TEAM SPEAK: Daytona AMA Pro – Friday (Pics)

AMA Pro – Daytona 200 SportBike

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 5, 2010) – After losing out on the Daytona 200 victory in 2009, No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 rider Josh Herrin secured his name in the history books by becoming the 69th winner of the Daytona Beach classic.  Held for the second year in a row under the lights, Herrin battled a number of riders before pulling away after a super quick pit stop on lap 39.  After that, he rode with tremendous composure and skill to take the checkered flag with a 7.964 second margin of victory on the historic 3.55 mile Daytona International Speedway.

Dane Westby and his No. 2 Project 1 Yamaha YZF-R6 took a well deserved second place and up until the last pit stop, it was a two man race.  Westby showed his skill by running up front all night, trading the lead with Herrin several times over the course of the 57 lap race.  Finishing third was 2007 Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp on his No. 15 Team Latus Motors Racing Ducati 848.  Rapp also ran up front all night and was one of five riders to lead during the race.

Leading the field off the line was pole winner Danny Eslick on the No. 1 GEICO Powersports RMR Suzuki GSX-R600 and as the field took the green flag from the standing start, fellow front row rider Martin Cardenas, riding the No. 36 Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki GSX-R600, shot into the lead and led the field through turns one and two.  In a heartbreaking moment, Cardenas had the front end slide out on him going into turn three and down he went, his race over.  It was a devastating moment for what was clearly a big pre-race favorite.  Further back in the lineup, a number of riders came together in the next turn, necessitating a red flag and immediate race stoppage and full restart from the original grid.

One rider, P.J. Jacobson, was transported from the scene to Halifax Hospital but was later released.  Four other riders were examined at the infield care center and released and one rider, Bostjan Skubic, later complained of dizziness, was taken to Halifax for precautionary evaluation and was later released.  After a brief delay, the race was restarted and this time the field had three riders go off in turn one but with no impact on the race.  A tight group of 10 riders were drafting and swapping positions, with many changes every lap. Rapp, Herrin, Eslick, Team Graves Yamaha teammate Tommy Aquino, Kev Coghlan riding the Aussie Dave Racing Yamaha, Westby and more were all part of the action.

Another front-runner was Brett McCormick on his No. 61 Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R600.  He was slowed early by an excursion though the chicane but regained his momentum and began another race at the back of the lead group, fighting with Cory West aboard the No. 57 Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R600, Bobby Fong on the No. 30 Crozier Robinson Motorsports Ducati 848 and Jeff Wood on the No. 75 Vesrah Suzuki.  The leaders were lapping in the one minute and fifty second range, which was just off the fastest qualifying times.  Meanwhile, making strong but steady progress up from her 22nd starting position was Melissa Paris aboard the No. 13 MPH Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

The first round of pit stops began on lap 17 and Aquino suffered a malfunction with his fueling apparatus, which caused fuel to spill all over the bike and led to his retirement from the race. Herrin stopped one lap later and had a flawless stop.  Eslick also had a good stop and the lead was now held by Coghlan, ahead of Eslick, Westby, Herrin, Rapp,  and Taylor Knapp riding the Ducshop Racing Ducati 848.

Coghlan then stopped on lap 21 and Herrin and Westby regained the lead battle with Rapp and the rest.  As things settled down, a three bike breakaway with Westby, Herrin and Eslick kept the pressure on each other, each pulling the occasional wheelie out of the chicane lap after lap.  By lap 25 it really became a two bike race, Herrin and Westby really now extending their lead over the field.  Melissa Paris continued her strong run, now up to 13th.  Brett McCormick’s promising run came to an end as he was involved in a multi-bike accident in the International Horseshoe on lap 32.

By lap 34 there were seven riders on the lead lap, the second round of pit stops began and the race to the checkers was on.  Herrin and Westby came down pit lane side by side on lap 39 and each wouldn’t give an inch until they stopped in their respective pit boxes.  The Team Graves Yamaha team really excelled and sent Herrin off before Westby, giving Herrin the gap he needed to break away.  Westby rode as hard as could, but the gap to Herrin slowly grew as the race wound down.

