YOSHIMURA SUZUKI FACTORY RACING DOUBLES UP ON SUPERBIKE PODIUM FINISHES AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
June 23, 2014
BIRMINGHAM, AL (June 23, 2014) - Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing celebrated two well-earned podium finishes at round three of the AMA Pro Superbike Championships at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, this past double-header weekend. Yoshimura Suzuki's Chris Clark brought home his first-ever, career AMA Pro Superbike podium in Saturday's race, while teammate Martin Cardenas visited the podium for the fifth time this season after finishing second on Sunday.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Cardenas started the weekend with a solid showing in qualifying, picking up a front-row starting position. In Saturday’s race, he got a good start but suffered an early-race get-off that resulted in no injuries but incapacitated his bike. Cardenas more than made up for that on Sunday, getting another good start on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. He went on to battle with his teammate Roger Hayden over second place for most of the race but in the end, it was Cardenas who finished on the podium.
“After yesterday, this podium is a very good result for us,” said Cardenas. “I would have liked to get closer to the leader, but we gave it everything we had and I’ll happily take second today. I have to give it up to the Yoshimura Suzuki team. I’m so sorry for the crash yesterday; it caused them to have to stay very late to fix the bike last night. This podium is for them.”
Meanwhile, Saturday’s race was a spectacular one for Yoshimura Suzuki’s Clark. The young racer got a top-10 start and put himself into position to take advantage of other riders’ mistakes. As a result, Clark brought home not only his first Superbike podium but also his first AMA Pro Racing podium. He followed that up with a respectable performance on Sunday, finishing sixth.
“It’s incredible,” said Clark about his podium finish. “This is my first podium in AMA Pro and to do it in Superbike really means a lot to me. It was definitely a race of attrition, and I probably didn’t deserve it but I’ve got to give it up to the whole Yoshimura Suzuki team for all their support and hard work, and for giving me such a great bike as the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.”
Like teammate Cardenas, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Hayden started the weekend on a promising note, qualifying second on the grid. On Saturday, he got a great start on the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and ran a strong second for most of the race, making several bids for the lead. Unfortunately, he wound up crashing in the same turn as Cardenas and was unable to finish. On Sunday, Hayden came back with a vengeance and slotted into second right off the start. He battled with Cardenas for the runner-up podium spot for most of the race before fading due to tire wear and finishing fifth.
“On the first day, I had a good pace going and was right there,” said Hayden. “But I made a mistake and lost the front end. On Sunday, I struggled to keep pace with the leader because of a severe lack of rear tire grip. I did the best I could, given the circumstances. I feel bad for the Yoshimura Suzuki team, especially because they worked until 1:30 Sunday morning to build me a new bike. I can’t thank them enough for all their hard work. I wanted to put on a good race for them but it just wasn’t in the cards. So we’ll to go Laguna and start fresh.”
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s next event is the fourth round of the 2014 AMA Pro Superbike Championships during the weekend of July 11 - 13, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA.
2014 Barber Superbike Results, Race 1:
1. Josh Hayes
2. David Anthony
3. Chris Clark
4. Larry Pegram
5. Cory West
6. Sean Dwyer
7. Reese Wacker
8. Trent Gibson
9. Johnny Rock Page
10. Frankie Babuska
2014 Barber Superbike Results, Race 2:
1. Josh Hayes
2. Martin Cardenas
3. Cameron Beaubier
4. David Anthony
5. Roger Hayden
6. Chris Clark
7. Chris Ulrich
8. Cory West
9. Larry Pegram
10. Sean Dwyer
2014 Superbike Standings:
1. Josh Hayes – 145
2. David Anthony – 116
3. Roger Hayden – 113
4. Cameron Beaubier – 110
5. Chris Clark – 105
6. Martin Cardenas – 90
7. Chris Fillmore – 69
8. Cory West – 65
9. Trent Gibson – 55
10. Larry Pegram – 50
About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.
About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. SMAI’s supplier, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles and Outboard Motors. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has 147 distributors in 201 countries. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motorex, Parts Unlimited, Dunlop, Shorai, Renthal, RK Racing Chain, NGK Spark Plugs, Pilot, K&N Performance Filters, Zero Gravity and Chicken Hawk Racing.
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