Updated Post: Late AMA Team Press Releases From Daytona

Updated Post: Late AMA Team Press Releases From Daytona

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist:

DiSalvo Dominates 600 Supersport at Daytona International Speedway

Jason DiSalvo of Stafford, NY, laid claim to the 600 Supersport race held Saturday, March 6th at Daytona International Speedway starting with posting the fastest practice lap in the Supersport class on Thursday morning unofficially breaking the track record. Later on Thursday he officially set a new track record of 1:51.7 seconds and the following lap again bettering his time and demolishing the old track record with a pole setting time of 1:50.99 seconds. During the race, which was televised nationally on Saturday, March 6th, Jason continually challenged the best in the field for the top position. With 2 red flags stopping the race after 3 laps and again after the 4th lap Jason was able to lead 6 of the 18 laps with a final drafting move in the last lap to win by 3/100th of a second.

Jason and the second place rider actually bumped as the two rushed for the finish line. Jason said, “I felt a little bump and got scared because I could only imagine what was going on behind me. I tried to look back as soon as I crossed the stripe and didn’t see any smoke or anything crazy like that so I figured everything must be ok. This was my first pole at Daytona and then a win; this is a dream weekend. It would have been hard not to win out there with the Yamaha bike and Dunlop tires I was on.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

MLADIN AND SUZUKI STORM DAYTONA AGAIN!

Suzuki’s Mat Mladin won the 63rd Daytona 200 on Saturday, the GSX-R1000-mounted four-time AMA Superbike champion, using a bold three pit stop strategy that called for him to make up the extra time on the track from rival competitors who chose the traditional two stop strategy. “To win this race, I feel a lot more comfortable going into the season,” said the defending series champion Mladin. “If we can win this race, we’re going to be competitive.”

For Mladin, it was his third win of the famous American road race for Suzuki and the Australian has also closed to within one win of tying the all-time AMA Superbike victory record.

With 11 of the top 15 finishers on Suzukis, the GSX-R1000 proved to be as potent as ever in American Superbike. Privateer Jack Pfeifer was fourth place in the race on his GSX-R1000 ahead of fellow Suzuki racer, and Daytona 200 rookie, Lee Acree of Empire Racing and veteran Ricky Orlando on his Sun Racing-sponsored GSX-R1000 despite crashing early in the event.

Suzuki’s Aaron Yates crashed out of the event late in the 57-lap race, although he was in second place at the time.

Daytona Supersport racing is all about sticking with the lead pack and fighting through the draft. It’s a tough test for any motorcycle and a great place for the AMA racing debut for the brand new Suzuki GSX-R600.

Despite two red flags due to crashes, this year’s Supersport race saw a tight lead pack that was constantly reshuffled through drafting maneuvers. Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates, a former Daytona Supersport winner, worked his way through the field to lead the 18-lap race several times, eventually finishing seventh.

“The new GSX-R600 handles phenomenally,” Yates said after the event. “The Yoshimura crew will keep working and we’ll win some races this year.”

Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Steve Rapp was ninth in the Supersport final.

In Superstock action, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies won pole with a scintillating, last-second lap to earn the single point awarded by the AMA to the top qualifier. Spies looked to be one of the favorites to take the first Superstock race since the class changed to a 1000cc displacement limit for 2004.

Unfortunately, he dropped out of contention early when he was assessed a stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start of the race. The young Texan did charge through the field after he entered the pits and finished seventh, just ahead of fellow Suzuki pilot Steve Rapp from Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki. John Haner of Hooters Suzuki finished tenth in the thrilling 12-lap race won by Aaron Gobert.

In the revamped Formula Xtreme class, Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec finished sixth although he contended for a podium finish. The Czech-born rider, mounted on the new GSX-R600, ended up being caught out in the last lap Daytona drafting battle in a race won by Miguel DuHamel.

Daytona 200 Superbike Results:

1 MAT MLADIN (SUZUKI), 2 Jake Zemke (Honda), 3 Miguel Duhamel (Honda), 4 JACK PFEIFER (SUZUKI), 5 LEE ACREE (SUZUKI), 6 RICKY ORLANDO (SUZUKI), 7 Pascal Picotte (Yamaha), 8 OPIE CAYLOR (SUZUKI), 9 SCOTT JENSEN (SUZUKI), 10 ERIC WOOD (SUZUKI), 11 MARCO MARTINEZ (SUZUKI), 12 C.R.GITTERE (SUZUKI), 13 CORY DENTON (SUZUKI), 14 Frank Trombino (Yamaha), 15 JOHN HANER (SUZUKI).


From a press release issued by Jake Zemke’s publicist:

ROOKIE RIDER JAKE ZEMKE TAKES SECOND IN SUPERBIKE: BATTLES IT OUT WITH MIGUEL DUHAMEL AT THE OPENING RACE IN DAYTONA

Carlsbad, CA – March 8, 2004 – Jake Zemke rode a tremendous first race of his rookie AMA Superbike season at Daytona over the weekend. Zemke was able to upset legendary rider and Honda teammate, Miguel Duhamel to take second at the Daytona International Speedway on March 6th, 2004.