In another moment of heartbreak, Melissa Paris’ excellent race came to a premature end when she lost front wheel traction while running in 11th place entering the chicane on lap 49.  She had run as high as 10th place and was also treated and released from Halifax Hospital.

Later commenting that he was in nearly perfect rhythm, Herrin put his name in the record books as the second youngest winner of the Daytona 200 and the youngest at the races held at the Daytona International Speedway.  At 19 years and 10 months, he is only preceded by Brad Andres who, when winning the 200 in 1955, was 18 years and 11 months old.

Eslick survived a late race coming together with a slower competitor to finish fourth, Coghlan took fifth, West was sixth, Geoff May riding his No. 99 GMR Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 finished seventh, Shawn Higbee finished eighth on his Higbee-Racing.com Buell followed by the tenacious Taylor Knapp and Eric Wood rounded out the top ten on his Honda CBR600RR.

AMA Pro Road Racing will be at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California from March 26 – 28 for round two of the 10 event schedule.

AMA Pro – American Superbike

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 5, 2010) – The National Guard Jordan Suzuki team got their season off to a dream start in the second race in a set of doubleheader AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike races on the famous 2.9 mile short course at Daytona International Speedway.  In an absolute last gasp pass at the line, Jake Zemke’s No. 54 Suzuki GSX-R1000 passed No. 22 Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 rider Tommy Hayden and won by 0.009 of a second for the second win in as many days.  Fighting back from a disappointing first race yesterday, Ben Bostrom’s No. 155 Pat Clark Racing Palms Hotel/Las Vegas Motor Speedway Yamaha YZF-R1 finished in a solid third place.

Starting under clear and sunny skies, the field was led again by Aaron Yates’s No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 from pole position but Hayden and his Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Blake Young made a mighty move on Aaron into turn one and took over at the front.  Once again the field fought furiously on the Daytona banking.  Larry Pegram, aboard the No. 72 Foremost Insurance Ducati 1098R and Zemke picked up a big draft in the tri-oval and shot up into second and third places on lap two as Hayden built up a one second lead over the pack behind him.

Josh Hayes on his No. 4 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 and Ben Bostrom made good starts and joined the group behind Yates and Young.  Another rider making his first appearance among the front runners this year was Brett McCormick and the No. 6 Picotte Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000.  McCormick, Hayes and Bostrom had their own battles just behind the leaders.  Chris Ulrich on his No. 18 Monster Energy Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000 recovered nicely from a lap one, turn one overshoot and was back up to 11th following up from yesterday’s impressive run.

Young was the next to encounter trouble as he ran wide at turn one on lap nine.  Meanwhile, back up front the following group caught back up to Hayden and the race was back up for grabs.  Zemke had fought his way back to the lead and many times the leader at the stripe wasn’t necessarily the leader into turn one.  Zemke was fighting his handling but everyone was on the absolute limit and the bikes were all moving around in and out of the corners and especially on the banking.  Meanwhile, Bostrom was making a nice move to the front, passing Hayes on lap 11.

Yates joined his teammate back at the front and when Hayden ran wide at turn one, it looked like a Michael Jordan Motorsports one-two finish might be in the cards.  On lap 13, Hayden came back by Yates and Bostrom continued his well-measured march to the front by passing an always strong Larry Pegram into turn one.  Hayden then made a sensational pass on Zemke in the International hairpin and began to put a nice gap on Zemke.  Hayden got a great launch out of the chicane on the back straight and as he came around to the flag, it looked like Zemke had too much ground to make up before the finish line.  But with Bostrom looking on with what he described as an amazing view from his Yamaha, Zemke passed Hayden at the line and won by just 0.009 of a second and later said he was trying to see the scoreboards on the cool down lap to see who won.

Yates took a fighting third, followed by Pegram, Hayes, Young and McCormick finished in a fine eighth place.  Rounding out the top ten was David Anthony on his Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Taylor Knapp on his RidersDiscount.com Suzuki GSX-R1000.

