The Superbikes are on their warmup lap for race two. Will anyone stop Josh Hayes? That's the question.
Chris Fillmore starts his KTM seventh on the grid. Dustin Dominguez is running well in Superbike, and is supporting his local community in Oklahoma affected by the horrendous tornadoes. Dominguez had a huge engine explosion yesterday. Can he get a better result in today's race? Josh Hayes is not making mistakes. Other riders might be, and they'll have to avoid them to beat the Monster Energy Yamaha today. The bikes are on their warmup lap. The EBR bikes could be challengers today. But, Chris Clark is a DNS. He has mechanical issues with his bike even before the bikes take the green flag.
Ah. Well, Clark will start the race. Maybe there was a hydro lock in the fuel tank. Everyone has a new slick rear tire. We're ready, but the start has been officially delayed. Larry Pegram won at Road America in 2009, beating legendary champion, Mat Mladin. In the Supersport race, there was a big crash. This is an awful wreck. Tomas Puerta clips another bike, and many bikes scattered. Ricardo Valdez, Caroline Olsen, and others, were involved.
Chris Clark will race, fortunately. He's back at it. We await the start of race two for the Superbikes. The bikes are on their warmup lap now. How will this race turn out? The weather might hold out. Josh Hayes ran a best lap of 2:14.9 in the warmup this morning. At the start, Josh Hayes gets a good start, but it's Martin Cardenas going for it. The Yamaha's jump all over the Suzuki. This race will be 12 laps. Martin Cardenas defends his line as Hayes runs wide and here comes Roger Hayden. He's going for it. Into turn eight, Cardenas seems to have the edge at least right now.
Hayes has mid corner speed, though. The bikes come to Canada corner. Josh Herrin is now third. Hayes has the slipstream, but he cannot get by Cardenas. Martin Cardenas will have to hold Hayes up, and he is. Chris Clark is off the road another time. He's had a fraught race. Watch out for turn five. Cardenas is doing what he has to, defending from Hayes. Hayes will push, though. Josh Herrin is coming, running a 2:19 flat. Danny Eslick is sixth. Geoff May seventh. Hayes takes the lead, going 190 miles an hour down the front straight. This is THE lap of Cardenas' race. But, there's a rider down. Geoff May has ditched his bike. A low side wreck.
May got pitched one way, and the bike sped towards the wall. Josh Herrin is now pushing in third, wanting to pass Cardenas, and make it a Monster Energy Yamaha 1-2. Dustin Dominguez is in the pits. He is trying to salvage a finish in this race. Where will Herrin make his move? This race is almost half over. Cardenas does not have the setup on his Suzuki like the Yamaha's do. Taylor Knapp on the sister KTM to Chriss Fillmore, is out. The engine blew. It's game over for Knapp. Dustin Dominguez is also out.
Halfway home. Cardenas and Herrin are still going for it. Will Herrin's arm hold out? Operating the clutch on a bike is big deal. Chris Ulrich is running well, and behind him is Jason Farrell. Honda and Kawasaki are coming back into U.S. Superbike racing, after having factory teams years ago. Ryan Kerr finished well yesterday. But, clutch problems sideline him today. Hayes has a two second lead, with five laps left. Roger Hayden is also running well.
He's going for it into Canada corner. Danny Eslick and Larry Pegram are also back there. Pegram should be running better, as he's got the same spec Yamaha R1 as Josh Hayes. Farrell and Ulrich are running well, bringing two big names back into Superbike racing. The Kawasaki chassis is very similar to the World Superbike bike that Tom Sykes is cleaning up with in FIM World Superbike this year. No change in the top three right now.
Hayes has bounced back after a horrendous race at Daytona, two and a half months ago. Martin Cardenas is a second and a half behind. The Yamaha and the Suzuki run Magnetti Marelli traction control. The Yamaha can run less traction control because it's got a better crankshaft in the motor than the Suzuki GSXR 1000 does. Two laps remain now. Could Hayes have an issue with the motor? There was a puff of smoke from the bike. Hmmm. Bike #13 of Cory West passes bike #86 of Farrell. David Anthony, Chris Fillmore, and Aaron Yates are also running well.
Anthony on a Yamaha, is battling Chris Fillmore on the KTM. It's a great looking bike. But, will the reliability improve? The white flag is out. It looks like Hayes will win. Cory West passes the Kawasaki. One more lap. Chris Ullrich is looking for a way by. This is a three way battle. West is riding another EBR. But, Josh Hayes is going to win. He does it and goes two for two!
#1 Josh Hayes Yamaha R1
The next AMA race will be at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama in three weeks. It is the Triumph Superbike Classic presented by America's First Federal Credit Union. A report of that race, will come. Stay tuned, fans.
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