The last round of the 2012 AMA Pro Racing championship takes place at New Orleans Motorsports Park (NOLA Motorsports Park), in "The Big Easy". New Orleans, Louisiana.
First up it's the season finale for the Daytona Sportbike division. Racing is for pride and rides for next year, since the championship has been won. At the New Orleans Motorsports Park, there is an out of bounds line between the front straight and the pits that they cannot cross. Tommy Hayden is back in the paddock at an AMA Pro race after his horrific wreck with Cameron Beaubier at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Jake Gagne has his first ever Daytona Sportbike pole position. This is a new racetrack. The bikes are on the grid, ready for the Daytona Sportbike race.
Tommy Hayden still has a sore shoulder after that big wreck at New Jersey. He'll need to adapt during the race. At the start, Martin Cardenas gets the jump. Tommy Aquino comes to fourth. Bobby Fong takes over the race lead into the first series of corners, but, Cardenas comes back by. J.D. Beach, Jake Gagne, and others, are running pretty well. Gagne won last time out at Homstead-Miami Speedway. The bikes are ridden hard into turn thirteen, into the braking zone, and then, set up for the final sweepers. Tommy Aquino tries passing another rider. This will be an 18 lap event.
Michael Beck ditches his bike. He might be out. He slides hard into turn one and falls down. Meanwhile, there's a four way fight. Aquino, Fong, Gagne, Cardenas. Not in that order though. Cameron Beaubier passes J.D. Beach. Gagne hangs onto second over Bobby Fong. J.D. Beach is Gagne's team mate. Oh! Big wreck! Bobby Fong runs up into Jake Gagne, launching the bike in the air! The bike absolutely got obliterated! This race has been red flagged for obvious reasons. Both bikes went down, spiraling through the air!
Gagne is OK. Fong is moving, but he might be hurt. Well, he stands up. But, his shoulder must be hurt. Gagne's motorcycle looked to just get vaporized! Another savage crash. Fortunately, Fong should be fine as well. The bikes are back on track, running slowly under yellow, ready for a restart. On the restart, Tommy Aquino gets a good start. But, Cardenas leads over J.D. Beach. Jake Zemke passes Dane Westby. Zemke is fifth. Martin Cardenas is already beginning to open a gap up. J.D. Beach is also running very well.
Dane Westby passes Cameron Beaubier. Tommy Aquino tries passing Westby, but Westby has none of it. Four of 18 laps complete. Aquino passes Beach into turn eight. Turn eight is a "commitment" corner, meaning, make your move, right here, right now. Westby passes Beach, too. Cameron Beaubier is drafting J.D. Beach, making a pass, and Westby pushes past Aquino. Aquino cuts back inside. Martin Cardenas will extend his lead since these guys are scrapping so. Aquino needs to move away from Westby. Dane Westby runs inside Aquino. He's a very confident rider.
Who has the legs on the front straight? Use the draft. Beaubier flies past both bikes in the draft! Wow! Beaubier runs a lap at 1:44 flat. He's coming for Cardenas, fast. Beaubier takes 2/10ths of a second off of Cardenas' lead. The Chuck Graves Yamaha team is going very well. Cardemas knows that he's being chased down. The tires are working OK. The rear wheel on these bikes might be a concern. But, watch out for the front tire on the Superbikes, in the next race.
Jason DiSalvo, and other riders, hold down the bottom part of the top ten. DiSalvo, Huntley Nash, and Glen Gaviria, are not having the races they want. Ten laps to go now. Beaubier has the speed over Cardenas in a way. Corey West, Jason DiSalvo, and others battle. Beaubier wants to draft by Cardenas. He can't make the inside line work. Six laps remain in this first race. Cardenas finishes off the corners with the rear of the motorcycle. He wiggles, and that also forces Beaubier to sit up.
Beaubier tries again on the outside. No dice. Beaubier should just ride for a bit. He's got a cushion over third place. Tire combinations for both riders are hard/hard. Beaubier looks on the inside again. This is a two horse race, even though Cardenas is already the champion. Corey West battles David Gaviria and
others. Beaubier passes Cardenas. Martin Cardenas takes over the race lead now. He was behind Beaubier for a while. In turn six, Cardenas runs slightly into the dirt, and by the straightaway, he outbrakes Beaubier. Three laps to go. There will be a second race. Read about it further down in this blog entry.
