Cardenas takes first pole

From AMA Pro Racing

MONTEREY, CA - Martin Cardenas earned his first career AMA Pro Daytona SportBike pole position in qualifying at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

While Cardenas has set the 2009 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike championship on its ear to the tune of six victories and a 51-point lead in the point standings, it took until Saturday for the Colombian to score his first career pole position.

Riding the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600, Cardenas posted a best lap at 1:27.585 (91.988 mph) to take the top starting spot for Sunday's race. Cardenas has won five of the last six Daytona SportBike races and heads into the race leading Jamie Hacking in the point standings by a count of 255-204.

"I've never started from the pole," said Cardenas. "This is my first pole position ever and I'm very happy with it. I hope that tomorrow's race will be good again. It went pretty good. Yesterday, the bike was working okay and we managed to improve the setup every session. Today, in this qualifying session, the bike was great. Everything can happen in a race, but I think we're going to be, like, five, six riders in the front and battling for all the race. It's going to be tough."

Joining Cardenas on the front row will be Ben Bostrom on the No. 1s Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 at 1:28.035 (91.518 mph). Bostrom is making just his second Daytona SportBike start of the season at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix and won in his lone previous start, the prestigious Daytona 200 By Honda to open the 2009 campaign.

"The front row, I don't like starting there, I'll be honest," Bostrom said. "We've got our work cut out. That tire is hard to ride on, that is for sure, so it's a real balancing act out there. You try to go fast and you actually go slower. It doesn't reward any kind of fast-paced riding. You've got to go out there and set your pace, be real gingerly on the tire and roll around. It's the strangest feeling to go out there and ride 80 percent and go 29-flat and ride 100 percent and go 29.5 and actually lose time. Hopefully, they'll get the tires a little more sorted."

Securing the inside of Row 2 was Bostrom's teammate, Josh Hayes on the No. 4 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6. Hayes posted a best qualifying lap at 1:28.122 (91.427 mph). Like Bostrom, Hayes is also making his first Daytona SportBike appearance since the Daytona 200.

"Actually, I think qualifying has been my best session so far," Hayes said. "We've made a few improvements to the bike. Ben and I don't have a whole lot of time on this bike. Ben's got all of last year on the R6. For me, I'm still fairly new to the R6. I had a pretty good Daytona on it. Here, we're riding on different tires than what we rode on at Daytona with the Dunlop control tires. They're different here.

"If I ride a smart race, hopefully I'll be there at the end of that, too. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at."

Wearing patriotic, red, white and blue leathers on Independence Day, Josh Herrin completed the top four in Daytona SportBike qualifying with a lap at 1:28.144 (91.405 mph) on the No. 8 Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6. Unlike fellow Yamaha riders Bostrom and Hayes, Herrin has contested the full Daytona SportBike season and currently ranks fifth in the championship standings. He heads into Sunday's race looking for his first career Daytona SportBike win.

Jason DiSalvo, who has taken each of the last four Daytona SportBike Superpoles, qualified fifth on the No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 with a best lap at 1:28.170 (91.378 mph). The top nine riders in the session were covered by less than one second.

The 23-lap (50-mile) Daytona SportBike final takes the green flag on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. local time.
       
Daytona SportBike Qualifying Results (Top 20)
1. Martin Cardenas (M4 Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R600 1:27.585
2. Ben Bostrom (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.450
3. Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.537
4. Josh Herrin (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.558
5. Jason DiSalvo (M4 Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R600 +0.584
6. Chaz Davies (Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Team) Aprilia RSV1000R +0.590
7. Tommy Aquino (Team Graves Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +0.690
8. Daniel Eslick (Rossmeyer Geico Powersports RMR Buell) Buell 1125R +0.693
9. Jake Zemke (Erion Racing) Honda CBR600RR +0.949
10. Bobby Fong (Four Feathers Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.078
11. Roger Hayden (Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +1.090
12. Taylor Knapp (Latus Motors Racing) Buell 1125R +1.179
13. Chris Peris (Erion Honda) Honda CBR600RR +1.219
14. Robertino Pietri (Team E.S.P. Yamaha) Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.298
15. Jamie Hacking (Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki) Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R +1.336
16. Michael Barnes (GEICO Powersports · RMR · Buell Racing) Buell 1125R +1.545
17. Steve Rapp (Bazzaz · Pat Clark Motorsports) Yamaha YZF-R6 +1.665
18. Ricky Parker (RPR Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.273
19. Michael Beck (Team Beck Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.448
20. Chris Fillmore (Chris Fillmore Racing) Yamaha YZF-R6 +2.544