Round 2 of the AMA Pro National Guard American SuperBike series at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., was all about close finishes. In Race 1 on Saturday, Foremost Insurance Ducati rider beat out National Guard Jordan Suzuki rider Jake Zemke by 0.094 of a second.
But Race 2 on Sunday was even closer after Rockstar Makita Suzuki rider Tommy Hayden took the win, holding out Team Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes by 0.485 of a second. Also taking his first podium of the 2010 season was Hayden’s teammate Blake Young with a third-place finish.
Pegram got the early lead, with Hayes being his only challenger. After swapping the lead, Pegram was running strong until crashing out on lap 9, giving the lead to Hayes. Hayden and Young followed behind, with the man who swept both Daytona races, Zemke, in fourth.
But Hayden wouldn’t get the lead until lap 18, where he held on, barley beating Hayes. Young would take third, followed by Zemke in fourth and M4 Monster Energy Suzuki rider John Hopkins in fifth.
The pole sitter, Aaron Yates, broke his lower right leg in two places after crashing his Jordan Suzuki GSX-R 1000 during the warm-up session.
Yates reportedly lost the front-end of his bike in turn 10/11 while leaned over, going down. While down, M4 Monster Suzuki rider Chris Ulrich ran over the top of Yates’ leg, causing the injury.
Yates is expected to undergo surgery this week. He has broken the same leg in the past, and has pins in his fibula and tibia bones. Besides having the pole, the Georgian finished third in Race 1 and was fastest during warm-up on Sunday.
For complete results, click here.
AMA Pro American Superbike will continue at Road Atlanta April 16-18 for Round 3 of 10.
