Joshua Kurt Hayes (born April 4, 1975 in Gulfport, Mississippi) is an American professional motorcycle roadracer who started his road racing career at the age of 19 and made a quick ascension up through the ranks where he won his first three WERA titles in 1994 and numerous others in the following four years. He turned pro in 1996 and also raced in MotoGP. Riding Suzuki GSX-R motorcycles, Hayes won the 1999 750 SuperSport race at Daytona and finished third in the Formula Extreme class for the season. He won the 2003 AMA 750 SuperStock Championship riding an Attack Suzuki GSX-R750, the 2006 and the 2007 AMA Formula Xtreme Championships on an Erion Honda CBR600RR, and four AMA Superbike Championships on a Yamaha YZF-R1 (2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014).
Career
Hayes joined the Yamaha Factory Racing team in 2009 and competed aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1 in the AMA Pro Racing SuperBike Championship, winning seven races en route to second place in the Championship. He also raced a Yamaha YZF-R6 in the Daytona 200.
The 2010 season saw Hayes fulfill his lifelong goal of becoming AMA Pro SuperBike Champion. In the process, he also won Yamaha's first SuperBike title in 19 years, scoring seven race victories and earning multiple bonus points for pole positions and laps led on the season.
Hayes won his second consecutive SuperBike Championship in 2011. He captured seven poles, three wins, and nine podium finishes in defending his championship. He only finished off the podium twice over the course of the entire season, and he won the Championship on the final lap of the final race.
Hayes made his MotoGP debut at the 2011 Valencian Grand Prix riding the Tech 3 Yamaha YZR-M1 as a replacement rider for injured countryman Colin Edwards. Hayes led the wet morning warmup session, and then, he went on to finish seventh in the race.
In 2012, Hayes won his third consecutive SuperBike Championship, and he did it in record-setting fashion, rewriting AMA Pro Road Racing history in several categories. He set a new record for most SuperBike wins in a single season with 16, and he also set a new record for most consecutive SuperBike wins in a single season with ten. In addition, Hayes tied the record for most SuperBike poles in a single season with ten, and he had seven perfect weekends. In seven rounds during the 2012 season, Hayes qualified his #1 Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1 SuperBike in the pole position, won both SuperBike races, and also led the most laps in both races.
Finishing a close second in the 2013 AMA Pro SuperBike points standings to his Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha teammate and 2013 SuperBike Champion Josh Herrin, Hayes won eight races and earned two additional podiums. He also had a season sweep in qualifying, earning all eight SuperBike pole positions, and he set a new lap record at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Hayes showed in 2014 that the #4 on his Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha R1 SuperBike was an omen. On the strength of his seven race wins and three second-place finishes out of 11 races this season, Hayes captured his fourth AMA Pro SuperBike Championship. He also won the GEICO Motorcycle Superbike Shootout Championship that same year.
In 2015, Hayes notched ten Superbike wins during MotoAmerica's inaugural season. He also reached the podium in 16 out of 18 races and earned five pole positions. His teammate Cameron Beaubier nipped him by just four points for the 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike title.
In 2016, Hayes finished the MotoAmerica season just six points behind his teammate Beaubier, and it came down to the final race of the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park to decide it all.
Hayes finished fourth in the 2017 MotoAmerica Championship, reaching the podium eight times, which included a victory at VIRginia International Raceway.
On July 29, 2023 at Brainerd International Raceway, at age 48, Hayes secured his 87th career MotoAmerica/AMA race win, giving him the all-time record for the most wins across all MotoAmerica/AMA Pro roadracing classes.
Career statistics
FIM Endurance World Championship By team Year Team Bike Rider 2004 Suzuki GB - Phase One Suzuki GSX-R1000 James Ellison Jason Pridmore Andy Notman Dean Ellison Josh Hayes Olivier Four Jimmy Lindstrom 1st 2013 Yamaha Austria Racing Team Yamaha YZF-R1 Broc Parkes Igor Jerman Sheridan Morais Josh Waters Katsuyuki Nakasuga Josh Hayes 5th 2017 Yamaha Austria Racing Team Yamaha YZF-R1 Josh Hayes Broc Parkes Iván Silva Kohta Nozane Sheridan Morais 3rd
Grand Prix motorcycle racing By season YearClassMotorcycleTeamNumberRaceWinPodiumPoleFLapPtsPlcd MotoGP Yamaha YZR-M1 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 41 1 0 0 0 0 9 19th Total 1 0 0 0 0 9
Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts MotoGP Yamaha QAT SPA POR FRA CAT GBR NED ITA GER USA CZE IND RSM ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL7 19th 9
AMA Superbike (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos PtsR1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2 2003 Attack Performance Suzuki GSX-R750Suzuki GSX-R1000 DAY FON FON INF INF ATL ATL PPK RAM RAM BRD LGA MDO MDO VIR VIR BAR BAR 92nd 0 2004 Attack Performance Kawasaki ZX-10R DAY FON FON INF INF BAR BAR PPK RAM RAM BRD LGA MDO MDO ATL ATL VIR VIR 8th 316 2005 Attack Performance Kawasaki ZX-10R DAY BAR BAR FON FON INF INF PPK RAM RAM LGA MDO MDO VIR VIR ATL ATL 9th 302 2009 Yamaha Motor Corp. USA Yamaha YZF-R1 DAY FON FON ATL ATL BAR BAR INF INF RAM RAM LGA MDO MDO HPT HPT VIR VIR NJ NJ 2nd 406 2010 Team Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 DAY DAY FON FON ATL ATL INF INF RAM RAM MDO MDO LGA VIR VIR NJ NJ BAR BAR 1st 466 2011 Monster Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 DAY DAY INF INF MIL RAM RAM BAR BAR MDO MDO LGA NJ NJ 1st 363 2012 Monster Energy Graves Yamaha Yamaha YZF-R1 DAY DAY ATL ATL INF INF MIL RAM RAM BAR BAR MDO MDO LGA NJ NJ HOM HOM NOL NOL 1st 580
MotoAmerica Superstock Championship By year Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts2004SuperstockYamahaDAY7FON30INF8BAR5PPKRetRAM2BRD2LAG4M-O5RAT11VIR8 8th 2352006SuperstockHondaDAY5BAR5FON8INF8RAM5MIL7LAG10OHI8VIR5RAT4OHI5 5th 271
AMA Formula Xtreme Championship By year Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts2006Formula XtremeHondaDAY2BAR2FON3INF4RAM2MIL1LAG3OHI2VIR2RAT1OHI1 1st 3582007Formula XtremeHondaDAY6BAR1FON1INF1RAM1MIL2LAGOHI1VIR1RAT1LAG 1st 324
MotoAmerica Supersport Championship
Races by year Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts2007SupersportHondaDAY5BAR1FON2INF1RAM4MIL7LAGRetOHIVIR1RAT1LAGRet 3rd 2602022SuperstockYamahaATLATLVIR1VIR2RAMRAMRIDRIDMONMONBRA3BRA3PIT5PIT6NJR1NJR1ALAALA 6th 1482025SupersportYamahaALA10ALA1ATL9ATL7RAM10RAM15RID9RIDRetMON8MON8VIR5VIR6MIDMIDTEXTEXNJRNJR 7th* 98* Season Bike Round Plcd. Pts. 2023 Yamaha Motor Company RAT ALA RAM RID MON BRA PIT AME NJER1R2EXTR1R2R1R2EXTR1R2R1R2R1R2R1R233 534 2 Ret21 2 6 5 21 5 5 1 3rd 256
References
External links
JoshHayesRacing.com - Official website Josh Hayes profile at AMAProRacing.com