Kawasaki’s Roger Hayden took his first-ever victory at Daytona International Speedway in dramatic fashion during Thursday’s Honda Pro Oils AMA Supersport race. Roger Hayden, his brother and teammate Tommy Hayden (the reigning AMA Supersport Champion), Yamaha’s Jamie Hacking and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies had a terrific battle for most of the 22-lap event. Knowing he did not have the proper gearing to make any draft passes at the finish line, Roger Hayden aggressively took the lead from Hacking as the front-runners entered heavy lapped traffic late in the race. Roger Hayden’s move combined with a big slide by Hacking resulted in Roger Hayden gaining a significant lead, which he held with the fastest times of the event on the final laps. When Hacking suffered his slide, Tommy Hayden moved into second, but Hacking was able to draft past Tommy Hayden on the final run around the banking to place second. Tommy Hayden, riding in what may be his only Supersport race of the season, finished third. Spies, riding a GSX-R600 that was lacking in acceleration, trailed the other three for most of the race and, thanks in part to unlucky breaks in lapped traffic, eventually finished fourth. Matsushima Performance Suzuki’s Danny Eslick, Attack Kawasaki’s Damon Buckmaster, Team M4 EMGO Suzuki’s Geoff May, Picotte Performance Yamaha’s Pascal Picotte, Celtic Racing/Irish Bike’s Alastair Seeley and Buckmaster’s teammate Ben Attard rounded out the top 10 finishers. Provisional AMA Supersport Race Results: 1. Roger Hayden (Kaw ZX-6RR), 22 laps 2. Jamie Hacking (Yam YZF-R6), -1.609 seconds 3. Tommy Hayden (Kaw ZX-6RR), -1.684 seconds 4. Ben Spies (Suz GSX-R600), -3.436 seconds 5. Danny Eslick (Suz GSX-R600), -20.512 seconds 6. Damon Buckmaster (Kaw ZX-6RR), -26.802 seconds 7. Geoff May (Suz GSX-R600), -35.380 seconds 8. Pascal Picotte (Yam YZF-R6), -37.041 seconds 9. Alastair Seeley (Yam YZF-R6), -37.071 seconds 10. Ben Attard (Kaw ZX-6RR), -63.713 seconds 11. Tyler McDonald (Yam YZF-R6), -77.693 seconds 12. Jeff Tigert (Hon CBR600RR), -77.931 seconds 13. Blake Young (Suz GSX-R600), -77.963 seconds 14. Will Gruy (Yam YZF-R6), -78.248 seconds 15. Ryan Elleby (Hon CBR600RR), -78.941 seconds 16. Barrett Long (Yam YZF-R6), -82.832 seconds 17. Darren Luck (Suz GSX-R600), -84.053 seconds 18. Nathan Hester (Yam YZF-R6), -96.805 seconds 19. Tony Meiring (Suz GSX-R600), 96.892 seconds 20. Shea Fouchek (Suz GSX-R600), -107.444 seconds 21. Michael Beck (Yam YZF-R6), -107.544 seconds 22. Tristan Shoenewald (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap 23. Rob Frost (Kaw ZX-6RR), -1 lap 24. Chris “Opie” Caylor (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 25. Greg Gildenhuys (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 26. Bill Card (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 27. Dan Ortega (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 28. Dr. Jeff Purk, DDS (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 29. Johnny Rock Page (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 30. Bostjan Pintar (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 31. Mark McCormick (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 32. Joseph Ford (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 33. Keith Marshall (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 34. Bostjan Skubic (Hon CBR600RR), -1 lap 35. Richard Breen (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 36. Spencer Stuart (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 37. Kenny Carlotta (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap 38. David McPherson (Yam YZF-R6), -1 lap 39. Jeff Seehorn (Kaw ZX-6RR), -2 laps 40. Lance Yeager (KAw ZX-6RR), -2 laps 41. Santiago Villa Venegas (Yam YZF-R6), -2 laps 42. Dirk Sanchez (Kaw ZX-6RR), -2 laps 43. Justin Filice (Hon CBR600RR), -8 laps, DNF 44. Joshua Day (Yam YZF-R6), -16 laps, DNF 45. Aaron Eldridge (Kaw ZX-6RR), -22 laps, DNF More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies Nabs Fourth in Daytona Supersport Race –Next round, Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., April 21-23 2006– Round 1 – AMA Supersport Series Daytona Beach, FL Daytona International Speedway March 8 -11, 2006 Yoshimura Suzuki’s Ben Spies rode his brand-new Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 to an impressive fourth-place finish in the season-opening round of AMA Supersport at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Thursday afternoon. Spies’ first real test with the new-for-2006 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600 came Wednesday afternoon during AMA Supersport qualifying. Spies qualified on the second row in fifth position after posting a best time of 1:43.217. “The new GSX-R600 is a work in progress,” said an optimistic Spies after the session. “This is our first real shakedown with the bike and we’re still working on suspension settings. I think that qualifying fifth shows the bike’s potential.” In the 22-lap race, Spies got off to a good start and ran with the lead group for the race’s entirety. He stayed in fourth for the whole race, battling regularly for third place. “It was a good race and I’m happy with a top-five finish,” said Spies. “The new GSX-R600 has got a lot of horsepower but we’re still in development. I think the motorcycle has got a lot of potential and I’m excited about the rest of the season.” Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R600, #11 4th Place – AMA SuperSport 4th Place – Overall SuperSport Top 10 Finishers: 1. Roger Lee Hayden, Kawasaki 2. Jamie Hacking, Yamaha 3. Tommy Hayden, Kawasaki 4. Ben Spies, Team Yoshimura Suzuki 5. Danny Eslick, Suzuki 6. Damon Buckmaster, Kawasaki 7. Geoff May, M4 EMGO Suzuki 8. Pascal Picotte, Yamaha 9. Alastair Steeley, Yamaha 10. Ben Attard, Kawasaki