AMA
Fontana: Supersport preview
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 29, 2004) -- Jason DiSalvo, 20, of Stafford, N.Y., has been on the racing radar for a long time for a rider of his age. By the time he was 17, DiSalvo already had an impressive racing resume. This racing phenom was an ...
Published: Mar 30, 2004, 5:52 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
PICKERINGTON, Ohio (March 29, 2004) -- Jason DiSalvo, 20, of Stafford, N.Y., has been on the racing radar for a long time for a rider of his age. By the time he was 17, DiSalvo already had an impressive racing resume. This racing phenom was an experienced AMA amateur flat track racer; winner of the esteemed AMA Horizon Award for being the top amateur road racer in the country; a rider with important European and World Championship races under his belt; and a winner of an AMA Superstock Series race in 2002. Just a few weeks ago DiSalvo took the biggest win yet of his young career when he came out the victor in the thrilling Daytona Supersport final.
Now DiSalvo finds himself atop the point standings in the 2004 Pro Honda Oils Supersport as the series heads to round two at the Yamaha Superbike Challenge at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on April 2-4.
DiSalvo was victorious in the opening round at Daytona International Speedway in early March, coming out on top of another classic drafting battle that saw the top six riders finish within two-tenths of a second. DiSalvo and Roger Lee Hayden actually rubbed fairings as the two crossed the finish line at Daytona. It marked DiSalvo's first win in AMA Supersport and gave Yamaha its first Daytona Supersport victory in 14 years. In addition DiSalvo set a Daytona Supersport track record en route to winning the pole for the race.
"It feels great to get my first Supersport win," DiSalvo said. "I'm looking forward to Fontana. With my qualifying record, that was one lap. I needed 15 fast laps to win it. Now I need 10 more good races to have a great season."
Yamaha, which won the AMA Supersport Championship last year with Jamie Hacking, looks to be the manufacturer to beat again this season. Fully half of the top-10 riders coming into Fontana are Yamaha mounted. Defending champ and Fontana Supersport winner Hacking is ranked fifth. He'll be looking to become the first repeat winner in the class at Fontana. Other Yamaha riders in the top 10 include another young gun Aaron Gobert, and veterans Michael Barnes and Damon Buckmaster. Barnes' run in the lead group at Daytona was especially impressive. Riding a Prieto Racing Yamaha, he was the only non-factory rider in the top 10.
Kawasaki also looks strong in Supersport this year. Roger Lee Hayden came within a wheel length of beating DiSalvo at Daytona and his older brother and teammate Tommy was right there as well. Roger Lee hopes to quickly follow DiSalvo and break through to earn his first AMA Supersport win at Fontana. Brother Tommy is already the sixth-ranked AMA Supersport rider all-time, so a victory for him at Fontana would come as no surprise. Attack Kawasaki's Tony Meiring could also be a factor.
Suzuki appears to have an uphill battle coming out of Daytona. The top Suzuki finisher at Daytona was 2002 AMA Supersport champ Aaron Yates, who took seventh. However, Yates is serving a one-event suspension and will miss the Supersport race as well as both rounds of the Superbike double-header at Fontana. That leaves ninth-place Daytona finisher Steve Rapp, of Valvoline EMGO Suzuki, the leading Suzuki rider coming into California Speedway. Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies suffered a mechanical problem with his bike at Daytona and comes into Fontana with no points.
The California Speedway Supersport final will be televised on SPEED Channel on Tuesday, April 6 at 2 p.m. EST. For additional information on the Yamaha Superbike Challenge call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit the website www.californiaspeedway.com.
For immediate post-race results, points, live transponder scoring, in-depth series and rider information, regular columnists and much more, log onto www.USSuperbike.com, the official website of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Championship.
-ama-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Las Vegas: Tony Pedregon preview
Next article UK: Russ Hodgson Silverstone Yamaha Cup notes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Tony Meiring
Laguna Seca: Supersport race results
AMA
AMA
Laguna Seca: Supersport race results
Laguna Seca: Formula Xtreme race notes
AMA
AMA
Laguna Seca: Formula Xtreme race notes
Laguna Seca: Formula Xtreme race results
AMA
AMA
Laguna Seca: Formula Xtreme race results
Latest news
Liam Lawson’s remarkable form is giving Red Bull a headache for 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Liam Lawson’s remarkable form is giving Red Bull a headache for 2027
Hanley Motorsports announces multi-class IMSA arrival with BMW support and DXDT deal
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 3 h
Hanley Motorsports announces multi-class IMSA arrival with BMW support and DXDT deal
Ryan Preece will switch to No. 6 for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
4 h
Ryan Preece will switch to No. 6 for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe