Buckeye Superbike Weekend/AMA Pro Road Racing AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio July 14, 2012 Provisional Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires): 1. Dane Westby (Suz GSX-R600), 21 laps 2. Martin Cardenas (Suz GSX-R600), -0.223 second 3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R6), -1.357 seconds 4. Tommy Hayden (Yam YZF-R6), -20.254 5. Jake Zemke (Duc 848EVO), -27.567 6. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), -36.322, ran off track 7. Fernando Amantini (Kaw ZX-6R), -46.501 8. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), -46.616 9. Derek Wagnon (Duc 848EVO), -46.815 10. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), -46.903 11. David Gaviria (Yam YZF-R6), -49.860 12. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), -79.181 13. Josh Galster (Yam YZF-R6), -79.673 14. Kenny Riedmann (Tri Daytona 675), -80.152 15. Scott Ryan (Yam YZF-R6), -90.362 16. Nahun Alvarez (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 44.063 seconds 17. Daniel Ortega (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 44.411 18. Jeff Wrobel (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap, 44.595 19. Michael Morgan (Tri Daytona 675R), -1 lap, 80.884 20. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps, mechanical 21. Shane Narbonne (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps, 74.649 22. Jason DiSalvo (Tri Daytona 675R), -5 laps, DNF, crash 23. Huntley Nash (Yam YZF-R6), -5 laps, DNF 24. Benny Solis (Yam YZF-R6), -6 laps, DNF, mechanical 25. Austin Dehaven (Yam YZF-R6), -9 laps, DNF 26. Joey Pascarella (Suz GSX-R600), -9 laps, DNF, crash 27. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R6), -13 laps, DNF, crash Championship Point Standings (after 11 of 19 races): 1. Cardenas, 269 points 2. Westby, 222 3. Tommy Hayden, 197 4. DiSalvo, 193 5. Beaubier, 173 6. Zemke, 166 7. Beach, 153 8. Fong, 141 9. Pascarella, 129 10. West, 128 11. Solis, 87 12. Nash, 84 13. Beck, 81 14. Gagne, 76 15. Amantini, 72 16. Prince, 66 17. DeHaven, 57 18. Gaviria, 29 19. Wagnon, 27 20. Galster, 22 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Rider Beaubier Podiums At Mid-Ohio; Teammate Hayden Finishes Fourth Lexington, OH July 14, 2012 Racing in the lead group throughout nearly the entirety of today’s AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race, Cameron Beaubier had a tense moment coming into the esses at Mid-Ohio as he missed a gearshift aboard his #6 Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6, ran slightly wide, and momentarily lost rear grip. The moment essentially sealed Cameron’s fate and cemented his third-place finish. “I downshifted one gear too many before entering the esses,” Cameron said. “I would have been OK, but there’s a little bit of sealer just off the race line in that corner, and that’s unfortunately where I was. I was able to make the turn, even though the back-end of the bike got pretty loose, but it really messed up my lap. And, with only a couple of laps left to go in the race, I had to settle for third today.” Cameron’s Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha teammate Tommy Hayden rode a smooth race aboard his #22 R6, which netted him a solid, fourth-place finish. Both riders will consult with their teams, and make plans to come back stronger for tomorrow’s race. The second Daytona SportBike race of the weekend is scheduled for tomorrow at 2:15 PM EST and, if it’s anything like today’s DSB Race 1, then you won’t want to miss it. For news, results, and other team info, be sure to check out Yamaha’s Facebook page. More, from a press release issued by Geiger Media on behalf of GEICO: Points leader Cardenas a runner-up at first race in Mid-Ohio LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 14) – GEICO Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas and stable-mate Dane Westby had been dueling for 20 laps in Saturday’s AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike race at the Buckeye Superbike Weekend on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and Cardenas had a plan to bring home the win. Unfortunately things didn’t unfold the way Cardenas expected. “I was in the lead that last lap, and my plan was to block him in a few spots where I thought he’d come,” Cardenas said. “On the backstretch we caught (a lapped rider), and I had to go a little bit wider than I should have. That’s where he caught me on the inside.” Westby went on to make the last lap pass and deny Cardenas his seventh win of the season, but Cardenas came home with a second-place finish (.223 seconds behind) and a solid points day. “It was a good race with Dane the whole way,” Cardenas said. “There were a lot of passes for the lead. My plan didn’t work like I wanted to, but Dane was tough today, so congratulations go out to him.” Although he