Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Reviews AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Series Round 3 from Barber Motorsports Park

Hayes Sweeps Barber, Inches Closer to National Guard SuperBike Top Spot

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (June 26, 2013) - AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike superstar Josh Hayes furthered his recent run of excellence with a second consecutive perfect points haul weekend at Barber Motorsports Park for the Triumph SuperBike Classic presented by America's First Federal Credit Union.

 

Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's reigning triple champion has made serious inroads to his early-season points deficit and in shockingly quick fashion; just one more weekend like his last two and Hayes will move atop the 2013 championship standings, only three rounds removed from his Daytona double disaster.  In Birmingham, Hayes once again demonstrated why he's the dominant force in GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing, registering another near-flawless performance, despite facing some rather significant obstacles that stood between him and those 63 available points.  After locking down his 25th career pole on Saturday morning (handing him sole possession of second on the all-time order ahead of fellow three-time champ Ben Spies), Hayes and second-qualifier Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) crept forward ahead of the lights.  Their early jumps directly led to the similar infractions of Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing's Larry Pegram (lined up behind Hayden), M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing's Chris Ulrich (also on the right side of the grid), and LTD/Neyra Racing's Huntley Nash.

 

 

 

 

Josh Hayes on the #1 Monster Energy/Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 won both races at Barber Motorsports Park over the weekend, even after coming back from a jump-start penalty in race one to beat Roger Hayden in both events.  Hayes' wins put him within 10 points of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Series points leader Martin Cardenas heading into Mid-Ohio in just over two weeks time.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

 

 

After carefully reviewing the video evidence, the five riders were hit with five-second penalties as the race was taking shape on track.  Hayes and Hayden, who were pulling free at the front, were dropped down the order momentarily, but their pitched battle would push them far enough out in front that their dogfight again officially became one for the lead... and just in time.  '13 points leader Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) ran in third on track the entire time, but the penalties of Hayes and Hayden meant he was actually considered the race leader from lap 1 until the moment that Hayes was more than five seconds ahead on track, which took place on lap 11 of 21 by an impossibly small 0.005-second margin.  That nearly non-existent gap could prove critical as the season's point chase takes shape as it signified a two-point swing in the championship fight -- moving the lap leader point from Cardenas to Hayes.  Hayes ultimately fended off the spirited challenge of Hayden on the race's final lap by 0.245-second margin.

 

While they avoided the added hassle of the jump start penalties on Sunday, Race 2 eventually developed into a last-lap rematch as Hayes and Hayden essentially repeated their shootout from the day before.  And again, Hayes denied the hungry Hayden with clutch inch-perfect riding in hot and greasy conditions, edging him to the stripe by an even narrower 0.221-second margin of victory.  The victories were the 36th and 37th of the Mississippian's spectacular career.  He's once again proving that he's the odds-on favorite to become the first man in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike history to win four consecutive championships.  However, the early season results have also provided solid evidence that the field has raised its collective game in response to Hayes' commanding form, stepping up to threaten the champ's position atop the pecking order in a serious fashion.  Consider that while Hayes was leading both races and in strong position to win at Daytona before he was struck down by mechanical issues, he was caught up in fairly intense scraps at the time.  Last year at Daytona, Hayes won the opener by 8.332 seconds.  If you only take the riders still in the hunt in 2013 into account, Hayes' Daytona margins grow to 16.202 and 10.284 seconds respectively, margins that were effectively erased this past March.

 

That trend continued at Road America, where he won in 2013 by 11.349 seconds (18.556 seconds ahead of his closest rival still in the series) and 13.906 (13.945). And at Barber Motorsports Park a year ago, Hayes marched to victories of 5.136 and 4.988 (7.299) seconds -- a far cry from this past weekend's nail-biting showdowns.  After completing the BMP double, Hayes said, "That was a really hard race. I was driving as hard as I could and trying to push it until everyone's tires were junk at the end so hopefully nobody could make any moves. I was trying to pick my lines smart so I didn't make any mistakes.  It got pretty greasy and I had my share of mistakes still but fortunately I did it in spots where it wasn't easy to get by.  Fortunately, it was enough. Rog rode an incredible weekend and Josh (Herrin) was riding really well at the beginning... It's a big testament to my team and a lot of hard work.  Fortunately we have a lot of years of development in that machine and we can get to a good place pretty quickly.  I really enjoyed the race -- it's fun having a close race and pushing hard all the way to the end.  The last lap, for me, was as harrowing for me as lap 2. It was really fun, I really enjoyed it, and I'm really looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio."  Hayes is now seconds in the standings, just ten back of Cardenas (144-134).

 

The emergence of Roger Hayden in Alabama after a couple of relatively disappointing outings to start the year hints that Hayes may be facing even bigger challenges ahead. Hayden pushed Hayes to the brink at Mid-Ohio a year ago and typically grows stronger and stronger as the season progresses.  Hayden said similar things after both races.  On Saturday he admitted, "It's a little bittersweet to be that close to actually beating Josh and him getting me just by a little bit there at the end."  And on Sunday the Kentuckian reported, "I just sat behind Josh the whole race but never got close enough to pass him. Sometimes he got a small gap but the last couple laps I was right on his back tire just trying to find a place to make a pass.  I was starting to slide around a little bit and so was he.  Every time I tried to get a good run on him the last two laps I could never get that little bit more I needed to take a shot at it."  Looking ahead, Hayden said, "I'm pretty happy -- the first two races haven't start out that good.  I knew we were a lot better than we showed at Daytona and Road America. Hopefully this is a turnaround for my season."

