DEBISE WINS AS FOUR TEAM HAMMER RIDERS EARN PODIUM FINISHES IN UTAH

Following a two-podium, four-top-five Saturday, Team Hammer collectively came back even stronger in Sunday’s conclusion to the Utah Motorsports Campus round of the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship. It was a day of spectacular success, as the team improved on every front, scoring a victory, two runner-ups, and a third in a breakout performance for the squad.

The results again demonstrated the effectiveness of a groundbreaking partnership combining Team Hammer’s technical expertise, racebikes, and crew; rider coaching by Rickdiculous Racing and Ken Hill through the Rick Rider Development Camp (RDC) program; and professional athlete mental/emotional strength and readiness training, nutrition, and hydration programs and protocols developed by medAge and Dr. Laura Ellis.

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise got away well early in the Supersport contest, chasing the lead duo hard over the opening laps aboard his GSX-R600. The French ace gradually dropped off the challenge for first but would have been satisfied with third place considering his improved feel compared with the day before. But that certain third was transformed into an unexpected win when the leaders crashed out together on the final lap.

After securing his second win and sixth podium of 2017, Debise said, “Yesterday, the problems with my bike were due to my own mistake. I chose to change the set-up of the bike before the race and went the wrong way, against my mechanic’s better advice. I was upset with myself and myself only.

“For today’s race, I collaborated well with the mechanics and we improved the set-up in the warm-up and then again right before the race. I was able to stay up front for several laps which was a really big step forward. The leaders made a mistake at the end, but that’s racing. At VIR, I crashed twice, and this time it was their mistake. I’m so happy we won! Hopefully we will add to this and get more wins soon. A really big thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew and the entire team — they did a great job.”

Adding to the excitement, M4 Rickdiculous Racing Suzuki’s Daytona Anderson was the next rider across the stripe, finishing second to Debise. The runner-up result was the first podium of the up-and-coming Anderson’s professional career.

Anderson said, “I got off to a not-so-great start, but I got into a great battle during the race and persevered to the end. I didn’t even know I got second. I thought I was fourth so I just came back into the pits and my team was yelling saying I got second! I can’t thank the whole M4 Rickdiculous Racing Suzuki team enough. They put so much behind me and gave me a really great bike! I wouldn’t be here without them, and I can’t wait to get up here again.”

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis also made big improvements with his set-up for Sunday’s Superstock 1000 race. As a result, Lewis had the pace to fight for victory aboard his 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000, although an early race incident interrupted his challenge. Still, the lanky Kentuckian won out in a tight fight for position to claim second at the checkered flag.

The result was Lewis’ eighth podium of 2017 and elevated him into second in the STK1000 title fight. Lewis said, “I am really happy with my race. The crew has been working so hard to give me a better bike, and we made a big change before the race that gave me a lot better rear grip.

“I made a great start and was right there with the lead pack. Unfortunately, when another rider crashed in front of me, I ran off track as well so I lost a little bit of time. I was working hard to fight back inch-by-inch but I ran out of time.

“A big thank you to the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew because they worked tirelessly all weekend. Next we’ll move on to Laguna Seca–one of my favorite tracks–with some good momentum and I’ll try to get another good result.”

Despite riding injured with a recently plated and still-mending collarbone, M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden also managed to work his way further up the order on Sunday. Saturday’s Superstock 600 fifth-place finish seemed heroic enough considering the circumstances, but in Race 2 McFadden made a late-race push to battle his way onto the podium. McFadden’s third-place finish was his fourth podium result of the season.

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Cleland joined in on the across-the-board improvement. He finished five positions stronger in Sunday’s STK600 contest, scoring points with a run to 14th position.

Team Hammer and the MotoAmerica series will next travel to Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, to race alongside the Superbike World Championship on July 7-9.

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 67 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 172 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 Yamalube/Westby Racing:

Mathew Scholtz Is The Big Man On Campus In MotoAmerica’s Superstock 1000 Class

Tooele, UT – At Utah Motorsports Campus last weekend, Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz made his sophomore visit to the Salt Lake City area and went to the head of the class in MotoAmerica Superstock 1000.

Mathew notched a second-place result in Saturday’s race, and then, he graduated magna cum laude on Sunday with a Superstock 1000 Race 2 victory that stretched his Championship lead to 17 points at the midway point of the 2017 MotoAmerica season.

A hard-working student of the sport, the Durban Dynamo proved yet again that he is one of the most talented foreign-exchange students in MotoAmerica’s group of world-class riders as he raced his #11 Yamalube/Westby Racing/Yamaha YZF-R1 Superstock 1000 machine around UMC’s 3.048-mile, 15-turn Outer Course with style and phenomenal success.

Turning in his paper at the conclusion of the weekend’s exams, the always-humble Mathew reported, “In Saturday’s race, the bike felt really strange. We had put in a lot of laps, and we felt comfortable with our setup, but in the race, everything changed. The grip level was not good, and from about the fifth lap, I was going slower every single lap and almost crashing in every corner. It was just strange. But, in the end, I was glad to keep the bike upright, and I got second in class and captured good points towards the Championship.

