Race Highlights:
- M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Superbike
- Richie Escalante twice finished a fighting fourth.
- Brandon Paasch raced his way up to sixth at the flag in Race 3.
- Twins Cup
- Bodie Paige notched up the highlight of a hectic weekend with a third-place finish.
- Matthew Chapin twice ran at the front but was luckless both times out
- Supersport
- Tyler Scott notched up fifth- and sixth-place finishes following a pair of battles for position
Richie Escalante fought his way to a pair of impressive fourth-place finishes on his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante registered two hugely impressive finishes in MotoAmerica Superbike action. Twice the Mexican ace scratched his way forward to score a pair of fourth-place finishes aboard his GSX-R1000R – the first just four seconds off the win and the second less than a tenth of a second off the podium. Unfortunately, the promise demonstrated in those races was counterbalanced by the disappointment that came with the third race, when he crashed and was transported to the hospital with a suspected broken arm.
Escalante said, “It was a positive weekend – two P4s – and I was happy with the bike and the team. We felt great about those two races and wanted even more for Sunday. I was down in the field a little but still close to the leaders. I was feeling great and beginning to move forward when I crashed. I am going to get my arm evaluated.”
“Sixth was a good result for us on Sunday,” Paasch said. “It was a tough weekend – three races at the hottest event of the year. Add in the weather and it was going to be a race of attrition as much as it was about speed. It took us longer to get going, but by the end, I felt our pace to the front had really improved. I had been getting good starts all weekend, but I lost some positions on the final one when numerous guys in front of me crashed. It felt like it took me the entire race to catch up, but I made a move for sixth and was able to hold on.”
Bodie Paige put the GSX-8R on the podium with a hard-fought third-place finish.He said, “It wasn't too bad of a race. I tried to stay with the leaders. I tried my best and felt like I was really good through the infield and was making up time there. Hopefully we can get this bike fully dialed in, and I can still work on a few things myself. But overall, I'm happy with another podium.”
Paige looked even stronger on Sunday, hustling the GSX-8R into the lead for a time and then fighting hard in second before his race ended in a brutal highside after crossing a wet curb.
Matthew Chapin showed strong pace at the front of the Twins Cup field. Chapin said, “I feel great about how the weekend went, except for the races themselves. We were fastest the Suzuki rider in all the sessions, the bike felt great, and the team was doing a fantastic job. We had a punctured radiator while at the front in the first race, and I crashed hard in Race 2. I had been on that curb the first two laps with no problems, but the third time I had a much different result. I am looking at the positives, and we can run up front. We will look to put it all together and get the results to match the next time.”
Tyler Scott battled through changing conditions to finish fifth on Sunday on his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
He said, “For Saturday’s race, we had a good setup. With the heat, we were having a little trouble getting the power to the ground. In the end, I feel we may have left a little bit on the table with the result, but we got through Saturday in good shape for Sunday. For Sunday, it had rained and we chose to go with slicks, which I feel was the right choice to make. I had never chosen that before, so it was the first time I have been in that situation. In the early going, I had an adjustment period which hurt my pace, but I picked up the pace and was able to go forward towards the end. We made it through the weekend with no crashes, so we’re feeling good about the next round at COTA.”
The MotoAmerica season will continue on September 11-13 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
The 2026 season marks Team Hammer's 46th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 138 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 408 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.
