2012 AMA Daytona SportBike
Spoiler Alert: 2012 AMA Daytona SportBike results from race two at Road Atlanta listed below
It wasn’t quite as easy as Saturday’s wire-to-wire job, but GEICO Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas still managed to win his second AMA Pro Daytona SportBike trophy of the weekend Sunday at Road Atlanta to sweep the Triumph Big Kahuna Nationals and claim the unique top prize – a brand new surfboard.
Martin Cardenas (GEICO Suzuki GSX-R 600 SportBike) says: “I have to learn how to surf now. I have never tried, but I will head to the beach soon to see if I can do it.”
Surfing aside, there is no question that Cardenas knows how to ride his GSX-R600. He was dominant throughout the weekend, leading every qualifying session and riding to the top of the podium in both main events. In six Daytona SportBike starts at Road Atlanta, Cardenas has won five times. The other race was lost due to engine failure.
Martin Cardenas says: “This track suits me well, and thankfully so does the next one. I feel very comfortable on this bike. It just feels very good and that makes it nice for me.”
Sunday’s race was a little more stressful for Cardenas, although he made it look fairly routine. He swapped the lead around with a couple of riders in the first lap and a half but then pulled ahead for good from there.
Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha’s Tommy Hayden was the only one to keep Cardenas honest, riding right behind him the entire race, but lapped traffic near the end allowed Cardenas to thwart any thoughts of a real challenge and the Colombian took the checkered flag by 1.220 seconds. Taking the final podium was M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki’s Dane Westby.
Martin Cardenas says: “It was harder because Tommy stayed right on my tail the whole way. I knew I couldn’t make any mistakes or he would take the position. It was tiring to ride that focused for that long but this is what was required to win. Some back markers helped me at the end this time, so there was no late maneuvering and I was able to get the victory.
“The entire GEICO Suzuki team should get credit for this weekend. Everyone executed their jobs perfectly and the bike was in great form. I am happy for these two wins.”
Cardenas’ double-win weekend moved his total number of victories in the class to 18, a record amount. It also helped him build a sizable 20-point lead in the championship standings after just three races.
Up next is the Great Clips West Coast Moto Jam, which run May 4-6 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.
2012 AMA Daytona SportBike Results: Road Atlanta Race Two:
Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Points |
1. | 36 | Martin Cardenas | Geico Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 20 Laps | WINNER | 1:29.087 | 0 |
2. | 8 | Tommy Hayden | Yamaha Extended Service, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1.220 | 1.220 | 1:29.095 | 0 |
3. | 5 | Dane Westby | M4 Broaster Chicken Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 17.851 | 16.631 | 1:29.815 | 0 |
4. | 98 | Jake Zemke | Ducshop Racing | Ducati 848 | 17.891 | 0.040 | 1:29.415 | 0 |
5. | 132 | Jake Gagne | Road Race Factory/Red Bull | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 22.390 | 4.499 | 1:29.734 | 0 |
6. | 50 | Bobby Fong | Meen Motorsports Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 27.140 | 4.749 | 1:29.901 | 0 |
7. | 95 | JD Beach | Road Race Factory/Red Bull | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 27.148 | 0.008 | 1:30.096 | 0 |
8. | 75 | Huntley Nash | LTD Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 40.037 | 12.888 | 1:30.228 | 0 |
9. | 35 | Benny Solis | Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki Team | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 41.968 | 1.931 | 1:31.083 | 0 |
10. | 52 | Joey Pascarella | SGA Racing/Yamaha Champions Riding School | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 42.228 | 0.259 | 1:30.786 | 0 |
11. | 56 | Austin Dehaven | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 53.991 | 11.763 | 1:31.611 | 0 |
12. | 29 | Barrett Long | Longevity Racing | Ducati 848 | 54.219 | 0.227 | 1:31.435 | 0 |
13. | 7 | Fernando Amantini | Team Amantini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 54.834 | 0.614 | 1:31.476 | 0 |
14. | 60 | Michael Beck | Full Tuck Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 54.887 | 0.053 | 1:30.491 | 0 |
15. | 72 | Bryce Prince | Rotobox/Nexx | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 55.307 | 0.419 | 1:31.593 | 0 |
16. | 111 | Derek Wagnon | HSBK Racing | Ducati 848 | 55.875 | 0.568 | 1:31.461 | 0 |
17. | 20 | Paul Allison | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:17.480 | 21.604 | 1:32.492 | 0 |
18. | 46 | Shane Narbonne | MOB Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:17.587 | 0.107 | 1:32.150 | 0 |
19. | 74 | Josh Galster | Josh Galster Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 19 Laps | 1 Lap | 1:33.204 | 0 |
20. | 11 | Michael Morgan | RIM Racing | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 0.381 | 0.381 | 1:33.114 | 0 |
21. | 77 | Matthew Sadowski | Top Shelf Motorcycles Racing | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 2.499 | 2.117 | 1:33.527 | 0 |
22. | 63 | Jeff Wrobel | Wrobel Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 14.144 | 11.645 | 1:33.741 | 0 |
23. | 213 | David White | Number213.com | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 46.593 | 32.448 | 1:35.215 | 0 |
24. | 86 | Ben Young | BYR/Fogi Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 16 Laps | 3 Laps | 1:31.974 | 0 |
25. | 38 | Kris Turner | Turner`s Cycle Racing | Triumph Daytona 675 | 15 Laps | 1 Lap | 1:32.109 | 0 |
26. | 700 | David Gaviria | LTD Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 12 Laps | 3 Laps | 1:31.562 | 0 |
27. | 40 | Jason DiSalvo | Team Latus Motors Racing | Triumph Daytona 675 | 10 Laps | 2 Laps | 1:29.044 | 0 |
28. | 57 | Cory West | Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki Team | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 5 Laps | 5 Laps | 1:30.425 | 0 |
29. | 175 | Sam Rozynski | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 3 Laps | 2 Laps | 1:38.298 | 0 |
30. | 221 | Walt Sipp | Walt Sipp Racing | Buell 1125R | 1:57.190 | 1:57.190 | 1:35.364 | 0 |
31. | 133 | Kyle Wyman | Triumph/STT | Triumph Daytona 675 | DNS | DNS | -no times- | 0 |