Suzuki Inside Line -San Diego Supercross & Big 6 GP Series
February 13, 2018
The Suzuki Inside Line
San Diego Supercross and Big 6 Grand Prix Series
It was a great weekend of Suzuki racing with round six of AMA Monster Energy Supercross cruising into San Diego, California and the second round of District 37 FMF Big 6 Grand Prix Series heating up the desert in Taft, California. Check out The Suzuki Inside Line to see what happened with your favorite Suzuki racer!
Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing
The Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team had a monumental day at San Diego’s Petco Park for round six of the 2018 AMA Supercross series. Suzuki RM-Z250 rider Justin Hill was the class of the field. Hill logged the fastest lap time in qualifying, won his heat race, and meticulously picked apart the competition in winning the 250 main event in front of 41,237 fans. Hill’s 250 teammate, Phil Nicoletti, came from last place to just outside the top ten. RM-Z450 rider Weston Peick fought his way up to seventh after a first-turn crash.
Justin Bogle was looking to improve in his third race back, but a crash in his heat race knocked him out of action. Bogle sustained a broken right arm and successfully underwent surgery on Monday. He is currently on the road to recovery and a return date will be determined later.
Malcolm Stewart returned for another run at the podium with the Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing Team. Unfortunately, Stewart was collected up in the same first turn crash that took down Peick. “Mookie” ended the night in 17th. Stewart will continue to race for the team as Bogle recovers from injury.
H.E.P. Motorsports
The H.E.P. Motorsports team rolled into San Diego with a salute to the U.S. Air Force. With a heavy military personnel attendance from local defense bases, Supercross fans were treated to a one-off Suzuki RM-Z look that donned the bikes in red, white and blue livery. As qualifying concluded, all three H.E.P. riders made it into the night show inside Petco Park. 450 team rider Kyle Cunningham flew the team flag in the main event. Running top ten for the majority of the race, three separate unfortunate crashes relegated him back to 18th. The H.E.P. Motorsports team moves on to Arlington with their squad of RM-Z450’s. Next Saturday will also see the return of Henry Miller who is coming back from a shoulder injury sustained in Oakland.
Nut Up/LVN100/Suzuki
The Nut Up/LVN100 /Suzuki race team truck awning was quiet again in San Diego with both riders unfortunately out due to injuries. Matt Bisceglia’s crash in Glendale left him with some broken ribs, while Josh Hansen is still recovering from an offseason foot injury. Both riders are working on healing up to return back and put their Suzuki RM-Z450’s into action.
Hatch Racing/Thor/Wayside Lumber/Yoshimura/Suzuki
Gary Sutherlin lined up for the second round of the District 37 FMF Big 6 Grand Prix Series determined to improve on performance. The Hatch Racing/Thor/Wayside Lumber/Yoshimura/Suzuki was able to do just that with a solid 6th place result.
Sutherlin flinched off the start which caused him to come around the first corner outside of the top 10. On one of the more grueling courses the competitors will face this year, Sutherlin began to chip away at the front runners through the brutal, dusty and choppy race course. By the halfway mark he had picked up two riders and was sitting in 8th place. On the final two laps he was able to make two additional passes to put his Suzuki in 6th place for the day.
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