Brea, CA, (April 20, 2026) — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer featured prominently as the 2026 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship resumed at Road Atlanta this weekend, racing away with a victory among four podium finishes.
Race Highlights:
- M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Twins Cup
- Matthew Chapin rebounded from a difficult Saturday race to score a dominant victory in Sunday’s Twins Cup rematch.
- Bodie Paige proved both quick and brave during his pole-winning, podium-earning weekend.
- Supersport
- Tyler Scott upped his perfect 2026 podium record to three-for-three with a pair of impressive outings at Road Atlanta.
- Superbike
- Brandon Paasch returned to the squad and was immediately back inside the top ten.
- Mission M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Supersport
- Richie Escalante transitioned back to Superbike duty to score a pair of top tens in the premier-class double opener.
Matthew Chapin powered the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R to a Twins Cup victory at Road Atlanta.
Despite encountering alternating bouts of adversity, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Twins Cup duo of Mathew Chapin and Bodie Paige showcased the remarkable speed and vast potential of the GSX-8R throughout the weekend.
The two lined up 1-2 on the grid with Aussie Paige on pole and Chapin second quickest. Chapin’s Saturday contest didn’t go how he envisioned it, however, as a mechanical issue forced him down to an eventual 11th – far below his genuine form. He proved that the case on Sunday with a dominating win that saw him pull more than two seconds clear of the pack en route to the checkered flag.
After claiming his fourth-career Twins Cup victory, Chapin said, “That race was awesome. I knew going in I had some good pace on these guys. I just want to give a huge thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew getting this bike back together. Yesterday didn’t go how we wanted it to, but this feels so great coming off a struggle race yesterday. I really needed this one.”
Bodie Paige showcased impressive speed aboard the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R, earning pole position and a podium finish.
Paige, meanwhile, fought at the front for victory on Saturday, only to be foiled by a red flag that was thrown while he was running a close second with two laps to go. The race was then called complete, cementing him in that position. Paige’s hopes for vengeance on Sunday suffered when he crashed in the warm-up. He still somehow summoned the late-braking heroics needed to keep him in podium contention and eventually earn him a hard-fought fourth.
“I’m a little bit disappointed,” the two-time Nicky Hayden AMA Horizon Award winner said. “I wish we could have finished the race (On Saturday) so that I could have gone for the win. It would have been a good last-lap battle. I was good in the tight, technical stuff, so we’ll take something from the weekend and learn from what we need to improve on.”
Tyler Scott extended his perfect 2026 podium streak with a double podium performance aboard the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750M4 ESCSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott carried his frontrunning Daytona form into Road Atlanta and continued to make an impression up front. The Pennsylvanian secured himself a place on the front row, qualifying second fastest aboard the next-generation GSX-R750 racer. He made the most of that strong grid slotting, twice claiming the holeshot before battling among the leaders in a pair of thrilling Supersport shootouts. On Saturday, he finished a close second, some 0.378 seconds off the win. He was well positioned to improve upon that finish on Sunday until encountering a spell of bad luck with slower traffic. Despite getting separated from the lead pack, he managed to win out in a scrap for third to log a double podium weekend.
Scott said, “I set a new personal best lap here at Road Atlanta in today’s race. You know, this hasn’t really been one of the best tracks for me, so I’m really happy with the progress me and my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team made this weekend. I can’t thank those guys enough. I feel really good on the bike – we’re going to take what we learned and move forward and hopefully be higher up on the podium next time out.”
Mission M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante recorded a pair of top-ten finishes while opening his 2026 Superbike campaign at Road Atlanta.Escalante said, “It was a long weekend for us and a tough one. This is a difficult track for me, and this was our first race on the Superbike after about six months. We never found the best setting that would be good for the podium, but we kept trying and the team worked really hard. We made progress but not enough. We made it through and there are 18 races left. We are ready to get to Barber and try again.”
Brandon Paasch returned to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki competition with seventh- and eighth-place Superbike finishes.
Brandon Paasch made his Team Hammer return with a promising opener at Road Atlanta. The two-time Daytona 200 winner, twice worked his way forward aboard his M4 ESCSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike from a Row 4 starting slot, registering seventh and eighth-place results on the weekend.
Paasch said, ““The goal was for me to start the Superbike season better than the last time – to get points and a good base setting. We were able to do that. On Saturday, we got a little lucky and ended up battling with Richie and got some solid points. On Sunday, we made a bunch of changes and really started getting into my groove. I passed a whole group of riders to make up some spots. We need to keep the momentum going forward. I know I have a great crew and they kept me pointed in the right direction.”
The 2026 MotoAmerica season will continue on May 15-17 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
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 382 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 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.
