National Guard Jordan Motorsports' Jake Zemke leads the field at Daytona

Suzuki continued its tradition of owning the racetrack at the opening round of AMA American Superbike series in Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend – the GSX-R1000 taking seven of the top-10 spots overall after two days of racing.

National Guard Jordan Suzuki team rider Jake Zemke took first place in both 44-mile, 15-lap races and Tommy Hayden steered his Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 to second place in both races. On Friday, he and Zemke were only .009 seconds separated as they crossed the finish line.

Jordan Suzuki’s Aaron Yates took pole position after setting the quickest qualifying lap in the day leading up to the double header; ending up fourth overall at the end of the event, while Blake Young, in his second year with the Rockstar Makita team, took fifth overall after grabbing the holeshot in Thursday’s race and leading for a few laps.

The RoadRacingWorld.com Suzuki, with Chris Ulrich aboard, took sixth overall. Taylor Knapp and his RidersDiscount.com Suzuki took seventh, and Shane Narbonne finished ninth on his DASPerformance.com GSX-R1000.

In the 69th running of the legendary Daytona 200, Geico Powersports RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick raced his GSX-R600 to the pole position and won the Rolex award for fastest qualifier. Eslick battled through the cold and challenging 200-mile race and took fourth, as Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory West took sixth overall. 

Daytona Superbike Race 1:
1. Jake Zemke (Suzuki)
2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) +0.238
3. Larry Pegram (Ducati) +0.259
4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) +0.291
5. Blake Young (Suzuki) +0.307
6. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki) +27.398
7. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki) +27.43
8. Shawn Higbee (Ducati) +1 lap
9. Shane Narbonne (Suzuki) +9.078
10. Barrett Long (Ducati) +16.377

Daytona Superbike Race 2:
1. Jake Zemke (Suzuki)
2. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) +0.009
3. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) +0.081
4. Aaron Yates (Suzuki) +0.212
5. Larry Pegram (Ducati) +0.858
6. Josh Hayes (Yamaha) +1.838
7. Blake Young (Suzuki) +22.383
8. Brett McCormick (Suzuki) +29.235
9. David Anthony (Suzuki) +34.124
10. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki) +34.404 

Top 10 Points Standings:
1. Jake Zemke 62
2. Tommy Hayden 50
3. Larry Pegram 37
4. Aaron Yates 37
5. Blake Young 30
6. Taylor Knapp 25
7. Ben Bostrom 24
8. Chris Ulrich 24
9. Josh Hayes 23
10. Shane Narbonne 20

Jake Zemke took a hard-earned victory aboard his No. 54 National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the opening round of AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike competition during the Daytona 200 Week at Daytona International Speedway. Zemke led six of the race’s 15 laps in the afternoon race around the 2.90-mile short course at the famed circuit.

After a thrilling AMA Pro Racing SuperSport race, the AMA Pro American SuperBike field lined up under sunny skies and the warmest temperatures of the event so far.  The exciting qualifying session saw Aaron Yates take pole position for the doubleheader races on his No. 23 Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000, followed by practice pacesetter Larry Pegram with his No. 72 Foremost Insurance Ducati 1098R and Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 teammates No. 22 Tommy Hayden and No. 79 Blake Young completing the front row.  Josh Hayes and his No. 4 Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R1 and eventual day one race winner Zemke were next up alongside Ben Bostrom’s No. 155 Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R1 and an impressive Chris Ulrich on his No. 18 RoadRacingWorld.com Suzuki GSX-R1000. 

At the start, Young shot into the lead as Yates slipped to fourth.  Ulrich jumped up to sixth, while unfortunately his teammate John Hopkins suffered a mechanical problem on his No. 21 Team M4 Monster Energy Suzuki GSX-R1000 and was unable to finish the race.  Hayes also had a tough day, dropping back at the start, never able to mount a charge back to front.  Young and Hayden ran one-two for a few laps as Pegram battled with Yates and a hard-charging Zemke.  The first five broke away and made the race their own all the way to the finish.  

Zemke took the lead with a huge drafting move on lap seven and led Hayden, Pegram, Young and Yates, all within inches of each other, around the high eastern banking.  Pegram and Hayden went by Zemke on lap 11 with Young and Yates holding station.  Hayden had a near slide in the infield, later saying that it really didn’t hurt his chances at that particular point on the racetrack.  With two laps to go, there was a massive reshuffling as Hayden took the lead and was closely followed by Zemke, Pegram, Yates and Young. 

Hayden finished second and Pegram closed out the podium with third.  Yates and Young took fourth and fifth, respectively, to complete the top five.  Pegram, Yates and Young all turned their fastest laps on the final lap of the race.

After diving into the lead in turn one on the last lap, Zemke was able to break free and build a small gap and as the other riders hit the banking for the final time.  Hayden, Pegram and Yates raced each other hard and allowed Zemke to pull away for a magnificent win, his margin of victory a mere 0.238 of a second.  An emotional National Guard Jordan Suzuki team celebrated after a sensational start to the season.  Under the watchful eye of team owner Michael Jordan, it was a perfect start to the 2010 season for the new rider combination.  Collecting his trophy from sponsor Sgt. First Class John Metzler in Victory Lane, Zemke paid tribute to the men and women serving our country in the National Guard and all of our armed forces all over the world and was also full of praise for his new team. 

The final AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike race of the Daytona 200 week goes green today (Friday) at 4 p.m. eastern time, and both races can be seen in their entirety this Saturday beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET on SPEED.

Dave from Motourage helps Geoff May celebrate his 2008 Superstock race win in front of the hometown crowd at Road Atlanta

Yesterday, Jordan Motorsports Suzuki issued a news release announcing their 2010 lineup. Jordan regular Aaron Yates will return to command his #23 GSX-R1000 in the AMA American Superbike class, but – a surprise to many – the number-two rider for the Jordan team will be 2008 AMA Formula Xtreme champion and former Erion Racing Honda Daytona Sportbike rider, Pasa Robles, California’s Jake Zemke. Although we here at Motourage are, admittedly, big fans of Jake, this announcement leaves us – and many others – wondering what the heck happened to Geoff May. Piloting the #54 National Guard Suzuki, May stood on the box three times during the 2009 season and finished eighth in points, one position behind Jordan teammate Aaron Yates. The previous season, after moving from M4 EMGO Suzuki (now Team Hammer) to the Jordan team, he took the Superstock runner-up spot behind Yates and finished in 10^th position in Superbikes, again one spot behind his teammate.

Even Superbike Planet’s rumor mill is silent on the May situation, and nothing has come from the Jordan camp. So, we’re left to assume that the Georgia native is looking for a job for the 2010 season. Our Motourage Video of the Day only reinforces those assumptions. This video was posted on YouTube in early December and hints at just that: Geoff May is looking for a ride.

Today’s Motourage Video of the Day features a Motourage favorite, Jordan Motorsports’ Geoff May.  Geoff, the Jordan Motorsports team and the entire AMA Pro Racing roster come to Virginia International Raceway on August 14-16 for the Suzuki Big Kahuna Nationals.  This will also be the first official Motourage event, and we’re proud to be able to offer discounted Pagoda Hospitality Passes for our readers.  For more information about the Motourage Celebrity Weekend and VIR, click HERE.
Hope to see you in Virginia!