More, from a press release issued by CSBK/Professional Motorsports Productions:
Dumas continues Calabogie perfection with race one victory over Young
Calabogie, ON – Alex Dumas’ epic run at Calabogie Motorsports Park continued on Saturday, as the defending CSBK Pro Superbike champion won race one of the round two doubleheader to keep his unbeaten streak at CMP alive and cut his championship deficit to just six points.
Dumas won all four contests at Calabogie last season and thus entered as the heavy favourite in his return, a case that was only bolstered when he captured the BS Battery pole position earlier on Saturday aboard his Liqui Moly/Fast School Suzuki.
That advantage was quickly erased, however, when rival Ben Young got a brilliant start off the line, leading the field into turn one and through the first few corners. His lead was just as short-lived, though, as Dumas instantly returned the favour in turn five and never looked back from there.
“I didn’t get the best start, but I got a better launch out of three and I was able to outbreak Ben into five,” Dumas said. “From there I just tried to put in a bunch of good laps, and rode a really good race to the end.”
It was a mixed bag in second for Young, who will be disappointed with the seven-point swing in Dumas’ favour but still looked strong as he debuted his brand new Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW M1000RR.
“It was our first weekend on the ‘M’, and there’s still a few things to sort out, but I felt good and I’m happy to still be here on the podium,” Young said. “We knew it would be a bit tough here, but we’re going to work through the night and come back stronger tomorrow to put it on the top of the box.”
It looked like a foregone conclusion that Dumas and Young would be joined by Trevor Daley on the podium, with Daley overcoming a slow start to latch onto the back of Young in third aboard his OneSpeed Suzuki.
However, Daley had a huge crash exiting turn eight with just four laps to go, handing the final podium spot to Sebastien Tremblay. It was a long-awaited return to the podium for Tremblay, who hadn’t stepped on the Superbike rostrum since 2015.
“It’s unfortunate for Trevor, but I’ll take it. It feels really good to be back up here,” Tremblay said. “I’ve been tired all weekend and didn’t really know where I could end up, so I’m very happy with this result.”
The podium will propel Tremblay to fourth in the overall standings and move Kawasaki to third in the Constructors behind BMW and Suzuki, though Daley limited the damage for Suzuki after re-mounting to finish eighth.
Samuel Guerin charged to fourth after a rollercoaster race, climbing as high as third on lap one and falling as low as seventh before eventually stealing fourth again on the final lap aboard his EFC Group BMW.
Guerin ultimately stole that spot from Michael Leon, though the strong fifth-place finish will still propel the Royal Distributing BMW rider back into the top ten overall as he recovers from a tough-luck opening round.
Another new name was added to the list of Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike winners on Saturday, as Elliot Vieira properly entered the title fight with his first ever Pro national victory over pole-sitter Trevor Dion.
Dion was the man out front for almost the entirety of the race, but was hounded by Vieira and David MacKay behind, with Vieira launching multiple unsuccessful pass attempts into turn eight alone. This eventually led to Dion stretching out a modest gap, but Vieira somehow managed to reel it all back in on the final lap and make the decisive move in turn six.
“It feels so amazing, I don’t know what to say,” said an emotional Vieira. “I decided to just follow Trevor and see how he would do, and at the end his pace started to fade so I just threw another move in there and it stuck!”
The win propels Vieira to just nine points behind Dion, as the Snow City Yamaha rider will look to carry his momentum into Sunday and erase that deficit completely. As for Dion, it was a disappointing finish in what was an otherwise shocking day, as he exceeded all expectations to bag pole position and a solid second-place finish for the LDS Consultants Kawasaki team.
The podium will preserve a slim title lead for Dion, but his biggest prize may be that he increased his gap over MacKay in third, who ran with the lead duo early on but was never able to make a proper overtake. The Fast Company Kawasaki rider will now fall to 20 points behind Dion, but with an opportunity to make up for it on Sunday.
The compressed Saturday schedule will lead to a pair of events moving to Sunday morning, including AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike qualifying and race one of the Super Sonic Race School Lightweight class, though there was still action in the Amateur Sport Bike and Lightweight Pro/Am categories.
Bobby Desjardins will start from pole position in Sunday’s Amateur Sport Bike race after crushing the field for Suzuki, with Yamaha riders Frederic Barnabe and Martin Richard joining him on the front row.
As for the Pro/Am, it was Jared Walker who took another overall race victory to extend his lead in the Pro ranks, holding off a strong challenge from Ryan Vanderputten who finished second on-track but will win the Amateur division.
Harvey Renaud and Gary McKinnon completed the podium in the Pro ranks by finishing third and fifth overall, while newcomer Andrew Cooney finished fourth on-track to take second in the Amateur division ahead of Bryce DeBoer in seventh across the line.
The full results from Sunday’s action can be found on the series official website at csbk.ca.
Gagne Wins, Closes To Within Two Points Of Petrucci
Medallia Superbike Race One At WeatherTech Raceway Is A Thriller With More To Come In GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Speedfest at Monterey
Jake Gagne (1), Danilo Petrucci (9), Mathew Schotz (11) and Cameron Petersen (45) lead MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One off the start on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MONTEREY, CA (July 9, 2022) – Ladies and gentlemen, Jake Gagne is on a roll and that should make everyone else in the MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship uncomfortable. Like shaking-in-their-boots uncomfortable.
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Gagne won his third straight race and his sixth of the season in the GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Speedfest at Monterey, the defending series champion doing what he does best: clearing off at the start, putting down quick and consistent laps and then maintaining his lead to the finish. At the end of the 20-lapper at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Gagne was 4.381 seconds ahead in winning the 23rd Superbike race of his career.
