Roger Hayden dedicates Motul Superbike win to late brother

Roger Hayden, the brother of the late Nicky Hayden, took his second Motul Superbike win of the season and dedicated the victory to his late brother and grieving family. 

Hayden had to win not once, but twice as the race was red-flagged while he was leading by over two seconds on the 11^th lap. But there was no stopping him on this day as he went out and won the second part of the race as well, a six-lap sprint for his second win of the season and first since race one at Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on May 12.

“I had a lot of motivation today since Cameron (Beaubier) has been putting it to us the last couple of races,” said Hayden. “I was able to get a good jump on the restart and just put my head down. I really wanted a win bad and this was one of the toughest weekends for me since my brother’s accident happened while I was testing here a few months back. I had a lot on my mind, but we’re professionals and there was no way that I was going to let the win slip away at the end today.”

Hayden’s margin of victory at the end of six laps was .263 of a second over his Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Toni Elias, the Spaniard on the cusp of winning his first MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. Elias now leads the title chase by 79 points over Hayden, 340-261, after earning his 14^th podium of the season.

“My team improved the bike quite a bit for me this morning,” said Elias. “Roger (Hayden) was so strong today and there was nothing I could do with him. All I could do was try to protect myself from Cameron (Beaubier) and Josh (Hayes), but I was still struggling to do that. Roger did a great job today and I’m very happy for him. I still was able to leave with good points today.”

Results

Motul Superbike

1. Roger Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
2. Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki
3. Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Yamaha
4. Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha
5. Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki
6. Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki
7. Jake Gagne, San Diego, Calif., Honda
8. Sylvain Barrier, Oyonnax, France, BW
9. Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Ok, Yamaha
10. Kyle Wyman, Macedon, N.Y., Yamaha 

Motul Superbike Championship Standings

1. Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki – 340
2. Roger Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 261
3. Cameron Beaubier, Roseville, Calif., Yamaha – 255
4. Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Yamaha – 180
5. Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha – 159
6. Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki – 138
7. Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki – 136
8. Josh Herrin, Dublin, Ga., Yamaha – 114
9. Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha – 111
10. Kyle Wyman, Macedon, N.Y., Yamaha – 98