MotoAmerica Superbike/Superstock 1000cc Race One Sunday at VIRginia International Raceway was interrupted by a red flag on lap 11 of 25 scheduled laps.
Jake Gagne and Josh Day both crashed individually in Turn Seven, leading officials to suspect the surface was compromised by some sort of fluid and to stop the race with the red flag. No fluid was found, according to Race Director Stuart Higgs.
Gagne was able to return to the pits, do repairs and make the restart. Day was not able to repair his Yamaha in time to make the restart.
Tony Leong and Max Flinders also crashed out before the red flag and did not make the restart.
The race was restarted for nine laps, for a race total of 19 laps.
MotoAmerica AMA/FIMNA Mid-Atlantic Superbike Road Racing Championship
VIRginia International Raceway
Alton, VA
May 17, 2015
Provisional Superbike Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha), 19 laps
2. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha), -3.282 seconds
3. Roger Hayden (Suzuki), -10.434
4. Danny Eslick (Honda), -19.552
5. Jake Lewis (Suzuki), -20.786
6. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki), -27.996
7. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha), -39.443
8. Stefano Mesa (Honda), -41.577
9. Elena Myers (Suzuki), -41.696
10. Mathew Orange (BMW), -63.800
Provisional Superstock 1000cc Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Taylor Knapp (Yamaha), 19 laps
2. Mark Heckles (Yamaha), -8.810 seconds
3. Dustin Dominguez (Aprilia), -10.320
4. Frankie Babuska (Suzuki), -11.898
5. Tyler O’Hara (Yamaha), -13.595
6. Shane Narbonne (Yamaha), -13.739
7. Barrett Long (Yamaha), -29.309
8. Jeremy Cook (BMW), -57.566
9. Jake Gagne (Yamaha), -1 lap, mechanical (crashed during first portion of the race)
10. Josh Day (Yamaha), DNS (crashed out in first portion of race)
11. Max Flinders (Yamaha), DNS (crashed out of first portion of race)
12. Tony Leong (Yamaha), DNS (crashed out of first portion of race)
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Hayes And His Brand-New R1 Star In “Act 1 & 2” Of MotoAmerica Superbike Passion Play At VIR; Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Teammate Beaubier Finishes 2nd
Alton, VA – May 17, 2015 – In a MotoAmerica Superbike race that included an unplanned intermission, four-time and defending Champ (and main protagonist) Josh Hayes delivered a flawless performance to win his 50th career Superbike race–all with Yamaha. And win number 50 was even sweeter because Josh got the victory aboard his brand-new #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike.
A red flag caused by a couple of downed riders was the reason for the two-part race. And, despite the restart, Josh got an equally good jump off the line to mirror his holeshot at the beginning of the race. In both legs of the race, the “Mississippi Madman” was completely on his game and turning laps that no one else in the field could match.
Josh’s Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier had a good battle with Roger Hayden for second place before the red flag, and the battle picked up again after the restart. Cameron was able to get around Roger, and he worked hard to close the gap to Josh, but he couldn’t quite catch Josh, who was absolutely on rails throughout the race.
“To get my 50th win here at VIR is special because I really like this track,” Josh said. “It was a tough race. Having my teammate Cameron right behind me doesn’t make it easy for me. Hats off to my guys and to Yamaha. All 50 of my Superbike wins have come while riding an R1, so I’m really proud of that.”
When asked about finishing second to Josh, Cameron commented, “Josh is riding really well. As for me, I feel like I can put together a couple of quick laps here at VIR but, in terms of consistency, I’m struggling a little bit. I need to get better on my starts, too, because Josh gets a good jump on us, and he makes it so tough to close the gap.”
MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 starts at 4:00 PM EST. Go to www.MotoAmerica.com, click on “Streaming” under the “LIVE” header in the top-left corner of the page, and then click on “WATCH SUPERBIKE” to see the race live online.
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing. Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on your favorite social media site.