Team Suzuki Press Office – July 23.
Toni Elias – 1st – DNF
Roger Hayden – DNF – 5th
After an exhilarating victory for Toni Elias and Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing on Saturday – Suzuki’s record-setting 200th in AMA Superbike – Elias suffered a crash while closing in on the lead in MotoAmerica Superbike race two on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Roger Hayden came back to collect a fifth-place finish after he tumbled out of Saturday’s race. Such was the up-and-down weekend for the team at Utah Motorsports Campus.
Elias was running second and just beginning to close in on leader Cameron Beaubier, when he suddenly crashed while entering turn 15 on lap six of the 17-lap race.
“Cameron got a very strong start and put a gap on me in the first few laps,” Elias said. “Then I equalised and then for two laps I began to catch him. My bike was even better today, so I think we were looking good for another win. Then unfortunately I lost the front end and crashed. Sometimes it goes like this. The season is still long. I am going to remain positive and keep doing what I can to try to come back in this championship.”
Factory team-mate Roger Hayden enjoyed a race-long battle with a group of three other riders almost the entire race on Sunday and crossed the finish line in fifth.
“It was a fun battle, but unfortunately I came up on the short end of the stick this time,” Hayden explained. “It was good to get a finish though and I’m looking forward to the next race in Sonoma.”
After six of the 10 rounds in this 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike season, Elias is second in the standings, 49 points out of first while Hayden is ranked ninth.
Next up for Yoshimura Suzuki is the Cycle Gear Championship of Sonoma on August 10-12th in Sonoma, California.
Championship Points: CLICK HERE
