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WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu Breaks Lap Record In FP2 At Most
WorldSBK FP2
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Razgatlioglu leads the way in Most
The reigning WorldSBK Champion topped Friday’s practice while Bautista and Rea missed the top three
P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu stormed to a new lap record in FP2 setting a 1’31.506.
Razgatlioglu’s race pace was pretty strong in the afternoon, as he set nine laps in the 1’32 bracket, whilst his final run featured three 1’31s.
“This morning we started well after Donington Park and the bike feels good immediately. In the first session there was some small setting problem, but in the second session we improve the bike, now I am feeling much better and we are ready to race. The lap time is very positive, a very good lap time and also after 25 laps with the rear tyre, I see 32.3 – this is very good for so many laps on this tyre! I am very happy and I set also the lap record with harder tyre! Anyway, we are just focused on the race setup. We use in the race the SC0 tyre, everyone uses the SC0 tyre. We are just focused on working on the bike, and now we are happy, and we are ready. For Superpole, we can use the SCX tyre, but I think this is enough for a good lap time.”
P2 – Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Redding was second with a 1’31.733, 0.227s off Razgatlioglu’s best time.
The BMW rider set 12 laps in the 1’32, half of them in the lower bracket. He dipped into the 1’31s just once.
“I’m happy. Today I started good in the morning, I just used one tyre and we tried to get the feeling, we used the same setting from Donington for me to have at least the connection and the feeling with the bike. This worked really well so I’m happy. And then in the afternoon, we tried to improve a few areas which we did successfully. Temperature came up so it was a bit a different feeling with riding, but the pace was still there which was good. So overall I’m happy and feeling quite comfortable.”
P3 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Rinaldi finished third in the Free Practice combined result 0.314s.
He was the first Ducati rider on Friday finishing just 0.051s ahead of his teammate.
“This morning, I was immediately quite fast. I was a little bit surprised because it was a completely different track. But we were fast so I’m happy. The only issue we had was during FP1 & FP2, I lost a bit of time in the box to wait for a technical reason. This weekend we don’t have the SCX so to adapt in a good way, you need to stay out on track and work even more so I’m not so happy about it. Anyway, I’m third so I don’t want to be too negative because I feel fast. We just need to put every piece together.”
P4 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Bautista stands in fifth place at the end of Friday with a best time of 1’31.871.
He finished 0.365s behind Razgatlioglu for his first day at the Autodrom Most with Ducati.
“Today has been a day to discover the track with this bike. It was my first time with Ducati. In the morning we just made a lot of laps just to get the references and to see the tyre, especially the new compound that Pirelli brought here. I did a lot of laps and the feeling was not too bad, even if the bike was not as perfect as I wanted it to be. In the afternoon, we made some changes on the bike and we found some things better and something worst so we have to analyse the data and see what to use for tomorrow. The tyre selection is not clear. Nothing is clear because we found some positives and some negatives in each tyre. We have to check everything and, together with the bike, the way to go for the rest of the weekend. I think everybody’s in a very similar situation, so it won’t be easy for tomorrow or Sunday. The most important thing is to manage the tyres.”
P5 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Rea was fifth on the opening day of the 2022 Czech Round.
He set his personal best time of 1’31.893 in the morning session, being the only rider inside the top six who didn’t improve in FP2.
“The track was much better than last year, especially that first sector, first chicane. So, I had much more feedback, you can more ride closer to the limit. Just in the afternoon, we were trying to understand the tyre drop, how the tyre behaves when the tyre is old. I only putted a new tyre in the end. But just with the big changes on the bike … we have new items to check, and it wasn’t possible. We get a lot of information. I don’t think the position reflect our true potential. In an ideal world, if we didn’t have so many testing items, I would’ve tried the SCX tyre because that’s also important for us. It’s not an option for both long races but it is still an option for the 10-lap race. We focused on just the standard SC0 option and then the new prototype SC0, which is a different construction. We’re happy with how the day works. And looking forward to see what happen tomorrow, put all the items together and hopefully we can be competitive.”
P6 – Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW)
The BMW rider displayed a strong pace in the afternoon before clocking in a couple of low 1’32s
“The feeling was good from the first laps of FP1, I just had to find my pace. I’ve been here only once, and it wasn’t with Superbike. I was pretty happy to see that the updates BMW bring in Donington were working here as well. I was happy to see that the bike was behaving in a good way from the first laps. We had a lot of things to do, it seems like it’s going to rain tomorrow so we had try all the tyres and other things today. I wasn’t really fast in FP1, but we managed to improve every laps with the old tyre. We then had a pretty good FP2. We tried the SCX at the end just to see how it was. It wasn’t a perfect lap time but we’re on the good way and we just need to confirm tomorrow.”
To note:
Honda’s Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, who had never visited the track before, finished in 10th and 11th place. A big crash at Turn 6 at the start of FP2, Lecuona didn’t get back out, losing vital track time on his Most debut. The Spaniard will need to get a medical check before FP3 as he suffered lower back contusions.
WorldSBK action resumes on Saturday from 09:00 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole at 11:10 and Race 1 at 14:00.
MotoAmerica Set For 150th Superbike Race
MotoAmerica’s 150th Superbike Race Set For BIR
When The Checkered Flag Falls On Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, The 150th MotoAmerica Superbike Race Will Be In The Books
IRVINE, CA (July 29, 2022) – Sunday’s MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway will mark a milestone for North America’s premier motorcycle road racing championship as it will be the 150th Superbike race held in the MotoAmerica era, which dates to the first-ever MotoAmerica Superbike race on April 11, 2015, at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
The winner that day? Fittingly, it was four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes who ushered in the new series with a victory over his Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier, the man who would carry the MotoAmerica torch as its champion for five out of the next six years. Back then Superstock 1000 bikes ran with the Superbikes with separate results. Thus, it was also fitting that the first Superstock 1000 race gave us a glimpse into the future as it was won by Jake Gagne, the current MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion.
There were just 11 Superbike entries on the grid at COTA in 2015, 15 less than the 26 who were led home to the finish at COTA this year by race winner Danilo Petrucci.
That first season of MotoAmerica racing also featured several wet races, including the “rainey” one that opened the era in Texas with Hayes topping his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate Beaubier by 5.2 seconds and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden rounding out the podium.
The following day, Beaubier won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I have a lot of friends here in Texas and I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Hayes said after winning what was his 49th career Superbike victory on day one. “We’ve had some dodgy weather, we’ve had some good weather, we’ve had a little bit of everything. I feel like we’ve had a good sprinkle of everything. To have a successful race weekend and come out of here with a win, regardless of what happens tomorrow, it’s fantastic. I’m very happy to be up here and get one in for Yamaha and the new R1. My team has done an amazing job. I was prepared, rain or shine. Mentally, I was in a really good state. I was ready to go either way very early in the weekend.”
In race two, Beaubier (who qualified on pole position) won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I saw him coming into the last corner and I was like, ‘No, this is my frickin’ race,’ “ Beaubier said. “It was pretty cool to get it done today. I looked back to make sure he was up and then looked at my leg and there was some rubber there. But it’s a lot of fun racing these guys. I feel like we have respect for each other, but at the same time we can lean on each other pretty hard. I’m looking forward to this year.”
There were nine rounds and 18 MotoAmerica Superbike races held in the first season of MotoAmerica, and Hayes would win 10 of them, including both races in the season-ender at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Although Beaubier would win tw2o fewer races than Hayes, it was the young Californian who claimed the first MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
In taking the 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike crown, Beaubier became the 20th different rider to win an AMA Superbike Championship.
“It’s a dream come true for me to win the championship in my second year on a Superbike and my first year with this brand-new R1. Josh (Hayes) is an awesome teammate and a great Champion. He’s helped me so much.”
Beaubier would successfully defend his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in 2016, but there was a new challenger in the series – a diminutive Spaniard by the name of Toni Elias – who would push Beaubier and the rest to a new level.
Beaubier again won eight of the 18 races in 2016, but Elias and his Yoshimura Suzuki won six – including his two debut races at COTA. Hayes would win a pair of races and Hayden would also win two.
The 2017 season was expanded to 10 rounds and 20 races for the first time, and it would again feature Beaubier/Elias battles with Elias taking the crown with 10 race wins to Beaubier’s five, though Beaubier’s season ended four rounds early after the Yamaha man suffered a shoulder injury at Pitt Race that required surgery. Hayden, meanwhile, won three more races in 2017, the last three wins of his career, and he ended up second to his teammate in the final point standings.
South African Mathew Scholtz won his first MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2017 on his Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and he did so in the rain in the season finale at Barber Motorsport Park. Scholtz’s victory was also noteworthy in that it was the first time a MotoAmerica Superbike race was won by a rider on a Superstock 1000-spec motorcycle.
The 2018 season was again a Beaubier vs. Elias battle that went the way of Beaubier, even though Elias won more races (nine to eight). Beaubier’s season was more consistent, and he was crowned MotoAmerica Superbike Champion for the third time.
Other winners on the year were Attack Performance Yamaha’s Josh Herrin (two wins) and Westby Racing’s Scholtz (one win at COTA, again in the rain).
The 2018 season was also the first without Hayes on a Superbike, the four-time champ replaced on the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing team by two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Garrett Gerloff.
Elias again won the most races in 2019 (seven to Beaubier’s six) and again he was beaten to the championship by Beaubier, who won the last three races while Elias faltered to take the title by just five points. Beaubier’s two victories in the season finale in Alabama were the 37th and 38th of his career, and the result of those wins was his fourth AMA Superbike title.
The 2019 season was also a breakout year for Gerloff with the Texan winning four races and turning heads in the process. At the end of the year, Gerloff signed a deal that would see him move to the World Superbike Championship for the 2020 season.
Beaubier’s final season of MotoAmerica racing in 2020 put an exclamation mark on his stateside racing career as he won a record-setting 16 races while earning his fifth MotoAmerica Superbike title. He also ended the year with 54 career Superbike wins, a mark that puts him third on the all-time AMA Superbike win list. With a fifth title in his pocket, it was time to move on and Beaubier jumped to the Moto2 World Championship in 2021.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong won three races in 2020 with HSBK Racing Ducati’s Lorenzo Zanetti also winning a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As it turns out, Beaubier’s record-setting 16-win season in 2020 didn’t last long as his teammate Jake Gagne took over the lead role in the Fresh N Lean Attack Performance Yamaha team and did so with a season to remember. Gagne ended up winning a record 17 races on the year.
The other race winners in 2021 were Scholtz with two victories and Cameron Petersen with one.
With 12 races complete in 2022 heading into the 149th and 150th MotoAmerica races, Gagne has seven wins and leads the championship by just three points over Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci and his three victories.
Petersen and Scholtz are the other two riders with wins in 2022.
With MotoAmerica celebrating its 150th Superbike race this weekend, the staff of MotoAmerica, its racers, teams and sponsors all remember the two men who lost their lives on July 19, 2015, in an accident on the opening lap of the second Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Spaniards Bernat Martinez and Daniel Rivas. They are not forgotten.
148 Superbike Races. 13 Winners
Cameron Beaubier 51
Toni Elias 32
Jake Gagne 24
Josh Hayes 13
Roger Hayden 5
Mathew Scholtz 5
Garrett Gerloff 4
Josh Herrin 4
Danilo Petrucci 3
Bobby Fong 3
Cameron Petersen 2
JD Beach 1
Lorenzo Zanetti 1
Seven Championships. 3 Champions
Cameron Beaubier 5
Toni Elias 1
Jake Gagne 1
Manufacturer Wins (148 Races)
Yamaha 100
Suzuki 44
Ducati 4
MotoGP Interview: Kingmaker Aki Ajo, In The July Issue
Featured In the July 2022 issue of Roadracing World:
Aki Ajo is the most successful team boss in the MotoGP paddock—over the past decade or so he’s guided Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta and others to World Championships. What’s his secret?
“That was the time I called my university!” grins Ajo, recalling his start. “Because I learned technical things, I learned riding and I also learned business…”
—MotoGP Interview: Kingmaker Aki Ajo, by Mat Oxley
It has been a long journey for the 58-year-old Aki Ajo, one that started when he was 11-years-old, rebuilding mopeds as a way to buy a motocross bike. Since then, he has prospered, in large part because he’s always remembered that simplicity is the route to success. Read about one of the pillars of the MotoGP paddock in the latest issue of Roadracing World!
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Ducati To Begin Unveiling New 2023 Models On September 2
Ducati World Première 2023: The Presentations of Ducati’s New Products Will Start From September 2
Seven episodes for the new-for-2023 products from the Borgo Panigale manufacturer will end on November 7 with a preview for the Ducatisti at WDW 2022
All the episodes of the Ducati World Première 2023 will be available on the Ducati.com website, on the YouTube channel, and on Ducati’s social media networks
Borgo Panigale, Bologna, July 28, 2022 – The Ducati World Première season starts again, the series of events that each year presents the new products from the Borgo Panigale manufacturer for the following season. The streaming of the first episode is scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 1:00 PM EST, on the occasion of the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera. The series will continue until November 7, when all Ducati enthusiasts can finally see the model unveiled as a preview to participants in World Ducati Week 2022.
Seven episodes will be dedicated to Ducati’s new products for 2023. Between September, October and November will represent the stages of a journey revealing the bikes on the Ducati.com website, on the YouTube channel and on the social media networks of the Borgo Panigale company. These bikes will then be visible live starting Thursday, November 10, when EICMA 2022 will open its gates to the public.
Below is the calendar of all the episodes of the Ducati World Première 2023 web series:
September 2, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 1 | The Unexpected
September 15, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 2 | Ready for More?
September 29, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 3 | Unlock Earth
October 7, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 4 | This is Racing
October 20, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 5 | Push Forward
October 28, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 6 | Dare to be Bold
November 7, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 7 | Next Gen Freedom
#DucatiWorldPremiere # Ducati2023
MotoAmerica: Previews Of The Other Classes Racing At Brainerd
Just One Point Separates Three Men In The Battle For The Mission King Of The Baggers Title
Action-Packed Weekend On Tap For Brainerd International Raceway With Seven Classes Of Racing Slated For July 29-31.
IRVINE, CA (July 28, 2022) – A single point separates three riders in the 2022 MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Championship with just two races remaining in the seven-race series, the first of which will take place at Brainerd International Raceway this weekend, July 29-31.
Hot off his victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Kyle Wyman is tied with his brother Travis and just a single point behind Tyler O’Hara as the title chase heads to Brainerd, Minnesota. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
With Mission King Of The Baggers set to make its Minnesota debut on Sunday in Brainerd, the battle for the championship couldn’t be closer as wins in the past two races have moved the Wyman brothers – Kyle and Travis – and their factory H-D Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Road Glides to within a point of Mission Foods/S&S Cycle/Indian Challenger Team’s Tyler O’Hara and his Indian Challenger. O’Hara has led the championship since winning the opening round at Daytona International Speedway back in March.
With the title chase certain to go to the final round at New Jersey Motorsports Park, September 9-11, the Brainerd round may be the season’s most critical as it will set the stage for the finale.
With his win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca a few weeks ago, Kyle Wyman became the first two-time winner in the 2022 Mission King Of The Baggers series. The win moved him into a tie with his brother Travis for second – just that single point behind O’Hara. Fourth place in the chase for glory is held by Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams, the teammate to O’Hara and the fourth rider to win a race thus far in 2022. McWilliams also is in the hunt for the title as he trails his teammate by just nine points with two races to go.
After failing to finish the opening race at Daytona, Vance & Hines’ James Rispoli has proven to be a thorn in the side of the four factory riders ahead of him with two podium finishes in the past three races. Rispoli’s V&H teammate Taylor Knapp rounds out the top five as the series lands in Minnesota.
Supersport – Will Anyone Stop Herrin?
Josh Herrin and his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V2 have dominated this year’s Supersport Championship, and he rolls into BIR with a gaudy 81-point lead in the championship.
Herrin has seven wins on the season – and four in a row – in what is his first season on the Panigale V2. In the two races he didn’t win, Herrin finished fourth and third. Thus, he has podium finishes in nine of the 10 races held thus far.
Four riders have won the MotoAmerica Supersport races with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes and one-off wild card racer Jason Farrell the three who join Herrin as race winners in 2022.
The 16-year-old Scott sits second in the title chase with six podiums, but he also has two non-finishes as he learns the ropes of the class in his rookie season. Scott is just five points ahead of Landers Racing’s Rocco Landers as the two youngsters fight it out for second in the championship while trying to stop the runaway Herrin train.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Kevin Olmedo and the injured Sam Lochoff, Scott’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, round out the top five heading to Brainerd.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Wyman Gaps The Field
Alpha Omega’s Cody Wyman had a successful weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a victory in race two and a second-place finish in race one. As for the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Championship… well, it was an extremely good weekend for Wyman as most of his competition hit some bumps in the road.
Wyman scored 45 points over the two races in California while those closest to him in the championship didn’t fare as well. Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Gus Rodio scored 25 points at Laguna, SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Joe LiMandri Jr. matched Rodio with 25 points, Altus Motorsports Racing’s Kayla Yaakov scored just seven points and LiMandri’s teammate Max Van came away with 10 points.
And just like that, Wyman leads the championship by 18 points over Rodio heading into Brainerd, 166-148, with LiMandri two points farther adrift with 146, while Yaakov and Van fall 44 and 52 points behind Wyman, respectively.
Yuasa Stock 1000 – Alexander On A Roll
If Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim hopes to take the fight for the Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship to the end of the season, he needs to start beating Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander sooner rather than later.
With his fifth win of the season and fourth in a row, Alexander arrives in the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a 17-point cushion on Gillim and a 22-point lead over his Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing teammate Travis Wyman with those three separating themselves from the rest of the class.
If you take away his qualifying crash at VIRginia International Raceway that forced him out of both races with a concussion, Alexander hasn’t been beaten thus far in 2022. The race wins in his absence in Virginia went to Gillim, and those two are the only riders to win Yuasa Stock 1000 races so far this season.
Travis Wyman and DiBrino Racing’s Andy DiBrino, meanwhile, are the only riders in the top five who have finished all seven races.
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Barry By The Skin Of His Teeth
It’s rare when a racer can have two non-finishes in a row and still hold on to the lead in their respective championships, but Jody Barry has somehow managed to do that. With four wins in the first six REV’IT! Twins Cup races, Barry and his Veloce Racing Aprilia RS 660 looked to be cruising right along to a class championship. Right up until the point that he wasn’t.
Barry’s troubles began with a non-finish in race two at Ridge Motorsports Park and continued with zero points coming his way in the lone Twins Cup race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
With Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Anthony Mazziotto winning both races at Ridge and finishing sixth at Laguna Seca, the New Jerseyan gained 35 points on Barry and now trails by just four points as the series arrives in Minnesota. Although there’s plenty of racing left, those two appear to have the edge on the rest of the field as N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis is 36 points behind Barry in third place. Davis, however, did find himself back on the podium with a second-place finish at Laguna Seca, thus ending a podium drought that dated back to his victory at Daytona in the very first race of the season.
Cycle Tech’s Hayden Schultz is just three points adrift of Davis in fourth and just nine ahead of defending class champion Kaleb De Keyrel, with De Keyrel set for a return to his home track at BIR this weekend.
Five riders have won Twins Cup races so far in 2022: Barry (four), Mazziotto (two), Davis (one), Schultz (one) and Cory Ventura (one).
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – The Girls Are Back In Town
The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. program will race for the third time in 2022 with a return to Brainerd International Raceway for the 15-strong field of Royal Enfield Continental GT 650s.
The class championship is led by Washington’s Jennifer Chancellor by just seven points over Georgian Jessica Martin and by 11 over VIRginia International Raceway round winner Kayleigh Buyck. But this is anybody’s title at this point with the top 10 separated by just 18 points as the series hits Brainerd.
BIR Pre-Race Support Class Notes…
With 2021 Yuasa Stock 1000 Champion Jake Lewis moving up to the Medallia Superbike class full-time this season, Michael Gilbert suffering a broken leg at Ridge Motorsports Park and Stefano Mesa not entered for Brainerd, the top three in Stock 1000 is guaranteed to be different in 2022. Last year, Lewis topped Gilbert by 3.7 seconds with Mesa third, another two seconds adrift.
Sean Dylan Kelly had a perfect weekend at BIR last year with victories in both Supersport races en route to what would be a championship-winning season for the Floridian. His rival Richie Escalante, meanwhile, had his first non-finish of 2021 after five straight runner-up finishes to Kelly. Kelly is now racing in the Moto2 World Championship with Escalante moving up to the Medallia Superbike class on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team.
Homeboy Kaleb De Keyrel won race one and finished second in race two of the REV’IT! Twins Cup class last year, the Minnesota native ending up atop the championship point standings at season’s end. Anthony Mazziotto topped De Keyrel in a close race two a year ago.
The next win in REV’IT! Twins Cup for De Keyrel will be the 10th of his career in Twins Cup racing and that will make him the all-time winningest rider in the class. De Keyrel is currently tied with Rocco Landers with nine career wins in Twins Cup.
The young rider who won the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Championship last year won his sixth race of the season in race two at BIR a year ago. Tyler Scott, who now competes in the Supersport class on a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, beat Cody Wyman in race two – a day after losing out to Ben Gloddy in race one. Gloddy now competes in the MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup series.
The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. series made its debut last year at Brainerd International Raceway with CJ Lukacs winning the inaugural race.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
MotoAmerica Supersport Round 6 – Herrin Looking to Extend his Massive Supersport Title Lead as MotoAmerica Heads to Minnesota
Sunnyvale, Calif. — Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #2) will face off against America’s best Supersport protagonists this weekend as the series moves to the Great Lakes area of Minnesota.
It will be Herrin’s first time at the 2.5-mile, 13-turn Brainerd racetrack, a place steeped in history as the first venue to host an American round of WorldSBK in 1989, after missing MotoAmerica’s return to the venue in 2021.
The Californian holds an astonishing 81-point advantage in the title chase—over three race wins—from Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, and a good performance here could see Herrin put one hand on the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship. This would be a first not just for him but also for Ducati North America.
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #2): “I’m super excited about this weekend. We tested at Brainerd earlier in the year to make sure we had the gearing all dialed in, so that is one thing less we have to do at this track,” Herrin said. “I’m just hoping to have as much fun this weekend as we’ve had all year. The Ducati V2 is fantastic to race and gives me so much motivation to do my absolute best each time I go out on the circuit. We’re in a good position in the championship, and I’m excited to get out to Minnesota and meet some of the fans, as I know this is a huge event. This is a new racetrack for me after missing last year, and I can’t wait to get after it.”
Round six of the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship kicks off with the opening practice on Friday, July 29 at 9:40 AM CDT. Race one is scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at 2:10 PM CDT with race two due to take place on Sunday, July 31 at 2:10 PM CDT.
WorldSBK: Rea Says “Winning Is Like A Drug”
Hot topics ahead of Most
A variety of topics and endless possibilities from the Thursday debriefs in the Czech Republic
The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has arrived in the Czech Republic and the Autodrom Most for the Prosecco DOC Czech Round, which marks the halfway point of the season. With this being the sixth round, there’s plenty of gossip going into the round surrounding new deals, pending deals and the results that lie ahead this weekend at one of WorldSBK’s newest venues. We caught up with some of the stars to get their thoughts ahead of action igniting at Most.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Winning is like a drug… that’s where the motivation comes from”
“I’m very excited because at this stage, it was something that we had been speaking about for a long time. I was just wanting to go into the 2022 season to understand how everything is working, understand the motivation to continue – both from my side and Kawasaki’s side. We’re on the same page about improving and the team’s incredible; right from 2015, when they gave me the opportunity to come here and win Championships, we’ve made great stories. It was more of a formality than anything, to understand each other’s wishes. I’m really happy to keep this incredible family together. Winning is like a drug, it’s something that you want more of and it’s what keeps you working hard at home and the team, and I think that’s where the motivation comes from to keep being competitive. It wasn’t harder to be motivated in the past but with Chaz Davies as my main rival, that was my motivation, to be beating him. Then, it’s more about my rivals right now, as they’re improving so much and of course I want to beat them, but I want to improve myself and still be the best that I can be.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK): “Last year, after the long stoppie, I tried again! This year, I’ll try again!”
