ROAD RACE
MOTOAMERICA AMA/FIM NORTH AMERICAN ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 9 / SEPTEMBER 11, 2016
NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK / MILLVILLE, NEW JERSEY
P58
In amongst the championship
chaos it was almost easy to for-
get the factory Yoshimura Suzuki
riders of Roger Hayden and
Toni Elias each took resound-
ing victories in the Northeast,
the first win going to a clearly
delighted Roger Hayden over
Hayes for his second win, and
his first since race one at Barber
in June.
"I've always been there to-
wards the end of the races but
I couldn't close them out," said
the Kentucky rider. "And after
doing 12 laps on the rear tire and
doing a 1:21.6, I thought 'OK, I
have a pretty good chance here.'
I normally follow but today I
wanted to lead and set the pace.
win the race. I tried everything I
had but the boys just outclassed
me today."
Hayes' third place meant
Beaubier took the championship
by a mere six points, in what
proved to be a nail-biting 15 min-
utes he doesn't want to relive.
"I didn't know how many laps
were left and I was so nervous,
I didn't want to watch the race
because I couldn't believe what
just happened to me," Beaubier
said. "Josh has been strong all
weekend, along with Rog and
Toni. I don't ever want to root
against my teammate but when
I saw Toni and Rog ahead of
Josh, I wasn't bummed, let's just
say that."
on a new complexity. With Elias
and Hayden swapping blue
paint out front, Hayes needed
to beat the pair of them to take
an unlikely fifth AMA Superbike/
MotoAmerica title. In the end, it
was a bridge too far for the vet-
eran, one he knew the moment
he saw his teammate's dead
Yamaha.
"The gap to the front two was
already too big," said Hayes. "I
felt absolutely gutted for Cam-
eron but I knew he was safe. For
him it must have been more the
fact of not being in control of the
situation, the what-ifs. I wanted
to be in the race for the win, not
for the championship because
Cam deserved it, but I wanted to
That's the face of a
man awaiting his fate.
Beaubier's engine has
just gone boom, and
at this stage, possibly
also his title defense.
