YOSHIMURA SUZUKI’S ELIAS WINS ELKHART LAKE, EXPANDS MOTOAMERICA SUPERBIKE POINTS LEAD
Hayden Wins Pole on 2017 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 and Scores Two Podiums
Toni Elias (No. 24) and Roger Hayden (No. 95) finished first and second on their Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes in Sunday’s MotoAmerica round at Road America. (Photo by Brian J. Nelson)
Chino, CA – Toni Elias took a hard-fought victory in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Motul Superbike Race 2 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Teammate Roger Hayden, who earned Superpole on Saturday, finished second in Sunday’s race putting the 2017 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in first and second at the checkered flag.
It marked the third time this season that Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing has finished 1-2.
Elias’ win was a series leading fourth of the season and expanded his lead in the series standings to 14 points (160-146) over Cameron Beaubier after eight races. Hayden is a close third with 140 points.
For Elias, the win was especially memorable since his mom and dad came over from Spain to watch their first MotoAmerica event in person.
On Saturday Hayden won Superpole for the second time this season, turning in a time of 2:12.864. The four-mile, 14-turn road course puts a premium on power and top speed and the new 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 came through with flying colors in its first run at one of the premier road racing circuits in the country.
“Road America is usually not my strongest track,” Hayden admitted. “but the team gave me a great bike in qualifying and I was able to put it on the pole.”
Hayden was strong and sprinted to an early lead and led the most laps in Saturday’s race, but ultimately finished the day in a close third, just 0.153 seconds out of the lead.
Elias again made a great charge from 10th on the grid to finish second. He pulled up in the draft on the final straight, but came up short by just 5-1000ths of a second, marking one the closest finishes in series history.
Sunday’s race ran under sunny and warm conditions drawing a big crowd to the classic Wisconsin circuit. Hayden and Elias once again put their Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes up front and swapped the lead numerous times. The race was red flagged with two laps to go due to a competitor’s bike spilling oil going into the first turn.
Elias was leading at the time, giving him the victory.
“It’s not the way we like to win,” Elias said afterwards, “but I am grateful for the victory and to build our points lead. Roger was very strong today and we had a good race and were trying to break away. It was wonderful to have my family here from Spain this weekend. I want to dedicate my win to Nicky Hayden and the entire Hayden family.”
The series next moves to the Utah Motorsports Complex in Tooele, Utah, for the Championship of Utah on June 23-25.
For additional details on the upcoming event visit www.MotoAmerica.com
You can keep up with the team’s progress by visiting www.yoshimura-racing.com and www.yoshimura-racing.com and via YouTube at www.yoshimura-racing.com
More, from a press release issued by Yamalube/Westby Racing:
Familiarity Breeds Success As Scholtz Wins At Road America In His Encore Visit To Wisconsin
Elkhart Lake, WI – It’s been exactly a year since South African SuperGP Champion Mathew Scholtz first rode America. The 14-turn, 4.048-mile circuit at Road America was the first track on which Mathew raced, and this past weekend was his first return trip to “America’s National Park of Speed.” Racing for the second time made all the difference in the world.
On Saturday, Mathew raced his #11 Yamalube/Westby Racing/Yamaha YZF-R1 to a third-place finish in MotoAmerica’s Superstock 1000 class, and then he followed up that podium result with a race win on Sunday, which was his second victory and seventh podium finish out of eight races so far this season.
His stellar weekend in the magical land of cheese, brats, and ultra-enthusiastic motorcycle-racing fans also moved Mathew into first place in the 2017 MotoAmerica Championship points standings.
“Before the weekend, I was really looking forward to coming back to Road America, Mathew said. “This is where my ‘American Adventure’ first began for me last year. It’s a huge help to have been to a track before, for obvious reasons, and I’m very, very happy to have gotten a win on my first return visit to Wisconsin. I got on the podium in Saturday’s race with a third-place finish, but I wasn’t satisfied with that result. Sunday’s win was just a fantastic feeling for Tryg (Westby), the whole team, and definitely for me.”
Sunday’s race initially didn’t look like it was going to yield a good result. On the very first lap, Mathew was, unfortunately, caught up by another rider’s crashed motorcycle, and he couldn’t avoid contact. He and another rider went down, along with the rider who initially crashed, so MotoAmerica officials red-flagged the race.
When asked about the incident, Mathew commented, “I’m perfectly fine. I never actually saw what happened because it was all so quick. I’m really fortunate that I wasn’t hurt and that the bike wasn’t seriously damaged. I was able to ride it back to the pits, and my team checked it over and did a couple of repairs. Everything was fine for the restart. The race went well after that. Even the second red flag [which ended the race a couple of laps early] didn’t affect me. I had a good gap in the lead, and I was getting oil on the windscreen and my helmet visor from the [leaking] bike in front of me [that caused the second red flag], so I’m actually glad that they stopped it.”
The next MotoAmerica race weekend for Mathew and the Yamalube/Westby Racing team will be on June 23-25 at the Championship of Utah in Tooele, UT.
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:
Chris Peris earns top-15 finishes at Road America in place of injured Kyle Wyman for Excelsus Solutions/Lucas Oil team
MACEDON, N.Y. — Chris Peris earned top-15 finishes in his MotoAmerica Superbike debut this past weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. Peris replaced team owner/rider Kyle Wyman who was injured a week ago while riding the European Superstock 1000 championship at Donington Park in England.
Wyman chose to sit out the Road America round after a crash aboard the Agro On – Benjan – Kawasaki ZX10-RR last Saturday, where he suffered a mild concussion. A last minute call to Chris Peris was necessary to field the Excelsus Solutions/Lucas Oil Superbike while Wyman recovered.
“As much as it broke my heart to sit on the sidelines for this weekend, I knew it was the right decision,” Wyman said. “I have a lot of racing ahead of me, and I want to keep it that way. Too many riders come back too soon. Could I have ridden? Sure, I felt good all weekend and I feel 100% now (Monday). Chris (Peris) was the obvious choice to represent our sponsors this weekend and he did an incredible job at that.”
Peris came into the weekend facing a steep learning curve, but adjusted quickly after a 6-year hiatus from the AMA Superbike series. After one day on the bike he was able to earn 15th place overall which would secure his qualifying position for the weekend.
“The KWR Yamaha YZF-R1 is amazing,” said Peris. “Probably the best handling and most forgiving motorcycle I’ve ever ridden. It was my first time on the K-Tech KTR-3 forks and they were certainly the highlight of the package for me. For Friday, it was just about getting comfortable on the bike and tires, and we succeeded at that with just two hours of track time.”
After a wet-but-drying third practice session in the morning, Peris would miss valuable dry time to learn the bike on day two. In both races Peris got off to a great start and found his footing in the ultra competitive field, finishing 14th and 13th overall in race one and race two, respectively.
“The weather was looking questionable for the race so we ran rains and slicks Saturday morning to get a feel for the wet but drying track,” said Peris. “That afternoon the race ended up being dry. We didn’t have a chance to try any of the changes we were hoping to do in the morning warm up because of the rain so we ran the setup from day one.”
“Sunday morning we got to try a few of the changes we were wanting to do on Saturday morning. I was feeling more comfortable each time I got on the bike and felt we had a better setup for race 2. Due to multiple red flags the race was shorted and we ended up 13th.”
Peris brought the bike home in one piece and while he enjoyed the experience, says he’s ready to hand the KWR steed back to Wyman for the remainder of the season.
“Kyle and I ride together a lot at the Yamaha Champions Riding School so I know how fast he is,” Peris added. “But when I arrived at the track Thursday it became very apparent why KWR is a front running Superbike team. The level professionalism, knowledge of the crew and preparation of the motorcycle was unrivaled by any privateer team that I have ever seen. Kyle made the right decision however to sit this event out, and I look forward to seeing what he can do in the rest of the season.”
Kyle Wyman will return to action at the next round at Utah Motorsports Campus, June 23-25, 2017. After positive results in post-injury concussion evaluation tests this past week, Wyman will be 100% within the next few days, according to specialists.
“Testing has been positive since my crash at Donington,” Wyman said. “I’m fortunate to have such a mild injury that I only will have to miss one round, and for that I thank my helmet supplier, 6D Helmets. I can’t thank my sponsors and crew enough for standing behind me and waiting for my chance to come back. With another six rounds remaining in the series, we have plenty of opportunities to find that podium result this season.”
For all your print and marketing needs, visit www.excelsussolutions.com.
For the complete series schedule, visit www.motoamerica.com
For information on how to get BeIN Sports Network, check with your cable provider or subscribe to Fubo TV (www.fubo.tv)
For more information about Kyle Wyman Racing (KWR), visit www.kylewymanracing.com
About Kyle Wyman Racing:
Kyle Wyman Racing (KWR) was formed in 2011 as a motorcycle road racing team focusing on healthy sponsorship opportunities for companies within and outside the motorcycle industry. KWR is the 2012 AMA Pro Harley-Davidson series championship winning team and current partner with Millennium Technologies. For more information visit www.kylewymanracing.com