Team Suzuki Press Office – July 10.
Tyler Scott (SS): GSX-R750 – 2nd
Richie Escalante (SBK): GSX-R1000R – 4th
Cory Ventura (SS): GSX-R750 – 8th
Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued their front-running ways at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, adding another pole position and podium finish to their impressive tally during the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/ FIM North American Road Racing season.
Tyler Scott has shown himself to be a week-in, week-out threat for victory in MotoAmerica Supersport competition aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, and the 16-year-old rookie only furthered that notion on Saturday.
Scott opened the race from pole after setting the pace in qualifying and then made full use of that remarkable speed in running down the early leader after getting away in third. He made methodical progress to close the gap completely, even leading briefly on Lap 11 of 19.
Scott’s bid to add a second win to his rookie campaign was ultimately undone due to an unfortunate run through lappers, but he’ll gladly take a runner-up result in his first-ever Supersport race at the legendary raceway with an eye on further improvement.
“The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team put an amazing bike underneath me for this race today,” said Scott. “I was just trying to keep a fast pace and keep the pressure on. I knew it was going to be a hard race, but I was ready to fight. We just had a few challenges near the end, but it was an amazing race. We’ll make a few small changes for tomorrow and come back stronger.”
Team regular Liam Grant joined the mending Sam Lochoff on the shelf after suffering a concussion in a qualifying crash. Despite the absences of Grant and Lochoff, Scott was still joined in the top 10 by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki substitute rider Cory Ventura, who made his race debut aboard the next-generation GSX-R750. Ventura finished a close eighth after qualifying fifth and running as high as sixth and helped Suzuki lock down a full half of the class’s top 10 finishing positions on the day.
Meanwhile, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Superbike rookie Richie Escalante enjoyed an encouraging outing in the premier class.
Escalante more than backed-up his strong sixth-placed qualifying performance aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R. He got away from the line in fifth and promptly executed a successful overtake to move up into fourth on Lap 2. He did well to keep the podium battle in sight for several laps, pulling free of the riders behind him en-route to an eventual fourth-place finish.
Escalante said: “So far, it has been the best weekend yet for me on the Superbike; the best qualifying and the best race. I think at the Ridge, we made many improvements, so I came into this weekend with more expectations but also, I was more confident and relaxed.
“The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team has worked great, and now we are more focused on smaller changes that keep improving the bike. After I made the pass for fourth, I was by myself so I focused on my riding, the exits, and my rhythm. We still need to improve our pace but we are still learning. This is a good result and we will keep working harder.”
Multi-time Superbike podium finisher Kyle Wyman did well in substitute duty, adding yet another top 10 to the team’s total on the day while riding in place of the injured Jake Lewis aboard the second GSX-R1000R.
While focusing on the continued development of the machine in anticipation of Lewis’ eventual return, Wyman improved his speed in every session. He continued his forward momentum in the race, transforming a 12th-place grid slot into an eighth-place finish.
Team Hammer is looking to build on its promising Saturday with an even better Sunday as the MotoAmerica round at Laguna Seca concludes.
