Cardenas takes second SportBike win

From AMA Pro Racing

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Martin Cardenas claimed his second AMA Pro Daytona SportBike victory in his last three starts in Saturday's Honda Superbike Classic at Barber Motorsports Park.

In an exciting, seesaw battle between Team M4 Suzuki teammates Cardenas and Jason DiSalvo that lasted for the final two-thirds of the race, Cardenas took the lead from DiSalvo for the final time on the penultimate lap.

While Jamie Hacking and Josh Herrin both led in the early stages of the race, Cardenas and DiSalvo established themselves as the main protagonists for the victory on lap seven after both riders dispatched Herrin. Cardenas led laps 7-12 of the 21-lap race on his No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600, and then DiSalvo took his turn in the lead on the No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 for laps 13 to 19 before Cardenas' decisive pass.

"This one felt really tough, because I think the track is very demanding physically," said Cardenas. "I had a huge battle with him for 10 laps or maybe more. At the beginning, I tried to put a gap to him, but I pushed and saw that I wasn't doing much so I tried to stay in a rhythm. Two laps later, he passed me and I started to look for his stronger points. Two laps from the end, I made a move on him, put my head down and tried to ride as fast as I could. I pulled a little bit of a gap and it worked out to the end.

"It was a great race and I want to thank the team for giving me a great bike. Suzuki, M4, all the guys, thank you very much."

After starting from the pole and coming tantalizingly close to his first Daytona SportBike victory, DiSalvo settled for a season-best result of second. He previously finished third in the Daytona 200 and the second race of the doubleheader at Auto Club Speedway in March.

"Martin and I just had such a fantastic race," DiSalvo said. "There's not much I can say. It was awesome. Where he passed me, it was such a great pass. I honestly didn't think he was going to be able to make it stick, but he did, and then he really put his head down. We hung in there pretty good for the last lap, but there was just nothing we could do. Both bikes were just so evenly matched that it made it difficult. Tomorrow, we've just got to try to get out in the lead and stay there."

Hacking's No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R appeared to be one of the quickest bikes on the circuit for most of the event, and Hacking led the first lap before near disaster struck in the final turn on lap two. Hacking nearly crashed but managed to get the bike righted, albeit dropping all the way to eighth in the running order. He chipped away over the remaining laps to take the final spot on the box in third place.

"The bike worked great," said Hacking. "We managed to run down Josh there, and I was able to put in some good laps and make Josh push up to the back of these guys. Once I got around Josh, unfortunately, we got into the lapped riders. Josh got hung up a little bit, and it's unfortunate that happened, but it's just the way things go. Once I got around him, I managed to somewhat reel these guys (Cardenas and DiSalvo) in just a little bit. I could see them, but by that time, the race was pretty much over. I'm glad to finish third, actually."

Herrin, who led five laps, came home fourth on the No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6, one spot ahead of teammate Tommy Aquino, who finished fifth on the No. 6 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6.

Danny Eslick came home eighth on the No. 9 Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R to retain the Daytona SportBike points lead.

The second race of the Daytona SportBike doubleheader at the Honda Superbike Classic is slated for 2:00 p.m. local time Sunday afternoon.
 
Moments after the green flag flew on Saturday morning's AMA Pro SuperSport qualifying sessions, a steady rain began falling on Barber Motorsports Park. The session was quickly stopped, and teams were allowed to switch to rain tires.

However, standing water on the circuit ultimately brought the session to an end before any rider could post a meaningful time. As a result, AMA Pro Racing officials determined that the starting grid for Sunday's third round of the 12-race 2009 AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei East championship would be determined by times from Friday's practice sessions.

Russ Wikle posted the quickest lap in the first of the two SuperSport practice sessions on Friday at 1:31.659 (93.477 mph) on the No. 5 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600, and he will start from the pole for the first time this season. Due to the rainout, however, he did not earn a bonus point toward the championship.

