Second Superbike win for Hayes

From AMA Pro Racing

LEXINGTON, OH - Josh Hayes claimed the second AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike win of his career at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the first of two doubleheader races at the Honda Super Cycle Weekend on Saturday.

Hayes started from pole position on his No. 4 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1 and lost the lead only once during the 21-lap sprint race on the 2.4-mile track, falling behind the No. 79 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 of Blake Young in Turn 2 on the first lap. After several attempts at passing Young in Turn 6, Hayes changed his strategy and made the move stick in Turn 1 on Lap 6. The Mississippi native was pressured lap after lap for the remaining 15 circuits, holding off the pack by just .183 seconds at the finish.

"It started off pretty crazy," said Hayes, whose first American Superbike win came earlier this season at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA. "I started off pretty good through Turn 1 and just got trounced before I got to the keyhole, then Blake kind of got out there and took off and ran. It took me a little while to get my wits about me and get to him and get through there and then I just tried to ride smooth, and I just had a lot of fun.

"It was a good race. There was a lot of pressure the whole way, and the last lap was right up there with every other lap."

Aaron Yates mounted a late-race charge on the No. 23 Brand Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000, overtaking Young in Turn 6 on Lap 15 and running nose-to-tail with Hayes before getting caught up by a lapped rider on Lap 17. Yates cleared the lapped traffic and turned the fastest lap of the race at 1:25.666 on Lap 20 but was unable to take the top spot, finishing in second.

"I felt pretty good about the end of the race, but it was tough getting by a couple guys," said Yates. "We ran up on some lappers just kind of cruising along that wanted to race with the leaders and kind of gave a little gap to Josh there for a little while, but it was fun at the end being able to chase him down. I felt like if I had some clear track, I could have caught back up but I just ran out of laps."

Six-time American Superbike champion Mat Mladin finished third on the No. 7 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Mladin struggled in qualifying and started from ninth before steadily working his way through the field, passing teammate Young on Lap 16 for the final spot on the podium. 

"These guys were running a good pace," said Mladin, who has claimed victory in 10 of the season's 13 races. "It's one thing to be able to get up there, but it's another thing to get past. We couldn't do it today and that was it.

"Obviously it would have made it easier to be a little bit closer on the start. That's the way it goes, we just didn't have the pace today."

Hayes' teammate Ben Bostrom finished fourth on the No. 2 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha R1 and local favourite and hometown rider Larry Pegram, who hails from Columbus, OH, finished fifth aboard the No. 22 Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R.

Tommy Hayden finished sixth in the race and currently trails Mladin by 133 points in the American Superbike point standings, 376-243.

David Anthony (No. 25 Aussie Dave Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000) was involved in an on-track incident during Saturday morning's American Superbike Final Qualifying session. Anthony was evaluated by the track medical center before being transported to MedCentral in Mansfield, OH for further evaluation.

Sunday's American Superbike race will close the weekend and will run at 4:00 p.m. local time. 

Race Results
1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha Motor Corp. USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 21 Laps
2. Aaron Yates (Jordan Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +0.183
3. Mat Mladin (Rockstar · Makita · Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +3.055
4. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha Motor Corp. USA) Yamaha YZF-R1 +3.251
5. Larry Pegram (Foremost Insurance · Pegram Racing Ducati) Ducati 1098R +5.300
6. Tommy Hayden (Rockstar · Makita · Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +6.792
7. Blake Young (Rockstar · Makita · Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +7.746
8. Geoff May (National Guard Jordan Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +16.261
9. Jake Holden (Holden Racing) Honda CBR1000RR +18.310
10. Michael Laverty (Celtic Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +22.997
11. Neil Hodgson (Corona Extra Honda) Honda CBR1000RR +31.205
12. Taylor Knapp (Taylor Knapp Racing) Buell 1125RR +47.247
13. Chris Ulrich (Roadracingworld.com · Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +55.379
14. Scott Jensen (Moto Garage Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1:20.927
15. Shane Narbonne (Shane Narbonne · DASPerformance.com) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1:21.021
16. Russell Holland (RidersDiscount.com) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1:21.496
17. Barrett Long (Longevity Racing) Ducati 1098R +1:22.090
18. Shawn Higbee (Higbee-Racing.com) Buell 1125R +1:22.221
19. Dean Mizdal (M Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +1:28.203
20. Johnny Rock Page (Johnny Rock Page · 944 Magazine) Yamaha YZF-R1 +1 Lap
21. Dominic Jones (Moto Garage Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +22.637
22. Greg Winslow (Motoplex Posse) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +34.459
23. James Kerker (Kerker Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +44.124
24. Matt Lynn (Four Feathers Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +4 Laps
25. Mark Crozier (Team Hooters Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 +10 Laps
Did Not Start
David Anthony (Aussie Dave Racing) Suzuki GSX-R1000