All in all, it was a dream start to the season for AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike and again under the watchful eyes of team owner Michael Jordan, Jake Zemke is proving to be a very wise choice for the Jordan organization.  With the strong runs by Hayden and Bostrom, this year is shaping up to be one of the best in this exciting premier class of motorcycle racing.

Both rounds of AMA Pro American SuperBike can be seen in back-to-back broadcasts Saturday night on SPEED starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.  Next on the schedule for AMA Pro Road Racing is Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California over the March 26 – 28 weekend.

AMA Pro – SuperSport

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 5, 2010) – After Thursday’s unbelievable AMA Pro SuperSport race, where Joey Pascarella lost by 0.001 of a second, Pascarella, on his No. 25 LTD Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 came back to take a well judged victory in the second of two 2010 AMA Pro Racing SuperSport races held at the legendary Daytona International Speedway, this time winning by over a second at the flag.

In a podium sweep, Pascarella’s LTD Yamaha YZF-R6 teammates No. 32 Jake Gagne and No. 12 Tomas Puerta took second and third after battling the entire 12 lap race with yesterday’s winner No. 16 Cameron Beaubier and his teammate No. 73 J.D. Beach on their Rockwall Yamaha YZF-R6’s.

Beach, who looked like a likely winner yesterday was again denied victory when he encountered a mechanical problem forcing him out of the race on lap seven.  That left Beaubier alone at the front against the LTD Yamaha teammates.  Lap after lap, they all took shots at Pascarella, but he was very strong under braking for turn one and fought off every charge.  Behind the lead group, No. 75 Huntley Nash on his Yamaha YZF-R6, No. 82 Daniel Guevara riding a Suzuki GSX-R600 and the again impressive Elena Myers on her No. 21 Suzuki GSX-R600 enjoyed a furious battle lap after lap, with Guevara eventually getting by Huntley Nash and Myers to finish fifth, sixth and seventh respectively.

Pulling wheelies out of the chicane onto the back banking, Gagne, Puerta and Beaubier got close to Pascarella, but only Puerta was able to head Pascarella, when he officially led lap six.  Going into the last lap, it looked like another photo finish but this time for second, as Joey Pascarella took a well deserved first place.  Beaubier was second with Gagne and Puerta right behind and after another big drafting move, Gagne ended up second over Puerta, with Beaubier finishing fourth.  Guevara finished a fine fifth followed by Myers.  Sam Nash, racing in the Top Gun class, finished eighth on his No. 44 Yamaha YZF-R6, No. 77 Honda CBR600RR Top Gun rider Eric Stump II finished ninth and Ryan Kerr took tenth on his No. 28 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R.

This year’s AMA Pro SuperSport season got off to a unbelievable start Thursday and Friday’s race showed that the LTD and Rockwall Yamaha teams will be tough to beat.  With the impressive Myers, Guevara and Huntley Nash close behind, the championship is wide open.
Highlights from each round of AMA Pro SuperSport can be seen in back-to-back broadcasts of the week’s AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike races Saturday night on SPEED starting at 10:30 p.m. ET.  Next on the schedule for AMA Pro Road Racing is Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California over the March 26 – 28 weekend.

Jordan Motorsports — American Superbike

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 5, 2010) – Michael Jordan Motorsports (MJM) has a lot to celebrate this week as National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke pulled off another victory, completing the sweep of the opening Superbike doubleheader and owning the points lead in the 2010 AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike Championship.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke took up where he left off yesterday with only a couple of minor exceptions. In today’s race, Zemke led 9 of 15 laps and was in second place behind fellow Suzuki rider, Tommy Hayden, on the last lap coming out of the chicane. Zemke ended up catching Hayden at the line for a scant margin of victory of .009 seconds. Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates duped his first race result as well, finishing only .212 seconds behind Zemke in fourth place.

