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Shorai Sponsored Rider: ROGER HAYDEN SCORES A PAIR OF SUPERBIKE PODIUMS AT VIR

ROGER HAYDEN SCORES A PAIR OF SUPERBIKE PODIUMS AT VIR

 

Shorai Lithium Battery Sponsored Rider

 

Hayden Jumps from 7th to 4th in MotoAmerica Superbike Standings aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000


ALTON, VA (May 17, 2015) – Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Roger Hayden worked hard to claw his way back into the championship picture this weekend in the MotoAmerica Superbike doubleheader in front of a big crowd at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Hayden scored a strong pair of podium finishes. Meanwhile Superbike rookie Jake Lewis had a learning weekend at VIR scoring fifth in Race 1 before rebounding to improve to fourth in the second leg.

 

Under hot and humid conditions in Southern Virginia, Hayden raced his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a pair of podium finishes, including runner-up in Race 2, to jump all the way from seventh to fourth in the series standings. Lewis remains third in the series after three of nine MotoAmerica events.

 

Hayden kicked off the weekend qualifying on the front row with a time of 1:25.411. Lewis said he never got a clean lap during the short Superpole session and qualified seventh at 1:26.557.

 

“I would have liked to have been a little bit quicker,” Hayden admitted. “But personally I’m just struggling a little bit this weekend putting the whole track together. In one section I would be good and then kind of mess up the next one. So hopefully I can get it together tomorrow for 25 laps. The bike feels good; I’ve just got to be a little bit better. I look forward to racing.”

 

In a red-flag shortened Race 1 Hayden battled the leaders early before finishing third. In Race 2 he came back and ran with leader Josh Hayes in the first couple of laps, and then held off Cameron Beaubier in the end to take second. It marked Hayden’s best finish of the young season.

 

“I really want to thank my whole team,” Hayden said after the successful VIR weekend. “I really felt bad after Atlanta they had to go to North Carolina for three days and build me two bikes for this weekend. So I’m really appreciative to the whole Yoshimura crew. It was a tough race (referring to Race 2). Cameron was pushing me hard so I never really had the time to take a breather. Around lap 18 I picked up the pace to see if I could get a little bigger gap. It was a good race. I was glad to have a solid 25 laps and maybe at Road America we can be a little stronger.”

 

Lewis also felt more positive after a better run in Race 2.

 

“In the second race we made a few changes to the front end and had really good grip,” Lewis said of his nimble Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. “It felt good and I was able to get up there with the front guys and see what I need to work on for the future. There’s definitely some work to do, but I’m happy with the way the day went and I’m looking forward to Road America in a couple of weeks.”

 

The VIR races will be nationally televised on May 24th on CBS Sports Network at 4:00 pm Eastern.

 

The Yoshimura Suzuki squad returns to action on May 29-31 at the scenic Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Check out www.motortrendondemand.com/live/ to watch the races live on May 31.

 

VIR AMA Superbike Race 1 Results:

1.  Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
2.  Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
3.  Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
4.  Danny Eslick (Honda)
5.  Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
6.  Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
7.  Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)
8.  Stefano Mesa (Honda)
9.  Elena Myers (Suzuki)
10. Mathew Orange (BMW)

 

VIR AMA Superbike Race 2 Results:

1.  Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
2.  Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
3.  Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
4.  Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
5.  Danny Eslick (Honda)
6.  Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
7.  Stefano Mesa (Honda)
8.  Elena Myers (Suzuki)
9.  Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)

 

2015 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship Points:

1.  Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha), 131

2.  Josh Hayes (Yamaha), 115

3.  Jake Lewis (Suzuki), 84

4.  Roger Hayden (Suzuki), 68

5.  Bernat Martinez (Yamaha), 67

6.  Chris Ulrich (Suzuki), 54

7.  Elena Myers (Suzuki), 53

8.  Stefano Mesa (Honda), 28

9.  Danny Eslick (Honda, 24
10. Mathew Orange (BMW), 15

 

Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motorex, Parts Unlimited, Dunlop, Shorai, Sunstar, K&N Performance Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, RK Racing Chain, Genmark Automation, Pilot, Chicken Hawk Racing and Zeta.

 

About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.