Team Suzuki Press Office – March 18. Michael Jordan Motorsports started the 2012 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike season with two podium finishes on its GSX-R1000 Suzuki at the opening round at Daytona International Speedway in Florida at the weekend as National Guard Jordan Suzuki rider Roger Hayden brought home well-earned third-place results in both 15-lap races.
Hayden took advantage of his front-row grid position and had good starts on the National Guard Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000. On Friday, he battled for the final podium spot for the first several laps before settling into third position and held on until race’s end. Likewise, Saturday’s race saw Hayden charging hard in fourth position and aggressively scrapping for third and taking the final spot on the podium.
Said Hayden: “This was a pretty good start to the season. Coming away with two podiums was a good start and we’re leaving Daytona with some good points. We were able to see where we stack up against the other guys and we know what we need to improve on to close the gap to the top two. Today (Saturday), the race was a little bit tougher for me than yesterday, but I was glad I could hang on for the podium, especially for the Jordan team – they’ve been working their tails off all year. Two podium finishes was a good start and it’s something we can build on as I look forward to Atlanta.”
Team mate Ben Bostrom suffered some plain, old-fashioned bad luck at Daytona: He started out strong in both races – getting good starts on the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 on each day – but while running in the top five on Friday and Saturday, he went down and had to remount and pick his way through the field. He finished 13th on Friday and 15th on Saturday.
“It was a tough weekend for number 23,” said Bostrom. “I’m not sure I can remember the last time I crashed out of a race, much less two races. I know the package we have for the upcoming tracks, though, and that keeps my mood right. The Jordan team has done a great job this winter and I hate to let them down. It was great to see Roger on the box.”
In the 2012 AMA Pro National Guard Superbike Championship series rider point standings, Hayden sits in third place and Bostrom is in 14th place.
The Michael Jordan Motorsports team’s next event of the AMA Pro National Guard Superbike series is at Road Atlanta in Braselton on April 20 – 22nd.