“I think for everybody here, when you’re sitting at home all winter long, this is what you’re thinking about – coming out of here with two wins,” Zemke said. “For that to actually happen, it’s not real often that all your plans come the way you imagine them in your head. It was the closest race I’ve ever been in. I was riding around on the cool-off lap and looking at all the towers and the numbers. I was like, well, I’m on top now but when are they going to change it? I didn’t celebrate until I got into Victory Lane. My crew did an awesome job once again. To be able to come into Daytona and be able to pull this off – it’s their first Superbike win and we just did it back-to-back. For the team, for the sponsors, it’s their first win as well and I’m just happy to be in this position.”

Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates was optimistic about his two fourth place finishes, especially considering the margin between him and fellow MJM teammate Zemke. “Today I got the hole-shot and tipped it in and went across the paint and the thing lit up and spun and got a little crazy on me,” said Yates. “I couldn’t pass anybody on the banking and everybody else was passing me there. We were real close to the winner there, within a second or a half a second to the winner. You never know what’s going to happen here with the draft, but we’ll take it on to the next track and the Jordan Suzuki this year is going to be real strong so I’m looking forward to getting to some tracks with some turns.”

The 2010 Michael Jordan Motorsports team’s next event will be at the Suzuki Superbike Challenge at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA on March 26-28, 2010.

Daytona International Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Graves Motorsports’ Josh Herrin held off fellow Yamaha rider Dane Westby to win the 69th Daytona 200 AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike event on Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

The 19-year-old rider from Dublin, Ga., received plenty of pressure from the hard-charging Westby, who was riding for Project 1 Atlanta, in the closing laps of the 57-lap event but was able to pull away for a 7.964-second victory.

“I just kept putting in the laps and trying to push as hard as I could just to keep (Westby) back and make it as easy as possible at the end and it all paid off,” said Herrin, who finished second in last year’s Daytona 200 to Ben Bostrom.

“This shows what you can do with a good bike,” Westby said. “I saw the gap open and close.  I thought maybe I had but didn’t want to do something stupid and throw away second.”

For Yamaha, it was the manufacturer’s second straight victory in the Daytona 200 and its 20th overall in America’s most historic motorcycle race.

Steve Rapp, the 2007 Daytona 200 champion, rounded out the podium on a Ducati.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.– Jake Zemke continued his impressive debut with Michael Jordan Motorsports giving the NBA legend his second straight American SuperBike win at Daytona International Speedway.
Zemke charged past fellow Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden at the finish line by a mere 0.009 seconds.

“It was so close,” Zemke said. “I didn’t know who won.  I was riding around on that last lap after the checkered flag and I kept looking at the tower looking at the numbers.  I’m like mine’s on top but when is it going to change.  I couldn’t really celebrate until I got in here (in Gatorade Victory Lane).  I still wasn’t sure.”

Tommy Hayden, who was runner up in Thursday’s race as well, hoped leading the race was the best position to be in coming to the checkered flag after watching Zemke ride away in the closing laps of Thursday’s race.

“I knew Jake was going to be tough again,” Hayden said. “I thought leading was going to be my best bet.  I just didn’t have quite enough speed.  The race was a couple feet too long for me today.”

The top-five motorcycles were separated by less than a second with Ben Bostrom rounding out the podium.  Zemke’s teammate Aaron Yates finished fourth with Larry Pegram on a Ducati finishing fifth.
After barely missing the victory in the SuperSport race Thursday by .001 seconds, 17-year-old Joey Pascarella dominated Friday’s race leading every lap of the 35-mile race.

“We were all riding really good,” Pascarella said.  “I just put my head down and rode as hard as I could.”
LTD Racing swept the podium with Pascarella’s teammates Jake Gagne and Tomas Puerta finishing second and third.

Next up for Daytona 200 Week is the Daytona Supercross By Honda on Saturday. Tickets are available at the gate or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway).

M4 Monster Energy Suzuki

Despite showing plenty of promise and speed during the weekend, Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki left the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season opener at Daytona International Speedway disappointed. The squad was unable to capitalize on their potential as both John Hopkins’ and Martin Cardenas’ bids for victory ended early on Friday.

