Motourage

Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki celebrated a tremendous AMA Superbike opening-round weekend at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, with Blake Young winning both races and teammate Tommy Hayden joining him on the podium in both events.

The Rockstar Makita Suzuki riders raced their Yoshimura-prepared Suzuki GSX-R1000s flawlessly, with Young celebrating the double victories in style and Hayden bringing home impressive second and third-placed finishes.

The weekend’s first AMA Superbike race saw Young in a multi-rider battle for almost all 15 laps on the famed Daytona racecourse. However, when the dust had settled, Young took the win over his teammate by just .026 of a second. In the second race, Young was biding his time until the final lap when he stormed the front-runner and took the lead along with his second victory of the weekend.

“Today was great,” enthused Young. “The only thing we could have done better was to lead more laps and get that pole position. Coming out of here with two wins, I’m ecstatic. I haven’t had the best of luck at Daytona before: Last year we had a fifth and a seventh, so this year is definitely a positive. But it’s a long season, and Daytona is just one of the races. We just need to chalk this one up and work hard in the seven weeks we have off. I’m happy for my guys; they worked really, really hard for me in the off-season to get me and my Suzuki on top of the box both days.”

Meanwhile, Hayden was right there with his head down for both races. Although Hayden was leading on the last lap of the first race, the checkered flag saw him finish in second place. In the second race, Hayden again was right there with his team mate and battled competitors as well as the famous Daytona draft before settling into third position.

“Today’s race was about what I expected,” said Hayden. “Blake and Josh Hayes were riding really well, so it was a tough race for me and my Suzuki. I was third today and I thought it was an all-right position. I was second yesterday; and Blake won from third yesterday, you know, so I figured I’d try it from that way. But I didn’t get a very good run on the straight. That’s the way this place goes. Yesterday, I got too-good-of-a-run. Today, not good enough.”

The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event of the 2011 AMA American Superbike Championship series is at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California, on May 13-15.

Daytona Superbike Race 1:
1. Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki)
2. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki)
3. Josh Hayes
4. Ben Bostrom
5. Roger Hayden
6. Martin Cardenas
7. Larry Pegram
8. Jeremy Toye
9. Chris Ulrich
10. David Anthony

Daytona Superbike Race 2:
1. Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki)
2. Josh Hayes
3. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki)
4. Martin Cardenas
5. Ben Bostrom
6. Larry Pegram
7. Chris Clark
8. Eric Bostrom
9. David Anthony
10. Chris Peris

2011 Superbike Standings:
1. Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki) – 60
2. Josh Hayes – 49
3. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Yoshimura Suzuki) – 46
4. Ben Bostrom – 34
5. Martin Cardenas – 33
6. Larry Pegram – 29
7. Chris Clark – 24
8. David Anthony – 23
9. Roger Hayden – 22
10. Chris Ulrich – 22

Fresh from his victory in the opening race, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden and his GSX-R1000 made it to the podium again at Sunday’s second-leg AMA Superbike Championship race at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia with a third-place finish.

Hayden battled for traction throughout the race but held it together to the finish line. He remains in second place in the standings 11 points adrift of Yamaha’s Josh Hayes. But, with two more rounds of racing to go, he’s well within striking distance of victory.

Hayden started on the front row of the grid and shot out to the early lead in Sunday’s race. He then dropped to second where he held steady until he noticed some chatter in his bike, which is thought to have been due to the grip of the rear tire. With high humidity and thick cloud cover, the track wasn’t as hot and sticky as everyone would’ve liked, but he made the most of the race by riding smart and finishing third.

“I feel good about riding fast in the first five laps, but in the end I didn’t have the speed and the rear tyre couldn’t keep up,” Hayden said. “We’ll go back to work before New Jersey and find more speed.”

Round 9 of the AMA American Superbike series takes place September 3-5 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey.

Defending Viking Group Australian Superbike Champion Josh Waters will have the opportunity to showcase skills honed at a local level when he jets to the United States to ride for Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki at rounds 6 and 7 of the AMA Pro Superbike Championship. Waters will race the factory machine at round 6, Mid Ohio and round 7, Laguna Seca, which are separated by just a week in late July. ASBK Team Suzuki manager Phil Tainton will accompany the Aussie young gun.

Rockstar Makita Suzuki has been the dominant team in the US series, having won seven consecutive Superbike titles since 2003. The Mildura, Victoria-based talent impressed the team at a recent test following the local Queensland Raceway round and received the call up when regular rider Blake Young was injured.

“Firstly I would like to wish Blake a speedy recovery,” Waters said. “When I got the call up I was blown away that the team thought of me to fill in. I know it’s not going to be easy as the next two tracks are quite hard, but I know I have the best team behind me. I also want to thank my Team Manager, Phil Tainton, for again coming with me.”

Waters is one of three current Viking Group ASBK riders making their mark abroad.

Demolition Plus GAS Honda Racing’s Wayne Maxwell finished fifth in a recent guest ride with the Honda Dream RT team at the Suzuka 300 in Japan. He will suit up during July to take part in the challenging Suzuka 8-Hour also.

Valvoline Superbike Team star and 2008 ASBK champion Glenn Allerton is currently placed second in the premier class of the Asian Road Racing Championships with a race win and a second place among his top results.

On home soil riders will be preparing for the next round of the ASBK which will be held at Queensland Raceway from August 20-22.

Cougar Bourbon Honda Racing’s Bryan Staring is the current championship leader heading Maxwell by 4.5 points. Waters is a further 5 points adrift after three rounds.

Mladin to Compete in Final Round of AMA Pro Racing Competition as No. 1 at New Jersey
7-time Champion’s Bike to be Renumbered for AMA Pro Superbike Championship Weekend