Run 1 Racing race report

Joey Pascarella Makes Spirited Sprint Finish in Daytona 200

DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 12, 2011) – Run 1 Racing’s Joey Pascarella made a spirited run to the long-delayed checkered flag in Saturday’s wild and crazy Daytona 200, grabbing a well-earned 16th place finish aboard his #825 Yamaha YZF-R6.

After starting 16th, Pascarella waited until after all the SportBike leaders before making his pit stop, so he was running seventh when he pitted. However, a slow stop to change the rear tire dropped him to 21st place, and a lap down.

Then the race was red-flagged in the interests of safety after concerns were raised after the first series of pit stops by the leaders about overheating in the spec front tire that Dunlop had provided, prompting race officials to stop the race so every team could make a mandatory front tire change to a new compound tire. The delay lasted more than two hours, and Pascarella restarted in 20th place. Run 1 Racing was one of the last teams to get a new front tire delivered by Dunlop.

“I have never done an endurance race, so I’m not really sure if I have yet,” Pascarella said about the shortened race, which was originally scheduled for 57 laps. “This was really strange.”

Re-starting on lap 28 after the mandatory tire change, AMA Pro Racing Officials decided to reduce the race length to 42 total laps, with a 15-lap sprint to the finish. It actually took two re-starts – after two hours and 31 minutes of delays -- to run the final 15 laps around Daytona International Speedway.

On the track in the final segment, Pascarella, 16 from Vacaville, Calif., passed four riders to finish 16th and he completed 40 total laps around Daytona International Speedway’s 3.51-mile long road course, two laps behind Jason DiSalvo’s winning Ducati 848.

“That was fun,” Pascarella said. “The bike was better in every session I ran. The only unfortunate thing was our pit stop. We could have been 10th but for the pit stop problem.”

Salenius Retires from Superbike Race in Interest of Safety

An injured Skip Salenius retired from the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike race Saturday at Daytona International Speedway in the interest of safety for other riders.

“I knew the leaders were coming up and I just wanted to get out of their way,” said the rider of the #63 Karma Tequila Yamaha R1 entry from Run 1 Racing Motorsports. “I didn’t want to mess up their race.

“I did everything I could but it was just too painful. It is very disappointing but it was the best thing to do.”

Salenius suffered a severely sprained right wrist after getting knocked down by another rider during qualifying Friday. He used a drill to relieve pressure on his right thumb nail, and started the first SuperBike race Friday, but could only manage to run two laps before he had to retire. Saturday, he completed 10 of the race’s 15 laps before retiring.

“I got a shot for the pain Saturday morning, but it still hurt terribly in the hard right hand turns. That just put too much pressure on my wrist. It’s too easy to make a mistake here without having a physical problem.”

Salenius was credited with 21st place finishes both Friday and Saturday.

Miles Thorton Drops Out of SuperSport Race

Run 1 Racing’s Miles Thorton dropped out of Saturday’s AMA Pro Racing Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race 2 with an apparent engine problem after just one lap. That completed a double dose of Daytona Disappointment for the 16-year-rider from West Point, GA.

Thorton started both SuperSport from the pole position, which he earned Thursday with a fastest lap of 1:54.888. But he made a horrible start in Friday’s race and wound up 11th.

Saturday, he got a much better start, but fell back to sixth on the first lap and then pulled off with apparent engine problems on his #72 Run 1 Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

“It just went pop,” Thorton said. “I thought I had a flat tire because the bike stepped out (got sideways) and then it did it again. I got going and I heard a loud pop and I had no power.

“It is very disappointing to start the season like this. I am so focused on this season.”

Run 1 Racine’s fourth rider, Antoine Richards of Bermuda, missed both SuperSport races after his crew discovered a broken engine mount bolt on his #45 Suzuki GSX-R600.

The Run 1 Racing team returns to action May 13-15 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif.

-source: run 1 racing