While Gagne was clear at the front, the battle for second was a thriller. On the final lap, Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen held the spot going into the Corkscrew for the last time. Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci hadn’t given up on the spot and he charged up the inside of the Yamaha, did a “soft touch” that pushed Petersen off track. Then the race was on to the bottom of the Corkscrew, ala Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, with Petersen coming back on track alongside Petrucci but with more momentum. A determined Petersen wasn’t going to lose this one and he beat Petrucci to the finish line by .280 of a second.
Petersen’s second-place finish was his seventh podium of year keeping him in fourth in series standings; and Petrucci’s ninth podium of the year sees him still atop the championship point standings, though that lead is now an anorexic two points over Gagne.
Richie Escalante had his best Superbike race of the season, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider finishing fourth. He was 17.5 seconds behind Gagne, but over five seconds ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African battling traction problems that made his Yamaha YZF-R1 barely rideable.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera was sixth, some five seconds ahead of his teammate PJ Jacobsen. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Kyle Wyman, who was filling in for the injured Jake Lewis, had a lonely ride to eighth with Champ School BPR Yamaha’s Bryce Prince ninth in his only MotoAmerica appearance of the season.
Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Travis Wyman rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Petrucci still leads the title chase over Gagne, 192-190, heading into tomorrow’s race two at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Scholtz is still third with 170 points, 11 clear of Petersen’s 159 points. Barbera rounds out the top five with 111 points.
Jake Gagne (1) won his sixth race of the season to move to within two points of Danilo Petrucci in the Medallia Superbike Championship. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Jake Gagne – Winner
“It’s kind of nice being on the inside here. But my initial jump was really strong. This Yamaha always gets off the line good. I got down into turn two pretty hard. I was expecting somebody to throw it up the inside, for sure. I think, like Danilo (Petrucci) said, maybe he missed a gear. I got a little lucky on the first lap I think to get that bit of a break. I came by first lap and on the pit board I see .3 or .4. It’s just enough to kind of make me run my lines and not have to ride too defensively. At that point it’s like, ‘Okay, just click off laps.’ I was a little bit surprised, honestly. I was a little surprised to see my gap growing a little bit more than I had anticipated. I thought everybody has been really, really tight all weekend. Throughout practice, we’ve really done our homework and just understanding what the race is going to feel like. It was slick. It was slick for everybody out there, I think, especially after those first six, seven, eight laps. You almost couldn’t even use full lean angle in a lot of the turns. But I had fun sliding around out there. I could see coming down, Cam’s (Petersen) pit board, P2, plus zero. I see Danilo, P3 pit board. So, I knew they were having a good fight back there. Tomorrow is going to be a different story. I know everybody is going to step it up tomorrow. Both of these guys are going to step it up. They’re going to have more speed, no doubt. So, hopefully we can try to do our homework, too, and get a little better and it’ll be another fight.”
Cameron Petersen – Second Place
“I don’t think there was contact when I came back past him. I knew I was going to have to do something because he obviously was going to get the run on me. So, I just tried everything I could. I really wanted to try to get one and two for the team in that one. Honestly, I’ve been waiting all year to have a nice, fun battle with somebody like that, especially Danilo (Petrucci). We’ve been off a little bit all year from Jake (Gagne). We’re figuring it out. That was a fun race. I had pressure from Danilo the whole time. I knew he was going to try something, just like every racer would, going into the last lap. I was pretty determined before that one. I really wanted to get a one and two for the team. We managed to make it happen. Congrats to these guys. I had a bunch of fun that race. I haven’t had pressure like that for a while. A bunch of fun riding with Danilo. Well done to my teammate, Jake. Once again, he’s just on another level. We’ll go do our homework and see if we can find a few things for tomorrow. Once again, those first few laps, we’ve got to figure it out. Looking forward to it.”
Danilo Petrucci – Third Place
“Yeah, it was nice. I made a gamble with the rear tire. This morning, I tried this tire, and it was a little bit better than in the afternoon. I made a mistake in the first corner. I was in third instead of second. I was losing a lot, especially the first two laps. But then I said, ‘Maybe the two guys with the softer option will drop a bit the pace.’ But in fact, it was not, because I was lap by lap more and more in trouble, especially with the corner speed. I was feeling always the rear sliding. I managed to stay with Cam (Petersen) but was really difficult for me to pass because I got no traction out of the corner. So, from the outside, I think everybody was thinking I was waiting until the last lap, but I got just the opportunity of the last lap because I was not thinking about the championship. I just tried to at least finish second. Unfortunately, the only thing with Cam was, not slower, but we got two different bikes and our lines are slightly different. I just have one meter of space. I tried to go in. I said, ‘Hopefully, he will not close the line. ‘Fortunately, we did just a soft touch. But then I was a little bit less happy when I saw him coming again. Definitely, I think from the outside it was good to watch. Unfortunately, everyone forgot that Jake was miles away, and this is the main problem for tomorrow. For today, I enjoyed. Congrats to these two guys. We are really having fun. It’s nice to have racing like this.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Polesitter Scholtz Ends Up Fifth In MotoAmerica Superbike Race One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads PJ Jacobsen (66) during Superbike Race One at Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Monterey, CA – July 9, 2022 – Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca started out in the best of ways for Mathew Scholtz. With the fastest lap in the morning’s final qualifying session, Mathew put his #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 in the pole position for the weekend’s two Superbike races.
The start of the race didn’t go as he hoped, however. Due to a technical problem, he found himself in fourth by the completion of the first lap. He slipped back to fifth on lap two, and then sixth on lap four. On lap 14, Mathew was able to move up to fifth, and he maintained the position all the way to the checkered flag.
Fifth place certainly wasn’t the result that Mathew and the Westby Racing team expected, particularly after earning the pole, but the rider and the team are resilient, and Mathew will start again from the number-one position on the grid in Sunday’s race.
“Getting the pole position was quite a big step for us,” Mathew said. “It’s been a while since we’ve put the bike on pole, and that just shows how well the team’s been working and how much we’ve improved. We expected a good race, to be up front, and to at least be part for the battle for the lead. But, from the first corner, it was pretty obvious that we had a technical problem that affected the rear grip on the bike. After the race, we realized what the problem was, so we can go out tomorrow and concentrate on our outright pace knowing that we won’t have the problem again. The morning warmup is going to be important, but I know we have a bike that can be at the front. Everything is going in the right direction, so tomorrow, I’ve just got to put my head down and do the best I can.”
Sunday’s Superbike race two starts at 3:10 p.m. PT, and it will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.
For all the action from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 10:45 to 11 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don’t miss it.
Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., Pro-Bolt USA, and Yoshimura R&D of America, Inc., are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.
Alexander Takes Control With Yuasa Stock 1000 Win At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Support-Class Action Is Fast And Furious In GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Speedfest At Monterey
MONTEREY, CA (July 9, 2022) – Based on practice and qualifying at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Yuasa Stock 1000 race was set to be a thrill-fest of epic proportions. Corey Alexander, however, had a different idea of how the race would play out and he turned it into a blowout, the Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC-backed New Yorker taking control from the get-go and never looking back.
The win was Alexander’s fourth in a row and fifth of the season and it gives him a 17-point lead over Hayden Gillim in the race for the MotoAmerica Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship.
Yuasa Stock 1000 – Alexander Dominates
Corey Alexander (23) made the Yuasa Stock 1000 class his own on Saturday with a runaway win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The Yuasa Stock 1000 class had one race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and polesitter Alexander made the most of it. The Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing BMW rider expected a close battle at the front, but it never materialized, and Alexander led the 14-lap race from start to finish. The New Yorker’s gap at the checkered flag was nearly five seconds over second-place finisher Champ School BPR Racing Yamaha rider Bryce Prince, the former MotoAmerica regular returning to the paddock just for the Laguna Seca round. Disrupt Racing Suzuki’s Gillim, who is second to Alexander in the point standings, finished third.
“Once I saw plus three on my board, I kind of calmed down a little bit,” Alexander said. “Honestly, my whole plan was to kind of go out and ride a little more relaxed. I have a tendency when I go out those first couple laps just to over-ride and end up making mistakes, or just pushing a little bit too hard and ending up going slower. So, I was really forcing myself to go slower, but the times were coming a little bit easier that way. I just said I was going to go out there and ride the race and if those guys were coming with me, it was going to be a fun battle. If they weren’t, even better. That’s kind of how it turned out. Really just have to give a hats-off to the team because it wasn’t that easy yesterday. I was a little bit frustrated in Q1 just because we went around in circles a little bit. We made some pretty big changes and then went back to where we started and then went back again. So, that was a little bit tough. This morning we had our direction and things were working a lot better. Just happy to come away with that. Kind of like what I said at the last race – if I can just keep doing this, then the points will take care of themselves. That’s what I’m focused on. Really, really excited. I know the second half of the season is going to be more in Hayden’s favor, so I’m just kind of preparing myself for that. He goes good at Pittsburgh and some of those other tracks that are not always my best. We need every point we can get now. We’ll see how those races go in the future.”
Supersport – Herrin vs. Scott
Josh Herrin (2) battled with Tyler Scott (70) in the first of two Supersport races on Saturday before racing to his sixth win of the season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
After suffering a crash that was not his fault in Supersport final qualifying, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin bounced back in a big way, notching his sixth win of the season and third victory in a row in the afternoon’s race. Keeping Herrin honest for the majority of the 19-lap race was polesitter Tyler Scott, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider hounding Herrin, but eventually finishing second and a little over one-and-a-half seconds adrift of him.
Rocco Landers finished third on his Landers Racing Yamaha to make it three different motorcycle brands on the podium.
“When I saw a plus .7 or something at one point, I kind of settled into the pace I was doing thinking that I was going to be able to maintain the gap,” said Herrin. “I don’t know if it was Tyler the whole time or not, or somebody caught back up. I looked back and saw that it was Tyler. Then, the second time I looked back, I was just kind of trying to see if somebody else was behind him so I knew if he makes a pass on me, can we battle, can we not? I saw him wave. That stuff fires me up. I love that kind of stuff. To me, it’s kind of like a motivator and gets me having fun and forgetting a little bit about the pressure that’s on me. So, at the end of the race, I was just having fun waving back because it felt like it was a funny thing to do. Just having fun. That’s the whole thing about this year is having fun. I feel like when I’m having fun, I’m in that mode where nothing can stop me. The team has been very nice. The guys have been very nice, letting me do the stuff I do on the street and let me be me at the track. It seems to be working. After the crash this morning, I feel fine, luckily. My neck is just a little bit stiff. It might be a different story tomorrow, but luckily these races are a little bit shorter than the Superbike races. I’m used to those, and hopefully we can grunt it out tomorrow.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Drama Rules The Day
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Race One had plenty of drama and was eventually won by Joe LiMandri Jr. (62). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Saturday’s SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race had a lot of drama with a couple of crashes changing the way things finished. In fact, one of the crashes involving SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki’s Max Van and Altus Motorsports Kawasaki’s Kayla Yaakov led to a red flag with two laps left to go, and the race was called. Van’s teammate Joseph LiMandri Jr. took the victory by .513 of a second over Alpha Omega Kawasaki rider Cody Wyman. Bicknese Racing Kawasaki’s Hayden Bicknese was third, the Missouri-based rider celebrating his 16th birthday a few days early with his first MotoAmerica podium.
