From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

HAYES FULFILLS EARLY PROMISE WITH AMA GENUINE SUZUKI ACCESSORIES SUPERSTOCK TITLE

Injury-plagued rider stays healthy and wins his first AMA Championship

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 24, 2003) — It’s been a long and often painful road for Josh Hayes, but the 28-year-old Attack Suzuki rider from Gulfport, Miss., finally broke through to win the 2003 AMA Genuine Suzuki Accessories Superstock title with a second-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park last Saturday. It was the first AMA Championship for Hayes, who has been a regular in AMA Pro Racing since 1999. Hayes’ championship marked the continued domination in AMA Superstock racing for Suzuki and its GSX-R750. This year Kawasaki gave Suzuki a serious run for title with Tommy Hayden on the potent and nimble Kawasaki ZX636.

The battle for the AMA Superstock Championship was the closest of all road racing series this season and it came down to the final laps of Saturday’s race at Barber. Hayes helped his cause by winning the pole and earning a championship point. The final was red-flagged on lap 13, which meant the championship would be decided in a five-lap restart sprint race. Hayes needed to finish third or better to win. In the restart he tucked in behind rival Hayden and rode safely home to second and the championship.

“The first three races were pretty rough,” Hayes said, “but we put the rest of the season together pretty good. We’ve been on the podium a whole lot, and it all paid off at the end. This is a pretty big deal; we’ve been fighting for this for quite a while. This year Superstock has been such an awesome class. I couldn’t have had more fun, and I couldn’t have won it a better way — started putting some race wins together late in the year. I feel like we really earned this as a team.”

Hayes was considered one of the leading young riders on the circuit after he was the surprise winner of the Daytona Superstock race in 1999 on a Valvoline Suzuki. But then a series of injuries that lingered over the next few seasons saw Hayes miss a number of races. The injuries kept him from being a serious championship contender until this season. After a slow start to the 2003 campaign Hayes caught fire mid-season and earned six consecutive podium finishes, including wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Hayden, who won five rounds this season, finished second in the series and Hooters Suzuki’s Vincent Haskovec was third. In all there were five winners in Superstock this year – Tommy Hayden and Tony Meiring of Kawasaki, Haskovec, Steve Rapp of Valvoline EMGO Suzuki and Hayes.

“For Josh Hayes to beat that brand new Kawasaki in Superstock, a bike that’s lighter, more nimble, and smaller, on all these tracks we race on here in America is quite an accomplishment,” said Suzuki team advisor and former world champion Kevin Schwantz.

Hayes joins Jamie Hacking (Supersport) and Ben Spies (Formula Xtreme) as first-time AMA champions this year, coincidentally all on Suzukis (sic).


More, from a press release issued by Corona Extra Suzuki:

2003 AMA SEASON ENDS ON DAMP NOTE AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK SUPERBIKE EVENT

The 2003 AMA Superbike season finished as it started with torrential rain and delays to the race program. The extremely damp conditions did not prevent Corona Extra Suzuki recording an eighth in Superbike and sixth in Formula Extreme. However both team riders also took tumbles, which marred the damp weekend.

In the first Superbike event of the weekend’s doubleheader, Jordan Szoke who had qualified 14th after set-up problems, did not get off the line well and found himself in 12th position after the first lap. Jordan began working his way through the field reaching 7th by lap 14. He held the position nearly to the end of the race but was passed by the Factory Honda of Miguel DuHamel leaving him with 8th. Jordan said; “We have been chasing the right setup – we missed some practice because of work we were doing on the bike and that’s why my qualifying was not too good. We still have not got it quite right but my races times were nearly a second faster than qualifying! I think we know what to do to go even better for the next race!”

In the last ever 750cc SuperStock event (for 2004, the class will be running 1000cc machines), Adam Fergusson qualified fifth after a big slide at the end of his qualifying lap, which saw him nearly high side. Ferguson had consistently been among the fastest during practice and looked set to set a sub lap-record time on his qualifier tire. Come race time, Adam did not get one of his best starts, being 9th at the end of the first lap. He quickly started working his way up the field, getting into 6th by lap 6. Five laps from the end he lost the rear end and was viciously highsided into the gravel, bringing out the red flag. Fergusson, who walked away, was not able to restart having caused the red flag. Afterwards Fergusson said; “Going into the Carousel I hit a false neutral and ran off. I got back on but the transmission jumped into first at the next corner and spat me off! I’m alright but feel pretty banged up!” Fergusson finished the season 5th in the Suzuki Genuine Accessories Superstock championship. Jimmy Moore, who was still unfit to race finished the season in 13th.

The heavens opened on Sunday with several inches of rain flooding the paddock and forcing the excellent crowd (48,000 total for the inaugural AMA race weekend at the brand new and outstanding Barber facility) to shelter. The heavy rain delayed the scheduled program but amazingly the track dried very quickly forcing teams to switch from wet tires to slicks just before the delayed Superbike start. Jordan’s race however did not benefit from the track conditions as it lasted less than a lap owing to a broken clutch. Szoke finished 10th in the Superbike championship.

Formula Extreme was the last race of the2003 season. Ferguson, still stiff and bruised from his Saturday get off, started from fifth position and was in 8th position after the first lap. He picked off some more riders moving up to 6th by lap three. He lost one position before the end and settled for 7th position. Afterwards Fergusson said; “I found it hard to move around and just couldn’t get comfortable. Also, my hands took a beating yesterday and hanging on was tough. I thought about pulling in but I’m glad to have finished as high as I did”. Fergusson finished the Formula Extreme Championship in 5th position.

Jimmy Moore, who missed much of the season due to injury, finished the championship in 12th.

Though 2003 did not see another championship, the Corona Extra Suzuki Team is pleased to have maintained its position at the front of the classes entered. Now the focus will be on the 2004 season and getting back the winning form of previous seasons.