JAKE LEWIS TAKES A PAIR OF SUPERBIKE PODIUMS AT ELKHART LAKE
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden on Podium in Road America’s Race One
ELKHART LAKE, WI (May 31, 2015) – It was three podium finishes in two races for Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s dynamic duo Sunday at a sunny, cool and crisp Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. MotoAmerica Superbike rookie Jake Lewis scored a pair of podium finishes on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike in front of a big crowd at the scenic, four-mile road course. His teammate Roger Hayden was runner up in race one and finished fourth in the second leg.
The finishes kept Lewis and Hayden in third and fourth respectively in the MotoAmerica AMA Superbike standings after eight races.
Lewis qualified on the front row, third, in the rainy Superpole on Saturday. Yet it was a weekend of marked contrast in both the changeable spring Wisconsin weather, but for rider luck as well. Hayden raced a little beat up on Sunday after crashing in the rain during Saturday’s qualifying session.
The fall off in Superpole meant Hayden started from ninth on the grid on Sunday, but that proved not to be an issue as he was able to quickly motor his way to the front in race one using the horsepower on tap with his GSX-R1000. Hayden nearly put himself in a position to draft into the lead at the finish of race one, but came up just shy of taking the victory. The official margin between Hayden and winner Cameron Beaubier was a scant 0.136-seconds.
“I kind of put myself into a hole in qualifying, crashing out and having to start ninth,” Hayden admitted. “But I got a really good start and was right there with the leaders in turn one thanks to the power of the bike. I just hung on there for a while and then Josh (Hayes) crashed and we lost a little bit of time. I caught back up to Cameron and just was right there. I was really hoping to make a pass on him on the last lap, but I just didn’t make it happen.
“The second race didn’t really go as planned. We had little bit of an issue that hampered us the whole race and we got fourth. We still had a good showing and almost got the win in the first race. I feel like we’re right there and I’m looking forward to Barber. It’s one of my strongest tracks. I’ve got to thank my whole team because they had to do a lot of extra work after my Saturday crash. They did a great job as always.”
An illustration of just how strong Hayden and the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 combination was came in race one when Hayden turned the fastest lap of the race with a 2:13.798.
For Superbike rookie Lewis, Road America marked a pair of races running consistently up front. Two consecutive podiums shows that the maturation into an elite Superbike rider by the lanky Kentuckian is continuing at a pace better than many expected. Lewis finished third in both Elkhart Lake rounds.
“This weekend was pretty good,” Lewis explained. “I was pretty happy with two podiums and I felt I rode a lot better than I have recently. I was able to run with the front guys in both races and see what I need to work on. I had a good qualifying session and got off to two great starts. I felt good in all the conditions we had here. It gives me a lot of momentum and confidence going into the next round. Hopefully I’ll be fighting up front again and finish even a little higher up.”
The Road America races will be nationally televised on June 7th on CBS Sports Network at 2:00 pm Eastern.
The Yoshimura Suzuki squad returns to action on June 12-14 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Check out www.motortrendondemand.com/live/ to watch the races live on June 14.
Elkhart Lake AMA Superbike Race 1 Results:
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam)
2. Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
3. Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
4. Danny Eslick (Honda)
5. Chris Fillmore (KTM)
6. Josh Hayes (Yam)
7. Elena Myers (Suzuki)
8. Bernat Martinez (Yam)
9. Stefano Mesa (Honda)
Elkhart Lake AMA Superbike Race 2 Results:
1. Josh Hayes (Yam)
2. Cameron Beaubier (Yam)
3. Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
4. Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
5. Danny Eslick (Honda)
6. Chris Fillmore (KTM)
7. Bernat Martinez (Yam)
8. Elena Myers (Suzuki)
2015 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship Points:
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam), 176
2. Josh Hayes (Yam), 150
3. Jake Lewis (Suzuki), 116
4. Roger Hayden (Suzuki), 101
5. Bernat Martinez (Yam), 84
6. Elena Myers (Suzuki), 70
7. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki), 54
8. Danny Eslick (Honda), 48
9. Stefano Mesa (Honda), 35
10. Chris Fillmore (KTM), 32
Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motorex, Parts Unlimited, Dunlop, Shorai, Sunstar, K&N Performance Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, RK Racing Chain, Genmark Automation, Pilot, Chicken Hawk Racing and Zeta.
About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.
About Shorai
Founded in 2010 and based in Morgan Hill, CA, Shorai, Inc. has quickly become the world's best-known producer of lithium ion power sports batteries. Shorai is leading the conversion from traditional lead-acid batteries to lighter, more efficient and higher performance lithium starter batteries. For more information visit www.shoraipower.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