Suzuki Championship At Road Atlanta
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Road Atlanta
Braselton, Georgia
April 14, 2018
Supersport Race One Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. JD Beach (Yam YZF-R6), 12 laps, Total Race Time 17:58.470, Best Lap Time 1:29.561
2. Hayden Gillim (Yam YZF-R6), -0.223 second, 1:29.560*
3. Cory West (Suz GSX-R600), -6.592 seconds, 1:30.193
4. Nick McFadden (Suz GSX-R600), -6.683, 1:30.057
5. Braeden Ortt (Yam YZF-R6), -7.165, 1:30.022*
6. Daytona Anderson (Suz GSX-R600), -9.446, 1:30.124
7. Bryce Prince (Yam YZF-R6), -9.799, 1:30.379
8. Anthony Mazziotto III (Yam YZF-R6), -17.167, 1:30.515
9. Ashton Yates (Yam YZF-R6), -20.146, 1:30.688
10. Jason Aguilar (Yam YZF-R6), -21.045, 1:30.820
11. JC Camacho (Yam YZF-R6), -21.984, 1:30.651
12. Miles Thornton (Suz GSX-R600), -22.121, 1:31.137
13. Joseph Giannotto (Yam YZF-R6), -37.611, 1:32.282
14. Hayden Schultz (Yam YZF-R6), -39.359, 1:32.543
15. Benjamin Smith (Suz GSX-R600), -39.806, 1:32.397
16. Lucas Silva (Yam YZF-R6), -41.568, 1:32.242
17. Kinzer Naylor (Kaw ZX-6R), -56.498, 1:33.668
18. Jeremy Simmons (Yam YZF-R6), -56.708, 1:33.845
19. Daniel Paine (Yam YZF-R6), -60.320, 1:33.999
20. Garrett O’Brien (Yam YZF-R6), -60.491, 1:33.895
21. Fernando Silva (Yam YZF-R6), -71.920, 1:34.672
22. Mauricio Roque (Yam YZF-R6), -80.807, 1:35.707
23. Robert Murillo (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 1:35.856
24. Jaret Nassaney (Suz GSX-R600), -1 lap, 1:33.979
25. Max Angles (Yam YZF-R6), DNF, 1:31.187
26. Aaron Graham (Yam YZF-R6), DNF, 1:33.147
27. Nolan Lamkin (Yam YZF-R6), DNF, 1:33.947
28. Richie Escalante (Yam YZF-R6), DNS*
29. Michael Gilbert (Yam YZF-R6), DNS*
30. Xavier Zayat (MV Agusta F3 675), DNS
*crashed during the first portion of restarted race
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
Team Hammer kicked off its 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Championship campaign in the same manner it did so often in 2017 — on the podium.
Super sub Cory West piloted the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600 to a third-place result in Saturday’s MotoAmerica Supersport race at Road Atlanta in place of the injured Valentin Debise. In doing so, West led the way on an extremely productive day in which the team’s riders combined to claim third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-place results.
The 33-year-old West was immediately comfortable and on the pace aboard the Team Hammer Suzuki, qualifying fourth fastest. He translated that prime starting position into second place early in the once stopped and restarted race before ultimately settling in to a successful run to third.
In order to do so, West was forced to outduel his teammates, M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden and M4 RiCK! Suzuki’s Daytona Anderson, the Team Hammer riders making up three-fourths of a multi-rider scrap for the final spot on the podium.
McFadden, who qualified on the front row, and Anderson, who qualified on the fifth row, charged throughout the race. In the end, McFadden came up just 0.091-second from edging West for third. Meanwhile, Anderson dropped back from the melee late in the race, coming home in sixth, just under three seconds back.
After the race, a beaming West said, “I gave Chris Ulrich a call after Daytona when I saw Valentin had such a bad accident. He knows that I’ve had some good results at Road Atlanta in the past, so I told him that if the team needs any help, just call me up. He said it was a possibility, but it might be a last-minute deal. I was back working in Arkansas and I got the buzz on Tuesday and he asked if I wanted to go to Road Atlanta… ‘Yes!’
“It’s good to be back,” continued West. “Team Hammer put a great bike beneath me in the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600. It’s just awesome to be back in this paddock and especially to get a podium in my first shot at it.”
Immediately following the Supersport race, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis opened his 2018 Superbike season with a promising top-five ride. Lewis slashed his way forward from his Row 4 grid slot aboard his Superbike-spec GSX-R1000 to arrive in fifth, with fourth place in his sights at the checkered flag.
“I was happy with the race,” said Lewis. “Qualifying didn’t go as planned but I got a decent start. There were a couple of guys in front of me that ran off the track right away and there were other riders who crashed in the opening laps. I was sitting in fifth and then made the move up to fourth and we held it for much of the race. With six or seven laps to go, I made a little mistake and lost some ground. For our first combined race, I think it was pretty good, getting top-five overall in a tough class. The team is working hard and the bike was fast. The key for us now is to get up with the top guys and run up there from the beginning of the race. We’ll see how the weather is Sunday but I call this a good start to the season and it was very encouraging.”
Team Hammer will be back in action on Sunday to complete the second half of the season-opening MotoAmerica doubleheader at Road Atlanta.
About Team Hammer
The 2018 season marks Team Hammer’s 38th 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 191 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships. The team has also won 135 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.