Martin Cardenas crashes! He gave it everything. He doesn't need to worry, though. He's got the title. Yet, he knew he was on the knife edge. He turns in and loses grip. It was a low side crash instead of a high side. So, with two laps left, Beaubier has an eight second lead over the three battling for second (Westby, Beach, and Aquino). There is a huge scramble. West, Gavidia, Hayden, DiSalvo, and others. Jake Zemke is in it, too. This is for about sixth through tenth. Zemke runs alone, in fifth place.
Gavidia is the sixth place bike. But, on the last lap, Cameron Beaubier looks to be headed for a win. Bring it around the final corner. Beaubier wins it!
#6 Cameron Beaubier Yamaha YZF R6
Coming up, it's the first of the Superbike races. Josh Hayes has pole for the first race. This new track is located in a suburb of New Orleans, called Avondale, Louisiana. Front tire wear, on the Superbikes, will be a big issue, as opposed to the rears on the 600cc machines. At the start, it's Josh Hayes on the outside. Geoff May also gets a really good start. If he pushes too hard, that could be trouble. Ben Bostrom is third, Danny Eslick, fourth. These are the fastest vehicles to hold a race since it opened. These guysa re flying in top gear through the esses. Run in about fourth gear on the 1000cc bike. Robertino Pietri, Chris Fillmore, Geoff May, and Steve Rapp all battle.
Roberto Pietri tries to pass Geoff May and he does. Danny Eslick slides wide, coming in front of Chris Fillmore's KTM. Larry Pegram's BMW is right behind. This race will be 18 laps, just like the 600cc race. Chris Fillmore goes inside Pegram. The EBR's of Eslick and May run in formation. Blake Young and Ben Bostrom run behind Hayes. Rapp, Eslick, and May follow. Steve Rapp almost crashed on the Kawasaki. Rapp has won the Daytona 200 before. Hayes is really fast. He'll have fifteen wins if he can hang on.
With Rapp, he out-drives Eslick on the straight. Larry Pegram passes Geoff May for seventh place. Josh Hayes is amazingly dominant as he earns another #1 plate. Ben Bostrom has passed Blake Young. We'll see what Jordan Motorsports is going to do. Michael Jordan wants to win the title. Yes, as mentioned before, it is the basketball superstar who owns that team. Thirteen laps left. Hayes is running the 1:40 flat range in terms of lap times. Chris Fillmore is hounding Danny Eslick. It's EBR vs. KTM. Robertino Pietri is also doing real well.
What will EBR become in years down the road? Eric Buell really knows what he wants. Fillmore passes May. The KTM is now eighth. One lap to halfway. The tire wear is changing to the rear tires, and riders feel the fronts beginning to move. Robertino Pietri makes a pass on Eslick. He must pass Rapp before the tires really go south. On the defensive end, take a guy into the corner deeper, and outbrake your competitor. This is the unknown. Everyone will learn from now until the end of this race. The race is half over. Larry Pegream slides in and pushes Danny Eslick onto the grass!
Eslick gets back on the road, but, he's dropped down the order. Hayes continues to lead. Steve Rapp chases Roger Hayden. Chris Fillmore and Larry Pegram are also back in contention. Fillmore gets around Pegram with seven laps remaining. Robertino Pietri has to serve a penalty for crossing that white line on the front straight, just out of turn sixteen. If you cross the line three times, you are out. There are five and ten second penalties for first and second offenses. Pietri got caught out on the rules. Too bad. Blake Young is the sole holder of second over Ben Bostrom, and Roger Hayden.
Five laps remain in race one for Superbike. The riders have reached that unknown area on their tires. Will they hold? The lap times are falling off by a second, over what was run in qualifying. The leaders have been running in the 1:41 bracket. Ben Bostrom has a problem. Is it tires or mechanical? Roger Hayden is on the podium on the sister Jordan Suzuki. Danny Eslick went off in turn five. Aaron Yates stuffed him up the inside. David Anthony runs behind Yates' bike. Yates ran in MotoGP a couple times. Three laps left. Yates will not give Anthony the spot. In the tests, tires were being shredded constantly. So, when the teams came back for the race, to NOLA Motorsports Park, they changed the strategy.
That happens with new race tracks. This is the first pro motorsports race at this track. Chris Fillmore sets his best lap time with two laps to go. Josh Hayes leads Blake Young. Young had a good ride in the first race today. It's the last lap. Josh Hayes is going to win his fifteenth race of the year, tying, Miguel Duhamel for second on the all-time win list, with 32. If Hayes wins the Sunday race (read on), he'll be in sole position of second on the all-time AMA win list.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
Race two, on deck for both classes. First, Daytona Sportbike, then, Superbike. These are the last rounds for the season. Jake Gagne has ligament damage in his knees after that huge crash in the Saturday race. He will not race today (Sunday). Jake Gagne is a spectator for the race today. The bikes are lined up on the grid, ready to race.
