Yamaha YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 racers grabbed a truckload of wins and podiums at the fourth round of the 2012 AMA Superbike series at Miller Motorsports Park in Toole, Utah on May 27-28. Headlining the action was Monster Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes and teammate Josh Herrin, who went 1-2 in the premier Superbike class. Hayes simply destroyed the field on his R1, reclaiming the series points lead in the process, while Herrin rode to second, his career best Superbike finish.
With World Superbike racing alongside AMA Superbike over the Memorial Day weekend, the AMA’s traditional two-race format was compressed to one race per class – Sunday for Supersport and Daytona Sportbike, and Monday for AMA Superbike.
The big guns of AMA Superbike rolled to the line on Monday, with Hayes starting from the pole just like at every race this year. Trailing rival Blake Young in the points, the Mississippian wanted to lead the race early, not only to break his competition, but to avoid involvement in any mid-pack drama that might put him on the ground. It worked. Hayes jetted his R1 into the lead immediately and then built up a gap from there, ultimately winning by a handsome 7.554 sec. With Hayes securely in front, Herrin locked into a terrific scrap with rivals Roger Hayden and Blake Young for second spot. After Hayden fell, Herrin and Young duked it out until the R1 pilot finally prevailed on a thrilling final lap. “Josh Hayes put in a flawless weekend and was in a league of his own today,” said Tom Halverson, Yamaha’s road-racing team manager. “Josh Herrin also rode a calculated, smart race – very impressive for his first year in Superbike.”
| SuperBike Race Results |
| 1 |
Josh Hayes - YAM |
|
| 2 |
Josh Herrin - YAM |
|
| 3 |
Blake Young |
|
| 4 |
Geoff May |
|
| 5 |
Ben Bostrom |
|
| 6 |
Danny Eslick |
|
| 7 |
Larry Pegram - YAM |
|
| 8 |
Chris Clark |
|
| 9 |
David Anthony |
|
| 10 |
Chris Fillmore |
|
|
| Daytona SportBike Race Results |
| 1 |
Martin Cardenas |
|
| 2 |
Jason DiSalvo |
|
| 3 |
C. Beaubier - YAM |
|
| 4 |
Jake Zemke |
|
| 6 |
Dane Westby |
|
| 7 |
JD Beach - YAM |
|
| 8 |
Benny Solis |
|
| 9 |
Tommy Hayden - YAM |
|
| 10 |
Jacob Gagne - YAM |
|
|
| SuperSport Race Results |
| 1 |
Hayden Gillim - YAM |
|
| 2 |
Jake Lewis - YAM |
|
| 3 |
Dustin Dominguez |
|
| 4 |
Tomas Puerta - YAM |
|
| 5 |
Stefano Mesa - YAM |
|
| 6 |
Tyler Linders - YAM |
|
| 7 |
Elena Myers |
|
| 8 |
James Rispoli |
|
| 9 |
Ryan Matter - YAM |
|
| 10 |
S. Ferreira - YAM |
|
|
|