SUPERBIKE
AMA SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUNDS 5-6/JUNE 21-22, 2014
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK/LEEDS, ALABAMA
P50
'BAMA CRASH-FEST
Few dry races in AMA Superbike history
could match the attrition rate of Saturday's
final. It was not just the number of riders
who crashed or blew up; it was the fact that
the sidelines were filled with so many series
contenders. Consider the fact that series co-
leaders Beaubier and Hayden both crashed
out – Beaubier early and Hayden late. Martin
Cardenas completely trash binned his Yo-
shimura Suzuki. The bike couldn't be rolled,
but had to be carried by a crew of men on
a tarp. It looked like it had gone through an
industrial trash compactor. Hayden's crash
caused an all-nighter from his crew to get
ready for Sunday.
Beaubier's bike wasn't damaged as badly,
and when a red flag came out for medical
attention to a downed Chris Ulrich, who suf-
fered a gashed left arm in his crash, it sent
the Yamaha crew into a frenzy of work to try
to repair the machine, but they couldn't quite
get it ready before the restart.
The final major subtraction to the field
came when Chris Fillmore's KTM expired late
in the race. Fittingly the race was red flagged
on the penultimate lap when Frankie Ba-
buska's Suzuki oiled the track. Only 10 bikes
were running at the end of an eventful and
expensive race.
BEST-EVER FINISHES
While Saturday's Superbike race will in the
short run be remembered for crashes and
engine failures, in the long run it will be re-
membered for the best-ever finish for both
David Anthony and Chris Clark. Almost un-
believably, Anthony and Clark shared the po-
dium with Hayes. For Anthony it marked his
second consecutive podium, following the
