LEWIS CLOSES THE GAP FOR TEAM HAMMER IN SONOMA
Team Hammer backed up a victorious Saturday with two additional podium finishes on Sunday as it wrapped up MotoAmerica Round 7 at Sonoma Raceway in strong form.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis battled to the checkered flag in his mission to score a Superstock 1000 double victory at the undulating Northern California venue. The Kentuckian made a late-race move up into second, and then hounded the race leader. Despite clocking the fastest lap in class, Lewis ultimately came up 0.188 seconds short of the win in the end.
In addition to his STK1000 runner-up, Lewis also earned top-five Superbike points by finishing fifth on the combined order aboard his GSX-R1000.
Lewis continues to rank second in Superstock 1000 championship fight. He now boasts 235 points on the strength of three wins, two runner-ups, and 11 total podiums.
“Honestly, I’m so frustrated because I really wanted that one,” Lewis said. “I wasn’t super aggressive early, but at the same time I was being patient and saving my tire because the extra soft goes off quite a bit there at the end. I was struggling quite a bit throughout the race because my set-up wasn’t quite as good as it was yesterday. A couple times I about crashed.
“I stuffed my way into second, and by the time I caught the leader, we ran into some lappers. He protected the inside on the last corner like a real racer should, and I wasn’t able to have a go at him. Second place was all I was able to do. I’m disappointed because I want to win this championship, but a first and a second is a good weekend for me. I really want to thank the whole M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team.”
His M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, Valentin Debise, also came through with another trophy-winning Sunday performance. The Frenchman repeated his third-place Supersport result from the day before, although he admitted he was hoping for more in the rematch.
Debise, who sits third in the Supersport standings with eighth podiums to his credit, said, “I feel great to stay on the bike and be on the podium. Unfortunately, today I wasn’t able to stay up in contention for the win. I tried to ride a little differently in an attempt to go faster, but that was my mistake. I didn’t choose the right way to ride my bike. It’s a good learning experience for me, and I’ll come back here faster and stronger next year. I really appreciate all the work my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew does for me, and I’m really excited to go into the next round in Pittsburgh with them behind me.”
M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden improved two spots on his Saturday Superstock 600 finish with a sixth-place ride on Sunday (11th overall). Fellow STK600 contender Brandon Cleland came home 12th in class (17th overall) aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600.
M4 Rickdiculous Racing Suzuki’s Daytona Anderson was unable to start Sunday’s race due to illness.
Team Hammer will be back in action on August 25-27 as MotoAmerica makes its debut at Pittsburgh International Race Complex for Round 8.
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 178 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 KTM North America:
BENJAMIN SMITH AND CORY VENTURA NAIL SONOMA RC CUP WINS
SONOMA, Calif. – Round six of the 2017 KTM RC Cup Championship, held in conjunction with the 2017 AMA MotoAmerica/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, took place at Sonoma Raceway in sunny Northern California over Aug. 11-13, 2017. Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Smith extended his points lead in the class with another race victory, while local boy, CSVMoto’s Cory Ventura, matched the competition to claim the second race win of the weekend.
It was a momentous occasion for the RC Cup in its first visit to the legendary California venue, with championship favorite Benjamin Smith proving just why he is so, stretching out to an authoritative 11.9-second victory in race one over Ventura, while first-time podium finisher Brett Voorhees (NCR Development) claimed a popular third place in a red flagged race that called the event at 12 laps.
“It was a great race,” said Smith. “I was telling people earlier that it was one of the hardest races of my life, trying to stay out front and stay consistent. I was having to push really hard and it gives me some good confidence heading into the last couple of rounds, so overall it went really well.”
However, for Smith, that dominant race one performance did not translate into what many expected would be a walkover double win as he engaged in a proper dogfight with Ventura, only to come out on the losing end as the local boy made good on his undoubted speed, Ventura taking one of the best wins of his young career. It was his third win of the season. Smith’s Quarterley Racing/On Track Development teammate Draik Beauchamp took the final place on the podium in third.
