Motorcycle road racing returns to one of America’s finest racing circuits: Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Round 5 of the 2010
AMA Pro Road Racing Championship is making the first of two scheduled Midwest stops beginning with the fantastic Road America racing circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin this weekend. And without question this is one of the best venues on the Superbike tour. Located amidst a beautiful forest, this 4.05-mile, 14-turn track is fast, flowing and offers a number of spectacular viewing opportunities that allow you to witness the thrill of motorcycle road racing up close. Even better is the relaxed, small town atmosphere, not to mention some of the greasiest, best tasting vendor food you’ll find east or west of the Mississippi.
This year’s event will feature a total of eight races over the course of the weekend. Highlighting the event will be the National Guard American Superbike, Daytona Sportbike, and Supersport classes. All three will be running a twin race format with races being held on Saturday and Sunday. Supporting these classes will be the TTXGP (zero emission, electric motorcycle racing class) and the all-new Vance & Hines XR1200 division which features spec Harley-Davidson XR1200 motorcycles.
AMERICAN SUPERBIKE
Rockstar Suzuki’s Blake Young will be racing in front of friends and family this weekend at his home race at Wisconsin’s Road America.
In the premier American Superbike class, Yamaha’s Josh Hayes recorded double wins at the last round at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. He currently sits third in the championship points and is only eight points off of points leader and Jordan Suzuki rider Jake Zemke. However his YZF-R1 is a little bit down on power compared to some of the other Superbikes which could hinder his performance this weekend considering that Road America has not one, not two, but three 160-plus MPH straightaways.
Rockstar Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden is slotted right between Zemke and Hayes in the points and will be looking for a pair of wins this weekend in Wisconsin. The veteran rider goes well at Road A—especially in the wet, which is always a possibility due to the chance of summer time showers. Hayden’s teammate, Blake Young hails from Wisconsin and grew up racing here. He’s spun plenty of laps here and will be anxious to notch a pair of wins in front of his friends and family.
Last year’s Race 2 winner and Foremost Insurance Racing’s Larry Pegram showed that his Ducati 1198R has tremendous amount of top speed at Road America with him easily outpacing all of the Inline Four cylinder bikes on a dry track. And if the weather can stay dry we definetly expect Pegram to be vying for wins Saturday and Sunday.
Some of the fan favorites who won’t be competing this weekend will be Zemke’s Jordan Suzuki teammate, Aaron Yates who is still recovering from a broken leg suffered when Chris Ulrich ran him over at Fontana a few weeks back. Filling his spot is Canadian Brett McCormick. Monster M4 Suzuki’s John Hopkins also won’t be riding as he is still healing from corrective wrist surgery. His bike will be ridden this weekend by Jake Holden.
RMR/Geico’s Danny Eslick will certainly be one of the front runners this weekend in the Daytona Sportbike class.
Reigning champ and RMR/Geico Suzuki rider Danny Eslick leads the way in the Daytona Sportbike class 10 points ahead of Graves Yamaha’s Josh Herrin. Eslick is fresh off his first win of the season during the second Daytona Sportbike race at Infineon last month and has historically gone well at Road America.
Anxious to gain some ground on both Eslick and Herrin will be Monster M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas. The Columbian rider has scored and impressive four wins this year but has also failed to score any points in two races which is the reason why he’s 35 points behind the leader. If the guy can manage to keep it on two wheels we expect him to be a serious contender this weekend.
Another rider who has shown his mettle this year is Project 1 Atlanta rider Dane Westby. Westby has emerged from obscurity to battle with the top riders this season on his privateer YZF-R6. Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory West has also impressed this year and currently sits fifth in the points.
Veteran AMA rider Steve Rapp will again be racing this weekend on a Latus Racing Ducati 848. Last month, Rapp almost bagged his first win of the season before crashing out of the lead. Will he be able to redeem himself this weekend in Wisconsin?
SUPERSPORT
It should be an all-out battle-o-rama in the young guns class with a number of riders going for the win. After scoring her first AMA win last month in California, Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Elena Myers should be riding a wave of confidence knowing that she has what it takes to run with the boys.
Roadracingworld.com Suzuki’s Elena Myers won her first AMA race last month at Infineon. Can she back it up this weekend in Wisconsin?
Looking to stop her will be Joey Pascarella and Cameron Beaubier who have both taken wins this season. Other riders who we expect to see out in front are LTD Yamaha riders Huntley Nash and Tomas Puerta. We also can’t forget about Rockwall Yamaha’s J.D. Beach, who won the Pro Singles AMA Flat Track race last weekend in Springfield, Illinois.
Practice and qualifying for the Suzuki Superbike Doubleheader weekend at Road America begins on Friday, June 4th. Daily admission is $20 Thursday, $30 Friday, $45 Saturday and $45 Sunday. Additionally discounted multi-day passes are also available as is on-site camping. Children age 12 and under are free with a paying adult.
