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Written by:
Chris Martin
06/06/2008 - 05:09 PM
Elkhart Lake, WI
Team M4 EMGO Suzuki's Blake Young (Photo: Brian J Nelson) ยป More Photos
Despite a pair of races that ended in frustration, Blake Young showed a great deal last weekend at Miller Motorsports Park. He raised his game to fight at the very front of the Superstock race (briefly) and the Pro Honda Oils Supersport final (until the race's final two corners) after displaying good, but not great, pace in the lead-up to the races.
Even when considering his impressive speed, Young was in need of a morale booster after a meatball flag and a mechanical issue ruined his races in Utah. A trip to his home circuit may be just what the Team M4 EMGO Suzuki ace needed, and fortunately for the Madison, WI native, that trip was scheduled for just a handful of days after the MMP round wrapped.
Looking back on last weekend's Supersport race, in which he emerged from the second row to give Erion Honda stars Jake Zemke and Josh Hayes all they could handle until his bike bogged within sight of the checkered flag, Young said, "Actually it was really weird. When I woke up that morning you could have asked me if I thought it I thought I was going to be up there dicing with those guys, and while it wouldn't have been out of the question, it didn't seem like the weekend was playing out that way.
"I went into the race thinking I'd just ride the best that I could. It's a comfortable race bike. It wasn't a bike that could do one or two really fast laps but it could do a lot of fast laps, and I got out there in the race with those guys and tried to find my comfort zone. It actually got pretty racy in the beginning and that kind of helped me stay with them and put runs in. Jake and Josh were dicing and that helped me a lot to stay with them, regroup, and make charges."
Young proved a quick study, and picked up all he could while racing alongside Hayes and Zemke.
Blake explained, "I've never really raced with Jake. And I've ridden with Josh a lot in practice and qualifying but not really raced with him much. It was fun. Pretty quickly I could tell what sections I was a little faster in and where they were kicking my rear.
"Josh carries really good corner speed which helps the Suzuki. I think the key thing to riding a Suzuki fast is to maintain your corner speed, maintain your flow, and keep the bike in the rpms. Some of the other bikes can get away with slowing it up more and launching it out."
Not only was he able to pick up lessons for that particular race, but also some experience that Young will be able to continue to apply. "Definitely, just
Road America is a place close to Young's home and heart, although these days he claims his edge here is more psychological in nature rather than being related to any added track knowledge.
Speaking about his history at Road America, Young explained, "I did my first track day here when I was 14 years old and I rode my first CCS weekend that same weekend. The more I spend time in the AMA paddock, the less time I really get to come to tracks like this. Yeah, this is my home track and this is where I pretty much grew up, but as the years go on I don't really get any more track time here than the other guys. This is it's more of confidence booster, just coming back here seeing all my friends and family.
"The fans out here are crazy. Everybody comes out here to watch it and they really can't get out to a lot of the other races so it's pretty nice."
2008 is proving to be a breakthrough season for Young in his first season with Team M4 EMGO Suzuki and he returns to Wisconsin considerably more high profile than in previous seasons. Asked if he expected to discover a significantly expanded fan base and more autographs to sign than before, Blake admitted that he had already spent some time with the spectators this weekend, albeit incognito.
"Actually, that's pretty funny -- I went out into the 'Zoo', they call it, and started talking to some fans out there. I had my hood up and my hat on they couldn't tell who I was. I was talking to them about Supersport and said, 'hey, did you guys see Supersport?' and they didn't know it was me. It was kind of cool. I definitely like to hang out with them and get back to the roots.
"I used to come here as a fan myself when I was a little kid. I remember coming here with my dad. We'd always sneak my pit bike in here and I'd get to ride it around. Now that I'm here, I always joke around and say, 'hopefully 30 years down the line I'm retired and I can come here and just hang out.'
"It's pretty exciting coming back here being under one of these big tents."
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