Yoshimura Suzuki Races to Another 1-2 Superbike Finish at Road America

Team Yoshimura finished 1-2 for the third time this season (Photo Brian J. Nelson)

Race 1

On Saturday, Hayden won Superpole for the second time this season, turning in a time of 2:12.864. The four-mile, 14-turn road course puts a premium on power and top speed, and the K&N-equipped 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 again showed that it is the machine to beat in MotoAmerica.

Hayden raced strong and sprinted to an early lead. He led the most laps of any racer in Saturday’s contest, but ultimately finished the day in a close third, just 0.153 seconds out of the lead.

“Road America is usually not my strongest track, but the team gave me a great bike in qualifying and I was able to put it on the pole,” said Hayden.

Elias showed his ability to make timely passes and deal with race traffic. He started 10th on the grid and made a hard-charging run to finish second. He pulled up in the draft on the final straight, but came up short by just 5/1000ths of a second. That finish marked one the closest margins in series history.

Elias (24) and Hayden (95) racing for the podium at Road America (Photo Brian J. Nelson)

Sunday’s sunny and warm conditions combined with the promise of great racing drew a big crowd to the classic Wisconsin circuit. Hayden and Elias once again put their Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes up front and swapped the lead numerous times.

Unfortunately, the race was red flagged with two laps left due to a competitor’s bike spilling oil going into the first turn. Elias was leading at the time, giving him the victory. Hayden finished in the second position for the race, marking the third time that Yoshimura Suzuki has finished 1-2 this season.

“It’s not the way we like to win, but I am grateful for the victory and to build our points lead," said Elias. "Roger was very strong today and we had a good race and were trying to break away.”

The win was especially memorable for Elias since his mother and father came over from Spain to watch their first MotoAmerica event in person.

Roger Hayden showing the K&N SU-9915 filter that he runs in his 2017 GSX-R1000

Elias’ win was a series-leading fourth of the season which expanded his lead in the series standings to 14 points (160-146) over Cameron Beaubier after eight races. Hayden is a close third with 140 points.

Next up on the MotoAmerica Superbike schedule is round 5 at Utah Motorsports Complex in Tooele, Utah.

If you ride the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000, the K&N SU-9915 air filter is the smart performance filtration choice for your bike.