 

Hayes' Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate, Josh Herrin, came into Barber Motorsports Park with big expectations after qualifying second and claiming a strong runner-up result at the track a year ago.  However, he struggled on Friday and was never truly on the pace as he rode to fourth on Saturday.  But Herrin stepped up his game on Sunday, winning the holeshot, riding in Hayes' wheel tracks early, and even taking advantage of a minor mistake on the part of the champ to retake the lead and hold down first place for a couple laps mid-distance.  Herrin suffered a big moment while running a close second, which allowed Hayden to slip by and pick up the challenge on Hayes.  And while Herrin couldn't maintain the leaders' pace, he did regroup to pull free from Saturday podium finisher Cardenas as the two traded third and fourth-place finishes on the weekend.  Herrin, who is now third in the title race with 131 points, said, "It was good at the beginning -- as you can see, I still need to work on how fast I go once I get the lead.  I was trying my hardest.  The middle of the race is what I need to work on.  Both days I was decent in the beginning, seem to fall off in the middle, and then regroup at the end and seem to hold the gap to first.  So at least I know I can ride good on the tires at the end of the race.  Now I just need to go home and work on my fitness a little bit more... I can't wait until Mid-Ohio.  Mid-Ohio is going to be the middle of the season and it's time to turn things around and prove that I can run up front the whole race."

 

Cardenas may have expected more after his excellent Daytona and Road America performances, along with his stellar BMP track record, but still managed to retain his points lead on the strength of third and fourth-place results.  The Colombian said, "My (Saturday) race was a little bit tough.  Physically, I think for everybody, but I thought I had a little bit better rhythm going into the race.  But early on I found out that I wasn't as fast as these two guys. I tried my best and tried to stay as close as possible, but halfway through the race I lost a lot of time.  I just tried to finish in third place and get some points. "  He added, "For Sunday, we changed a few things and we had some good speed at first, but from the middle to the end of the race, I had a hard time keeping the pace.  Next we go to Mid-Ohio, and I like the layout of that track. I've had some good results there and I hope to come back stronger for that race."

 

Larry Pegram was the only rider penalized whose five-second penalty dropped him in the official order.  He finished fifth on track but sixth in the final results, as KTM/HMC Racing's Chris Fillmore followed him across the stripe to steal away the position.  Pegram came back the following day and took full advantage of an improved set-up on his YZF-R1 to track down Jordan Suzuki's Danny Eslick and earn the top-five result that eluded him the day before.

 

On Saturday Eslick spent the bulk of his race making up for an early mistake in which he went off track and dropped to 13th.  He eventually made his way up to eighth.  On Sunday he showed his true BMP form, in which he held down fifth deep into the contest before finally relenting to Pegram's pressure and finishing sixth.  "Sunday was definitely better than Saturday," said Eslick. "On Saturday, I got off to a good start but another rider had a big moment in front of me and I ran off the track.  That put me back and I had to make my way back up to eighth.  Sunday was good, I got an awesome start and I was right there with the lead pack. I tried to hold on but I wasn't comfortable with their pace.  Then I ran around in fifth and had a little battle at the end so I ended up sixth.  Now I'm looking forward to Mid-Ohio.  I'm feeling good on the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I've done well at Mid-Ohio in the past."

 

Fillmore, meanwhile, won out in a huge five-rider brawl for seventh on Sunday to back up his Saturday fifth.  The KTM ace made a late move to come out on top of the tilt that also involved Team Hero EBR's Geoff May, his KTM teammate Taylor Knapp, Motul Fly Racing's David Anthony, and Team AMSOIL/Hero EBR's Aaron Yates.  Fillmore said, "The majority of the race was about a five-man battle for 7th position.  I was fortunate enough to make a great pass on Geoff May with a few laps remaining that pushed me ahead of him and allowed me to pull a small gap as we crossed the checkers.  My team has been working really hard this year and it is great to finally get two good results for them."

 

May took seventh and eighth place results on the weekend after showing so strongly a year before in Alabama, when he qualified second provisionally and walked away with a pair of fourth-place finishes.  Teammate Yates finished 10th on Saturday to go along with his close Sunday 11th aboard his Erik Buell Racing 1190RS.  Fillmore's teammate, Knapp, had to work hard just to get up to 13th on Saturday after a warm-up lap issue forced him back into pit lane for some quick repairs.  He got away dead last before starting his charge. Sunday's competitive ninth showed considerable promise, however.

 

David Anthony also finished ninth on Saturday as the Aussie scored two more top tens on the weekend, a feat he has managed in five of six races this season.  M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Racing's Chris Ulrich battled with Motosport.com/EBR's Cory West both days.  Ulrich's Saturday penalty meant he had no realistic chance of beating the Arkansas native for eleventh on Saturday, but he came back and outpaced him for 12th on Sunday.  "We've been making big, steady gains on the chassis," Ulrich remarked. "Finally, this week we rolled off the truck with a pretty decent baseline and were just trying to work forward.  We haven't had too many of the electronic glitches like we had at Road America -- we worked pretty hard to get that sorted.  The chassis is getting better and we're almost to a point where we can stop messing with it so much and concentrate on riding it."

