2012 AMA Pro Racing
With Blake Young (Yoshimura Racing Suzuki) leading the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike point standings, AMA Pro Road Racing heads to Miller Motorsports Park for the BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil, a Memorial Day tradition mixing motorcycles, music and military.
This weekend will be the Series’ fifth trip to Tooele, Utah, and Suzuki has earned victory in all but one of the seven AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike races held at the facility. Each of AMA Pro Road Racing four classes will be featured in single race finals on the 3.05-mile natural terrain road course.
Young was able to grab a four point lead over two-time and defending AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) following a rare miscue by the veteran in Race 2 at Infineon Raceway earlier this month. The Wisconsin, who leads Hayes 166-162 in the points, won at Miller last year and hopes to repeat this weekend to build on his points gap and bring him that much closer to taking home his first AMA Pro Championship.
Third in the Championship chase is Roger Hayden (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) with 114. Hayden earned the highest AMA Pro SuperBike finish of his career last round with a second-place result in Race 2.
The rest of the top ten is a tightly-contested group of seven riders, and six manufacturers, separated by just 18 points. Leading that pack is Hayes’ AMA Pro SuperBike freshman teammate Josh Herrin (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) with 84 markers, followed by Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance Pegram BMW), Geoff May (Team Amsoil/Hero EBR), Steve Rapp (Attack Performance Kawasaki), Danny Eslick (Hero Moto Corp. EBR), Chris Fillmore (Team HMC KTM) and Chris Clark (Yoshimura Racing Suzuki).
So far in 2012, Hayes has claimed all but one bonus point, claiming pole at each round and leading the most laps in all but the most recent race final. The Mississippian also took pole position at Miller last year, besting closest rival Young’s effort in qualifying with a time of 1:50.401.
Including Young, five riders in the AMA Pro SuperBike top ten have wins to their credit at Miller Motorsports Park. Herrin and Rapp took the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races last year, respectively, May won in 2008 in AMA Superstock and Hayes took the inaugural AMA Formula Xtreme race in 2006.
The BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil at Miller Motorsports Park will take place Memorial Day weekend, May 26-28. AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike will take to the track for the first practice session Saturday, May 26 at 9:50 a.m. and will be featured in a 16-lap race on Monday, May 28 at 2:00 p.m. local time. SPEED will broadcast the race in a same-day delayed broadcast scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. ET/2:00 p.m. PT.
AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Point Standings (After Round 3): 1. Blake Young (Waunakee, WI) – 166; 2. Josh Hayes (Gulfport, MS) – 162; 3. Roger Hayden (Owensboro, KY) – 114; 4. Josh Herrin (Glendale, CA) – 84; 5. Larry Pegram (Hebron, OH) – 82; 6. Geoff May (Gainesville, GA) – 77; 7. Steve Rapp (Hawthorne, CA) – 73; 8. Danny Eslick (Broken Arrow, OK) – 71; 9. Chris Fillmore (Oxford, MI) – 66; 10. Chris Clark (Las Vegas, NV) – 66.
AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike
It’s no shock that the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike action has been fast and furious in 2012. In Round 3 at Infineon Raceway, Martin Cardenas (GEICO Suzuki) and Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing Triumph) split the wins in what were difficult races with hot paces. Cardenas’ win was the Colombian’s 20th AMA Pro victory and 19th in the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike class, the record for most wins in the class, and DiSalvo’s victory was the first GoPro Daytona SportBike win for the British marque.
The AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Championship tightened up with Cardenas’ crash in Race 2 last round. Heading to Miller Motorsports Park, Tommy Hayden (Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha) trails Cardenas by 12 markers, 113-101. Cardenas’ teammate Dane Westby (M4 Lucas Oil Suzuki) lurks just a few points behind with 94 in what has been a solid and consistent season for the Oklahoman up to this point.
AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike veteran Hayden returns again this weekend as a substitute for Garrett Gerloff. Teammate Cameron Beaubier (No. 6 Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) has taken two podium finishes in two starts this season and hopes to return healthy and at the front of the pack at Miller Motorsports Park.
DAYTONA 200 winner Joey Pascarella (Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki) ran an impeccable race at Daytona International Speedway in March and has been picked up for the remainder of the 2012 season by the always impressive Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki team.
Veteran Jake Zemke (No. 98 Ducshop Racing Ducati 848) has led at times this season and is knocking on the door for a podium finish. The Californian is the active rider with the most wins at Miller Motorsports Park, with victories to his credit in AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike (2006), AMA SuperSport (2008) and AMA Formula Xtreme (2008).
The AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike division will contest a 16-lap race final Sunday, May 27 at 4:10 p.m. local time. SPEED will broadcast flag-to-flag coverage of the race starting 20 minutes after the green flag flies at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike Point Standings (After Round 3): 1. Martin Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) – 113; 2. Tommy Hayden (Owensboro, KY) – 101; 3. Dane Westby (Tulsa, OK) – 94; 4. Joey Pascarella (Vacaville, CA) – 88; 5. Jason DiSalvo (Batavia, NY) – 86; 6. Jake Zemke (Paso Robles, CA) – 75; 7. Bobby Fong (Stockton, CA) – 66; 8. JD Beach (Philpot, KY) – 65; 9. Cory West (Eureka Springs, AR) – 60; 10. Michael Beck (Simi Valley, CA) – 48.
AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport
AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport, the AMA Pro Road Racing class for up-and-coming riders and fast local club racers, returns to a wide-open circuit that offers a much different challenge than previous rounds. Leading the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport charge heading to Miller Motorsports Park, defending series champ
James Rispoli (Celtic Racing/Orient Express Racing Suzuki) has finished no lower than fourth in six starts this year. The New Yorker leads Elena Myers (Suzuki Scoop Fans Sportbiketrackgear.com M4 Suzuki) in the West Division point standings 107-63.
Hayden Gillim (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull Yamaha), who started his sophomore SuperSport season with an upstart team, sits two points behind Myers in the West Division standings. Last year’s third-place finisher at Miller, Travis Ohge (Meen Motorsports/ Graves Motorsports Yamaha) is back with a new team in 2012.
Several Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport East Division riders are likely to challenge for wins in Utah but won’t be taking any points home with them. Jake Lewis (Riders Discount/Vesrah Suzuki) leads the East Division standings and has already taken home a win in what can only be described as an impressive start to the young rider’s professional racing career. Dustin Dominguez (Latus Motors Racing Triumph) took home a victory for the British marque in the opening race at Infineon Raceway earlier this month and followed that up with a second place result in Race 2. Gillim’s teammate Tomas Puerta (RoadRace Factory Yamaha) has come into his own as of late, finishing behind Dominguez in Race 2 at Infineon to grab the second podium this season for the fledgling team. Last year’s Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race was won by Corey Alexander (National Guard/ Fairhills Group/ Celtic Racing Suzuki), who is sure to be one of the frontrunners again this year.
The 13-lap race for the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport division will be the first race of the weekend, set to go green at 1:35 p.m. local time on Sunday, May 27.
AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport West Division Point Standings (After Round 3): 1. James Rispoli (Attica, NY) – 107; 2. Elena Myers (Discovery Bay, CA) – 63; 3. Hayden Gillim (Owensboro, KY) – 61; 4. Travis Ohge (Aurora, OR) – 42; 5. Garrett Willis (Loomis, CA) – 29; 6. Colter Dimick (Ft. Collins, CO) – 25; 7. Sebastiao Ferreira (Paravna, Brazil) – 22; 8. Rocco Horvath (Chandler, AZ) – 17; 9. Tyler Linders (Mission Viejo, CA) – 16; 10. Wyatt Farris (Calistoga, CA) – 15.
AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series
Three races into the 2012 AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series, three different men have stood atop the podium – Kyle Wyman (No. 33 KLR Group/Vesrah Racing Harley-Davidson XR1200), Tyler O’Hara (No. 29 Bartel’s Harley-Davidson XR1200), and Michael Barnes (No. 34 Bartel’s Harley-Davidson XR1200). O’Hara, whose first AMA Pro victory came last year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, leads Barnes in the points 83-77. Wyman sits three points back with 74.
Of the active competitors, Barnes was the top finisher in last year’s event with a fourth-place result. Barnes clinched his first victory in over a decade on the final lap of the Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race at Infineon Raceway earlier this month. His success last year at Miller Motorsports Park combined with the momentum he has from his win last round are sure to put him in contention for a top podium spot this weekend. Teammate O’Hara will race to keep his top spot in the point standings and improve on last year’s sixth place result in Utah. Last year Wyman finished in eighth position here and will need a better race to find his familiar spot on this weekend’s podium.
With only nine points and milliseconds per race separating these three riders, expect to see another spectacular finish when the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series riders take to the track for their 8-lap race final, scheduled for Monday, May 28 at 1:20 p.m. local time.
AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series Point Standings (After Round 3): 1. Tyler OHara (Petaluma, CA) – 83; 2. Michael Barnes (Boca Raton, FL) – 77; 3. Kyle Wyman (Macedon, NY) – 74; 4. Travis Wyman (Macedon, NY) – 47; 5. Michael Corbino (Sarasota, FL) – 43; 6. David Estok (Daytona Beach, FL) – 41; 7. Gerry Signorelli (Colorado Springs, CO) – 38; 8. Darren James (Deep Cove, Canada) – 37; 9. Josh Chisum (Bakersfield, CA) – 36; 10. Shane Narbonne (Tyngsboro) – 33.
SPEED2 Live Streaming Broadcasts and Live Timing & Scoring
Follow along live as the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series riders battle it out by logging onto speed2.com. SPEED2 is a broadband service available to customers of Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, DISH and Cox. For more information and instructions on gaining access to all of the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com and AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series races, please review the SPEED2 FAQ located at speed2.com/faq.
Live Timing & Scoring of all on-track sessions is available here. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at twitter.com/AMAProSBK and facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing.
BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil Event Features
As is fitting on Memorial Day weekend, America’s armed forces will also be featured, with a Tribute Field of 2,012 American flags erected in the track’s infield and the Zions Bank Military Acre featuring interactive displays from all branches of the armed forces. The United States Marine Corps color guard will present the colors during the opening ceremonies on Monday, prior to a flyover of an F-16 Fighter Jet, a combined effort by the 388th and 419th Fighter Wings at Hill Air Force Base. Colonel Sarah Zabel, Commander of the 75th Air Base Wing at Hill Air Force Base, will offer comments during opening ceremonies and the National Anthem will be performed by the 23rd Army Band. All current and veteran military members are eligible for a 50-percent discount on event tickets, this weekend and every weekend.
In addition, there will be a myriad of activities for families to enjoy, including karting at the Miller Kart Track, rides on MMP’s Zip Line, 2-up rides on the racetrack from the Yamaha Champions Riding School, Ford Raptor rides on MMP’s off-road desert course, thrill rides in Dodge Chargers and Challengers, a fan party/autograph session on Saturday evening, pit walks, vendors, non-stop entertainment from local bands and performing groups in the paddock throughout the weekend, stunt bike demonstrations and plenty of good food.
Tickets for the event are priced at $35 for General Admission and $45 for Grandstand Seating on Saturday, and at $40 for General Admission and $50 for Grandstand Seating on Sunday and Monday. Tickets for kids aged 6-12 are priced at $5 for General Admission and $10 for Grandstand Seating all three days. Kids aged 5 and under are admitted free of charge.
To obtain tickets for or information about The BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil, visit the track’s website at MillerMotorsportsPark.com or call 435-277-RACE (7223).
