Braselton, GA April 22, 2012 – After a third-place finish in Saturday’s AMA Pro Go Pro Daytona SportBike Race 1, Tommy Hayden moved up a notch on Sunday and finished second in Race 2 on his #8 Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R6®.
Just like in yesterday’s race, Tommy got another great start, which put him into second-place on the first lap.
“I’ve always been a pretty good starter,” said Tommy after the race. “It goes back to my flattrack days where, if you don’t get a good start, your race is lost. Good starts are obviously important in this class, too, so it’s something I focus on.”
As is a Tommy Hayden trademark, he rode smoothly in second place and maintained a gap of just 2/10s of a second throughout virtually the entire race, until he encountered a lapped rider on final go-around on the track and had to make the pass in a less-than-ideal spot. That slowed Tommy just enough that the win became out of reach.
“Over the past few years, I’ve been racing in SuperBike, so I’m still transitioning to the R6,” Tommy added. “It’s a fast bike, though, and really fun to ride. I’m happy with the progress we’re making, and I’m looking forward to Infineon.”
Tommy currently sits third in the championship points standings after two rounds and three races.
Tommy will, once again, be riding for the Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha team at the next race in just two weeks when AMA Pro Racing visits the wine country of Sonoma, CA, for the Great Clips West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway on May 4-6.
