Cory Ventura Battles to Fourth Place Finish Sunday
BREA, Calif., August 1, 2022 — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer added another top-five result to close out a MotoAmerica weekend at Brainerd International Raceway in a race filled with battles for the podium positions.
After scoring double top-five finishes in the previous two MotoAmerica Supersport races, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott and Cory Ventura showed the pace early to step that up to a double podium aboard their next-generation GSX-R750s.
However, that’s not how the race would play out. 16-year-old Scott charged hard early to close down on the leader and escape from the remainder of the pack behind him. Unfortunately, the rookie’s substantially improved pace went unrewarded when he crashed out of second while navigating lap five.
Even though his Race 2 ended early, Tyler Scott (70) is looking forward to the next round in Pittsburgh.
Scott explained, “I was going into the carousel and missed a downshift and then I just ran out of room. We learned a lot with the setup of the bike this weekend, and today’s race was turning out better than Saturday’s race. I am okay and looking forward to going to Pittsburgh for the next round.”
Scott’s misfortune elevated Ventura’s fight for a podium position into one for a runner-up result, a battle that would rage to the checkered flag. As many as five riders had a shot at second deep into the contest before three riders, including Cory Ventura, shook free.
Cory Ventura (24) took advantage of the opportunity this weekend to card back-to-back top-five finishes at Brainerd.
With sharply contrasting strengths and weaknesses, there were many overtaking maneuvers among the podium contenders with Ventura spending a significant portion of the race claiming, holding, and reclaiming second. However, the thrilling up-and-down dogfight ended down for Ventura, as he was passed late on the final lap, displacing him from the final spot on the box in the process.
The fourth-place finish was a third consecutive top-five for Ventura in his short stint with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, replacing the injured Sam Lochoff. He said, “Personally, the race meant a lot to me. We had been making steady progress up until my crash on Saturday, and I was confident I could ride near the front because I had great momentum with the Suzuki GSX-R750.”
“The first laps in the race today felt really good and we made some good passes and battled for position. I knew I had a strong bike underneath me. I started to struggle a tiny bit in the end, but I was trying to ride my own race. Finishing fourth was a big step forward.”
A pair of top ten results for Liam Grant (90) at Brainerd and he is looking to build on the momentum for Pittsburgh.
In what has been a solid rookie season in the Supersport class, Liam Grant earned tenth on Sunday as the Colorado resident followed up his Saturday race with an identical result.
MotoAmerica Superbike rookie Richie Escalante registered another DNS due to his ankle injury in his Saturday qualifying crash. As a result, Jake Lewis was again the sole representative for Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki in Sunday’s premier-class contest.
With two top ten finishes for the weekend, Jake Lewis (85) is looking to get back to racing shape in the next round.
The Kentuckian raced forward from his Row 4 starting position and even made a push for the fight for fifth aboard the team’s GSX-R1000R at mid-distance. However, Lewis, who is still on the mend and working his way back into race shape, ultimately, was forced to relent and accept a seventh-place result.
“This hasn’t been the easiest of weekends for me, but it’s nice to be back,” Lewis said. “Missing Laguna and watching from the couch was no fun at all. We’re continuing to make progress, and it’s fun to race in front of all these fans.”
Team Hammer will next travel to Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania, on August 19-21, for the next round of the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing championship season.
For the latest Suzuki racing news, updates on Team Hammer, and more, visit SuzukiCycles.com/Racing/Road-Racing.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer's 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 129 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 342 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 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.
ABOUT SUZUKI
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, 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.