AMA Pro Road Racing Previews Road America Round 5

 

 

Road America to Host AMA Pro Road Racing this Weekend for the Subway SuperBike Doubleheader

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. (May 31, 2012) - The fast and flowing 4.05-mile natural road course at Road America will serve as the theater of war for AMA Pro Road Racing this weekend as each of the Series' four title chases continue to heat up. An iconic American motorsports facility with a rich history in motorcycle racing, Road America is also one of the most exciting and challenging tracks on the AMA Pro Road Racing calendar. Since 2009, there have been five different AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike victors on three different brands in the last six race finals. Once again leading the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike charge heading into the event weekend, Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) put on another masterful display last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park to recapture the points lead from Blake Young (Yoshimura Racing Suzuki). Heading to Young's home track, Yamaha's leading man now leads the Wisconsin 194-187 in the standings and each of this season's seven wins have been claimed by one of the two riders.  The results of last year's National Guard SuperBike doubleheader in Elkhart Lake would fit right in with the pattern seen in 2012; Hayes took pole with a time of 2:11.913, Young took Race 1 by a slim margin over Hayes on Saturday and Hayes topped the box in Race 2. Josh Hayes leads Blake Young coming out of turn 8 at Road America during the 2011 event held at Elkhart Lake, WI.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson. Despite an unfortunate lowside while challenging for a podium finish last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) is still holding down third place in the Championship chase with 114 points. Just five points behind, Hayes' teammate Josh Herrin (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) grabbed an impressive second-place result last weekend after a thrilling race-long battle with Young.  Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance Pegram BMW) sits fifth in the standings and is the third and final active National Guard SuperBike rider with a SuperBike win to his credit at the facility. Three other SuperBike riders have class victories here: Herrin (2011 GoPro Daytona SportBike Races 1 and 2), Chris Fillmore (2011 Vance & Hines XR1200 Series) and Danny Eslick (2010 Vance & Hines XR1200 Series).  Geoff May (Team Amsoil/Hero EBR) and Danny Eslick (Hero Moto Corp. EBR) hold positions six and seven in the standings, respectively, and are also on a homecoming of sorts, as Erik Buell Racing is headquartered in nearby East Troy, Wisconsin. The team has posted impressive qualifying and race results of late including two front-row starting positions at Miller Motorsports Park and three podium results in the previous four race finals.  Steve Rapp (Attack Performance Kawasaki), Chris Clark (Yoshimura Racing Suzuki) and Chris Fillmore (Team HMC KTM) round out the top ten. The Subway SuperBike Doubleheader will take place this weekend, June 1-3. AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike will take to the track for the first practice session Friday, June 1 at 12:00 p.m. and will be featured in 13-lap races on Saturday, June 2 at 3:15 p.m. local time and Sunday, June 3 at 3:30 p.m. local time. SPEED will broadcast each of the races in same-day delayed broadcasts scheduled to begin at 12:00 midnight ET/9:00 p.m. PT on Saturday and Sunday. AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Point Standings (After Round 4): 1. Josh Hayes (Gulfport, MS) - 194; 2. Blake Young (Waunakee, WI) - 187; 3. Roger Hayden (Owensboro, KY) - 114; 4. Josh Herrin (Glendale, CA) - 109; 5. Larry Pegram (Hebron, OH) - 96; 6. Geoff May (Gainesville, GA) - 95; 7. Danny Eslick (Broken Arrow, OK) - 86; 8. Steve Rapp (Hawthorne, CA) - 83; 9. Chris Clark (Las Vegas, NV) - 79; 10. Chris Fillmore (Oxford, MI) - 77. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Martin Cardenas (GEICO Suzuki) continued to build on his AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Championship aspirations with a last-lap pass at Miller Motorsports Park to top Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing Triumph) and improve his class win record to 20 victories. The Colombian has won GoPro Daytona SportBike races at Road America twice (2010 Race 2 and 2009 Race 2) and currently leads the standings with 144 points, 31 ahead of second-place Tommy Hayden (Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha) with DiSalvo a single marker back at 112.  DiSalvo has finished second or better in four of six races this season and is one of three Triumph riders entered in this weekend's contest, joined by Kris Turner (Turner's Cycle Racing Triumph) and Kenny Riedmann (Sturgess Cycle Triumph). Dane Westby (M4 Suzuki) is sitting fourth in the points with 109. The Oklahoman has finished once in each position from second through seventh this season and is looking to pick up his first win at Road America. DAYTONA® 200 winner Joey Pascarella (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) was picked up by a new team last weekend and had a consistent run to 15th place by race end, currently classified fifth in the standings with 94 points.  Just one point back, Jake Zemke (Ducshop Racing Ducati 848) is still threatening for a podium finish, finishing fourth for the third time this season at Miller. Cameron Beaubier (Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) kept his start-to-podium ratio at 1:1 with another third place finish last weekend. The young rider feels that he is fully recovered and looked strong throughout the event at Miller. The AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike division will contest 13-lap race finals on Saturday, June 2 at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 3 at 2:15 p.m. local time. SPEED will broadcast flag-to-flag coverage of each race in same-day delayed broadcasts beginning each night at 11:00 p.m. ET/ 8:00 p.m. PT. AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Point Standings (After Round 4): 1. Martin Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) - 144; 2. Tommy Hayden (Owensboro, KY) - 113; 3. Jason DiSalvo (Batavia, NY) - 112; 4. Dane Westby (Tulsa, OK) - 109; 5. Joey Pascarella (Vacaville, CA) - 94; 6. Jake Zemke (Paso Robles, CA) - 93; 7. Bobby Fong (Stockton, CA) - 82; 8. JD Beach (Philpot, KY) - 79; 9. Cory West (Eureka Springs, AR) - 70; 10. Cameron Beaubier (Roseville, CA) - 63. