Daytona Beach, FL (March 11, 2011) — LTD Racing’s Tomas Puerta won his first AMA Pro SuperSport race at Daytona on Friday, winning by 7.624 seconds on his Y.E.S.-backed Yamaha. Teammate David Gaviria battled for the podium and finished third in his first-ever race for LTD. He was just 0.008 short of second place. Sam Nash earned 13th place in the race, an impressive result for the part-time racer.

Puerta, who finished third in the East division points last year for LTD Racing, marched away from the field at his favorite racetrack on Friday. Puerta had earned the podium at Daytona before, but the 18 year-old saved his best AMA Pro race for the 2011 season opener. He led all 10 laps to become the third race winner for in the third season of LTD Racing.

“I’m really excited about it and really happy for my first win,” said Puerta. “I was wanting it bad. Last year, I was happy to just be at the front at times but this year I am really trying for the championship. In this race, I pushed hard for the first four laps and then I saw I had a gap. I tried to build up the gap because it is so hard to win here.”

Puerta is the third rider to win a SuperSport race for LTD Racing, joining Joey Pascarella and Huntley Nash. It was the seventh SuperSport race win for LTD Racing, which is now backed by Yamaha Extended Service.

Gaviria battled with the four-rider group for second place. He led the battle with two laps to go and mounted a strong challenge on the final lap. His first race for LTD Racing was memorable, as he became the fifth racer to earn a podium placing for the team.

“I think I made a good decision at the end with my strategy but I came up just short of second place,” said Gaviria. “I’m learning a lot about racing here at Daytona and the draft in this race. I need to learn more about this and I am happy with bike and the team. It should be fun to get to race again tomorrow and I am expecting another good result.”

After the first race of the year, Puerta leads East division points while Gaviria leads the West division.

Sam Nash took 13th place, coming up just short in a battle for 12th by 0.015 seconds. Nash, who clocked the third-highest trap speed in the race, said, “That was great fun. I had a good battle with Ryan Kerr and I can’t wait to get out there again tomorrow.”

Huntley Nash qualified 21st for the 70th Daytona 200. Nash, in his first weekend as a DSB regular, has worked hard but found things tough on the banking. “We have some issues we’re working on with the bike,” said Nash. “I picked up the pace quite a bit and it was better but we need more speed. This is a tough class and it’s a real challenge, which is why we joined this class. It’s a long race and we’re looking to improve the bike and then get a decent finish tomorrow.”

Saturday’s action includes a second AMA Pro SuperSport race and the 70th Daytona 200.