Josh Hayes (1) is chasing Blake Young (79) in the American SuperBike title chase. The Graves Yamaha man looks to close the gap at Laguna Seca during the USGP weekend.
AMA Pro Racing shares the stage this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
MotoGP takes top billing at the annual Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, but the AMA gets an opportunity to shine as a support series. The AMA fills out the USGP schedule with a single race apiece for the American SuperBike, Daytona SportBike and Motorcycle-Superstore SuperSport classes. The single-race format will divvy out valuable points for some heated title fights – the scarce Laguna points even more prized following news that August’s VIR round has been controversially cancelled. Two races magically wiped off the schedule means precarious title hopes need victories here and now at Laguna.
American SuperBike
The American SuperBike trifecta of Blake Young, Josh Hayes and
Tommy Hayden has shuffled the ASB podium all season long. Young remains the presumptive favorite arriving at Laguna the ASB points leader. The Wisconsin native has won six of 11 SuperBike races this season, taking a 1-2 byline at the recent Mid-Ohio doubleheader. Yoshimura Suzuki’s top gun enjoys an 11-point advantage over his closest title rival, defending champion Josh Hayes. As for his Laguna fortunes, Young was MIA last year thanks to injury, but finished second in the 2009 Superbike race (runner up to some fellow named Mat Mladin).
Hayes has seen his title defense take a serious blow in recent weeks, losing ground in the points at Mid-Ohio and losing opportunities to gain ground with the VIR cancellation. The Monster Energy Graves Yamaha pilot placed second behind Young in Race 1 at Mid-Ohio and missed the podium with a fourth in Race 2. Winner of seven races in his title-winning season, Hayes has claimed the checkers only twice in 2011 – the last time being a Race 2 win at Road America (the last time he finished ahead of Young, too). It’s not dramatic to say Laguna is a must win for Hayes to keep his title hopes alive, and those bonus points for pole position and most laps led are mandatory at this point as well.
Tommy Hayden's title chances may be dim, but the eldest of the Hayden brothers has a good shot at the Laguna race win.
An engine failure at Barber has all but destroyed Tommy Hayden’s title aspirations, but that doesn’t mean the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider will be out of the running at Laguna. The eldest of the Hayden brood took the last ASB win at Mid-Ohio, and could do his teammate Young some favors by finishing ahead of Hayes on Sunday. With the championship off the table, Hayden’s focus will presumably be on finishing the 2011 campaign with a bevy of wins. Little brother Roger has also shown some spunk of late, the National Guard Jordan Suzuki pilot nabbing his first podium of the year at Mid-Ohio. The Owensboro boys will aim for a Hayden filled rostrum (sibling Nicky dreaming for the same in his MotoGP race).
Ben Bostrom will have the busiest schedule at this year’s USGP – the Jordan Suzuki ASB rider getting a coveted GP wild card ride with LCR Honda. Teammate Roger Hayden was the LCR wild card at last year’s GP race, so here’s to the native Californian making a show of things on Sunday. Bostrom’s history at Laguna warrants the opportunity, having most recently taken a win at the Monterey circuit in 2010’s ASB race (as well as a double-podium WSB performance in 2001).
There are plenty other SuperBike riders to factor into the Laguna results. M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas notched his first-ever ASB win at Barber and is on the brink of generating the consistent pace to challenge the front three. The BMW S1000RR contingent led by Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance) has yet to break the podium, but is a regular top-five contender.
The past round at Mid-Ohio was notable for the impressive results of performers utilizing new Twin-powered machinery. XR1200 standout Chris Fillmore made a superb ASB debut on the
KTM/HMC Racing RC8, with a seventh- and ninth-place result. Buell rider Geoff May also cracked the top-10, making the first ever racing start for the Erik Buell Racing 1190RS.
The 23-lap American SuperBike main event will be the finale race at this year’s USGP, running after the 32-lap MotoGP main.
Danny Eslick (69) got the better of his rival Josh Herrin (8) at Mid-Ohio and now enjoys a 15-point lead arriving at Laguna.
GEICO Powersports/RMR Suzuki’s Danny Eslick will defend a 15-point title advantage at Laguna Seca in the Daytona SportBike race. The 2009 DSB champ got some breathing room on rival Josh Herrin (Monster Energy Graves Yamaha) courtesy of a Race 2 victory at Mid-Ohio (his second win of the season), a race which saw Herrin drop to fifth. The front-running Eslick/Herrin duo are locked into the title fight, which now sees only three races remaining thanks to the VIR cancellation. That makes a Laguna victory imperative for Herrin, whose four victories in 2011 are the most of any DSB rider.
DSB rookie Cameron Beaubier (JHR/RidersDiscount.com Yamaha) stepped up at Mid-Ohio to snatch his third podium of the season, a third-place result in Race 2. The same contest saw Graves Yamaha’s Tommy Aquino snag second. Another rider on a hot streak is M4 Suzuki’s Dan Westby, who celebrated his first-ever DSB win with a Race 1 victory at Mid-Ohio. All three are prime contenders for the Laguna steps.
Featuring some of the best racing of the season, the packed DSB contingent includes plenty more riders that can break onto the rostrum. Corey West (Vesrah Suzuki) may be winless in 2011, but has a trio of podiums to his credit. Celtic Racing’s PJ Jacobsen is another podium finisher in ’11 with a mind to get back on the steps aboard the Ducati 848.
The biggest question mark at Laguna in the DSB class will be Jason DiSalvo. The Team Latus Ducati star started the year strong with three wins, but has since fallen to a distant third in the points, 41 down on Eslick. DiSalvo hasn’t seen the podium, much less the top of it, since Round 2, but will look to set things straight at Laguna.
The 23-lap Daytona SportBike race will comment at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, July 24th.
Dustin Dominguez gave Triumph something to cheer about with a suprising SuperSport win at Mid-Ohio.
The $25K on the line in the Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport series provides added incentive for spirited racing in the 600 support class. The West Division of the SuperSport series is led by LTD Yamaha’s David Gaviria, followed by Benny Solis (Roadracingworld.com Honda) and Corey Alexander (Vesrah Suzuki). Gaviria and Solis both have two wins apiece in the West standings, with Alexander grabbing a victory as well. All three stand a good shot at the Laguna checkers on Saturday, though the unpredictable class has seen the front-running trio also bin more than one race this year.
Other notable SuperSport entries confirmed for Laguna include LTD Yamaha racer Tomas Puerta and Suzuki rider Elena Myers. Dustin Dominguez will also be competing in California, the Team Latus rider having delivered Triumph’s first-ever DSB win last round at Mid-Ohio.
The 18-lap Motorcycle Superstore.com SuperSport race will be the first race of the USGP weekend, taking place on Saturday, July 23rd at 3:40 p.m. On a technical note, the AMA announced East/West overall points will be calculated a little differently thanks to the VIR cancellation (an East Division race). Qualifying points will not be tabulated at Laguna into the overall standings, and conversely qualifying will be counted in the East Division Jersey round.
