ROGER HAYDEN SCORES PODIUMS IN MOTOAMERICA OPENER
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Rookie Jake Lewis Solid in Superbike Debut
AUSTIN, TEXAS – It was a solid season opener for Yoshimura Suzuki on April 11-12 at the inaugural weekend of the MotoAmerica Series, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. MotoAmerica shared the spotlight with the stars of MotoGP and raced in front of a weekend crowd estimated at 120,000 fans.
Roger Hayden put his No. 95 Yoshimura Suzuki in the spotlight when he led early during Sunday’s AMA Superbike race two at COTA despite getting his GSX-R1000 completely sideways through the esses on the opening lap. In the end Hayden finished third for the second time and heads to Road Atlanta next weekend a close third in the standings.
Hayden took third on Sunday in spite of an issue with his bike’s front tire. Hayden said that the silver lining was the fact he’s confident he can run for wins under normal circumstances.
“I led the first couple of laps but I was struggling because of a front tire issue (on Sunday),” Hayden explained. “I realized it was best to just ease off a little bit and try to finish the race. It’s too bad for the team because it was something that was out of our control. We’ll move on to Road Atlanta and try to do better.”
Hayden took away the knowledge that the team’s rigorous off-season has paid dividends.
“Some of the hard work the team has done in the off season really showed up this week in the race. We had the fastest bike down the back straightaway. I gained some confidence this week and so did the team because we feel like we’re right there. The great thing with this team is we were all disappointed with third place. It just shows you we’re not going to be satisfied until we start winning.”
Jake Lewis made his AMA Superbike debut aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki and scored a 5th and 4th. Lewis is fourth in the series standings after the opening weekend. The on-again, off-again rain in Austin hampered Lewis’ progress.
“I didn’t get as much dry time on the bike as I would have liked with all the rain,” Lewis said. “It was my first race on the 1000, so will that and dealing with the rain I didn’t feel very confident and didn’t get the results I was hoping for. We got some decent point and we’ll move on to Road Atlanta. We’ve got some work to do, but we’ll keep chipping away and hopefully move towards the front.”
Yoshimura Suzuki is back in action this coming weekend, April 17-19 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.
COTA AMA Superbike Race 1 Results:
1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
2. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
3. Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
4. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)
5. Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
6. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
7. Elena Myers (Suzuki)
8. Mathew Orange (BMW)
9. Ricky Orlando (Kawasaki)
10. Aaron Hersh (Suzuki)
COTA AMA Superbike Race 2 Results:
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
3. Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
4. Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
5. Chris Fillmore (KTM)
6. Elena Myers (Suzuki)
7. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)
8. Aaron Hersh (Suzuki)
9. Ricky Orlando (Kawasaki)
2015 AMA Superbike Championship Points:
1. Cameron Beaubier – 45
2. Josh Hayes – 45
3. Roger Hayden – 32
4. Jake Lewis – 24
5. Bernat Martinez – 22
6. Elena Myers – 18
7. Chris Fillmore – 15
8. Ricky Orlando – 14
9. Aaron Hersh – 13
10. Chris Ulrich – 10
Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motorex, Parts Unlimited, Dunlop, Shorai, Sunstar, K&N Performance Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, RK Racing Chain, Genmark Automation, Pilot, Chicken Hawk Racing and Zeta.
About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.
About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. SMAI’s supplier, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles and Outboard Motors. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has 147 distributors in 201 countries. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com
More, from a press release issued by FRC Concepts on behalf of Chisum/Motul Racing:
Tyler O’Hara Opens MotoAmerica Season with Podium for Chisum/Motul Racing
Bakersfield, CA – The Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX was the site of round one of the 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship and Chisum/Motul Racing’s Tyler O’Hara proved to be a contender in the Superstock 1000cc class in front of approximately 120,000 spectators. In his first time competing on a 1000cc machine he earned a third place podium finish on Saturday and followed that up with a sixth on Sunday.
Despite limited track time at the Circuit of the Americas track, O’Hara qualified third in the Superstock class, beating numerous Superbike riders and giving him a good starting spot for the two weekend races. Just prior to Saturday’s race of the combined Superbike and Superstock race, the rain started falling forcing O’Hara to change to a more conservative strategy. Even with the wet track he made several passes to move towards the front and began a tough battle for second place with [another rider]. The two swapped positions a few times with O’Hara settling for his third place podium position at the finish line.
“I basically wanted to pace myself and just be there at the end of the race,” commented O’Hara on the podium. “It was tough to be smooth with the rain but I feel like I’m on the right path and I’m one step closer to where I want to be. It was an excellent way to start the season.”
Race two on Sunday proved to be a tough one for O’Hara because of tire selection and two minor mistakes that cost him positions on the track. “I couldn’t push hard in the high speed, technical sections because of a vibration I was feeling throughout the bike. I was in a big pack of riders and I was able to keep pace despite the struggles,” explained O’Hara. “However, I hit a false neutral twice and it cost me four positions and that’s what really hurt me.” In the end, O’Hara would cruise to a sixth at the finish line.
Team owner and rider Josh Chisum did not compete in this weekend’s event but he was very excited to see O’Hara’s results. “I am very happy with the ride that Tyler put in this weekend,” said Chisum. “I couldn’t ride because we just got our bikes and we only had enough parts to put one bike together. Tyler’s bike was basically stock except for the body work, suspension and a Yoshimura exhaust so he did a really great job competing with, and beating some of those factory supported teams with much bigger budgets than us.”
The Chisum/Motul Racing Team will be competing at Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA for round 2 of the MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship on April 17-19, 2015. As a team with a limited budget, we would really like to thank Motul, Yoshimura, Motion Pro, Sidi, Performance Friction Brake Pads, RS Taichi, Barnett Clutches. Moto Liberty, Arai, Troy Lee Designs, K-Tech and Orient Express.