Yoshimura Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas brings it home on the box

MILLVILLE, NJ (September 16, 2013) –  The Shorai Sponsored Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing continues to rack up impressive podium finishes as the 2013 AMA Pro Superbike Championship season draws to a climactic close. This last two days’ double-header race weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ, saw Yoshimura Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas race his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to two third-place finishes at the penultimate round of AMA Pro Superbike. So far this year, Cardenas has visited the podium at 11 out of 13 races.

Turning in a tremendous ride in Saturday’s Superbike race, Cardenas got a good start on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and led the first several laps before a red flag was thrown when a rider’s bike leaked oil on the track. After a lengthy delay, the race was restarted and Cardenas battled for the win for the remainder of the race before finishing third. On Sunday, Cardenas again got a good launch and then fought long and hard for his second third-place finish of the weekend.

“This was a very long and tough race weekend,” said Cardenas. “On Sunday, I got a good start but I got passed by a couple of riders and they were a little faster than me. Then a few other riders tried to pass me and I fought back, but the leaders got away. I tried to close the gap as hard as I could and it started coming down, little by little. On the last lap, I tried to take over second but it didn’t work out, so I settled for third. Overall, the race was good and I’m very happy with the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. The bike worked great this weekend and I look forward to finishing the season with a little bit better result at Laguna Seca.”

Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Chris Clark also turned in a solid performance in Saturday’s race. Prior to the red flag, Clark got a good start on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and ran in the top 10 until the race was delayed. Afterward, Clark struggled some and finished 14th. On Sunday, Clark again got off the line with the top 10 and then went on to finish 13th.

“It was an interesting weekend,” said Clark. “I felt pretty confident coming into the race. We’ve been slowly chipping away at where we’ve been down. Yesterday, we got a really good start and then there was the fiasco with the oil. On the restart we didn’t have the right set-up to make the tire last. So this morning we made a change that was good for today and I got up to speed pretty quick. Unfortunately, I got a little arm pump but overall I was able to put in a pretty solid race. Now I’m looking forward to Laguna Seca and building on the progress we’ve made so far.”

The Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing team’s next event and the final race of the 2013 AMA Pro Superbike Championship series is at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA, the weekend of September 27 - 29, 2013.

Check out the New Jersey SBK “Behind The Scenes Race Report” at

New Jersey Superbike Results, Race 1:

1.  Josh Herrin

2.  Roger Hayden

3.  Martin Cardenas

4.  Josh Hayes

5.  Chris Fillmore

6.  Danny Eslick

7.  Aaron Yates

8.  Taylor Knapp

9.  Geoff May

10. David Anthony

New Jersey Superbike Results, Race 2:

1.  Josh Hayes

2.  Josh Herrin

3.  Martin Cardenas

4.  Roger Hayden

5.  Danny Eslick

6.  Chris Fillmore

7.  Geoff May

8.  Larry Pegram

9.  Taylor Knapp

10. David Anthony

2013 Superbike Standings:

1.  Josh Herrin – 320

2.  Josh Hayes – 298

3.  Martin Cardenas – 297

4.  Roger Hayden – 228

5.  Danny Eslick – 213

6.  Larry Pegram – 169

7.  Chris Fillmore – 169

8.  Geoff May – 161

9.  Aaron Yates – 146

10. David Anthony – 146

About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.

About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. SMAI’s supplier, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles and Outboard Motors. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has 147 distributors in 201 countries. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com