The UtahSBK season finale took place September 19th-20th in Grantsville, Utah at what was formerly known as Utah Motorsports Campus. The World Class facility hosted its Grand Re-Opening event on the same weekend inviting local government and media agencies as well as legends of our sport such as John Ulrich, Moto GP champion Kevin Schwantz, and Moto America team owner Graham Rahal. The unveiling of future plans for the facility accompanied by the lengthy list of improvements already made by the new ownership has the motorcycling world excited for next season and beyond. But on this weekend, the UtahSBK proudly hosted its final round of the season, and the first racing action under the track’s new moniker “West Desert”.
After some schizophrenic weather interrupted Friday’s practice day, racers welcomed partly cloudy skies and cool crisp temperatures Saturday morning while preparing for qualifying sessions. With many championships yet to be decided, and plenty of bragging rights to be had, a large field of racers across all classes had plenty of incentive to throw down their fastest laps and secure the best possible grid spots for the weekend’s races. Topping the time sheets in qualifying would be 2026 club champion Anthony Norton with a 1:31.2, followed by Justin Delong at a 1:32.0. Rounding out the front row for Sundays feature race with the 3rd fastest time in qualifying, past multi-time club champion making his return to the grid, Jerry Hicks, putting down a 1:32.5. With the grids all set, it was time to go Racin’…
Race 1 of the weekend would look a bit different… A squadron of single cylinder 450cc machines thundered down hot pit for sighting laps in route to taking their grid positions in a multi-wave start. The UtahSBK’s Supermoto series had just recently concluded their season, but the supermoto racers weren’t done racing yet. More than a dozen supermoto riders joined hooligan and lightweight grids throughout the weekend and had the honor of kicking off the weekend backing it in to turn one when the lights went out for the first time Saturday morning. Anthony Norton used his big track knowledge to his advantage, taking the lead piloting his Edge Powersports KTM SMR 450 halfway through lap 1 and didn’t look back. The leg out sideways bar to bar battles for the podium would heat up as the laps wound down. Jordan Pay and Jeff Panelley, running 2nd and 3rd, were fender to fender in the latter stages of the race, all the while, Dustin Biles was closing the gap to the podium battle. On the Last lap, Panelley made the move for 2nd, leaving Pay in 3rd, with Biles in 4th all separated by .6 of a second at the checkered flag. Nick Montella would move through the field to round out the top 5. This action was too good to ignore and UtahSBK may be adding a supermoto class to the SBK schedule full time for 2027.
The next race on track would be the start of a weekend long 3-way battle in the Expert Middleweight classes. Parker “Pablo” Mayer, Kinzer Naylor, and Ryan Breckenridge all on Kawaski Zx6r machines went head to head first in the Moto2 race. Mayer, only needing to finish in the points to secure the class championship, had no plans of riding conservatively which he made obvious by battling for the lead on lap 1. Breckenridge and Naylor simultaneously had no interest in yielding to the potential champ and the 3 battled for the entire 7 laps. Breckenridge led the trio early on before Mayer slotted into 2nd around Naylor in 3rd. On the last lap Mayer would make an aggressive pass on the brakes to take the lead and shortly after the win by just .140 of a second over Breckenridge, Naylor just bike lengths behind in 3rd. Later on, the 3 riders would face off again for the Fuzimoto Middleweight Superbike race. Very similar story with intense action and multiple passes but this time Breckenridge would take the win over Naylor in 2nd and 3rd going to Mayer just .6 of a second separating the 3. As if they couldn’t get enough, the 3 fierce competitors ran it back on Sunday in the second Middleweight Superbike moto and again put on a show with nonstop action and incrementally faster laps. This time Naylor would take the top step narrowly stretching away from Mayer in 2nd and Breckenridge in 3rd. Amazing action from these 3 all weekend long.
In one of the closest battles of the weekend fans and racers in attendance, as well as viewers tuning in to the oxymoron photography live race broadcast, were treated to a race resembling David and Goliath if they were motorcycle riders. Jeff Panelley on his KTM supermoto put the pressure on young prodigy Parker Busse who was riding very well on his borrowed Ninja 400 during Saturday’s Lightweight Superbike race. Mark Taylor set sail from the start on his Ninja Zx4RR while Busse and Panelley worked their way into 2nd and 3rd by the midway point of the race. Starting the penultimate lap, Panelley would use the grunt of his KTM to pass Busse coming on to the front straight, but that wouldn’t be the end of it. Busse first went back at Panelley into the hard braking turn 5, but didn’t quite make it stick. Then made the pass into the final corner before taking the white flag. The two played offense and defense respectively over the course of the final lap with just inches between them at any given moment. Panelley trying his hand at a few moves along the way and Busse closing the door every time there was a slight opening. Busse held the final corner tight and Panelley saved what looked to be an inevitable lowside as they charged onto the front straight, checkered flag in sight. At the line Busse would hold off Panelley by only .035 for 2nd, Panelley in 3rd and Taylor taking the win.