Meanwhile, former SuperSport standout Huntley Nash decided to shift his focus away from AMA GoPro Daytona SportBike in order to concentrate on the premier AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike class in Birmingham.  Nash had a couple difficult outings but is excited about his future prospects in National Guard SuperBike:  "I wasn't really happy with the way this race went from my standpoint as a competitor.  I was looking to be higher in the results, maybe into the top ten, and show what we can do.  I wasn't really happy with my riding and I felt like I needed to be more aggressive.  This track is tough on a Superbike and we were fighting the grip level out there.  Having said that, we made good progress with the Neyra Racing Kawasaki this weekend.  We were able to improve the bike under braking and continued to try some things with the suspension.  The team worked really hard and I'd like to thank Justin, Gary, and the crew.  This is a very promising project and we're looking forward to giving it another shot in Ohio."

 

The rolling Hayes will look to make it six straight wins and move into the championship lead when the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season resumes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, on July 12-14 for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire.

 

Next Up

 

The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will resume on July 12-14 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire.  For tickets and more information regarding the event, please visit http://www.midohio.com/Schedule/Buckeye-Superbike-Weekend-2013.

 

This season's GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action is being broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular.  Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder at http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder.

 

In addition to the live broadcasts on CBS Sports Network, AMA Pro Live will be live streaming multiple channels of behind-the-scenes video of the weekend's activities alongside Live Timing & Scoring.  AMA Pro Live puts fans in the director's chair, allowing them to choose from a variety of viewpoints including track cameras, paddock cameras and a press conference channel at http://www.amaprolive.com.

 

Stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing.

 

 

About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing:

 

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The 2013 schedule consists of nine rounds of competition on the country's finest road courses. The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/. 

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

AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships Offering 2013 Fast Brain Award Scholarship

AMA Fast Brain Award offers scholarship at AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships 

PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- June 26, 2013 -- At the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships in Springfield, Ill., this week, the country's fastest youth and amateur dirt-trackers aren't just racing for AMA No. 1 plates. Young up-and-coming riders are also competing for the AMA Fast Brain Award, which includes an educational scholarship for the award winner.

Funded by AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bill Werner and AMA Board Director Stan Simpson, the 2013 AMA Fast Brain Award and its $1,000 educational scholarship recognize a young racer whose skill on the track is matched by his or her skill in the classroom.

 

"Not only is success on the racetrack important, but so is success in the classroom," said AMA Director of Operations Jeff Massey. "We're proud of the young men and women who strap on their helmets at the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships, and we're pleased to recognize a standout rider who also demonstrates the importance of academic excellence."

The award winner's selection will be based on performance at the week-long AMA Racing Dirt Track Grand Championships at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill., June 24-27, as well as official school transcripts supplied at the time of application.

 

The AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships feature national-caliber competition in half-mile, short-track, TT and mile racing. Classes are run for riders of nearly all ages riding motorcycles on a range of displacements.

In addition to championships in the individual disciplines, AMA Grand Championships are awarded to the riders in each class who have the highest point totals across all four types of dirt-track racing. The fastest riders in premier classes also compete for the AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award, which honors the amateur racer poised for success on the professional level.

Competitors at the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championships field both traditional dirt-trackers and the latest DTX motorcycles, which begin as stock motocross bikes that are then fitted with dirt-track tires, suspension and other modifications.

For more information about dirt-track competition, see the Racing section of www.americanmotorcyclist.com.

 

About the American Motorcyclist Association

 

Founded in 1924, the AMA is a not-for-profit member-based association whose mission is to promote the motorcycle lifestyle and protect the future of motorcycling. As the world's largest motorcycling rights and event sanctioning organization, the AMA advocates for riders' interests at all levels of government and sanctions thousands of competition and recreational events every year. The AMA also provides money-saving discounts on products and services for its members. Through the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio, the AMA honors the heroes and heritage of motorcycling.

 

For more information, visit www.americanmotorcyclist.com.

 

Media contact: James Holter
Phone: (614) 856-1900, ext. 1280
E-mail: jholter@ama-cycle.org

 

 

Lloyd Brothers Motorsports Announces Henry Wiles to Ride Team's Ducati at AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship Round 4 at Lima Half-Mile on June 29, Team to Also Get Help from Ducati This Season

Henry Wiles and the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team will be looking to improve their results from last year's event at the Allen County Fairgrounds as the team will roll out their Ducati-based 'L' twin this weekend for the Ohio National Championship event at round 4 of the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season.

In the series' second Twins Series event of the young season, the LBM team will for the first time this year bring the big Ducati out of 'mothballs' after incorporating their newly-added Harley-Davidson XR750 at the Stockton Half-Mile on May 11, which saw Wiles and the team bring home a strong 3rd-place finish.  Although Wiles is pre-entered on the team's immaculately prepared and new 2013 crew chief Brent Armbruster's H-D XR750, 'he will ride the Ducati' per team co-owner Dave Lloyd.

