Although there are still four laps out of a total of 8 races, Roger Lee Hayden decided to publicly announce his retirement from racing after around 20 years of professional motorsport competition.
The younger brother of Tommy and the late Nicky, Roger Lee is still busy with the Yoshimura Suzuki team in MotoAmerica, official envoy of the Hamamatsu-based manufacturer in California from Chino, where the GSX-R machines are being prepared, which will be driven by the American and Spaniard Toni Elias, defending champion.
Roger comes from a family of motorcycle racers who were well raised and raised by their mother Rose and father Earl. The latter has closely followed the careers of all children, including daughters Kathleen and Jenny.
From a young age, Roger trained on the dirt road across from his house, develop good drifting skills and often the youngster gave his more experienced brothers Tommy and Nicky a run for their money. The unmistakable feature of the three boys from Owensboro is their radiant smiles, the true reflection of the Kentucky Kid, 2006 MotoGP World Champion.
A dirt track debut was inevitable for Roger, and it came while he was still in school, alternating between books and bikes. The climax of his dirt track career came in 2002 when all three Hayden brothers stood on the podium at the Springfield TT AMA Grand National, a very popular specialty in the United States.
Roger also showed a more than respectable performance on the asphalt. From the many races he rode Hayden was named Rookie of the Year in 2006 in the Superbike class, and the following year he also won the Supersport title on his Kawasaki Ninja. He had two wildcards in MotoGP – 2007 and 2010 – both without points, a Moto2 appearance and a full season in Superbike with the Kawasaki Pedercini team.
He has been wearing Suzuki colors for many seasons. In 2017 Roger became runner-up in MotoAmerica and brought home 3 wins and 7 Superpoles. At Suzuki, the 35-year-old Kentucky driver wants to end his career before hanging his leather: “I didn’t make that lightly decision – Roger revealed – I thought about it for a while. I’ve been racing on the weekends since I was nine and thought it was the right time to start the next chapter in my life. I would like to spend more time with my wife and maybe travel a bit and start a family someday soon. “
Family, a fundamental value for the Hayden dynasty: “Yoshimura and Suzuki felt like family to me – Roger continued – Don (Sakakura) and Pat (Alexander) are more friends to me than a boss. We talk about life, sports, whatever and it was just a pleasure to be part of the team. I’ve had some of my greatest successes with Yoshimura Suzuki and the whole team has always worked hard to give me great bikes to race. I want to stay involved in racing in some way. I enjoy working with the young drivers and we’ll see what the future brings. “
The managers of the Hamamatsu plant structure in the USA thank Roger for the years together: “We are honored to have Roger as part of the Suzuki racing family – said Pat Alexander, Suzuki Race Support Manager – He has set a standard of excellence and hard work throughout his career and has been a great addition to Suzuki. We hope to continue working with Roger in the future. ” Don Sakakura, President of Yoshimura Suzuki Racing added: “The Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Team has had the privilege of working alongside Roger for the past four and a half seasons. Our team has evolved over the years due to Roger’s competitive dedication and racing spirit. I respect Roger for his integrity and core family values. We have all enjoyed the company of the Hayden family for countless years. We all wish Roger the very best for his transition to the next phase of his life. “