Josh Hayes 2011 - Graves Motorsports

Josh Hayes

JOSH HAYES # 1

The 2010 season saw Josh Hayes fulfill a lifelong goal of becoming the 2010 AMA American Superbike Champion and winning Yamaha’s first Superbike Championship in 19 years. Josh scored an impressive 7 wins on the season with multiple bonus point awards for pole position and laps lead aboard his cross plane crankshaft equipped and Graves Motorsports prepared YamahaYZF-R1 Superbike.

Making the most of an opportunity to return to the Superbike class, Josh Hayes enjoyed a phenomenal 2009 season which saw him record 7 wins en route to 2nd in the AMA American Superbike Championship. Getting his first win at the Infineon round last season jump started Josh and the entire team to a new level and began their march to second place, the best finish since Yamaha’s return to the Superbike class in 2007.

Known as one of the fiercest competitors on the race track, Josh Hayes is a prior AMA Formula Extreme Champion who joined the Yamaha family for the first time in 2009.

By winning the Formula Extreme Championship in 2006 and 2007, Josh made a full return to form from serious injuries suffered at the season opening Daytona round in the 2000 season. Starting his road racing career at 19, Josh has made a quick ascension up the ranks. After winning his first three WERA titles in 1994 and numerous others in the next 4 years, he made his AMA pro debut in 1999 where he won the 750 Supersport race in Daytona and finished 3rd in the Formula Extreme class for the season. Riding injured for most of the 2000 season, Josh still finished 3rd in the Formula Extreme class. The extensive hand injury carried into the 2001 season where he finished 5th in the Formula Extreme and 600 Supersport classes. Just as Josh was getting up to speed in the 2002 season, he seriously injured his hand in an early season crash which saw him miss the remainder of the year. The 2003 season saw Josh finally healthy enough to fight for a title and he won the AMA 750 Superstock Championship. The 2004 and 2005 seasons saw Josh compete in the Superbike class where he gained valuable experience prior to his back to back Championship Formula Extreme Titles in 2006 and 2007.

The 2008 season saw Josh finish second in Formula Extreme and pose a serious challenge to Ben Bostrom in the Supersport class. For 2009 it was no secret that Josh wished to return to the Superbike class for another shot at the title and the chance to add his name and Yamaha to the AMA Superbike Class record book.