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It's a Hayden family reunion at Laguna Seca

Posted by Staff

Friday, 03 July 2009

From AMA Pro Communications

Nicky, Tommy and Roger Hayden Set For MotoGP and AMA Pro Races at Mazda Raceway

MONTEREY, Calif. (July 3, 2009) - North American motorcycle road racing's premier trio of racing brothers, Tommy, Nicky and Roger Hayden, will be in action in three different major series this weekend at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The international MotoGP World Championship will be joined by AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited and AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL in a full schedule of three consecutive races on Sunday, July 5. A Hayden brother will be represented in each race, marking the first and likely only time this season that the Kentucky trio will all race in the same event weekend. Practice and qualifying takes place on Friday and Saturday, July 3 - 4.

Tommy Hayden (No. 22 Rockstar/Makita Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000) will be competing in the American Superbike race that will be the final event of the weekend on Sunday. He is currently second in the class championship point standings after six top-three podium finishes in six of the year's first 11 races. Four of those finishes have been second-place showings, including a run of three in a row early in the year that included both rounds at Auto Club Speedway and one race later in the Saturday final at Road Atlanta. He also finished second in the first race of the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in May and has four career AMA Pro Road Racing victories at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on his resume.

"I'm really looking forward to the race at Laguna Seca for several reasons," said Tommy Hayden, who is the oldest of the brothers. "One, it's one of my favorite tracks so I like going there for that. Two, it's an exciting weekend overall with the GP there. And three, getting all three brothers together on one weekend is kind of special for us. For so many years, that's how it was and now things are very different."

Roger Hayden (No. 95 Monster Energy Attack Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R) races in Daytona SportBike and made his first start of the year at Road Atlanta where he promptly went out and finished second in the Saturday final. He scored another runner-up showing in Race 1 one event ago at Road America and should be a contender this weekend in the Daytona SportBike final that splits the MotoGP and American Superbike races.

"During the race weekend, we don't get to see a whole lot of each other since we all ride for different manufacturers," said Roger Hayden, who won in AMA Pro SuperSport competition at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2004 and 2007. "We are usually together in Southern California the week before so we get to ride bikes and go to dinner. When we are at the races, we definitely keep close tabs on each other. We try to go out to dinner on Sunday night after all the racing is over, but during the weekend it's usually all business."

Middle brother Nicky Hayden (No. 69 Ducati Desmosedici GP9), the 2006 World Champion, is in his seventh season traveling the globe on the annual MotoGP tour and always looks forward to the first of two North American stops at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Unlike the MotoGP race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway later in the year, the California race is the only event that has AMA Pro Road Racing's premier classes sharing the spotlight. Nicky Hayden won the American Superbike race on the Monterey road course in 2000 in addition to the 1998 Superstock race.

"It helps having my brothers here, it really makes the weekend special," said Nicky Hayden, who won his first MotoGP race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2005. "Having the whole team here riding in three different classes makes it really cool for me, my family and our supporters who came out to see us."

A pair of 23-lap/50-mile sprints for AMA Pro Road Racing's top divisions will follow Sunday's MotoGP main. The Daytona SportBike race is scheduled to go off at 3:30 p.m. local time and will be immediately followed by the American Superbike race that will be the finale of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix weekend at 4:15 p.m. The AMA Pro Road Racing action from the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway circuit can be seen in same-day coverage on SPEED on Sunday, July 5 at 9 p.m. PT (late Sunday/early Monday, July 6 at Midnight ET).

AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. From its Daytona Beach headquarters, the organization operates and manages AMA Pro Road Racing, which includes AMA Pro American Superbike, AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and AMA Pro SunTrust Moto-GT. AMA Pro Racing also manages and works closely with the day-to-day operational organizations of the AMA Pro Flat Track Championship and the AMA Pro Supermoto Championship Series in addition to other two-wheel and ATV series. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.

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