At the start, Cardenas looks to get the jump, but the bikes fan out. Beaubier and Fong give chase. Jake Zemke runs tenth and got a good start. Cameron Beaubier chases Cardenas through turn seven as Tommy Aquino is up to third. Dane Westby passes Bobby Fong. Aquino is going for it but can't quite get by Beaubier, who runs wide. Martin Cardenas opens a gap. Tommy Aquino wobbles and Dane Westby is trying to reel him in.
Beaubier goes inside Fong. He can't make the pass. J.D. Beach battles Jake Zemke. Jason DiSalvo and Cory West follow. Bobby Fong is finding a match with Meen Motorsports. Meanwhile, Beaubier and Westby scrap, just ahead. Westby gets the best of Beaubier for now. The battle on the bayou is intensifying. Jake Zemke is out of the racing. He's crashed his Ducati 848. Bobby Fong is down, too. Zemke down in turn five. Fong down, in turn 13. His front Dunlop tire lost grip. Martin Cardenas runs a 1:43.1 compared to Tommy Aquino at a 1:43.4.
Aquino gets passed by two more riders. Cameron Beaubier is reeling in Dane Westby. Tommy Aquino only could go so far before the tire said, "enough!" Cory West misses a turn and gets on the grass. But, he blows a motor, too, on his Suzuki. There was a boom, and large plume of smoke from the motor. Cameron Beaubier drops 1.3 seconds behind Cardenas. J.D. Beach is fifth with Jason DiSalvo, sixth, on his Triumph Speed Triple. Cameron Beaubier is closing. Westby and Aquino continue to swap positions, coming to the halfway point in the race.
Tommy Aquino is on the inside. But, Westby outbrakes him. Jake Zemke is out of the race on his Ducati 748. Cameron Beaubier is charging after Cardenas again. Cardenas ran a 1:42.9, while Beaubier gets fastest lap at 1:42.6. Cardenas' bike is beginning to slide again. The Yamaha lays down the power better than the Suzuki does. Cardenas loses grip every so often. The manufacturer's cup is up for grabs. Suzuki and Yamaha want to sell motorcycles. Who will win? It's the old adage in racing, "win on Sunday... sell on Monday."
Beaubier ran wide! He should recover. Cardenas runs a 1:43 flat. What's the gap now? They are 1.3 seconds apart with six laps left in the season. There's a bigger gap back to third and fourth, (the Westby and Aquino battle). Aquino runs a 1:43.792. There's a four way fight for eleventh with Huntley Nash leading the group ahead of Austin Dehaven and Joey Pascarella who won the Daytona 200. This is the fight for seventeenth. Pascarella and Nash are a part of it. Huntley Nash makes the pass. He runs a shade wide. Just in front of Nash is #86 Ben Young.
Cardenas steps out on the bike and fortunately stays in it. He is pushing the rear tire. Beaubier has passed Martin Cardenas. Diving into turn eight, Beaubier gets by Cardenas as Cardenas loses traction, just a shade. The #6 bike is faster. Three laps remain in the 2012 Daytona Sportbike season. Beaubier will be back in Sportbike next year. Not sure what will happen with Cardenas. Will he be in Sportbike, or Superbike? He's a hot commodity. Beaubier had a light front end, switching direction between turns 14 and 15.
A lap and a half remains. This is for the win in the last race of 2012 for Daytona Sportbike. Aquino and Westby fight for the podium, banging handlebars! Westby shuts the door for the last podium spot! Who does it? Cardenas passes Beaubier. Beaubier is trying hard to get back by! Get to the inside. Right there, he can't quite get it. Cardenas wins it! The fight for third, it's Aquino vs. Westby and Aquino does it!
J.D. Beach holds off Jason DiSalvo for fifth and Austin Dehaven ditches his bike, right at the end!
#36 Martin Cardenas Suzuki GSXR600
Martin Cardenas is the champ! We'll see what happens, next year, in 2013.
Coming up, this is the last race of the year. Superbike, race two!
Josh Hayes believes he is past his prime as far as going to race in Europe. That's why he probably won't do it. He's near 40 already. He's watched the legendary riders like Scott Russell, Mat Mladin, Miguel Duhamel, and Aaron Yates. Hayes has won on every track on the AMA schedule in 2012.
