Road Atlanta Report
Without Mat Mladin and without Ben Spies, the Rockstar Makita Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki GSX-R1000s were again on top of the podium and in both races of the Road Atlanta SuperBike doubleheader this weekend in Braselton, Georgia.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young was victorious in both races, earning the first wins of his AMA American SuperBike career. Tommy Hayden finished the weekend with a second and third place finish, respectively, and gained points toward the overall championship.
The team’s SBK machines were dialed in from qualifying to victory circle. Blake Young earned the pole position after having the fastest lap on Saturday morning in qualifying. Young led the most laps on Saturday, and despite being put on the second step of the podium immediately after the race, he was awarded the win after review of the AMA rules.
Another racer jumped the start and won the race initially, but Young was awarded the number one spot Saturday night after review of the race. It marked Young’s first win of his SuperBike career Hayden, who finished third initially, was given the second-place award.
On Sunday, Blake was determined to win outright and get his time to shine on the podium.
Blake Young says: "A win’s a win, but it would’ve been nice to get the recognition on the podium on Saturday. It feels good to come across the line first," Young said. "I was looking forward to this race since the beginning of the season, and I’m really happy. My team worked really hard and gave me a great bike this weekend."
With that on his mind, Blake took off from the pole position on Sunday and never let up. He and his Yoshimura-prepped GSX-R1000 led every lap and took the win…the second win for Young, but the first he got to celebrate.
Tommy Hayden finished third on Sunday after a solid performance on the track. His Yoshimura-powered GSX-R1000 held the track and Tommy clicked off lap after consistent lap.
Tommy Hayden says: "I’m happy for Blake, he ran a great race," Hayden said. "I tried to make some changes today to better the bike from yesterday, but the guys in the front were on a mission today and I couldn’t reel them in. I earned some good points this weekend, though."
The double header makes it three SBK wins in a row for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, with Hayden’s win in the second race in Fontana. The next AMA SuperBike race takes place at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on May 14-16.
