- Racing - Road Racing
VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI RACER TY SCOTT FIGHTS FOR THE WIN, EARNS SECOND AT MID-OHIO
Race Highlights: .
- Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Supersport
- Tyler Scott returned to the podium with a strong second on Sunday.
- Teagg Hobbs charged to fifth in Saturday’s wild Race 1.
- Joel Ohman improved several positions from Saturday to Sunday.
- Superbike
- Richie Escalante impressed with his speed and grit in his return despite still fighting his way back to full health.
- Brandon Paasch again teased his podium potential with a strong qualifying performance despite his final results falling short of that promise.
- Supersport
Ty Scott (70) capped off a challenging weekend with a podium result in Sunday’s Supersport race.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki racer Tyler Scott (70) closed out what had been a dramatic weekend of inclement weather and delays in a straight fight for victory in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Supersport contest. Sunday’s dry conditions came as a relief after a protracted Saturday of changeable conditions resulted in a hard-earned sixth. Finally able to again show his true potential on the next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750, Scott led several laps and battled for victory to the flag, ultimately finishing in second just 0.160 seconds off the win.
“We had a result we liked today and ended an up-and-down weekend the way we wanted,” Scott said. “My Suzuki was really strong, and over the last ten days – with testing and this weekend’s racing – we saw some fantastic improvements. The GSX-R750 felt amazing. We have made great progress. But this weekend, I crashed on Thursday, and it basically cost the team two sessions. We were playing catch-up, then got into a mixed conditions race on Saturday where the setup choices were not that clear. We did okay, then made big changes for today and the front end setup was what I wanted. I felt we were very competitive, and getting second at a new track for us is a great reward. I am excited about the next races because we are heading forward.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) charged through the field on Saturday, carding a top-five Supersport result.
While most riders were mired in Saturday’s chaos, Teagg Hobbs (79) used it as a ladder. With riders opting for contrasting tire strategies as the track’s surface changed from dry to wet to dry, Hobbs charged his way up from 15th to end the day inside the top five, finishing one position ahead of teammate Scott in fifth. However, Sunday was not quite as kind as Hobbs came home 14th in the rematch.
Hobbs said, “We went with the right tire choice and had a strong bike for those conditions. We needed the top-five result, and it was great to get it. Sunday did not go as well. We had a crash on the first lap of the warm-up, and it seems we have had bad luck all year. We’re working hard on getting a solid direction to put us back up front.”
Joel Ohman (92) continues to progress and gain speed despite the challenges of a new track.
The team’s third Supersport pilot, Joel Ohman (92), used the weekend as another opportunity to gain valuable race experience and confirmed his ability to convert that opportunity into results, improving several positions from Saturday to Sunday.
“It was an eventful weekend for us,” Ohman said. “In the end, I learned a lot. It was also good to have Richie Escalante back. Saturday was pretty challenging. A bike blew up in front of me, and I was covered in his oil, including my visor so I couldn’t see very well at the beginning of the race. Then I had rain tires on, but as the track dried, it made for a race where I felt I could lose either end of the bike as the track became completely dry. Sunday was also challenging, with a change to the bike that helped one area but hurt us in another. Still, we were able to pick up some positions, and improved on our starting position. We changed up our debrief, and now we have all three SuperSport riders debriefing together instead of individually. I felt I learned a lot from Teagg and Ty.”
Richie Escalante’s (54) return to Superbike competition resulted in a top-ten result in Sunday’s race.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Superbike rider Richie Escalante (54) made his long-awaited return to action after suffering a left wrist fracture, left ankle fracture, and compression fracture of the L1, L2, and L4 vertebrae in the MotoAmerica Superbike opener at Road Atlanta in April. Still fighting his way back to full health and fitness, Escalante was unfortunate to suffer an early race fall in his race return on Saturday. Undaunted, Escalante was back in the fight on Sunday, executing a last-lap pass aboard his GSX-R1000R to secure seventh position at the checkered flag.
“I am super happy to be racing again,” said Escalante. “The doctor cleared me last week. I am recovered from the injuries but not quite up to my normal fitness because I haven’t been able to run my normal training. I felt that a little this weekend. I was unable to be as aggressive as I need to be to fight for the podium. Still, I am happy to be back out there competing, I really missed the speed, my GSX-R, and working with the team. Thanks to the team, Suzuki, and our sponsors for being patient while I recuperated. It was awesome to be back. On Saturday, I made a mistake and crashed, which is easy to do when you haven’t been on the bike for a while. Today, I wanted to finish with a good result we would build on going forward. I felt we earned that. I’ll be ready to push harder for the next one. We improved our lap times all weekend at a new track for me, so we are going in the right direction.”
Brandon Paasch (96) continues with strong qualifying performances in Superbike.
Brandon Paasch (96) endured a repeat of his previous round’s efforts at Laguna Seca. At Mid-Ohio, Paasch earned a second-row grid position but was unable to capitalize on his speed and grid slot due to an opening-lap crash suffered while jockeying for position near the front on Saturday; and then encountering an issue on Sunday. Paasch was ultimately credited with 18th after coming into the pits and returning to the race a couple laps down.
Paasch said, “It was a mixed weekend for me, with some good sessions followed up with tough races. We matched our best qualifying, but I crashed on the first lap trying to make a pass. I hit some mud on the track and high-sided to the moon. I banged up my ankle, which was numb Sunday and I had to wear an oversize boot because of the swelling. I couldn’t feel what my brake lever was doing and locked it up a couple of times. I pulled into the pits to make sure it wasn’t oil or a mechanical issue. Everything was clear, so I went back out and got some laps in.”
The 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship will head to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, for its penultimate round on September 13-15.
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.
Photos By Brian J. Nelson
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 370 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.
