Suzuki Championship At Road Atlanta
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Road Atlanta
Braselton, Georgia
April 14, 2018
Motul Superbike Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), 21 laps, Total Race Time 29:58.177, Best Lap Time 1:25.094
2. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), -5.123 seconds, 1:25.059
3. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R1), -12.955, 1:25.501
4. Bobby Fong (Yam YZF-R1), -22.481, 1:25.772
5. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), -24.223, 1:25.742
6. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R1), -35.296, 1:26.372
7. Danny Eslick (BMW S1000RR), -42.629, 1:26.995
8. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10RR), -43.203, 1:26.756
9. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), -68.213, 1:26.017, crash
10. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1S), -69.741, 1:27.722
11. Sebastiao Ferreira (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 1:30.407
12. Bruno Silva (Kaw ZX-10R), -1 lap, 1:30.842
13. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), -20 laps, DNF, crash, 1:25.570
14. Cameron Petersen (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -21 laps, DNF, crash
15. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), DNS
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Elias Shines In Road Atlanta Opener
JD Beach Wins A Supersport Thriller
BRASELTON, GA (April 14, 2018) – Yoshimura Suzuki’s defending MotoAmerica Motul Superbike Champion Toni Elias started the 2018 MotoAmerica season with a bang today in the Suzuki Championship at Road Atlanta, the Spaniard riding to a 5.123-second victory to begin his title defense.
The win comes on the heels of Elias’ 10-win 2017 season that earned him his first Superbike title. Elias won both races in last year’s series opener at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, and he will try to emulate that fast start tomorrow in race two at Road Atlanta.
Elias led the Motul Superbike race from the beginning, was hounded from behind by Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz early on, but eventually pulled away to win the 17th Superbike race of his career on a partially sunny day at Road Atlanta by a tad over five seconds.
“My board showed me that Mathew (Scholtz) was only point one to point two (of a second behind), but I did not know what was behind us,” Elias said. “I turned back and saw the group that was two seconds behind, and I thought that was the time to continue pushing to the end. My surprise was when Mathew passed me. He was doing a good job. At that moment, I thought, ‘Man, this is not good.’ My pace was good. It was time to push, and I was doing that all the time, so at the end it was perfect.”
Scholtz, who had a brief moment at the front when he passed Elias on the fifth lap, ended up an impressive second in his Superbike debut.
“For the first proper race in Superbike, it was really nice to be battling up front with Toni (Elias), the defending champion,” Scholtz said. “I learned quite a few things today. I kind of knew from the practice sessions that I could run the pace, but I thought around mid-race that we’d start going a little slower. That didn’t happen until, maybe lap 14 or 15, which was quite a surprise. All in all, I’m very, very happy. I finished quite a few seconds behind Toni, which, being right there until the last couple of laps was good, but being there at the end is something that we need to work on. The Yamalube/Westby Racing team gave me a brilliant bike. Congratulations to Toni.”
Third place went to another Superbike rookie, Garrett Gerloff. Gerloff and his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing was 12.9 seconds behind Elias at the finish, but some 10.5 seconds ahead of fourth-placed Bobby Fong on the Quicksilver/LEXIN/Hudson Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1.
“I was a little nervous, but I thought I had a good pace today,” Gerloff said. “We’ve done a lot of testing, so I’m comfortable on the Superbike. It took a couple of laps to get loosened up and everything. And, with Cameron (Beaubier) crashing out on the first lap and Roger (Hayden) crashing right after that, it sucked to see that, but it gave me a little bit of breathing room, which was nice. Roger was good in some places, and I was good in others, so we were kind of clashing with each other in a few spots. I’m glad that I got to see what (Toni Elias and Mathew Scholtz) were doing in first and second, but they had a pretty good gap over me. I feel good, though. And I thought, ‘This is my first Superbike race, so just manage the gap and maintain my lead over the riders behind me.’ I’m glad to get this one out of the way. I’m ready to move on and build from here. I’ve got a smile on my face.”
Fifth place went to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’ Jake Lewis, the Kentuckian chasing Fong to the finish and well clear of Kyle Wyman Racing’s Kyle Wyman. Wyman was 7.3 seconds ahead of Scheibe Racing’s Danny Eslick. Fly Street Racing’s David Anthony was eighth.
And what of two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier and last year’s championship runner-up Roger Hayden? Beaubier crashed his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing R1 on the opening lap, remounted and finished ninth. Hayden also crashed early but was unable to continue as his Yoshimura Suzuki was too damaged to ride.
Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Cameron Petersen was another first-lap crasher, the South African going down at high speed.
Tenth place went to Attack Performance/Herrin Compound’s Josh Herrin, the 2013 Superbike Champion riding his track bike – a Yamaha YZF-R1S – as his racebike is stuck in a broken-down truck in Louisiana.
Supersport – Beach Over Gillim
Monster Energy/Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha’s JD Beach started fast and finished fast to win the opening round of the Supersport Series. And, in between, he was hounded mercifully by his friend Hayden Gillim and his Rickdiculous Racing Yamaha R6. At the finish line of the red-flag interrupted race it was Beach over Gillim by just .223 of a second.
“Both of my starts were really good,” Beach said. “The R6 gets off the line really quick. I don’t know if it was because it was hotter today, but the track seemed greasy, and it was a little bit hard for me to get going. Once I saw that Hayden (Gillim) was starting to catch me, I had to go, and I dropped about half a second or so (in lap times), then I consistently ran those laps. I think the last lap would have been that fast, too, but we had someone in (Turn) 10A who was right on the race line, and it wasn’t safe for me to pass him. We’ve been running into that all weekend. There are some guys out there who are making it unsafe for us, and it’s a tough situation. But, all in all, I’m glad to get this win, and we’ll try to do the same thing tomorrow.”
Third place went to Cory West, the racing veteran filling in admirably for the injured Valetin Debise on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. West was some 6.5 seconds behind Beach and just .131 of a second ahead of M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden in his first outing in the Supersport class. McFadden won both Superstock 600 races here a season ago.
Tuned Racing’s Braeden Ortt rounded out the top five finishers in the red-flag interrupted race. Ortt had crashed out of the first part, taking Gillim with him. But both riders were fortunate that Michael Gilbert’s crash brought out the red flag that allowed them to restart with the rest of the field. Gilbert suffered facial injuries in his accident, but no broken bones.
Junior Cup – All Dumas
Alex Dumas rode his Orange Brigade/JP43 Training KTM to victory in the first-ever Liqui Moly Junior Cup class, the 15-year-old French Canadian besting Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates and his Kawasaki by 5.306 seconds. Ghilliman Racing’s Sean Ungvarsky rode his KTM RC390 R to third place – 35.535 seconds behind his pseudo teammate.
“Every time I do the practice start on the bike, I wasn’t that good, but surprisingly, I did a really good start today, and I’m happy that I got the holeshot,” Dumas said. “I kept my head down throughout the whole race, and I’m really happy with the result.”
Fourth place went to Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Jamie Astudillo, the female racer having by far her best performance in a road race on her new Kawasaki Ninja 400. Astudillo barely beat the first Yamaha in the race, the MP13 Racing R3 ridden to fifth by last year’s KTM RC Cup Series runner-up Cory Ventura.
Twins Cup – Parrish By A Whisker
Ghetto Custom’s Chris Parrish rode his Suzuki SV650 to a narrow .057 of a second victory over the Yamaha FZ-07 of Altus Motorsports’ Jason Madama, the two fighting it out all the way to a photo finish at the end of the 12-lap race at Road Atlanta.
“I was watching (second-place finisher Jason Madama), and I was trying not to make mistakes because I knew that he was coming,” Parrish said. “I saw Curtis (Murray) behind me for most of the race, and then, I saw (Jason) on the last lap. I’ve been here (at Road Atlanta) before (on an) underpowered (motorcycle). We came to this race 12 horsepower underpowered on the SV (650). The Yamaha is a rocketship, and I knew that I needed to work hard to stay in front of Jason. I’m glad I got first.”
Madama was a Yamaha sandwich between the Suzuki bread with Curtis Murray riding his SV650 to third place after a mistake cost him the chance to run with the top two. Murray was 4.7 seconds behind at the finish.
Evansville Superbike Shop’s Shane Perry and Bucketlist Racing/RBOM’s Dustin Ducote rounded out the top five. Both were Suzuki SV650 mounted.
More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki:
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias Victorious in 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Season Opener
Defending Champ Wins by Over Five Seconds on Suzuki GSX-R1000
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Toni Elias began his MotoAmerica Superbike title defense with a hard-fought victory in Saturday’s race at the Suzuki Championship at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.
(Braselton, GA – April 14, 2018) — Toni Elias opened his MotoAmerica Superbike title defense by scoring victory aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing GSX-R1000 in race one Saturday at the Suzuki Championship at Road Atlanta. Elias battled Mathew Scholtz much of the race before pulling away to a 5.123-second victory.
It marked Elias’ 17th-career MotoAmerica Superbike win. It was also the 190th MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike victory for the Yoshimura Suzuki squad, and the 195th for Suzuki.
Roger Hayden crashed and was unhurt, but out of the race.
Elias reflected on his battle for the lead with Scholtz.
“My board showed my that Mathew was only 0.1-0.2 (back), but I did not know what was behind us,” Elias said. “I turned back and saw the group that was two seconds behind and I thought that was the time to continue pushing to the end. My surprise was when Mathew passed me. He was doing a good job, At that moment I thought, ‘Man, this is not good.’”
But Elias rallied and used the razor-sharp handling of his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to quickly take back the lead and from there he began to pull clear en route to victory.
“My pace was good,” Elias continued. “It was time to push and I was doing that all the time, so at the end it was perfect.”
Earlier in the day Suzuki’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing Kerry Graeber presented Elias a custom-made surfboard in a appreciation for his championship-winning effort of 2017. Surfing is one of Elias’ favorite pastimes.
The victory for the team was the perfect way to kick off the 40th anniversary celebration. Inside the paddock there is special 40th anniversary display featuring some of significant Yoshimura Suzukis from the past and a timeline detailing the successful history of the team. Suzuki’s Graeber also presented Don Sakakura, President of Yoshimura Racing, a commemorative plaque honoring the team for last year’s championship and their 40-year relationship with Suzuki.
Racing continues at the Suzuki Championship at Road Atlanta on Sunday.
For team media guide click here.
For additional information visit: www.motoamerica.com
You can keep up with the team’s progress by visiting yoshimura-racing.com and www.suzukicycles.com/Racing and via YouTube at www.suzukicycles.com/Racing
More, from a press release issued by Yamalube/Westby Racing:
All In One Day: Superpole And A Superbike Race 1 Runner-Up Result Go To Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz On Saturday At Road Atlanta
Braselton, GA – April 14, 2018 – Mathew Scholtz and Yamalube/Westby Racing got the first weekend of their inaugural MotoAmerica Superbike season off to a great start on Saturday at Road Atlanta.
Mathew, the 2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Champion, was the fastest rider in Superbike Superpole (final qualifying), which earned him the right to start the afternoon’s feature race from the first position on the starting grid aboard his #11 Yamaha YZF-R1.
From the outset, the “Durban Dynamo” gave defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias all he could handle, and he even got around Elias and took the lead at one point early in the race.
“It was really nice to be battling up front with Toni (Elias), and I learned quite a few things today. I kind of knew from the practice sessions that I could run the pace, but I thought around mid-race that we’d start going a little slower. That didn’t happen until, maybe lap 14 or 15, which was quite a surprise. All in all, I’m very, very happy. I finished quite a few seconds behind Toni, which, being right there until the last couple of laps was good, but being there at the end is something that we need to work on. The Yamalube/Westby Racing team gave me a brilliant bike today, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Mathew will line up in the pole position again tomorrow for Superbike Race 2, which will go green at 3:30 PM Eastern Time.
For more updates about Yamalube/Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Yamaha bLU cRU Riders Successful at Road Atlanta
Podium Finishes Throughout Saturday’s Season Opener
Braselton, Ga. – April 15, 2018 – Saturday kicked off day one of racing at Road Atlanta for the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, and Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing team rider Garrett Gerloff came out swinging with a remarkable third-place performance in his Superbike debut on the #31 YZF-R1.
Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha’s JD Beach was also ready for battle, producing a winning performance in the Supersport class, while Yamaha bLU cRU riders Mathew Scholtz and Hayden Gillim joined their factory teammates on the podium with hard-fought second-place finishes in their respective classes.
Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing
On Friday, the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing Team worked to fine-tune the chassis set-up and electronics program on the R1 Superbikes ridden by Beaubier and Gerloff, which gave both riders a solid platform to begin the race weekend.
The arduous work paid off, with Beaubier landing a first-row starting position, and Gerloff a second-row position, at the end of Saturday’s Superpole qualifier.
When the green flag waved for the Superbike race later in the day, Beaubier was off to a great start when he tucked the front-end of his #6 R1 in turn 10 and went down on the first lap. The Northern California native picked up his bike and fought hard to finish out the race in ninth-place, claiming valuable points toward the championship chase.
Meanwhile, Gerloff found his pace on the #31 R1, and executed a calm and collected performance to finish third in his Superbike debut.
Garrett Gerloff – #31 YZF-R1
“I was happy and disappointed with third today. You know, I’m a racer. I don’t want to get third, I want to go for the win, but I’m glad I got the first-race jitters out of the way and to put my R1 on the podium in the first race feels great – I’ll take it! I had a really good pace with Mathew and Tony but I did the best I could, and that’s all I can ever do. I’m looking forward to whatever comes tomorrow.”
Cameron Beaubier – #6 YZF-R1
“I’m really disappointed in myself because I knew we had good pace to run up front and contend for the win. I’m frustrated because I honestly felt like I went into that corner pretty much the same as I had all weekend. I was fortunate enough to collect a couple points and finish out the race, but I’m bummed out for myself and my guys – they’re working really hard. We’re going to regroup and try to fight back tomorrow and get a good result.”
Tom Halverson – Team Manager
“We’re really proud of Garrett to have such a great race pace at his first MotoAmerica Superbike event. He kept his composure, he didn’t ride over his head, and he was riding a nice solid pace to get a podium finish in his first race and we’re super proud of that result. Cameron’s day didn’t go as we expected it to. We knew he could run up front and I think he did, too. He’s not really sure why he crashed, so that’s kind of a bummer, but you make the best out of your bad days and he got back up and finished with some points so it’s not all bad. We’re going to put it behind us and see if we can get a win tomorrow.”
Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha
In Saturday’s MotoAmerica Supersport race, JD Beach continued his solid streak at Road Atlanta by qualifying with a pole-position start and claiming a hard-fought victory over bLU cRU rider Hayden Gillim. JD was opening a comfortable lead at the start of the race when Gillim was caught in an incident with another rider and crashed. Just a few laps later, a red flag from another incident forced the riders to regroup and start again, placing Gillim back on the grid.
Beach put his head down and made good use of the Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Team’s hard work since the Dunlop Preseason Test at Barber Motorsports Park last month, as he rode a nearly flawless race on his #95 YZF-R6 to finish ahead of Gillim.
JD Beach – #95 YZF-R6
“Coming off the test at Barber, it didn’t go as smoothly as we would have hoped but the team and crew worked so hard and they’re really dedicated, so coming into this weekend it was all fixed. It was a close race today and in the past, Road Atlanta definitely hasn’t been one of my strong tracks so to come away with a win in the first race is awesome. We don’t know what it’s going to be like tomorrow, but it’s a long year and we’re ready to continue putting in the hard work.”
Chuck Graves – Team Manager
“For JD to get the win today in race one was excellent. It’s a new crew around the bike this year, a new spec engine, and a new exhaust pipe, so that changed a lot of things. But I think the flow is going good now.”
Additional Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Notes
Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz made an impressive start to the 2018 season by riding his YZF-R1 into pole-position in the Superbike class. Scholtz followed up his positive start with a second-place finish in Race 1.
Due to major mechanical issues leaving the team transporter on the side of the road in Louisiana, Josh Herrin’s Attack Performance/Herrin Compound/Yamaha R1 Superbike and spares never made it to Road Atlanta. Determined to race, Josh and his team went to work on prepping his 2016 YZF-R1S street bike, which he rode to a very impressive 10th place finish.
Hayden Gillim put up a good fight against Beach in the Supersport class, posting a close second-place finish on his Rickdiculous Racing YZF-R6. Tuned Racing’s Braeden Ortt rounded out the top-five on his YZF-R6.
Altus Motorsports/AP MotoArts team rider Jason Madama cemented his name in the MotoAmerica record books by riding his MT-07 to a second-place finish in the first-ever Twins Cup race.
It was a challenging day for Yamaha bLU cRU riders in the new Junior Cup class, where MotoAmerica is continuing to work towards finding the right limiting balance between motorcycles of different engine sizes and configurations. Nonetheless, riders in the Graves/Yamaha YZF-R3 Support Program soldiered on, receiving technical tips from team owner Chuck Graves, and guidance from bLU cRU Rider Coach Josh Hayes.
“We’ve got some great kids who learned a bunch in the first race,” said Chuck. “They’re all very enthusiastic and it’s really exciting stuff. Everybody is having a great time, and the rewards from working with these riders are really top-notch and very satisfying.”
2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings (After Race 1)
Pos. Rider Points
1 Tony Elias – Suzuki 25
2 Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha 20
3 Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 16
9 Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 7
2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings (After Race 1)
Pos. Rider Points
1 JD Beach – Yamaha 25
2 Hayden Gillim – Yamaha 20
3 Cory West – Suzuki 16
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing
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