Pole-setter Toni Elias scored two podium finishes on Sunday in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Elias finished second aboard his No. #24 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in race one and followed-that-up with third in race two as team-mate Roger Hayden finished fourth in race two after crashing in the first race.
Elias earned his second successive MotoAmerica Superbike Pole Position and the second of his debut season in the series aboard his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 on Saturday.
He said: “I'm happy because we try to make a good job all weekend, working for the race, but every time we put a new tyre on I found traffic. I knew this wouldn't happen on the Superpole because there are only 10 riders on the track. It was a shame that I made a mistake in the Corkscrew and in the last corner because I feel that was one of my best laps of my career. But finally it was enough to have the pole and I didn't expect that.”
Hayden showed good speed all weekend on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000, including qualifying on the front row, but the fall in race one ended his quest to win this year’s championship.
Both Superbike races were thrillers with Elias getting nipped-out by just .300-of-a-second in race one and then battling for the lead nearly the entire way in race two.
“It was one of the hardest races of the season,” Elias said. “At the start I tried to go, but everybody followed me and then I understood it was going to be a group race. I tried maximum every lap. I was pushing 120% and risking a lot. Now I can say I’m happy. I’m happy because I gave all I had and tried very hard the last few laps. We’ll keep working.”
Hayden mixed-it-up in the battle up-front in race one and actually held the lead at one point before taking a tumble on lap 14 of the 20-lap race. In race two, Hayden ran fourth the entire distance.
“In race one I made a mistake going into turn one,” Hayden explained. “In the second race I ended up fourth. It’s not what we wanted, but sometimes that’s how racing goes. I wish we didn’t have to wait so long for New Jersey to have another go at it. I thank the whole Yoshimura Suzuki team and my crew for everything they do and the great GSX-R they give me every weekend. We’ll be ready to go for New Jersey.”
Elias currently sits third in the championship, 35 points out of the series lead, but technically still in the championship hunt going into the final round.
The MotoAmerica Superbike Championship series heads back to New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey for the finale on September 9-11th.
