AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Action Resumes with Auto Club Speedway Event
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 22, 2010) -
After putting his name firmly into the history books with
his dramatic Daytona 200 win, AMA Pro Racing Daytona SportBike presented by
AMSOIL points leader Josh Herrin and his No. 8 Team Graves Yamaha head into the
second race of the season at California's Auto Club Speedway looking to take
advantage of his early season momentum.
The Suzuki AMA Pro SuperBike Challenge weekend at the 21-turn, 2.36-mile
combination speedway/road course configuration at Auto Club Speedway will give
Herrin and his competitors' two chances to fight their way back into the season
long point's battle.
Practice and qualifying begin on Friday, March 26th
with more qualifying on Saturday, March 27th and the first of two
AMA Pro Daytona SportBike races starting at 4:30 PM local time.
The second 17-lap Daytona SportBike race will be on Sunday, March 28th
at 1:00 PM and will open with Rider Introductions and a Fan Grid Walk. All three AMA Pro Road
Racing categories will be competing during the Suzuki AMA Pro SuperBike
Challenge weekend, including doubleheaders for AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike and AMA Pro SuperSport.
The rider most anxious to get back to work this weekend is
No. 36 M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas.
He started second on the grid at Daytona and held the lead after the
first turn but had an unfortunate fall on the first lap, ending his race before
it really had begun. Another rider who
hoped for better things at Daytona was Daytona SportBike Championship defender and No. 1 GEICO Powersports Suzuki rider Danny
Eslick. He started from pole position
but had slow starts on both the original start and red flag restart. Eslick fought back to an impressive fourth
place at the end of a long night in Daytona but showed he is more than ready to
defend his Daytona SportBike championship
crown.
No one can take anything away from what was an historic
Daytona 200 victory for Herrin and his Team Graves Yamaha. His victory underscored that this sport is
also about teamwork, as his Team Graves Yamaha Team gave him a lead he would not
surrender at the second and final pit stop.
He and eventual second-place finisher Dane Westby came down pit lane side by side and it was only the
excellent pit work that got Herrin out with enough of a lead so that Westby and his
Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha couldn't reel Herrin back in. Veteran Steve Rapp put up an excellent
performance, showing his patience and experience in taking his Team Latus Motors
Racing Ducati to a fine third place in the race and also the points standings
heading into the Fontana, CA Auto Club Speedway event.
The true form for the season has yet to emerge thanks to
the unique nature of the season-opening event.
This weekend should give real indication of who the riders to beat are
and, including the above named riders, there are a number of people to
watch as
the season begins to take shape.
Herrin's teammate Tommy Aquino is one to watch, he ran up front for a
good part of the Daytona 200 when he suffered an unfortunate refueling
problem,
ending his race after 17 laps. Cory West
ran well at Daytona for the Vesrah Suzuki team, as did Shawn Higbee on
his
Higbee-Racing.com Buell. 2009 AMA Pro
SuperSport East Champion Josh Day on his Four Feathers Racing Yamaha
will feature
this weekend along with Westby's teammate, Clinton Seller riding the
second Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha. Ducati
fans will be cheering for Bobby Fong and teammate Mark Crozier on their
DNA
Energy Drink CNR Motorsports Ducatis.
Another strong rider is Santiago Villa on the Roadracingworld.com
Suzuki. Tyler Odom will be riding for
local California Honda team owner Kevin Erion and P.J. Jacobson is back
from
his difficult start at Daytona, riding a Celtic Racing Suzuki.
AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL provides
some of the best racing of the weekend.
Practice and qualifying begin Friday, March 26th and the
doubleheader race weekend features 17-lap races both Saturday, March 27th
and Sunday, March 28th at the beautiful Auto Club Speedway in
Fontana, California.
Please visit www.leftys5k.com for more information and also check out www.autoclubspeedway.com for more info and ticket information. Visit www.amaproracing.com for the latest points and information on all aspects of AMA Pro Racing.
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