More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gillim Keeps His Hopes Alive In Yuasa Stock 1000 With Pitt Race Win
Support Class Action Hot And Heavy At Pittsburgh International Race Complex
WAMPUM, PA (August 20, 2022) – Hayden Gillim had a good Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, the Disrupt Racing-backed Kentuckian taking full advantage of Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship leader Corey Alexander’s mechanical woes to move firmly back into championship contention.
With Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC’s Alexander dropping from the lead to ultimately finish 10th when mechanical problems wrecked his race, Gillim is now just 14 points out of the lead. With three races left, including tomorrow’s race two at Pitt Race, Gillim could clinch the title by winning all three races – even if Alexander finishes second in each of the three.
Yuasa Stock 1000 – New Life For Gillim
Yuasa Stock 1000 race one started off the day, and with only four races left in the Championship (two at Pitt Race and one each at New Jersey Park and Barber Motorsports Park), if anyone is going to catch points leader Corey Alexander, the time is now to win races. For championship challenger Hayden Gillim, that’s exactly what he did. The Disrupt Racing Suzuki rider got the win, while Alexander experienced technical problems that resulted in a 10th-place finish. Gillim’s victory, his third of the year, moved him to within 14 points of Alexander.
Runner-up in race one went to Cycle World/Octane/Chuckwalla Racing Suzuki fill-in rider Andrew Lee, who is substituting for injured team rider and owner Michael Gilbert. Altus Motorsports Suzuki rider Brandon Paasch finished third for his second straight podium result.
“When I decided to do this full-time this year,” Gillim said. “I set a goal for myself that I would finish every single race. So far, I’ve done that, other than the one race at Road America when I had a problem with the bike. So, I’m getting my goal complete, but now we’re fighting for a championship and all those little points that we’re losing are costing us. Corey has won every single race he’s been up here. So, it’s tough to see, being second, third, fourth to that. It’s tough to see. I know I can run with him. My starts have gotten better. That has helped a lot. But it’s going to be a dog fight the next three races. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to it. I know Corey races hard. He knows I race hard. These boys are getting up there and keeping us honest. We just got to keep our head down, be smart, and just keep the bike on two wheels and take what we can get, even if it’s not a win. We’ve got to take everything that we can get.”
Supersport – Landers Rolls On
The Supersport Championship looks like it will be won by Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin, but contender Rocco Landers has definitely not given up the fight. The Landers Racing Yamaha rider won his third straight race, and once again, it was by a wide margin. Landers crossed the finish line more than six-and-a-half seconds ahead of Herrin, who lamented that he and his team made a wrong tire choice for the race. Herrin, in turn, finished just 0.074 of a second ahead of third-place finisher Tyler Scott aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
It’s a bit late for the championship at this point, but Landers seems determined to win races, and he talked about it: “That’s the plan. That’s how I’m going to race next year. I can’t give it up to my team enough. We made a good call. Made some small changes. The bike worked absolutely incredibly. Even when the tire was completely smoked, my Dunlops held up so well. I was able to have pretty much as much grip as I wanted. Every time it slid, I could feel it from a half mile away. It was awesome. I love riding this R6. We’ve come a long way. We weren’t doing too good together for a little while. Can’t give it up to my team enough and Tom Halverson and Jim Roach with Yamaha for helping me out over the past few years. Hoping to stay in the Yamaha family. I’m pretty excited for what can come next year, hopefully.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Wyman!
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race one featured the close racing and multiple passes for which the class is known, and in the end, it was Alpha Omega Kawasaki’s Cody Wyman who prevailed with the win. In the first part of the race, polesitter Wyman battled for the lead with Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Gus Rodio until he stabilized his position at the front and took the victory by a little more than a second. While Rodio finished in the runner-up position, another three seconds back was Max Van who brought his SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki across the finish line in third.
For Wyman, it was his sixth race win of the season, and today’s victory gives him a 38-point lead in the championship over Joseph LiMandri Jr., with just five races left in the season.
