Podium for Vesrah Suzuki at Laguna Seca
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Dealers
Jul 24th, 2011
SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND FOR VESRAH SUZUKI WITH A PODIUM FINISH FOR COREY ALEXANDER AT LAGUNA SECA.
Corey Alexander qualified on the front row for the AMA Pro Motorcycle-Superstore.com SuperSport race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Stefano Mesa joined the team for this event and was able to qualify on the second row in his first visit to the facility. Corey diced at the front of the pack battling for second place and brought his 2011 Suzuki GSX-R 600 home on the podium in 3rd place. Stefano matched his qualifying position ending the race in 6th place. With the wrap up of the Supersport West championship Corey has a top 3 finish in his first full year competing with AMA Pro Racing.
After struggling in qualifying, Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory West and Taylor Knapp finished 5th and 8th in the AMA Pro Racing Daytona Sportbike Race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. Cory remains in 5th place in the 2011 Daytona Sportbike championship and Taylor is in 8th place.
Mark Junge – Team Owner Vesrah Suzuki
“While we would have liked a couple more podium finishes, the team having finishes that were within the top 8 in both classes with the limited practice time available is great. All of my riders did an outstanding job as well as my crew with the hectic schedule and I have to thank the Rockstar Makita Suzuki team for sharing hot pit space and resources this weekend. Stefano Mesa really impressed me this weekend coming to a track he had never ridden on a motorcycle he had also never ridden before and getting a 6th place finish.”
Cory West – Vesrah Suzuki #57
“I got a great launch in the race today and was pretty close to the leaders early from a third row start. I struggled a little with drive grip coming out of the slower corners and that seemed to be the only place the guys in front were making time. The bike worked really well right off the truck this weekend and it was nice to keep the leaders in sight. I’m happy with 5th place but the race was pretty anti-climatic after suck a long weekend. It’s a bummer that the race had to end under a red flag but I’m glad that we came out with a pretty good result and progressed from last year. Thanks to my crew, Tony and Sean, and the rest of the Vesrah Suzuki team for a good weekend. I’m looking forward to a fun finale at New Jersey.”
Taylor Knapp – Vesrah Suzuki #44
“It was definitely a crazy race and a lot happened in a short period. To start the weekend off I had a really hard time in qualifying which was made even worse as for this event there were only 3 grid spots per row instead of our usual 4. After the restart I knew I had to make up ground so I passed a bunch of people in turn 1 and then just started picking people off. My bike was working really well in the race and it is unfortunate that the race was cut so short as I think I could have gotten the 3 riders in front of me based off of the times we were turning. I have to thank James Lickwar, Mark, and the whole Vesrah crew.”
Corey Alexander – Vesrah Suzuki #5
“I'm pretty satisfied with how my weekend went. Right out of the box my GSX-R 600 felt great. After qualifying 1 I knew we had the potential to put down a fast time given the right circumstances. Thankfully in qualifying 2 the pieces came together and I was able to lay down a time that put me on the front row. Unfortunately I didn't get the greatest start and had some ground to make up. I thought I'd be able to run with the leader if I was up there but I wasn't. After making my way up to second I made a few mistakes and I couldn't pull away. It ended up being a great battle and I'm glad I could hold onto third and so close to second. I'm also glad I could put my Vesrah Suzuki up front. I'd like to give a special thanks to my Uncle Richie, Ben Bostrom, Jason Pridmore and everyone at the Star Motorcycle School for all of the help, it's really paying off.”
Stefano Mesa – Vesrah Suzuki #37
“My race weekend was great, one of the best of the whole year. I started out a little bit nervous because it was my first time ever at Laguna Seca and on a Suzuki GSX-R as well as under a big canopy. For the first free practice I just went out and learned the track. After the practice I said this was my new favorite track. For provisional qualifying I just got set and got behind someone fast and just hang with them and thanks to that I went 3 seconds faster ending up in 6th. For final qualifying we tried some changes but did not improve and ended up gridded 6th for the final on the second row.”
“The race was awesome, I had a blast and loved the Vesrah Suzuki. My start wasn't perfect and I lost 2 places but after the second lap I was back in 6th and the front pack had pulled away so I just put my head down and tried to follow them and was getting closer. When I was about 1 second away we started to hit lapped riders and after getting held up I held my position to the finish. I have to thank Mark and Vesrah Suzuki for the opportunity to ride for them, my crew chief Don for all of his hard work and my Mom and Dad for making this happen for me along with my personal sponsors - Bell Helmets, Leo Men’s Underwear, Addict by Bosi, Motoprimo & Studio 299.”
“The race was awesome, I had a blast and loved the Vesrah Suzuki. My start wasn't perfect and I lost 2 places but after the second lap I was back in 6th and the front pack had pulled away so I just put my head down and tried to follow them and was getting closer. When I was about 1 second away we started to hit lapped riders and after getting held up I held my position to the finish. I have to thank Mark and Vesrah Suzuki for the opportunity to ride for them, my crew chief Don for all of his hard work and my Mom and Dad for making this happen for me along with my personal sponsors - Bell Helmets, Leo Men’s Underwear, Addict by Bosi, Motoprimo & Studio 299.”
Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2011 season – Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Penske Racing Shocks, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Yoshimura, Catalyst Racing Composites, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active, Pilot, Suzuka Tire Warmers, Pit Bull & Road Rage Designs