Zemke has been a competitor in the AMA Formula Xtreme Series and the 600 Supersport Class since 1999. His string of podium finishes in the Formula Xtreme Series over the last two years has been more than enough to earn him a shot at the most prestigious class in racing, AMA Superbike. 2004 marks Zemke’s first year in the AMA Superbike Series.

“To be a Daytona 200 rookie and beat Miguel to the line is amazing,” Zemke said of his finish. “The year seems to be starting off well. I am looking at the season for the championship, and not looking to pawn anything off to this being a rookie season.”


More, from a press release issued by Fast Company/Honda Canada:

DAYTONA BEACH, FL The Fast Company/Honda Canada squad enjoyed a solid start to its 2004 season at Daytona International Speedway Mar. 4.

Brantford, ON’s Jordan Szoke took his new Honda CBR1000RR to a 16th place finish in the ultra-competitive AMA Repsol Superstock race as he prepares to challenge for a third Parts Canada Superbike title this summer.

Despite having very little time to set-up the new Honda for the Daytona event, held on the Thursday of the celebrated Bike Week festivities Szoke steadily lowered his lap times over the two days of practice, qualifying and race action.

“We had two days on the bike in total and we’re clearly going in the right direction,” said Szoke, who teamed up with Fast Company to win his second Canadian crown in 2002. “This is a very fast bike and it has a very smooth power delivery.”

Szoke qualified 19th for the Superstock race in Wednesday’s single qualifying session with a time of 1:52.163 around the 3.56-mile circuit. That was almost a second faster than his best practice effort from earlier in the day.

“I messed up one corner and probably lost a second right there,” he said of his qualifying effort. “We’re moving forward but obviously you want to win. Yesterday we didn’t have a shock or pipe and we’re still running with a stock ignition box. But we really wanted to come here. Daytona gives you an idea of what wears on a bike. It’s a tough event.”

Szoke settled into 15th early in the 12-lap race and ended up in a drafting battle with Geoff May, Jacob Holden and former AMA factory rider Jason Pridmore. Unfortunately, trouble through the Chicane on the final lap spoiled Szoke’s chances in the customary drafting battle to the finish line.

“I got screwed up by a backmarker at the Chicane and I ended up at the back of the group,” he explained. “There’s a lot of traffic early in the race when you’re starting from the fifth row. I tried to be aggressive but there’s really nothing you can do.”

Szoke’s fastest race lap was also his best of his two days on the track, a 1:51.507.

Szoke also qualified 13th for the Daytona 200 by Arai Superbike race with a time of 1:52.073 but elected not to start the grueling event.

Szoke’s new teammate Andrew Nelson had a rough start to his 2004 campaign with the Fast Company/Honda Canada team. While riding his CBR1000RR in practice he suffered a seemingly harmless lowside in turn 1 of the Daytona track. But while Nelson slid safely to a stop his new motorcycle was launched into a series of rolls that damaged it beyond immediate repair, leaving him a spectator for the remainder of the program.


More, from a press release issued on behalf of Pirelli:

PIRELLI PUTS TWO PRIVATEERS IN TOP FIVE IN DAYTONA 200 SUPERBIKE RACE

Plus Two More In Top 10; Also Sixth in Close Supersport Battle

(Rome, GA) Pirelli’s surge in U.S. roadracing over the past several years got off to a great 2004 start when Pirelli-mounted privateers finished fourth and fifth in the Daytona 200 By Arai superbike final. Two more, in eighth and ninth, gave the Italian tire company’s slicks four of the top-10 superbike positions, and seven of the top 20.

Jack Pfeiffer, from Las Vegas, Nevada, rode his Pirelli/ Dr. Canale /Motorex/ Galfer-sponsored Suzuki GSX-R1000 to fourth, claiming the top privateer spot. Right behind him came Empire Racing’s Lee Acree, from Jamestown, NC, on his Empire/ Suzuki/ Pirelli/ LeoVince Exhaust-sponsored GSX-R1000. It was only the second time that both riders competed in the Daytona 200, and far surpassed their 2003 finishes.

Eighth place went to Acree’s Empire teammate, Chris “Opie” Caylor; ninth to JQ Moto Racing’s Scott Jensen from Phoenix, AZ. It was Jensen’s third Daytona superbike appearance, and Caylor’s first. Pirelli’s Superbike riders used both 16.5″ and 17″ slicks: Pfeiffer used the 16.5″; Acree, Caylor, and Jensen, the 17-inchers.

Earlier in the day, Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes and his Pirelli DOT Supercorsa-equipped Yamaha R6 were part of the incredibly exciting Supersport final. Barnes was the only non-factory bike in the six-rider lead pack that quickly separated itself from the rest of the field and then spent the entire race swapping positions. He ran in the top three or four almost the entire race, even taking the lead for a short while, before winding up in sixth, only two-tenths of a second behind race winner Jason DiSalvo.

A quick tally of the percentage of the entered racers showed that over a third of the Daytona 200 Superbike grid was Pirelli mounted.

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