“Like I said on the podium, there was a high chance something was going to happen with how close the grid was,” LiMandri Jr. said. “I just wanted to get out front, put down laps. The pace was really off. I went almost a second slower than I did in qualifying, which is usually not like me. I usually go at least a second faster. The track didn’t feel that good. We definitely have some setup to fix for tomorrow. Honestly, it was a pretty good race. It just sucks that I won because a lot of other people crashed. But at least I was in front of the pack for the whole race. So, it’s not like I just randomly got it. It feels good to be back up here again.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Ventura, Finally
Cory Ventura (28) won the REV’IT! Twins Cup race on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Saturday wrapped up with Twins Cup, which like Stock 1000, was their only race of the weekend. Cory Ventura, who podiumed twice at Laguna Seca in Supersport last year, proved that the home of the Corkscrew is home sweet home for him as he took the checkered flag in Twins Cup aboard his MP13 Racing Yamaha for his first win this season. N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha’s Blake Davis finished second for his best finish since winning the first Twins Cup race of the season at Daytona this past March. Polesitter Kaleb De Keyrel, who started on the pole, rounded out the podium in third aboard his Veloce Racing Aprilia.
“It’s been one of those learning years for me,” said Ventura. “I had to take it one step at a time, rebuilding myself. I finally have put myself aside. I’m so stubborn. I’m like, ‘I can ride this thing like a 600. I’m going to make it work this way.’ When we were at the Ridge, I was like, ‘Yeah, it doesn’t really work like that.’ So, these guys have been schooling me all year. The team has built me an amazing motorcycle. Like I said, I did some testing at Thunderhill last weekend. Really nice to be home. It put me back in my place. One step at a time, we got our bike back.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA LLC:
SCOTT AND ESCALANTE IMPRESS FOR VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI AT LAGUNA SECA
Suzuki GSX-R750 Adds to Supersport Podium Count
BREA, Calif., July 9, 2022 — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued their front-running ways at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, adding another pole position and podium finish to their impressive tally during the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season.
Tyler Scott has shown himself to be a week-in, week-out threat for victory in MotoAmerica Supersport competition aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, and the 16-year-old rookie only furthered that notion on Saturday.
Pole position and second place for Tyler Scott (70) to start the weekend right at the iconic Laguna Seca. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Scott opened the race from pole after setting the pace in qualifying and then made full use of that remarkable speed in running down the early leader after getting away in third. He made methodical progress to close the gap completely, even leading briefly on Lap 11 of 19.
Scott’s bid to add a second win to his rookie campaign was ultimately undone due to an unfortunate run through lappers, but he’ll gladly take a runner-up result in his first-ever Supersport race at the legendary raceway with an eye on further improvement tomorrow.
“The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team put an amazing bike underneath me for this race today,” said Scott. “I was just trying to keep a fast pace and keep the pressure on. I knew it was going to be a hard race, but I was ready to fight. We just had a few challenges near the end, but it was an amazing race. We’ll make a few small changes for tomorrow and come back stronger.”
With a hard crash in qualifying, Liam Grant (90) could not start the Supersport race. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Cory Ventura (24) aboard his new GSX-R750 made his way into the top 10 in Supersport Race One with an eighth-place finish. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Team regular Liam Grant joined the mending Sam Lochoff on the shelf after suffering a concussion in a qualifying crash. Despite the absences of Grant and Lochoff, Scott was still joined in the top ten by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki substitute rider Cory Ventura, who made his race debut aboard the next-generation GSX-R750. Ventura finished a close eighth after qualifying fifth and running as high as sixth and helped Suzuki lock down a full half of the class’s top ten finishing positions on the day.
Meanwhile, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Superbike rookie, Richie Escalante, enjoyed a hugely encouraging outing in the premier class.
Escalante more than backed up his strong sixth-placed qualifying performance aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R. He got away from the line in fifth and promptly executed a successful overtake to move up into fourth on Lap 2. He did well to keep the podium battle in sight for several laps, pulling free of the riders behind him en route to an eventual fourth-place finish.
Another top-10 finish for Richie Escalante (54) after big strides getting used to the new Superbike speed. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Escalante said, “So far, it has been the best weekend yet for me on the Superbike – the best qualifying and the best race. I think at the Ridge, we made many improvements, so I came into this weekend with more expectations but also, I was more confident and relaxed.
“The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team has worked great, and now we are more focused on smaller changes that keep improving the bike. After I made the pass for fourth, I was by myself so I focused on my riding, the exits, and my rhythm. We still need to improve our pace but we are still learning. This is a good result and we will keep working harder.”
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Multi-time Superbike podium finisher Kyle Wyman did well in substitute duty, adding yet another top ten to the team’s total on the day while riding in place of the injured Jake Lewis aboard the second GSX-R1000R.
While focusing on the continued development of the machine in anticipation of Lewis’ eventual return, Wyman improved his speed in every session. He continued his forward momentum in the race, transforming a 12th-place grid slot into an eighth-place finish.
Team Hammer is looking to build on its promising Saturday with an even better Sunday as the MotoAmerica round at Laguna Seca concludes.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer’s 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 129 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 341 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 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 four F-USA Championships.
ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.