At last year's Lima event (pictured above in heat race 2) Wiles and the team had a smoking night, but just not smoking enough to unseat the current hot shoe at Lima in Slammin' Sammy Halbert.

After qualifying in the 2nd-place spot, Wiles took second in his heat and won the Dash for Cash on the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports/Ramspur Winery/Foremost Insurance Group/ENI USA-sponsored Ducati, and then after being forced to start from the fourth row of the starting grid, stormed home to a hard-fought 2nd-place finish behind winner Halbert, who took his second win in-a-row at the limestone and pea gravel facility.  (In fairness to all, had Wiles' not jumped the start of the 25-lap National main last June 30, forcing him to start from the penalty line, the final results very well could have been different, and that is what the team is looking to improve upon this Saturday at Lima.)

During the 2012 Indy Mile, then-crew chief Dave Gamble and team co-owners Mike and Dave Lloyd make final preparations to Henry Wiles' #17 LBM/Ramspur Winery/Foremost Insurance Group/ENI USA-backed Ducati before hitting the track for the day's events, while team member/helper Jeff Heller of Dream Machines LLC looks on.

The LBM team will also be benefitting this season with some just-announced help from Ducati.  Speaking with team co-owner Dave Lloyd just over ten days ago, Lloyd mentioned that Ducati will be 'officially back on the sheet' for the 2013 season as they have offered to help out with an engine and some parts help for this season.

"This will be a big help to us in being able to maintain our direction of offering diversity to AMA Pro Flat Track," stated Dave and will also help keep the Big Red Machine in the line-up for the events that it has proved to be a threat in, which have primarily been the mile events as well as the upcoming round at Lima this coming Saturday.

For the last couple of seasons, the team has gone it alone without any help from the Italian-based company, even enlisting help from 2006 MotoGP World Champion & '02 AMA Superbike Champion Nicky Hayden in getting their engines rebuilt after suffering two losses during the mid-point of the 2011 season.

And in the big picture of AMA Grand National Championship racing, this will also help to keep the wide variety of brand exposure on the grid we have seen the last three to four seasons in terms of involvement from not only the Ducati marque, but Triumph, KTM, Kawasaki and the long-running H-D XR750 among others, in The Rolling Thunder Show.

Check out the full press release below from the Lloyd Brothers Motorsports team, and get ready to get into the meat of the schedule as the men and women of the greatest racing show on two wheels in the world get ready to head to Lima and on as the 2013 AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship season schedule heats up!



Press release courtesy of Dave & Mike Lloyd/Lloyd Brothers Motorsports AMA Pro Flat Track presented by J&P Cycles Grand National Championship Twins Series team.


Columbus, OH. -- June 24, 2013

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AMA Pro Road Racing: Hayes, Beaubier and Roberts Do the Barber Double, Rapp Takes Second Straight Win in H-D Series

Double Vision: Hayes Tops Hayden in another Close AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Shootout in Birmingham

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 23, 2013) - Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes once again had his hands full at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, and once again, he came through like a champion.  The reigning AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike king was pushed to the brink by National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden in a virtual repeat of Saturday's tense final-lap showdown to conclude the Triumph SuperBike Classic presented by America's First Federal Credit Union in epic fashion.

 

The race took shape in the early stages as a four-rider shootout with Hayes' teammate, Josh Herrin, powering into the lead at the start.  Herrin hounded Hayes from second over the race's opening five laps after Hayes made an opening-lap pass while Hayden and Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing's Martin Cardenas stalked just behind the Yamaha duo.  Herrin sliced up the inside of Hayes entering 'Charlotte's Web' on lap 6 and led the next two laps, bunching the pack back up after it threatened to break apart.  Hayes retook the lead on lap 8 and Herrin made a crucial mistake a pair of laps later.  That allowed Hayden to snatch second and close in on Hayes' rear wheel, where he would remain for the remainder of the race.  The Kentuckian was within striking distance on the contest's final lap, but that last circulation played out just as it had the day before, with the experienced triple champion never making a mistake or allowing his hungry rival an opportunity to find a way through into the lead.  Hayes launched off the final corner and beat Hayden to the stripe by a scant 0.221-second margin following 21-nailbiting laps.

 

 

Josh Hayes on the #1 Monster Energy/Graves Motorsports Yamaha leads team mate Josh Herrin #2, Roger Hayden on the #54 National Guard/Jordan Motorsports Suzuki, Martin Cardenas on the #36 Yoshimura Factory Suzuki and Hayden's team mate Danny Eslick on the #23 Jordan Suzuki during race 2 today in the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Series at Barber Motorsports Park.  Hayes pulled off the double win, again over Hayden, by just .221 seconds and moved into the 2nd-place spot in the championship hunt just 10 points down from points leader Cardenas.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

 

 

A relieved Hayes said, "That was a really hard race.  I was driving as hard as I could and trying to push it until everyone's tires were junk at the end so hopefully nobody could make any moves.  I was trying to pick my lines smart so I didn't make any mistakes.  It got pretty greasy and I had my share of mistakes still but fortunately I did it in spots where it wasn't easy to get by.  Fortunately, it was enough. Rog rode an incredible weekend and Josh was riding really well at the beginning... It's a big testament to my team and a lot of hard work.  Fortunately we have a lot of years of development in that machine and we can get to a good place pretty quickly.  I really enjoyed the race -- it's fun having a close race and pushing hard all the way to the end. The last lap, for me, was as harrowing for me as lap 2.  It was really fun, I really enjoyed it, and I'm really looking forward to going to Mid-Ohio."

