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AMA Pro Superbike
AMA SBK: Lessons Learned
The BMP AMA Pro Superbike round proved to be a pivotal weekend with plenty to take away for all of the major players. Here's a bit of free advice for Blake Young and company…
Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki's Blake Young (Photo: Evan Williams)
This past weekend's AMA Pro Superbike round at Barber Motorsports Park not only served as the 2011 season's midpoint, it will also almost certainly be looked back upon as the year's psychological turning point.
There are some crucially important -- and sometimes hard -- lessons to be learned by the series' major players in the fallout of the happenings of a few days ago.
So exactly what should Josh Hayes, Blake Young, Tommy Hayden, and the rest take away from the BMP weekend? Let's break it down one by one, with a bit of free advice for the Superbike contenders...
Blake Young
The basic lesson offered up to Young at BMP was that things don't always go to plan. And that's okay.
Earlier this season, Young laid out his plan of attack for the '11 season. He basically had his season mapped out in advance, targeting key rounds where he felt he would be a threat with a keen eye on winning those races outright, and then admitting the weekends he'd likely be less formidable and going into those with the idea of damage limitation. This strategy was intended to allow him to take the next step in his maturation as a Superbike rider and not risk a silly mistake out of desperation just because he couldn't match the front-running pace on a given weekend.
However, the Barber weekend proved to Young that just because he's succeeded somewhere in the past -- as was the case in Alabama where he concluded the '10 season with a stirring triumph -- things aren't simply going to be handed to him. Past success is no guarantee of future success.
Young was in a funk all weekend long. He was generally off the pace, seemingly disinterested while dealing with some nebulous personal issues, and far removed from his typical happy-go-lucky demeanor.
However, with the help of his vastly experienced crew, Young didn't panic. He responded like a (future) champion, meeting the challenge and coming away from the round significantly better than either of his key rivals.
This realization can also be used to his advantage entering the opposite sorts of weekend. Blake needs to understand that he's growing so quickly as a Superbike force, that just because he's struggled at a particular venue in the past that doesn't mean he can't show up and dominate this time around.
An open mind and some degree of flexibility is a must, even as the weekend is actively taking shape. Now it won't play out in the Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki charger's favor every time (even if it's starting to feel as if it might), but Young can't throw up the white flag before the marshal does.
Another lesson was there to be gleaned as well, but it's one Young has already internalized: the upside of having complete and utter belief in the word of his crew.
There are some crucially important -- and sometimes hard -- lessons to be learned by the series' major players in the fallout of the happenings of a few days ago.
So exactly what should Josh Hayes, Blake Young, Tommy Hayden, and the rest take away from the BMP weekend? Let's break it down one by one, with a bit of free advice for the Superbike contenders...
Blake Young
The basic lesson offered up to Young at BMP was that things don't always go to plan. And that's okay.
Earlier this season, Young laid out his plan of attack for the '11 season. He basically had his season mapped out in advance, targeting key rounds where he felt he would be a threat with a keen eye on winning those races outright, and then admitting the weekends he'd likely be less formidable and going into those with the idea of damage limitation. This strategy was intended to allow him to take the next step in his maturation as a Superbike rider and not risk a silly mistake out of desperation just because he couldn't match the front-running pace on a given weekend.
However, the Barber weekend proved to Young that just because he's succeeded somewhere in the past -- as was the case in Alabama where he concluded the '10 season with a stirring triumph -- things aren't simply going to be handed to him. Past success is no guarantee of future success.
Young was in a funk all weekend long. He was generally off the pace, seemingly disinterested while dealing with some nebulous personal issues, and far removed from his typical happy-go-lucky demeanor.
However, with the help of his vastly experienced crew, Young didn't panic. He responded like a (future) champion, meeting the challenge and coming away from the round significantly better than either of his key rivals.
This realization can also be used to his advantage entering the opposite sorts of weekend. Blake needs to understand that he's growing so quickly as a Superbike force, that just because he's struggled at a particular venue in the past that doesn't mean he can't show up and dominate this time around.
An open mind and some degree of flexibility is a must, even as the weekend is actively taking shape. Now it won't play out in the Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki charger's favor every time (even if it's starting to feel as if it might), but Young can't throw up the white flag before the marshal does.
Another lesson was there to be gleaned as well, but it's one Young has already internalized: the upside of having complete and utter belief in the word of his crew.
AMA SBK Miller Motorsports Park
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