ABOUT SUZUKI
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
More, from a press release issued by CSBK/Professional Motorsports Productions:
Dumas continues Calabogie perfection with race one victory over Young
Calabogie, ON – Alex Dumas’ epic run at Calabogie Motorsports Park continued on Saturday, as the defending CSBK Pro Superbike champion won race one of the round two doubleheader to keep his unbeaten streak at CMP alive and cut his championship deficit to just six points.
Dumas won all four contests at Calabogie last season and thus entered as the heavy favourite in his return, a case that was only bolstered when he captured the BS Battery pole position earlier on Saturday aboard his Liqui Moly/Fast School Suzuki.
That advantage was quickly erased, however, when rival Ben Young got a brilliant start off the line, leading the field into turn one and through the first few corners. His lead was just as short-lived, though, as Dumas instantly returned the favour in turn five and never looked back from there.
“I didn’t get the best start, but I got a better launch out of three and I was able to outbreak Ben into five,” Dumas said. “From there I just tried to put in a bunch of good laps, and rode a really good race to the end.”
It was a mixed bag in second for Young, who will be disappointed with the seven-point swing in Dumas’ favour but still looked strong as he debuted his brand new Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW M1000RR.
“It was our first weekend on the ‘M’, and there’s still a few things to sort out, but I felt good and I’m happy to still be here on the podium,” Young said. “We knew it would be a bit tough here, but we’re going to work through the night and come back stronger tomorrow to put it on the top of the box.”
It looked like a foregone conclusion that Dumas and Young would be joined by Trevor Daley on the podium, with Daley overcoming a slow start to latch onto the back of Young in third aboard his OneSpeed Suzuki.
However, Daley had a huge crash exiting turn eight with just four laps to go, handing the final podium spot to Sebastien Tremblay. It was a long-awaited return to the podium for Tremblay, who hadn’t stepped on the Superbike rostrum since 2015.
“It’s unfortunate for Trevor, but I’ll take it. It feels really good to be back up here,” Tremblay said. “I’ve been tired all weekend and didn’t really know where I could end up, so I’m very happy with this result.”
The podium will propel Tremblay to fourth in the overall standings and move Kawasaki to third in the Constructors behind BMW and Suzuki, though Daley limited the damage for Suzuki after re-mounting to finish eighth.
Samuel Guerin charged to fourth after a rollercoaster race, climbing as high as third on lap one and falling as low as seventh before eventually stealing fourth again on the final lap aboard his EFC Group BMW.
Guerin ultimately stole that spot from Michael Leon, though the strong fifth-place finish will still propel the Royal Distributing BMW rider back into the top ten overall as he recovers from a tough-luck opening round.
Another new name was added to the list of Liqui Moly Pro Sport Bike winners on Saturday, as Elliot Vieira properly entered the title fight with his first ever Pro national victory over pole-sitter Trevor Dion.
Dion was the man out front for almost the entirety of the race, but was hounded by Vieira and David MacKay behind, with Vieira launching multiple unsuccessful pass attempts into turn eight alone. This eventually led to Dion stretching out a modest gap, but Vieira somehow managed to reel it all back in on the final lap and make the decisive move in turn six.
“It feels so amazing, I don’t know what to say,” said an emotional Vieira. “I decided to just follow Trevor and see how he would do, and at the end his pace started to fade so I just threw another move in there and it stuck!”
The win propels Vieira to just nine points behind Dion, as the Snow City Yamaha rider will look to carry his momentum into Sunday and erase that deficit completely. As for Dion, it was a disappointing finish in what was an otherwise shocking day, as he exceeded all expectations to bag pole position and a solid second-place finish for the LDS Consultants Kawasaki team.
The podium will preserve a slim title lead for Dion, but his biggest prize may be that he increased his gap over MacKay in third, who ran with the lead duo early on but was never able to make a proper overtake. The Fast Company Kawasaki rider will now fall to 20 points behind Dion, but with an opportunity to make up for it on Sunday.
The compressed Saturday schedule will lead to a pair of events moving to Sunday morning, including AIM Insurance Amateur Superbike qualifying and race one of the Super Sonic Race School Lightweight class, though there was still action in the Amateur Sport Bike and Lightweight Pro/Am categories.
Bobby Desjardins will start from pole position in Sunday’s Amateur Sport Bike race after crushing the field for Suzuki, with Yamaha riders Frederic Barnabe and Martin Richard joining him on the front row.
As for the Pro/Am, it was Jared Walker who took another overall race victory to extend his lead in the Pro ranks, holding off a strong challenge from Ryan Vanderputten who finished second on-track but will win the Amateur division.
Harvey Renaud and Gary McKinnon completed the podium in the Pro ranks by finishing third and fifth overall, while newcomer Andrew Cooney finished fourth on-track to take second in the Amateur division ahead of Bryce DeBoer in seventh across the line.
The full results from Sunday’s action can be found on the series official website at csbk.ca.
Gagne Wins, Closes To Within Two Points Of Petrucci
Medallia Superbike Race One At WeatherTech Raceway Is A Thriller With More To Come In GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Speedfest at Monterey
Jake Gagne (1), Danilo Petrucci (9), Mathew Schotz (11) and Cameron Petersen (45) lead MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One off the start on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MONTEREY, CA (July 9, 2022) – Ladies and gentlemen, Jake Gagne is on a roll and that should make everyone else in the MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship uncomfortable. Like shaking-in-their-boots uncomfortable.
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Gagne won his third straight race and his sixth of the season in the GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Speedfest at Monterey, the defending series champion doing what he does best: clearing off at the start, putting down quick and consistent laps and then maintaining his lead to the finish. At the end of the 20-lapper at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Gagne was 4.381 seconds ahead in winning the 23rd Superbike race of his career.