 

"My start wasn't as good as yesterday," Hayden joked, referring to his Saturday jumpstart.  "So I had to come from a little further back.  You know, I just sat behind Josh the whole race but never got close enough to pass him.  Sometimes he got a small gap but the last couple laps I was right on his back tire just trying to find a place to make a pass.  I was starting to slide around a little bit and so was he.  Every time I tried to get a good run on him the last two laps I could never get that little bit more I needed to take a shot at it."  Herrin regrouped and successfully defended third from Colombian Cardenas, eventually escaping to secure the final spot on the podium some ten seconds behind the race for the win.  It was good at the beginning -- as you can see, I still need to work on how fast I go once I get the lead," Herrin admitted.  "I was trying my hardest.  The middle of the race is what I need to work on.  Both days I was decent in the beginning, seem to fall off in the middle, and then regroup at the end and seem to hold the gap to first.  So at least I know I can ride good on the tires at the end of the race.  Now I just need to go home and work on my fitness a little bit more... I can't wait until Mid-Ohio.  Mid-Ohio is going to be the middle of the season and it's time to turn things around and prove that I can run up front the whole race."

 

Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing's Larry Pegram chased down Jordan Suzuki's Danny Eslick throughout the race, finally making his move to steal away fifth position on the final lap.  Meanwhile, KTM/HMC Racing's Chris Fillmore came out on top of a race-long, five-rider scrap for seventh.  He edged Team Hero EBR's Geoff May, KTM teammate Taylor Knapp, Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing's David Anthony, and Team AMSOIL/Hero EBR's Aaron Yates for the spot.

 

Hayes' second consecutive perfect points haul weekend has thrust him right back into the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike title fight.  The Mississippian moved into second with his fourth win in six races and trails Cardenas by just 10 points.  He is now in position to take control of the championship lead at the next GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing event at Mid-Ohio with another weekend sweep.

 

AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike

 

Cameron Beaubier took win number four of the 2013 season for Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha at Barber Motorsports Park in Sunday's AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race.  The points leader won the race by 6.326 seconds, topping RoadRace Factory/Red Bull's Jake Gagne and JD Beach at the 2.38-mile circuit.  Beaubier had the pace to impress all weekend and, in both races, he made a charge in the final laps to separate himself from Gagne.  Beaubier now leads the points by 28 after five races.  "Today, I was a lot more consistent," said Beaubier, who also made a tire change to the medium Dunlop tire choice for Sunday.  "I knew Jake was fast all weekend. I was looking up at the tower to see who was in second.  Halfway through, I tried to put down some 1:27s and was able to get a bit of a gap."

 

Gagne crashed in the morning warm-up, injuring both feet, but Jake rallied to turn in a valiant effort to push Beaubier until the final laps when his rival pulled away.  "I got off to a good start behind Cameron," said Gagne.  "About halfway through the race, he took off. I was feeling some pain, so I wanted to manage to gap behind me."

 

Beach was third, topping a group of challengers aiming for the final spot on the podium. Garrett Gerloff (Y.E.S/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha) jumped the start and was penalized five seconds for doing so.  That meant his third on the track was actually fourth in the final results.  Dane Westby (GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing) was fifth after a protracted battle with upstart James Rispoli on the National Guard/Celtic Racing Suzuki.  Westby nudged away at the end.  Alabama's Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing Triumph) ran up front early but faded to eighth by the time he completed the 21st lap.  M4 SportBikeTrackGear.com's Benny Solis charged up to ninth on his Honda.  Former Daytona 200 winner Joey Pascarella earned a top ten on his Riders Discount Racing Triumph.

 

AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport

 

Joe Roberts capped off his domination on the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport weekend in Birmingham with a victory in Sunday's race.  The California Superbike School RoadracingWorld.com pilot led every session on his way to the double win in his first-ever AMA Pro race weekend.  Roberts beat Team 95's Hayden Gillim by 3.690 seconds, with RoadRace Factory/Red Bull's Tomas Puerta third, just 0.004 behind Gillim after a race-long battle for second.  Roberts got away third, with a start better than Saturday's.  Roberts took a couple of laps to pass Puerta and then GIllim, but the 16-year-old was able to pull away to complete the rare sweep in a weekend that saw 41 riders take part in the weekend's races.  "It was great to be P1 every session," said Roberts.  "My expectation was to run top five.  It was a dream come true.  The race was very difficult," said Roberts. "I got an okay start, better than yesterday.  I made the pass around the outside of Hayden and I put my head down."  Gillim and Puerta's battle came down to the final run to the flag.  "I knew Tomas was behind me the entire time, and I was hoping my tires would be good at the end," said Gillim.  "I was able to get it turned and get the drive down to the flag. It was really cool.  It was a drag race."

