Yamaha has proved its dominance yet again with the YZF-R1 and YZF-R6 in the AMA Pro SuperBike and AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike classes.
The last round of the season at the New Jersey Motorsports Park saw not only Jake Gagne clinch the 2014 DSB Championship, but also Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes end the 2014 AMA Pro SuperBike season in a spectacular fashion. The results mark Yamaha’s fifth consecutive Superbike title. Both Yamaha riders managed to get the job done with one race remaining.
Josh Hayes knew exactly what he had to do when he started the last race with a 40-point lead over teammate Cameron Beaubier. The vastly experienced rider secured pole and rode one of the strongest races of his career on the Saturday, fighting off his rival to the very end to cross the line in first place. The Yamaha rider was euphoric, but his happiness was closely followed by a moment of uncertainty. AMA Pro Racing deemed that one of his multiple passes on Roger Hayden was made under a yellow flag, meaning that Hayes wouldn’t be credited with the win. Ultimately, the AMA Pro decided imposed Hayes with a 20-second time penalty, moving him back just one position in the official race results to second place. With Beaubier finishing in fifth place, 20 points were enough for Hayes to claim the Championship title.
With his fourth AMA Pro SuperBike in the bag and less pressure on his shoulders, Hayes was able to ride a solid second race on Sunday, riding the R1 to victory, his seventh of the season. His seven wins put him on 285 points in the final standings and added to a total of 48 wins in Hayes amazingly successful AMA ProSuperBike career. All of these wins were achieved onboard a Yamaha.
Source: www.yamaha-racing.com
