M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise will miss the second round of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Supersport Championship, this coming weekend at Virginia International Raceway (VIR).
Debise will again be replaced by Cory West, a 33-year-old racing veteran from Arkansas. West earned a hard-fought podium finish in Supersport Race 1 at Road Atlanta and currently sits third in the 2018 Championship after two races.
Debise has opted to stay in France and continue to recover after failing to gain medical clearance to ride. Contacted at home, Debise said, “My doctor in France advised me to not ride again in an effort to let the fracture at L1 fully heal. I’m disappointed, but I have to do what the doctor says is best for my long-term health. I will stay in France and continue to train and work with my physio so I am ready for Road America.”
Having a race weekend under his belt at Road Atlanta followed by a week of instructing at the Texas Tornado Boot Camp, West said, “I’m feeling really good heading into VIR after a successful weekend at Road Atlanta. It won’t be as overwhelming as Atlanta since I already have a weekend riding the Suzuki GSX-R600 and working with the Team Hammer crew. Hopefully we can keep the momentum rolling and get a few more podium finishes for the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team.”
Debise is expected to return for the third round of the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship, scheduled at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on June 1-3.
About Team Hammer
The 2018 season marks Team Hammer’s 38th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 68 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 191 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships. The team has also won 135 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.