 

Wyatt Farris earned fourth on the Meen Motorsports Yamaha, topping Miles Thornton. Thornton (CTR Racing) had his hands full with Nick McFadden early before the rookie crashed out of the 17-lap contest, then faced a tight group consisting of Elkhart Lake double winner Corey Alexander on the National Guard/Celtic Racing Suzuki GSX-R600, Gearzy's Ryan Matter, and Daytona winner Stefano Mesa (Motosport.com RSRacectaft).  The group finished less than a second behind Thornton.  Travis Wyman (Harv's H-D) finished ninth, ahead of Kaleb De Keyrel on the CWS Bleakly-Hayes Yamaha in his first top-ten result in AMA Pro competition.

AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series

 

Airline pilot Steve Rapp flew to his second consecutive AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series victory with another brilliant, abbreviated weekend performance.  Just as he did at Road America, Rapp missed some early-weekend track time but the veteran runner showed no ill-effects as a result.  The Suburban Harley-Davidson star again qualified on the front row and then raced his way into the lead early in the race, ultimately breaking free en route to the checkered flag.  Rapp faced a determined challenge from Spyke's Harley-Davidson's Michael Barnes during the race's opening half.  He finally broke the pursuit of the defending class champ on lap 7 and ultimately worked up a 5.454-second margin of victory.  Rapp said, "The guys from Suburban Harley-Davidson -- from the first time I rode the bike, there's just something about it.  The way we have it set up and the special things they've done for me as a rider, like handlebars and the seat and stuff like that, it just feels so good I feel like I can ride it a lot harder.  I started the season with really nothing going on and Joe from Suburban Harley called me and said if I wanted to come out for Daytona we'd at least get one race in.  I said 'that'd be great' and it's just kept getting better. If we can get the whole season in, that'd be great. It's been an unexpected welcome, for sure."

 

Barnes came home with a clear runner-up finish, another five seconds separating him from the battle that raged for the final spot on the podium.  That position went to Eco-Fuel Saver/Scrubblade's Tyler O'Hara, who aced Rapp's Suburban Harley-Davidson teammate, Ben Carlson, on the final lap of the 11-lap race.  Harv's Harley-Davidson's Travis Wyman came home a lonely fifth after running with the lead pack in the race's early stages.  Positions 6-14 finished the race in a relatively tight pack, headed by Mob Racing's Shane Narbonne.  Longevity Racing's Barrett Long, H&S Distributors Nicholas Hansen, ChiliPepperRacing.com's Ricky Parker, and Racing For A Wish's Adam Raffe rounded out the contest's top ten.

 

Next Up

 

The 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season will resume on July 12-14 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio for the Buckeye Superbike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire.

 

This season's GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action is being broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular.  Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder at http://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder.

 

Stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing.

 

About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing:

 

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world.  The 2013 schedule consists of nine rounds of competition on the country's finest road courses.  The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series.  Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.  

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

Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Announces 2013 Roadracing World Young Gun of the Year Award

AMA Pro Racing Announces New Roadracing World Young Gun Of The Year Award for 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 23, 2013) - AMA Pro Racing and Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. have reached an agreement to name the Roadracing World Young Gun Of The Year award for the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season.

 

The new Young Gun Of The Year Award is based on Roadracing World's 17 consecutive years of recognizing the best young road racers in North America.

 

The 2013 version of the annual feature recognized 30 riders--17 of them AMA Pros--and was published in the March, 2013 print edition of Roadracing World magazine.  One of those riders is likely to be named the 2013 Roadracing World Young Gun Of The Year and receive a $2,500 cash award.

 

Joe Roberts is shown in action on the #2 California Superbike School/Roadracing World Honda CBR600RR during the Geico Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Series weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.  Roberts made his Pro-ranked debut at Barber in the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Series and made an immediate impact by setting pole and winning both races by just shy of a combined 12 seconds, making him an immediate candidate for the newly-announced Young Gun of the Year award.  Roberts was also on the only Honda entered in the class for the weekend out of a total of 40 entries for the class.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

 

 

To be eligible for the award, riders must have been no older than 18 at the start of the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing season.  The award will go to the eligible rider with the most overall points in either the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport or GoPro Daytona SportBike classes and a check will be presented during the 2013 GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing Awards Banquet.

 

Past Roadracing World Young Guns who have won AMA Pro road races include Tommy Aquino, J.D. Beach, Cameron Beaubier, Josh Day, Jason DiSalvo, Dustin Dominguez, Danny Eslick, Bobby Fong, Jake Gagne, Nicky Hayden, Roger Hayden, Tommy Hayden, Josh Herrin, Jake Holden, John Hopkins, Elena Myers, Shane Narbonne, Huntley Nash, Tyler Odom, Joey Pascarella, Chris Peris, James Rispoli, Ben Spies, Chris Ulrich and Blake Young.

 

About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing:

 

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world.  The 2013 schedule consists of nine rounds of competition on the country's finest road courses.  The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing atwww.amaproracing.com/rr/.

