CHALLENGING LAGUNA SECA WEEKEND FOR VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI

Brea, CA, July 15, 2024 — Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and Team Hammer’s Superbike and Supersport entries continued their ‘24 campaigns at the fabled WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. And like the venue itself, the teams’ weekend was notable for its unusual number of ups and downs.

Race Highlights: .

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Superbike
  - Xavi Forés was seventh twice, earning the positions on his Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
  - Brandon Paasch showed his speed with a second-row qualifying effort but was unable to fully capitalize on that raw speed in the races.
- Supersport
  - Tyler Scott rebounded with a top ten on Sunday after suffering electrical issues the day before.
  - Teagg Hobbs took 12th- and 13th-place finishes on the weekend.
  - Joel Ohman gained speed as the weekend progressed.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s super-sub, Xavi Forés (34), continued to demonstrate his caliber aboard the team’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R, adapting to it on the fly while sitting in for the team’s regular pilot, Richie Escalante. In Saturday’s race, the reigning Supersport champion climbed his way up from tenth early to edge teammate Brandon Paasch for seventh by 0.244 seconds at the flag. Forés registered a similar charge on Sunday, again racing up to seventh from tenth, this time punctuated by a last-lap, last-corner pass for position.

Xavi Forés (34), earned two seventh-place results at Laguna Seca, while filling in for the injured Richie Escalante.

Forés said, “We were expecting to have a solid weekend after the steps we made at Ridge, but for some reason, we couldn’t find quite the right setup for this track. It was a pleasure to work with the entire team during these races. Richie is getting better, and Ohio is the target for him, so I wish all of them all the best. I want to say a huge thank you to the team for having me on board. I’ve enjoyed it; we earned a podium together and learned a lot.”

Brandon Paasch (96) impressed with a second-row qualifying effort aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. After narrowly missing out on seventh following his duel with teammate Forés on Saturday, Paasch was eager to improve on Sunday. Unfortunately, he crashed out of the race at the start of the second lap while running in the lead pack.

Brandon Paasch (96) showed speed in qualifying, but was unable to capitalize on it in races.

“We had our best qualifying of the season here, but I wasn’t quite able to run that pace in the races. It was a little disappointing to finish eighth on Saturday, not the best and not the worst. On Sunday, I was trying to get a better start and hang onto some racers in front of me when I tucked the front. I’m sore, but I think I’m okay.”

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott (70) did his best to salvage a tough weekend for the squad’s Supersport crew by picking up a top-ten finish on Sunday after missing Saturday’s race due to an electrical issue suffered on the warm-up lap. Scott battled hard aboard his next-generation GSX-R750, duking it out in a multi-rider fight to ultimately come away with a ninth-place result.

Tyler Scott (70) salvaged a top-ten result in Sunday’s Supersport race.

Scott said, “It was a long weekend with a bunch of ups and downs. We were chasing setup all weekend, and we came prepared for Race 1 with a bike we thought would be good to battle with, but unfortunately we had an electrical problem. That left us with a DNS, although the team worked hard until the last possible second to try and get me out for the race. For the second race, I had a really good start from the third row but early on began to suffer with setup issues and a track limits penalty that ended with me in ninth. It was a tough weekend with lots to take home to think about in the next month. I am going to be back at Mid-Ohio stronger than ever and ready to win.”

Teammate Teagg Hobbs (79) encountered uncharacteristic struggles as well. Fresh off a sixth place at the previous round, and returning to WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway where he finished in the top five aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 one year ago, Hobbs was unable to find his typical pace and left the weekend with 12th- and 13th-place finishes.

Teagg Hobbs (79) struggled at Laguna Seca, finishing twice in the top 15.

“It was a really tough weekend, the toughest I have ever had racing,” Hobbs admitted. “We’ve been chasing a problem for two events that we can’t identify. We have a plan for these next four weeks before Ohio to address it, and we’ll do our best.”

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s third Supersport pilot, Joel Ohman (92), continued to soak up as much experience as possible at the tricky race track. Ohman raced his way forward by running laps quicker than his qualifying best to pick up several positions on his starting slot in both races.

Joel Ohman (92) gained speed throughout the Laguna Seca weekend, with good progression.

“The weekend went well,” Ohman said. “I started out faster than I had gone here before, and kept getting quicker every session. We picked up a second and a half by the time the weekend was done. In the races, I had good battles on Saturday and Sunday. It felt good to mix it up. We feel like we are making progress, and that’s the goal.”

The 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship will resume in just over a month’s time at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on August 16-18 in Lexington, Ohio.

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.