Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 22 JUNE 4, 2013 Josh Hayes swept the Road America Superbike doubleheader to win his record-setting fourth and fifth straight wins at the facility in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. runner-up finish in Sunday's race, while Herrin finished third. Cardenas leaves Wisconsin 13 points ahead of Herrin, 105-92, with Larry Pegram in third with 75 points, just four ahead of Hayes. Hayes dominated the proceedings at Road America, much as he'd done throughout 2012. Yet things didn't come easy for him. He was bothered by the long break in the schedule, the lack of grip from the newer U.S.-made Dunlops and the changeable track conditions over the weekend. Then there's the added pressure of having to be nearly flawless for the rest of the season. But that may be the one thing that works in Hayes' favor. He seems to thrive under the pressure of this challenge and he's clearly focused on the path in front of him. The 2013 season also brings the challenge of the unknown to Hayes. In the past he overcame rivals he was familiar with from tons of experience racing with them, riders like Blake Young, the Haydens (Tommy and Roger Lee), Jake Zemke and Herrin. This time he's facing Cardenas. After four races the two-time Daytona SportBike champ is showing the kind of consistency that can win championships. As Sunday's close race showed, Cardenas appears to be narrowing the gap on Hayes and if the trend continues we might not just be watching a championship battle, but perhaps a battle each weekend for individual race wins. In Saturday's race it only took Hayes, starting from the pole, a few turns to break into the lead after Cardenas nailed the start and led early. By the time they crossed the line to complete the first lap, Hayes held a 1.014-second lead on Herrin, who had followed Hayes past the Suzuki rider in turn thee. Cardenas moved into second on lap two, but P37 Briefly... Josh Hayes earned the pole for the Road America doubleheader and in doing so earned his 24th-career AMA Superbike pole and tied Ben Spies for second on the alltime AMA Superbike pole winners list. Hayes' best time came on Friday and it was about two seconds off his own track record of 2:11.333 set in qualifying last year. "I feel it's the change in the tires, honestly," Hayes said of the difference in last year's to this year's lap time. "Going to the U.S. [made] rears versus the U.K. rears, I think that's the biggest difference we're seeing. It's a little windy and a little gusty in some areas of the racetrack, which could play a small role in it. The track seemed to maybe get a little bit better from the first session to the second session, but not a lot. Last year we were fast from the very first session without missing a beat and stayed there the entire weekend. We're pretty far off - I think for the most part it has to do with the rear tire. It doesn't give me as much confidence as the one I used last year." Another record Josh Hayes notched on the weekend was his fifth-straight win at Road America. That's the first time in the 33-year history of the race that a racer has scored five straight. Mat Mladin held the old record of four straight Road America Superbike wins. "It feels pretty cool because this is my favorite track," Hayes said of his new record. "It's a cool statistic. Otherwise, I want to win them all, but yeah I guess it's a cool feather to have in your cap."

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