BRANDON CLELAND JOINS TEAM HAMMER FOR 2017
Team Hammer has signed Brandon Cleland to contest the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Superstock 600 Championship aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600.
Cleland established himself as a dominant force in CMRA and WERA competition in recent seasons, culminating in a tremendous 2016 campaign.
This year, the Texan claimed the CMRA Expert Overall Championship for the second time in three seasons on the strength of a bevy of race wins across multiple classes. Additionally, Cleland racked up four National Challenge Series victories during the WERA Grand National Finals.
Previously, Cleland enjoyed an undefeated 600cc season in CMRA competition in 2014, claiming 19 of 19 wins en route to his first CMRA Expert Overall Championship.
“It’s a tremendous honor and opportunity to be a part of Team Hammer for 2017,” Cleland said. “I feel that with their expertise in professional racing and my drive to be successful, we put ourselves in a great position to achieve something special.”
Team manager Chris Ulrich said, “We’re excited to work with Brandon for 2017. He’s been really fast in CMRA, but he’s not yet had an opportunity like this in MotoAmerica. We want to see what he can do on a contending motorcycle.
“We’re always scouting for racers who have the potential, desire and determination needed to jump to the next level. We see that in Brandon. The CMRA is a very competitive series and he also had a really good GNF in the 600 classes. We think he’s ready to do well in Superstock 600, and the team looks forward to working with him this coming season.”
Cleland will appear on the Pit Pass Moto Show today, December 13, at 9:03 PM Eastern (6:03 Pacific).
This coming year (2017) will mark Team Hammer’s 37th consecutive season of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 61 AMA Pro National races, have finished on AMA Pro National podiums 153 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, as well as two FIM South American championships. The team has also won 133 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and won 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won the F-USA Championship four times.