Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias Takes Two Podiums in Sonoma

Roger Hayden Runs Last Race at Northern California Circuit

BREA, CA – August 13, 2018 – (Motor Sports Newswire) –  Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Toni Elias tallied a solid weekend in MotoAmerica Superbike Championship racing at Sonoma Raceway. Elias raced his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 to a pair of podium finishes with a third in Saturday’s race one before improving to finish runner up in Sunday’s race.

In his last race in Sonoma, fellow Yoshimura Suzuki rider Roger Hayden nailed down two top-10 finishes, with a sixth and seventh at the doubleheader weekend in the heart of Northern California wine country.

Elias got great starts and battled up front all weekend, but ultimately no one could match the pace of series leader Cameron Beaubier, who won both races.

“We came away with a couple of podium finishes and found improvements with the bike in Sunday’s race,” said Elias, the defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion. “Cameron has a fantastic feeling for this track and he is riding the best I’ve seen since I’ve been here.

“Obviously I would like to get the feeling for the bike I had earlier in the season, but sometimes you do not have it and this is where we are at the moment. We will continue to work hard to find solutions and my goal is to get back to winning races so that we might be able to apply a little pressure on the competition.”

For Hayden the Sonoma weekend was bittersweet. He was racing in his first event since announcing his retirement from racing at the end of this season. He was overwhelmed by the well wishes he received from fans, but was not satisfied with his results on the track. He experienced arm pump in both races.

“For whatever reason I’ve never got along with this track and that carried over to this weekend,” Hayden said. “But on the positive side I was taken aback by the warmth of fans here. They were so kind in telling me how they followed my career and how they wished me well as I move on to the next stage in my life. For that alone I’ll always have a good memory of my last race here. “

“Now we move on to Pittsburgh. I had pretty good luck there last year, so I’m hoping to find it again this time around.”

Elias remains second in the series after 14 of 20 races. He is 63 points behind Beaubier. Hayden moved up a position from ninth to eighth in the MotoAmerica Superbike standings.

Next up for Yoshimura Suzuki is the Championship of Pittsburgh, MotoAmerica round eight scheduled for August 24th through the 26th at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Visit www.MotoAmerica.com for event ticket information You can catch MotoAmerica racing action televised on beIN Sports

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. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com

Contact:

Avery Innis
Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. Press Relations Manager
(714) 996-7040 x2241
[email protected]

Rachel Anderson
Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. Press Relations / Marketing Specialist
(714) 996-7040 x2009
[email protected]

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.

Source: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc.

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