Haydens in Action at Same Event for First Time in 2009 at Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix
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).