Hayden brings slim lead to Ohio

From AMA Pro Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has a long and distinguished history in all forms of motorsports. AMA Pro Road Racing has delivered its own role of honour when it comes to winners at this technically challenging road course. Legendary motorcycle riders who have won at Mid-Ohio read like a hall of fame list -- Fred Merkel, Kevin Schwantz, Bubba Shobert, Scott Russell, Doug Chandler, Miguel Duhamel, Colin Edwards, Nicky Hayden, Ben Spies, Jason Pridmore and Mat Mladin are among the many great names to grace the top step of the podium at Mid-Ohio. 

Then there are the current AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike riders who have posted victories at Mid-Ohio that will be back for this weekend's Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire. This list begins with last year's double winner, Josh Hayes, and early-season National Guard SuperBike winner Jake Zemke. Ben Bostrom and his brother Eric Bostrom both have wins and Eric will be returning to AMA Pro SuperBike competition for the first time since 2008. Tommy Hayden has a win at Mid-Ohio. 

This year's action at Mid-Ohio should be a continuation of the great racing seen from the drop of the green flag back in March at Daytona International Speedway when Zemke and his National Guard Jordan Suzuki took a pair of wins under the watchful eyes of team owner Michael Jordan. Then the momentum shifted to Ohio's own Larry Pegram as he took a popular win at the second race in California with his Foremost Insurance Ducati. 

Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden then took his inaugural win in the SuperBike class which was followed by his teammate Blake Young taking his first series wins at the next race at Road Atlanta. Josh Hayes and his Team Graves Yamaha team then took centre stage with Hayes delivering a pair of totally dominant performances at Infineon Raceway and adding another win at the last race at Road America. 

Hayden also took a win at Road America and will have a new teammate at Mid-Ohio and beyond as Young has suffered an injury incurred during a testing session. Young's replacement, reigning Australian SuperBike Champion Josh Waters was also unfortunately injured during testing and his status was unclear as of today. 

As mentioned above, Eric Bostrom will also be returning to action at Mid-Ohio aboard the new Cycle World Attack Performance Yoshimura Suzuki in the first of four races for the team. Eric's brother Ben and his Pat Clark Racing Yamaha teammate Chris Clark have been regular frontrunners, Ben taking a couple of second place finishes at Infineon. He last won at Mid-Ohio in 2008.  

The overall points battle in the National Guard SuperBike championship has Hayden (229) leading, just one point ahead of Hayes (228) with Zemke (215) in third place. The absent Young (197) is fourth ahead of Pegram (170) with Ben Bostrom (149) and Chris Ulrich (125) in sixth and seventh respectively.

Rounding out the top 10 is Canadian Brett McCormick (69) on the second Jordan Motorsports Suzuki doing a fine job filling in for Aaron Yates, who continues to recover at his Georgia home in anticipation of a return later this season.

SPEED TV will televise both Mid-Ohio rounds of AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike racing in same-weekend coverage. Race One will be broadcast late Saturday at 11:00pm ET (8pm PT) with Race Two debuting late Sunday at 1:00am ET (10pm PT). A full TV schedule can be found at www.speedtv.com.

The season so far in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike has seen three riders take wins in the nine races run as the series heads into the Honda Super Cycle Weekend Presented by Dunlop Tire. 

Columbian M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Martin Cardenas has won five times this year and taken one pole position, underlining his overall talent and racecraft once again. And with a season like that, you would expect to see Cardenas atop the standings going into the second half of the 2010 season, but that isn't the case. 

The rider atop the standings in 2010 stamped his mark on the season right out of the box. Team Graves Yamaha rider Josh Herrin took the win at the famous Daytona International Speedway in the historic Daytona 200. He quickly followed that up with wins at Auto Club Speedway, Road Atlanta, Infineon Raceway and also the most recent race at Road America in Wisconsin.

Last year's Daytona SportBike champion Danny Eslick has been in the mix for wins at just about every race, and along with his one win at Infineon Raceway and two pole positions (Auto Club and Daytona) Eslick and his GEICO PowerSports RMR Suzuki have led at Daytona, both races at Auto Club Speedway (most laps led in race two) and the most laps at Road Atlanta. His exciting style and never-say-never attitude have made him a fan favourite. Eslick won both races at Mid-Ohio last year and he can't wait to get back the challenging 2.4-mile natural terrain road course.

A number of riders have featured this year in the ultra competitive class, but one in particular has been oh-so-close to capturing his sixth overall AMA Pro Road Racing win, and it would be a popular win indeed as Steve Rapp has been right in the mix from the very first race at Daytona. Rapp currently sits in fifth place in the points, just seven back from Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha rider Dane Westby.

Westby is among a number of riders who have played a part in the incredible racing seen this year. Team Graves Yamaha rider Tommy Aquino has taken a couple of pole positions, Cory West riding for the Vesrah Suzuki team, Clinton Seller on the second Project 1 Atlanta Yamaha and Bobby Fong with his DNA Energy Drink Ducati have all been in the mix.

SPEED TV will televise both Mid-Ohio rounds of AMA Pro Daytona SportBike in same-weekend coverage. Race One will be broadcast late Saturday at midnight ET (9pm PT) with Race Two debuting late Sunday midnight ET (9pm PT). A full TV schedule can be found at www.speedtv.com.

The 2010 AMA Pro SuperSport class has produced some of the most exciting racing seen in years. The main cast of riders featured in this year's championship battles have provided so many storylines that it is hard to keep up with everything that has gone on in AMA Pro Road Racing's SuperSport Young Gun rider development class. If the level of talent seen this year in SuperSport is any indication, the future is very bright for AMA Pro Road Racing for many years to come.

J.D. Beach leads the East division standings for the Rockwall Yamaha team with 139 points and three straight victories to his credit. His teammate Cameron Beaubier and LTD Yamaha's Thomas Puerta are tied for second at 117 points, with another LTD Yamaha rider, Huntley Nash, just a further point back.

The AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series made its debut last month at Road America in the home state of Harley-Davidson, and what a debut it was. AMA Pro Road Racing superstars Danny Eslick and Jake Holden riding their team RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200's put on a display of side-by-side, give-and-take racing that harked back to the days of the classic Harley-Davidson 883 series that produced so many of the great names in AMA Pro Road Racing today.

The performance-matched Harley-Davidson XR1200 with the attractive and efficient performance enhancements from Vance & Hines guarantees that no one can run away from the pack and the 2.4-mile, 15-turn Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will provide a fascinating stage for the second race in this new and exciting series. 

Rejoining their battle at the front will be Eslick and Holden on their RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200s. The team receives valuable support from GEICO Powersports and Lucas Oil as they prepare for Mid-Ohio. Third-place finisher and AMA Pro SuperSport road racer Eric Stump will be back on his Rapide Manage Dan Chivington XR1200 as will the Wyman brothers, Kyle riding another of the RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing Harley-Davidsons and Travis is back on his Harv's Harley-Davidson AB-1 Motorsports XR1200.