Brea, CA, (June 30, 2025) — Suzuki Motor USA secured a podium finish and several other strong results despite having more pace than luck on the weekend as the 2025 MotoAmerica season continued at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington.
Race Highlights:
- Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Superbike
- Richie Escalante was quick and confident on the GSX-R1000R all weekend long.
- Sean Dylan Kelly was unable to fully capitalize on his raw speed at Ridge Motorsports Park
- Supersport
- Tyler Scott’s weekend was packed with drama but he twice rebounded from near-disaster to finish sixth.
- Max VanDenBrouck gained speed and experience throughout the weekend
- RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines
- Twins Cup
- Matthew Chapin earned a podium on Saturday but was robbed of a chance to repeat on Sunday due to an opening-lap incident.
Richie Escalante (#54) powered his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R to fifth and fourth-place finishes at Ridge Motorsports Park.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante continued his strong midseason form at Ridge Motorsports Park, notching up top fives across the board in qualifying and both races. That made it four straight Superbike finishes of fifth or better for the Mexican racer, who finished fifth on Saturday and then fourth on Sunday. Arguably even more encouraging than the actual results was his race pace, as Escalante was within sight of the podium both times out.
“We finished on the podium at Road America, but I was more happy with our lap times and race pace this weekend,” Escalante said. “The track suits my style more, and the crew did a great job preparing the bike. We worked in the right direction all weekend. To get fifth and fourth and be close to the front was very positive. I liked our pace on used tires. I still need to push harder in the first two or three laps and lost a little bit of time to the leaders on Sunday making a pass. I am confident and happy. I’m really looking forward to Laguna Seca.”
Sean Dylan Kelly (#40) showed promising pace on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R, qualifying and finishing sixth on Saturday before a mechanical issue ended his Sunday run early. Like at Road America, Sean Dylan Kelly was full of speed but lacking good fortune. Kelly qualified and finished one position behind his teammate on Saturday, lining up and finishing sixth on the Vision Wheel M4 ESCSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. SDK hoped to improve on Sunday, and even ran in the top five for a time on Sunday. Unfortunately, he was forced to pull in four laps from the finish due to a mechanical issue.
Kelly said, “It was a much tougher weekend than I was expecting. I was hoping for a more positive one after Road America. We were fighting the bike all weekend but made a change for Sunday. We were P3 in the warm-up and going in the right direction. I felt more competitive in the race, but we had an issue and I had to pit. We will get it all figured out, and we will keep our heads up. I love Laguna Seca and we will try to turn it around there.”
Tyler Scott (#70) displayed race-winning speed on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 at Ridge, bouncing back from two crashes to salvage a pair of sixth-place finishes in Supersport.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s lead Supersport pilot Tyler Scott showcased his trademark blistering lap times aboard the team’s GSX-R750 with another front-row qualifying performance and by challenging up front in both races. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side this weekend either, as he crashed out of a close second with just three laps remaining on Saturday, suffered a high-speed crash in Sunday’s warm-up, and then ran off course in Sunday’s contest. However, the determined Scott managed to pick up his bike on Saturday to carry on to sixth, and then pulled a similar trick on Sunday, racing back up through the field to grab another sixth.
Scott said, “The weekend was rough with the results but, in some ways, it was the best weekend we ever had as far as chassis development. I got hit by another rider in the first session, so that was a wash. We were still having an issue with the bike in the first qualifying, but in the second qualifying we were able to take advantage of the development the crew has done. Race 1 was going well; we were running up front and set the fastest race lap record before I tucked the front at the end of the race. That was my fault.
“In the Sunday warm-up, we had a 120 mile-per-hour crash. The team did a great job even getting a bike under me for the race. They were still working on it right before the start. In the race, we had a couple of issues, but I was able to get a decent result. I can’t wait until Laguna. I have a lot of confidence in the team and the crew chief and am looking forward to using what we learned.”
Max VanDenBrouck (#48) built momentum at Ridge Motorsports Park with an 11th-place Supersport finish on Sunday aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Scott’s promising young teammate, Max VanDenBrouck, gained valuable experience throughout the round. Max Van finished 16th in Saturday’s Supersport race after qualifying in that same position, and then applied the lessons learned to improve to 11th on Sunday.
“It wasn’t the best weekend to be honest,” VanDenBrouck said. “I have always struggled at this track, and we never fully gelled here. I qualified 16th, but I was able to move up to 11th to finish Sunday’s race, which was an improvement at least. The pace we are wanting wasn’t there, but we are looking forward to giving it another shot at Laguna Seca.”
Matthew Chapin (#95) raced his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R to a Twins Cup podium finish on Saturday, marking his fourth top-three result of the 2025 season.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Matthew Chapin parlayed his second-row grid position into a Twins Cup podium finish on Saturday aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-8R race bike. The third-place result was Chapin’s fourth podium result of the ‘25 season. However, the reigning Junior Cup Champion was robbed of a chance to repeat or improve upon it when he got caught up in a multi-rider incident on the opening lap of Sunday’s rematch.
Chapin said, “I did all I could but that's racing. I'm super happy with how (Saturday’s race) went. I have to give a huge thanks to my whole RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki team for all the hard work they've put in. We really struggled finding a proper set-up, but we finally found something that allowed us to be consistent.”
The 2025 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship will resume at the fabled WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on July 11-13.
Please visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/road-racing for more team news.
About Team Hammer
The 2025 season marks Team Hammer's 45th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 135 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 377 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 Vance & Hines Motorsports
Vance & Hines Motorsports is a powerhouse in the world of motorcycle racing, boasting a rich legacy of success. With a focus on innovation, performance, and commitment to pushing boundaries, the team continues to redefine excellence in NHRA and MotoAmerica.
About Suzuki
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, 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.
