AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike

Cameron Beaubier claimed pole for the 72nd Daytona 200 on Friday. Beaubier, on board his Yamaha Extended Services Graves Yamaha R6, dominated the field to set a best time of 1:49.612 on the 3.51-mile long course in the afternoon session. The 20 year-old topped a front row of teammate Garrett Gerloff, Bobby Fong of Triple Crown/RMR, and Jake Zemke of Desmo Veloce for the 57-lap contest.

Beaubier led most of the session by a wide margin, eventually ending up with more than a second’s advantage over the rest of the field when the session ended. Beaubier won the Rolex Daytona traditionally awarded to the Daytona 200 pole winner handily but his rivals are expecting to give him a tougher task on Saturday.

“This morning, conditions weren’t good but in the afternoon, the temperatures came up. I got a good draft on the straightaway at the finish,” said Beaubier.

The front row offers a varying level of rider experience. Veteran Zemke is a former race winner while Gerloff has never competed in the 200-mile race before.

Row two is packed with some of the best young riders in the country. J.D. Beach of RoadRace Factory heads up the second row, along with Meen Motorsports’ Jake Lewis, Last year’s winner Joey Pascarella on the Riders Discount Triumph and LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash.

The sighting lap for the 72nd Daytona 200 begins at 12:40 local time.

AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport

In AMA Pro Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport race one, Stefano Mesa won a closely contested event on the Motosport.com entry, winning a draft-fest by 0.026 over David Sadowski, Jr. Hayden Gillim took third place on the Team 95 bike, which had to be conformed by the photo finish equipment.

Mesa said, “It feels great. These guys rode a great race. It came down to the last lap and came down to the banking. I tried to get it up front and it worked out for us. I hope to win some more this year and I think this is a good start to the season.”

After winning at Elkhart Lake last season, Mesa earned a second AMA Pro win.

“It was a wild one from my seat, too” said David Sadowski, Jr. Sadowski ran down the lead pack and nearly took victory in the ten lap race.

Matt Sadowski earned fourth ahead of RoadRace Factory’s Tomas Puerta, the polesitter who led much of the race after being shuffled back late. Sebastiao Ferreira, finishing sixth, was just 0.274 behind the winner on his BP Racing machine.

Mark Miller, Jr. was seventh, just behind the lead pack. The Mar Del Auto rider finished ahead of Cody Wyman (Harv’s H-D).

The second AMA PR Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport race will be held tomorrow at ten AM local time.

AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series

The AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series opener more than lived up to the lofty pre-race expectations of a thrilling battle for the first victory of the 2013 AMA Pro Road Racing season.

Eleven riders took the fight to the checkered flag, with as many as eight riders running side-by-side on the banking as they jockeyed for position throughout the seven-lap affair.

On the final lap, Eco Fuel Saver/Scrubblade/Bartel's Harley-Davidson's Tyler O'Hara and Revolution Performance/Millennium Technologies' Kyle Wyman once again demonstrated why they are regular contenders for victory in the class, showcasing some serious strategic acumen.

Sitting several positions out of first as they started the final run to the flag, Wyman and O'Hara built up steam as they utilized the draft to blast past a succession of opponents. Wyman rushed into first with the checkers in sight, but O'Hara made one final slingshot maneuver and stole the win away at the stripe.

"It was crazy," race-winner O'Hara said. "It was almost like riding a Pro Single on a mile. It was hairball and I'm just happy everybody rode respectfully… My main goal was to come out of here with some good points and we did.

"Coming onto the banking I was in like sixth or seventh and I told my dad I thought I could win from around sixth. I was like 'slingshot -- engaged!'

"It's all about putting yourself in the right place at the right time. It feels really good to come out of here with a win."

Rossmeyer's Harley-Davidson's Bobby Fong came home in third in a race that saw the top ten riders separated by a meager 0.792 seconds.

Rossiter's Harley Davidson's Michael Corbino finished fourth with Suburban Harley-Davidson's Ben Carlson rounding out the top five.

Canadian Steve Crevier was sixth, followed by defending champ Michael Barnes, who got shuffled down the order in the chaotic final drafting battle. NJMP winner Shane Narbonne was seventh, followed by pole winner Travis Wyman, with Gage McAllister completing the top ten.

Live Timing & Scoring of all on-track sessions will be available at http://live.amaproracing.com/rr/. Between the races, stay connected with AMA Pro Road Racing at www.twitter.com/AMAProSBK and www.facebook.com/AMAProRoadRacing; keep up with Daytona International Speedway via Twitter (www.twitter.com/DISupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway).

For tickets and additional event information, visit www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP. For information related to AMA Pro Road Racing, please visit www.amaproracing.com.

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

For additional information contact:
AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com