The following is from Team Hammer…
Team Hammer, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has retained the services of Sam Lochoff to contest the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, in the Supersport class.
The 19-year-old South African will look to build on the momentum of his spectacular rookie season and fight for next season’s MotoAmerica Supersport title aboard a Team Hammer-built M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R once again.
Prior to the start of his 2021 campaign, Lochoff admitted his opportunity with Team Hammer represented a “prove it” year to determine whether or not he has what it takes to make a career out of professional motorcycle road racing.
He proved that and then some, finishing the season ranked third in the final 2021 MotoAmerica Supersport point standings on the strength of 14 top-five finishes, six podium finishes, and a thrilling first race victory earned in a last-lap duel with Moto2-bound 2021 Supersport Champion and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Sean Dylan Kelly.
Lochoff continued to improve throughout the 2021 season as he gained Supersport class experience. He earned five of his six podiums — including his dramatic win — in the season’s final eight races, and expects to pick up where he left off in 2022.
“First, I want to thank M4 ECSTAR Suzuki for helping me so much last season. It felt like every member of the team had an impact,” said Lochoff. “I was learning, going from a 400cc bike to a 600cc bike and the team really accelerated my progress. At the first of the year, I was off the leaders’ pace a good bit. We focused on improving lap times to close that gap down. We worked really hard and earned some good results.
“There are some big names in Supersport this coming year, including my new teammate Richie Escalante,” Lochoff continued. “Of course, I want to shoot for the moon and be the guy everyone else chases but my plan is to keep working hard. I’ve been in California so I can ride and train more this off-season and I am looking forward to carrying our momentum into 2022.”
Prior to joining Team Hammer, the Cape Town native finished third in the 2020 MotoAmerica Junior Cup championship and won the 2018 Alpe Adria International Motorcycle title and the 2018 FIM Supersport 300 European Cup.
“Sam exceeded our expectations in 2021,” said Chris Ulrich, Team Hammer Vice President of Operations, who handles talent scouting. “He had a good approach, taking it step-by-step and making progress in an organized fashion. By the end of the year, Sam was a consistent podium finisher and earned his first Supersport race win. That made him the best of the Junior Cup graduates, comparing Sam to his previous competition. Now our goal is to continue his development in 2022 and for Sam to become a consistent Supersport race winner.”
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