Team Rockstar Makita Suzuki celebrated in style at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah as Blake Young piloted his Yoshimura-prepped Suzuki GSX-R1000 to victory in what was arguably the most exciting AMA Superbike race of the season.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mate Tommy Hayden was right there with Young, running up front and finishing in an impressive third place to round out the podium.
Because the AMA Series was running in tandem with the World Superbike Series at Miller, there was only one AMA Superbike race instead of the usual two and the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team mates certainly made the most of it.
On race day, Young and his Suzuki were running with the race leader almost immediately. The Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider firmly slotted his GSX-R1000 into second place and aggressively battled for the lead throughout all 16 laps. He passed for the lead on several occasions but was unable to make it stick until the final lap. At that point, Young made his move, got out in front, put his head down and brought home the win.
“My Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 was running great and I got up to the race leader pretty quick,” said Young. “At first, I was just trying to settle into a comfortable pace for me, but it seemed like every time I tried to relax, Josh would get away a little bit. So I just put my head down and did what I had to do. I wanted to put on a good show for the fans and I think we did that. I’m happy to come out of here with a win for my Rockstar Makita Suzuki team, and now we have just a few days until Road America in my home state. I’m looking forward to racing on that track and it’ll be great to race in front of my friends and family back home in Wisconsin.”
Meanwhile, Hayden was right there in the hunt for the entire race. Like Young, he quickly got up to speed and into the top three on his Suzuki GSX-R1000. In fact, he was less than a second behind his team mate throughout the event and after charging hard and riding flawlessly, Hayden brought home a solid third-placed finish.
“Overall, I think the race went well,” said Hayden. “I felt comfortable on the Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000 and I was able to get up front pretty quick. We’ve been on the podium at every race this year and we’ve been consistent, but I think we need to try and win a few more races. I’m looking forward to Road America – I’m glad it’s right around the corner. It’s one of my favourite tracks and hopefully we’ll have a good result there.”
The 2011 Rockstar Makita Suzuki team’s next event of the 2011 AMA American Superbike Championship series is at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on June 3-5th.
Miller Superbike Class Results:
1. Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Suzuki)
2. Josh Hayes
3. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Suzuki)
4. Roger Hayden
5. Steve Rapp
6. Chris Clark
7. Geoff May
8. Ben Bostrom
9. David Anthony
10. Jeremy Toye
2011 Superbike Class Standings:
1. Josh Hayes – 134
2. Blake Young (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) – 129
3. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Suzuki) – 122
4. Martin Cardenas – 67
5. Ben Bostrom – 64
6. Larry Pegram – 64
7. Chris Clark – 60
8. Roger Hayden – 57
9. Steve Rapp – 49
10. Jeremy Toye – 47