 

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

AMA Pro Road Racing: Hayes Over Roger Hayden in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 1 at Barber

Hayes Tops Hayden in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (June 22, 2013) - GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing superstar Josh Hayes continued to claw his way back into National Guard SuperBike championship contention with another standout performance today at Barber Motorsports Park.  The defending triple champ claimed his third consecutive victory at the Triumph SuperBike Classic presented by America's First Federal Credit Union at Barber Motorsports Park in a wild contest on Saturday afternoon.  Hayes' 36th-career National Guard SuperBike race win came in anything but conventional fashion as he found himself forced to simultaneously overcome one rival on the timing boards and another one on track.

 

The start of the race led to a wild turn of events in the contest's opening stages, as Hayes, second qualifier Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki), Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing's Larry Pegram, M4 Sportbike TrackGear.com Racing's Chris Ulrich, and Neyra Racing's Huntley Nash all rolled forward ahead of the race's official start.  Hayes, who immediately let a number of his competitors by in an early attempt to avoid being penalized for his miscalculation, had to slash back past his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin and points leader Martin Cardenas (Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing) on track and then set after race leader Hayden. 

 

Hayes dove up the inside of the Michael Jordan Motorsports pilot entering Turn 5 on lap 5 and was shown in the lead as they crossed the stripe to open lap 6.  However, moments later, Hayes and Hayden were dropped to third and fourth as they, Pegram, Ulrich, and Nash were all hit with a five-second penalty for anticipating the start.

 

 

 

Josh Hayes on the #1 Monster Energy/Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 leads Roger Hayden on the #54 National Guard/Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000 during the running of race 1 in the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Series at Barber Motorsports Park today.  Hayes took the win over Hayden by just a .245 second margin after being assessed a 5-second penalty due to jumping the start of the 21-lap main event.  AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

 

 

 

Soon enough, Hayes and Hayden's dogfight moved them back to the head of the charts as they broke free from the pack and easily eclipsed their penalties, displacing Cardenas to third and Herrin to fourth once again.  Hayden's challenge never withered, however, as he pressured Hayes to the very end.  The Kentuckian closed to just 0.172 seconds back on the final lap and made an unsuccessful attempt to glide past up the inside on the race's final corner.  Hayes just held on by 0.245 seconds at the stripe.  Aided by Hayden's second-place run, the Mississippian picked up another eleven points in the championship rankings.  He now trails Cardenas, who finished third but faded to 13.170 seconds back (18.170 on track), by 23 points.  After the race, Hayes said, "Oh man -- that was a really fast race. Like my season, I kind of made it a challenge for myself from the beginning.  The light was held for a long time and I saw Rog creeping and I ended up creeping too.  Once I got into the lead, I was kind of waiting to see how it would turn out. I figured something was coming -- I didn't know what.  When I saw the '+5' on the board, I knew what was going on immediately. I said, 'okay, let's see what we can do,' and just tried to put together every lap as good as I could."

 

Runner-up Hayden said, "Pretty good race. It's a little bittersweet to be that close to actually beating Josh and him getting me just by a little bit there at the end.  He was just a little bit better than I was today, so for tomorrow's we'll try to improve some.  The start... I don't know what happened.  The light was on forever and then I was just reading the '+5' board and it didn't come until the eighth or ninth lap.  Then I saw on my board I was third, but then it finally went up to second, so I knew where the gap was behind me.  And I saw Josh's name on the board too, so I knew I was pushing that hard just to win on track and not really get the win. I'm pretty happy -- the first two races haven't started out that good.  I knew we were a lot better than we showed at Daytona and Road America. Hopefully this is a turnaround for my season."

 

Third-placed Cardenas admitted, "My race was a little bit tough. Physically, I think for everybody, but I thought I had a little bit better rhythm going into the race. But early on I found out that I wasn't as fast as these two guys.  I tried my best and tried to stay as close as possible, but halfway through the race I lost a lot of time.  I just tried to finish in third place and get some points. We'll think about a few things to try tomorrow and try to improve a little bit."  Herrin claimed a lonely fourth, followed by KTM/HMC's Chris Fillmore and the aforementioned Pegram (who was the only rider to actually lose a position in the final order due to his penalty).

 

Team Hero's Geoff May finished seventh aboard his EBR 1190RS with Jordan Suzuki's Danny Eslick charging back to eighth after dropping down to 14th following an early-race incident.  Motosport.com Motul Fly Racing David Anthony and Team AMSOIL/Hero EBR's Aaron Yates completed the top ten.

 

Hayes will attempt to further close the gap on Sunday by completing his second straight perfect points haul weekend, both this season and here at Barber Motorsports Park.

 

AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike

 

Cameron Beaubier of the Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha team won his third AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race of the year at Barber Motorsports Park, topping rival Jake Gagne (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull) and Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing Triumph).  While all three podium finishers led the race in the hectic opening laps, Beaubier consolidated the lead before halfway.  Beabuier was eventually able to pull away from Gagne, who won the last time out in Wisconsin, to take a 5.185-second victory in the 21-lap race.

