Suzuki Inside Line- Indianapolis SX, WORCS Lake Havasu, Freestone Spring Championship, Superbike Livery
March 26, 2018
The Suzuki Inside Line
Indianapolis SX, WORCS Lake Havasu, Freestone Spring Championship, MotoAmerica Superbike Livery
From announcing the 2018 team livery on the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing GSX-R1000 Superbikes in Alabama to Indianapolis Supercross to W.O.R.C.S. Lake Havasu to the Freestone Spring Championship in central Texas, it was an exciting weekend for Suzuki Racing! Check out The Suzuki Inside Line to see what happened with your favorite Suzuki team and RM Army racer!
Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing
The 2018 racing season will not only see the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing team back on track to defend its 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship sweep, it also marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most successful partnerships in the history of the sport.
In 1978, Suzuki and Yoshimura formed a formal partnership making the Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing squad the official factory entry in AMA Pro Road Racing. It proved to be an incredibly fruitful alliance. In 40 years of racing, Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing has become the most successful team ever in the history of AMA Superbike racing.
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Yoshimura and Suzuki partnership, the team will showcase a bold, all new race bike livery and there will be a series of commemorations during the 2018 MotoAmerica Championship season.
Team rider Tony Elias is poised to defend his championship title, along with teammate Roger Hayden who finished second in the series, during the season opener at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, on April 13-15, 2018.
Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing
The Autotrader/Yoshimura/Suzuki Factory Racing team journeyed to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. for round 12 of the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series. While a snowstorm raged outside, Malcolm Stewart wowed the 60,873 diehard fans inside by scoring his best premier class Supercross result of his career aboard the all-new Suzuki RM-Z450. Stewart’s strong ride moves him up to 11th in the championship standings. Weston Peick was well on his way to another heroic ride after finishing fifth in his heat race. Peick worked up to seventh in the main, but a crash ended his night early. He is still within striking distance of fifth place in the overall championship standings.
Indianapolis featured the first of two 250 East/West Showdowns, which brought the best 250 class riders from each coast together. Peters was ready to face the deep field, rocketing out to the holeshot on his Suzuki RM-Z250 in the heat race. He brought that level of intensity to the main event. Logging consistent laps, the pride of Greensboro, NC scored eighth place. Peters sits sixth in the 250 East championship standings.
After a long hiatus, Nicoletti was back in action. The New Yorker looked sharp all evening long, mixing it up with the front-runners and giving no quarter. Early in the 250 East/West Showdown he gained four positions in a single lap. Nicoletti’s efforts earned him ninth – which ties his best result of the series. “Filthy” is 11th in the 250 West championship standings.
Defending 250 West Supercross Champion, Justin Hill, came down with an illness earlier in the week that prevented him from racing in Indianapolis. Hill will undergo further evaluation, and an update on his health status will be released when more information becomes available.
The series gets a weekend off from racing and will resume at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington on April 7, 2018.
H.E.P. Motorsports
The 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross series headed to Indianapolis, Indiana for round 12. H.E.P. Motorsports had a great weekend by qualifying Kyle Cunningham, Dustin Pipes and Henry Miller into their heat races aboard their Suzuki RM-Z450’s. Cunningham had another stand out performance charging the pack and finishing in 12th place during the 450 main event.
H.E.P Motorsports 250 rider Tallon Lafountaine decided to forgo heading to the cold and snowy Indianapolis supercross in favor of getting some high-speed desert off-road racing action in during round three of the Western Off-Road Racing Championship Series in Lake Havasu, Arizona. Lafountaine has recently been getting some seat time in the world of off-road racing in preparation of the AMA Motocross series that starts in the summer. Racing a Transworld Motocross magazine Suzuki RMX450Z test bike, Lafountaine entered the Pro2 class in hopes of putting the RMX450Z through a rigorous and demanding test. Throughout the 15-lap race, Lafountaine methodically worked his way through the pack, starting from eighth place and crossing the finish line in second place! Look for a full write up on the project Suzuki RMX450Z in an upcoming issue of Transworld Motocross magazine.
Nut Up/LVN100/Suzuki
The Nut Up/LVN100/Suzuki team ignored the cold and snowy conditions that surrounded the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to improve on last week’s performance in St. Louis. Three time European Supercross Champion Cedric Soubeyras looks to join the team for the remainder of the 2018 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season. Soubeyras had a great night qualifying into the night program with a 45.766 lap time. In heat race two, Soubeyras got a good start and rode consistent laps to finish in seventh place punching his ticket into the main event. When the checkered flag waved for 450 main, Soubeyras’s Suzuki RM-Z450 crossed the finish line in 14th position, a season and career best. Look for the LVN100 team to improve on results after the weekend break.
Hatch Racing/Thor/Wayside Lumber/Yoshimura/Suzuki
Defending series champion and RM Army off-road racer Gary Sutherlin finished 5th overall after an impressive charge through the pack after a mid-race wheel change aboard his Hatch Racing/Thor/Wayside Lumber/Yoshimura/Suzuki at the third round of the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC World Off-Road Championship Series (WORCS).
From a dead engine start Sutherlin piloted his bike to a 3rd place result as the riders rounded the first corner. At the start of lap two Sutherlin made a pass for 2nd on Justin Seeds. Sutherlin continued to charge forward in the hot and rough Havasu conditions pulling a small gap on the 3rd place rider. Shortly before the halfway point, Sutherlin’s encountered a braking issue. He slowed down to signal his team losing the 3rd place position. When he came in for fuel the team decided not to change the brakes as he would lose too much time. Unfortunately, as he rode off, it was pointed out that his rear wheel had lost many spokes and would need to be replaced.
The team brought Sutherlin in on the next lap where he changed his rear wheel losing approximately two and half minute’s time. Still without brakes he returned to the track in 11th place. For the remaining laps he was able to earn the fastest time each lap as he worked through the field. He averaged around one rider per lap as the race continued eventually moving up to 5th place on the final lap just a few seconds shy of 4th.
WORCS will continue for round four in Hurricane, UT on April 28, 2018
Suzuki Amateur Motocross Racing
The first major event of the 2018 AMA Amateur Motocross Racing season kicked off last week at the Freestone Spring Championship in Wortham, Texas. Suzuki Amateur Racing was well represented across each racing class with RM Army racers from BarX/Chaparral/FLY/Suzuki Factory Racing team, Suzuki ECSTAR Factory Elite Amateur Racing, Suzuki Regional Elite Amateur Racing and RM ARMY Dealer Race Support. Congratulations to the following RM Army racers that landed on top of the podium in Texas!
College (16-24) class- Jack Fowler-1st Place
85cc (9-10) class- Ryder Thompson-3rd Place
WMX Pro class- Shelby Rolen – 3rd Place
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