Press Release –
Team Monster Energy-Yamaha-OTSFF Racing’s Iain Hayden continues to lead the CSRA Pro Open Snowcross Championship, after recording a noteworthy second place finish at Round 2 of the points chase this past weekend in Lindsay, Ontario.
After racing a double-header at Eagle River, WI in the United States the week before, things were a little more relaxed for Hayden and the team as they raced back on home soil.
Hayden arrived at the Lindsay Exhibition Grounds to contest the Amsoil Kawartha Cup with a slim three point lead in the title hunt. When all was said and done, he finished in the top-two in all three races and stretched his lead to a more comfortable 10 points.
In his first full season on the Canadian circuit since 2007, Hayden is on solid footing to add another CSRA championship title to his laurels. He basically did what he had to do and that’s to keep adding double-digit points to his lead. The Espanola, ON native took his four-stroke Yamaha FX Nytro to a second place finish in his first qualifying heat, a win in the second heat, and runner-up in the final.
His solid performance in the qualifiers gave Hayden a lucrative second pick on the front row for the all important final. That position, however, turned into a slot on the back row, after a too eager Hayden jumped the start.
Although he had only 12 laps to redeem himself, Hayden got on the gas after the restart and systematically began picking off rider and after rider in a caution flag marred race, to knife his way towards the front. By the end of the race, he had claimed second place but ran out of time to reel in the win.
“It was hard to make any kind of headway, because there were so many crashes out there with cautions for what seemed to be at least half the race. It was more or less follow the leader with here and there an opportunity to pass,” said Hayden. “Still, I can’t complain seeing I managed to keep my points lead intact. It was a good event with a lot of fans coming out to see the action. And the team did another great job that allowed me to get the maximum performance out of my Nytro FX. The Hindle Exhaust system we’re running has really helped towards that end.”
