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AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Recap:
Buckeye
SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire
at
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
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DAYTONA
BEACH, Fla. (July 18, 2012) - While in the
end Josh Hayes managed to keep his impressive collection of
streaks intact, the biggest story coming out of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course from
the Buckeye SuperBike Weekend presented by Dunlop Tire was the on-track action,
not just the continued accumulation of staggering statistics. The
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha ace walked away with his four consecutive perfect
points haul weekend in AMA National Guard SuperBike competition but was
seriously pressed along the way.
On
Saturday, Hayes' archrival, Blake Young, somehow managed to
slot his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 into the lead in the race's second corner
following an early red flag and restart, despite having qualified down in eighth
position. Never
an easy man to overtake, Mississippian Hayes had to work hard to find a way past
Young on the slippery, one-lined circuit. Once in front, Hayes found himself
pressured from close behind. Believing Young to be his pursuer, the Yamaha man
was actually being trailed by his rookie teammate, Josh Herrin,
who demonstrated an uncanny ability to latch on and push from second at the
series' previous round at Barber Motorsports Park.
Herrin
actually reeled in Hayes at certain points, but the vastly more experienced
Hayes eventually did his younger opponent in with a succession of inch perfect
laps around the tricky circuit. One small mistake laid the groundwork for a
larger one and Herrin hit a false neutral just short of half distance and
crashed in the Carousel. Young
had fallen into a spirited battle for third (which became second with Herrin's
fall) with National Guard Jordan Suzuki's Roger Hayden.
Controlling the pace in his trademark manner, Young proved impossible to get
around and ditch, and despite arguably having inferior pace on this day, the
Wisconsin native won out in the fight to the flag as he's down so many
times. The
following day Hayes' challengers were even more determined not to let him have
things go entirely his way. Herrin pounced from the outset and led a succession
of laps in the contest's early stages. The
youngster made a mistake on lap 7 of 21, running wide at the end of the back
straight, which knocked him out of contention for the win. That didn't mean
Hayes could breathe easily however as Hayden was in rare form on Sunday.
Again,
Hayes was initially confused, thinking Herrin was the +0 on his board before
finally realizing it was the Suzuki-mounted Kentuckian.
Josh Herrin #2 leads Graves Monster Energy Yamaha team mate Josh Hayes #1 and Roger Hayden #54 during one of the AMA Superbike Series battles at Mid-Ohio during round 7 in Lexington, OH. over the July 13-15 weekend doubleheader. AMA Pro Road Racing photo by Brian J. Nelson.
A
long-time Mid-Ohio master, in '11 Hayden scored his first premier class podium
at the circuit. This year he was hoping to claim his first-ever SuperBike
victory and had Hayes in his sights. Hayden posted the weekend's fastest lap
during his chase (1:25.278), fought past Hayes more than once, including a
breathtaking overtaking maneuver on the race's final lap deep on the brakes at
the end of the fast back straight. However,
despite Hayden admirably pulling his GSX-R1000 back in line, Hayes had a
superior angle into the subsequent corner and just laid his Yamaha YZF-R1 over
the top of Hayden's bike and reclaimed the position. From
there he defended the position and won one of those 'close ones' of the sort
that had slipped through his fingers so many times over the past two
seasons.
"I
was pretty sure (Hayden) would try on the last lap at the end of the back
straight," Hayes said. "I was pretty slow in the middle of the Keyhole to make
sure I didn't spin up and make a mistake on the exit. I felt like I got out of
there pretty good, but probably because I was slow in the middle, it allowed him
to do the same thing behind me. When he came by he was moving pretty quick; I
was actually surprised he got it stopped as well as he did. Whenever I came back
up the other side of him I didn't know if I was going to be able to get him. I
wasn't trying to bump him but I was trying to crowd him a little bit. All I
needed was an instant for him to get off the throttle to get in there. It worked
out and at that point it was just ride around the inside line of the racetrack
to the finish line. I'm
really glad I was able to pull it off. It's fun. It was exciting racing and I'm
glad to come out on top of one of those."
Having
escaped with yet another victory, the burgeoning numbers were allowed to come
back into focus. Hayes has now registered seven straight victories, which ties
the all-time single season record, previously posted by National Guard SuperBike
legends Mat Mladin and Ben Spies. Hayes
had been on pole in every race this season, upping his '11 mark to seven and his
overall streak to nine. Mid-Ohio was his solitary non-pole performance a year
ago. His
Mid-Ohio double also ups his season victory total to ten, accomplishing a year
later the goal his famously set and fell far short of prior to Hayes' first
title defense. He
currently boasts 27 career SuperBike victories, putting him just one shy of
Spies' mark of 28. Hayes could move into a tie for third-place on the all-time
order next time out at Laguna Seca with now factory MotoGP pilot Spies in
attendance.
"No
SuperBike win is easy and to get ten at this point of the season is huge," Hayes
said. "I'm glad I could win one by less than a second whenever it came down to
the barnburner at the end; I'm really excited about that. I'm greedy -- I want
them all. (Wife) Melissa (Paris) keeps telling me now I need to win seven more
to make up for last year. I think that's a bit to ask for but I'm sure going to
try."
