May 15, 2011MOTORSPORTS PAGE
CSNBayArea.com staff
SONOMA -- Suzukis Tommy Hayden followed his second-place finish Saturday with a fitting encore -- his first AMA Superbike victory at Infineon Raceway.
Hayden's breathrough ended Josh Hayes recent domination on the wine country road course. Hayes and his Yamaha FZ1 had won four of the last five Northern California AMA Superbike events, including a victory on Saturday. Im really happy about this one. I put a lot of thought into this race and a lot of preparation, and really wanted to redeem myself here after the last few years at this race, Hayden said.
It feels really good to come in here and get this. Josh kept me honest and didnt make it easy on me.Hayden made his move in Turn 4, on lap 17 of the 22-lap race. He finished 1.9seconds ahead.My bike was a handful today, Hayes said. I was trying so hard because Tommy wouldnt leave me alone. I did the best I could all the way through the end.
"I wanted to beat him really bad, but he did a really good job. I hated to lose the streak.Haydens Suzuki teammate, Blake Young, was third, followed by Lafayette native Steve Rapp in fourth on a BMW. It was Rapp's best Superbike finish in years.Hayes leads the standings by just six points over Hayden (107-101).
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