ESCALANTE AND SCOTT EARN THE TOP 5 FOR VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI

Brea, CA – September 30, 2024 – Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and Team Hammer closed out the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season at New Jersey Motorsports Park in rock solid fashion as Superbike pilot Richie Escalante and Supersport ace Tyler Scott led the way with four combined top-five finishes.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Superbike star Richie Escalante once again showed himself up to the task of going bar-to-bar with the nation’s elite roadracers, scoring a pair of impressive finishes despite qualifying on Row 4 on a weekend that featured mixed conditions but largely dry races. On Saturday, the Mexican carved his way up through the field aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000R to ultimately win out a multi-rider dice for fifth. He was even stronger on Sunday despite again finishing fifth, closing in dramatically on the fight for victory late before taking the checkered flag just 0.886 seconds behind the winner.

Despite missing the bulk of the season after suffering an injury in the opener, Escalante ended his abbreviated campaign with a podium finish among his three top 5 results. He said, “We had a pretty good weekend, one that was tough with the weather conditions. My pace and rhythm were good on the bike, and we finished with a gap quite close to the front on Sunday. I need to work on my starts and first laps more, so I don’t have to make up positions later in the race. I am glad this year is over given my injuries and missing time, but I want to thank Suzuki, the team, the crew, and all the sponsors.”

Brandon Paasch (96) showed determination with a great qualifying time and impressive performance on Sunday despite a crash on Saturday

Escalante’s premier-class teammate, Brandon Paasch, was motivated to impress in front of his home-state fans. And impress he did, claiming his first career MotoAmerica front row grid position by clocking the third best time aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. Unfortunately, Paasch crashed out while embroiled in the chase for fifth late in Saturday’s race. However, he bounced back on Sunday, claiming seventh in the year’s final contest.

Paasch, who ended the season ranked ninth in the points on the strength of two top 5 finishes, said, “It was a lot of positives for us and some disappointment as well. This was my first-ever front row qualifying, and I was fifth in the morning warm-up on Sunday. And in Sunday’s race, the total time was the closest I have finished to the winner yet. But the races didn’t go that well for us. I had a 118-mile per hour crash on Saturday and lost a lot of ground early in the race on Sunday.”

Tyler Scott (70) was a consistent performer all season long with ending with a strong hold on fifth-place in championship points

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Supersport standout Tyler Scott wrapped up a strong campaign aboard the team’s next-generation GSX-R750 with a pair of fourth-place rides. Scott was consistently in the mix up front as he had been all season long, locking down a fifth-place championship standing that included a victory among four podium finishes.

Scott said, “It was mixed conditions all weekend but dry races, so that made it interesting. Overall, it wasn’t a bad weekend, but we were looking for more because we always want to win. On Saturday, we got fourth with a small bike problem keeping us from the podium. It looked like we might get it on Sunday, but a rider t-boned me towards the end of the race. I lost some ground and wasn’t able to make it up the rest of the way.”

Scott’s Supersport teammate, Teagg Hobbs, continued to fight his way out of a second half slump. Hobbs raced his way up from 15th on the grid to finish inside the top 10 twice – 10th on Saturday and ninth on Sunday, to end the season ranked ninth in the final MotoAmerica Supersport standings.

Hobbs said, “It’s no secret we have struggled this season, and we made changes with the bike and got back on track this weekend. It took a while to get the setup dialed in, but by Sunday, things were really improved. I started 15th and moved up to seventh, and my lap times were third or fourth fastest in the race. The bike responded to my rider inputs the way I was expecting. It was a disappointing year for me, but it was good to get a positive race in.”

The squad’s third Supersport pilot, Joel Ohman, spent his 2024 season dedicated to gaining as much experience and speed as possible, a mission he concluded in New Jersey.

Ohman said, “It feels good to end the year on a high note. We started out really rough with the rain. I didn’t feel confident pushing it the way I wanted and was having a hard time. The first race, we had some of the same issues as before but after working with the team and my riding coach, we found a solution with the bike and I went 2.5 seconds faster than we had gone all weekend. The second race, I was able to battle and move up so I was happy about that.”

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.

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.