Rider Files

(NEWS RELEASE)

David Gaviria won his first ever AMA Pro SuperSport race on Sunday, leading an LTD Racing sweep of the Daytona AMA Pro SuperSport races. Gaviria, who finished third on Friday, passed teammate Tomas Puerta just before the finish line to win an exciting ten-lap AMA Pro Motorcycle-SuperStore.com race.

Daytona Beach, FL (March 11, 2011) — David Gaviria won his first ever AMA Pro SuperSport race on Sunday, leading an LTD Racing sweep of the Daytona AMA Pro SuperSport races. Gaviria, who finished third on Friday, passed teammate Tomas Puerta just before the finish line to win an exciting ten-lap AMA Pro Motorcycle-SuperStore.com race. Huntley Nash took 12th place in a grueling Daytona 200, and Sam Nash earned his best-ever result in SuperSport.

The first race of the day held the fans at Daytona International Speedway captive. The margin of victory was just 0.048 between the two riders backed by Yamaha Extended Service. Puerta led on the final lap after putting a move on Gaviria in the International Horseshoe to take the lead. When Stefano Mesa crashed out of third entering the chicane on he last lap, the battle at the front was left to the LTD Racing teammates. Puerta tried to pull away, but Gaviria drafted by decisively to take his first win.

Gaviria officially led eight of the ten laps at the stripe.

“I didn’t expect it, but I am really, really excited to have won this race,” said Gaviria. “To win at the first event is a great result and very promising for the season. I tried my best in the infield but I couldn’t hold Tomas off, then I tried my hardest on the banking. Maybe I was a little lucky, but I am really pleased with how the weekend has gone for me and the team.”

Tomy nearly took the double win at Daytona but came up just short. “I really didn’t like finishing second,” said Puerta, the East division points leader. “It was a great weekend for the team and we won both SuperSport races, so we’re happy. Congratulations to David, he ran a great race. I tried to do the same thing I did yesterday and make a break early, but I couldn’t get away from the other riders. I knew early that the race was going to come down to the end. On the last lap, I tried to make a move on David on the infield and I had hoped I could make it to the line first but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s good to finish second but I am a little disappointed I could not win again today. I would like to thank the team and our sponsors including Yamaha Extended Service.”

Sam Nash took a strong sixth in the race on his spring break from law school. Nash fought in a four-rider pack and was able to earn his best-ever result. “It was a super-fun race. There was a lot of back-and-forth between a few riders fighting for fourth place. I made a draft pass at the end of the race right before the finish line and took 6th place over Elena Meyers. It was my personal best finish and a dream come true — a great spring break. I’d like to thank all the mechanics and the team for working hard for us all weekend.”

Huntley Nash earned 12th in the three-times red-flagged Daytona 200. Nash improved his pace dramatically during the race and showed lots of promise in his first race since the jump to the Daytona SportBike class. “I wanted to come out of here healthy with a good result and having learned more about the bike and the class,” said Nash, who won three races last season. “I feel good about today and we found two seconds in the race. Of course, we needed a different setup at that point and I couldn’t push any harder. With all the red flags, the race was a strange one but I’m glad to get it done and now we’re ready to go test and get ready for Infineon.”

(NEWS RELEASE)

M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas demonstrated his potential to become a major force in AMA Superbike competition in 2011, fighting with the leaders deep into Saturday’s contest at Daytona International Raceway.

The reigning Daytona SportBike champion diced with the front runners for 13 of the race’s 15 laps, repeatedly battling and overtaking the class’ established stars.

Grip issues finally forced the Colombian to back off his attack, but he still managed to claim an impressive fourth-place result despite admitting that he’s still fine-tuning his riding style to suit the powerful M4 Suzuki GSX-R1000.

“Today was much better,” Cardenas said. “We found some things with the setup that helped me a lot. We were able to be right there with the front group for most of the race and that’s pretty good — I’m happy. The last few laps, the tires weren’t hooking up very much so I had a couple of big slides and scary moments. I lost contact with the lead pack and that was it. But that’s okay, I’m happy with the race.

“We need more time on the bike. We need to get the bike set-up a little better, which will be crucial. I think we’re going to do some testing during the break and I hope to be in even better shape for the next round.”

Teammate Chris Ulrich found himself in a deep hole to climb out of early, dropping to 18th position on the race’s second lap. Ulrich steadily worked his way forward, however, and ultimately made his way up to 11th position by the time he reached the checkered flag, falling just three tenths of a second short of his second top-ten result of the weekend.

