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/128380
Pro Honda Oils Supersport Series
8.
I---.....;=-----------------~=------By HENNY RAy ABRAMS
PHOTOS BY BRIAN J. NELSON AND TOM RILES
R
edemption came for Kawasaki's
Roger Lee Hayden in the Pro
Honda Oils Supersport race,
and not a moment too soon.
The youngest Hayden had
finished the 2004 season on an up note.
Three wins in the final four races put him
in position to race his brother for the title
in the final round. Tommy Hayden won the
title, but Roger Lee was now a contender.
This year hasn't been as kind to him.
Aside from a few thirds in Supersport, he
has had little success. The momentum of
last season has long since faded. Today, on a
warm afternoon at Pikes Peak International
Raceway, he began the climb back.
With a pass of race leader Jamie
Hacking eight laps from the end, Roger
Lee notched the fifth Supersport win of
his career, and his first of the 2005 season.
He did it by being patient, then taking the
lead at the right time.
"It was almost like my first win again,"
Roger Lee said after beating Hacking by
1.019 seconds. "I was kind of nervous like
the last four or five laps."
Tommy Hayden passed Hacking five
laps from the end to take second, with
Hacking ending up third.
Roger Lee didn't look like a winner at
the start. That would be Yamaha's Jason
DiSalvo.
From his pole pOSition, DiSalvo set the
early pace, with a stymied Tommy
Hayden looking for an opening.
Roger Lee (right) won the battle,
but Tommy is winning the war and
retains the championship lead.
"The line he was using [in turn three),
he was going down pretty low pretty
early, so it was going to be hard to get by,
and I did actually get by a couple of times
I think, but I couldn't make it stick,"
Tommy said. "It was a little frustrating."
DiSalvo dictated the tempo until the
19th of 29 laps, when he fell entering the
infield, with Tommy hard on his tail.
"The front end just tucked pretty
28
JUNE 1,2005 •
hard," DiSalvo said. "There was no getting it back."
Tommy saw DiSalvo get in too hot and
did the same.
"I was a little off line ... fighting really to
stay on line, and when he crashed, I had
to let off the brake because I was already
on the edge at that point, because I was in
a little bit hot," Tommy said. "Then his
bike chased me there for a minute. And I
was trying to scrub some speed and trying to get back under it. I didn't want to
have to go all the way around it."
Tommy Hayden went onto the grass
on the outside of the corner while
Hacking and Roger Lee sped past.
'" saw Rog [Hayden) was behind me,
and I was just riding my race and hoping for
a mistake from somebody, and it happened," Hacking said. ''And I was just riding
around the rest of the race trying to finish,
and I was hoping Tommy [Hayden - his
championship rival) wasn't going to win."
Tommy made his pass on the 24th of
29 laps and set out for his brother while
Hacking fell off the back.
Hacking said he could just run one
pace, "and that was it. I wasn't able to
step it up and go with those guys."
Tommy Hayden said he caught up to
Roger Lee pretty qUickly, "but around
here, getting by is a different story. Just
didn't have enough."
Yamaha's Aaron Gobert was a distant
fourth to Hacking after battling with fellow Australian Ben Attard and his Attack
Kawasaki for much of the race. Gobert
passed Attard on the 16th of 29 laps.
Next came Chris Peris in sixth, his best
career Supersport finish. The young
Canadian was riding a Yamaha R6 backed
by Topline Printing, Traxxion Dynamics
and Vass Performance.
Then came Ben Spies, the Yoshimura
rider putting the first Suzuki into seventh.
Anotherfollowed, with MPTRacing.com's
Danny Eslick in eighth.
Roger Lee's winning time of 27 minutes, 29.240 seconds was nearly 18 seconds slower than his brother's 2004 PPIR
victory. Roger Lee averaged 83.242 mph.
Tommy Hayden stretched his points
lead over Hacking to eight points, 173-165,
after five of 10 rounds. Roger Lee Hayden
is third with 131.
eN
PIKES PEAK INlERNAnONAL RACEWAY
FOUNTAIN, COLORADO
IlEsw5: M1JIt 22, 2005 (RoINl 5 Of 10)
PRO HONDA OILS SUPERS PORT: I. Roger Lee
Hayden (Kaw); 2. Tommy Hayden (Kaw); ]. Jam;. Hacking
(Yam); 4. Aaron Goben (Yam); 5. Ben .......d (Kaw); 6.
Chn. Peri< (Yam); 7. Ben Sp;es (Suz); 8. Danny EsIKk (Suz);
CYCLE NEWS
Roger Lee Hayden (95)
won his first Supersport
race of the year at Pikes
Peak over brother Tommy (1)
Jamie Hacking (2) rounded
out the podium.
9. Damon Buckmaster (Yam); 10. Geoff May (Suz): II.
NKky Moore (Yam); 12. Annando F.....O' (Yam); I].
Jensen (Yam); ,.... Jim Wood (Kaw); IS. Blake Young
.
16. 8arrett Long (Yam); 17. Shea FO