Press Release –
It was another banner weekend for Iain Hayden as he put his Yamaha Factory Racing four-stroke FX Nytro® developmental sled on the podium for the second weekend in a row. Hayden ran a very strong Pro-Open final at Round 7 of the AMSOIL® Championship Snocross Tour in Hayward, WI to snare a third place finish in the premier sno-cross race circuit.
His teammate, Steve Taylor, still struggling with an injured foot, had to settle for 11th at the checkered on the highly technical LCO Casino Lodge & Convention Center track. Warm temperatures earlier in the week, followed by freezing weather ensured that the track was even tougher than usual.
Huge crowds were on hand as the best snocross drivers in the world got together to contest the penultimate round in the eight-round ISOCTM Championship Series. Although he got off to a tepid start, Hayden had no trouble qualifying, running a tight heat race that saw him finish in fifth.
This result gave him a ninth gate pick on the front starting row for the final. Taylor, who grabbed seventh in his heat, was forced to go to the LCQ for another shot at a main event starting position. After rocketing out of the gate to hammer down the holeshot, Taylor settled into a pace that saw him record fourth at the finish line.
In the grueling final, Hayden pegged the holeshot with his lightning fast FX Nytro®, set the fastest lap of the 26 lap race and dominated the proceedings for 17 laps. Changing track conditions and lapped traffic bunched up the leaders and after dicing back and forth with Brett Bender and Robbie Malinoski, Hayden eventually settled for third at the flag.
“This is what we’ve been aiming for all season, to break into the top three and we finally did it,” said Hayden. “Getting a front row start makes all the difference in the world. It would have been nice to keep that lead all the way through but a podium finish is a podium finish. The four-stroke power of the FX Nytro® is definitely a force to be reckoned with.”
Taylor’s weekend, unfortunately, did not unfold as smoothly. After qualifying on the back row for the final, he was never able to connect with the front runners and had to race hard just to turn a last place start into 11th by the end of the 26 laps.
“I actually had to let off on the Nytro’s power at the start because I was bunched up at the back and by the end of the race my foot was really bothering me,” said Taylor. “It was not an ideal racing weekend for me by any means.”
At the end of the day a happy Yamaha Factory Sno-cross team manager Andre Laurin commented: “The whole team has been working hard this season and this podium finish is rewarding. It shows that Yamaha leads the industry with its 4-stroke technology.”
