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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Hayes Plays It Safe
Josh Hayes proved on Saturday at NJMP that if you're that much better than everyone else, winning by twenty seconds is playing it safe.
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes (Photo: Evan Williams)
PROGRAMMING NOTE: The AMA Pro Road Racing race action from New Jersey Motorsports Park will air on SPEED tonight at 11:00pm ET.
Getting beat is one thing. If you give your best effort and come up short, you can hold your head high anyway. Getting destroyed is another.
On Saturday, Josh Hayes beat the field by over 22 seconds in 23 laps and it could have been worse. Hayes had a huge margin from the beginning and after the race admitted the race essentially served as a test session for him.
Hayes will finish the year as a three-time AMA Pro Superbike champion unless something really bizarre happens and he’s already rocketed up the all-time charts in his nearly four seasons on a factory Superbike. If the trend continues, Hayes will catch and pass Miguel DuHamel to be the second-winningest AMA Pro Superbike rider behind Mat Mladin before the year is out.
This from a guy who couldn’t get a factory ride until his mid-30s, despite excelling in the support classes and at the odd test whenever he got to ride a Superbike.
The irony is Hayes has faced stiff competition in his time in Superbike, at least before everything went his way this season.
Most people expected Blake Young to equal and perhaps surpass Hayes this year. Young started out well and put in a classic ride at Road Atlanta to win from the back after a red flag. But Young has struggled mightily this year, going slower than last season at times and generally losing his mojo. Young’s confidence has been wiped away, and even though he is a huge talent, he can’t run with Hayes. Blake couldn’t even qualify on the front row in New Jersey and hasn't since Road America.
Young isn’t that adept at setup and he isn’t as precise as he needs to be. His strengths are he’s brave and can ride well when emotionally charged. Last year, Young had a teammate in Tommy Hayden that could help with setup issues and when Young could get out in front, he’d slow the pace and it would cover for shortcomings. This year, Hayes’ bike is faster and he’s a stronger rider, too.
Josh Herrin is having a good rookie year but can’t compete with Hayes.
Ben Bostrom might be the rider Hayes least wants to dice with on the track. He’s shown better lately but he can’t harry Hayes if he’s losing a second per lap like everyone else.
No one else is really in the same zip code.
Things have a way of changing, but something rather dramatic will have to happen if Hayes is to be beaten this year.
To add insult to injury, Hayes grew his margin on second place every lap except one -- when he dispatched a lapper.
Don’t expect Hayes to ease up. He has built up such a big points lead that he’s not worried about falling off.
Josh said he’d identified the important areas to produce a good lap time at NJMP and pushed hard in those, while taking it easy in the places where trouble could bite him. When you can run away from the field with such ease -- that is playing it safe.
Look for Josh Hayes to play it safe again today at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Getting beat is one thing. If you give your best effort and come up short, you can hold your head high anyway. Getting destroyed is another.
On Saturday, Josh Hayes beat the field by over 22 seconds in 23 laps and it could have been worse. Hayes had a huge margin from the beginning and after the race admitted the race essentially served as a test session for him.
Hayes will finish the year as a three-time AMA Pro Superbike champion unless something really bizarre happens and he’s already rocketed up the all-time charts in his nearly four seasons on a factory Superbike. If the trend continues, Hayes will catch and pass Miguel DuHamel to be the second-winningest AMA Pro Superbike rider behind Mat Mladin before the year is out.
This from a guy who couldn’t get a factory ride until his mid-30s, despite excelling in the support classes and at the odd test whenever he got to ride a Superbike.
The irony is Hayes has faced stiff competition in his time in Superbike, at least before everything went his way this season.
Most people expected Blake Young to equal and perhaps surpass Hayes this year. Young started out well and put in a classic ride at Road Atlanta to win from the back after a red flag. But Young has struggled mightily this year, going slower than last season at times and generally losing his mojo. Young’s confidence has been wiped away, and even though he is a huge talent, he can’t run with Hayes. Blake couldn’t even qualify on the front row in New Jersey and hasn't since Road America.
Young isn’t that adept at setup and he isn’t as precise as he needs to be. His strengths are he’s brave and can ride well when emotionally charged. Last year, Young had a teammate in Tommy Hayden that could help with setup issues and when Young could get out in front, he’d slow the pace and it would cover for shortcomings. This year, Hayes’ bike is faster and he’s a stronger rider, too.
Josh Herrin is having a good rookie year but can’t compete with Hayes.
Ben Bostrom might be the rider Hayes least wants to dice with on the track. He’s shown better lately but he can’t harry Hayes if he’s losing a second per lap like everyone else.
No one else is really in the same zip code.
Things have a way of changing, but something rather dramatic will have to happen if Hayes is to be beaten this year.
To add insult to injury, Hayes grew his margin on second place every lap except one -- when he dispatched a lapper.
Don’t expect Hayes to ease up. He has built up such a big points lead that he’s not worried about falling off.
Josh said he’d identified the important areas to produce a good lap time at NJMP and pushed hard in those, while taking it easy in the places where trouble could bite him. When you can run away from the field with such ease -- that is playing it safe.
Look for Josh Hayes to play it safe again today at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
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