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MotoAmerica Motul Superbike – Millville

14.09.2017

TONI ELIAS BAGS TITLE IN ADVANCE

TONI ELIAS BAGS TITLE IN ADVANCE

Already, Saturday 9 September mid afternoon, he'd bagged the race: by winning race 1 in Millville, New Jersey, Toni Elias indeed clinched the title as 2017 MotoAmerica Motul Superbike champion! The rider of team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing, partnered technically by Motul, did even better the following day by adding a second win to his list of season achievements! In 18 starts, he never finished lower than 2nd place, except for when he had to quit on Virginia International Raceway. It's the 14th time Suzuki has secured the national AMA/MotoAmerica Superbike title.

 

Toni Elias exploited to the full the potential of the new GSX-R1000 by clinching pole and then taking the lead of race 1 from lap eight to the end. He won with an infinitely tiny margin, 39 thousandths of a second ahead of his team-mate Roger Hayden. So the 34 year old Spaniard, Moto2 World champion in 2010, duly rejoiced at the arrival:  'I wanted to bag the title by winning on the track but that was no easy task; I was up against highly combative contenders.' 

 

In the last lap of race 2, Toni Elias surprised Roger Hayden who had been leading since the start. As 2016 champion, Cameron Beaubier, is suffering from an injury that requires an operation, Hayden was certain to finish the championship 2nd and thus gave Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing a one-two.

 

MotoAmerica Motul Superbike standings:

01 Toni Elias (Suzuki), 390 pts

02 Roger Hayden (Suzuki), 297 pts

03 Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha), 255 pts