Josh Hayes Reflects on a Career Fueled by Passion for Racing
A feature profile examines Josh Hayes’s long motorcycle road racing career and his continued success at age 51. At New Jersey Motorsports Park, he made his 377th AMA-sanctioned start and earned his 91st AMA race win in Supersport race one. Hayes has stood on an AMA podium in more than half of his professional starts.
Hayes began road racing in 1994 aboard a self-tuned Honda CBR600F2, winning three National Novice Championships. A planned 1995 Kawasaki ZX-6R effort with Grant Lopez never came together after Lopez joined Team Hammer. In 2006, riding for Erion Honda, Hayes won in Formula Xtreme and added six Superstock top-five finishes.
His career also spans endurance events, including Le Mans, and FIM Supersport World Championship competition with Parkalgar Honda. In 2011 he substituted for Colin Edwards at Tech 3 Yamaha in MotoGP, led the Valencia warmup, and placed seventh in the race.
Hayes’s longevity and 50% podium rate may reinforce motorcycle road racing’s appeal across generations, giving longtime fans a familiar benchmark while offering younger riders a model of sustained professionalism. His continued success at 51 could draw attention to amateur and club-level pathways, endurance and international competition, and the value of experience in motorsport. Sponsors, teams, and event organizers may benefit from the visibility, though the story’s broader societal reach likely remains concentrated among racing enthusiasts rather than the general public.