2012 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike
Spoiler Alert: AMA Daytona SportBike results from race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park listed below
Cameron Beaubier won his first AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike pole position and race on the same day at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday. The 19-year-old Californian won a nail-biter over Dane Westby (M4 Suzuki) and his Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha teammate Tommy Hayden, one that ended with only 0.674 between the three riders after 21 laps.
The action in GoPro Daytona SportBike has been fierce and laptimes have been falling this weekend in Birmingham. Westby set a new Daytona SportBike lap record at the track in provisional qualifying yesterday, with Hayden close behind, before both Jason DiSalvo (Latus Motors Racing Triumph) and eventual polesitter Beaubier were able to lower the mark even more in final qualifying this morning.
For the Saturday afternoon final, competitors were met with blazing conditions. Beaubier ran in the lead pack the entire race and battled with Westby, Hayden and DiSalvo for the lead at various points in the contest. With just a couple of laps to go, Beaubier took over the point from Hayden, who then fell victim to Westby. Westby tried to make a go at Beaubier in turn four on the last lap, but couldn’t make the pass work.
Westby made a strong bid for the victory but felt he made a slight mistake on the last lap that cost him a better shot at the win. Dane wasn’t quite close enough to try a move in the final series of turns.
Cameron Beaubier says: “I felt really comfortable leading today. I tried to stay out in front as long as I could. I felt like I had a little more in the first few sectors of the track than I did at the end, so I just pushed really hard. I’m at a loss for words. I was so happy to get pole position and a win. It felt really good,” he said.
DiSalvo finished fourth, ahead of points leader Martin Cardenas (GEICO Suzuki) who wasn’t quite as strong as normal on Saturday. Cardenas’ points lead only shrunk by two to second-place man DiSalvo.
Bobby Fong (Meen Motorsports) ran with the lead group in the first half of the race, but rebounded to beat out Benny Solis (Kneedraggers.com Yamaha) for sixth. Jake Zemke (Ducshop Ducati) ran clear of the competition for eighth in what was a lonely race for the veteran.
J.D. Beach (Roadrace Factory Red Bull) and Michael Beck (Team Beck Racing) rounded out the top ten in the hot race.
2012 Barber AMA Daytona SportBike Race 1 Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Points |
| 1. | 6 | Cameron Beaubier | Yamaha Extended Service, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 21 Laps | WINNER | 1:28.391 | 0 |
| 2. | 5 | Dane Westby | M4 Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 0.242 | 0.242 | 1:28.857 | 0 |
| 3. | 22 | Tommy Hayden | Yamaha Extended Service, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 0.674 | 0.432 | 1:28.446 | 0 |
| 4. | 40 | Jason DiSalvo | Team Latus Motors Racing | Triumph Daytona 675 | 5.650 | 4.976 | 1:28.520 | 0 |
| 5. | 36 | Martin Cardenas | Geico Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 16.546 | 10.896 | 1:29.509 | 0 |
| 6. | 50 | Bobby Fong | Meen Motorsports Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 17.465 | 0.918 | 1:28.593 | 0 |
| 7. | 20 | Benny Solis | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 18.335 | 0.870 | 1:29.205 | 0 |
| 8. | 98 | Jake Zemke | Ducshop Racing | Ducati 848 | 24.831 | 6.495 | 1:29.472 | 0 |
| 9. | 95 | JD Beach | Road Race Factory/Red Bull | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 35.876 | 11.045 | 1:29.777 | 0 |
| 10. | 61 | Michael Beck | Team Beck Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 39.038 | 3.161 | 1:30.526 | 0 |
| 11. | 57 | Cory West | Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki Team | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 39.232 | 0.194 | 1:30.644 | 0 |
| 12. | 75 | Huntley Nash | LTD Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 42.977 | 3.744 | 1:29.698 | 0 |
| 13. | 52 | Joey Pascarella | Riders Discount Vesrah Suzuki Team | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 49.299 | 6.322 | 1:30.309 | 0 |
| 14. | 56 | Austin Dehaven | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 55.666 | 6.366 | 1:31.022 | 0 |
| 15. | 7 | Fernando Amantini | Team Amantini | Kawasaki ZX-6R | 56.315 | 0.649 | 1:31.087 | 0 |
| 16. | 72 | Bryce Prince | Rotobox/Nexx | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:02.102 | 5.787 | 1:31.081 | 0 |
| 17. | 42 | Kenny Riedmann | Sturgess Cycle Triumph | Triumph Daytona 675 | 1:02.587 | 0.485 | 1:31.509 | 0 |
| 18. | 46 | Shane Narbonne | MOB Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:03.055 | 0.468 | 1:31.281 | 0 |
| 19. | 86 | Ben Young | BYR/Fogi Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:13.224 | 10.168 | 1:31.397 | 0 |
| 20. | 175 | David Gaviria | Kneedraggers.com/Triple Crown Industries | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:21.159 | 7.935 | 1:32.092 | 0 |
| 21. | 63 | Jeff Wrobel | Wrobel Racing | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1:21.599 | 0.439 | 1:32.296 | 0 |
| 22. | 213 | David White | Number213.com | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 20 Laps | 1 Lap | 1:33.590 | 0 |
| 23. | 11 | Michael Morgan | RIM Racing | Suzuki GSX-R600 | 0.812 | 0.812 | 1:33.572 | 0 |
| 24. | 221 | Walt Sipp | Walt Sipp Racing | Buell 1125R | 21.678 | 20.866 | 1:33.608 | 0 |
| 25. | 38 | Kris Turner | Turner`s Cycle Racing | Triumph Daytona 675 | 26.787 | 5.108 | 1:29.956 | 0 |
| 26. | 127 | Ron Mears | Tornado Bait Racing | Honda CBR600RR | 16 Laps | 4 Laps | 1:36.169 | 0 |
| 27. | 132 | Jake Gagne | Road Race Factory/Red Bull | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 1 Lap | 15 Laps | 1:32.507 | 0 |