“We were struggling a bit with mistakes yesterday and last night we sat down with my coach and I was losing a lot of time in sector one,” said Ventura. “We broke it down and realized that Ben (Smith) was getting really good drive out of turn one and today, I just had to do it. It helped a lot and it’s great to get a win here.”
For Smith, second place wasn’t the worst thing in the world as he finished this round with a substantial 37-point lead, putting him in the box seat to take the title come season’s end.
“Yesterday I got out front and could run away, but today I got out front and Cory was riding really well,” he said. “I could see the gap was decreasing so I figured I’d sit behind him to see what I could do, and going into the last lap I thought I’d try and make that pass but Cory did a great job defending the line. It’s great to have that kind of clean racing.”
Round 7 of the 2017 KTM RC Cup Championship will be held at Pittsburgh International Speedway on Aug. 25-26.
KTM RC Cup Sonoma Race One
1.Benjamin Smith
2.Cory Ventura
3.Brett Voorhees
4.Jackson Blackmon
5.Tyler Linders
KTM RC Cup Sonoma Race Two
1.Cory Ventura
2.Benjamin Smith
3.Draik Beauchamp
4.Alex Dumas
5.Tyler Linders
KTM RC Cup Championship Point Standings
1.Benjamin Smith (192)
2.Cory Ventura (155)
3.Draik Beauchamp (141)
4.Jackson Blackmon (136)
5.Alex Dumas (123)
More, from a press release issued by Yamalube/Westby Racing:
So Far, So Great, Sonoma As Mathew Scholtz Finishes Second In MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Race 1, Then Wins Race 2, Extending His Championship Lead
Sonoma, CA – With AMA/FIM-sanctioned road racing returning to Sonoma Raceway for the first time since 2012 over the past weekend, the event couldn’t have come at a better time for Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, even though the 2016 South African SuperGP Champion hadn’t previously turned a wheel on the iconic racetrack, let alone visited Northern California.
The brand-new environs were a non-factor for Mathew as he quickly got up to speed on the 2.52-mile, 12-turn road course. In fact, “The Scholtz Kid” was the fastest Superstock 1000 on the track in the very first practice session, not to mention being fourth-fastest overall, including the factory Superbikes with which the Superstock 1000 riders share the track.
And Mathew’s quick laps got even quicker as the weekend progressed, culminating in him qualifying second overall on the starting grid during Superpole, with Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory’s racing’s Cameron Beaubier (who is the two-time and defending Superbike Champion) the only rider who was faster than Mathew.
In Saturday afternoon’s Superstock 1000 Race 1, Mathew finished second and increased his lead in the Championship to 46 points. And then, in Sunday afternoon’s Superstock 1000 Race 2, Mathew notched his sixth win of the season despite suffering arm pump due to the technical nature of Sonoma Raceway with its numerous tight turns and hard-braking zones.
Recapping his weekend, Mathew said, “Yesterday was a really difficult race. After the Friday practice, I felt like I had the pace to battle with these Superbike guys and take the Superstock win, but it just didn’t seem to work out like that. But, we went back to the drawing board (Saturday) night and changed the bike slightly. That definitely seemed to help me out, but I had some serious arm pump in Sunday’s race. I’m really happy to take the Superstock win and open up the Championship lead even more. Next, we head into Pittsburgh, and that’s where I had a really good test. I’m hoping I can just carry on taking some more wins and take the Championship. That’s the ultimate goal for us.”
After the weekend’s two races, Mathew now leads the 2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Championship by 51 points with six races left in the season.
The Yamalube/Westby Racing team will next race at the Championship of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania on August 25-27.
For more updates on Yamalube/Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit https://www.westbyracing.com
Also, visit “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media site.
