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/128394
AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Roger Lee Hayden (95) beat brother Tommy (1) en route to the Supersport victory, sending the bottle for the title to Road Atlanta in a week. TOTHEL·INE TOMMY ON THE VERGE OF TITLE. BUT ROGER LEE WINS By HENNY RAy ABRAMS ger Lee Hayden prolonged his brother's agony for a week. Instead of raising the Supersport number-one plate for a econd consecutive year at Virginia International Raceway, Tommy Hayden was made to wait for next weekend's Road Atlanta season finale. His younger brother and Kawasaki teammate guaranteed that by nipping him at the line in the most exciting finish of the weekend. "I'm pretty happy," Roger Lee said after edging Tommy by .022 seconds in the 17-lap Pro Honda Oils Supersport final. "I definitely wanted him to lose a little bit more sleep for next week. I didn't want him to get it that easy. Fun and games, I guess." Tommy Hayden said that he "really, really wanted to get the championship wrapped up today and have a stress-free weekend next week - just be able to able to have a little bit more fun. But it didn't work out. We'll try to finish up there in Atlanta." R 20 The numbers are in Tommy's favor. His lead is 31 points, with 38 up for grabs in Atlanta. It would take a DNF to deny a second consecutive title to the ultraconsistent defending class champion. (Other than riding with a freshly broken hand to sixth at Laguna Seca, Tommy's been first or second in every Supersport final.) The points are also in Kawasaki's favor. For the second year in a row, a Kawasaki will win the Supersport crown, and it's likely that a Kawasaki will finish second. Roger Lee holds a 30-point cushion on Yamaha's Jason DiSalvo, who rode injured to third today. The oldest of the Hayden brothers came within inches of wrapping it up at VIR. Content to follow Roger Lee for most of the race, Tommy made a final run to the stripe that looked like it might work. But as he pulled alongside Roger Lee, Tommy's forward progress stopped and he had to settle for second. "I had a pretty good run off the last corner," Tommy said. "I thought I was in the perfect spot. Kind of stalled out on my drive for some reason whenever I was SEPTEMBER 7,2005 • CYCLE NEWS driving up behind him. I thought it looked really good at first, and then I kind of wasn't gaining momentum. Come up a little short." Roger Lee won the 17-lap, 38.25-mile race in a record time of 25 minutes and 5.390 seconds at an average speed of 91.877 mph. The win was the third of the season for Roger Lee and his second in a row. Going in, he knew he had to finish in front of Tommy, and winning and leading the most laps would maximize his points haul. DiSalvo earned the point for pole position. "It's a difficult race when your board says 'plus zero' for 16 laps, that's for sure," Roger Lee said. "You can hear him behind you; you don't want to make any mistakes or leave any doors open." Tommy was in front for the first two laps before Roger Lee took over for good. Tommy said he wasn't showing a wheel the second half of the race. "Just trying to hold the pressure," he said. "Then, the last couple of laps, hopefully I would be close and try to make something happen. Roger controlled the pace the whole way." Yamaha's DiSalvo did well to finish third after damaging his knee on a raised curb in Saturday's practice. He'd taken a precautionary trip to the hospital but came back to qualify on the pole for both races. "The biggest thing wasn't the knee, it was not being able to use the knee, ", DiSalvo said after finishing third, 6.883 seconds behind the winner. "And it kind of made me overstress the right side of my body. I held Q.n for as long as I could, but in the end, when it came right down to it, I just didn't have the strength to carry on and stay with these guys to the end." It became apparent early on that his concern was from behind, not ahead. DiSalvo did well to stick near the leaders until the final stages of the race. At the same time, Attack Kawasaki's Ben Attard was trying to close the gap, and DiSalvo saw a few strange pit boards. "I saw 'plus five' on my board one lap and 'plus two' on my board the next lap, and that kind of scared me," he said. DiSalvo did a better job with lapped riders at the end and was able to secure the podium. He lamented the fact that he couldn't equal his 2004 VIR performance of two poles and two victories. "Nevertheless, under the circumstances, I was happy to walk away from this weekend with two podiums," said DiSalvo, who also finished third in the earlier Superstock race. Attard wasn't a factor at the end, finishing nearly four seconds behind DiSalvo and with two on Yamaha's Damon CN Buckmaster in fifth. VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY ALTON, VIRGINIA RESULTS: AUGUST 28, 2005 (ROUND 10) PRO HONDA OilS SUPERSPORT, I. Roger Lee Hayden (Kaw); 2. Tommy Hayden (Kaw); 3. Jason DiSalvo (Yam); 4. Ben Attard (Kaw); 5. Damon Buckmaster (Yam); 6. Aaron Gobert (Yam); 7. Geoff May (5uz); 8. Nickoles Moore (Yarn); 9. Tayior Knapp (Yam); 10. Blake Young (5uz); II. Ryan Elleby (5uz); 12. Nathan Hester (Yam); 13. Keith Marshall (Suz); '''4. Barrett Long (Yam): IS. Derek Keyes (So2): 16. Scon Jackson (So2); 17. Justin Filice (Hon); 18. Shea Fouchek (Suz); 19. Donny Kelley (Suz): 20. Joseph Ford (Yam): 21. Jason Moss (Yam); 22. Armando Ferrer (Yam); 23. Mark Kinell (Hon): H. Vietor Chirinos (Yam): 25. Chris Peris (Yam): 26. Ben Spies (So2); 27. Chad Klock (Hon); 28. Trey Yonce (Yam): 29. Robert Jensen (Yam): 30. Matthew BerTy (Yam). Time: 25 min., 5.390 sec. Distance: 17 laps. 38.25 miles Average speed: 91.877 mph. Margin of victory: 0.022 sec. PRO HONDA OILS SUPERSPORT C'SHIP POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of II rounds): I. Tommy Hayden (301/3 wins); 2. Roger Lee Hayden (270/3); 3. J=n D;5aJvo (240/1); 4. Aaron Gobert (222); 5. Ben Sp;e. (207); 6. Geoff May (205); 7. Damon Buckma.ler (188); 8. Chris Pens (187); 9. Robert]"""'" (174); 10. Ben Attard (172); I I. jam;' Hadcing (16Sm; 12. 8lake Young (14S); 13. Danny E.5lkl< (139); 14. Nkkoles Moore (126); IS. Barrett Long (120); 16. Nathan Hester (114); 17. Taylor Knapp (97); 18.}","n FUke (68); 19. Armando Ferrer (67); 20. Shea Fouchek (59). UPCOMING ROUND: Round 11 -Braselton, Georgia, September .\