Vesrah Suzuki has a Weekend Filled with Ups and Downs at the AMA Pro Racing Suzuki Superbike Showdown at Road Atlanta

Union Grove, WI (April 20, 2010) - The AMA Pro Racing event at Road Atlanta during the Suzuki Superbike Showdown saw Vesrah Suzuki’s Cory West on the #57 GSX-R 600 achieve a milestone for the team as he finished both Daytona SportBike races on the podium. These were the first podium appearances for the team since switching to competing full time in AMA Pro Racing competition this year. It only took 3 events for Cory and the team to find their way to the front of the field with a 2nd place in Daytona SportBike Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2. Chris Fillmore continues to make progress on the set up of his #55 Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R 600 finishing in 9th position in Daytona SportBike Race 1 and moving forward 1 place to finish 8th in Race 2.

Both of Vesrah Suzuki’s Daytona SportBike entries now sit in the top 10 of the season point standings. Cory has moved up to 4th place based on his results this weekend and Chris sits in 9th place despite missing the first round this season.

Tray Batey on the #33 Vesrah Suzuki in the American SuperBike class ran into misfortune during the early stages of Race 1 with a crash in turn 6. Tray was transported to a local hospital where he was checked out and released later in the evening. Tray is banged up but was able to come back to the track to cheer on his teammates in Daytona SportBike Race 2 on Sunday.

Mark Junge, Team Owner – “This was a hell of a weekend – finishing on the podium twice in Daytona SportBike with Cory, Chris getting closer to the lead pack and the incident with Tray. I’m just so relieved and thankful that he is OK as he is a great friend. Being a part of Suzuki sweeping the podium in Daytona SportBike Race 1 was great. I’m happy to see that the teamwork we built in endurance racing for so many years also is applicable in AMA Pro racing. I have to thank my entire team for their performance as well as the people who stepped in to help us this weekend.”

Cory West, #57 Vesrah Suzuki – Saturday - “Wow, what a day! We began with a great morning qualifying session that put us in a 5th place starting position for the race. We solved the issues that I was having yesterday, so I felt very confident for the race. I got a good start in the race and found myself running comfortably in the lead pack. I slowly made my way to the front and actually led a few laps, which is something I've never done in an AMA race before. When it came down to the last lap, I was running second and had a good shot at possibly overtaking the leader, but I ran a little wide in turn six and that definitely hurt my drive onto the back straight. Heading for turn ten I went from second to fourth but came out of it with a good drive and running in third. I made a last chance pass into the final turn to take over second and that's how it finished! I got my best professional finish of my career today and I think tomorrow we have as good of a shot as anyone to win. I'd really like to thank my crew, Tony and Bruce, and the whole Vesrah Suzuki team for believing in me and working so hard this year to get me to the front of this class. I couldn't have done it without them and all of our sponsors and supporters. This has been a long time coming for me but I feel like it's just the beginning of something special!”

Sunday - “Today's race was definitely a much harder race than yesterday. I got a good start but there were a few more people in the pack and that made things a little harder. I got shuffled to the back of the train for the majority of the race and was having a really hard time getting through guys and keeping the position. Every time I had a good run it seemed like I got blocked or had to check up. So with 5 laps to go I knew I had to make something happen and the opportunity presented itself going in to turn 10. I made a pretty gutsy pass that took me from sixth, all the way to the lead! From there I stayed close to the front and managed to grab another podium for the weekend with a third place finish. The Vesrah crew worked great this weekend and we got some extra help from the Traxxion Dynamics guys that really helped with my front-end feel. I'd like to thank all of the sponsors again and to all my supporters for believing I belong in this paddock. I can't wait to get to California and race again!”

Chris Filmore, #55 Vesrah Suzuki – Saturday - "Race one started rough, on the second lap by hitting the pit lane limiter going down the back straight which caused me to loose the front group and get passed by a few guys. As the race hit about half way I struggled with front end grip, but held on to take 9th, making a pass going into turn 10 on the last lap."

Sunday - “Race two started much better, we made some setup changes from Saturday’s race that worked well. I was able to stay with the front pack for the first half of the race but arm pump and bad drives through turn 7 kept me from keeping in touch with the lead group. Overall we made some big changes from Auto Club that really worked. I want to thank the whole Vesrah Suzuki crew and look forward to Infineon.”

Tray Batey, #33 Vesrah Suzuki – "Damn turn 6 at Road Atlanta! I have to thank everyone for his or her concern and well wishes – It really shows how much people care. It was nice to see firsthand how welcoming the AMA paddock has been to Vesrah Suzuki and it makes me feel great to see that."

Vesrah Suzuki wants to thank all of their sponsors for their support for the 2010 season – Vesrah, American Suzuki, Rockstar Energy Drink, Nielsen Enterprises Suzuki, Waterbridge Investments, Traxxion Dynamics Fork Components, Dainese Leathers, Boots and Gloves, AGV Helmets, Graves Motorsports, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, Sudco Int., Bazzaz, Factory Pro, Maxima Racing Oils, Vortex, DID Chain, Penske Racing Shocks, GPR Stabilizers, Trek Bicycles, GP Tech, Active & Road Rage Designs