Cardenas completes another sweep

From AMA Pro Racing

SONOMA, CA - Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-600R) held off teammate Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) in Sunday's AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race to claim his fifth victory of the season at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

Cardenas' second consecutive weekend sweep of the season didn't come easy, as the Colombian had to hold off his hard-charging teammate for the last 10 laps of the race.

"Today's race was tough like yesterday's (race) but it was a little different because I got to the front a little early and led a lot of laps," said Cardenas. "It's tough because of the pressure. Jason was there and I think (Jake) Zemke was there the whole time so I needed to keep focused. I knew Jason would try to pass on the last lap so I tried to ride as hard as I could and shut the door. It worked out this time; it was an awesome race."

On the final lap, DiSalvo tried to slip by on the inside of Cardenas in turn 11 but was unable to make the pass stick in the race to the line, finishing just .104 seconds behind the No. 36 machine.

"That was everything I had," said DiSalvo, the third place finisher in the 2008 AMA Pro American Superbike points chase. "Martin ran a great race and I'd like to say congratulations to all of the M4 guys and our team owner, John Ulrich. It was a great day and I gave everything I had but it just wasn't enough."

Third-place finisher Josh Herrin (No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) led the most laps of the race after passing pole-sitter DiSalvo on the first lap heading into turn three and holding off the M4 teammates for the opening 11 laps. DiSalvo grabbed the top spot back on lap 12 as he and Cardenas passed Herrin in turn seven. The final pass for the lead came on lap 13 as Cardenas snuck past DiSalvo under hard braking in turn nine.

"It went pretty good," said Herrin. "I can't complain after yesterday's race when I got a rock in my radiator. Today it was just rider error on tire choice and it paid off for those guys (M4 Suzuki). I hope we can go to Road America and be strong."

Tommy Aquino (No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YXF-R6) ran in fifth most of the day but passed 2008 Formula Xtreme Champion and eventual fifth-place finisher Zemke (No. 1X Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR) on the final lap to finish fourth.

Cardenas takes 203 championship points into the next round, with Jamie Hacking (No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) slipping to second with 179 points and Danny Eslick (No. 9 Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R) falling to third with 168 points. 

Round Six for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike will be the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader in Elkhart Lake, WI at Road America from June 5-7.

Ricky Parker (No. 96 Graves Motorsports/Hattiesburg Cycles Yamaha YZF-R6) and Leandro Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) put on a heated battle that made the 99 degree temperature at the track seem mild as the two young riders ran nose to tail for the full 18 laps of the Sunday AMA Pro SuperSport main event. Parker took the holeshot and was able to hold off the Argentinean's aggressive pass attempts for the duration of the race.

"It was pretty hot out there, but it was a fun race," said Parker, whose win comes in his second AMA Pro SuperSport showing. "It's tough to stay in front of Leandro. Man, he is pretty fast out there. I'm just glad we held on and won the race."

Mercado made several attempts throughout the race including an aggressive run at just about every turn on the track in the last lap, but just couldn't find a way to slip past Parker.

"It was a hard race," said Mercado, who was looking for a second career SuperSport win to accompany his Auto Club victory from earlier this year. "I tried to make a pass on Ricky but I knew I couldn't do it so I settled back and just took second place. I want to congratulate Ricky; he did a great job."

Russ Wikle (No. 5 RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki GSX-R600) ran alone in third for nearly the whole race as he was unable to join the battle for the lead while the battle behind for fourth allowed him to claim the final podium spot without a challenge.

The next round for AMA Pro SuperSport will be a combined East and West Division race during the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader in Elkhart Lake, WI at Road America June 5-7.
       
Daytona SportBike Race Results (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 22 Laps
2. Jason DiSalvo M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +0.104
3. Josh Herrin Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.057
4. Tommy Aquino Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +5.486
5. Jake Zemke Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR +6.037
6. Steve Rapp Bazzaz Yamaha YZF-R6 +7.878
7. Chris Peris Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR +10.728
8. Bobby Fong Four Feathers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +11.100
9. Taylor Knapp Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R +28.443
10. Damian Cudlin Paradigm Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +29.869
11. Michael Beck Team Beck Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +31.018
12. Daniel Eslick Bruce Rossmeyers Daytona Racing · RMR Buell Buell 1125R +39.013
13. Jamie Hacking Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +54.942
14. Robertino Pietri Team E.S.P. Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +59.897
15. Russ Wikle Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:07.080
16. Mark Crozier Four Feathers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:09.966
17. Santiago Villa Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:24.615
18. Fernando Amantini Amantini Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +1:26.433
19. Liko Miles Miles Ahead Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:39.893
20. Dylon Husband Team Pur Sang Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 21 Laps
25. Kevin Boisvert Bayside Performance Suzuki GSX-R600 20 Laps

Daytona SportBike Point Standings (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas 203
2. Jamie Hacking 179
3. Daniel Eslick 168
4. Jason DiSalvo 148
5. Josh Herrin 136
6. Chaz Davies 108
7. Steve Rapp 103
8. Jake Zemke 103
9. Tommy Aquino 94
10. Chris Peris 92
11. Michael Barnes 64
12. Taylor Knapp 59
13. Damian Cudlin 59
14. Chris Fillmore 53
15. Michael Beck 48
16. Roger Hayden 44
17. Barrett Long 40
18. Leandro Mercado 39
19. Robertino Pietri 37
20. Ben Thompson 35
34. Miguel Duhamel 5