News - March 6 - Daytona

March 6Rockstar Makita Suzuki Makes Solid 2010 SuperBike Debut

Rockstar Makita Suzuki owned the American SuperBike championship last year, and the team has carried that momentum into the start of the 2010 season. Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden finished 2-2 in the season opener, a two-day event held at the Daytona International Speedway. His double podium finishes puts Hayden in second place in overall points. The racing on both days saw only a few hundredths of a second separating the top riders, many of whom were aboard the GSX-R1000.

On Thursday’s race both Hayden and his teammate Blake Young led for a few laps of the race. Young grabbed the holeshot and Hayden followed behind for a few laps. Hayden stayed near the front of the pack for the entire race, trading the lead with a few racers and ended up second when the checkered flag flew. Young did his best to fend of the encroaching competitors and finished a respectable fifth, not a bad way to start his sophomore year in the highly competitive AMA American SuperBike class.

On Friday, Hayden jumped out to the lead immediately and led a total of six laps. On the final lap, Hayden was leading the pack, but ended up in a photo finish where he crossed the finish line .009 seconds behind (Jordan Suzuki’s Jake Zemke). “I can’t really complain about getting second place,” Hayden said before the podium honors. “I thought leading would be my best bet today, but the race was a few feet too long for me. But, my bike and team are working great, and I think it’s going to be a good year.” Young followed Hayden in second place at the start of the race, but after a miscalculation on part of the track, Young was forced back into 7th place where he finished the race.

Look for the Rockstar Makita Suzuki Superbike team to be at the front of the grid for the rest of the 2010 season with their GSX-R1000.