TOOELE, UTAH – May 29, 2012 – BYR\FOGI Racing’s Ben Young battled through a variety of challenges to earn a commendable 21st place finish at this past weekend’s AMA Pro Road Racing GoPro Daytona SportBike race at Miller Motorsports Park.
Leading up to Saturday afternoon’s first qualifying session, a combination of rain and high winds would present numerous challenges for not only the young resident of Thornbury, ON, but all the competitors trying to set up their machines for the ever-changing track conditions. By the time the Daytona SportBike qualifying began, the rain had stopped but the riders still had to deal with strong winds and a few damp sections of the track.
Young’s suspension setup added to the challenging weather and track conditions only allowing the Scottish-Canadian pilot to achieve 24th on the scoring sheet.
The team spent the rest of the day refining the bike’s setup in an effort to adapt to the unusually colder temperatures, wind and the potential for additional rain.
On Sunday, the team’s setup choices along with Young’s previous experience in cold weather and rain riding in Canada and Scotland helped him break into the top ten for the first time this season as he was 9th fastest during the second and final qualifying session of the weekend.
The combined qualifying results would see FOGI Racing’s apprentice starting in 24th position from the sixth row on the grid.
Sunday afternoon’s race was greeted with dry weather and the best track conditions of the weekend. Young got off the line well and held his position for the opening laps before he began to set his sights on the riders just ahead of him.
After battling with fellow Yamaha pilots Melissa Paris and Matthew Presting, Young crossed the start/finish line with a commendable 21st place finish on his Scot-Build Yamaha YZF-R6.
“Ben’s progress is good,” said team manager Scott Young. “This is his first season in the Daytona SportBike class which is a very demanding championship. If we can get Ben to be finishing mid pack this season we will have done our job. Continuous progress and development are the team’s goals for Ben this year.”
BYR\Fogi Racing’s next AMA GoPro Daytona SportBike round is the Subway SuperBike Doubleheader at Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI – June 1-3.