In the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL Superpole session, DiSalvo claimed his fourth straight pole on the No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600 at 2:20.153 (103.978 mph). While DiSalvo is riding a four-event streak of pole positions, he heads into tomorrow’s race still looking for his first Daytona SportBike victory.
1st – Jason DiSalvo Speaks…
"It’s good to have a front-row start," DiSalvo said. "With the rolling start format, it’s always really important to be up front. I think tonight the guys are going to really tuck in and do some work. We’ve got to go crunch some numbers and just try to figure out where we’re going to find our couple of missing tenths (of a second) out there. We’re pretty close now."
Joining DiSalvo on the front row is his teammate, Martin Cardenas on the No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600. Cardenas posted a Superpole lap at 2:20.908 (103.421 mph) to earn his best starting spot of the season to date. The Colombian has won the last four consecutive Daytona SportBike races and five of the last six dating to his first victory at Road Atlanta in April.
2nd – Martin Cardenas Speaks…
"It’s going to be very difficult to duplicate the results that I’m having, but we’ll see tomorrow in the race what happens," Cardenas said. "I’ll do my best. The lap was okay. I made one mistake and I was a little bit disappointed because I’ve been feeling good since we rode the bike yesterday and the bike is going pretty good. I was hoping for a little bit better lap, but it wasn’t possible. We’ll try tomorrow."
Bobby Fong will start third on the No. 27 GreenerAcres.org Yamaha YZF-R6 following his Superpole lap of 2:22.021 (102.610 mph). It was also Fong’s best Daytona SportBike qualifying performance to date and was his second consecutive appearance in the 10-rider Superpole session. He qualified ninth last time out at Infineon Raceway. Chaz Davies completed the second row with a lap at 2:22.123 (102.537 mph) on the No. 57 Factory Aprilia Millennium Technologies Aprilia RSV1000R.
Jake Zemke originally qualified the No. 1x Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR on the Daytona SportBike pole and his teammate Chris Peris was originally third on the No. 10 Erion Racing Honda CBR600RR in Superpole, but both riders’ times were disallowed in post-qualifying technical inspection due to a fuel infraction. The remaining eight riders in Superpole were moved forward accordingly.
Zemke and Peris will be allowed to participate in final qualifying tomorrow morning with a best starting position of ninth available to all remaining Daytona SportBike riders.
The first Daytona SportBike race of the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader closes out Saturday’s activities beginning at 4:00 p.m. local time. The scheduled distance is 13 laps (50 miles).
Aussie Dave Racing and Pair-A-Nines Take Poles for SunTrust Moto-GT
In qualifying for tomorrow’s two-hour AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT race at the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader the No. 2 Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R600 claimed the overall and GT1 class pole, while the No. 9 Pair-A-Nines entry took the GT2 pole position.
The No. 2 Suzuki, which is co-ridden by David Anthony and Hawk Mazzotta, was quickest overall in the 30-minute qualifying session with a lap at 2:26.970 (99.155 mph). It will be joined on the front row by the No. 14 Crozier Motorsports Triumph Daytona 675 of Mark Crozier, Phil Caudill and Doug Polen, which qualified second at 2:27.519 (98.786 mph).
In GT2, the No. 9 Kawasaki being shared by Nick Cummings and AMA Hall of Famer Jay Springsteen starts from the class pole with a lap at 2:36.306 (93.232 mph). Starting second in GT2 will be the No. 64 TeamHurtByAccident.com Ducati PS1000LE being shared by Justin and Jimmy Filice, another AMA Hall of Famer. The No. 64 Ducati posted a best qualifying lap at 2:36.308 (93.231 mph).
It originally appeared that both class poles would be won by Ryan Elleby, who took the GT1 class honors on the No. 4 Scooter Superstore/Hooters Aprilia RSV1000 with a lap at 2:26.491 (99.479 mph) and posted the fastest qualifying time in the GT2 class at 2:33.247 (95.093 mph) on the No. 77 Touring Sport Ducati/Ducshop Ducati PS1000LE.
However, both times were subsequently disallowed. The No. 4 Aprilia encountered engine problems toward the end of qualifying and was unable to complete its mandatory run on the dyno after qualifying. The dyno test of the No. 77 Ducati, meanwhile, revealed that the bike exceeded the maximum horsepower allowed for the GT2 class.
The fourth round of the nine-race 2009 SunTrust Moto-GT season takes the green flag at 11:00 a.m. local time.
Mercado Tops SuperSport presented by Shoei Practice
Leandro Mercado topped the time charts in both AMA Pro SuperSport presented by Shoei practice sessions with an overall best lap at 2:23.685 (101.422 mph) in the afternoon session on the No. 92 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. The Argentine is looking for his second SuperSport victory of the season after claiming his maiden win in April at Road Atlanta.
Second quickest on the day was Ricky Parker on the No. 96 Graves Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6 with a lap at 2:24.328 (100.970 mph) in the afternoon session, followed by Russ Wikle on the No. 5 Roadracingworld.com Suzuki GSX-R600 at 2:25.399 (100.226 mph) in the morning session.
The SuperSport race wraps up the weekend’s activities for the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader with a 10-lap (40-mile) race beginning at 4:00 p.m. local time on Sunday afternoon. This weekend’s race at Road America marks the first time since the season opener at Daytona that the SuperSport East and West championships will race together.
