfortable on this track -- it's fast and flowing. I ran really hard tires and was comfortable out there sliding around. I put in a good charge at the beginning and just maintained the lead." O'Hara's weekend performance saw him take a step forward in the title fight, as he became the first man of the developing three-way title fight to claim a second pole position and a second victory. KLR Group/Vesrah Racing's Kyle Wyman took second but wasn't overly impressed to watch O'Hara run away out in front. "My race was pretty lonely," Wyman said. "I think it was lonely for all three of us, really. It's about the most boring XR race you're ever going to see." "Set-up was key this weekend for all of us and we all nailed it at three different plateaus, I think," Wyman said. "I just can't settle down. I made a big mistake and then I lost that initial time and then from there it was like, three-four seconds just stayed the same for the last half of the race, so I don't know." Sonoma winner Michael Barnes finished a distant third, more than 12 seconds behind his race-winning Bartel's Harley-Davidson teammate.  Barnes, who was struggling with the flu all week long, said "We just didn't have the set-up to run with these guys. Just with the changing weather conditions, we just really didn't get the right tire pressure and that's basically what it boiled down to. We're going to have to regroup and hope the weather cooperates a little bit better for us at Elkhart. We know how that goes.   Tyler O'Hara #29 and Michael Barnes #34 get the jump on the field at the start of the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race at Miller Motorsports Park, round 4 of the AMA Pro Road Racing 2012 season.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson. "It's a really long season and really right now we're racing for money. We're pretty much confident that we're going to be in the chase at the end of the year. I would say that goes for all three of us. So right now it's bragging rights and money and Tyler's (O'Hara) leading, so we've got to work on that." XP Motorsports' Michael Corbino finished in fourth while Kuryakyn/Racing for a Wish's Gerry Signorelli rounded out the top five. The multiple drafting opportunities presented by Road America generally make for thrilling XR1200 racing in Harley-Davidson's home state. O'Hara heads to Wisconsin with a 16-point lead over Wyman (115-99) with Barnes only a further single point back. Next Event AMA Pro Road Racing will next head East for Round 5 with a stop at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The Subway Superbike Double Header will take place at Road America this weekend, June 1-3. For tickets and event information, please visit www.RoadAmerica.com Title Sponsor Photo Galleries Saturday Sunday Videos BigM Weekend - AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Race Highlights AMA Pro Road Racing Teams Up With FIM World SuperBike for the BigM Weekend 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

Title Sponsor       Photo Galleries Saturday Sunday Videos BigM Weekend - AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race Highlights Hayden Gillim Snags Pole Position For SuperSport Race at Miller Motorsports Park