Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young has won the opening race of the AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike Championship at Daytona in Florida today.
Young, who missed much of last year with injury, used a multi-bike draft to commence his season with a victory and continues momentum gathered last year in the final stages.
Young won ahead of teammate Tommy Hayden and Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s defending champion Josh Hayes.
“It feels fantastic to end last year the way we did and get the win today,” Young beamed. “I came out of the chicane on the last lap and thought to myself, ‘I really lost this thing’ because I thought Josh was far out enough to give Tommy a really good tow.
“Tommy rode really good…. I tried to come around but it was really surprising—a big gust of wind hit the front to of my bike like a wall, but when I gave way a little bit it seemed like bike started going forward again, and I won.”
The race was red flagged after a chaotic opening lap, with Iron Horse BMW’s Chris Peris and Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram going down almost immediately together, followed by Team Cycle World/Attack Kawasaki’s Eric Bostrom being taken out by Australian Chris Trounson (ADR Fly Racing).
On the restart, polesitter Hayes launched to the front, putting more than a half-second on Young and Tommy Hayden, with National Guard Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Hayden not far behind.
Hayes’ somewhat comfortable lead didn’t last long; by the completion of lap two Young was close enough to be a threat for the draft, Roger Hayden also closing on the Suzuki riders while his own teammate, Jordan Suzuki’s Ben Bostrom, did likewise, the top five riders evenly spaced.
Ben Bostrom quickly passed Roger Hayden on the outside, then shifted his target to the elder Hayden.
At the halfway point, Young was all over Hayes’ rear wheel, and shortly after both Young and Tommy Hayden blew by.
Hayes returned the favor almost immediately, the top three putting a couple tenths between themselves and the Jordan Motorsports riders as the intensity continued to ramp up.
With two to go Hayden sent Hayes back to second position, sandwiching the Yamaha rider between yellow and blue bikes.
Behind them, Bostrom grabbed another gear in a desperate attempt to get close enough to join the inevitable drafting battle.
The top three continued to dice, allowing Bostrom to close up yet tighter as Hayden went wide, allowing Hayes to charge through. As the riders snaked through the infield for the last time, Bostrom closed on Young’s rear wheel, but not enough to take part in what came next.
Seconds later, the draft brought heartbreak for Hayes, who was forced to watch the Suzukis blow by and tear across the finish virtually side-by-side, Young taking victory by just .026 seconds. Hayes finished .025 behind.
“You don’t hear them [coming], but you definitely feel it,” Hayes said of the draft. “In fact, I couldn’t believe how much my bodywork was moving around in the draft, probably two inches from side to side.
“It’s incredibly powerful when you get in there with a bunch of guys, but it’s exciting racing—that’s Daytona.”
Tommy Hayden was content with second, albeit disappoint to lose by a tyre-width.
“Obviously it’s a good solid start to the season, a lot better than starting on the ground or a DNF, but when you’re right there and you feel like you have a good chance, it’s frustrating to lose a close one,” he said.
Dave Anthony was top Australian finisher in 10th for ADR Fly Racing, while teammate Jordan Burgess was 14th on debut in the AMA ranks.
Earlier in the day, Jake Zemke rode a privateer Yamaha YZF-R6 to pole position for tomorrow’s Daytona 200, the opening race of the Daytona SportBike Championship.
2011 AMA SuperBike Championship
Round One – Daytona, FL
SuperBike Race One Results: