Josh Hayes (Yamaha) had a perfect weekend at Virginia International Raceway, dominating both Superbike races as his US-prepared R1 machine comes good, approaching the dominant form of the R1 in World Superbike.

Meanwhile, Mat Mladin did enough to secure an unprecedented seventh AMA Superbike crown, and taking away that stress and drama from the last race of the 2009. Expect him to win both those races at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and ride off to Australia in a blaze of glory, just like fellow Aussie Champions Wayne Gardner, Mick Doohan and Troy Bayliss did before him.

Meanwhile, a surging Josh Hayes replaced Mladin as the dominant figure in Superbike, at least for now. In the first (Saturday) race, Superpole winner Hayes took the lead at the start and never looked back, leading all 23 laps and crossing the finish line a comfortable 10 seconds ahead of Mat Mladin (Suzuki).

Hayes' teammate Ben Bostrom (Yamaha) prevailed in a thrilling race-long duel with Aaron Yates (Suzuki) to finish third. Bostrom rebounded from starting 12th after missing Friday's Superpole to take the final podium spot. 

Mladin’s second place finish meant that he only needed two points from the Sunday race to clinch the Championship. In fact, the Sunday scenario was a near repeat of Saturday, as Hayes again led all the way to the chequered flag, 7 seconds ahead of Tommy Hayden (Suzuki) at the finish.

Ben Bostrom had another great day and finished third, with Larry Pegram (Ducati) and Aaron Yates (Suzuki) rounding out the top five at the finish. Meanwhile, Mladin’s ninth place finish was enough to clinch championship.

The last round of the season will be held on the New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 4 thru 6.

AMA Superbike - Virginia International Raceway
Race 1 – Results
Pos. Rider Bike Gap
1. Josh Hayes Yamaha
2. Matt Mladin Suzuki 10.062 sec.
3. Ben Bostrom Yamaha 12.160 sec.
4. Aaron Yates Suzuki 12.225 sec.
5. Tommy Hayden Suzuki 15.677 sec.
6. Blake Young Suzuki 15.685 Sec.
7. Etc……

AMA Superbike - Virginia International Raceway
Race 2 – Results
Pos. Rider Bike Gap
1. Josh Hayes Yamaha.
2. Tommy Hayden Suzuki 6.829 sec.
3. Ben Bostrom Yamaha 9.701 sec.
4. Larry Pegram Ducati 14.572 sec.
5. Aaron Yates Suzuki 15.399 sec.
6. Taylor Knapp Suzuki 20.170 sec.
7. Etc…….

AMA American Superbike Standings – After VIR (10 of 11 rounds)
Pos. Rider Points
1. Matt Mladin 427
2. Tommy Hayden 348
3. Josh Hayes 344
4. Ben Bostrom 315
5. Larry Pegram 313