Meanwhile, M4 Suzuki had a wild afternoon in a most unusual running of the Daytona 200. The race was red flagged due to front tire concerns and after an extended delay, shortened and restarted as a 15-lap sprint race to the flag.

Dane Westby ran inside the top ten during the first portion of the race and was even stronger after the stoppage. Meanwhile, Santiago Villa was putting in a consistent day’s work which he carried on into the race’s second half.

Westby was in contention for the win as a seven-rider pack jostled for position on the final lap of the thrilling race. However, Westby’s front brake lever was clipped by another rider as they raced to the checkered flag, sending him over the handlebars and into the path of a third competitor.

Westby was fortunate to escape the spectacular high-speed fall with just a broken thumb.

“After the red flag, I was right there,” said Westby. “I figured out something coming onto the banking and that’s what it took. The bike was really good.

“We were running really close going for the checkered flag. No one was going to give anything up and a rider wasn’t quite able to pass me in the draft so he was right alongside me and we were coming together a couple of times. I was holding my straight line and he came down into me. Something made contact with the lever and I did a stoppie. I just remember going over the bars and getting up and going to the ambulance.”

Westby originally was credited with sixth position but was later dropped to the end of the lead lap for being involved in an incident that brought out another red flag. He was officially credited with a 13th-place finish in Saturday’s 147-mile Daytona 200.

However, Westby’s misfortune worked in Villa’s favor. What originally had been a stellar ride in which the hard-working Colombian matched his previous career AMA best result of 11th place was elevated to his first top ten, as he was ultimately awarded ninth position.

M4 Suzuki will resume their AMA Pro Road Racing actives for the second round of the 2011 season at Infineon Raceway on May 13-15.

(NEWS RELEASE)

Tyler Bright Grabs Arenacross Lites Victory

GREENVILLE, S.C. (March 12, 2011) – The recent dominance of Babbitt’s Monster Energy/TiLUBE Kawasaki presented by Maxxis rider Tyler Bowers, of Danville, Ky., continued on Saturday night as he raced to his sixth straight AMA Arenacross Series victory from the BI-LO Center. In the Arenacross Lites main event, Jimmy Weinert Racing Honda’s Tyler Bright, of Sumter, S.C., grabbed his first win of the 2011 season.

As the gates dropped on the Arenacross class main event, TUF Honda’s Jeff Gibson, of Blacklick, Ohio, grabbed the early lead and looked to regain the momentum he had in the early portion of the season. However, Babbitt’s Monster Energy/TiLUBE Kawasaki’s Chad Johnson, of Rhinelander, Wis., took over the top spot from Gibson after just a handful of laps and looked to gap the field. Behind him, Bowers moved past Gibson as well and set his sights on his teammate. It wasn’t long before Bowers caught Johnson and overtook him for the lead and the eventual win.

Johnson stayed strong in second, recording his fourth consecutive runner-up finish in a dominant month for the Babbitt’s team. By virtue of his second-place effort, Johnson also moved into a tie for second in the Arenacross class championship with Gibson, who fell to fourth by the conclusion of the main event. Rounding out the podium with his best result of the season was Foremost Insurance/Spinechillers/HondaofFairfield.com’s Zach Ames, of Prospect, Ohio.

Bowers advantage over Gibson and Johnson in the championship is now at 38 points.

After a three-week break, the Arenacross Lites Eastern Regional Championship returned to action in Greenville. Series veteran Bright took advantage of the opportunity to compete in front of his hometown crowd and put forth an impressive effort, grabbing his first win of the season. He later moved on to post a commendable 13^th-place finish in the Arenacross main event, almost immediately after 18 laps on intense Arenacross Lites action.

Following Bright on the podium was Foremost Insurance/Spinechillers/HondaofFairfield.com’s Patrick Massie, of Washington Court, Ohio, in second, giving the Spinechillers Racing team a memorable night. Five Star Cycle KTM’s Kenneth Henry, of Ashtabula, Ohio, rounded out the podium in third.

Massie’s runner-up effort helped increase is lead in the Arenacross Lites Eastern Regional Championship standings to 29 points over Hot Rod MX Racing Honda’s Austin Coon, of Spencer, W.Va.

The AMA Arenacross Series continues next weekend from the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, beginning at 7 p.m. CT.

