(NEWS RELEASE)

M4 Suzuki’s Dane Westby put forth a Herculean effort to battle for the win and ultimately claim a top-five result in Sunday’s thrilling AMA Pro Daytona SportBike final at Miller Motorsports Park.

After a difficult qualifying session on Friday, Westby demonstrated front-running pace in the morning’s final qualifying session held in the wet. While he did not improve his grid position, his third-place session ranking was merely a hint of things to come.

Immediately charging up to the front from his starting slot on outside of Row 3, Dane proved aggressive and skillful in the tricky cool, damp-but-drying conditions in which the 16-lap race was contested.

Slicing up to second position on the opening lap, Westby regularly swapped positions with the lead group, running creative lines in a bid to both gain position and keep his tires cool by piloting through patches of standing water.

Routinely out-dueling the field entering the hard-braking Turn 1, Westby slotted his #5 GSX-R600 into first position on multiple occasions and was officially credited with two laps led.

His tires eventually faded after the spirited battle, forcing Westby to accept fifth at the conclusion of a hugely encouraging performance.

Westby said, “I thought pretty much had a podium in the bag and I was just going to let those guys lead me around until the end. But a couple more guys came and I got a little agitated and we were just dicing. I had nothing left at the end. I was trying to go for the water to save the tires but I just couldn’t make them last to the end. I was really diving in there to catch them on the brakes in Turn 1 but in the end I had to tip toe around a little bit.

“Overall, it was a really positive weekend for us. We got some major issues worked out and I feel like we’re competitive now in the rain or dry. I think this race shows what we’re going to be like at the upcoming rounds.”

Santiago Villa charged forward on Sunday as well. The Colombian found himself in 18th at the conclusion of the opening lap but patiently worked his way forward, ultimately finishing in 13th position.

M4 Suzuki Superbike star Martin Cardenas will contest the weekend’s AMA Pro Superbike race Monday afternoon. The reigning SportBike champ will start from the second row based on the strength of Saturday’s sixth-place qualifying effort as Sunday’s wet conditions did not allow for a chance to improve on the competitors’ previous times.