2011 AMA Superbike
Spoiler Alert: New Jersey Motorsports Park Race 2 results below
The final race of the 2011 AMA Superbike Championship brought a whole new perspective to the term competitiveness in stateside motorcycle racing.
Heading into race 2 at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) Sunday, Team Graves Yamaha Josh Hayes needed 11 points to claim his second consecutive title.
This scenario arrived after Hayes reclaimed the top points spot from Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young after winning Saturday’s Superbike race, the Mississippian riding in dominate form as he did the previous two years at NJMP. When Hayes took Race 1, it was his fifth consecutive Superbike win at NJMP.
So regardless if Young won, it came down to Hayes needing a third place or better to take the 2011 AMA Superbike title, and this is just the position Hayes took. It was far from easy, but he battled his way to second position behind the man who won Sunday’s Superbike race – Blake Young. Taking the final podium position was Jordan Suzuki’s Roger Lee Hayden.
When the 23-lap race got underway, Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden grabbed the holeshot, followed by Hayes, Roger Lee Hayden and Saturday’s second-place winner Ben Bostrom aboard the other Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. Also making his way up to the front was Cycle World Attack Performance Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp and Young.
But as these riders battled up front, the Canadian Brett McCormick crashed his self-funded BMW S1000RR, causing the race to be red flagged and restarted.
Upon the restart, it was Hayden who grabbed the first position, followed by Young, Bostrom and Rapp. Although he got a bad start, Hayes would soon pilot the R1 into first position, only to lose it by Young with 13 laps remaining.
The action became intense as Hayes, Bostrom, Rapp and the Hayden brothers battled. But soon Tommy Hayden crashed out, and on the final lap, it was Young leading the group, followed by Roger Lee Hayden, Bostrom and Hayes.
Hayes needed a third with Young in the front-running position, and capitlized on a mistake by Bostrom, who ran off the track. Hayes then passed Roger Lee, and it would be a drag race to the NJMP finish line. Young would take the victory by a mere 0.005 of a second, with Roger Lee Hayden in third. Taking fourth was M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, with Bostrom in fifth.
When the numbers were crunched, Hayes would take the AMA Superbike title by five points over Young.
NJMP AMA Superbike: Race 2 Podium Quotes
Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha R1 Superbike) says: “I got myself into second and got set for a run up to flag, and it was a heck of a run, but I didn’t have enough to get by him. Man, what an exhale once we crossed the line and it was over and done with – Blake made me race my tail off for that last one, and it was great.
“He rode like a champ this year; he’s won seven races and I’ve only won three, but my bad days weren’t as bad as his. He’s still learning and he’s young, and I’m sure next year’s going to be the same thing all over again. He rode a fantastic year, and what a final day. He really pulled it together, and man, rode like a Superbike racer.”
Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike) says: “It was tough, tough weekend for me, for sure. Today, I don’t think it was skill or anything but mainly just heart. I just wanted to show what my team was capable of and what they’ve been doing all year long. I wanted to end the season like that, and I did. I wanted to bring the win home for them because they deserve it.
“I definitely was confident today to let it all hang out – I didn’t really worry where Josh was, I just wanted to win. I’m happy I’ve had the season that I’ve had, but I’m kind of sad that it’s over – I’d like to go at it a little bit more. I have go back and try harder; I didn’t get it done this year. But you’ll see me back next year, a little bit stronger.”
Roger Lee Hayden (Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike) says: “With ten to go. I figured I had to make a push. It was a crazy race – people crashing, guys all over the place – but I got lucky a few times and on the last lap I closed up on Blake and tried to get up the inside of him a little bit.
“But he was able to block me, like you’re supposed to do on the last lap, so I ended up third. It was a pretty good race for me and a good way to end the season strong for me and the team – give us something to build on. Hopefully [next year] I can challenge these guys again.”
Hayes and the other 2011 AMA Pro Racing Champions will meet in Atlantic City Monday evening for the Awards Banquet.
2011 New Jersey Motorsports Park AMA Superbike: Race 2 Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider(s) | Team | Bike | Interval | Gap | Best Lap | Points |
| 1. | 79 | Blake Young | Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 23 Laps | WINNER | 1:21.904 | 31 |
| 2. | 1 | Josh Hayes | Monster Energy Graves Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | 0.054 | 0.054 | 1:21.688 | 25 |
| 3. | 54 | Roger Hayden | National Guard Jordan Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 0.416 | 0.362 | 1:21.781 | 21 |
| 4. | 36 | Martin Cardenas | M4 Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 2.479 | 2.063 | 1:21.788 | 18 |
| 5. | 23 | Ben Bostrom | Jordan Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 9.079 | 6.600 | 1:21.764 | 16 |
| 6. | 99 | Geoff May | Amsoil EBR Racing | EBR 1190RS | 14.777 | 5.697 | 1:22.382 | 15 |
| 7. | 44 | Taylor Knapp | Taylor Knapp Racing | EBR 1190RS | 14.826 | 0.048 | 1:22.389 | 14 |
| 8. | 2 | Chris Clark | Yamaha Extended Service, Pat Clark Sports, Graves, Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | 20.742 | 5.916 | 1:22.442 | 13 |
| 9. | 57 | Jeremy Toye | San Diego BMW/Locust Powered by Lee`s Cycle | BMW S1000RR | 37.049 | 16.306 | 1:23.066 | 12 |
| 10. | 10 | JD Beach | Cycle World Attack Performance | Kawasaki ZX-10 | 38.002 | 0.953 | 1:22.561 | 11 |
| 11. | 8 | Chris Peris | Team Iron Horse BMW ·ESP | BMW S1000RR | 38.080 | 0.077 | 1:23.016 | 10 |
| 12. | 33 | Jordan Burgess | ADR Fly Racing | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1:05.392 | 27.311 | 1:24.430 | 9 |
| 13. | 64 | Shane Narbonne | DASPerformance.com | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 1:12.163 | 6.771 | 1:24.750 | 8 |
| 14. | 72 | Larry Pegram | Pegram Racing | BMW S1000RR | 22 Laps | 1 Lap | 1:21.709 | 7 |
| 15. | 78 | Reese Wacker | Wacker Racing LLC | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 8.486 | 8.486 | 1:25.487 | 6 |
| 16. | 41 | Eric Pinson | Go4one Braille Neyra Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10 | 16.843 | 8.356 | 1:24.965 | 5 |
| 17. | 22 | Tommy Hayden | Rockstar ·Makita ·Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | 17 Laps | 5 Laps | 1:21.906 | 4 |
| 18. | 11 | Chris Fillmore | KTM/HMC Racing | KTM RC8R | 27.555 | 27.555 | 1:22.695 | 3 |
| 19. | 15 | Steve Rapp | Cycle World Attack Performance | Kawasaki ZX-10 | 15 Laps | 2 Laps | 1:21.589 | 2 |
| 20. | 6 | Brett McCormick | McCormick Racing | BMW S1000RR | 10 Laps | 5 Laps | 1:22.164 | 0 |
| 21. | 96 | Aaron Gobert | San Diego BMW Racing Powered by Lees Cycle | BMW S1000RR | DNS | DNS | -no times- | 0 |
| 22. | 18 | Chris Ulrich | M4 Suzuki | Suzuki GSX-R1000 | DNS | DNS | -no times- | 0 |