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport This weekend at Road America, the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport division will fill the 4.05-mile track with the high-speed maneuvers, frequent passing and photo finishes that crowds love. Last year's Race 1 winner James Rispoli (Celtic Racing/ Orient Express Racing Suzuki) leads the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport points chart with 145 tallies over Hayden Gillim (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha). Gillim kicked off last weekend's BigM weekend with a big W, earning the first AMA Pro victory for his upstart team. The win was the sophomore rider's second career victory and the major points grab shifted him past fan sensation Elena Myers (SuzukiScoopfans SportbikeTrackgear.com Suzuk) to the number two spot in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West Division point standings with 124. Myers finished a conservative seventh at Miller and has garnered 85 points so far this season.  Out-of-region riders will likely occupy many of the top spots at Road America. One of the leading East Division riders, Jake Lewis (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) is having a strong debut season including his performance last weekend. The young rider led only the second lap at Miller but held his ground for the remainder of the race to earn another second-place finish. Dustin Dominguez (Latus Motors Racing Triumph) came off a huge weekend earlier this month at Infineon with his Race 1 win, and fed off that momentum to grab the final spot on the podium at Miller Motorsports Park last weekend. Tomas Puerta (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha), teammate of last weekend's race winner Gillim, had a consistent outing with a fourth-place finish to solidify RoadRace Factory's strong presence at the front of the pack. Saturday's 10-lap final for the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport division will be the first race of the weekend, set to go green at 1:00 p.m., followed by Race 2 on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. local time. AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West Division Point Standings (After Round 4): 1. James Rispoli (Attica, NY) - 145; 2. Hayden Gillim (Owensboro, KY) - 124; 3. Elena Myers (Discovery Bay, CA) - 85; 4. Travis Ohge (Aurora, OR) - 49; 5. Sebastiao Ferreira (Paravna, Brazil) - 49; 6. Tyler Linders (Mission Viejo, CA) - 41; 7. Ryan Matter (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) - 35; 8. Colter Dimick (Ft. Collins, CO) - 34; 9. Garrett Willis (Loomis, CA) - 29; 10. Rocco Horvath (Chandler, AZ) - 26. AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Last weekend's AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race at Miller Motorsports Park brought more success to the Series' top three riders. Tyler O'Hara (Bartel's Harley-Davidson) grabbed his second victory in four races, becoming the first racer this season to double up in the win column. Kyle Wyman (KLR Group/Vesrah Racing Harley-Davidson) and Michael Barnes (Bartel's Harley-Davidson) had to settle for second- and third-place finishes in what became a lonely race. Heading into Harley-Davidson's home state, the point standings remain tight based on shared success and close finishes from the series top three riders. O'Hara's second victory lunged him 16 points ahead of Wyman, 115-99, with Barnes one point back. Last year, Road America's 4.05-mile track proved to be a challenge for the current Vance & Hines XR1200 Series leading men. Veteran Barnes just missed a podium, qualifying and finishing in fourth while O'Hara and Wyman raced side by side for eighth- and ninth-place finishes. Kyle's younger brother Travis Wyman (Harv's Harley-Davidson) will be looking to repeat last year's success and fill his brother's recent spot on the podium. The AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series riders take to the track for their 7-lap race final on Sunday, June 3 at 12:30 p.m. local time. AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Point Standings (After Round 4): 1. Tyler OHara (Petaluma, CA) - 115; 2. Kyle Wyman (Macedon, NY) - 99; 3. Michael Barnes (Boca Raton, FL) - 98; 4. Michael Corbino (Sarasota, FL) - 61; 5. David Estok (Daytona Beach, FL) - 56; 6. Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, CO) - 54; 7. Darren James (Deep Cove, Canada) - 51; 8. Josh Chisum (Bakersfield, CA) - 49; 9. Travis Wyman (Macedon, NY) - 47; 10. Shane Narbonne (Tyngsboro) - 40. SPEED2 Live Streaming Broadcasts and Live Timing & Scoring Follow along live as the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series riders battle it out by logging onto http://www.speed2.com.  SPEED2 is a broadband service available to customers of Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DISH and Cox. For more information and instructions on gaining access to all of the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races, please review the SPEED2 FAQ located at http://www.speed2.com/faq. Live Timing & Scoring of all on-track sessions is available at http://live.amaproracing.com/rr/. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at www.twitter.com/AMAProSBK and www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing. Tickets are still available and additional event details; ticket pricing and camping information can be found at www.roadamerica.com or by calling 800-365-7223. Races run rain or shine and kids 12 and under are free with an adult.

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