Suzuki GSX-8Rs and the GSX-R750 Capture Multiple Podiums
Brea, CA, June 3, 2024 — Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and its premier MotoAmerica teams – Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, and RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines 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 spectacular last-lap victories courtesy of Tyler Scott aboard the Suzuki GSX-R750 in Supersport and Rocco Landers on the Suzuki GSX-8R in Twins Cup competition.
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.
- Supersport
- RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki
- Twins Cup
- Rocco Landers backed up a third-place podium in the wet with a thrilling last-lap win in Sunday’s dry race rematch aboard the GSX-8R.
- Twins Cup
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.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) returned to form at Road America, with two top-ten results.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.”
Rocco Landers (97) with the win, and Rossi Moor (92) with a strong third, dominated the podium in Sunday’s Twins Cup race.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki star Rocco Landers (97) and his Suzuki GSX-8R were in outstanding form again at the high-speed Road America circuit. First, Landers edged fellow Suzuki ace Rossi Moor by 0.157 seconds to claim third in Saturday’s wet contest. Then Landers came back on a sunny Sunday to run the leader down from multiple seconds back and execute a final-lap pass to secure the victory in Race 2. As a result of his double podium weekend, Landers leaves Wisconsin as the Twins Cup series points leader as he continues to demonstrate the GSX-8R’s competitive promise.
Rocco Landers has put the Suzuki GSX-8R on the podium once again, and now leads in the Twins Cup series points.
Landers said, “We made a bit of a tire gamble, and it worked out in our favor. I was pushing so hard, and the whole RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki team and Suzuki have worked so hard developing the GSX-8R. This bike’s handling is incredible. It’s one of my favorite bikes I’ve ever ridden. I’m stoked with the progress we continue to make, and I’m excited about what’s to come. It’s great to come out of here with the points lead, and I can’t wait to get back to it.”
Rossi Moor (92) diced with Landers all 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 by Landers 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.”
Brandon Paasch (96) continues to progress in Superbike, with his strongest 2024 results so far at Road America.
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.”
Xavi Forés (34) continues to show strong Superbike class potential on the GSX-R1000R.
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.”
Both Suzuki teams 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.
For Suzuki road racing news, results, and team updates, visit suzukicycles.com/racing/road-racing. For more information and updates on Team Hammer, visit teamhammer.com.
Photos By Brian J. Nelson
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2024 season marks Team Hammer's 44th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won over 130 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums over 360 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 over 130 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.