 

"We had a really good setup today," Beaubier said after the win.  "I just wanted to start out the weekend getting really comfortable on the bike.  I conserved my tires a little bit in the beginning, and that helped me as the race wore on because I was able to pull a decent gap as the laps wound down."  Gagne followed Beaubier closely for a time but was unable to mount the same style of challenge as he did in Wisconsin.  The Californian chose the medium compound tire compared to the softer choice Beaubier picked and came up just a little short on Saturday.  "Second place isn't bad but we'll work on a few issues tonight and give it another shot," said Gagne.  DiSalvo came up big at his home race.  The Triumph man had been experiencing a run of respectable finishes but hadn't done anything spectacular in 2013 until Saturday.  A day of testing after Elkhart Lake made the Triumph's settings more balanced and allowed DiSalvo to jet off with the holeshot.  He was also able to stick inside the top three the entire race, showing the improvements were substantial enough to vault DiSalvo to the podium.

 

Dane Westby (GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing) earned fourth after a shootout with RoadRace Factory/Red Bull's JD Beach and Y.E.S./Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha's Garrett Gerloff.  The trio finally sorted themselves out by the final corner, with Westby earning his best result of the year after a Daytona injury that forced him to miss that event.  Beach looked to have a great shot at the position, but Gerloff's move in turn five allowed Westby to slip past them both.  James Rispoli (National Guard/Celtic Racing) earned a lonely seventh, well clear of Bobby Fong on the D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph Daytona 675R.  Fong narrowly edged out Joey Pascarella (Riders Discount Racing Triumph) and Benny Solis (M4 SportBikeTrackGear.com) and less than a second separated the trio.

 

AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport

 

Joe Roberts won his AMA Pro debut on Saturday, earning a convincing win in Saturday's AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race at Barber Motorsports Park.  Roberts, competing for California Superbike School/Roadracingworld.com Racing, won by 8.122 seconds over RoadRace Factory/Red Bull's Tomas Puerta and Nick McFadden of TOBC Racing.  Roberts got off to a terrible start but had worked his way into the lead by the second lap. From there, he motored away in the 17-lap race.  "I think I got the worst start ever," said Roberts.  "By the end of the first lap, I was up to fourth. By the time I got to the front, I decided to push as hard as I could."

 

Puerta battled with Hayden Gillim (Team 95) and then came under attack from several riders but was able to earn second place.  "I tried to be consistent and when I went by Hayden, I rode my own race," said Puerta.  McFadden was in his first AMA Pro race like Roberts and took a fine third place just over a second behind Puerta.  "I didn't know what to expect for my first race," said McFadden, who opportunistically kept moving up the ranks until he had a podium.  "I was hoping for a top ten or a top five."

 

Team 95's Hayden Gillim finished fourth after qualifying on the front row and battling at the front with Puerta early before Roberts came past.  Miles Thornton had the save of the race.  The CTR Racing pilot nearly highsided while chasing Puerta and somehow managed to hang on until his machine regained a more stable relationship with the laws of physics.  Thornton kept rolling and finished 2.5 seconds behind Gillim.  Double Elkhart Lake winner Corey Alexander of National Guard/Celtic Racing was sixth after a Friday crash.  Meen Motorsports' Wyatt Farris topped SuperSport East points leader Stefano Mesa (Motosport.com RSRacecaft) for seventh.  BP Racing teammates Sebastiao Ferreira and Charles Weaver rounded out the top 10.

AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series

 

Reigning AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series champ Michael Barnes outpaced Road America winner Steve Rapp to claim the provisional pole for Sunday's 11-lap contest.  Barnes clocked a 1:35.139 in qualifying while Rapp (who missed the morning's practice after missing Saturday entirely in Wisconsin) posted a 1:35.894 to earn the second spot on the grid.  The two will be joined on the front row by Eco-Fuel Saver/Scrubblade's Tyler O'Hara (1:36.651) and Rapp's Suburban Harley-Davidson teammate, Ben Carlson (1:36.803).  Barnes said, "We made some changes after this morning.  We knew we were quick but we also knew we had more in store and we had to be ready for Rapp again after what he did at Elkhart.  We just did our homework on the bike and got it tuned a lot better than before. I just can't thank Spike's Harley-Davidson enough for coming on board and helping us out."

 

This weekend's GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing action is being broadcast on CBS Sports Network as part of the CBS Sports Spectacular.  AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Race 2 will air on Sunday, June 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET/ 12:00 noon PT, followed directly by LIVE coverage of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Race 2 at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT.  Fans can find CBS Sports Network on their TV by using the channel finder athttp://www.cbssportsnetwork.com/channel-finder.

 

Live, high-definition coverage of Sunday's National Guard SuperBike Warm-Up session and Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport Race 2 will be streamed via AMA Pro Live beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET/ 7:30 a.m. PT at http://www.amaprolive.com/rr/. 

 

In addition to the live broadcasts, AMA Pro Live will be streaming multiple channels of behind-the-scenes video of the weekend's activities alongside Live Timing & Scoring.  AMA Pro Live puts fans in the director's chair, allowing them to choose from a variety of viewpoints including track cameras, paddock cameras and a press conference channel at http://www.amaprolive.com.

 

All weekend long, stay connected with GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing on social media at http://twitter.com/AMAProSBK and http://www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing.

 

About GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing:

GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world.  The 2013 schedule consists of nine rounds of competition on the country's finest road courses.  The Series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.

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