ESCALANTE AND SCOTT RE-SIGN WITH TEAM HAMMER FOR 2025 AND 2026
Team Hammer, Inc., racing as Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, is pleased to announce two-year agreements with both Richie Escalante and Tyler Scott to compete for the squad through the 2025 and 2026 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Road Racing seasons.
Escalante and Scott both joined Team Hammer in 2022 and have proven to be two of the most exciting and productive riders in the championship.
Escalante, who hails from Tizayuca, Mexico, stepped up to MotoAmerica Superbike competition upon joining the team after previously enjoying a spectacular Supersport career, highlighted by a dominant 2020 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
The 29-year-old has repeatedly demonstrated his potential in the premier Superbike class aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. After finishing inside the championship top-10 in 2022 as a rookie, Escalante took a major leap forward in 2023, earning a fourth-place championship ranking with 11 top-fives, including a runner-up run at the Circuit of the Americas to earn his initial Superbike podium.
Escalante’s title hopes in 2024 were dashed when he suffered a serious injury in the season-opener that cost him the majority of the season. However, he returned to the scene in top form, closing on the year with four top-fives in the season’s final five races, including a return to the podium in Texas.
Besides his regular Superbike duties, Richie will once again contend for victory in the Daytona 200 aboard a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Fresh from four days of testing alongside Scott on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway where the team evaluated both technical systems and a slightly altered course layout, Escalante said, “I am really happy to continue on the same bike and with the same crew. I feel like the team is my racing family, and it feels like home to me. They gave me a chance at my dream of racing in the Superbike class, and I will always be thankful for them believing in me. I had a tough year with my injuries, but the team offered me support and encouragement the whole time. We will work hard to have more successes together.”
Meanwhile, Tyler Scott has established himself as one of the paddock’s most impressive young stars. Still just 18 years old, the Pennsylvanian has won races and finished inside the Supersport championship top-five in all three seasons since joining Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
During that span, Scott has amassed six victories, 24 podiums, 35 top fives, while claiming a best championship ranking of second.
Scott will now try to take the next step and guide the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 to the Supersport championship in 2025. Doing so would see Tyler add yet another accomplishment to the long list he’s already stacked up despite his youth, having previously taken the 2021 Junior Cup title, been named AMA Youth Dirt Track Racer of the Year on four occasions on the strength of 13 AMA Grand Championships, and competed overseas in the Red Bull Rookies Cup and the FIM CEV European Talent Cup.
Scott, who finished second in the 2024 Daytona 200, will once again go for victory in the 2025 edition of the iconic race.
Scott said, “I am really happy to be back with the team for the next two years. My goal in 2025 is to win the Supersport Championship, and I think I have the team and bike to do it. The class has strong competition and is always going to get harder every year. We are not looking to take one step forward this off-season but to make a jump and get ahead of everyone else. I will be training hard and the team will also be working to make it possible.”
Chris Ulrich, Team Hammer Vice President of Racing Operations, said, “We’re pleased to be returning with Richie and Tyler for the next two years. Both riders have shown competitiveness and growth during their three years with the team. We have a lot of respect for both riders and their abilities and have always had good relationships with both. We also appreciate their loyalty in staying with us.
“The team enjoys working with both riders, but at the end of the day, it is about results and we have seen those. They have proven what they can do and we believe we can keep getting stronger and more competitive with Richie and Tyler.”
Additional rider signings will be announced at a later date.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2024 season marks Team Hammer’s 44th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 134 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 373 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.