While Gagne was clear at the front, the battle for second was a thriller. On the final lap, Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen held the spot going into the Corkscrew for the last time. Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci hadn’t given up on the spot and he charged up the inside of the Yamaha, did a “soft touch” that pushed Petersen off track. Then the race was on to the bottom of the Corkscrew, ala Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, with Petersen coming back on track alongside Petrucci but with more momentum. A determined Petersen wasn’t going to lose this one and he beat Petrucci to the finish line by .280 of a second.
Petersen’s second-place finish was his seventh podium of year keeping him in fourth in series standings; and Petrucci’s ninth podium of the year sees him still atop the championship point standings, though that lead is now an anorexic two points over Gagne.
Richie Escalante had his best Superbike race of the season, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider finishing fourth. He was 17.5 seconds behind Gagne, but over five seconds ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African battling traction problems that made his Yamaha YZF-R1 barely rideable.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera was sixth, some five seconds ahead of his teammate PJ Jacobsen. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Kyle Wyman, who was filling in for the injured Jake Lewis, had a lonely ride to eighth with Champ School BPR Yamaha’s Bryce Prince ninth in his only MotoAmerica appearance of the season.
Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Travis Wyman rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Petrucci still leads the title chase over Gagne, 192-190, heading into tomorrow’s race two at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Scholtz is still third with 170 points, 11 clear of Petersen’s 159 points. Barbera rounds out the top five with 111 points.
Jake Gagne (1) won his sixth race of the season to move to within two points of Danilo Petrucci in the Medallia Superbike Championship. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Jake Gagne – Winner
“It’s kind of nice being on the inside here. But my initial jump was really strong. This Yamaha always gets off the line good. I got down into turn two pretty hard. I was expecting somebody to throw it up the inside, for sure. I think, like Danilo (Petrucci) said, maybe he missed a gear. I got a little lucky on the first lap I think to get that bit of a break. I came by first lap and on the pit board I see .3 or .4. It’s just enough to kind of make me run my lines and not have to ride too defensively. At that point it’s like, ‘Okay, just click off laps.’ I was a little bit surprised, honestly. I was a little surprised to see my gap growing a little bit more than I had anticipated. I thought everybody has been really, really tight all weekend. Throughout practice, we’ve really done our homework and just understanding what the race is going to feel like. It was slick. It was slick for everybody out there, I think, especially after those first six, seven, eight laps. You almost couldn’t even use full lean angle in a lot of the turns. But I had fun sliding around out there. I could see coming down, Cam’s (Petersen) pit board, P2, plus zero. I see Danilo, P3 pit board. So, I knew they were having a good fight back there. Tomorrow is going to be a different story. I know everybody is going to step it up tomorrow. Both of these guys are going to step it up. They’re going to have more speed, no doubt. So, hopefully we can try to do our homework, too, and get a little better and it’ll be another fight.”
Cameron Petersen – Second Place
“I don’t think there was contact when I came back past him. I knew I was going to have to do something because he obviously was going to get the run on me. So, I just tried everything I could. I really wanted to try to get one and two for the team in that one. Honestly, I’ve been waiting all year to have a nice, fun battle with somebody like that, especially Danilo (Petrucci). We’ve been off a little bit all year from Jake (Gagne). We’re figuring it out. That was a fun race. I had pressure from Danilo the whole time. I knew he was going to try something, just like every racer would, going into the last lap. I was pretty determined before that one. I really wanted to get a one and two for the team. We managed to make it happen. Congrats to these guys. I had a bunch of fun that race. I haven’t had pressure like that for a while. A bunch of fun riding with Danilo. Well done to my teammate, Jake. Once again, he’s just on another level. We’ll go do our homework and see if we can find a few things for tomorrow. Once again, those first few laps, we’ve got to figure it out. Looking forward to it.”
Danilo Petrucci – Third Place
“Yeah, it was nice. I made a gamble with the rear tire. This morning, I tried this tire, and it was a little bit better than in the afternoon. I made a mistake in the first corner. I was in third instead of second. I was losing a lot, especially the first two laps. But then I said, ‘Maybe the two guys with the softer option will drop a bit the pace.’ But in fact, it was not, because I was lap by lap more and more in trouble, especially with the corner speed. I was feeling always the rear sliding. I managed to stay with Cam (Petersen) but was really difficult for me to pass because I got no traction out of the corner. So, from the outside, I think everybody was thinking I was waiting until the last lap, but I got just the opportunity of the last lap because I was not thinking about the championship. I just tried to at least finish second. Unfortunately, the only thing with Cam was, not slower, but we got two different bikes and our lines are slightly different. I just have one meter of space. I tried to go in. I said, ‘Hopefully, he will not close the line. ‘Fortunately, we did just a soft touch. But then I was a little bit less happy when I saw him coming again. Definitely, I think from the outside it was good to watch. Unfortunately, everyone forgot that Jake was miles away, and this is the main problem for tomorrow. For today, I enjoyed. Congrats to these two guys. We are really having fun. It’s nice to have racing like this.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Polesitter Scholtz Ends Up Fifth In MotoAmerica Superbike Race One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads PJ Jacobsen (66) during Superbike Race One at Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Monterey, CA – July 9, 2022 – Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca started out in the best of ways for Mathew Scholtz. With the fastest lap in the morning’s final qualifying session, Mathew put his #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 in the pole position for the weekend’s two Superbike races.
The start of the race didn’t go as he hoped, however. Due to a technical problem, he found himself in fourth by the completion of the first lap. He slipped back to fifth on lap two, and then sixth on lap four. On lap 14, Mathew was able to move up to fifth, and he maintained the position all the way to the checkered flag.
