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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Season Starts For Real At Road Atlanta
Daytona was a nice teaser but this weekend's AMA Pro Superbike event at Road Atlanta will be a lot more telling.
Monster Energy Graves Motorsports Yamaha's Josh Hayes (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Round 2 of the AMA Pro Road Racing season from Road Atlanta will air Saturday, April 21 at 8:30pm ET and Sunday, April 22 at 11:00pm ET. on SPEED.
The AMA Pro season gets started for real at Road Atlanta this weekend.
Sure, Daytona was the opener and there was some fantastic racing in Florida. But the nature of Daytona masks some of the true level of competitiveness. A rider can put his head down in the infield and earn a gap, only to lose it all moments later on the banking thanks to the draft. So much of the lap is run at full throttle, unlike "normal" tracks that emphasize other aspects of racing.
Josh Hayes (Yamaha) and Blake Young (Suzuki) split wins in Daytona and both won in the styles they have used in the past. Hayes won the first race by simply outpacing everyone and running away. Young won the follow-up by finding speed overnight and hounding Hayes, then capitalizing on a last-lap mistake.
It was a similar theme, but there are some changes so far in 2012 as well. Several riders noted the Yamahas seemed to have taken a big leap in competitiveness, at least at Daytona.
Big D has always been one of Yamaha's weakest tracks but the R1s of Hayes and Herrin looked to be especially strong. The consensus among the rival riders is they have gotten faster. Hayes might have lost some weight and Herrin is small and thus quick on the banking, but that wasn’t all of it. The R1 may be an older bike but those guys have found some improvements in the offseason.
Hayes should have won both races. Race 2 was a tougher contest, but it looked like he had Young sized up. The Mississippian controlled the race, leading when he wanted and following when he liked. Josh flubbed up one of his best corners -- exiting the chicane -- and couldn’t draft by at the line as he planned.
Up to this point, the Hayes/Yamaha combination has proven to be very, very good. If he can ever get clear, Hayes is usually gone.
But when it is a close race, the Young/Suzuki combo has been better. Just add up the wins. The strengths of the Suzuki through the rev range have worked better than the Yamaha in these types of races plus Young is a remarkable talent. And very brave.
If Yamaha truly has made a performance leap, then Hayes might start getting more wins in the nail-biters. It’s something to watch at Road Atlanta.
The last time we went to Georgia in 2010, it was Blake Young’s party. He won on Saturday in a crazy race that saw a Josh Hayes penalty get wiped out by a red flag and then be assessed after the race. On Sunday, Young won the event in a totally legit fashion. Those were Young’s first Superbike wins.
It will be interesting to see if Young can make another leap in competitiveness. He’s a great rider, no doubt about it. Young could have a future as an American on a top World Superbike team or he could keep winning in America for a long time.
If there’s a weaker side to his game, it is playing “catch up” too much and bleeding bonus points to Hayes. Those points, and the pole point in particular, essentially cost him the championship last year.
The AMA Pro season gets started for real at Road Atlanta this weekend.
Sure, Daytona was the opener and there was some fantastic racing in Florida. But the nature of Daytona masks some of the true level of competitiveness. A rider can put his head down in the infield and earn a gap, only to lose it all moments later on the banking thanks to the draft. So much of the lap is run at full throttle, unlike "normal" tracks that emphasize other aspects of racing.
Josh Hayes (Yamaha) and Blake Young (Suzuki) split wins in Daytona and both won in the styles they have used in the past. Hayes won the first race by simply outpacing everyone and running away. Young won the follow-up by finding speed overnight and hounding Hayes, then capitalizing on a last-lap mistake.
It was a similar theme, but there are some changes so far in 2012 as well. Several riders noted the Yamahas seemed to have taken a big leap in competitiveness, at least at Daytona.
Big D has always been one of Yamaha's weakest tracks but the R1s of Hayes and Herrin looked to be especially strong. The consensus among the rival riders is they have gotten faster. Hayes might have lost some weight and Herrin is small and thus quick on the banking, but that wasn’t all of it. The R1 may be an older bike but those guys have found some improvements in the offseason.
Hayes should have won both races. Race 2 was a tougher contest, but it looked like he had Young sized up. The Mississippian controlled the race, leading when he wanted and following when he liked. Josh flubbed up one of his best corners -- exiting the chicane -- and couldn’t draft by at the line as he planned.
Up to this point, the Hayes/Yamaha combination has proven to be very, very good. If he can ever get clear, Hayes is usually gone.
But when it is a close race, the Young/Suzuki combo has been better. Just add up the wins. The strengths of the Suzuki through the rev range have worked better than the Yamaha in these types of races plus Young is a remarkable talent. And very brave.
If Yamaha truly has made a performance leap, then Hayes might start getting more wins in the nail-biters. It’s something to watch at Road Atlanta.
The last time we went to Georgia in 2010, it was Blake Young’s party. He won on Saturday in a crazy race that saw a Josh Hayes penalty get wiped out by a red flag and then be assessed after the race. On Sunday, Young won the event in a totally legit fashion. Those were Young’s first Superbike wins.
It will be interesting to see if Young can make another leap in competitiveness. He’s a great rider, no doubt about it. Young could have a future as an American on a top World Superbike team or he could keep winning in America for a long time.
If there’s a weaker side to his game, it is playing “catch up” too much and bleeding bonus points to Hayes. Those points, and the pole point in particular, essentially cost him the championship last year.
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