Hopkins retired from the 15-lap AMA Pro American Superbike final with a bike issue while working lap 6 of 15 after demonstrating the pace to run up front on his GSX-R1000. Unfortunately, the team’s hopes for redemption under the lights in the 69th running of the Daytona 200 were dashed early as well, as Cardenas crashed out of the lead entering the race’s second corner in the tricky, cool conditions.

Cardenas, who missed taking the pole aboard his GSX-R600 by just 0.002 seconds on Thursday evening, escaped his opening lap spill unscathed and eager to get his Daytona SportBike title campaign back on track the next out.

Former MotoGP ace Hopkins’ weekend was far from the manner in which he hoped his return to AMA Pro Road Racing competition would play out, but he remains confident in the ability of himself and his team to turn things around quickly. Hopkins and the team had vastly improved the handling on the team’s GSX-R1000 for the weekend’s second race.

Commenting on Friday’s developments, Hopkins said, “We had a little crash this morning but that was my fault. I was on cold tires and we were fighting the set-up and I just tried to make it work when it wasn’t really right. We had been in and out of the pits and there were only around five minutes left and I just lost the front.”

After the crash, the team changed to a different setting on the bike for the race. “We got off the line and I was feeling it out and it was going pretty good. I started to get comfortable and went like 1.6 seconds faster than we have been all week before we encountered an issue.

“If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have had any at all this weekend,” Hopkins joked. “Hey, it is what it is but everything happens for a reason and we’ll just make sure we keep doing our jobs. We’ll go to Fontana and see what we can do there. We’re determined to have success.”

Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki will be back in action at Round 2 of the 2010 AMA Pro Road Racing season at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA on March 26-28.

LTD Racing — AMA Pro SuperSport

Daytona, Florida (March 5, 2009) – LTD Racing’s Joey Pascarella won the AMA Pro SuperSport race on Friday, leading an impressive team sweep of the Daytona International Speedway podium as Jake Gagne and Tomas Puerta finished second and third. Pascarella pulled away from the pack in the closing stages of the 12-lap race and Gagne and Puerta made passes on the final lap to join their teammate on the rostrum at Daytona.

Huntley Nash overcame running wide early in the race to finish sixth and Sam Nash was the highest-ranked “Top Gun” in his first weekend of competition with the LTD Racing team.

Pascarella showed blazing speed all weekend, wining pole and leading most of the race on Thursday before taking his first AMA Pro win on Friday. The Vacaville, California resident picked the grand stage of the historic Daytona International Speedway to shine.

“I got out front and tried to ride consistent and smart,” said Joey. “Tomas came by me once and Cameron (Beaubier) tried to get me into turn one once, but I was able to keep the lead. The last three laps I pushed really hard and tried to hold everyone off. It worked and I was able to get the win.”

Jake Gagne finished second to complete his double podium weekend. Gagne made his way around Thursday race victor Cameron Beaubier on the final lap, then Jake managed to hold off a last-second challenge from teammate Tomas Puerta at the line to earn his best result yet in AMA Pro competition.

“Joey got away with a couple of laps to go,” said the Ramona, California racer. “He’s been really fast all weekend. We tried to work together and catch up but we couldn’t. Then my plan was to be behind Cameron on the last lap because I thought I could draft pass him before the line and that’s what happened.”

Puerta’s smart and strong race saw him take the final podium spot. The Colombian racer ran with the lead pack and even led one lap. He nearly took second with a charge at the end but came up just short. Puerta earned his second AMA Pro podium result. “My strategy was to try being in first or second position in today’s race to set things up for the last lap. I was able to push hard at the end get a good draft at the line. I was close to getting Jake at the end and happy for LTD Racing to get three riders on the podium.”

Huntley Nash was sixth again in race two, a very solid result. But the Georgian left Daytona disappointed in his race weekend after entering with high expectations. “I got out wide early on lost a few places and that was it. I was out of it for the win and the podium. We finished both races but it wasn’t what I had hoped for from the weekend,” said the 17 year-old. “I’m looking forward to the next one.”