At the start, Josh Hayes seems to get the jump. But, Danny Eslick also gets a flyer! Eslick runs wide though. He drops to fourth place. Fifth now. Chris Fillmore's KTM also is red hot here. Blake Young, Ben Bostrom, and Roger Hayden and second, third, and fourth. Larry Pegram's BMW is being hounded by Aaron Yates, Steve Rapp, and Geoff May. Can Ben Bostrom take advantage of Blake Young bobbling? This race will be 18 laps. Hayes already is checking out.
Young runs wide and Bostrom ducks back in. Who will be second? Hayes doesn't care. He's got the lead. He'll let the Suzuki's fight it out. Steve Rapp runs behind Chris Fillmore. Rapp is auctioning a helmet off to help someone who is dealing with leukemia. Great gesture by Steve Rapp. He scraps with Larry Pegram on the BMW S1000RR. Aaron Yates is back in AMA Superbike. He's riding a BMW and is used to running Suzuki's which he's done in the past. He's a former team mate to Mat Mladin. Four laps are complete. Danny Eslick is trying to gain on a group of three bikes. The twin cylinder EBR is slightly underpowered, but, he almost gets by Roger Hayden.
Geoff May and Danny Eslick will be back with Eric Buell Racing next year. Roger Hayden comes to third, after winning last time out at Homestead-Miami Speedway. This first pro event at New Orleans Motorsports Park, has gone very well. Bostrom and Eslick have lost touch with Hayden and Young. Hayden is hounding Young. Josh Hayes ran a 1:39.487 setting quick lap of the race. Eslick wobbled, and fortunately saved the bike! Yikes! Two Suzuki's battle. It's Yoshimura vs. Jordan. Bostrom and Eslick continue their battle for fourth.
Danny Eslick is using the single disc braking system of the EBR to his advantage. Robertino Pietri is buried in the field, trying to make his way up to another good finish. He's battling Aaron Yates who passes Larry Pegram. Chris Fillmore and Taylor Knapp are also back there. There's a battle for sixth through twelfth spot. Yates passes Rapp. Pietri tries passing Pegram. But it didn't work. Blake Young falls down, hard! Another rider is also involved. It's Young and Roger Hayden. Roger gets into the corner too hot, and they tagged each other! A gnarly crash to be sure.
Hayes continues to lead. Eight laps remaining. One of the SPEED golf carts has been heisted. Catch that dude with the golf cart! Roger Hayden had the door shut, leaning on the front brake hard, and got moved over by Blake Young, looking at the replay in real time. Wow! The rules still apply that you cannot cross the white line between the track and the pits at turn sixteen. Danny Eslick will get a penalty for crossing the line. He needs to beat Ben Bostrom by five seconds to get on the podium. There's no way for the team to tell him, "push, push, push". Robertino Pietri got the same penalty and didn't feel it was fair.
They need to alternate the color of the line, or put cones there. Larry Pegram and the BMW S1000RR are out of this race. He brings the bike to the pits with five laps left in the race, and the season. Geoff May's EBR is also out. No worries for Josh Hayes. He's got a ten second lead, or more. Taylor Knapp crashes. He had a lowside in turn four. It's easy to overstep the boundary, slam the bike down, and go out of the race. Larry Pegram is out of the race, as the transmission on his BMW went out. He'll be back next year, and have to see what brand of bike he'll ride.
Danny Eslick is second. He's third due to the penalty. Hayes might want to change the record book. He could go to Europe and run World Superbike. There are 40-year-old veterans in WSBK like Carlos Checa and Max Biaggi of course, the newly crowned champ. Read the previous post to see about that. Josh Hayes of course is now a three-time champion. Scott Russell, Doug Polen, Miguel Duhamel, and Mat Mladin have dominated the series. Josh Hayes' name can be added to this group. He wins! He's the #2 all-time AMA road race winner with 33, behind the huge number of 82 wins set by Mat Mladin.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
He's also the champion of course. There were other races run at NOLA Motorsports Park, specifically for the XR1200 class which had their own race covered on this blog at Indy, back in August. In Pro Supersport race one, there were many crashes. Hayden Gillam won. In race two, Jason Rispoli and Garrett Gerloff got off to a good start. Garrett Gerloff won it.
Race 1: #69 Hayden Gillam Yamaha YZF-R6
Race 2: #96 Garrett Gerloff Yamaha YZF-R6
In XR1200 competition, it was a battle between Tyler O'Hara and Michael Barnes. O'Hara was disqualified. Michael Barnes wins the title after racing in AMA for 25 years.
#34 Michael Barnes Harley Davidson
So ends a great season of AMA National Guard Superbike Racing. We'll see what happens in 2013. So long for now.
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