2011 AMA Superbike
M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas demonstrated the pace to challenge the best of the best in the AMA Pro Superbike class on Monday at Miller Motorsports Park, but unfortunately the end result did not reflect his strong form.
The Colombian was immediately on the charge, racing up from the second row to dice in a four-rider pack that contested the lead in the early stages of a thrilling Memorial Day Superbike final.
Pushing hard from third and fourth position, the reigning Daytona SportBike champion’s day came to an unfortunate and early end when he lost the front entering Turn 6 on lap 5 of 16.
Martin held on through the drawn out front-end slide and nearly saved it, but it just wasn’t to be. Despite the crash, he was encouraged by his front-running speed as he continues to gradually come to grips with his powerful GSX-R1000 Superbike. In the first three events of 2011, Cardenas and M4 Suzuki have showcased their position as one of only three teams to have successfully earned the AMA Pro Superbike podium.
Martin Cardenas (M4 Suzuki) says: “I was going good until I made a mistake and lost the front in Turn 6. It’s a shame because I was feeling really strong and I think I could have gotten a nice result. But that’s the way it is; I’ll have to wait until next race.
“I was on my knee for a little bit and I thought maybe I could save it but no, the grip did not come back.
“In general I’m happy with my progress in Superbike — sometimes yes, sometimes not as much. I’m not pleased with the two races I crashed, but otherwise I think I’ve done okay. We’re just trying to improve a little bit each race.”
Next weekend M4 Suzuki will head to Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI — where Cardenas twice finished on the podium last season including a spectacular, hard-fought victory – for Round 4 of the 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing series.
