Cardenas takes sixth SportBike win

From AMA Pro Racing

ELKHART LAKE, WI - In a race where the lead changed hands at least five times on the final lap, Martin Cardenas scored his sixth AMA Pro Daytona SportBike victory of the season on the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 at Road America on Sunday.

After running second for most of the race, Cardenas had an epic final-lap battle with Jake Zemke on the No. 1X Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR. Over the final four miles of the race, Cardenas took the lead from Zemke in turn one, but Zemke returned the favor in turn five. Cardenas reclaimed the lead from Zemke five turns later, but Zemke got inside position heading into the left-hand turn 12, which is famously known as "Canada Corner," and appeared to be headed for Victory Lane.

However, Cardenas had one last burst on the long, uphill front straightaway and won the drag race to the stripe to win by 0.104 seconds. It was the eighth podium in 10 races for Cardenas, who now leads the Daytona SportBike championship standings by 51 points, 255-204, over No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R rider Jamie Hacking, who finished ninth. Eleven of 20 races are now in the books.

"The first plan that I had was to pass him," Cardenas said. "I tried to make a very good lap and tried to win, but under braking into turn five, Jake came by again. I tried to pass him again on the chicane, and he went past me on the next turn. We went side-by-side for the last half of the racetrack and it went down to the last corner. He was protecting the inside and, on that particular lap, I made a good run out of that turn and it worked out and I could win."

Zemke took the lead on lap seven and led a total of six laps, coming up just short in his bid for a breakthrough Daytona SportBike victory. Nevertheless, it was the Californian's first podium finish of the season. His previous best ride was a fourth-place performance in the first race of the April doubleheader at Road Atlanta.

"I was trying to be anywhere that Martin wasn't," Zemke said. "We were pretty much side-by-side through all those final corners. We were basically side-by-side since out of the chicane (turn 11). He had a little slip there with the rear and we went side-by-side all the way to Canada Corner. I had the inside there, and then he crossed back over and was outside of me as we went into where the bridge used to be (turn 13). I knew he was kind of sitting there and I knew I had to protect the inside on the last corner.

"Leading the race, you just can't go in there and leave the door wide open for somebody. Being where I was, I just had to protect the inside. Martin is real strong on the brakes, so I knew if I left that open, he'd definitely go up the inside of me. I just had to do what I had to do, and today it didn't work out for us."

Rounding out the podium was Jason DiSalvo, who started from the pole position on the No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. DiSalvo never led, but kept the lead battle in sight throughout the race to take his fifth podium result of the season.

"I was just really happy to make it out and get back on the box," DiSalvo said. "After yesterday's performance in the rain, it was just good to get back out. I wish I could have fought for the win, but we lost a little bit of power in the bike from about lap three on, and I just really couldn't hang in the draft and couldn't get off some of the slower corners. I just had to sit back and watch those guys inch away from me. It was pretty tough to do, but we just stuck it out and brought it home a very comfortable third."

Saturday's race winner, Chris Peris, finished fourth in the second race of the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader on the No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR. Danny Eslick rounded out the top five on the No. 9 GEICO Powersports/RMR Buell 1125R.

Next up for Daytona SportBike is the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday, July 5.

Leandro Mercado (No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) and Ricky Parker (No. 96 Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6) capped an entertaining day of racing at Road America with a great, race-long battle for the victory in AMA Pro SuperSport action.

The race, which included both the East and West divisions of SuperSport, was a continuation of sorts of the battle Mercado and Parker had last time out at Infineon Raceway last month. On that day, Parker came out with his first SuperSport victory.

Heading down the front straightaway with two to go, Mercado made the decisive pass and managed to win by 0.449 seconds. It was Mercado's second career SuperSport victory and his first since taking Round Two of the SuperSport East championship at Road Atlanta in April. The victory moved Mercado to the top of the SuperSport East point standings by 18 points, 81-63, over No. 5 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600 rider Russ Wikle.

"It was a really fun race," said Mercado. "It was really hard, Ricky was very close behind. He passed me a couple times. The race was difficult. I tried to push hard every lap and be consistent and not make any mistakes."

Parker is now third in the SuperSport West point standings with 56 points, just one point behind Clint Shobert (No. 26 American Honda CBR600RR), who finished ninth Sunday, and 18 behind leader Tyler Odom (No. 46 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR), who was seventh in Sunday's race. It was just Parker's third SuperSport race of the season.

Josh Day completed the podium on the No. 4 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6 with a third-place ride. It was Day's best ride since finishing second in Round Two at Road Atlanta.

The next SuperSport round is scheduled for Saturday, July 4 as part of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Daytona SportBike Race Results (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas (M4 Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R600 13 Laps
2. Jake Zemke (Erion Racing) Honda CBR600RR +0.104
3. Jason DiSalvo (M4 Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R600 +8.688
4. Chris Peris (Erion Racing) Honda CBR600RR +14.419
5. Daniel Eslick (Rossmeyer Geico Powersports RMR Buell) Buell 1125R +14.598
6. Taylor Knapp (Latus Motors Racing) Buell 1125R +16.553
7. Michael Barnes (GEICO Powersports · RMR · Buell Racing) Buell 1125R +20.043
8. Chaz Davies (Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team) Aprilia RSV1000R +20.300
9. Jamie Hacking (Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +22.969
10. Chris Fillmore (Chris Fillmore Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +27.955
11. Roger Hayden (Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +28.457
12. Steve Rapp (Bazzaz) Yamaha YZF-R6 +28.709
13. Josh Herrin (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +29.362
14. Bobby Fong (Four Feathers Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +29.530
15. Ricky Parker (RPR Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +49.114
16. Robertino Pietri (Team E.S.P. Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +49.306
17. Damian Cudlin (Paradigm Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +49.350
18. Tommy Aquino (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +49.397
19. Michael Beck (Team Beck Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +49.817
20. Ben Thompson (Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team) Aprilia RSV1000R +1:01.583
Race Time: 30:45.780
Margin of Victory: 0.104
Best Race Lap: Jake Zemke (2:20.184)

Point Standings (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas 255
2. Jamie Hacking 204
3. Daniel Eslick 199
4. Jason DiSalvo 179
5. Josh Herrin 152
6. Chris Peris 141
7. Jake Zemke 128
8. Chaz Davies 121
9. Steve Rapp 112
10. Tommy Aquino 104
11. Taylor Knapp 92
12. Michael Barnes 90
13. Roger Hayden 79
14. Damian Cudlin 79
15. Chris Fillmore 64
16. Michael Beck 50
17. Shawn Higbee 42
18. Robertino Pietri 42
19. Barrett Long 40
20. Leandro Mercado 39
36. Miguel Duhamel 5