Bostrom takes Laguna SportBike win

From AMA Pro Racing

MONTEREY, CA - Ben Bostrom took his second AMA Pro Daytona SportBike victory in Sunday's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Riding the No. 1s Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6, Bostrom first took the lead on Lap 6 of what would be a 21-lap race when race and points leader Martin Cardenas had a low-side crash in Turn 10. Cardenas started from the pole and led the first five laps before his incident.

Bostrom led through a 27-minute red flag brought about by a three-bike incident in the famed Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Corkscrew involving Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600), Ricky Parker (No. 96 RPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R6) and Chris Fillmore (No. 55 Chris Fillmore Racing Yamaha YZF-R6). None of the three riders were injured and the race was shortened two laps from its scheduled 23-lap distance.

Bostrom led when the green flag flew again on Lap 11 but Chaz Davies motored his No. 57 Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team Aprilia RSV1000R around Bostrom and into the lead on Lap 15. Bostrom would not go down without a fight, however, and the Californian once again regained the lead in Turn 11 with slightly more than three laps remaining.

While Davies kept the pressure on, Bostrom would not be denied, going on to win by 0.226 seconds for his second Daytona SportBike triumph. Bostrom also won the prestigious Daytona 200 By Honda to open the year in his only other Daytona SportBike start to date.

"It was fantastic," Bostrom said. "I really enjoyed the little bike there. That race was quite enjoyable and Chaz did an amazing job. The race came down to the end and it was just one of those fantastic races. We knew the R6 was well capable of winning and it did, so it stands on top of the podium on a track that Yamaha helps sponsor, so that's fantastic. It's about time that little 600 won again, so it won at the correct track and it was good. It was very fun to ride."

Davies led a total of four laps en route to his first Daytona SportBike podium result. He has finished inside the top 10 in nine of 12 races this season.

"I knew I had the pace all day," said Davies. "I was really fast this morning and consistent. Once we got the first half of the race started, I really struggled to get by some guys. I was struggling to get a gap on (Danny) Eslick. I knew my pace was stronger than what it was, but by that time, Josh and Ben were already gone. Their pace was really good.

"Actually, the red flag benefited me. There was some serious banging going on on the restart, and luckily I came out on the good side of it."

Rounding out the podium with a third-place performance was Josh Herrin on the No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6. It was Herrin's fourth podium result of the season and his eighth top-10 performance.

"It feels really good to be back on the podium, but it kind of sucks when I know that I had the win really easy," Herrin said. "I was just sitting there before the red flag waiting for the last couple of laps just to pull a gap on Ben, but it just wasn't my day today. I got hit, like, four times, and I just had to try and fight back.  I figured, 'Man, this just isn't my day today. It's not going how I want at all.' Lucky for me, I was able to pull off a third. I've got to thank my crew. They did a really good job this weekend. I'm glad to put them back on the podium."

Tommy Aquino made it three Team Graves Yamahas in the top-four positions with a fourth-place ride on the No. 6 Yamaha YZF-R6. The result matched Aquino's best run of the season, which he achieved in the second race of the doubleheader at Infineon Raceway in May.

Scoring a career-best fifth-place result was Robertino Pietri on the No. 311 Team E.S.P. Yamaha YZF-R6. Pietri's previous best results were 12th-place rides at Auto Club Speedway in March and Barber Motorsports Park in May.

Despite his early crash, Cardenas continues to lead the Daytona SportBike championship standings. He is 39 markers (255-216) ahead of No. 88 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R rider Jamie Hacking, who finished ninth Sunday, after 12 of 20 races.

Next up for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike is a doubleheader at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend presented by Dunlop Tires at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on the weekend of July 17-19.
       
Daytona SportBike Results (Top 20)
1. Ben Bostrom (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 21 Laps
2. Chaz Davies (Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team) Aprilia RSV1000R +0.225
3. Josh Herrin (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +6.256
4. Tommy Aquino (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +6.742
5. Robertino Pietri (Team E.S.P. Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +6.985
6. Steve Rapp (Bazzaz/Pat Clark Motorsports) Yamaha YZF-R6 +7.421
7. Chris Peris (Erion Honda) Honda CBR600RR +8.918
8. Daniel Eslick (Rossmeyer Geico Powersports RMR Buell) Buell 1125R +13.238
9. Jamie Hacking (Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +13.520
10. Bobby Fong (Four Feathers Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +13.825
11. Michael Barnes (GEICO Powersports · RMR · Buell Racing) Buell 1125R +14.372
12. Michael Beck (Team Beck Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +22.034
13. Shawn Higbee (Higbee-Racing.com) Buell 1125R +22.061
14. Fernando Amantini (Amantini Racing) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +22.386
15. Tyler Odom (Don Odom Racing) Honda CBR600RR +27.448
16. Hawk Mazzotta (Four Feathers Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +27.867
17. Russ Wikle (Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R600 +32.571
18. Santiago Villa (Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R600 +33.400
19. Ezequiel Iturrioz (Bagnis Motorsports) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +39.783
20. Sebastiao Ferreira (Ferreira Racing) Suzuki GSX-R600 +43.714
Race Time: 58:46.995
Margin of Victory: 0.225
Best Race Lap: Martin Cardenas (1:28.115)

Daytona SportBike Point Standings (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas 255
2. Jamie Hacking 216
3. Danny Eslick 212
4. Jason DiSalvo 179
5. Josh Herrin 173
6. Chris Peris 155
7. Chaz Davies 146
8. Jake Zemke 128
9. Steve Rapp 127
10. Tommy Aquino 122
11. Michael Barnes 100
12. Taylor Knapp 92
13. Roger Hayden 79
14. Damian Cudlin 79
15. Chris Fillmore 64
16. Ben Bostrom 62
17. Michael Beck 59
18. Robertino Pietri 58
19. Shawn Higbee 50
20. Bobby Fong 43
37. Miguel Duhamel 5