Arenacross Class Results (Greenville, S.C.)

1. Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki
2. Chad Johnson, Rhinelander, Wis., Kawasaki
3. Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Honda
4. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Honda
5. Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Honda
6. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki
7. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki
8. Willy Browning, Pleasantville, Ohio, Honda
9. Kevin Johnson, Spring, Texas, Yamaha
10. Travis Sewell, Westville, Ind., Suzuki

AMA Arenacross Lites Class Results (Greenville, S.C.)

1. Tyler Bright, Sumter, S.C., Honda
2. Patrick Massie, Washington Court, Ohio, Honda
3. Kenneth Henry, Ashtabula, Ohio, KTM
4. Austin Coon, Spencer, W. Va., Honda
5. Chris Osborne, Charlotte, N.C., Yamaha
6. Jake Locks, Dixon, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Tanner Young, Marland, Okla., Yamaha
8. Austin Primavera, Larue, Ohio, Suzuki
9. Nicholas Lane, Great Mills, Md., Suzuki

10.  Clay Elliott, Salem, Ohio, Suzuki

Arenacross Class Points (After Race 13 of 19)

1. Tyler Bowers, Danville, Ky., Kawasaki – 302
2. Jeff Gibson, Blacklick, Ohio, Honda – 264
3. Chad Johnson, Rhinelander, Wis., Kawasaki – 264
4. Gray Davenport, Lehi, Utah, Kawasaki – 203
5. Zach Ames, Prospect, Ohio, Honda – 199         
6. Nathan Skaggs, Chillicothe, Ohio, Honda – 177
7. Kelly Smith, Ludington, Mich., Yamaha – 171
8. Cole Siebler, Emmett, Idaho, Ho            nda – 153
9. Kevin Johnson, Spring, Texas, Yamaha – 152
10. Cory Green, Nowata, Okla., Suzuki – 145

Arenacross Lites Class Eastern Regional Points (After Race 7 of 10)

1. Patrick Massie, Washington Court, Ohio, Honda – 125
2. Austin Coon, Spencer, W.V., Honda – 96
3. Adam Gulley, Jonesburg, Mo., Kawasaki – 95
4. Steve Mages, Sardinia, Ohio, Kawasaki – 86
5. Tyler Sehr, Belleville, Ill., Honda – 65
6. Kyle Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., Suzuki – 63
7. Austin Primavera, Larue, Ohio, Suzuki – 56
8. Kenneth Henry, Ashtabula, Ohio, KTM – 56
9. Scott Zont, Algonquin, Ill., Honda – 47
10. Kyle White, Freeport, Ill., Honda – 38

New for 2011! Live timing and scoring from each round of the AMA Arenacross Series. To follow the intense racing action live, log onto www.Arenacross.com.  For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short at brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.

For more information on the 2011 AMA Arenacross Series, log on to www.Arenacross.com. For all media requests, please contact Brandon Short brandon@nextlevelsportsinc.com or 949-365-5750.

Never miss out on the latest news! Follow the AMA Arenacross Series on Facebook and Twitter! Log on to http://www.facebook.com/AMAarenacross and http://twitter.com/arenacross today!

About Feld Motor Sports^®
Feld Motor Sports^®, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam^®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz^®, and IHRA^® Nitro Jam^®.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment.  For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.

The crash at the checkered flag is one of the scariest things I’ve seen in motorcycle road racing. Check it out on SPEED.

http://www.speedtv.com/video/moto-racing/ama-road-racing

(NEWS RELEASE)

Ryan Sipes Races to His First Career Victory in the Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class

Ryan Villopoto made it three in a row with his victory in Lucas Oil Stadium Saturday night. (Larry Lawrence photo)

INDIANAPOLIS

(March 12, 2011) – Tonight, 60,789 fans greeted the 10th race of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, in Indianapolis as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto, of Poulsbo, Wash., won his fifth race of the season. In the Eastern Regional Supercross Lites class, DNA Shred Sticks/Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes, of Ekron, Ken., captured his first career victory.

As the gates dropped for the 20^th Supercross Class race in Indianapolis, TwoTwo Motorsports/Bel-Ray Racing’s Chad Reed squeezed through the pack to capture the holeshot with Villopoto and Dodge Hart and Huntington’s Ivan Tedesco in tow.

