After winning six of the season’s first nine races, Josh Hayes has all but sealed up his fourth AMA Pro SuperBike championship heading into the final round next month at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Hayes’ death-grip on the points lead has not loosened all season, with two of his non-victories coming as second place finishes. A 21st place finish at Daytona early in the season was his only stutter, but he quickly corrected himself and found rhythm in the following races.
Hayes’ only real formidable opponent throughout the season has been his rookie Monster Energy/Graves Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier. Yoshimura Suzuki riders Roger Hayden and Martin Cardenas have raced Hayes near the front of the field regularly, but no one has offered a real challenge in late-race scenarios like Beaubier. The rookie captured wins in the three races not claimed by Hayes.
With a comfortable 40-point lead over Beaubier and a proven ability to be consistent this year, wrapping up a fourth championship should be a walk in the park for Hayes. With 30 points going to the winner of each race, it would take back-to-back misfortunes for Hayes coupled with stellar riding on Beaubier’s part to make things interesting.
Hayes proved his unwillingness to take the safe route to a championship, running hard in two races in the last round at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Easing off the throttle and mustering up modest points would have held up a strong lead, but Hayes elected to risk running up front in both races. After Beaubier beat him to the line by .293 seconds in Race One, Hayes came back and showed that he won’t be offering any opportunities to close the gap on his championship lead, winning Race Two in a photo finish by .001 seconds.
As if there was any hope for a challenge to the soon-to-be champ, riders must face the reality that Hayes typically races at peak performance at the final track of the year, the New Jersey Motorsports Park. In his last five seasons in the SuperBike class, Hayes has won eight of ten races there, and his worst finish was a fourth place. Beaubier’s New Jersey record cannot touch that of Hayes, but he did run consistently there in recent years, including a 2012 Daytona SportBike win and a sweep in the SportBike class last year.
Beaubier’s riding abilities suggest that next year could make for a closer contest. His championship hopes took a few hard hits in races when rookie mistakes left him outside the top ten. One thing is certain– after clocking plenty of laps running in his teammate’s draft this year, the young rider has gained invaluable knowledge on how to run a dominant line.
But until Beaubier finds a proven method of getting around his teammate, the old-timer will continue to run the show.
