Hayden Avoids Pitfalls On His Way To Sonoma WInner's Circle

Tommy Hayden didn't have a smooth ride during Sunday's AMA West Coast Moto Jam at Infineon Raceway, but at least he could walk away — with the winner's trophy.

Hayden emerged unscathed and victorious from a race that saw four riders crash out before four laps could be completed. Hayden kept his bike rolling, but found himself chasing Josh Hayes for much of the race. He took the lead for good on Lap 17 of the 22-lap main event, passing Hayes for his first Sonoma victory in the SuperBike class.

“I’m really happy about this one.  I put a lot of thought into this race and a lot of preparation, and really wanted to redeem myself here after the last few years at this race,” said Hayden. “It feels really good to come in here and get this.  Josh kept me honest and didn’t make it easy on me.”

The win marked Hayden's sixth career SuperBike win and his third win in three different classes (SuperSport, 2005 and SuperStock, 2003) in Sonoma.

Hayden's Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Blake Young finished third.

Hayes, the defending series champion, was a heavy favorite after Saturday's win. Hayes has won four of the past six SuperBike races at Sonoma.

“My bike was a handful today,” Hayes said. “I was trying so hard because Tommy wouldn’t leave me alone. I did the best I could all the way through the end.  I wanted to beat him really bad, but he did a really good job. I hated to lose the streak.” 

Chris Ulrich didn't last long, crashing end over end in Turn 2 on the first lap. Martin Cardenas laid down his bike in Turn 5 on the second lap and, after his bike landed on top of a safety air fence, officials stopped the race and ordered a restart. That didn't go much better as three riders were collected in an accident early on the first lap. All the riders were examined by medical personnel at the track and released. Ulrich was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Cardenas, third in Saturday's feature, was able to get back into Sunday's race on a backup bike after the restart, but it took everything he had to finish eighth.Hayes leaves Sonoma with the SuperBike points lead, six points ahead of Hayden. Young drops from first to third.

The forecast called for scattered showers, but everyone was surprised by the hail that landed on the track. Rain delayed the action by 27 minutes after five laps during the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race. Polesitter Jason DiSalvo completed his first Sonoma sweep after holding off runner-up Danny Eslick and third-place finisher Josh Herrin.

Concord's Melissa Paris ended a disappointing homecoming with a 21st-place finish. She placed 19th on Saturday.

Benny Solis swept both SuperSport events.