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Davis, Barely
REV’IT! Twins Cup race one concluded day two on the main track at Pitt Race, and MotoAmerica’s largest class of riders put a fitting crescendo on the day. Emerging with the win in a photo finish was N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha rider Blake Davis who prevailed by a scant .053 of a second over runner-up and defending class champion Kaleb De Keyrel aboard his Veloce Racing Aprilia. The race for the final spot on the podium was even closer between Cycle Tech Yamaha’s Hayden Schultz and Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Ben Gloddy. At the checkers, it was Schultz who snatched third place from Gloddy by just nine milliseconds
“Kaleb (De Keyrel) came by me, and he ran a little wide into the last turn, but that just means he had more speed to drive out onto the front straight,” Davis said. “I still got by him by the line. I kind of rode off early into turn one knowing that I could get him by the line. So, I was just running defensive. I didn’t know who was behind us if there was anyone close behind us. So, I was going to the inside on braking zones and stuff like that, just trying to stay in second. I knew I kind of had him to the line. Westby Racing built me a great motor this year. The thing is so fast. It’s just been a struggle in the middle of the season. At VIR, I had a really bad race. I think that hurt a lot but coming back in the championship feels really good.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:
SCOTT ADDS ANOTHER PODIUM ON THE GSX-R750 FOR VISION WHEEL
M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI IN PITTSBURG
Suzuki GSX-Rs Continue Consistent Top-Five Finishes in All Classes
BREA, Calif., August 20, 2022 — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer returned to the podium as the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season resumed on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was again in the spotlight, adding a seventh top-three finish to his breakout rookie MotoAmerica Supersport campaign, aboard a new generation Suzuki GSX-R750.
The 16-year-old struggled to find his typical front-running pace earlier in the weekend but came together with his Team Hammer crew to pinpoint a better set-up when it mattered the most.
Scott got a terrific launch off the second row but was pinched off entering Turn 1 and shuffled back to fifth early. Undaunted, he made a pair of successive maneuvers for positions on laps 3 and 4, then set off after the race leaders.
The rising star caught second and applied heavy pressure from third as the laps wound down. Unfortunately, his plans for a last-second pass to steal away a runner-up finish were foiled by a red flag that ended the race prematurely while working the final lap.
“Up until this morning, it was a difficult weekend,” Scott said. “But my Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew had the bike all dialed in and really boosted my confidence. I was hoping to set up a pass at the finish line, but unfortunately, there was a red flag. Still, we had good pace and it was a good race.
“I think we will make some more improvements to the bike’s race set up to be stronger tomorrow, but right now I’m just really happy to return to the podium.”
a sixth-place finish in Race 1. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Cory Ventura continued his impressive performance in substitute duty for the injured Sam Lochoff, battling his way forward throughout the race as well. The Californian, who opened the race from Row 3 after qualifying ninth, ultimately earned sixth after finishing fifth, fifth, and fourth in his previous three outings with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Ventura said, “It was a great race for us after I got a slow start to the weekend. I had a crash on Friday, but I started to get my form back in qualifying. In the race, I had a couple of guys to chase, and I think that helped out. We will try some things for Sunday depending on the weather, but I am looking forward to getting another chance.”
The squad’s third Supersport pilot, Liam Grant, finished 13th.
In the Stock 1000 class, there was a Suzuki GSX-R1000R lockout of the podium in Race 1. Congratulations to Disrupt Racing, Cycle World/Octane/Chuckwalla Racing, and Altus Motorsports teams for the clean sweep of the podium.
Meanwhile, the team’s Superbike duo of Jake Lewis and Richie Escalante were part of a drama-filled, twice red-flagged premier-class contest.
in Superbike Race 1. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Kentuckian Lewis repeatedly hustled his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R forward, fighting his way to sixth before both red flags. He continued that trend in the final, five-lap sprint race, and ultimately went one better, securing a fifth-place finish at the checkered flag.
In contrast to Lewis’ drawn-out day, Superbike rookie Escalante’s race return only lasted a few corners. Escalante injured his ankle in a crash during qualifying at the previous round and opened his race from the outside of Row 3 in Pittsburgh as he worked his way back up to speed. Unfortunately, he went off track on the opening lap following an ambitious attempt to gain positions and suffered a fall after running off track.
Escalante said, “I made a mistake and braked really hard in Turn 3, but I knew I couldn’t stop in time. I went straight to make sure I didn’t hit any other riders. When I touched the grass, I lost the front. I just need to keep learning and focus on tomorrow.”
Team Hammer will be back in action tomorrow to conclude the MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer’s 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 128 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 343 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.