“On Sunday, I didn’t get a very good jump off the start, so, in the beginning of the race, I was part of a very long chain of riders. Pretty early on, I could see that Bobby (Fong) had the outright pace, but then, when he crashed, an opportunity presented itself. The door was open and then, when something happened to Jake (Lewis), that door swung wide-open. With about six laps left in the race, I had a really good gap (at the front of the Superstock 1000 field), so I decided to conserve my tires, manage the gap, and run a comfortable pace all the way to the class win. I’m really thankful to the team because they worked extremely hard, as they always do. We took quite a big gamble with the setup in this morning’s warmup, and it paid off for us in the race. The next round (at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca) suits our R1 a little bit better, so we’re looking forward to that.”

As Mathew mentioned, the next MotoAmerica race weekend for the Yamalube/Westby Racing team will be the Championship of the Monterey Peninsula on July 7-8 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California.

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 Team Suzuki News Service:

2017 YOSHIMURA SUZUKI GSX-R1000 1-2 AT MotoAmerica SBK

Toni Elias – (2017 GSX-R1000) – 1-1 for 1st

Roger Hayden- (2017 GSX-R1000) – 2-2 for 2nd

Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing dominated with a one-two aboard the new 2017 GSX-R1000 at the weekend’s MotoAmerica fifth round at Utah Motorsports Complex in Tooele, Utah.

Toni Elias swept the weekend, winning both legs of the event on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, extending his series lead to 30 points. And team-mate Roger Hayden finished runner-up in both races, winning Superpole and breaking a long-standing MotoAmerica/ AMA Superbike UMC track record in the process.

In testimony to the racing ability of the new 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000, this marked the fifth time this season that Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing has finished 1-2 in MotoAmerica Superbike.

Elias has now earned a series-leading six MotoAmerica Superbike victories in 2017. His Utah clean-sweep pushed his series lead total to 210 points. Hayden, who now owns eight podium finishes in 2017, moved back into second in the standings with 180 points.

The weekend started off on a high note for the team when Hayden used the power and handling of the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 to break the MotoAmerica UMC track record in Superpole. Hayden’s pole-winning time of 1:48.941 eclipsed the old MotoAmerica/ AMA Superbike lap-record for the 3.048-mile Outer/ Perimeter Course at UMC (formerly Miller Motorsports Park) of 1:49.167, set by Ben Spies in 2006; also on a Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Then it was Elias’ turn to shine: He made up for a mistake in the first turn of race 1 on Saturday, which dropped him far back in the pack. From there, the former World Champion methodically worked his way through the field to earn a stunning come-from-behind victory. On Sunday, his victory came after battling with Hayden up-front most of the way. He opened-up a small gap on the final lap and Elias’ margins of victory were 2.461 seconds on Saturday and 0.459 seconds on Sunday.

“I am so happy about this weekend,” Elias said after Sunday’s victory. “We won both races and the team did a great job with the bike. Yesterday, I got so lucky after running off the track. I came back step-by-step, passed some riders, caught the leading group and won the race. Today I was there up-front for the whole race. Two wins for the weekend was very important for the championship. We must continue like this.”

For Hayden, the track record was the highlight of the weekend.

“The record stood for a long time, so I’m really happy about that,” he said. “I’m proud of our performance. The team is working really hard and I’m looking forward to Laguna Seca.”

At the mid-point of the season, the newly-redesigned 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 has won a total of seven of the 10 MotoAmerica Superbike races.

The series kicks-off the second-half of the season when it moves to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on July 7-9th for the sixth of 10 MotoAmerica events.

More, from a press release issued by Aguilar Racing:

Aguilar Racing Has Best Weekend at Utah Motorsports Campus

Last year, Jason Aguilar came into Utah Motorsports Campus with a badly broken foot from a highside crash at Barber Motorsports Park, but still managed to finish on the podium. The year before that, Jason was plagued by mechanical problems while battling for a podium and left with no points and 2 DNFs. This year, Jason is healthy, his new Aguilar Racing team is starting to gel, and his new 2017 Yamaha YZF-R6 is running great. The team worked hard on getting the bike prepped with a new suspension setup, and a fresh motor from Graves Motorsports. Everything was lining up for a good weekend.

At the end of the first day, Jason was the fastest overall Superstock 600 rider, but still off a good race pace. He was going to need to do better in Saturday morning’s qualifying session. The team made some suspension changes, and Jason improved to qualify 2nd behind Michael Gilbert, who led qualifying with a new class lap record of 1:55.305. The team was going to have to get some more performance out of the bike and rider to compete for the win. Setup changes were made, brakes were changed, the clutch was changed, and the bike was ready. Now, it was up to the rider.

Jason got a great start to Race 1 and took the lead going into the first turn. For a few laps, it was close as Jason battled with both Supersport class riders and Superstock 600 riders. Jason started to push as he got more comfortable with the suspension changes, and his lap times kept dropping. By the time he recorded a new class track record of 1:55.045, he had built a 7 second lead over the 2nd place rider. Jason continued to push the pace and took his first MotoAmerica win.

