DEBISE RETURNS TO TEAM HAMMER FOR 2017
Team Hammer has re-signed Valentin Debise to battle for the 2017 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Supersport title aboard a Suzuki GSX-R600.
In 2016, the 24-year-old Frenchman every bit lived up to his billing as a top-flight talent with extensive international racing experience. In his American debut season, Debise shocked the paddock with an 11-podium campaign, good enough to secure a top-three year-end ranking in the Supersport class.
Debise was not only fast but consistently so, despite continually being put up against unfamiliar venues. He managed to finish on the podium at every stop on the tour, including a maiden victory at Road America and five additional runner-up results.
Prior to coming to MotoAmerica, Debise earned the French 125cc Grand Prix title, won French Supersport races, scored points in FIM 250cc Grand Prix World Championship competition, finished in the top 10 in the FIM Supersport World Championship, ran up front in the FIM Endurance World Championship, and logged two full seasons in the FIM Moto2 World Championship.
“I didn’t know what to expect when I first came to America,” Debise said. “I was far from home, all alone, and not sure what I could do. Fortunately, I found a great team that supported me even when things were the most difficult. I stayed calm, trained hard, and pushed as hard as I could. It all paid off and together, we finished on the podium in every round. I could not be more proud of what we accomplished in 2016.
“I’m excited to come back in 2017. MotoAmerica has great racing and fantastic fans. We’re going to use what we learned last year and do everything we can to challenge for the championship.”
Team manager Chris Ulrich said, “We’re excited to have Valentin on the team for 2017. We think there’s great potential in the season ahead. Having never seen the tracks before and still earning 11 podiums and a win, we think Valentin can do even better this year.
“He’s already a consistent front-runner and now he won’t be giving FP1 away learning the track. He’s a very good technical rider and has helped us develop our GSX-R600. The team has a great history in this class and with Valentin, we’re looking to keep raising the level of our program. We like his consistency and are looking forward to having a good year.”
2017 will mark Team Hammer’s 37th consecutive season of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 61 AMA Pro National races, have finished on AMA Pro National podiums 153 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships (the most recent in 2012), as well as two FIM South American championships. The team has also won 133 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and won 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 the F-USA Championship four times.