Supersport Rookie Tyler Scott Earns Eighth Podium of the Year in Pittsburgh

Suzuki GSX-Rs Continue Strong MotoAmerica Showing

BREA, Calif., August 22, 2022 — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer added to their trophy collection in a strong conclusion to the MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.

The podium once again came courtesy of the prodigious Tyler Scott, who registered the eighth podium of his rookie campaign aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750. Suzuki GSX-R race bikes accounted for half of the top ten finishing positions in Supersport on Sunday.

Tyler Scott (70) continues his podium stand with his eight of the season in Race 2 at Pittsburgh.

It didn’t come easily, however, as the 16-year-old was shuffled back to seventh early and was forced to systematically work his way back into podium contention. While it took over half the race to arrive at the fight for third, Scott made quick work of two rivals to secure the position once there.

He pulled off a pair of timely passes on lap 10 of 16 to move from fifth to third in a matter of corners and then held strong to the checkered flag.

“I had a bad start. I was down in seventh or so I think,” Scott said. “But my Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew gave me a fantastic bike today, and that provided me with the confidence I needed to fight back. I am happy with the pace we showed, and we’ll take what we learned today and move on to the next one.”

With an eighth-place finish in Race 2, Cory Ventura (24) is happy to leave Pittsburgh healthy.

One of the riders Scott worked past during his charge was teammate Cory Ventura. The Californian, who has continued to impress while substituting for the injured Sam Lochoff, made his way up to fifth after starting ninth on the grid. Ventura would fade late and ultimately finished one position better than his qualifying position in eighth.

Liam Grant (90) continues to learn to ride his new generation Supersport GSX-R750.

Third Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Supersport pilot Liam Grant finished 13th as he, once again, showed consistency in his first year with the team.

Meanwhile, in premier-class action, Superbike rookie Richie Escalante rebounded from a costly Saturday mistake to register a strong result on Sunday. Like Ventura, the former Supersport champion Escalante started in ninth position, but hustled the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike forward throughout the 17-lap race.

After a disappointing Race 1, Richie Escalante (54) bounced back with a sixth-place finish.

Escalante made a concerted push for a top-five finish late, falling just 0.166 seconds short at the flag in sixth position.

He said, “It was a difficult weekend, but we had a good race today. Friday, I was a little less confident after crashing at Brainerd, but my confidence grew. On Saturday, I made a rookie mistake on the first lap. It was much better today. We battled for the top five and the gap to the winner was the same.

“I’m happy to have another few weeks to recover. The injury wasn’t affecting me much on the track, but I wasn’t able to train, and I didn’t have the energy I usually have in the last five or six laps. Now I can start my training on Tuesday and be ready for the next round.”

Jake Lewis (85) continues to get back in race shape with a ninth-place finish.

He was joined in the top ten by teammate Jake Lewis, who came home in ninth position despite a periodical bike issue.

Team Hammer will be back in action on September 9-11 for the penultimate round of the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey.

ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer's 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 128 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 344 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 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.

ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.

ABOUT SUZUKI
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.