This is round two of the 2013 AMA Superbike Championship. Mat Mladin, Fred Merkel, Freddie Spencer, and Eddie Lawson, are just some of the riders who have won at Road America. This track is a "grand old lady" of road racing. A returning champion is back, and that of course, is Josh Hayes, who had lots of issues at Daytona back in March.
30 points are allotted for a win, 25 for second, 21 for third. Plus, there are points for pole, fast lap, and leading most laps. Reg Pridmore, Fred Merkel, Doug Chandler, and Mat Mladin have all won multiple championships, just as Josh Hayes has so far in his career. Daytona Sportbike will also race. That update will come in another post. Cameron Beaubier, winner of the Daytona 200, wants to keep the momentum up.
Garrett Gerloff and Bobby Fong also ran well at Daytona. The difference between a Sportbike and Superbike are that the Sportbikes have 600cc motors and run DOT street tires along with a modded electronics package. The Superbikes have 1,000cc motors, with slick tires, and high tech electronics that control everything on the bike. It is easier to push a Sportbike. But, a Superbike is MUCH quicker. Either of those bikes would scare the daylights out of mere mortals like yours truly, who is only a fan.
Triumph and Elena Myers are very competitive. Myers has a new 2013 bike this weekend. She is getting very comfortable on the bike. Huntley Nash is racing both Superbikes and Daytona Sportbikes this weekend. These races will be back-to-back. Geico sponsored rider Dan Westby had a big crash at Daytona and fortunately, he's recovered. He can get back to racing now. Road America is one of his favorite tracks. Rider Ryan Kerr jumps from the Supersport feeder series, past the Daytona Sportbikes, right to Superbike.
EBR has Geoff May, and veteran rider Aaron Yates, running in Superbike. The well known #20 bike is back. In 2000, Steve Rapp had a huge wreck in2000, with John Kocinski. Last year, Rapp's chain fell off his bike, and the other riders avoided it. The weather will be a factor in this race.
Danny Eslick wants his first podium of the season in this race. Josh Herrin will also want a good result. The start of the race, and turn five, will be a big deal. Keeping up with Josh Hayes will be another story. The weather was a question mark. But, it's improving, and so, the riders will have a clear track and can use slick tires. Taylor Knapp and Chris Fillmore are looking to run well for KTM as the bikes are on their warmup lap, getting ready for a start.
At the start, the bikes fan out and right now, Martin Cardenas has the lead. Josh Hayes wants the spot. They touch. Hayes and Herrin pass Cardenas on the Suzuki. Through turn five, there are three riders that crash. Who is in this pileup? The bikes can be cleared off the track. No red flag needed. Two incidents happened. The riders are up. But, it's not known who crashed. Cardenas is going to pass Herrin. It's Suzuki vs. Yamaha. This race will be 13 laps. Three are complete. Roger Hayden and Larry Pegram battle.
Aaron Yates and Chris Clark as well as Geoff May and Chris Fillmore, are up there in the running order. It's EBR and KTM battling. These bikes are still in development. Maybe the KTM can't get good tire grip. Danny Eslick is going for it as well. The Suzuki has much more power than the KTM does. Reese Wacker has crashed his bike, #78. Chris Clark misses his braking mark at turn five and runs wide. He got trapped behind another bike. Josh Hayes is flying. He wants to change things after a dreadful race at Daytona back in March.
Hayes has a three second lead over Martin Cardenas while Dustin Dominguez has motor problems. His EBR has gone ka blammo with a major mosquito killer. Game over for Dominguez. There's a battle between Roger Hayden and Larry Pegram, with Danny Eslick also running close behind into Canada Corner. The race is at it's halfway mark. Pegram has really improved after running with Ducati and BMW in the past. The Yamaha seems to be a good package for him. Meanwhile, Roger Hayden had a slight off, according to his crew chief.
Huntley Nash has had a fraught weekend, crashing out of the Superbike race as well. Taylor Knapp's KTM is stalled on course. It's a beautiful bike, but is having real issues now. Josh Hayes is checking out once again, running laps in the 2:12 bracket. Martin Cardenas is 2.3 seconds behind. But, he's pushing. Josh Herrin is third. At halfway, the gaps seem to be closing. Hayes' crew chief Jim Roach says that he'll have to lead laps and win races to win the title. Hayes is cruising. But, Chris Fillmore on the sister KTM bike is headed for the house.
Oops. Chris Fillmore is fine. Retract that last statement. He might have made a mistake. He's far from being out of this race. Roger Hayden still is ahead of Larry Pegram. Roger has a gap and there are five laps remaining. No real change at the front. Hayes is going to master another Superbike race, folks. Three laps left in this race. Danny Eslick is catching Larry Pegram at the moment. Time running out for the competition at least in this contest. Hayes' state of mind is that he knows what is going on. That is the sign of a championship winner.
Martin Cardenas will come in second, and it's been good. We'll see what happens tomorrow in the next race. The riders are still feeling their way around on these new tires. It is unclear as to what Larry Pegram's issue is. Crew chief Dave Weaver says, "I honestly have no idea what the problem is." Pegram still wants by Hayden. It's the last lap of race one. Josh Hayes has a 3.5 second lead. The Hayden/Pegram battle is the one to watch. Roger Hayden gets a better drive off the corner. But, Josh Hayes will win. He's back in form and can forget all about the miserable experience of Daytona.
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
Dave Anthony makes it to the top eight spots. This race is done and dusted.
Race two tomorrow. Stay tuned, fans. Looking for another good one.
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