VOL. 51 ISSUE 8 FEBRUARY 25, 2014 P33
Hayden did not fully capitalize on
his potential last season, he reg-
ularly flashed the sort of sheer
pace required to challenge the
Yamaha ace.
"I feel like I took a big step last
year," Hayden said. "I don't want
to take anything away from Josh
Herrin because he definitely had
a better season than I did and he
was the champion and he de-
served it. But I felt like, outright,
I was the one who put the most
pressure on Josh [Hayes]. I had a
lot of bad luck, but after the sec-
ond weekend of the season I was
always there. I have confidence
that I can run with him for sure.
"Josh [Hayes] is always push-
ing as hard as he can no matter
what, and last year that caused
him to make a couple mistakes.
But he's won how many titles?
Three? He DNF'd two races at
Daytona, crashed out of another,
and was still in contention at the
last race of the year for the title.
You've got to be on your toes to
beat him. He's always going for
it, practice, qualifying, or race. I
think the biggest thing he has go-
ing for him is that he's a competi-
tor. He hates to lose.
"He's been the most dominant
rider during my era of racing Su-
perbike. It'd definitely be nice to
be the guy who beats him con-
sistently. And I don't mean beats
him because he crashes out or
gets a penalty. I mean straight
up. I feel like that's what I need
to do and I have to fully prepared
to be able to do that. I've put in
a lot of time this offseason and
Yosh has done all sorts of things
to make me feel comfortable as
possible and give me as strong a
crew as possible and it is strong."
Hayden is quick to point out
that Hayes is not the only man
standing between him and the
number-one plate, however. With
reigning champion Herrin off to
Moto2, Hayes has a new team-
mate at Yamaha in Cameron
Beaubier, who comes into the
Superbike class with lofty expec-
tations. And Hayden has a new
teammate himself - Colombian
Martin Cardenas, who racked
up 11 podiums highlighted by two
wins in his '13 Yosh debut.
"You know what? I'm just as
worried about those guys as I am
Josh," Hayden said. "Cameron
Beaubier… he is so talented.
The way he dominated SportBike
class last year. He's not going to
have a problem being competitive
on a Superbike this year, I don't
think. He's the real deal. And Mar-
tin has gone really fast in testing.
He had an excellent season in his
first year with Yoshimura and won
some races and he's only going to
be better in his second year. The
Superbike class isn't as deep this
year, but the top four are going to
be the most competitive it's been
in a while."
That said, Hayden fully expects
to be up to the challenge.
"I have a good feeling. I
feel good about myself - I
know I'm fit, and I know I
have a good team and a
good bike. To be on the
factory Yoshimura Suzuki
Superbike is an opportu-
nity of a lifetime. This is
something I've wanted for
a long time. I just have to
put it together. There's a
lot of pressure on me now,
much of it coming from
myself, and I like it like
that."
Chris Martin
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
BRIAN
J.
NELSON