wasn’t able to finish the race on the top step of the podium, its fiercely competitive nature kept Cardenas’ blood pumping throughout the race. “Races like this are exciting for me,” he said. “In races when you are out front all alone, you are more likely to make a mental mistake. This is the kind of race you really enjoy.” Cardenas led 11 of the 21 laps and earned an extra point for leading the most laps. The 29-year-old Colombian started the race from the fourth position. Coming into the day, Westby and Jason DiSalvo were 51 points behind Cardenas in the standings. DiSalvo crashed with five laps to go, finished 22nd and slipped into fourth place. Cardenas now leads Westby by 47 points with another race at Mid-Ohio left on the schedule. “We’ll make some changes on our GEICO Suzuki overnight and be ready to improve tomorrow,” Cardenas said. The GoPro Daytona SportBikes will have a 20-minute warm-up session starting at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday with the race rolling off at 2:15 p.m. SPEED TV will air the race live. More, from a press release issued by LTD Racing: TOUGH DAY FOR NASH AT MID-OHIO ON SATURDAY Lexington, OH (July 14, 2012) Saturday’s Daytona SportBike race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was an eventful one for LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash and unfortunately his race ended a little short of the 21-lap distance when he retired after 16 laps. Nash qualified ninth and was hopeful of running with the lead pack. After the race began, he was in 11th place and also led a pack of riders fighting for position, but had a moment when he was bumped by another rider. After his front tire lost grip shortly afterward, Huntley decided it would be best to retire from the race. “I wanted to do well today. We’d been quick on Friday but Saturday didn’t go as we had planned,” said Nash. “We’ll make some changes for tomorrow, including going with a different tire. We need a good result and hopefully we can get it going again tomorrow.” Nash and LTD Racing will conclude the Mid-Ohio weekend with the second DSB race of the weekend on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer: DANE WESTBY AND M4 BROASTER CHICKEN SUZUKI WIN AT MID-OHIO M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Dane Westby put on a magnificent performance to claim a clutch final-lap victory in Saturday’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike shootout at Mid-Ohio. Launching from the front row of the grid after qualifying third earlier in the day, Westby stormed to the holeshot, a just reward for his recent efforts to improve his starting skills. In the mix from the very start, Westby leveraged his Mid-Ohio mastery to factor heavily at the front throughout the tense contest. A nine-rider lead pack whittled down to a three-man breakaway, which later developed into a head-to-head duel for the win between Westby and GEICO Suzuki’s superstar ace, Martin Cardenas. The two traded the lead back and forth on the race’s thrilling last lap, with ‘the Wolverine’ slicing up the inside only to see Cardenas square him up and immediately retake the lead. Unwilling to accept defeat at the scene of his first SportBike victory scored one year ago, Westby made one final strike, finding a small area of daylight and sneaking his Suzuki GSX-R600 up the inside of Cardenas as they raced into the Carousel side-by-side for the final time. Westby held on and edged Cardenas at the finish line by 0.223-second. “To be one year out and do the same thing is really cool,” Westby said. “It was a real barn-burner of a race. We were right there until the last second. Playing poker with these guys, you never know what’s going to happen until the very last card is down. That was a really good race, that’s how I’d like all races to be.” Westby is ranked second in the SportBike title fight with 222 points on the strength of five podium finishes, highlighted by his Mid-Ohio victory. Suzuki SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Elena Myers raced her way forward in the day’s SuperSport contest. Starting from the outside of Row 3 after qualifying 12th, Myers shot up to sixth on the race’s opening lap. She then settled into a multi-rider scrap for eighth position and narrowly took the position at the checkered flag. M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Chris Ulrich battled in the day’s Superbike race to complete an outstanding combined effort for the team. Ulrich raced his way into the top 10 again, doggedly pursuing a rival before finally making his move on lap 17 of 21. The Californian then defended the position aboard his GSX-R1000 and finished 10th by 0.288-second. Team Venezuela’s Robertino Pietri scratched from the weekend’s Superbike races on the advice of doctors after an MRI revealed that he had broken his left wrist in a violent