Press Release –
What was essentially intended to be a weekend of testing the developmental four-stroke FX Nytro® racing sleds turned into a bonanza for Yamaha Factory Racing with a first and second place podium finish by Iain Hayden at the Canadian National Sno-Cross event held in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
With a weekend off from the ISOC National Tour schedule, Yamaha Factory Snocross team manager Andre Laurin opted to showcase the FX Nytro® 4-stroke performance at the CSRA event.
Unfortunately, Hayden’s teammate Steve Taylor was unable to participate due to an injured foot. He’s expected to be back in action this coming weekend in Hayward, WI.
“It was a last minute decision to go up to Kirkland Lake. But seeing we were in Canada anyway, we thought it would be a good opportunity to further test our sleds under racing conditions, to see if the improvements we made in Valcourt could be enhanced,” said Laurin. “We expected to do well and we weren’t disappointed. As usual the crew worked very hard in the paddock and Iain did a fabulous job on the track. It would have been even better if Steve had been able to race, but I am really pleased with the performance of the FX Nytro® this weekend. It was nice to reward Yamaha race fans in Canada with the Yamaha factory presence and show them, and the competition, that the FX Nytro® is the four-stroke to reckon with”
Hayden, a 3-time CSRA Pro Open champion, came, saw and conquered as he returned to his old stomping grounds. He harnessed the explosive power of the FX Nytro® to grab four heat holeshots and basically put on a clinic leading wire to wire to take the checkered flag ahead of the pack.
In the Pro-Open final, he again pegged the holeshot with another lightning start and looked to be on his way to victory only to have to contend with a mechanical issue on the second lap.
Despite this setback, Hayden saved the day by losing only one position in the 15-rider field to finish in a well earned second position.
In a special Pro/Am tribute race to Blair Morgan, who suffered a career-ending injury at the Montreal Supercross last September, Hayden and his FX Nytro® ran flawlessly.
After quickly working his way into the lead, he charged hard the entire race to finish and impressive 18 seconds ahead of second place.
“My sled ran near-perfect and my shoulder really cooperated this weekend, so I was able to run strong. Winning the Blair Morgan Inspiration Final was really special for me, seeing I was part of Blair’s team for a number of years. It meant a lot to me and I was excited to be part of that,” said Hayden. “I wish I could have taken the top spot in the Pro Open final to go with all the heat wins that I had during the weekend. But to holeshot six out of six and to win five out of six races does feel special. We’ll take it!”
