Yates takes AMA Supersport title

Aaron Yates has won the 2002 AMA Supersport championship at Mid-Ohio on Sunday, but his delight was cut short as the Blimpie Yoshimura Suzuki rider crashed in the AMA Superbike race, badly gashing his arm and causing the race to be red-flagged.

Yates only needed to finish in the top ten, with one round left in the series, but decided to take the championship in style, beating Damon Buckmaster and Tommy Hayden. He started the season with three straight wins, but it has been his consistency which has mattered, only finishing off the podium once, with a fourth place at Pikes Peak. His win at Mid-Ohio was his fifth of the season, meaning that no one can catch him at the last round in Virginia.

The battle now is for second in the championship between Hayden on 241 points, Buckmaster on 226, Jason Pridmore on 219 and Jamie Hacking on 215.