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SHORAI POWERED YOSHIMURA SUZUKI EXTENDS POINTS LEAD WITH VICTORY AT SUZUKI ECSTAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROAD ATLANTA

YOSHIMURA SUZUKI’S ELIAS EXTENDS POINTS LEAD WITH VICTORY AT SUZUKI ECSTAR CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROAD ATLANTA

 

Shorai Yoshimura Motorcycle Racing Atlanta


Elias and Hayden Finish 1st and 2nd Sunday on the All New 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000

 

Chino, CA (May 1, 2017) – Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Toni Elias extended his MotoAmerica Superbike points lead with a victory Sunday aboard the completely new 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000. He took the win at the Suzuki ECSTAR Championship racing in front of a sun-drenched crowd at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. Roger Hayden finished a close runner up in Sunday’s race, just 0.308 seconds behind his Suzuki teammate, putting him into a tie for second the championship standings.

 

Sparks flew on and off the track between Elias and rival Cameron Beaubier. The two made contact in both Saturday and Sunday’s races. Emotions were high and it resulted in a tense post-race press conference with the two competitors verbally going back and forth, before finally shaking hands and agreeing to respect one another on the track.

 

Sunday was a remarkable day in general for Suzuki riders at the Suzuki ECSTAR Championship. Suzuki won every race it entered, in a stunning sweep of Sunday’s events.

 

In Bazzaz Superstock 1000 it was Jake Lewis winning his first event of the year on his Suzuki GSX-R1000; in Supersport Valentine Debise won on a Suzuki GSX-R600 and in Superstock 600 it was Nick McFadden victorious aboard another Suzuki GSX-R600. And to put icing on the cake, Billy Etheridge won the special WERA Superbike 1000 race on a Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Now with three wins in four races, Elias enjoys a commanding 26-point lead in the Motul MotoAmerica Superbike Championships.

 

“I’m happy with the results,” Elias said after Sunday’s win. “The team did a great job.

 

We changed the setup and my pace was much better. I wanted to open the gap, but Roger caught me every time. It was impossible. The lap before the last lap, I relaxed and gave my muscles a chance to recover and then on the final lap I pushed on the limit and tried to be perfect and we got the victory and are looking strong in the championship.”

 

Hayden led portions of both Saturday and Sunday’s races and came extremely close to winning in Race 2.

 

“That was a lot better race,” Hayden said of Sunday’s contest. “I wanted to get in the lead and push the pace a little faster than yesterday. I was able to do that and then went back and forth with Toni and then Cam came back in. I went hard that last lap to try to make a move on Toni, but it was just a little too far out there. But man, what a great ride for Yoshimura Suzuki, first and second! That was a fun race, but we want to win, so hopefully at VIR we can move up a spot.”

 

The series now heads to Virginia International Raceway (VIR) for the Championship of Virginia on May 12-14. For additional details on the upcoming event visit www.MotoAmerica.com

 

You can keep up with the team’s progress by visiting www.yoshimura-racing.com and www.suzukicycles.com/Racing/Road and via YouTube at www.youtube.com/SuzukiCycles

 

Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motul, Tucker Rocky, Dunlop, Shorai, Sunstar, K&N Performance Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, RK Racing Chain, Chicken Hawk Racing and Zeta.


About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is "The Leader in Performance" and has been for over 60 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket. Yoshimura exhaust systems are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit, and quality that has been our trademark for six decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com


About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. SMAI’s supplier, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles and Outboard Motors. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has 147 distributors in 201 countries. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com