News - VIR
Another Podium for Tommy at VIR
• Tommy Hayden finished third in Sunday’s race at VIR.
• Hayden is now 11 points behind the leader in the championship chase.
• The Suzuki GSX-R1000’s responsive handling allowed Tommy to make the most of the race and finish on the podium.
Alton, Vir. – August 16, 2010 – Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden, fresh off his victory on Saturday at VIR, made it to the podium again on Sunday with his third-place finish. Hayden battled for traction throughout the race but held it together to the finish line. Hayden is still in second place in the standings, but with two more rounds of racing to go in the AMA American SuperBike series, he’s well within striking distance of first place at 11 points back.
Hayden started on the front row of the grid and shot out to the early lead in Sunday’s race. He then moved into second where he held steady until he noticed some chatter in his bike, which is thought to have been due to the grip of the rear tire. With high humidity and thick cloud cover, the track wasn’t as hot and sticky as everyone would’ve liked, but Tommy made the most of the race by riding a smart and finishing third.
“I feel good about riding fast the first five laps, but in the end I didn’t have the speed and the rear tire couldn’t keep up,” Hayden said. “We’ll go back to work before New Jersey and find more speed.”
Round 9 of the AMA American SuperBike series takes place on September 3-5 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey. Hayden is looking forward to earning more points toward the championship then.
HAYDEN CLINCHES A GREAT WIN ON SATURDAY AT VIR
• Tommy Hayden won his fourth race of the year on Saturday at VIR.
• Hayden is now only one point out from leading the championship chase.
• The GSX-R1000’s power helped get Hayden to the checkered flag first in a close finish.
Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden put together an extremely exciting victory on Saturday at VIR in Alton, Virginia, making it the fourth win of his 2010 season. Hayden came into round 8 of the AMA Pro SuperBike series knowing that he needed to secure a win to chop down the nine-point gap between him and the series leader. After today’s win, Hayden is only one point shy of the leading the class in the race to the championship.
“This feels good, and I really feel like we needed this one,” Hayden said after the race. “I wanted to be in there and give it a good shot, and my team has been working really hard.”
Hayden qualified third and started on the front row of the grid. After some slight changes to the bike setup after practice, Hayden set out to put himself on the podium. Right off the start, Tommy took the lead and set the pace for the race. He found himself in second and third a few times during the course of the race, but he never was far from the front of the pack.
On the last lap, he was in second and only a fraction of a second behind the leader. As the finish line and the checkered flag came into view, Tommy rolled on the power of the Suzuki GSX-R1000 and crossed the finish line first. Tommy was so focused on fighting to the finish that he missed the turn after the finish line and ended up rolling through the grass of VIR’s infield during the cool down lap. Hayden kept the bike upright, and rolled into the winner’s circle unsure of where he placed. As official word came down from the AMA, he and his Rockstar Makita Suzuki team celebrated at the podium.
“I honestly didn’t think I won because I quit looking at the finish line when I realized I was going too fast and wasn’t pointed the right way to make the turn at the end, so I wasn’t so happy at the end there,” Hayden said. “I was just concerned with keeping the bike upright in the grass. But now it feels good to be on the winning end of a close one. I feel like I had myself in the right position today.”
