2011 New Jersey AMA Superbike | Results

2011 AMA Superbike Race 1

Spoiler Alert: 2011 New Jersey Motorsports Park race 1 results below

From the outset of Saturday’s 23-lap American Superbike race at New Jersey Motorsports Park, it became a battle between a Suzuki and the Team Graves Yamaha R1 ridden by Josh Hayes.

But it wasn’t one of the usual Rockstar Makita Suzuki superbikes battling with Hayes; it was the Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000 ridden by Ben Bostrom, the rider who struggled to get on the podium all season.

The California native took the holeshot, and led the first lap. But the reigning AMA Superbike Champion Hayes slipped pass Bostrom on the second lap at Turn 1, the YZF-R1 rider going on to lead the remaining 22 laps to take his third checkered flag of the season.

Bostrom kept the heat on throughout the race as the two battled ahead of the field. But Bostrom couldn’t catch Hayes, and would finish second, 2.034 seconds behind Hayes.

Tommy Hayden would take the final podium position over 13 seconds behind Bostrom, the Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider holding off a charge from his brother Roger Lee Hayden (Jordan Suzuki) at the finish line. Taking the fifth spot went to Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Blake Young.

After Hayes took the lead from Bostrom at the beginning of the second lap, the two pulled away from the remaining riders, eventually finishing over 13 seconds ahead of the group.

Behind, an immediate three-way battle for the final podium position began between the Hayden brothers and Young. But although challenged many times, Tommy was able to hold off his brother, finishing 0.098 of a second ahead of Roger.

Further back, it was a battle between Kawasaki’s Steve Rapp and BMW’s Larry Pegram, with Rapp taking sixth.

Rounding out the top 10 were M4 Suzuki’s Martin Cardenas, Graves Yamaha’s Chris Clark and Brett McCormick on the self-owned BMW S1000RR.

As for the KTM RC8R, rider Chris Fillmore, who also races in the AMA XR1200 Class, had a DNF at NJMP due to mechanical issues.

2011 New Jersey Motorsports Park: Race 1 Podium Quotes

Josh Hayes (Team Graves Yamaha YZF-R6 Superbike) says: “I just tried to ride as hard as I could. It was tough…when I got to 10 12 laps in the race, I lost focus for a minute. I started to feel pressure from Bostrom. I bounced off the curb and missed an apex. But I relaxed, calmed down and got back in the swing of things. I tried to keep my nerve and ride smooth; we know have five races in a row now hear at New Jersey.”

Ben Bostrom (Jordan Suzuki GSX-R1000) says: “It was not too much of a fight. Josh set an incredible pace, and I couldn’t catch him. The first half of the race, the bike was unbelievable; the end came down to riding sideways. It’s finally nice to get the bike up front, and I expect a good race tomorrow.”

Tommy Hayden (Rockstar Makita Suzuki GSX-R1000) says: “My race kind of ended in the first corner while battling for the lead. I felt like a got a good jump, but the time I got to third, (Hayes and Bostrom) already had five seconds on me. Maybe I had the speed to run with them, but couldn’t catch them. Those guys kept my honest the whole way; the lappers were hard for me today. Hopefully tomorrow we can get a better start and put up a fight.”

The race 1 NJMP win was only be the Mississippian’s third of the 2011 AMA Superbike season, but gave the Mississippian enough to obtain the point lead; Hayes now has 338 points, 11 ahead of Young.

To obtain his possible second consecutive AMA Superbike Championship, Hayes only needs a podium at Race 2 on Sunday, which is set for 3:30 p.m. (EDT) Sunday. And from the looks of things, if Hayes rides as smooth as he did Saturday, there’s no doubt he’ll be on the podium, likely in the number-one position.

Photo by Eric Putter/PutterPowerMedia

2011 New Jersey Motorsports Park: Race 1 Results