Interview: Roger Lee Hayden
Paul Carruthers | October 24, 2012
Roger Lee Hayden doesn’t have to look far to see just how fragile careers in the AMA paddock can be. All he has to do is talk to his brother, Tommy. After winning three AMA Superbike races in 2011 and challenging for the title for the majority of the season, the oldest of the Hayden brothers started the 2012 season without a ride. If it wasn’t for the fact that Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff suffered a broken leg in the series opener at Daytona, Tommy Hayden may have gone the entire season without a ride.
Now the youngest of the Hayden trio (believe it or not, the youngest of the Hayden boys is now 29) of road racers is hoping that his off-season isn’t as painful as the one big brother endured.
Roger Lee ended the 2012 season third in AMA Superbike Championship while earning his first career Superbike victory in the penultimate round of the series at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. He was one of just three riders who won an AMA Superbike race in 2012 (Josh Hayes won 16 of them!) and he stood on the podium in eight of the 20 races to amass 314 points – seven more than Yamaha’s Josh Herrin, who ended up fourth in the series after missing the final round with an injury.
But, much like Tommy a year ago, Roger Lee’s future is one of uncertainty as he ended the season at NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans a few weeks ago without a ride for 2013.
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