Villopoto, unaware of the battles trailing him, led all 20 laps to register his fifth victory of the season. Meanwhile, behind Villopoto, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Ryan Dungey pressured second place’s Reed through 10 laps, but an unfortunate get-off by Dungey allowed Reed to hold his second place spot.

Far from safe, Reed was stalked closely by San Manuel Yamaha’s James Stewart and late on lap 11 Stewart made his move on Reed and took over the second place spot. As Stewart carefully held this second place spot, a battle for third between Reed and Dungey continued to the checkered flag; however, Dungey was not able to put the pass on Reed.

“The track was really tough tonight,” said Villopoto. “The ruts played a big factor throughout the 20 lap main. You really had to be smart out there. The whole team worked together really well tonight, and I couldn’t do it without them.”

“I had a rough weekend last week and wasn’t able to ride the way I wanted to,” said Stewart. “I let my team down today. It’s not over. I’m so motivated right now and I have a bunch of guys behind me.”

At the start of the fourth race of the Eastern Regional Supercross Lites class, Pro Circuit/Monster Energy/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett was first to the line for the holeshot followed by DNA Shred Sticks/Yamaha’s Ryan Sipes. Early on lap seven, Baggett dismounted from the bike following the finish line jump and handed the lead to Sipes with GEICO Honda’s Justin Barcia in tow. Sipes went on to lead the remaining eight laps to register the first victory of his career followed by Barcia and Baggett, who finished second and third respectively.

“I can’t even describe the feeling right now,” exclaimed Sipes. “I didn’t think about winning until I crossed the checkered flag. Last time I thought about taking first place while leading, I went down and handed over the lead. Tonight, I stayed strong and didn’t think about it, and it definitely paid off.”

“I went six laps and got pressured and went down and pretty much threw the race away, said Baggett. “I threw away a good amount of points, but we’ll just make sure we pick it up down the road.”

Supercross Class Results: Indianapolis

1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha
3. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda
4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki
5. Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C., Yamaha
6. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda
7. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda
8. Nicholas Wey, Dewitt, Mich., Yamaha
9. Cole Seely, Corona, Calif., Honda
10. Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., KTM

          Supercross Class Season Standings

1. Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki – 221
2. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Yamaha – 195
3. Chad Reed, Tampa, Fla., Honda – 192
4. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki – 183
5. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda – 169
6. Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, KTM – 129
7. Justin Brayton, Cornelius, N.C, Yamaha – 121
8. Davi Millsaps, Carlsbad, Calif., Yamaha – 114
9. Brett Metcalfe, Lake Elsinore, Calif., Suzuki – 107
10. Kevin Windham, Centreville, Miss., Honda – 103

Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Results: Indianapolis

1. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha
2. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda
3. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki
4. Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki
5. Matt Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki
6. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki
7. Blake Wharton, Aubrey, Texas, Honda
8. P.J. Larsen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM
9. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda
10. Les Smith, York, S.C., Honda

Eastern Regional Supercross Lites Class Season Standings

1. Justin Barcia, Ochlocknee, Ga., Honda – 91
2. Blake Baggett, Grand Terrace, Calif., Kawasaki – 85
3. Ryan Sipes, Ekron, Ky., Yamaha – 79
4. Dean Wilson, Menifee, Calif., Kawasaki – 75
5. Blake Wharton, Aubrey, Texas, Honda – 65
6.  Malcolm Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki – 62
7. Matt Lemoine, Collinsville, Texas, Kawasaki – 51
8. P.J. Larsen, Murrieta, Calif., KTM – 46
9. Jason Anderson, Edgewood, N.M., Suzuki – 44
10. Alex Martin, Millville, Minn., Honda – 40

For more information on the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship, please log on to www.SupercrossOnline.com. For all media requests, please contact Denny Hartwig dhartwig@feldinc.com or 630-566-6305. To follow Monster Energy Supercross on Facebook and Twitter, log on to http://www.facebook.com/supercrosslive and http://twitter.com/supercrosslive.

About Feld Motor Sports^®
Feld Motor Sports^®, Inc. is the world leader in specialized arena and stadium-based motor sports entertainment.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. productions include Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam^®, Monster Energy Supercross, AMA Arenacross Series, Nuclear Cowboyz^®, and IHRA^® Nitro Jam^®.  Feld Motor Sports, Inc. is a division of Feld Entertainment, the world’s largest producer of live family entertainment.  For more information on Feld Entertainment, visit www.feldentertainment.com.