We caught up with Ben Young while the three-time Canadian Superbike Championship was on his way to the airport, scheduled to participate in a Blackfoot Cycle BMW launch event in Calgary that evening. Mostly recovered from two hours straight of racing a motorcycle in Florida last weekend, the Collingwood-based Young was looking forward to meet the fans in Alberta.
“Honestly, I’m a little frustrated, I feel like we could have done better,” confirms Young reflecting on his strong ninth place for Team Battlax Suzuki in the 82nd running of the Daytona 200. “Everyone was really happy, as was I, but the result was not a reflection of what we could have done. It was tough with a brand-new bike, and the fact we didn’t get much running in before the race set us back in the end.
“By the time we got to the race, we still didn’t have the bike the way I like it. We tried something with the set-up for the race, and that hurt our sector time by almost a second. We were working to get the front end to accommodate the full fuel load, and with a new bike and no data, it was tough to say what the suspension was doing.
“I had no front-end feel, so I didn’t have comfort with the front to really push it. Even if we had a better Q, and for sure that would have helped, I don’t see it making a big difference.
“For sure, we were a bit off on set-up,” reflects Young of the race. “I did everything I could with what we had, and we got things as close as they could be. We just didn’t have everything right, and to some degree we ran out of time. I don’t blame anyone.”
Young judges himself harshly, as most perfectionists do. Most observers viewed Young’s efforts as the best of the Canadians, as expected, and about as good as could reasonably be expected with a new bike against a very deep and talented field.
“I definitely have a great team, and they delivered. But we needed to start the weekend where we were right before the race, another few sessions would have made all the difference.”
While Daytona offers three days of activity, the top MotoAmerica Supersport class had one practice session before Qualifying started, then the two Q sessions, a morning warm-up, and the race. Given that it was the start of the season, many teams were doing their development on the fly.
As far as the race was concerned, Young got a reasonable launch, but was still frustrated he couldn’t get into the Time Attack session and earn a spot higher up on the starting grid.
“I did OK at the start, and I felt like I had to pace to run up ahead with the leaders,” starts Young. “But when Max Angles blew an engine into turn one, our group checked up, we had to be careful – didn’t know the track condition. So, from there we were always going to in the second group, first behind the leads – similar to what happened last year.
“I think my last stint was the best, in the second stint I spent some time by myself,” continued Young, again describing a similar situation to his 2023 Daytona race – but without the late 200 crash.
“I wanted to catch back up to the group I was in during that first stint, so I got my head down, and by the end we had caught up about 15 seconds over (eighth placed Ducati of) Stefano Mesa. We weren’t too far behind the YART guys (world Endurance Bridgestone Yamaha team-mates Karel Hanika and Marvin Fritz, who finished sixth and seventh).”
Young confirms that at times during the race, he used the group slipstreaming affect to save on fuel.
“We had room for about 19 litres of fuel in the tank, and we were getting around .9 litres per lap in terms of mileage,” considered Young. “So, 21 laps was always going to be the max for us, but that gave us a very workable window. I know some others were struggling to manage fuel consumption, but we seemed to be prepared in that regard.”
However, there were issues with the quick fill set up on Young’s tank, meaning he couldn’t stay fully tucked in while slip streaming close behind other racers.
“I was struggling with some fuel fumes behind the fairing, so I had to sit up just a little in the draft,” continues Young.
As far as the deep field was concerned, Young was worried about the potential of at least one red flag stoppage.
“The way the race works now, without points, it’s a bit of a one-off, so you get people coming out for just one race. It was busy, more competitive for sure that last year.
“So, it was good to go the full distance racing. I’ve had back issues the past year and a half, and this has altered my training. I don’t do any rowing, and I certainly felt the affects in my hips. With the bike set up the way it was, you aren’t able to fully relax, so you feel that later.”
After an unprecedented two hours straight of racing, most of the finishers were fairly zoned out after the 200, and Young was no exception.
“It took a while to recover, I was kind of out of it. I didn’t get to drink any water the whole race, so I was really dehydrated. Then you have to pack up, but when I got back to the B&B, I had to lie down for a while! I know some of the guys went out Saturday night, but I just took it easy.”
Young tried to help his fellow Canadians where possible and told team-mate Trevor Daley that “you can’t win the race on the first lap. But then I was too cautious as it turned out, and it’s a long race, and I learned a lot watching the video afterward.
“I definitely checked in to see how the other Canadians were doing, everyone had their own issues and challenges, and not everyone had what they needed in terms of pit stops and equipment, as well as staff. I offered some advice, small stuff really, but 57 laps are a long way. I think only Brad Macrae was ‘full on,’ really prepared and ready to go.
“Everything it seemed went wrong for Brad, but he stuck it out, and then he didn’t even get a lap in. His bike is a mess, and everyone really feels for him, the efforts he and his team made prior and at the event.”
Now Young turns his focus to Bridgestone CSBK starting at Shannonville on Victoria Day in May, piloting his pair of BMW M 1000 RR superbikes backed by Van Dolder’s Home Team and Parts Canada. The Suzuki might sit until Daytona, 2025.
“I’d like to ride the GSX-R750 again, maybe keep it for next year and another effort with Bridgestone. It would be fun to ride it some more.”
- From Colin Fraser / Presented by AIM Insurance
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