crash at Road America last month. The 2006 FIM Latin American Superbike Champion sought an MRI when his wrist started feeling worse, not better as time passed. Pietri has returned to his U.S. base in Miami to seek further medical advice. Team Hammer will be looking for more success on Sunday, the final day of the AMA Pro Road Racing doubleheader weekend at Mid-Ohio. In 2012, Team Hammer, Inc. is competing in its 32nd consecutive racing season and marks its sixth year of offering technical and logistical support through its Contract Services Department. Riders on Team Hammer-prepared racebikes have earned 53 AMA Pro National race wins; 121 AMA Pro National podium finishes; 4 AMA Pro Championships; 133 Overall National Endurance race wins; 13 National Endurance Championships and assorted other race wins and titles. More, from a press release issued by Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki: BUCKEYE SUPERBIKE WEEKEND AT MID-OHIO STARTS OFF ROUGHLY FOR RIDERS DISCOUNT VESRAH SUZUKI. The Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki team riders did not have the best start to the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend at Mid-Ohio presented by Dunlop in Lexington Ohio in qualifying or Race 1. Useful track time has been at a premium this weekend between the condition of the track and the weather. Jake Lewis and Cory West both qualified in 11th position in their respective classes while Joey Pascarella qualified in 17th for the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class. Jake Lewis finished the AMA Pro SuperSport Race 1 in the same position as he qualified just outside of the top 10 in 11th place. This put a sizable dent into Jake’s points lead in the 2012 AMA Pro SuperSport East championship but he remains in first place with an 18-point advantage. Joey Pascarella had a difficult Race 1 in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Race with a crash that resulted in a DNF. Cory West was able to bring home a top 10 finish in 8th place and is now only 1 point behind Joey in the 2012 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Championship with the teammates being in 9th and 10th position. Breeann Poland Team Manager Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki “This has been a difficult weekend with the weather conditions and getting the track time necessary to set up the bikes. Tomorrow is another chance and we are looking forward to improving on our results from today.” Cory West Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki #57 “It’s been pretty tough this weekend to get quality track time because of the track conditions and it hurt us today with our tire choice. I was just holding on to the back of the lead pack but started feeling the tires going off about half way through the race. I ended up making a mistake and ran off the course and that put me just in front of a pretty big pack of riders. I got passed by one rider from that group and then just held on to 8th position at the end. We’ll try some different stuff for tomorrow and see if we can hang with that lead pack tomorrow!” Joey Pascarella Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki #52 “The changeover to the Suzuki GSX-R 600 is taking me longer to adapt than I would like but I’m all in and giving 100%. Today was disappointing with the crash but we are making changes for tomorrow and looking to rebound with a good finish in Race 2.” Jake Lewis Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki #85 “Today’s race definitely didn’t go as well as I would have liked. We have been struggling all weekend with finding a good set-up on the bike and it was the same in the race. The crew and I sat down for a while afterwards and made some big changes for tomorrow so hopefully I can be back up in the front battling for the lead like I usually am. It feels good to still have the points lead and I did the best with what I had today. Tomorrow is a new day and I’m looking forward to getting a better result on my Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R 600.” Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki would like to thank their sponsors for the 2012 season: Vesrah, Riders Discount, MCJ Motorsports, American Suzuki, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Parts Unlimited, Penske Racing Shocks, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Yoshimura, Catalyst Racing Composites, Shoei, Cortech, Sidi, Held, Motion Pro, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Spiegler Brake Lines, Adjustable-levers, Vicci, Vortex, DID Chain, Zero Gravity, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, Suzuka Tire Warmers, K&N Filters, Full Spectrum Batteries, Oakley (Jake), Roclun (Jake), Progressive Trail Design (Cory), Jon Block Group (Joey), 509 sunglasses (Cory and team), Andrew Swenson Designs and Drippinwet.