2012 AMA Daytona SportBike
Spoiler Alert: 2012 AMA Daytona SportBike from Miller Motorsports Park listed below
Martin Cardenas ripped win number four of the 2012 season away from Jason DiSalvo on Sunday during The BigM Weekend presented by Lucas Oil at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.
Cardenas, who races for GEICO Suzuki, led only the very last section of track after a relentless 16-lap assault of DiSalvo, on board his Team Latus Motors Triumph. Cameron Beaubier of the Y.E.S/Graves/Yamaha team was able to retake third place from Jake Zemke (Ducshop Ducati).
The race developed into a three-man battle between DiSalvo, Cardenas, and Beaubier with Zemke and Bobby Fong shadowed just behind the trio. Beaubier was able to challenge DiSalvo several times and was able to move into the lead on lap 3 and lap 6. Cardenas was in close quarters with DiSalvo and Beaubier, but chose to let his two rivals battle for the lead.
With seven laps to go, Beaubier dropped back, leaving the fight at the front to the two multi-race winners. The last lap proved to be one of the season’s highlights, with Cardenas pressing DiSalvo in every corner. The Triumph rider began the lap 0.525 seconds in front. He was able to hold off the Suzuki man until Club Corner, where Cardenas finally made the pass happen.
Cardenas quickly consolidated the lead by making a tight move on a lapped rider, leaving DiSalvo with no option to remount an attack in the last few yards.
It was Martin’s third win of the year, and comes on the heels of a disastrous race at Sonoma that saw the Colombian crash out of second place while chasing DiSalvo for the win.
“At first, I think all of us were pushing hard, but not in excess. Then Jason got up front, and he put his head down and gapped us a bit,” said Cardenas, who said he had to push to keep up. “I was planning to make my move at the hairpin but it didn’t work out and I thought the race was lost then because he was very fast in the last sector. I got a very good drive, and we went side to side and I braked as hard as I could and passed him.”
“It worked out, but it wasn’t the original plan,” he added.
Cardenas now leads by 31 points over Tommy Hayden (Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha). It was his 22nd AMA Pro win and the 50th win for Team Hammer in AMA Pro Racing.
DiSalvo took another excellent finish after the double win in Sonoma but was disappointed not to take a victory after leading 14 laps.
“That was a tough one, leading so many laps and then it coming down to the last few corners and then losing out,” said DiSalvo, who said he lost some grip near the end of the race. “I felt pretty happy with the race. I didn’t leave anything on the table, and it came down to the last section. I was a little bit bummed about the lappers, and it’s hard to say whether I would have been able to answer back to Martin’s pass.”
DiSalvo expects more battles with Beaubier and Cardenas. “I think all three of us have shown we are the class of the field, and I look forward to more battles with these guys,” said DiSalvo.
Cameron, still injured after a non-racing crash, led some and proved he could run up front. “I burnt up my tire passing hard at the beginning, and I couldn’t keep the pace at the end,” he said.
Zemke took fourth once again, for the fourth time in 2012. Bobby Fong (Meen Motorsports) was fifth, ahead of charging Dane Westby (M4 Lucas Oil Suzuki) who moved up to sixth with J.D. Beach (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull) in tow over Benny Solis (Kneedraggers.com Yamaha). Hayden was ninth, ahead of Jake Gagne (RoadRace Factory/Red Bull).
2012 Miller Motorsports Park: AMA Daytona SportBike Results:
Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Points |
1. | 36 | Martin Cardenas | Geico Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 16 Laps | WINNER | 1:55.335 | 0 |
2. | 40 | Jason DiSalvo | Team Latus Motors Racing | Triumph Daytona 675 | 0.100 | 0.100 | 1:55.467 | 0 |
3. | 6 | Cameron Beaubier | Yamaha Extended Service, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 4.199 | 4.098 | 1:55.548 | 0 |
4. | 98 | Jake Zemke | Ducshop Racing | Ducati 848 | 4.297 | 0.097 | 1:55.480 | 0 |
5. | 50 | Bobby Fong | Meen Motorsports Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 13.311 | 9.013 | 1:55.694 | 0 |
6. | 5 | Dane Westby | M4 Lucas Oil Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 18.129 | 4.818 | 1:56.171 | 0 |
7. | 95 | JD Beach | Road Race Factory/Red Bull | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 18.192 | 0.062 | 1:56.156 | 0 |
8. | 20 | Benny Solis | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 18.384 | 0.191 | 1:55.899 | 0 |
9. | 8 | Tommy Hayden | Yamaha Extended Service, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 28.496 | 10.111 | 1:56.916 | 0 |
10. | 132 | Jake Gagne | Road Race Factory/Red Bull | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 30.771 | 2.275 | 1:56.299 | 0 |
11. | 57 | Cory West | Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki Team | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 34.104 | 3.333 | 1:57.366 | 0 |
12. | 72 | Bryce Prince | Rotobox/Nexx | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 34.281 | 0.176 | 1:56.454 | 0 |
13. | 827 | Tommy Aquino | SGA Racing/Yamaha Champions Riding School | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 42.683 | 8.402 | 1:57.213 | 0 |
14. | 75 | Huntley Nash | LTD Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 46.614 | 3.930 | 1:58.065 | 0 |
15. | 52 | Joey Pascarella | Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki Team | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 47.721 | 1.107 | 1:57.330 | 0 |
16. | 111 | Derek Wagnon | HSBK Racing | Ducati 848 | 47.874 | 0.152 | 1:58.054 | 0 |
17. | 56 | Austin Dehaven | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 55.055 | 7.181 | 1:58.137 | 0 |
18. | 7 | Fernando Amantini | Team Amantini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 59.339 | 4.283 | 1:58.823 | 0 |
19. | 60 | Michael Beck | Full Tuck Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 59.392 | 0.053 | 1:58.854 | 0 |
20. | 700 | David Gaviria | LTD Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:07.145 | 7.752 | 1:58.905 | 0 |
21. | 86 | Ben Young | BYR/Fogi Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:34.077 | 26.932 | 2:00.729 | 0 |
22. | 13 | Melissa Paris | Sea Miracle Yamaha Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:35.307 | 1.229 | 2:00.814 | 0 |
23. | 122 | Matthew Presting | Team AMS Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:39.228 | 3.920 | 2:00.793 | 0 |
24. | 26 | Ted Rich | SBKTraining.com | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:59.301 | 20.073 | 2:01.021 | 0 |
25. | 175 | Sam Rozynski | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 15 Laps | 1 Lap | 2:02.499 | 0 |
26. | 121 | Brian Pinkstaff | Zlock Racing | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 1.071 | 1.071 | 2:02.282 | 0 |
27. | 74 | Josh Galster | Josh Galster Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:45.907 | 1:44.835 | 1:59.761 | 0 |
28 | 291 | Scott Decker | Scott Decker Racing | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 13 Laps | 2 Laps | 2:02.138 | 0 |
29. | 240 | Frankie Garcia | Tuned Industries/Aussie Dave Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 10 Laps | 3 Laps | 2:01.873 | 0 |