SportBike Report
Martin Cardenas’ No. 36 M4 Monster Energy Suzuki GSX-R600 came out of the box fast and to post a qualifying laptime of 2:21.136 (103.254 mph), good for the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike provisional pole for this weekend’s Suzuki SuperBike Doubleheader at Road America.
Cardenas’ 2010 season has been anything but dull, claiming four victories in seven Daytona SportBike races after a disappointing early-race crash and 44th place finish in the Daytona 200 season opener.
The Colombian is no stranger to success at 4.05-mile natural road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, winning last year’s Daytona SportBike race two barn-burner in bold fashion with a last-lap, last-turn pass over this year’s American SuperBike points leader Jake Zemke.
Martin Cardenas says: "As soon as I started practice in the morning I felt pretty good," Cardenas said. "The bike was working great. We didn’t have to make any changes to it, I could just ride it. I have always liked this track, I think it’s very important here to brake very deep and I think I’m good at that. Maybe that’s the strongest point that I have here. I’m hoping for a good race tomorrow and if it’s not raining, another good qualifying run."
2010 Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin piloted his No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 to second fastest in today’s qualifying session with a lap of 2:21.190 (103.214 mph) after leading the charts in the practice session earlier in the afternoon.
Third fastest was Dane Westby’s No. 2 Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha YZF-R6 with a time of 2:21.444 (102.931 mph). Westby has finished in the top five in six races this season, earning three podiums in the process.
Final qualifying for Daytona SportBike begins at 10:50 a.m. local time tomorrow, with an open grid fan walk kicking off at 12:30 p.m. and race one of the weekend’s doubleheader at Road America scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Sunday will see a rider autograph session at 10:50 a.m., a second fan grid walk at 11:30 a.m. and race two of Daytona SportBike competition closing the weekend with a 3:45 p.m. start time.
SPEED will be broadcasting same-weekend coverage of both Daytona SportBike races, with race one airing Saturday, June 5th at 11 p.m. ET and race two airing Sunday night at 11 p.m. ET. A re-broadcast of Saturday’s race one final will also be broadcast on Sunday, June 6th at 3 p.m. ET.