Sam Nash earned 8th overall and won the “Top Gun” class by 12 seconds. “It was fun and I had a good time. To have a good race and finish eighth, I accomplished my goal for the weekend. I couldn’t be happier and I am really looking forward to riding the bike next time,” Sam said.

Rockwall Performance

Daytona, Florida (March 7, 2010) — Rockwall Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier and J.D. Beach kicked off their 2010 AMA Pro racing seasons in tremendous fashion at Daytona International Speedway, including scoring one of the most thrilling races in recent memory in the very first contest of the new season.

Both Rockwall Performance Yamaha racers left Daytona with victories — Beaubier in SuperSport and Beach in dirt track.

The former Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup standouts were immediately up to speed around the intimidating high banks as evidenced by their front row grid positions for the AMA Pro SuperSport East doubleheader. Beaubier, despite his inexperience on a 600cc four-stroke, qualified second fastest at 1:44.067. Beach was right on his heels, third quickest at 1:44.165. Beaubier, Beach, and the Rockwall Performance team are backed by Top 1 Oils and Red Bull.

In Thursday’s 12-lap final, the two found themselves embroiled in a tight, multi-rider tilt for the victory. Beaubier displayed remarkable racecraft in the final run to the checkered flag. He dipped right back into the draft of fastest qualifier Joey Pascarella after being displaced from first and stormed back into the lead at the stripe for the win. Beaubier’s victory, with a miniscule 0.001-second margin, was confirmed by AMA Pro’s photo finish equipment in what was one of the closest races ever at Daytona International Speedway.

Beach finished fourth even though he was only 0.0247 seconds off the victory himself in the ultra-close battle.

After winning what was his first-ever AMA Pro race, Beaubier said, “At the beginning of the race I struggled off the start and I went to fourth but fought back up to second. I struggled a little bit midway through the race and went back to the like sixth and was like, ‘Oh no!’ I didn’t know what was going on but I kept my head together and started moving back up. I was battling with Joey (Pascarella) until the last lap. It was all about trying to be second going onto the banking to get a slipstream to the finish but I wound up going first onto the banking and he passed me. But he pulled out of the slipstream too early and I got right back in it and barely beat him.”

Friday’s contest looked to be shaping up to be a repeat of Thursday’s scrap but unfortunately Beach was forced out of the contest with a mechanical issue on lap 8.

Beaubier battled at the front throughout but the final lap didn’t work out as well for him the second time around as he got dropped from second to fourth at the very last moment in what was another promising outing for the rising star.

In addition to his impressive SuperSport speed, Beach also competed in AMA Pro Flat Track during the week, claiming a victory in the Pro Singles class Thursday evening.

“The weekend was great,” Beach remarked. “We learned a lot about the bike for the new season. I didn’t get the finishes we wanted in SuperSport but we’ll come back to the next race and be ready to go. This weekend I was doing double duty roadracing and dirt tracking and I was able to get the win in the dirt. I was hoping to the do the double but it didn’t work out. I guess I’ll have to wait until next year for that.”

Rockwall Performance Yamaha will be back in action at the second round of the AMA Pro SuperSport East Championship, which takes place at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA on April 16-18.

Ducati

Cupertino, Calif. (7 March 2010) – Ducati is proud to announce that in its AMA Pro Racing debut, the Ducati 848 Superbike proved to be an extremely fast and reliable contender.

In yesterday’s Daytona 200, a new era in Ducati competition began. For the first time in AMA Pro Racing’s Daytona Sportbike class, the Ducati 848 turned its wheels around the historic Daytona circuit. Of the six bikes entered, the results were staggering: not a single mechanical problem and a podium for the bike in its first time out. The 848 has proven to be an exceptional weapon for this class- especially considering many of the bikes were entered with little modification. This is a true testament to the 848’s race-readiness right off the showroom floor.

