Cardenas takes fourth SportBike win

From AMA Pro Racing

SONOMA, CA - Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) ran a flawless race in Saturday's Daytona SportBike round to claim his fourth victory of the season at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

Cardenas' victory didn't come easy, as the Colombian battled both his competitors and the Sonoma heat to the finish line of the 22-lap race.

After a first lap incident between four riders that brought out the safety car for four laps, Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) took off ahead of the field on the lap six restart and looked to be in a class by himself until a lowside in turn 11 on lap 10 put eventual third place finisher Steve Rapp (No 15 Bazzaz Yamaha YZF-R6) into the lead. Cardenas ran a steady race behind the leaders and was able to outbrake Rapp to take the lead for good on lap 12 to finish 2.158 seconds ahead of the field.

"Things went really good and the bike worked very good since the beginning," said Cardenas. "The heat was very tough this race for me because physically it wears you out a lot. I started seventh and had to work my way up; as soon as I got to second behind Steve I tried to stay a little behind him, but then I decided to pass him. I tried to put a gap on him because I know he's really strong here. I tried my best and put a gap of one second and tried to maintain that the whole race."

During the restart, Jamie Hacking (No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki ZX-6R) was unable to safely maneuver turn one and ended up falling several positions after an off-course excursion. After fighting his way back through the field, the Daytona SportBike points leader seemed destined for a third place finish on the last lap but was able to slip past Rapp in the braking zone of turn 9a to secure second place.

"It is a little frustrating for me," said Hacking, referring to his four second-place efforts this season. "I definitely would have liked to have won a lot more races, but (Daytona SportBike) is a good class for me. With the equal playing field now it's just a little harder. I just need to step up my game and quit making the mistakes I'm making. I can't get too antsy about winning. Without winning a race we're doing well."

Rapp earned his highest finish this season and matched his last podium finish in the Formula Xtreme race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2008.

"It was a hard race," said Rapp. "It's always hard here when the weather is hot, so I'm really happy to be up here (on the podium). Can't say I was surprised, but I knew it would be a tough race. The qualifying was tight between 10-12 guys."

Chaz Davies (No 57 Factory Aprilla Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV100R) ran third most of the day but settled for fourth at the end of the race. Danny Eslick (No 9 Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R) charged from row six to round out the top five finishers.    

The final race for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike will begin Sunday at 2:00 p.m. local time.

Final Qualifying for AMA Pro SuperSport followed the script set by the three previous practice sessions as Leandro Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) grabbed the pole with a lap time of 1:41.374 (82.388 mph). The 17-year-old Argentinean was followed by Ricky Parker (No. 96 Graves Motorsports/Hattiesburg Cycles Yamaha YZF-R6) at 1:42.364 (81.591 mph) and Russ Wikle (No. 5 RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki GSX-R600) at 1:42.605 (81.399 mph).

"I'm happy," said Mercado. "This is my first pole of the season. The last couple of laps I, could do good laps and work a bit on the bike. The bike worked awesome and I like the track. I like the elevation changes. We're happy and I want to say thanks to my team for all the work, and (teammate) Jamie Hacking for the help."

Sunday's 18-lap AMA Pro SuperSport final will begin at 3:00 p.m. local time.
       
Daytona SportBike Results (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 22 Laps
2. Jamie Hacking Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +2.158
3. Steve Rapp Bazzaz Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.626
4. Chaz Davies Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R +5.920
5. Daniel Eslick Bruce Rossmeyers Daytona Racing · RMR Buell Buell 1125R +8.357
6. Tommy Aquino Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +8.746
7. Chris Peris Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR +12.788
8. Jake Zemke Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR +18.323
9. Roger Hayden Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +21.826
10. Christopher Fillmore Chris Fillmore Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +22.508
11. Damian Cudlin Paradigm Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +23.057
12. Michael Beck Team Beck Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +31.323
13. Bobby Fong Four Feathers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +36.690
14. Ricky Parker RPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +41.373
15. Mark Crozier Four Feathers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +56.873
16. Jason DiSalvo M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:09.577
17. Russ Wikle Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:10.179
18. Fernando Amantini Amantini Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +1:10.365
19. Robertino Pietri Team E.S.P. Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +1:15.777
20. Santiago Villa Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +1:15.794
29. Kevin Boisvert Bayside Performance Suzuki GSX-R600 21 Laps
Race Time: 41:59.937
Margin of Victory: 2.158
Best Race Lap: Robertino Pietri (1:05.335)