Brea, CA, (June 3, 2024) — Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and its premier MotoAmerica team Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki emerged from a weekend of varied weather conditions at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, with podiums in both the wet and dry, headlined by a spectacular last-lap victory courtesy of Tyler Scott aboard the Suzuki GSX-R750 in Supersport.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
- Tyler Scott was strong all weekend long, regardless of conditions, ending things on a high note with a 0.001-second victory.
- Teagg Hobbs twice finished inside the top ten.
- Joel Ohman took his best finish yet with the team.
Twins Cup
- Rossi Moor narrowly missed out on the podium on Saturday, but came through to finish third thanks to last-lap heroics of his own on Sunday.
Superbike
- Brandon Paasch earned a top five and a seventh in the premier-class.
- Xavi Forés demonstrated podium speed as he continued to demonstrate his world-class skills in substitute duty.
Tyler Scott (70) puts the GSX-R750 on the Supersport podium once again at Road America.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott (70) was strong aboard the team’s next-generation GSX-R750 all weekend long, regardless of conditions. Scott earned a spot on the Supersport front row and led Saturday’s wet race before ultimately earning a solid fourth-place finish. That merely set the stage for Sunday’s showdown, in which he executed a perfectly timed double draft to claim the victory at the checkered flag by an impossibly tight 0.001-second margin.
Tyler Scott was fast all weekend long, with a Sunday victory in the dry, and barely missing a second podium in the wet race on Saturday.
“It was a great race,” Scott said. “The plan going into the weekend was to stay in the pack and fight for the win in the end. We tried to lead races earlier in the season, and it didn’t quite work out in our favor. I was very comfortable in the race until the last two or three laps where I tried to get in as many passes as I could. Thanks to the whole Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for preparing a beautiful GSX-R750 this weekend, as they have all season. I can’t thank the team, Suzuki, and everyone enough.”
Supersport sophomore Teagg Hobbs (79) returned to his more typical form after struggling at Barber Motorsports Park. Hobbs was back in the top ten after qualifying on Row 2 on his GSX-R750, claiming ninth on Saturday, and eighth on Sunday.
Hobbs said, “The first starts before the red flags were great, and I was battling in the top five where I want to be. In the last one, I didn’t get a great start and made a couple of mistakes. There weren’t enough laps to get back into it. We had the pace to do good things, so it was frustrating. My Suzuki was strong all weekend without many changes. I’m trying as hard as I can, and will keep at it.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s third Supersport runner, Joel Ohman (92), earned his best finish yet with the team, picking up ten positions from his starting spot on Saturday ,and following that up with more progress on Sunday.
“We went faster than I thought and had some good battles,” Ohman said. “In the rain, we had more grip than expected, so we were able to go quicker. Things were going well in the dry, but I overheated the front tire and wasn’t able to get the bike stopped like I needed to. Overall, I learned a lot and it was a good weekend.”
Rossi Moor (92) had a strong third in Sunday’s Twins Cup race.
Rossi Moor (92) rode weekend and put the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R on the box with a strong third place in Sunday’s Twins Cup race.
After Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s rising star Rossi Moor (92) was edged for the podium in the wet on Saturday, he responded with a last-lap overtake of his own aboard his GSX-8R to finish third in the dry in the Sunday rematch, further building on the GSX-8R’s multiple podiums for the weekend.
“That was a difficult race,” Moor said after Sunday’s battle. “The whole Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew worked extremely hard to get this bike up front. It was good, hard racing, and I’m so happy to be up on the podium after some bad luck in the first two rounds. I want to thank my crew, Suzuki, and everyone else who helped me get up here.”
Superbike pilot Brandon Paasch (96) enjoyed his strongest weekend of the 2024 season, piloting the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R to a fifth-place finish on Saturday; and then holding off teammate Xavi Forés (34) to win their battle for seventh on Sunday.
“Solid weekend for us, dipping back into the top five in the wet conditions on Saturday,” said Paasch. “It was nice to run with the front boys some more and chip away at the gap to the front. Sunday, I rode hard to finish seventh battling with Xavi for the entire race, and finishing as the top Suzuki Superbike. I’m looking forward to Brainerd in two weeks.”
Reigning Supersport class champion Forés again showed big-time potential on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike, battling for a premier-class podium in the wet before a minor miscue cost Forés that opportunity. He rebounded to challenge Paasch for seventh throughout Sunday’s contest, coming up just 0.013 seconds short at the flag.
Forés said, “It was a tough weekend with some ups and downs, but we showed good progress. I wanted that podium on Saturday so badly. I had some good splits, but I made a small mistake – I braked like one meter too deep – and tucked the front. It was a shame, because we could have fought for the podium. We were also strong in the dry, and are still looking for a little extra to get up front. But we have to enjoy the progress made, and say thanks for this opportunity. Now we move on to Brainerd where I aim to have a better weekend.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will be back in action in two weeks’ time when the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season arrives at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota, on June 14-16.
