Road Atlanta – Supersport and Sportbike – Saturday
- From: 'the Wire' | Published: April 17th, 2010 - 4:22 pm
This year’s AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL action could not have been more exciting and competitive. With two winners in three races and one more rider who could have, or should have, won a race or two himself, today’s first of two weekend AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races was another chapter in what has been a series of races that just keep on delivering one wild and crazy race after another!
After a rocking early morning qualifying session where any number of riders topped the time sheets, it was Friday’s pole sitter Tommy Aquino on his Team Graves Yamaha that reclaimed the top spot when it looked like he would be beaten by his own Team Graves Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin and also Daytona pole position winner and reigning AMA Pro Daytona SportBike champion Danny Eslick on his bright yellow GEICO Powersports Suzuki and also M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas. Aquino came through at the end of qualifying and he looked very strong for the race.
Under bright blue skies and warm temperatures, the standing start went off without a hitch and it was Cardenas who led the field into the uphill turn one. Aquino was in second, Herrin third, a strong starting Cory West, riding his Vesrah Suzuki was up to fourth ahead of Eslick, who was already starting his usual charge to the front.
It didn’t take long for the action to start as Herrin moved up and passed Cardenas and Aquino in one move and as the front six broke away from the rest of the field, Eslick jumped up to first on lap three. These three now put on their usual show with pass after pass lap after lap, this after it was thought there weren’t too many places to pass on the challenging and scenic Road Atlanta track. That theory was completely put to rest as the riders continuously made major passing moves at the top of the track at turns six and seven and also at the run down into the turn ten complex.
The man on the move in this race was West, who worked his way past Cardenas, Herrin and was all over Eslick, each passing the other and West really riding hard each and every lap. Herrin, indicative of just how hard everyone was running, just slid wide at the final turn and found himself in the gravel but in an excellent move kept his bike moving and was able to escape the gravel and rejoin the race, unfortunately back from the lead group.
Aquino was still part of the mix and Dane Westby, riding for local team Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha, also took a turn leading the race. At one point, Eslick got slowed by another of the many passing moves into and out of the turn ten complex that leads up to the bridge turn coming down the hill onto the front straight and it looked as if it was now between West and Cardenas.
Cardenas was able get by West on the penultimate lap and he rode very hard to make sure no one could pass him at turn ten. West tried as hard as he could, backing up the good form he really has shown all year by finishing second, followed by Eslick, who had a light touch with Aquino on the front straight with two laps left. Westby took fourth ahead of Aquino with Steve Rapp on his Team Latus Motors Racing Ducati who, while well back from the lead group, had a good race with Clinton Seller on the other Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha who finished just behind Rapp.
Herrin was a disappointed eighth, followed by Chris Fillmore on the second Vesrah Suzuki in ninth, rounding out a good day for the Vesrah Team. Taking tenth place was local Georgia rider Geoff May who, on his own team’s GMR Suzuki, ran a strong race at his home track in front of friends and family.
Another rider who showed extreme courage and heart was Alex Lazo who, on his TriangleCycles.com Yamaha, rode today’s race with a broken left foot. It’s his second year in AMA Pro competition and he soldered through to take a worthy twenty-third place.
Race two of the double header Suzuki SuperBike Showdown at Road Atlanta will be tomorrow and if the first four races are anything to go by, it will be another chapter of must see AMA Pro Road Racing motorcycle competition.
SuperSport
After a 0.001 of a second loss at the season’s first race, Joey Pascarella has basically swept all before him as he rolled to three consecutive pole positions and race wins on his LTD Racing Yamaha.
Today, that streak was broken in the most unusual and unexpected way. Pascarella and the rest of the AMA Pro SuperSport field went out for their initial warm-up lap prior to the traditional standing start, and unfortunately, he came upon some fluid on the track that had escaped in a sudden mechanical problem for another competitor. This unfortunate and unpreventable incident also derailed the hopes of another race favorite, Elena Myers, who lost traction on her Richie Morris Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. Both riders suffered injuries that, in Pascarella’s case, will prevent him from competing tomorrow in the second of two AMA Pro SuperSport races. Myers is expected to compete.
There was still a race to run and now, the four other main characters in this year’s exciting SuperSport series now took center stage. Daytona race one winner Cameron Beaubier and his Rockwall Yamaha teammate, J.D. Beach now basically had the front row to themselves and they took off with Pascarella’s LTD Yamaha teammate, Huntley Nash, and also the third LTD Yamaha rider Tomas Puerta in hot pursuit.
Beaubier and then Beach would lead, each passing and re-passing each other lap after lap. Nash was trying as hard as he could to take the fight to the first two, and one time he did get by Cameron at turn seven, only to have Beaubier re-pass him as they dove down into the turn ten complex.
Out from under the famous Road Atlanta bridge, the three would be battling all the way down the front straight, setting each other up for the next pass. Meanwhile, Puerta was just back from the first three and it would only take the smallest error from any of the three ahead for him to also join the fray. It almost seemed that leading wasn’t the place to be since whomever was in second place coming down into turn ten, he could slip inside the leader under braking and hold the lead all the way under the bridge and past the start finish line.
As the race came down to the last lap, Beaubier and Beach had pulled out a slight margin to Nash and it now was between the two Rockwall Yamaha riders. Beaubier looked like he had it won and then Beach passed him on the long straight coming down to the turn ten complex for the last time, but this time he had enough of a margin that he was able to hold on for the win, finishing 0.108 ahead of Beaubier.
It was an exciting win for Beach and he expressed his delight in the post race press conference, “I have been racing with Cameron since 2007 and I was going to do anything to win, I was just going for it,” said J.D. Beaubier was disappointed not to have won, but his run of very strong showings continues as he and Beach show just how competitive the SuperSport class is.
Nash and Puerta also finished up with strong results, Puerta was just beaten at the end by Travis Wyman on his Yamaha. Top Gun entry, David Gaviria on his Kawasaki took sixth and Huntley’s older brother, Sam Nash took seventh on his Yamaha. Eighth was Miles Thornton on his Yamaha, followed by Top Gun riders James Dellinger and James Cohrs in ninth and tenth on their Suzuki and Yamaha motorcycles, respectively.
All in all it was another sensational race, every lap was spellbinding and the skill and respect shown by these Young Gun AMA Pro Racing SuperSport riders is simply awesome to behold. Check www.amaproracing.com for complete results under Road Atlanta race results.
