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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Appraised By Hayes
Double champion Josh Hayes evaluates his AMA Pro Superbike rivals.
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The AMA Pro Road Racing action from Barber Motorsports Park will air on SPEED Sunday night at Midnight ET.
A bemused Josh Hayes once noted that, in the old days, if Mat Mladin came out and led the opening Friday practice by 1.5 seconds, the rest of the field would concede the weekend to him and work for second place. However, if Hayes did the same thing, his rivals would work tirelessly to close the gap and still fight for the win.
Why? Because he was Josh Hayes and not Mat Mladin and just didn't have quite that same aura of invincibility. Well, times are changing and a similar vibe is slowly settling over the paddock once again.
When a new, highly-restricted rule set was introduced in 2009, the racing was supposed to be closer. The theory was that the more economical, Superstock-like Superbikes would allow both a greater number of teams to build and field competitive Superbikes and a wider range of riders to master them.
The early returns have been impressive. Despite the holdover presence of Mladin, who with teammate Ben Spies racked up a 55-race win streak for Yoshimura prior to the series shake-up, 2009 saw Hayes and Larry Pegram stand atop the box on multiple occasions as well.
In 2010, the series boasted six different winners (Hayes, Pegram, Tommy Hayden, Blake Young, Jake Zemke, and Ben Bostrom).
Last year the racing at the front was the most intense in series history with multi-rider fights for the majority of the checkered flags. Hayes, Hayden, Young, and Martin Cardenas all grabbed wins while Roger Hayden and Bostrom were in the mix on occasion as well.
However, 2012 has taken on an air of inevitability similar to the days of Mat and Ben. While losing ground in the title race and on the track to Hayes, Young still has the magic to score brilliant race victories. But National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Hayden hasn't yet been able to translate his late-'11 success into an equally strong start in '12.
Hayes' new teammate, Josh Herrin, has performed admirably, but he's simply not ready to push Hayes for wins just yet. Meanwhile, former race winners like Bostrom and Pegram, along with seemingly well-equipped riders such as Chris Clark, Steve Rapp, and others, are nowhere near challenging Hayes on even an infrequent basis.
The inability of others to step forward and at least occasionally threaten at the front may be the biggest disappointment of the season.
Much credit goes to Hayes and his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha crew, who have elevated their games, but what can be said about the others who have been too busy chasing their tails with bike set-up and electronics to race for wins?
"The racing in 2010 and 2011 was fantastic," Hayes acknowledged. "This year the pundits say this year isn't quite as good maybe because I'm running away, but you have a great race for second. I understand. But when I sit back and look at it, honestly, for me, 2011 and 2012 aren't that much different. I got all but one pole position in 2011. I had the pace every weekend to do what I'm doing now but I didn't have the tool. Now they put me on a level playing field and I'm able to do that."
A bemused Josh Hayes once noted that, in the old days, if Mat Mladin came out and led the opening Friday practice by 1.5 seconds, the rest of the field would concede the weekend to him and work for second place. However, if Hayes did the same thing, his rivals would work tirelessly to close the gap and still fight for the win.
Why? Because he was Josh Hayes and not Mat Mladin and just didn't have quite that same aura of invincibility. Well, times are changing and a similar vibe is slowly settling over the paddock once again.
When a new, highly-restricted rule set was introduced in 2009, the racing was supposed to be closer. The theory was that the more economical, Superstock-like Superbikes would allow both a greater number of teams to build and field competitive Superbikes and a wider range of riders to master them.
The early returns have been impressive. Despite the holdover presence of Mladin, who with teammate Ben Spies racked up a 55-race win streak for Yoshimura prior to the series shake-up, 2009 saw Hayes and Larry Pegram stand atop the box on multiple occasions as well.
In 2010, the series boasted six different winners (Hayes, Pegram, Tommy Hayden, Blake Young, Jake Zemke, and Ben Bostrom).
Last year the racing at the front was the most intense in series history with multi-rider fights for the majority of the checkered flags. Hayes, Hayden, Young, and Martin Cardenas all grabbed wins while Roger Hayden and Bostrom were in the mix on occasion as well.
However, 2012 has taken on an air of inevitability similar to the days of Mat and Ben. While losing ground in the title race and on the track to Hayes, Young still has the magic to score brilliant race victories. But National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Hayden hasn't yet been able to translate his late-'11 success into an equally strong start in '12.
Hayes' new teammate, Josh Herrin, has performed admirably, but he's simply not ready to push Hayes for wins just yet. Meanwhile, former race winners like Bostrom and Pegram, along with seemingly well-equipped riders such as Chris Clark, Steve Rapp, and others, are nowhere near challenging Hayes on even an infrequent basis.
The inability of others to step forward and at least occasionally threaten at the front may be the biggest disappointment of the season.
Much credit goes to Hayes and his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha crew, who have elevated their games, but what can be said about the others who have been too busy chasing their tails with bike set-up and electronics to race for wins?
"The racing in 2010 and 2011 was fantastic," Hayes acknowledged. "This year the pundits say this year isn't quite as good maybe because I'm running away, but you have a great race for second. I understand. But when I sit back and look at it, honestly, for me, 2011 and 2012 aren't that much different. I got all but one pole position in 2011. I had the pace every weekend to do what I'm doing now but I didn't have the tool. Now they put me on a level playing field and I'm able to do that."
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