Fifth place certainly wasn’t the result that Mathew and the Westby Racing team expected, particularly after earning the pole, but the rider and the team are resilient, and Mathew will start again from the number-one position on the grid in Sunday’s race.
“Getting the pole position was quite a big step for us,” Mathew said. “It’s been a while since we’ve put the bike on pole, and that just shows how well the team’s been working and how much we’ve improved. We expected a good race, to be up front, and to at least be part for the battle for the lead. But, from the first corner, it was pretty obvious that we had a technical problem that affected the rear grip on the bike. After the race, we realized what the problem was, so we can go out tomorrow and concentrate on our outright pace knowing that we won’t have the problem again. The morning warmup is going to be important, but I know we have a bike that can be at the front. Everything is going in the right direction, so tomorrow, I’ve just got to put my head down and do the best I can.”
Sunday’s Superbike race two starts at 3:10 p.m. PT, and it will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.
For all the action from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 10:45 to 11 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don’t miss it.
Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., Pro-Bolt USA, and Yoshimura R&D of America, Inc., are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.
Alexander Takes Control With Yuasa Stock 1000 Win At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Support-Class Action Is Fast And Furious In GEICO Motorcycle MotoAmerica Speedfest At Monterey
MONTEREY, CA (July 9, 2022) – Based on practice and qualifying at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Yuasa Stock 1000 race was set to be a thrill-fest of epic proportions. Corey Alexander, however, had a different idea of how the race would play out and he turned it into a blowout, the Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC-backed New Yorker taking control from the get-go and never looking back.
The win was Alexander’s fourth in a row and fifth of the season and it gives him a 17-point lead over Hayden Gillim in the race for the MotoAmerica Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship.
Yuasa Stock 1000 – Alexander Dominates
Corey Alexander (23) made the Yuasa Stock 1000 class his own on Saturday with a runaway win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The Yuasa Stock 1000 class had one race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and polesitter Alexander made the most of it. The Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing BMW rider expected a close battle at the front, but it never materialized, and Alexander led the 14-lap race from start to finish. The New Yorker’s gap at the checkered flag was nearly five seconds over second-place finisher Champ School BPR Racing Yamaha rider Bryce Prince, the former MotoAmerica regular returning to the paddock just for the Laguna Seca round. Disrupt Racing Suzuki’s Gillim, who is second to Alexander in the point standings, finished third.
“Once I saw plus three on my board, I kind of calmed down a little bit,” Alexander said. “Honestly, my whole plan was to kind of go out and ride a little more relaxed. I have a tendency when I go out those first couple laps just to over-ride and end up making mistakes, or just pushing a little bit too hard and ending up going slower. So, I was really forcing myself to go slower, but the times were coming a little bit easier that way. I just said I was going to go out there and ride the race and if those guys were coming with me, it was going to be a fun battle. If they weren’t, even better. That’s kind of how it turned out. Really just have to give a hats-off to the team because it wasn’t that easy yesterday. I was a little bit frustrated in Q1 just because we went around in circles a little bit. We made some pretty big changes and then went back to where we started and then went back again. So, that was a little bit tough. This morning we had our direction and things were working a lot better. Just happy to come away with that. Kind of like what I said at the last race – if I can just keep doing this, then the points will take care of themselves. That’s what I’m focused on. Really, really excited. I know the second half of the season is going to be more in Hayden’s favor, so I’m just kind of preparing myself for that. He goes good at Pittsburgh and some of those other tracks that are not always my best. We need every point we can get now. We’ll see how those races go in the future.”
Supersport – Herrin vs. Scott
Josh Herrin (2) battled with Tyler Scott (70) in the first of two Supersport races on Saturday before racing to his sixth win of the season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
After suffering a crash that was not his fault in Supersport final qualifying, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin bounced back in a big way, notching his sixth win of the season and third victory in a row in the afternoon’s race. Keeping Herrin honest for the majority of the 19-lap race was polesitter Tyler Scott, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider hounding Herrin, but eventually finishing second and a little over one-and-a-half seconds adrift of him.
Rocco Landers finished third on his Landers Racing Yamaha to make it three different motorcycle brands on the podium.
“When I saw a plus .7 or something at one point, I kind of settled into the pace I was doing thinking that I was going to be able to maintain the gap,” said Herrin. “I don’t know if it was Tyler the whole time or not, or somebody caught back up. I looked back and saw that it was Tyler. Then, the second time I looked back, I was just kind of trying to see if somebody else was behind him so I knew if he makes a pass on me, can we battle, can we not? I saw him wave. That stuff fires me up. I love that kind of stuff. To me, it’s kind of like a motivator and gets me having fun and forgetting a little bit about the pressure that’s on me. So, at the end of the race, I was just having fun waving back because it felt like it was a funny thing to do. Just having fun. That’s the whole thing about this year is having fun. I feel like when I’m having fun, I’m in that mode where nothing can stop me. The team has been very nice. The guys have been very nice, letting me do the stuff I do on the street and let me be me at the track. It seems to be working. After the crash this morning, I feel fine, luckily. My neck is just a little bit stiff. It might be a different story tomorrow, but luckily these races are a little bit shorter than the Superbike races. I’m used to those, and hopefully we can grunt it out tomorrow.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Drama Rules The Day
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Race One had plenty of drama and was eventually won by Joe LiMandri Jr. (62). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Saturday’s SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race had a lot of drama with a couple of crashes changing the way things finished. In fact, one of the crashes involving SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki’s Max Van and Altus Motorsports Kawasaki’s Kayla Yaakov led to a red flag with two laps left to go, and the race was called. Van’s teammate Joseph LiMandri Jr. took the victory by .513 of a second over Alpha Omega Kawasaki rider Cody Wyman. Bicknese Racing Kawasaki’s Hayden Bicknese was third, the Missouri-based rider celebrating his 16th birthday a few days early with his first MotoAmerica podium.
