News - April 18 - Atlanta

Rockstar Makita Suzuki Kicks Into High Gear at Road Atlanta

  • Blake Young got his first career AMA American Superbike win on Saturday.
  • Young earned the pole position and the fastest lap point.
  • Tommy Hayden finished second and is second in overall points.

Braselton, GA – April 18, 2010 – Earlier this season Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young said he was looking forward to the Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta, and for good reason. The first race of the doubleheader took place on Saturday, and Young and his GSX-R1000 earned the pole position, had the fastest lap, and won his first AMA American Superbike race. Tommy Hayden also had a great day of racing, finishing just behind Young to take the second spot on the podium.

Young felt good on his Yoshimura-prepped GSX-R1000 right away on Saturday, and his qualifying lap times proved it. “We unloaded the bike off the truck and it was pretty much ready to rock and roll,” Young said. “I mean that thing was phenomenal. With a few minor clicks here and there and then we threw some tires at it, and there wasn’t really much more that I could ask for. The guys on the team did a great job; it came off the truck almost perfect.” Young rode his ideally setup GSX-R1000 to the pole position. At the start of the race, Young kept his bike near the front of the pack and traded spots with his teammate Hayden. A red flag and a jumpstart penalty incurred by other riders were a point of contention after the race, and the AMA ruled in Young’s favor after the race was complete. “It feels good to win, but it would’ve felt better to actually come across the line first,” Young said. “But a win’s a win and we’ll take and we learned a lot today. We’ll make it harder for those boys tomorrow to chase us.”

Hayden, coming off his first victory at the second race in Fontana, wasn’t as comfortable at the start of the race. “I felt OK, but I knew it was going to be a hard race for me,” Hayden said. “I thought I’d be competitive, but I didn’t feel like I had an advantage at all.” Despite his uncertainty, four laps into the race the red flag came out allowing for a restart. Hayden’s restart kept him at the front of the pack and fighting for position. With some great racing and the power of his GSX-R1000, along with the recalculation of the final points after the race, Tommy ended up second and earned points toward his 2010 championship run. “I’m pretty satisfied with how it went considering the way I felt out there and fighting things,” Hayden said. “I got some good points today and a couple ideas to make some improvements tomorrow to be more competitive.”

“We presented our case to the AMA in form of a protest for what we saw as incorrect scoring. We agree with the AMA’s final decision.” Vice President of Yoshimura Don Sakakura said. “ The AMA has done a good job of being open and fair this season, and we’re happy with the direction the series is taking.”

The Rockstar Makita Suzuki team will roll out their race-ready GSX-R1000 on Sunday for the second race of the Suzuki Superbike Showdown of Road Atlanta doubleheader.