KAWASAKI SHINES AT VIR Roger Hayden wins Supersport and takes second in Superstock ALTON, Va. Reigning AMA Supersport champion Tommy Hayden and series runner-up Roger Hayden gave another stellar performance aboard their Kawasaki NINJA® sport motorcycles as AMA motorcycle road racing returned to Virginia International Raceway last weekend. In the AMA Superstock race, Roger blasted off the grid in fourth and quickly advanced into second by the end of the first lap. As the laps wound down, the younger Hayden was determined to make it to the front aboard his NINJA® ZX™-10R and began to set up a pass on leader Aaron Yates, but a crash back in the field red flagged the race and Roger was forced to accept second place. Tommy elected to sit-out the race to protect his right hand which is still in the healing process following surgery to repair a broken bone back in July. “I wanted to wait until there was two laps to go before passing because I knew I was faster than him [Yates],” said Roger. “It is kind of hard that my best ride of the season got cut short but I guess that’s how it goes.” In the AMA Supesport race, Roger got the jump on the field aboard his NINJA® ZX™- 6RR and took the lead going into the first turn with Tommy close behind. However, Roger’s lead was short-lived as Tommy quickly passed him by turn three with Team Attack Kawasaki rider Ben Attard in fifth. As the first three laps were completed, Roger was determined to take back the lead and passed Tommy at the beginning of lap four. Tommy continued to keep the pressure on Roger for the duration of the event with Attard remaining close behind. On the final straight, Tommy made a final effort to pass Roger during an all out drag race for the finish that put him just .022 of a second short of capturing his second consecutive AMA Supersport championship. Ben Attard crossed the line in fourth. “All in all, it was a good race,” said Roger during the post-race press conference. “It was a difficult race because the board said +0 for 16 laps and I could still hear Tommy behind me and I didn’t want to make a mistake.” As Roger spoke about preventing his brother from clinching the championship with one race left, he joked, “I definitely wanted him to lose a little bit more sleep. I didn’t want to give it to him that easy. Fun and games I guess.” For his part Tommy commented, “I really wanted to get the championship wrapped up today and have a stress-free week. But it didn’t work and we’ll try to finish up with a win in Atlanta.” With his win, Roger kept his slim championship hopes alive as he inched even closer to Tommy in the points chase. However, with only one race remaining in the ’05 season, Tommy currently has 301 points to his second-ranked brother’s 270 and remains a strong favorite to earn his second consecutive Supersport title. During Saturday’s AMA Superbike race, Attack Kawasaki rider Josh Hayes captured his ninth top-ten finish of the season by keeping a consistent pace with the rest of the field despite two re-starts and rode to a seventh-place finish in the 28-lap event. Ben Attard qualified sixth for Saturday’s AMA Formula Xtreme event and rode a clean and consistent race to earn his sixth top-ten finish of the season after crossing the finish line in fourth place. Hayes also competed in the second Superbike race on Sunday and captured a sixth place finish for his efforts. Racing resumes when the teams head to Road Atlanta Raceway in Braselton, Ga., September 2-4. More, from a press release issued by Jason DiSalvo’s publicist: Disalvo tuffs it out at VIR with two pole positions and two podiums Jason Disalvo of Stafford New York competed in the American Motorcycle Association. SuperBike races August 26th, 27th and 28th at Virginia International Raceway. With practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and racing Sunday there is little time for rest. Friday proved exciting with Jason being among the fastest. Saturday continued ok until the second practice when he hit a curb at full speed with his left knee almost causing him to crash, and was able to return to the pit and needed assistance getting of the bike, after review by the medics he was transported to the hospital in Danville VA. for x-rays. With no apparent fractures Jason returned to the track for two qualifying sessions. In the 1000 SuperStock class Jason set the fastest lap to give him his 7th consecutive pole position. In the 600 SuperSport class Jason again set the fastest lap to gain his second pole of the day. During interviews after qualifying Jason commented, “I don’t know how race day will be with the damage to my knee, it’s a lot easier to run 1 or 2 fast laps in qualifying compared to a 17 lap race.” The 1000 SuperStock race started a 11:14 Sunday morning under cloudy skies with Jason running with the lead group until late in the race when he realized couldn’t mount a charge and settled for third place giving him another podium. Starting from his pole position in the 600 SuperSport class Jason was 5th after the first lap and worked his way up to third before the checkered flag came out giving him his 2nd podium for the day. Following the race Jason stated, “It was tough to keep the pressure on while my leg forced me to use the right side of my upper body to compensate for my left leg, I’m happy to come away with two podiums under the circumstances. The next race is Road Atlanta in a week son Jason will stay in Atlanta for some rehab prior to the race. Jason maintains his 2nd place position in the SuperStock class 21 points from the leader and keeps his third place position in the SuperSport class. More, from a press release issued by Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki: MICHAEL JORDAN MOTORSPORTS SUZUKI: HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AT VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY The Michael Jordan Motorsports Suzuki team continued its successful race season at round nine of the AMA Superbike Championship at Virginia International Raceway with four top ten finishes. Jason Pridmore raced to two strong eighth place finishes in the Superstock and Superbike races, while teammate Steve Rapp finished ninth in Sunday’s Superbike race and seventh place in the Superstock event to strengthen his overall third place position in the season point standings. Montez Stewart had a good weekend, continuing to find speed and lowering his lap times to a personal best on the picturesque southern Virginia road course. Jason Pridmore Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 8th Place “We’re testing every weekend, and the bike is definitely a testament to my guys,” said Pridmore. “We made a change last night, and it made the bike better. I got in that group of four or five of us, and we ran around together for a few laps at the beginning. Once I was able to get by John (Haner), I thought maybe I could run those three guys down again. I wasn’t going to give up. Then, coming down the front straight, I saw L2 on my board, and I felt something sucking me in (the draft), and then I felt a nudge going through the kink, and I thought, ‘That’s weird’. I thought I had a flat tire. As it turned out, it was Jake (Holden) running into the back of me. I was lucky to stay on the track.