The podium finish in the prestigious Daytona 200 went to 2007 winner and Team Latus Motors rider Steve Rapp. Rapp put in an excellent performance at the front of the pack, and led home the group of five 848’s which finished in the top twenty positions.

“The race was pretty easy and non-eventful, which is good,” Said Rapp “We had good pit stops too. They probably weren’t the fastest but we didn’t make any mistakes and that’s all I can ask. I’m looking forward to the next race!”

In the Superbike class, rider Larry Pegram began his season with an impressive performance. Pegram fought all the way to the checkered flag and finished on the podium. It was a great start to the Foremost Insurance rider’s 2010 Superbike campaign, and he is looking forward to the next race at California’s Auto Club Speedway- a favorite track of his.

“It was a great start to the season for us!” Said Pegram. “The bikes ran great and we were right there on speed. Daytona is always tough on tires so we lost a bit there, but otherwise things are perfect.”

The next race for the 848 and 1198R will be March 27th in Fontana, CA. For more information on the 848 and 1198R Superbikes, please visit www.ducatiusa.com.

VESRAH SUZUKI – DAYTONA 200 SPORTBIKE

Vesrah Suzuki began it’s first AMA Pro racing season by competing in the Daytona 200 and finished the race with a great result for #57 Cory West ending up in 6th place. #75 Jeff Wood had a Daytona to forget with a crash in the chicane after a competitor lost an engine in front of him covering his bike and visor with oil resulting in a DNF.

With only 10 days to prepare the motorcycles before the truck had to leave for Daytona, the team showed the dedication of its crewmembers and sponsors by making the grid. The short preparation time combined with the switch to Dunlop tires after a decade spent competing on a different tire brand makes a top ten result all the more satisfying. The team now has 3 weeks to refine the set up on the team’s Suzuki GSX-R 600’s before competing in the next round at Auto Club Speedway at the end of March

Mark Junge – Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki
“We got the bikes on February 17th and the truck left on the 27th. Quick change, dry break tanks, engines built, in the dyno, mapped, body on and left for Florida – Its crazy that we made it at all. I have to give special thanks to Tony Pogue for all the hours he put in to build the bikes. With the new tires to learn and all of the normal first race of the season issues I’m happy with Cory’s 6th place finish while Jeff ran into difficulties during the race caused by another competitor. I’m looking forward to the next round and trying to get both bikes to the front of the field”

Cory West – #57 Vesrah Suzuki
“Daytona went pretty well for us from the get go. I got up to speed pretty quickly and my crew helped me get the bike working well with the new spec Dunlops. The race started great and I was in the lead draft before the first pit stop. Our bike seemed to be a little down on top speed and I finally lost touch with the lead group and ran a pretty uneventful race to finish 6th. I’m a little disappointed that I couldn’t hold on to the lead pack, but to come out of Daytona with a solid finish and no crashes or mechanical issues is great. We’ll take good points and momentum to the next round at Auto Club Speedway and try again to fight at the front! I have to thank the whole Vesrah Suzuki team for their hard work getting our bikes prepped with such limited time. It was an amazing effort on their part and I’m very happy I could reward them with a solid finish in the Daytona 200!”

Jeff Wood – #75 Vesrah Suzuki
“Well the race didn’t quite go to plan and that’s a shame as we were on pace for a solid Top 10″ said Wood. “The Vesrah Suzuki team worked hard on the bike all week helping to get me comfy on the new machine and going into the 200 we finally had a bit of a breakthrough on setup. Unfortunately in the race a motorcycle in front of me blew up while entering the chicane and I was immediately covered head to toe in oil! As I flipped right it immediately fired me onto the ground and that was that. That’s racing sometimes and we now focus on the upcoming round at Auto Club Speedway and look forward to moving on towards the rest of the season. Congrats to my teammate Cory for his 6th place finish and thanks to the Vesrah team, Waterbridge Investments, and especially my crew James, Leif, and Jackie for all their hard work.”

Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2010 season – Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Waterbridge Investments, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Dainese Leathers, Boots and Gloves, AGV Helmets, Graves Motorsports, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs