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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: How Hayes Did It, Pt. 2
Josh Hayes thoroughly dominated his rivals on and off the track in 2012. He tells SPEED.com how he did it...
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha's Josh Hayes and National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden (Photo: AMA Pro Racing/Brian J Nelson)
AMA Pro Superbike racing went from an unpredictable and even battle amongst riders and manufacturers to a one-sided blowout in 2012. Only Josh Hayes could consistently push it to the limits in 2012 and it made everyone else look bad. Real bad.
Before the season started, most observers considered Hayes and Blake Young to be pretty equal. Not anymore. Hayes brutally murdered Young’s confidence, leaving his rival with no answers. Hayes said he thought it started at Daytona when the Yamaha showed it had improved power and wasn’t going to get blown away out of the corners and down the straights anymore.
For sure it was well underway when Young crashed at Infineon and Miller trying to keep up. Young had to take whippings at his best tracks like Elkhart and Miller and he was done. (“He didn’t look like himself out there,” said Hayes.) The season couldn’t end soon enough for Young.
Young’s weakness is the analytical part of racing -- figuring out how to improve himself and the bike on his own. Tommy Hayden wasn’t at Yosh anymore. Young couldn’t find a way to improve and eventually struggled to match last year’s lap times. It sunk his season and has put a serious dent in his career, which is extremely unfortunate. Young is a fantastic talent.
So what were Hayes’ weapons? Just numbers, mainly. On timing screens.
A good example is from New Orleans. Hayes was fastest in qualifying (again) and won both races (again). NOLA Motorsports Park has several critical sections -- including a few where it’s easy to crash -- but the most important split is the section of high-speed alternating rights and lefts, Turns 8 through 12. Right-left-right-left-right, then a hard braking Turn 13.
The requirements are a tall order. The bike has to be nimble and stable and the rider has to muscle it through on the gas. It’s one of those places where the guy wearing the helmet is the difference maker, not the guys with the wrenches or laptops.
Wanna guess who was fastest through there all weekend? You get one shot at it.
Hayes went faster through there on his third flying lap on Friday than Blake Young did all weekend. The Mississippian didn’t stop going faster, though, which was the point.
“That happened from the very first laps we did here at the test,” Hayes said.
‘Early and often’ was the gumbo Hayes cooked up and served in 2012. This year’s championship was more of a psychological battle than on-track skirmishes.
SPEED.com asked Hayes specifically about that split at NOLA after the season ended that Sunday in New Orleans.
Hayes elaborated on how he approached the section, adding that when Young tried to follow him in the morning warm-up, Hayes ended up behind him instead and stuck to his tail for a few laps. (“I can play the game. He needs the practice more than I do,” said Hayes.)
Before the season started, most observers considered Hayes and Blake Young to be pretty equal. Not anymore. Hayes brutally murdered Young’s confidence, leaving his rival with no answers. Hayes said he thought it started at Daytona when the Yamaha showed it had improved power and wasn’t going to get blown away out of the corners and down the straights anymore.
For sure it was well underway when Young crashed at Infineon and Miller trying to keep up. Young had to take whippings at his best tracks like Elkhart and Miller and he was done. (“He didn’t look like himself out there,” said Hayes.) The season couldn’t end soon enough for Young.
Young’s weakness is the analytical part of racing -- figuring out how to improve himself and the bike on his own. Tommy Hayden wasn’t at Yosh anymore. Young couldn’t find a way to improve and eventually struggled to match last year’s lap times. It sunk his season and has put a serious dent in his career, which is extremely unfortunate. Young is a fantastic talent.
So what were Hayes’ weapons? Just numbers, mainly. On timing screens.
A good example is from New Orleans. Hayes was fastest in qualifying (again) and won both races (again). NOLA Motorsports Park has several critical sections -- including a few where it’s easy to crash -- but the most important split is the section of high-speed alternating rights and lefts, Turns 8 through 12. Right-left-right-left-right, then a hard braking Turn 13.
The requirements are a tall order. The bike has to be nimble and stable and the rider has to muscle it through on the gas. It’s one of those places where the guy wearing the helmet is the difference maker, not the guys with the wrenches or laptops.
Wanna guess who was fastest through there all weekend? You get one shot at it.
Hayes went faster through there on his third flying lap on Friday than Blake Young did all weekend. The Mississippian didn’t stop going faster, though, which was the point.
“That happened from the very first laps we did here at the test,” Hayes said.
‘Early and often’ was the gumbo Hayes cooked up and served in 2012. This year’s championship was more of a psychological battle than on-track skirmishes.
SPEED.com asked Hayes specifically about that split at NOLA after the season ended that Sunday in New Orleans.
Hayes elaborated on how he approached the section, adding that when Young tried to follow him in the morning warm-up, Hayes ended up behind him instead and stuck to his tail for a few laps. (“I can play the game. He needs the practice more than I do,” said Hayes.)
AMA SBK Miller Motorsports Park
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