While
still looking for that breakthrough win, Hayden impressed mightily and showed a
lot of fight, especially considering the difficult outings as of late that had
dented his confidence. "It
was a good race for me," Hayden said. "I got a really good start. This morning
we put a heat cycle in the tire which really helped me. It allowed it to come in
early so I could go with these two guys. I felt pretty good in the beginning and
then Josh Herrin made a mistake and I got by, and I thought, this is my chance
to run with Josh. I just put my head down and put it all out there. Once I got
to the back of him I felt pretty comfortable. I was counting down the laps
because I was pretty sure if I passed him I wouldn't be able to hold him off. I
really wanted to pass him coming out of Turn 1 because that's my best place on
the track but I went through the Keyhole really good and got a good drive. It
wasn't like 'win or crash' but I was going to go past him and just pray that I
got it stopped. I didn't and I wasn't going to force it by him and knock us both
down or anything crazy like that. I'm
definitely happy. Both Joshes have kicked our butts pretty bad the last couple
races, so I think it's good for me and good for the team. We have to build on
this and not make it a one time thing."
After
his mistake, Herrin fell into an abbreviated scrap with Young. It didn't last
long, however, as the Suzuki star crashed out, meaning Hayes' two nearest
competitors collected one podium but also suffered one crash apiece during the
Mid-O weekend. As
a result, Hayes currently boasts a massive advantage in the points, sitting with
383 to Young's 316 and Herrin's 225. As
an interesting side note, all six SuperBike podiums during the course of the
weekend were delivered by Dunlop's new U.S.-built 200/55R17 KR449 rear
slicks. Third-placed
Herrin said, "It's nice to get up here after yesterday's fall. It's been a
really steep climb since I started at the beginning of the year. I've made
really hard charges to get better on this bike. I've gotten to the point where I
can do the times Josh is doing but I just can't do them consistent the entire
race. It's just going to take more hard work. Every time I get on the track I'm
learning."
Young
said following his uncharacteristic fall and comparatively difficult weekend
(eighth in qualifying, runner-up on Saturday and, a crash and 13th-place finish
on Sunday after starting from pole and finishing first and second at Mid-Ohio a
year ago), "I can't complain (about Saturday's starts). I ended up getting
slotted up into first in the first couple laps. It felt good to be out front but
I was pretty hesitant in trying to run clean laps by myself out front. I knew I
was making mistakes in just about every turn. I wanted to let the bike roll a
little bit more and open it up but I had a tough time finding my mojo or finding
my flow so to say. On
Sunday, I had some issues and the crash is going to make the points battle
pretty tough. But we have a bike capable of winning, so I just need to keep my
head down and do my best at Laguna Seca."
Steve
Rapp was the clear winner of the 'best of the rest' tag at Mid-Ohio.
Rapp put the Attack Performance Kawasaki ZX-10R on the front row and then logged
a pair of lonely fourth-place finishes, while showing podium pace had he only
gotten cleaner starts. Next
best were Team Amsoil/Hero EBR's Geoff May and Foremost
Insurance Pegram Racing's Larry Pegram, who traded fifth and
sixth place finishes during the weekend. It
was a bit of a quiet weekend for both men, May having featured so heavily up
front in recent rounds, and Pegram carrying high hopes into his home round, but
both left with solid points pickups. May's
Team Hero EBR teammate picked up a pair of top-ten finishes himself, coming home
in ninth and seventh.
Jordan
Suzuki's Ben Bostrom battled for fourth in both races but faded
to seventh on Saturday and suffered a late technical issue which dropped him
down to 15th on Sunday. The
former World Superbike hero said, "It was a rough weekend for the number 23
Jordan bike. But it was a great weekend for the National Guard Jordan 54. It
was great to see Roger up on the podium and I hope to join him up there at
Laguna Seca. And I have to thank the Jordan Motorsports boys, who are doing an
awesome job as always."
M4
Broaster Chicken Suzuki's Chris Ulrich registered his third
consecutive top-ten result with a pair of tenths in Ohio. He battled for
position with Young's Yoshimura Suzuki teammate, Chris Clark,
who took 11th and ninth during the weekend. "Overall
it was a really positive weekend," said Clark. "Mid-Ohio is a track I've always
struggled at, but the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is an incredible bike. By the
end of the weekend, I'd improved my lap times by almost two seconds over my
qualifying pace the year before. Obviously, I'm not too happy with where I
finished, but it was a huge step in the right direction. I have to thank my
Yoshimura Suzuki crew for their efforts and I'm really looking forward to Laguna
Seca." KTM/HMC
Racing's Stefan Nebel had a difficult weekend as the sole KTM
representative with Chris Fillmore still on the mend after
breaking his hand at Barber Motorsports Park. Nebel was sidelined on Saturday
due to an infection that spread through his bloodstream. The German managed to
fight back on Sunday and raced to an 11th-place finish.
Hayes
will look to continue his historic run with the entire world watching on when
the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike heroes join the global superstars of the
MotoGP World Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Red Bull U.S.
Grand Prix, scheduled for July 27-29.
Year-end Award Update:
Danny Eslick
claimed the weekend's MotoBatt "Hard Charger Award" by
improving his position a cumulative 9 positions during the weekend's races. The
MotoBatt Hard Charger Award is a $500 award that is given to the rider who
improves the most positions combined from each of the weekend's race
sessions.
Josh Hayes
leads the Sunoco "Go the Distance" Award chase, having
completing 702 laps and logged 1906 miles over second place Larry Pegram with
664 laps and 1792.78 miles.
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Point
Standings (After Round 7)
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motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of
events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more
about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.
For additional information
contact:
AMA Pro Racing Communications, (386) 492-1014, communications@amaproracing.com
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