- Racing - Road Racing
ROCCO LANDERS AND THE SUZUKI GSX-8R CAPTURE ANOTHER PODIUM AT BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK
Brea, CA, May 20, 2024 — Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and its lead MotoAmerica race teams – Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki and RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki each faced challenges at Barber Motorsports Park, but came away with several solid results, highlighted by Rocco Landers’ charge to the podium in the weekend’s final Twins Cup race aboard the new Suzuki GSX-8R.
Race Highlights:
- RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki
- Twins Cup
- Rocco Landers rebounded from a wet sixth with a come-from-behind runner-up in Race 2 aboard the GSX-8R.
- Twins Cup
- Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Twins Cup
- Rossi Moor enjoyed another solid weekend, netting a pair of top-five finishes.
- Superbike
- Xavi Forés demonstrated immediate speed in his first weekend aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike.
- Brandon Paasch scored top-ten results in the premier class.
- Tyler Scott had the pace necessary to win but was unable to capitalize on his speed.
- Teagg Hobbs twice finished just outside the top ten.
- Joel Ohman continued adapting to the pro ranks.
- Twins Cup
Rocco Landers (97) put the new Suzuki GSX-8R on the podium in Barber’s Twins Cup Race 2.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines rider Rocco Landers (97) saw his chances of securing a second consecutive victory on the new Suzuki GSX-8R suffer due to a rainstorm that hit the area just prior to Saturday’s Twins Cup race. After coming home sixth in the wet, Landers was ready to fight on Sunday, where he made an incredible second-half push. Landers came back from several seconds back to claim second place and very nearly chase down the win.
Landers said, “We made a small change before the second race, and it ended up panning out for us. I had to change my riding style quite a bit mid-race, and that’s where the change came from. One more lap, and I would have won that race. But it was awesome. My team worked incredibly hard all weekend, and Suzuki has worked super hard to help us build on what we’ve accomplished already with the GSX-8R. This was a good race for us. I’m super happy.”
Rossi Moor (92) and the GSX-8R earned two top-five finishes for Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Twins Cup effort at Barber.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s rising star Rossi Moor (92) backed up the GSX-8R’s strong weekend as Moor earned a pair of top five results in Twins Cup racing. After finishing fifth in Saturday’s race, Moor guided the GSX-8R to fourth in Race 2 after scrapping for third for much of the contest.
“This round was good points-wise,” Moor said. “I earned fourth today and P5 in the wet conditions on Saturday. I’m not the best rain rider, and the conditions were tough, and it was more survival. Our results would have been even better with some breaks in the weather. I was fighting for third until lapped traffic was a factor, and I wasn’t fortunate. We improved over the weekend and we’re in good shape going forward. There is more on the table for us.”
Defending MotoAmerica Supersport champion Xavi Forés (34), subbing for the injured Richie Escalante, adapted quickly to the Superbike class at Barber.“It was an up and down weekend,” Forés said. “We started building my setting from Friday and were chipping away to get the pace I wanted for the races. Race 1 went well, and we managed to secure P6 while learning more information for Race 2.”
“Race 2 was good for us while it lasted… we were fighting for the podium but an issue on the bike forced us to retire. We had the second fastest lap of the race which showed our progress.
The team did an amazing job finishing the bike for race three, but we made a mistake with a tire choice, making it hard for me to fight for a podium. Another P6 was solid to finish a tough weekend. Thanks to all the guys and the team for the huge effort,” Forés added.
Brandon Paasch (96) carded three top-ten Superbike results on the GSX-R1000R.
Teammate Brandon Paasch (96) racked up a trio of solid results, logging three consecutive top ten finishes aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. Paasch’s weekend was highlighted by a sixth in Race 2, after earning tenth in Race 1, and closing out the weekend with an eighth in the abbreviated Race 3.
“We made progress all weekend and were in the top ten three times,” Paasch said. “Today was the best. We made a bunch of changes and our lap times and distance to the leader were the best in the last race. I knew this weekend would be tough because I had not ridden a Superbike here before, and don’t have a lot of track time at Barber. We’re working on speeding up our learning progress but getting better is all we can ask for.”
Tyler Scott (70) was fast, but bad luck hampered his results at Barber.
Tyler Scott (70) was his usual blazing quick self aboard the squad’s next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750 in MotoAmerica Supersport competition. Unfortunately, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki ace was unable to fully capitalize on that speed. Scott finished fourth after running off track while in contention for the win in Saturday’s race, and then crashed out of the lead in Sunday’s rematch.
“The results weren’t what we wanted, but it was a good weekend,” Scott said. “We needed some better luck. I liked our pace, and we were in the lead today. It was going well. I came out of a corner and the bike snapped 90 degrees sideways on me and I went for a tumble. I’m okay, but we couldn’t continue. Overall though, I like how things are going. My Suzuki is great, the team is great, we just need a little better luck.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) earned championship points finishing both Supersport races just outside the top ten.
Second-year Supersport ace Teagg Hobbs (79) left Barber unsatisfied as well, but for different reasons than Scott. Hobbs managed to collect points in both races aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, but finished short of his podium potential with a 12th and 11th on the weekend.
Hobbs said, “It was a tough weekend, and we’re not happy. I went down on Friday when someone put oil on the track. We had problems all weekend and could never put it all together and catch up. At least we get another shot at it in two weeks.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki newcomer Joel Ohman (92) continued to acclimate racing for a top team at an elite level. Simply earning a slot on the grid for the Supersport race was a significant challenge with nearly 50 riders attempting to make the field. Ohman finished both races and moved up through the field each time out.
“We knew with so many riders, it was going to be hard to qualify,” Ohman said. “I started the weekend by throwing the bike on the ground on the second lap. I was trying a different line. The team scrambled but that left us without much time. We qualified and the race on Saturday was a knife fight with a lot of guys battling. I moved up seven spots in the race. On Sunday, I had an amazing start and jumped up two rows. The red flag messed up my rhythm, but we made a lot of progress.”
Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) will have full opportunity to flex its horsepower across all three classes in two weeks’ time, as the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season resumes at the high-speed Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, on May 31-June 2.
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 over 360 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 over 130 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.