While the “West Desert” Grand Re-Opening was kicking off Saturday afternoon, so was the UtahSBK endurance. 90 min of nonstop flag to flag racing. 2 of our previously mentioned middleweight protagonists, Mayer and Breckenridge would join forces with fellow middleweight racer Josh Lerner in the Endurance relay class to eventually take the overall win for the final round. The bravest warriors of the endurance race are the ironman entrants, tackling every lap solo with no one to pass the baton to. It was a tight battle in the ironman class for the final endurance race of the season as the riders played out their individual strategies. Some tried to run their fastest laps and maintain speed while others tried to conserve their fuel and minimize their stops. At the 90-minute mark Geiser Hernandez, who went for the straight speed strategy, took the class win with 54 laps. Trevor Nosack, Eliu Heredia and Mark Taylor would all finish on the same 53rd lap of their race and in that order. While doing so, Eliu Heredia also secured the Ironman Endurance class championship by just 8 points over Nosack, concluding a hard-fought season by both contestants. Rounding out the top 5 for the class, race director Remington Mathews stepped out of the tower and used his aero dynamic stature aboard a borrowed r3 to run the entire race on just a single tank of fuel, completing the cool down lap on literal fumes after taking the checkered flag.
Sunday, the last day of racing for the 2026 season, picked up right where the previous day left off with an action-packed morning seeing more intense battles and more championship titles clinched. While the championship in the club’s premier class, the King of the Mountain, had been decided in round 4, all eyes were on the club’s fastest riders as they took their grid positions for the final Same Day Heating and Air KOM race. Reigning champion Anthony “LugNut” Norton starting from Pole, Previous #1 plate holder Jerry Hicks starting 3rd, and between them, challenger Justin Delong… Lights out and the field flew into turn 1 where Delong secured the Hole Shot. Norton followed just inches off Delong’s rear tire as they rounded turns 3 and 4 with Hicks close Behind. Norton wasted no time taking his shot at the lead going into turn 5, hard on the brakes rear tire skimming just off the ground as he slid by Delong and to the front of the field. Delong tucked right behind Norton for the first couple laps of the race. Around lap 4 Norton began to stretch away running a very fast and consistent pace as Delong started to lose ground to the lead. Meanwhile Jerry Hicks 3rd and Ryan Richardson 4th started to close the gap to 2nd. When Richardson and Hicks found their way to Delong’s rear tire the two made an aggressive move together to take over the podium spots and resume their 1 on 1 battle relegating Delong to 4th. Richardson would take over the 2nd spot for a moment around the halfway point of the 14-lap race before Hicks would fire back. Battles preceded throughout the field during the entire race, riders jockeying for position and the final points available in the championship for the season. When the checkered flag flew, now 4x club champion Norton took his 5th KOM win on the season in style crossing the line front wheel in the air to complete a perfect season in the class. Hicks would finish 2nd in his return to UtahSBK, just a few tenths ahead of Richardson in 3rd. Delong and Parker Mayer would round out the top 5 in 4th and 5th respectively.
After another dominant season and KOM race win, Norton had this to say: “What a year. The club keeps getting stronger and the riders keep getting faster. It wasn’t an easy year, but it all came together today and I enjoyed every lap of this race just hitting my marks and having a blast riding my bike. The Racers Edge Dunlops were so good today as usual and Fuzimoto helped me have the bike dialed. Huge thanks to Sameday Utah for putting up the purse money this year and to my sponsors Precision Fab Machinery, Bestige holdings, and Legal Ride for another great year together. Today, standing on the podium with Jerry (Hicks) was full circle for me. I looked up to him as a man and champion when I first came to Utah and I’m stoked to see him back racing with us.”
After Podium Celebrations for KOM and Summit Cup, racing action resumed. The novice middleweight racers took the spotlight as standout Israel Zitting lead the middleweight sbk race. Hard Charging Jack Vandergriff had come into his own after overcoming mechanical adversities throughout the weekend and had his sights set on ending his season on the top step of the podium. Vandergriff, running his personal best laps ever, reeled in the top novice of the season Zitting and secured the lead late in the race. Once out front Vandergriff ran flawlessly to take his first Race win of the season.
While no one was ready for the season to be over, all good things do come to an end they say. Racers are planning for their 2026 season celebration taking place October 30th at Rice Eccles Stadium in SLC, while looking forward to the 2027 season.
UtahSBK President Brian Childree sends the season off with following statement:
“2026 has been one of the biggest years in Utah Superbike’s history. Both our Superbike and Supermoto/Mini-Moto series had successful seasons, with close battles for position in nearly every class and a field of racers who push each other every weekend. We had qualifying for every class and held our endurance race every round. We brought live announcing to the series, and our partnership with Oxymoron Photography let us live stream our events, so fans at the track and at home could follow every race. We also have a great partnership with the new management at West Desert.
We put a lot of work into bringing new riders into the sport and helping current riders improve. We launched our Emerging Racer Scholarship program, and we partnered with Yamaha Champ School on our Advanced Rider Training program. Through StreetGP, more than 160 riders got to experience road racing this year.
What I’m most proud of is what happens off the track. Our racers compete hard, but in the paddock, they help each other with bikes, share advice, and cheer each other on. The camaraderie and friendships in this community are what make Utah Superbike special. Thank you to our racers, volunteers, sponsors, and fans for making this season possible.”