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 8th Place “That’s a little bit more of what we like to see,” said Pridmore, pleased after a strong finish. “Right now, we’re where we should have been at Barber, making these improvements. Ammar (Bazzaz, crew chief) and the guys made some big changes to the bike last night, and made it a lot better. Now we can see those guys up ahead of us. We’ve got one race left this year. We’ll go there, do our best and then go to the off season and do some testing.” Steve Rapp Saturday’s Superbike Final – 11th Place “I had a good race going,” said Rapp. “I ran in eighth place for the majority of the race. I saw Josh (Hayes) up ahead by a couple of seconds, and I kept pushing to close the gap.” Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 7th Place “I got a good start and stayed with the leaders for a couple of laps,” said Rapp. “There were a couple of corners where I had little sidegrip issues. It kept happening as the race went on, and Geoff (May) and Aaron (Gobert) got around me right there at the end. The bike was good, but I just had to wait to get on the gas.” Sunday’s Superbike Final – 9th Place “I got a good start and Jason passed me five or six laps into it,” Rapp said. “I’m glad for him, because he was riding so well. He started to pull away, so at that point I had Kurtis (Roberts) behind me and he passed me. I followed him for four or five laps. He was having a hard time holding his lines, struggling with his bike, so I passed him back and I guess he pulled in. At that point I had a ten second lead over Marty (Craggill), and Jason was ten seconds in front of me, so I just rode a consistent race and stayed out of trouble.” Montez Stewart Sunday’s Repsol Lubricants Superstock Final – 29th Place / DNF “I had a really good race going,” said Stewart. “It’s a shame I fell, because I was going good. I had worked my way up, and I was sure I was going to get into the 1:30s (after qualifying at 1:31.838). I had a good chance at finishing really well.” Superbike Results – Race 1 – Round 9 – Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA 1. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Aaron Yates, Suzuki 4. Jake Zemke, Honda 5. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 6. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 7. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki 8. Marty Craggill, Mladin Motorsports Suzuki 9. Jeremy Toye, Honda 10. Lee Acree, Millennium KWS Suzuki 11. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 27. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki Superbike Results – Race 2 – Round 9 – Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA 1. Mat Mladin, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Aaron Yates, Yoshimura Suzuki 3. Ben Spies, Yoshimura Suzuki 4. Miguel Duhamel, Honda 5. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 6. Josh Hayes, Kawasaki 7. Eric Bostrom, Ducati 8. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 9. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 10. Cory West, Hotbodies Suzuki Superstock Results – Round 9 – Virginia International Raceway, Alton, VA 1. Aaron Yates, Yoshimura Suzuki 2. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki 3. Jason Disalvo, Yamaha 4. Damon Buckmaster, Yamaha 5. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki 6. Aaron Gobert, Yamaha 7. Steve Rapp, Jordan Suzuki 8. Jason Pridmore, Jordan Suzuki 9. John Haner, Lion Suzuki 10. Michael Barnes, M4 EMGO Suzuki 29. Montez Stewart, Jordan Suzuki 2005 Superbike Point Standings (After 15 Races) 1. Mat Mladin, 471 2. Ben Spies, 450 3. Eric Bostrom, 382 4. Aaron Yates, 377 5. Miguel Duhamel, 341 6. Neil Hodgson, 328 7. Marty Craggill, 290 8. Steve Rapp, 268 9. Lee Acree, 265 10. Josh Hayes, 252 20. Jason Pridmore, 144 2005 Superstock Point Standings (After 9 Races) 1. Aaron Yates, 301 2. Jason Disalvo, 280 3. Steve Rapp, 230 4. Roger Lee Hayden, 205 5. John Haner, 196 6. Jake Holden, 195 7. Aaron Gobert, 162 8. Tommy Hayden, 168 9. Damon Buckmaster, 165 10. Geoff May, 160 19. Jason Pridmore, 97 25. Montez Stewart, 57 More, from a press release issued by Jessica Zalusky’s publicist: Zalusky’s Debut at V.I.R. Gets Cut Short Making her first racing appearance at V.I.R., Kawasaki Team Green Rider Jessica Zalusky acclimated quickly and qualified 28th in the AMA Formula Xtreme class. At the start of the race, Zalusky had a great start and was able to keep her momentum going. As the race progressed, she continued to drop her lap times, closing in on the 19th position rider during the last lap. As Zalusky hit the apex of turn 7, another rider came on the inside and took them both out, just seconds from passing the checkered flag. “After I was well into the corner, I recall briefly seeing a bike coming right at me, leaving me no where to go,” Zalusky stated following being discharged from the hospital. As a result of the crash, she suffered a fractured collar bone, concussion, several bruises and muscle strains. Despite the crash, Zalusky finished respectively in 21st position, leaving her in 35th position in the AMA Formula Xtreme Championship. Zalusky would like to express her sincere gratitude to the many supporters for their concern following her crash. “I am overwhelmed by the kindness of so many people, thank you for the visitors at the hospital, emails, and phone calls.” Zalusky stated following her return to Minnnesota. As a result, Zalusky will end her AMA season with VIR, but will hopefully, depending on her recovery, defend her points chase with the Central Roadracing Association in October. For more information on Jessica Zalusky and for any “well wishes,” visit www.roadracinggirl.com.