American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 2 | Page 24

Team Hammer enjoyed a spectacular opening to the
2016 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road
Racing Championship season at the Circuit of The
Americas in Austin, Texas, securing the 139th podium of its storied history.
Adding to that excitement was the fact that it was taken by series newcomer Valentin Debise on the M4
SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki GSX-R600. Frenchman Debise instantly signaled his intent to be a serious player in this year's Supersport title fight by
kicking off his MotoAmerica career with an impressive third-place result.
The former Moto2, World Endurance, and World Supersport competitor clung onto the battle for the lead
just long enough to stretch out a sizable gap over the
fight for fourth. That early padding ultimately proved
invaluable as Debise narrowly fought off a competitor's late attempt to steal away the spot.
"My race went well," 23-year-old Debise said. "I
knew the front two guys were really fast, and I tried

24 | American Racing News | Volume 1, Issue 2

to push hard and stay with them in the beginning. After they got away, I just focused on myself and my
bike. I tried to manage the gap behind me and just
post steady lap times."
M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki teammate Cameron Petersen also opened his '16 campaign in solid
fashion, picking up a sixth-place finish. After qualifying one spot behind Debise in fourth, the South African was embroiled in a spirited battle for that same
position for much of the contest. In the end, he
missed out on a top-five finish by less than two tenths
of a second, despite clocking an even faster lap time
in the race than his qualifying time.
Chris Ulrich, M4 Suzuki, COTA, MotoAmerica, Superbike
Photo by Brian J. Nelson
M4 MedAge Suzuki's Chris Ulrich registered a pair
of points-paying finishes in this year's deep and talented combined Superstock/Superstock 1000 field.