TEAM SUZUKI ENDS MOTOAMERICA SEASON WITH VICTORY
September 12, 2016
RACE WEEKEND AT A GLANCE
The 2016 MotoAmerica Championships came to a close this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ, and it was Suzuki coming out on top with victories for Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Roger Hayden and Toni Elias, as Suzuki swept the season finale.
- Yoshimura Suzuki took victory in both rounds of the MotoAmerica AMA Superbike races in New Jersey, with Roger Hayden winning race one and Toni Elias nipping Hayden in race two, giving the squad a 1-2 finish in the season finale.
- Hayden Gillim scored a pair of top-10 finishes aboard his Cycle World Suzuki GSX-R1000 in the MotoAmerica finale.
- M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki's Valentin Debise raced his Suzuki GSX-R600 to a pair of podium finishes in the final two MotoAmerica Supersport rounds of 2016.
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales continued his strong season, finishing fifth in the MotoGP race in Misano, Italy on his Suzuki GSX-RR.
A Clean Sweep for Yoshimura Suzuki in MotoAmerica Finale
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing ended the year with a bang, taking victories in both MotoAmerica Superbike races in New Jersey. Roger Hayden raced to a thrilling victory in race one aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Toni Elias then grabbed the win in race two, with Hayden finishing second for a Suzuki one-two in the final race of the season.
Elias scored six wins on the season and finished a very close third in the championship, just seven points out of first.
"I've really been working hard on the last 10 laps of the races - where I'm always there, but I can't close them out,” Hayden said after winning race one. “The last lap I didn't know if I was going to make turn one because I had the thing locked up. After I got through there I kind of knew some places where I needed to block, but I didn't want to over block and kill my speed. So I'm just happy for the team, happy for myself. We all work hard."
"I felt very comfortable since the beginning," Elias said. "I could arrive quickly to the top of the race. I would like to fight more for the championship, but 35 points was a lot. I still think (back on) the rain race we had here in April because I lost 47 points in one day and said, 'maybe this will be the key of the championship.' And finally it's like this. Anyway I led a lot. We had great battles. We work with Suzuki with my team hard to improve this bike. Here we make a step. We will try to make more steps for the next season. We will see. Thank you, everybody, my team to give me this opportunity, the MotoAmerica staff and all the people of this paddock because everybody treat me really well. I feel like home."
Mission Accomplished for Debise in New Jersey
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki's Valentin Debise successfully completed his mission to score a podium result at every single round of the 2016 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship Sunday at the New Jersey Motorsports Park season finale. The Frenchman concluded his remarkable maiden season in the States with two more third-place finishes in the MotoAmerica Supersport class, upping his final season tally to eleven. That consistent excellence -- punctuated by a spectacular victory at Road America -- also secured Debise a final championship ranking of third on his Suzuki GSX-R600.
"I can't thank my team enough for the entire year,” Debise said. “M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki really supported me through the entire season and I'm very grateful for the opportunity they gave me. I also want to thank all the American fans who treated me so well. I would love to return to MotoAmerica again in 2017."
Team Suzuki Ecstar's Viñales Scores Top Five in Misano
A week after scoring a dominating MotoGP victory at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, Team Suzuki Ecstar scored yet another top-five result Sunday in Italy. Viñales, who started from the front row for the fourth time this season at the World Misano Circuit Marco Simoncelli in San Marino, was able to finish the race in fifth place.
“I think we have achieved a good result.” Viñales said. “I am very happy because the team worked very well but anyway we always want more, so in Aragon we will try to work harder and better to give the maximum.”
Back to News