AMA Pro Racing

Eslick and Buell Do the Double at Auto Club Speedway

Buell scored its first major motorcycle road racing win Saturday at Auto Club Speedway after years of competition in AMA Pro Road Racing.  Less than 24 hours later they did it again.
 
Danny Eslick (No. 9 Bruce Rossmeyer's Daytona Racing/RMR Buell 1125R) turned in his second flag-to-flag performance in as many days Sunday to sweep both AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL races at the Suzuki AMA Pro Superbike Challenge.
 
"It feels good to be back up here again," said Eslick, who took the lead at the start of the race from second on the grid.  "It wasn't as easy today as it was yesterday, not that yesterday was easy, but Jamie (Hacking) had the pressure on me.  I was waiting on a sneak move but it never quite happened.  The Bruce Rossmeyer's/RMR Geico Powersports Buell 1125R really stuck in there today."
 
Hacking (No. 88 Monster/Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) was the weekend's Daytona SportBike Superpole winner and finished second to Eslick in both races this weekend.  On Sunday, however, he steadily reeled the Buell rider in during the final half of the 21-lap race.
 
"We went out with a new setting that we hadn't ridden on," said Hacking, who spent the first part of the race battling in a large group of Daytona SportBikes.  "It took me awhile at the beginning to figure out what the bike was doing, which is why I fell back a little bit, but once I got settled in I managed to put in some good laps and managed to catch Danny.  I was thinking about everything I could possibly do.  The ZX-6R ran as well as it could but it just didn't have it today."
 
Team M4 Suzuki rider Jason DiSalvo (No. 40 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) edged teammate Martin Cardenas (No. 36 Team M4 Suzuki GSX-R600) at the finish line to take the final podium spot. 
 
"It was an awesome race, everyone battled so hard," DiSalvo said.  "I pulled up alongside Martin down the back straight and made the pass for third on the lap to the white flag, and then on the last lap he wouldn't let me make it stick.  It was M4 versus M4, I don't know if my engine was a little tighter or what.  I tried to get a drive on him, timed the draft just right and it worked."
 
For the second straight day, parity was the theme of the race in Daytona SportBike where six different makes of motorcycles were ridden by the top-seven finishers.  The top trio of Buell, Kawasaki and Suzuki were joined by the Yamaha YZF-R6, Honda CBR600RR and Aprilia RSV1000R.
 
Cardenas, who finished third Saturday, took fourth Sunday while Josh Herrin (No.  8 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6) completed the top five.

AMA Pro Issues Penalties
 
AMA Pro Road Racing rider Jamie Hacking has been suspended indefinitely following this weekend's event at Auto Club Speedway for conduct detrimental to the sport of professional motorcycle racing.  The culminating incident occurred in the Auto Club Speedway media center following post-race interviews on Sunday where Hacking used a string of profane language while exiting the press interview area.  Prior to this incident, Hacking displayed additional acts of inappropriate behavior in both public and media interviews.
 
"No premier sporting organization would tolerate, whether it be motorsports or major league stick and ball sports, the level of disrespectful, profane and vulgar language in a public forum as demonstrated by Jamie Hacking this weekend at Auto Club Speedway," said AMA Pro Road Racing Managing Event Director Colin Fraser.  "His behavior was totally disrespectful to the media, his competitors and the sport of motorcycle racing in general."
 
Hacking will be considered for reinstatement pending payment of a $4,000 fine and delivery of a public apology to AMA Pro Road Racing officials.  Subsequent to payment of the fine and receipt of an apology acceptable to AMA Pro Road Racing, Hacking will also be suspended for one full event weekend. 
 
All fines paid to AMA Pro Road Racing will be donated to Camp Boggy Creek, a Paul Newman Hole in the Wall Camp located in Eustis, Florida, and the Roadracing World Action Fund.
 
Additionally, AMA Pro Road Racing also placed riders Michael Beck, Kevin Boisvert, Mat Mladin, Mark Simon and Dustin O'Hara on probation due to failure to participate in Sunday's mandatory autograph session.