Josh Day will start second on his No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6 with a best lap at 1:32.203 (92.926 mph). It is the first SuperSport East race that Day will not start from pole, and the youngster heads into Sunday's race looking for his first win in AMA Pro competition.

Leandro Mercado, who claimed his first SuperSport victory last month at Road Atlanta, has a front-row seat as he goes for two in a row Sunday. Mercado turned in a best lap at 1:32.215 (92.913 mph) on the No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.

The SuperSport race goes off from a standing start at 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. The race is scheduled for 17 laps (40 miles).

Off and on rain showers throughout the day at Barber Motorsports Park shortened the scheduled two-hour AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT race to one hour and 15 minutes, but not before No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675 co-riders Mark Crozier and Phil Caudill scored their first victory of the season.

It was redemption of sorts for the whole Crozier Motorsports team, as the No. 14 Triumph ran out of fuel within 15 minutes of the checkered flag in the season-opening round at Daytona International Speedway, and mechanical problems prevented them from contending for the victory last month at Road Atlanta.

The No. 14 Triumph led a race-high 19 laps of what would be a 40-lap race, including the all-important final six laps. It was Crozier's first victory since 2006 and was the first-ever in SunTrust Moto-GT competition for Caudill.

"We've had a lot of trials and tribulations this year," Caudill said. "We've been quick in practices and qualifying, but have had trouble putting the whole race together. It did come together for us today, regardless of all that. The Crozier Motorsports, Augusta Triumph team has been working hard. That's what has kept us at the top and kept us today with the result we've got."

Finishing second was the No. 69 HurtByAccident.com Suzuki GSX-R600 of co-riders Rodolfo Ramirez and Armando Ferrer. It was an impressive comeback for Ferrer, who was sent to the UAB Medical Center in Birmingham after a crash during qualifying Friday. The performance enabled the No. 69 team to move into a first-place tie with the No. 37 Old Pros Racing team -- which finished seventh Saturday -- in the Moto-GT1 point standings with three of nine races now complete.

The No. 2 Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 of co-riders David Anthony and Hawk Mazzotta completed the GT1 podium with a third-place performance. It was the No. 2 machine's first appearance of the season.

In the Moto-GT2 race, the father and son team of Jimmy and Justin Filice celebrated a victory on the No. 64 HurtByAccident.com Ducati PS1000LE. While the Filices have previously ridden to victory together in the 8 Hours At Daytona, this was the first time they did it by themselves.

The No. 77 Touring Sport Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE scored its third top-two result in as many starts this season with a second place run in the hands of co-riders Frank Shockley and Dane Westby, who started the race from the class pole position. The No. 77 team now leads the GT2 point standings by 15 points, 83-68, over the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines team, which finished sixth in class Saturday.

Daytona SportBike Race Results (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 21 Laps
2. Jason DiSalvo M4 Suzuki Suzuki GSX-R600 +0.666
3. Jamie Hacking Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +3.875
4. Josh Herrin Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +4.067
5. Tommy Aquino Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +13.191
6. Steve Rapp Bazzaz · Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 +13.947
7. Jake Zemke Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR +15.685
8. Daniel Eslick Bruce Rossmeyers Daytona Racing · RMR Buell Buell 1125R +26.416
9. Taylor Knapp Latus Motors Racing Buell 1125R +26.444
10. Chris Peris Erion Honda Honda CBR600RR +33.442
11. Michael Barnes GEICO Powersports · RMR · Buell Racing Buell 1125R +36.864
12. Damian Cudlin Paradigm Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +37.704
13. Chris Fillmore Christopher Fillmore Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +37.842
14. Roger Hayden Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +39.216
15. Daniel Parkerson JP Motorsports Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +39.409
16. Barrett Long Paradigm Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 +39.808
17. Robertino Pietri Team E.S.P. Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R6 +48.858
18. Ben Thompson Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R +50.114
19. Marcos Reichert RockwallPerformance.com Yamaha YZF-R6 +50.389
20. Shawn Higbee Higbee-Racing.com Buell 1125R +59.124