(NEWS RELEASE)

M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas backed up Saturday’s momentous first-career AMA Pro Superbike victory at Barber Motorsports Park with an equally impressive ride on Sunday. Cardenas weathered the blisteringly hot Alabama conditions to fight with the lead pack deep into the contest and ultimately secure his third career Superbike podium result.

Cardenas got away in fifth position and not only kept the class’ leading stars in his sights but crept his way up to their rear wheels. One opponent made a mistake allowing Martin to seize control of fourth position on lap 4 of 21. And then on lap 9 another rider dropped out of contention as his bike expired, moving Cardenas up in third, less than a half second removed from first position.

Battling both a sliding machine and the exhausting heat, Martin was just a second behind the leader with three laps remaining before he accepted a close third. The race was his finest dry-race Superbike outing yet as he continues to skillfully adapt to the premier class in stellar fashion.

Cardenas said, “The conditions were very extreme. It was very hot and I think it was even harder than yesterday because the bike was sliding so much. It was very difficult to maintain the pace of the frontrunners. They were gaining some time over me every lap in Turn 2 so I had to push hard each lap to close the gap back up. I was exhausted the last eight laps. It was very difficult to move on the bike because I was dehydrated.

“Third is a very good result. We were closer than ever to the frontrunners so I am very happy. This gives me confidence and also the team because it looks like we’re headed in the right direction. I want to thank all my guys. They did a great job this weekend and I my best. Hopefully we continue in this form or even better in the next races.”

Dane Westby looked more than capable of matching or bettering his Saturday Daytona SportBike runner-up result on Sunday, unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

The Oklahoman again charged up from his third-row starting position to join the fight for the lead. Running in seventh on the opening lap, Westby slotted his GSX-R600 into a close third by lap 4 of 21.

However, just after Dane took control of second place on lap 9, he crashed from contention.

Meanwhile, Santiago Villa responded nicely to Saturday’s disappointment in the SportBike final. The Colombian raced hard in the difficult hot-weather conditions, coming home with an eleventh-place finish.

M4 Suzuki will next head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Round 6 of the AMA Pro Road Racing tour on July 8-10.