Josh just too fast

Australian hard man Mat Mladin clinched his seventh AMA Superbike championship at Virginia International Raceway, with a second and an uncharacteristic ninth in the double-header.

Both races went to Yamaha’s Josh Hayes, who has really found his feet on the bike as the season progresses. Hayes won by big margins both days, 10 seconds in the first and six seconds in the second. On the first day, Mladin said, "Josh … did a great job today … today it wouldn’t have mattered what I did – even if I’d pushed as hard as I could, I didn’t have anything for Josh. He was just too fast today."

There’s one race left in the series, at the new New Jersey Motorsports Park September 5-6. Series standings are:

1. Mat Mladin, Australia, Yoshimura Suzuki, 427 (championship confirmed); 2. Tommy Hayden, USA, Yoshimura Suzuki, 348; 3. Josh Hayes, USA, Yamaha US, 344; 4. Ben Bostrom, USA, Yamaha US, 315; 5. Larry Pegram, USA, Pegram Racing Ducati 1098R, 313; 6. Blake Young, USA, Yoshimura Suzuki, 264; 7. Aaron Yates, USA, Jordan Suzuki, 248; 8. Geoff May, USA, National Guard Jordan Suzuki, 212; 9. Taylor Knapp, USA, MDK Racing Suzuki, 183; 10. Jake Holden, USA, Holden Racing Honda, 170.