Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128341
Rou nd 1 0 Sap.S , 2004 AMA SUPERBIKE Pro Honda Oil s Supers port Seri es ~ Aaron Gobert (96) leads Tammy Hayden (22) , Jason DiSalvo (40), Ben Spies (11), Roger Lee Hayden (95), Damon Buckmaster (6) and the rest of the Supersport field . By HENNY RAy ABRAMS PHOTOS BY BR IAN J. NELSON AND TOM RILES know that the Pro Honda O ils Supers port Championsh ip will be won by a Hayden riding a Kawasak i. We just don't know which Hayden . Roger Lee Hayden won his third Supersport race in a row to edge closer to his older brother Tommy in advance of the final round of the championsh ip at Virginia International Raceway in two weeks . "I might have to pay somebody to come over and take care of him before Virginia," Roger Lee joked after beat ing Tommy to the stripe by . 103 of a second at Road Atlanta, site of the 10th round of the series. Yamaha'sJason DiSalvo came in third , .413 of a second beh ind Roger Lee. "It's a tough race, because I wanted to win, but part of me was trying to remind myself about the championship and I was always trying to keep that in mind along the way also," Tommy said. Tommy's lead on Roger Lee is II points , 327-316 . With Yoshimura Suzuki's Ben Spies, who was fifth today, and Yamaha's Aaron Gobert, who was fourth , tied for third at 2SS, it mean s that Kawasaki now has its third Supersport title and its first since 200 I, when Eric Bostrom claimed the number-one plate. W Six factory riders led the pack away at the start, w ith a group of privateers just behind. As close as they were, there was constant place-swapping, with DiSalvo taking the lead from Gobert on lap three, only to lose it on lap four. Then it was Tommy Hayden's turn to lead from lap six until the 12th, when DiSalvo got back the lead in traffic, but only for one lap. Then it was Roger Lee's turn , the youngest Hayden brother driving through traffic to take the lead, w ith DiSalvo second and Tommy third. "I seen some lappers coming up, and I knew I had to be in the lead, because I wanted to go through them and try to put some time [on them] ," Roger Lee said. Tommy took DiSalvo in turn six, the first of the double rights at the far end of the course, on the 14th lap. That set up the run for the final lap. When it started , first to third was covered by .666 of a second . The most aggressive moves came in turn 10, the hard left chicane at the end of the back straight. Tommy set up his run from under the bridge and down the hill by takingthe inside line. Roger Lee held the outside and won by two bikelengths. DiSalvo was third. Roger Lee completed the IS-lap, 37.8mile race in 22 minutes , .400 seconds, at an average speed of 103.878 mph. Because this was the second year of the 40 SEPTEMBER 15,2004 • CYC LE N EWS reconfigured 2.S2-mile road course, and last year's race was red -nagged, the time and average speed stand as new records. "My bike - once again it was the fastest bike out there," Roger Lee said. "No matter how far back I'd be on the straightway, I could reel him in. I really needed this win. This, my last test , and even yesterday was a bit rough for me. I had a few crashes, making it hard for the them, and I rea lly wanted to win it for my mechanics, because they've been giving their all and 40th Anniversary they deserved it." Now it' s a tense two weeks in the Hayden household in Owensboro , Kentucky. Or is it? "I don't think it's going to be any different ," Roger Lee said. "He livesabout two miles up the road, so it's not like we see each other every day." Tommy had given his younger brother advice during the weekend , when Roger Lee was struggling. "If that tells you anything right there,