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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: 2012 Championship Prediction Countdown: #3
Who is our pick to finish third in this year's AMA Pro Superbike title fight?
National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The AMA Pro Road Racing season opener will air back-to-back-to-back in a three-race block (Superbike Race 1, Daytona 200, Superbike Race 2) on Saturday, March 17 starting at 1:30pm ET on SPEED.
Continuing SPEED.com's picks for the 2012 AMA Pro Superbike crown with #3:
Evan Williams: Roger Hayden - National Guard Jordan Suzuki
Hayden closed 2011 strong and would have benefited from more races. He emerged as the team leader on Michael Jordan's team and is a contender for his first Superbike win this year. He was able to run the pace with the leaders several times over race distance. If you can run the pace, you can win.
The key to Hayden's success is has two caveats. He needs to stay healthy first and foremost. The second part relates the technical side. The team has to give him a weapon to use against Josh Hayes and Blake Young.
Roger can be a similar performer to Hayes and Young. He's the rider the team have looked for for years. The Yamaha and Yoshimura bikes will be good. The MJM Suzuki GSX-R1000 needs to be just as strong or they'll be regulated to 'best of the rest.' That might have been good enough at an earlier stage but MJM is beyond that now.
Chris Martin: Roger Hayden - National Guard Jordan Suzuki
Last year it felt like a bit of a reach and a gamble when we nominated Hayden as a preseason top five, but I was ultimately won over by his strong words preseason. He backed those words up and then some during the season, not only proving to be a legitimate Superbike rider, but a podium finish and a race win challenger.
This is a big year for Hayden. Can he build on '11's breakthrough and take the next step? And by that, I don't only mean claim his first win, but take multiple victories and truly challenge Josh Hayes and Blake Young week-in and week-out and push for the title. The last half of last year suggests he is capable of doing exactly that, but he needs to retain the same sort of focus he demonstrated in 2011 and his team must do their part and match the efforts of the big boys as well.
Barring injury, Hayden should solidly be in the top three. The real question is whether it'll be a lonely three or a third man in the mix for #1.
Coming tomorrow -- our picks for #1 -- Josh Hayes or Blake Young?
SPEED.com Motorcycle Racing Editor Chris Martin saw Eddie Lawson win aboard a Kawasaki the first time he attended an AMA Superbike race and witnessed Ben Bostrom win a World Superbike race aboard a V&H Ducati the first time he worked one. He has written about AMA SBK, WSBK, and MotoGP for SPEED.com since 2003. Chris is now on Twitter.
Continuing SPEED.com's picks for the 2012 AMA Pro Superbike crown with #3:
Evan Williams: Roger Hayden - National Guard Jordan Suzuki
Hayden closed 2011 strong and would have benefited from more races. He emerged as the team leader on Michael Jordan's team and is a contender for his first Superbike win this year. He was able to run the pace with the leaders several times over race distance. If you can run the pace, you can win.
The key to Hayden's success is has two caveats. He needs to stay healthy first and foremost. The second part relates the technical side. The team has to give him a weapon to use against Josh Hayes and Blake Young.
Roger can be a similar performer to Hayes and Young. He's the rider the team have looked for for years. The Yamaha and Yoshimura bikes will be good. The MJM Suzuki GSX-R1000 needs to be just as strong or they'll be regulated to 'best of the rest.' That might have been good enough at an earlier stage but MJM is beyond that now.
Chris Martin: Roger Hayden - National Guard Jordan Suzuki
Last year it felt like a bit of a reach and a gamble when we nominated Hayden as a preseason top five, but I was ultimately won over by his strong words preseason. He backed those words up and then some during the season, not only proving to be a legitimate Superbike rider, but a podium finish and a race win challenger.
This is a big year for Hayden. Can he build on '11's breakthrough and take the next step? And by that, I don't only mean claim his first win, but take multiple victories and truly challenge Josh Hayes and Blake Young week-in and week-out and push for the title. The last half of last year suggests he is capable of doing exactly that, but he needs to retain the same sort of focus he demonstrated in 2011 and his team must do their part and match the efforts of the big boys as well.
Barring injury, Hayden should solidly be in the top three. The real question is whether it'll be a lonely three or a third man in the mix for #1.
Coming tomorrow -- our picks for #1 -- Josh Hayes or Blake Young?
SPEED.com Motorcycle Racing Editor Chris Martin saw Eddie Lawson win aboard a Kawasaki the first time he attended an AMA Superbike race and witnessed Ben Bostrom win a World Superbike race aboard a V&H Ducati the first time he worked one. He has written about AMA SBK, WSBK, and MotoGP for SPEED.com since 2003. Chris is now on Twitter.
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