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AMA Superbike
AMA SBK: Cardenas Named Top Rookie
Martin Cardenas was the most outstanding AMA Pro Road Racing rookie in 2011 with his spectacular maiden Superbike season.
Chris Martin  |  Posted December 13, 2011   Iowa City, IA
Martin Cardenas (Photo: Brian J Nelson)
Yes, Cameron Beaubier's silky smooth transition to Daytona SportBike merited consideration, and Garrett Gerloff's one-off performance shortly after turning 16, in which he won his first-ever professional race by outpacing the SportBike stars in his SuperSport debut was quite remarkable. But in the end there was little disputing Martin Cardenas' claim on SPEED.com's 2011 AMA Pro Road Racing Rookie of the Year honor with his convincing maiden Superbike campaign.

Coming off his '10 Daytona SportBike championship triumph, Cardenas finally graduated to big bike racing in 2011. His history of piloting 250cc two strokes and 600cc production-based racers didn't entirely prepare the Colombian for the monumental task ahead but his prodigious skills made the switch look -- well, far from easy, actually… Let's just go with spectacular.

As he gradually modified his middleweight-honed techniques to better suit the 200hp+ M4 Suzuki GSX-R1000 racebike, Cardenas frequently brought the fans to their feet while putting his opposition on their toes.

Broadsliding his way to the front, the gifted Cardenas finished fourth in the final points tally, ringing up nine top fives, three of which were podium results including a very rare rookie Superbike victory -- a feat no other active AMA Pro Superbike pilot had accomplished in their rookies campaigns (and neither did a number of the sport's biggest names including Mat Mladin, John Hopkins, Colin Edwards, Scott Russell, and Doug Polen).

It wasn't all champagne spray and accolades, however. At times Cardenas also learned the hard way. Violently thrown from his bike on more than one occasion, it was obvious the developing Superbike pilot still had a ways to go before tapping his full potential in the premier class. But with his talent unquestioned and his late-race tactics unequaled should he find the pace to put himself in contention for race wins on a regular basis, the sky is the limit.

Alas, we'll have to wait until 2013 at the earliest to see Cardenas' put those hard-earned lessons learned to good use as economic realities have forced Martin back to the SportBike class for 2012 where he'll open the season as the odds-on favorite to pick up a second class championship.

SPEED.com Motorcycle Racing Editor Chris Martin saw Eddie Lawson win aboard a Kawasaki the first time he attended an AMA Superbike race and witnessed Ben Bostrom win a World Superbike race aboard a V&H Ducati the first time he worked one. He has written about AMA SBK, WSBK, and MotoGP for SPEED.com since 2003. Chris is now on Twitter.
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