M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong concluded the combined WorldSBK/MotoAmerica Superbike weekend at WeatherTech Laguna Seca in spectacular fashion with a wire-to-wire victory in a one-sided MotoAmerica Supersport race.
Fong sprinted into the lead from the start and never looked back. The Californian shot to an immediate gap on the opening lap as he hustled his GSX-R600 racebike around the undulating circuit and then proceeded to apply the pressure on his pursuers from the front with his sheer pace.
Fong’s nearest rival crashed out while in pursuit, clearing the way for a blowout victory. Fong worked up a four-second advantage before easing his way to a 1.603-second margin of victory at the flag.
The win was Fong’s fourth of the season and gave him an 18-point lead in the MotoAmerica Supersport championship standings.
The victory also marked the team’s 75th AMA Pro and MotoAmerica race win.
Fong said, “Honestly, I had one of the best bikes out there — again — thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team. It’s good to get the win for Suzuki, I know they wanted it here at Laguna Seca, one of their home races.
“We’ve got the championship lead now, so we’ve just got to keep the ball rolling as we move on to my home round at Sonoma Raceway in a month’s time.”
Teenager Sean Dylan Kelly continued to impress in his rookie season of racing in MotoAmerica. The second M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Supersport pilot left the grid in seventh at the start of the 19-lap race, and gradually worked his way into fourth position.
Meanwhile in Superbike, Jake Lewis followed up his Saturday top-five with an eighth-place ride in Sunday’s race aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Lewis got away in his qualifying position of seventh and held that spot over the race’s opening half before solidifying eighth in what was ultimately a relatively uneventful ride.
The 2019 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship will resume in just under a month as the series arrives at Sonoma Raceway on August 10-11.
About Team Hammer
The 2019 season marks Team Hammer’s 39th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 75 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 218 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