“Like I said on the podium, there was a high chance something was going to happen with how close the grid was,” LiMandri Jr. said. “I just wanted to get out front, put down laps. The pace was really off. I went almost a second slower than I did in qualifying, which is usually not like me. I usually go at least a second faster. The track didn’t feel that good. We definitely have some setup to fix for tomorrow. Honestly, it was a pretty good race. It just sucks that I won because a lot of other people crashed. But at least I was in front of the pack for the whole race. So, it’s not like I just randomly got it. It feels good to be back up here again.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Ventura, Finally
Cory Ventura (28) won the REV’IT! Twins Cup race on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Saturday wrapped up with Twins Cup, which like Stock 1000, was their only race of the weekend. Cory Ventura, who podiumed twice at Laguna Seca in Supersport last year, proved that the home of the Corkscrew is home sweet home for him as he took the checkered flag in Twins Cup aboard his MP13 Racing Yamaha for his first win this season. N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha’s Blake Davis finished second for his best finish since winning the first Twins Cup race of the season at Daytona this past March. Polesitter Kaleb De Keyrel, who started on the pole, rounded out the podium in third aboard his Veloce Racing Aprilia.
“It’s been one of those learning years for me,” said Ventura. “I had to take it one step at a time, rebuilding myself. I finally have put myself aside. I’m so stubborn. I’m like, ‘I can ride this thing like a 600. I’m going to make it work this way.’ When we were at the Ridge, I was like, ‘Yeah, it doesn’t really work like that.’ So, these guys have been schooling me all year. The team has built me an amazing motorcycle. Like I said, I did some testing at Thunderhill last weekend. Really nice to be home. It put me back in my place. One step at a time, we got our bike back.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA LLC:
SCOTT AND ESCALANTE IMPRESS FOR VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI AT LAGUNA SECA
Suzuki GSX-R750 Adds to Supersport Podium Count
BREA, Calif., July 9, 2022 — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued their front-running ways at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, adding another pole position and podium finish to their impressive tally during the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season.
Tyler Scott has shown himself to be a week-in, week-out threat for victory in MotoAmerica Supersport competition aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, and the 16-year-old rookie only furthered that notion on Saturday.
Pole position and second place for Tyler Scott (70) to start the weekend right at the iconic Laguna Seca. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Scott opened the race from pole after setting the pace in qualifying and then made full use of that remarkable speed in running down the early leader after getting away in third. He made methodical progress to close the gap completely, even leading briefly on Lap 11 of 19.
Scott’s bid to add a second win to his rookie campaign was ultimately undone due to an unfortunate run through lappers, but he’ll gladly take a runner-up result in his first-ever Supersport race at the legendary raceway with an eye on further improvement tomorrow.
“The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team put an amazing bike underneath me for this race today,” said Scott. “I was just trying to keep a fast pace and keep the pressure on. I knew it was going to be a hard race, but I was ready to fight. We just had a few challenges near the end, but it was an amazing race. We’ll make a few small changes for tomorrow and come back stronger.”
With a hard crash in qualifying, Liam Grant (90) could not start the Supersport race. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Cory Ventura (24) aboard his new GSX-R750 made his way into the top 10 in Supersport Race One with an eighth-place finish. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Team regular Liam Grant joined the mending Sam Lochoff on the shelf after suffering a concussion in a qualifying crash. Despite the absences of Grant and Lochoff, Scott was still joined in the top ten by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki substitute rider Cory Ventura, who made his race debut aboard the next-generation GSX-R750. Ventura finished a close eighth after qualifying fifth and running as high as sixth and helped Suzuki lock down a full half of the class’s top ten finishing positions on the day.
Meanwhile, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Superbike rookie, Richie Escalante, enjoyed a hugely encouraging outing in the premier class.
Escalante more than backed up his strong sixth-placed qualifying performance aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R. He got away from the line in fifth and promptly executed a successful overtake to move up into fourth on Lap 2. He did well to keep the podium battle in sight for several laps, pulling free of the riders behind him en route to an eventual fourth-place finish.
Another top-10 finish for Richie Escalante (54) after big strides getting used to the new Superbike speed. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Escalante said, “So far, it has been the best weekend yet for me on the Superbike – the best qualifying and the best race. I think at the Ridge, we made many improvements, so I came into this weekend with more expectations but also, I was more confident and relaxed.
“The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team has worked great, and now we are more focused on smaller changes that keep improving the bike. After I made the pass for fourth, I was by myself so I focused on my riding, the exits, and my rhythm. We still need to improve our pace but we are still learning. This is a good result and we will keep working harder.”
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Multi-time Superbike podium finisher Kyle Wyman did well in substitute duty, adding yet another top ten to the team’s total on the day while riding in place of the injured Jake Lewis aboard the second GSX-R1000R.
While focusing on the continued development of the machine in anticipation of Lewis’ eventual return, Wyman improved his speed in every session. He continued his forward momentum in the race, transforming a 12th-place grid slot into an eighth-place finish.
Team Hammer is looking to build on its promising Saturday with an even better Sunday as the MotoAmerica round at Laguna Seca concludes.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer’s 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 129 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 341 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 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 four F-USA Championships.
ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.
ABOUT SUZUKI
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
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In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
