Suzuki's Tommy Hayden (#22) never let up and took a victory in Race 1 ahead of Ben Bostrom (#155) by just five-thousandths of a second.
Pat Clark Motorsports’ Ben Bostrom and Rockstar Makita Suzuki’s Tommy Hayden provided a thrilling last few laps in the American SuperBike class. The two traded positions during the final minutes of the race, with Hayden edging ahead of Bostrom by just five-thousandths of a second for the photo finish.
"This feels good and I really feel like we needed this one," Hayden said after the race. "I wanted to be in there and give it a good shot and my team has been working really hard."
The battle between the two started back on Lap 19 when Team Graves Yamaha rider Josh Hayes was in the lead with Hayden and Bostrom in hot pursuit. More than 17 seconds separated the three from the rest of the field. Unable to match the pace of the two eager riders behind him, Hayes fell back to third with Bostrom assuming the lead with just three laps left.
On the final lap Hayden shadowed the Yamaha rider, and the two became neck and neck heading to the line. Hayden just managed to squeeze in the victory ahead of Bostrom, with championship leader Hayes taking the final podium position in third.
"I honestly didn't think I'd won because I quit looking at the finish line when I realised I was going too fast and wasn't pointed the right way to make the turn at the end, so I wasn't so happy at the end there," Hayden said. "I was just concerned with keeping the bike upright in the grass. But now it feels good to be on the winning end of a close one. I feel like I had myself in the right position today."
With his victory Hayden remains just 1 point behind Hayes in the championship. Advancing was Bostrom, who moved ahead of Pegram to fourth overall in the series.
Stay tuned on Sunday for more AMA racing action from Virginia International Raceway.
American SuperBike VIR Race 1 Results:
1. Tommy Hayden (Suzuki)
2. Ben Bostrom (Yamaha)
Despite being passed by Hayden at the line, Bostrom (#155) moved up to fourth in the championship ahead of Larry Pegram.
3. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
4. Larry Pegram (Ducati)
5. Taylor Knapp (Suzuki)
6. Brett McCormick (Suzuki)
7. Eric Bostrom (Suzuki)
8. Jake Zemke (Suzuki)
9. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
10. Jordan Szoke (Honda)
11. Chris Clark (Yamaha)
12. Chane Narbonne (Suzuki)
13. Skip Salenius (Yamaha)
14. Geoff May (Buell)
15. John Hopkins (Suzuki)
2010 American SuperBike Championship Points:
1. Josh Hayes, 333
2. Tommy Hayden, 332
3. Jake Zemke, 273
4. Ben Bostrom, 249
5. Larry Pegram, 243
