Hayes leads tight battle to VIR

From AMA Pro Racing

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - The close fought AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Championship battle will be rejoined at the classic Virginia International Raceway in Alton, VA this weekend.

The 2.25-mile, 18-turn road course will be the site of the Suzuki White Lightning AMA Pro Nationals, where championship contenders Josh Hayes, Tommy Hayden, Jake Zemke and Larry Pegram will take to the track for the doubleheader race weekend.

Leading the charge will be four-time 2010 race winner Hayes on his Team Graves Yamaha. Hayes won both ends of the doubleheader at VIR in 2009 and is coming off a close second place finish at the recent Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca round.

Hayes has notched up wins at Infineon Raceway, Road America and Mid-Ohio and he is excited about returning to the track where he ran so well last year.

"I like my chances at VIR," he said. "I won there last year and with the way my Yamaha is running this year, I feel pretty good about the upcoming weekend."

Right on Hayes' tail is Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden. Hayden took his first ever AMA Pro SuperBike win earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway and he added two more wins to his growing career total, one at Road America and another at Mid-Ohio. Right now, the difference is only nine points, 311 for Hayes and 302 for Hayden.

After winning the first two races of the 2010 season, Jake Zemke has consistently added to his points total with a series of strong results to keep his National Guard Jordan Suzuki in the thick of the championship fight.

Another rider with a victory this year is Foremost Insurance Ducati rider Larry Pegram who took a popular win at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year. And Pegram was leading in the second race when he suffered an unfortunate fall while headed for what could have been a weekend sweep of the Auto Club Speedway races.

Due to his steady improving form, which culminated with a win at the most recent race at Laguna Seca, Ben Bostrom and the new Pat Clark Motorsports Yamaha team have put themselves into the championship frame. Ben had surgery on his left thumb after Laguna but he doesn't anticipate any problems this weekend.

A rider making a welcome return to the AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike series this weekend at VIR will be M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider John Hopkins. Hopkins underwent surgery earlier this year and is back for his first race since Road Atlanta in April. Hopkins has been ably represented by Jake Holden.

Seventh and eighth in the AMA Pro SuperBike points this year are two riders that are having nice solid years. M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Chris Ulrich has shown excellent consistency and has posted a solid run of results with only one finish outside the top 10 until the last race at Laguna Seca. Ulrich is seventh in points with 150.

Right behind Ulrich in the points with 141 is Taylor Knapp on his RidersDiscount.com Suzuki. Knapp and his close knit team have done a nice, steady job and Knapp has responded by taking seven finishes of 10th or better.

Josh Herrin, currently the 2010 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Championship points leader, will be heading back to a track where he won convincingly in 2009. Herrin won both races last year on his Team Graves Yamaha but had to withstand a late-race charge from his championship rival this year, Danny Eslick.

Eslick, who rides the GEICO Powersports Suzuki, is just one point behind Herrin in his bid to repeat as Daytona SportBike Champion, and he loves the Virginia track.

Herrin has four wins and Eslick two but it is M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider Marin Cardenas that holds the honour of having the most race victories in 2010 with six. If not for two DNF's, Cardenas could be a long way out front but he is only 12 points behind Herrin and there is plenty of racing left in the 2010 season.

One could say that any series with a tightly contested three-way championship battle would be fortunate but in fact, with a little bit of luck, 2007 Daytona 200 winner Steve Rapp and his tidy Team Latus Motors Ducati team could also be right in the hunt. Rapp is only 37 points behind Cardenas and only 49 behind points leader Herrin.

Joining Rapp on another Ducati is Bobby Fong, who has really raised his game in the last few races and looked a sure winner at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca until an unfortunate fall dashed the hopes of Fong and his DNA Energy Drink Ducati team.

Vesrah Suzuki rider Cory West has put together a nice solid season and has had 11 top 10 finishes out of 12 races.

A rider who has led the field from pole three times this year and is coming off of a strong run at Laguna Seca is Herrin's Team Graves Yamaha teammate Tommy Aquino.

The AMA Pro SuperSport class is a place where young and up-and-coming riders can show their considerable skills and develop their racecraft in a technically restricted class where the emphasis is focused on the riders.

The Young Gun West Division title has already been clinched by early multi-race winner Joey Pascarella who, first with LTD Racing Yamaha and then the DNA Energy Drink Yamaha team, was able to build on his early season run of three wins to clinch his West Division title at Mid-Ohio.

Finishing second to Pascarella in the West Division is Lucas Oil Roadracingworld.com RMR Suzuki rider Elena Myers, who made history with her well earned victory at Infineon Raceway earlier this year.

The rider on the other side of the equation is East Division points leader J.D. Beach and his very capable Rockwall Engineering Yamaha team. Beach has amassed five wins this year.

The team that has been taking the fight to Rockwall Engineering is the formidable LTD Racing Yamaha team. Beginning with Pascarella's early domination and ably supported by two-time winner Huntley Nash and his teammate Tomas Puerta, LTD Racing are in the mix every time they take to the track.

The AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series will also compete this weekend. Danny Eslick and Jake Holden will again lead the field of Harley-Davidson XR1200s in the third race of the season for the big twins. Eslick, winner of the first two races and his teammate Holden, will be back aboard their RMR Bruce Rossmeyer Daytona Racing XR1200s with support from GEICO Powersports and Lucas Oil.

The action at the Suzuki White Lightning AMA Pro Nationals begins on Friday with practice and first round qualifying. Round one of the doubleheader race weekend will be on Saturday and more races, including the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 race will be on Sunday.