FIVE PODIUMS FOR TEAM HAMMER IN PITTSBURGH
Team Hammer added to its weekend trophy haul on Sunday as it completed the inaugural MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex with two more podium performances.
Valentin Debise was again the headliner for the squad with another convincing second-place finish in the day’s Supersport contest. The Frenchman pushed the leader during the opening stages of the contest before establishing himself a clear runner-up aboard his GSX-R600, some six seconds in front of the third-placed rider.
Debise solidified his hold on third place in the Supersport championship rankings with his tenth podium of the season — more than half of those coming in the form of either wins or seconds.
He said, “It’s a great result for us. We tried some things this morning and the bike was difficult. We made some small changes for the race, and I liked the bike way better. I was able to keep the leader’s pace for some laps. I pushed to try to cut that gap, but I made a mistake in the chicane and went through the grass. After that, I just tried to make consistent laps.
“It’s a big pleasure to be here on the podium again. Thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team — they made a really good job as always. I will keep improving. Each time I get closer to victory. I will try again and again and again.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis also repeated his Saturday result with another third-place finish in Sunday’s Superstock 1000 race. However, Sunday’s third came with considerably more difficulty than Saturday’s near-win. The Kentuckian found himself off the pace and off the box early in the race, but he and his crew made the most of a red flag stoppage to get back into the fight.
Lewis showed renewed speed and competitiveness aboard his GSX-R1000 following the restart, ultimately battling his way to third (sixth on the combined Superbike/STK1000 order).
“We missed the set-up huge at the first part of the race, and I was getting it handed to me,” Lewis admitted. “Luckily for us, there was a long red flag. We changed the shock, the link — everything — back to where it was yesterday. It was a big improvement, but I was still struggling quite a bit. I’m pretty frustrated because we were strong Friday and yesterday, but today, not so good.
“We’ll go back to work and look to be back up front at New Jersey. Thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew because they worked hard all weekend trying to put me on top of the box.”
Lewis continues to rank second in the Superstock 1000 title fight on the strength of 13 podiums.
M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Brandon Cleland registered solid rides as well in Superstock 600 competition. Saturday runner-up McFadden came home fourth (eighth overall), while Cleland rebounded after being the innocent victim of a multi-rider incident on Saturday in seventh (12th overall) on Sunday.
McFadden’s fourth elevates him up to third in the STK600 championship battle. Cleland is tenth in the points.
Team Hammer will next travel to New Jersey Motorsports Park for the penultimate round of the 2017 MotoAmerica season on September 8-10.
About Team Hammer
The 2017 season marks Team Hammer’s 37th 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 183 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships. The team has also won 134 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.
More, from a press release issued by Travis Wyman’s publicist:
Travis Wyman Scores an Impressive 6th Place Finish in His Return to MotoAmerica
Las Vegas, NV – After being off the bike for almost a year, Travis Wyman had a successful return to Pro Competition this past weekend in round eight of the MotoAmerica Championship at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Wyman finished 6th in class in race one of the combined Supersport/Superstock 600 class.
The weekend started off strong for Wyman as he found himself inside the top five of the practice results at the end of Friday Afternoon. Saturday morning qualifying didn’t fair as well for the rider from Las Vegas as his time of 1:47.197 put him 11th place on the grid for both races.
“I felt really comfortable right from the beginning. Next Level Cycles built me a great motor and I knew we had a shot at doing really well,” Wyman said. “We lost a lot of time in qualifying when my brake adjuster broke on the first lap. We got it fixed, and had just gone back out to put in a good time and an unfortunate red flag ended our qualifying session early. I had the pace to run with the front group of riders, but I knew it would be a bit more challenging from the fourth row.”
In race one, Wyman got off to a good start and was able to make his way through a couple riders in the opening laps off the 16 lap race. Travis then found himself in a battle with another Supersport competitor, and a few other top Superstock 600 riders. However on the last lap of the race, Travis was able to draft pass a rider to the line by .007 seconds to finish 6th in class. In Race two, Travis got off to a great start and was swapping positions with riders at the lead of the Superstock 600 battle. With three laps to go, Wyman took the pass on a class rival to take over the 5th position in Supersport and got a false neutral going into turn three and had to lay the bike down, ultimately ending his race.
When asked about Sunday’s Race, Wyman said “It took me a few laps to line up a pass. And when I got the opportunity I grabbed a downshift and the bike jumped out of gear. I couldn’t get it slowed down in time and as I got off in the grass and saw the air fence I had no choice but to lay the bike down. It’s unfortunate for myself and the team because the bike felt great, and I knew I could push for more in the last few laps.”
Travis walks away from the weekend with minor sprains and bruises, but with his head held high knowing that he still has what it takes to be competitive in MotoAmerica competition. We asked Wyman when he will be back and if he has plans to race at any of the remaining rounds.
“I don’t think New Jersey or Barber is in the cards for me right now. I invested a lot into my program this past weekend, and I think I will keep my sights on returning in 2018. I have to give thanks to Cortech and Arai helmets for keeping me safe, and everyone on my team for working hard and allowing me to race. I hope to be back soon!”
Travis Wyman would like to thank his sponsors for their continued support: Harv’s Harley-Davidson, Next Level Cycles, Velocity Calibrations, K-Tech, Cortech, Arai, SBS Brakes, California Superbike School, MotoOption, Evol Technologies, Dunlop, Alpha 1 Vinyl Works, Kyle Wyman Racing, Laroche Racing, Damien Kieran, James Toohey, Brandon Kennedy, and Arturo Hernandez.