Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Josh Hayes Wins SuperBike Race 1 At Road America; Herrin Third

Elkhart Lake, WI June 2, 2012**** – Under threatening skies, two-time reigning AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike Champion Josh Hayes threatened to run away with the win in Race 1 at Road America…and he did just that. When raindrops began to fall on the final lap, Josh had already built up a lead of more than 11 seconds. The race was red-flagged, and Josh was declared the winner, as if there was any question about the result.

Immediately pulling a three-second gap after lap one, Josh ran in a class by himself aboard his crossplane-crankshaft #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1. It was similar to the dominant performance that Josh had the previous weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, where he won that race by nearly eight seconds.

Commenting on his race, Josh said, “It was an excellent day. The bike was working well and, about the third lap in, I wasn’t really believing my pit board, so I kept pushing my advantage. The rain was a bit tricky towards the end, so I decided to slow down some. It was good that they red-flagged it on the final lap.”

On the basis of the bonus point that Josh earned for pole position, the bonus point for leading the most laps (which were all the laps) in the race, and the points for the win, Josh now leads his third SuperBike Championship by 14 points.

Josh Herrin, rider of the #2 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1, started from the front row and kept himself in the top three throughout the entirety of the race. He finished third and made it four podiums so far in this, his rookie AMA Pro National Guard SuperBike season. With today’s third-place finish, Josh also moves up to third in the season points standings.

SuperBike Race 2 will go green on Sunday at 3:30 PM CST. For news, results, and other team info, be sure to check out Yamaha’s Facebook page.