More, from a press release issued by Kyle Wyman Racing:
Kyle Wyman fights hard at Sonoma Raceway for Décor Brilliance/KWR team
SONOMA, Calif. (Aug. 15) — The KWR team fought hard at Sonoma Raceway this past weekend for the seventh round of the MotoAmerica Superbike championship. Kyle Wyman finished 5th and 8th in races one and two respectively on his Décor Brilliance/Lucas Oil/KWR Yamaha YZF-R1.
Having only ridden the Harley-Davidson XR1200 at Sonoma five years prior in the 2012 season, the task for Wyman was to re-familiarize himself with the undulating Napa Valley circuit on the powerful Yamaha superbike. Wyman was able to slot in the 8th fastest time of Friday qualifying, securing his spot in Superpole once again.
“Learning the track over again was an extremely difficult task,” Wyman said. “I don’t typically like to approach any race track differently, as it’s the same for everyone, but I struggled particularly on Friday. We were on the bubble for most of the day, 12th and 13th, but then I was able to put in one flyer at the end of the last session to get into Superpole.”
“We needed superpole,” Wyman added. “I needed every lap I could get and that extra 15 minutes was going to be huge for me Saturday before race time.”
Wyman qualified 11th overall in Superpole, yet another worst qualifying result of the season after his 9th at Laguna Seca. With the team still struggling to find the setup in the bike to deal with the bumpy track, race one was a gamble in settings and gearing as well. Wyman ultimately finished 8th overall, 5th in class after learning the changed motorcycle in the opening laps.
“We reverted back to a gearing that we started on early on Friday,” Wyman said. “Because of that, I had to be a lot more focused on getting into the right gears the first few laps of the race. Ultimately it was the best choice, but the beginning of the race was difficult. I settled into a rhythm but I couldn’t hold on to the front group.”
Wyman picked off a few more Superbikes toward the end of the race to find himself 5th in class. As for race two, Sunday morning started with a 15-minute warm up session that allowed the KWR team to try some even more different settings on the Décor Brilliance R1. Stiffer springs in the K-Tech Forks and Shock to deal with the g-forces created at Sonoma were put into the bike and gave Wyman a better feeling for race two.
“Sunday morning was better,” Wyman said. “I felt more comfortable on the bike, even if the lap times didn’t get a whole lot better. I felt confident that we would have a better bike to go 22 laps.”
Wyman got off to a better start in race two, with the front group just in front of him and a gap building behind him to the riders he battled with the day before. Wyman’s pace fell off however, as he struggled with arm pump and weakness in his throttle hand. He dropped back to 12th overall, 8th in class – for his worst finish of the season aside from his DNF at Circuit of the Americas.
“It’s on me,” Wyman said. “I don’t know if I missed on my diet Sunday, or what, but my right arm gave up on me about a third of the way through the race. It’s tough to deal with and makes for a miserable time on track, but I’m most bummed because I felt like I had the best bike underneath me of the whole weekend. For me to be the weak link in the equation this time around was a bummer but I know what needs to happen to prevent it in the future. I want to thank the Décor Brilliance/KWR team for sticking behind me and holding up their end of the deal this week.”
As for the final three rounds of the season that are fast approaching, Wyman is supremely confident that him and the KWR team will find their early-season form at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, where the series heads to next. Wyman was 3rd fastest overall at the official Dunlop test at Pittsburgh back in May. The last two rounds, at New Jersey Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park, are tracks where Wyman has excelled in the past by scoring race wins in the Harley-Davidson XR1200 series.
“Sonoma is behind us now, and I’m looking forward to the next few tracks that I have had some great success at in the past,” Wyman said. “Pittsburgh is going to be a fun event, due to it being the first ever professional Superbike race at that facility, and I love that track. From there Jersey and Barber are also places that I love. I look forward to capping off the season on a high note and continuing to chase those boys up front.”
The MotoAmerica series heads to Pittsburgh International Race Complex August 25-27, 2017. In the mean time, stay tuned for news and announcements in the coming weeks.
For more information about Décor Brilliance, visit www.decorbrilliance.com