Jason leading Race 1. photo courtesy of Brian J Nelson

Sunday’s race 2 once again saw Jason get a great start and take the lead going into the first corner. Jason gradually extended his lead, and took his second MotoAmerica win. The double win catapulted Jason into the Championship points lead. Jason now leads the MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Championship with 135 points.

Jason Aguilar: “It was a really good race. I was kind of surprised again. I got 50 points and the Championship lead, and I’m stoked with that. My Team, Poncho Rangel and Chris Waters, did a great job this weekend. I want to thank Mike Pond for providing some new Galfer rotors, and helping me with the vinyl on my bodywork. I also want to thank Rick Williams of Graves Motorsports for help with brake pads and a clutch.”

Thanks to all Aguilar Racing sponsors: Graves Motorsports, SolarMax Technology, Torco Advanced Lubricants, Yamaha Motor USA, Taylormade Racing, FTECU, Speed and Strength, Arai Helmets, Galfer, Motion Pro, Riderzlaw, Superlite Sprockets, SpeedAngle, Dunlop Tires, Thermal Technology Race, EF Signs, SBK Paint.

More, from a press release issued by Rickdiculous Racing:

Tooele, Utah – When the “Ricks” rolled into Utah Motorsports Campus for Round 5 of the MotoAmerica Championship, “home track advantage” was not a term taken lightly. As a new team to the series the first half of the season had found them starting at zero each weekend on unfamiliar tracks, adding to that was a last- minute change to the rider lineup as former Rickdiculous Supersport rider Daytona Anderson took a spot on the M4 The 22 Project Suzuki GSX-R600 prior to Road America. Daytona was replaced with Moto2 rider and California native Jason Uribe just a week before the Utah race and hadn’t ridden the Rickdiculous Yamaha R6 prior to Friday’s first practice.

“It’s been an exciting start to the season. We have had respectable results so far and getting back home should help us build some momentum into the last half of the season. We have great equipment and crew. Jeff Stern has spent countless hours in the dyno room finding every ounce of power he can. Our Team Owners Adam and Josh Bronfman have given us the tools to be successful. Now it’s up to all of us to make it come together,” said Team Manager Kelly Rees.

Saturday’s Race 1 found Jason Uribe battling for position in the Supersport class while getting comfortable with a new bike and crew.

After riding in Europe for the last few years his aggressive style paid off with a seventh-place finish. 16-year-old rookie Gauge Rees was back on home turf and working his way through the pack in the Superstock 600 class. Starting 21st, he fought his way up to 17th overall and a 10th in class. This was his best finish of the season. 

“That was a great race! It was a good feeling coming into a track that I was familiar with so I could work more on setup and building speed in Friday practice instead of trying to find my way around the track. The racers in this class are no joke, everyone is fast. With the help of Ken Hill and the Rickdiculous Rider Development Camps I’m improving every weekend,” said Gauge Rees.

Sunday’s Race 2 was filled with the unexpected as the two Rickdiculous Racing-backed Supersport riders Uribe and Anderson were locked in a back and forth fight for position from lap one. Neither rider was willing to give up an inch, and the racing was getting fierce. In the last lap the leaders collided and went down moving Anderson and Uribe into second and third position, where they finished the race behind another Rickdiculous RDC rider Valentin Debise. 

“This opportunity came together late, but it obviously came together good, I had a great bike and a great time, I really want to thank Adam and Josh Bronfman, Ken Hill, everybody at Rick Racing, all the Ricks and the entire MotoAmerica operation,” said Uribe. 

Gauge Rees fought his way from 21st to a 15th overall finish to best his Saturday performance continuing his climb towards the front of the field.

Team Owner Josh Bronfman had this to say, “I could not be more excited and proud of our racers and our team! To have an all RiCK athletes podium in the second Supersport 600 race is a dream come true. I also could not be more proud of Gauge Rees for his grit and determination throughout his entire rookie season. His work ethic and maturity showed this weekend with his best two finishes of his pro career! The entire RiCK team has been working extremely hard and focused on attaining this goal. Our racers are some of the most committed athletes I have met, and their continued dedication to our coaching and health programs showed this past weekend. Our technical team has been consistent in putting competitive bikes on the grid that our athletes are able to ride with the utmost confidence. I want to say thank you to everyone who has dedicated their lives to making this happen! Thank you to our partners Team Hammer, MedAge and the rest of the RiCKdiculous family for your continued support and dedication toward our goal of a Championship!”

Rickdiculous Racing would like to thank its partners and sponsors: Braking, Ohlins, Dunlop Tires, Venhill USA, Speedmob, Shoei Helmets, BluCru, Trackstar Racing, Jesse Koeller, Fastline Performance and Jeff Stern, MotoStation, Heatshrink.com, Drippin Wet Graphics, medAage and all of the Utah fans who came out to watch!

Rickdiculous Racing is a family owned and operated company that is dedicated to providing the safest and most personalized learning environment for anyone interested in being a safer and more competent motorcycle rider. www.rickdiculousracing.com