From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

Hayden and Hacking battle for career wins in AMA Supersport

Each rider with 10-career victories coming into Brainerd round

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (June 21, 2004) — While Miguel Duhamel and Mat Mladin wage battle for the all-time AMA Superbike wins mark, Tommy Hayden and Jamie Hacking have their own skirmish going in the AMA Pro Honda Oils Supersport Championship presented by Shoei.

Hayden and Hacking are tied with Doug Polen for fourth on all-time AMA Supersport wins list as the series comes to Brainerd International Speedway on June 27. Both riders have 10-career wins and will be looking to break the tie and take sole possession of fourth on the list and more importantly improve their position in this year’s title chase.

Fans could be in store for one of the best Supersport races of the season. Brainerd, with its long front straight that favors groups of drafting riders, traditionally has been one of the closest races of the season. In the last five years every Brainerd Supersport race has been decided by 3-10ths of a second or less. The Supersport machines have been equally matched again this season with Suzuki, Kawasaki and Yamaha all earning victories.

If one manufacturer seems to be gaining a slight edge on the competition it would be Kawasaki. Brothers and Kawasaki teammates Tommy and Roger Hayden have won the last three rounds on factory Kawasaki ZX-6Rs. Elder brother Tommy has opened a 24-point lead over Roger Lee in the series standings after winning the last two rounds. Tommy is trying to win his first AMA Supersport championship after coming close several times.

Defending champ Jamie Hacking is hanging tough in third place in the series despite not having a win to his credit this season. Hacking and his No. 1 factory Yamaha R6 have the speed. He’s won the pole twice and led the most laps in the most recent round in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

“We’ve been close, but that’s not good enough,” Hacking admitted. “We’ve got to start winning races if we want to get up there to defend the championship, that’s the bottom line. I’ve won Supersport at Brainerd, but it’s been a few years. It’s a tough race because drafting comes into play so much there. It should be a good one.”

Hacking’s teammates Aaron Gobert and Jason DiSalvo are fourth and fifth in the series standings. Both understand that if they are to have any chance of getting into the championship battle in the final five rounds they, like Hacking, are going to have to put some wins in the book.

“At Road America I was chasing the draft all day,” said Gobert. “At Brainerd if you lose the draft you’re in trouble so it’s going to be important to stay in the lead group and try to stay with anyone who tries to break the draft.”

Yoshimura Suzuki’s Aaron Yates won the Brainerd Supersport race in 1998. So far Yates hasn’t cracked the top five in the class. If there’s a track where he can do it BIR should be one of them since Yates is the defending Superbike winner there.

Prieto Racing’s Michael Barnes is the top privateer in the highly competitive class. He is a 14-year pro racing veteran and is experiencing his best season in years. If Barnes manages to put his Prieto Yamaha R6 atop the podium this year it would mark the longest stretch between a first and second win in the history of AMA Supersport.

The Pro Honda Supersport race will receive same-day television coverage on SPEED Channel at 3 p.m. Eastern on June 27.

For additional information on the Trofeo Ducati Brainerd AMA Superbike National call (218) 824-7220 or visit www.brainerdracewayandresort.com