“Last year, I had two wins at Most and it was the first time here for everyone. This year, my goal is to have three wins, but we will see as Saturday looks like it will have rain. Last year, we were strong and also, Locatelli was quite strong too; I hope that this weekend, we can fight for the podium together, and I’ll try for three wins again, even if it’s not easy! We have a much better feeling now with the SC0 tyre and everyone will have to use the same tyres available, so this is no problem. We’ll try the old and new SC0 tyres, and we’ll see which is better for the race. Last year, after the long stoppie, I tried again! I was surprised but I tried again, but I couldn’t do it. This year, I’ll try again! It’s not easy as it’s 214m, as after we checked the data, but we will see.”
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “About tyres, at the end it will be the same for everyone”
“I think it can be a track that suits our bike because basically, it’s fast corners and I like it a lot, so I am looking forward to starting on Friday and working with my Ducati. About tyres, at the end it will be the same for everyone, so you have to work to make the tyres work. For sure, I feel better with the SCX tyre, but we can only use it in the Superpole and Superpole Race, so we have to use the SC0 and new SC0 from Pirelli. Let’s see what happens with the new tyre. At Donington Park, we were close to the 1000th podium for Ducati but I crashed in Race 1. It’s not in my mind but if we can do it, then perfect.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “My goal is to remain with this bike and team”
“I feel really good as we come from a strong few rounds. I want to jump on the bike as it’s a track that can be better than Donington Park. Our goal is to reach the podium this weekend and take the 1000th podium for Ducati. I know Alvaro is very fast, so maybe he will be in the statistics as the 1000th! My goal is to remain with this bike and this team because I feel at home and I think that this bike can make me win a Championship in the future. The last few rounds have helped because of the podium at Misano and the good result at Donington Park. We will start talking but there are no new things to say. I think at Magny-Cours, we will have news.”
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “I enjoy the layout; I think the bike can work well here”
“I’m happy to arrive here at Most and I can’t wait to get out on track. There’s been some slight changes compared to last year and I’m looking forward to it. I enjoy the layout and I think the bike can work really well here; there’s some hard braking and some tight sections but I am interested to see how it goes. As a general rule, whenever everyone has been on the SC0 and I’ve been on the SC0, I’ve been better than when we’re all on the SCX, so it could work in our favour. However, there could be some rain so it will be important to put in laps on dry tyres and the ones that we’ll use.”
Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): I hope this weekend, we can continue this form and continue fighting”
“To get my first podium with BMW at Donington Park was quite a special moment; all the weekend there was better progress from us. We were consistently top five or top six, which was good for the motivation and the spirit for myself and the team; it’s important to have these rounds and it was a weekend I really enjoyed. I’m confident that the changes we made will be good at other circuits like here at Most; whether we’re as good as Donington Park, I don’t know but I don’t think it will be as bad as previous races. Normally, when you change something fundamental on the bike, it changes the characteristics at each place you go. I hope this weekend, we can continue this form and continue fighting and be with the front guys for at least half of the race and learn more stuff that we can then develop.”
Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura): “It feels different; I sleep at home… I’d be so happy to stay with the team for 2023!”
“It feels different! It feels more like I’m going for training because normally I go on a Wednesday to the track and it’s different. This time, it’s Thursday and I sleep at home and everything. This is like I’m going just for training. It’s a little bit of a different feeling but I’m sure when I go to FP1, I will feel the same as the rounds before. We will speak after Most and we will know more but, for sure, I would be so happy to stay with the team because the team is amazing. Everybody supports me as much as possible. I’m very happy and I will be happy if I stay with them for next year.”
MotoAmerica: Barry Best In Twins Cup FP1 At Brainerd
MotoAmerica: Yaakov Quickest In Junior Cup FP1 At Brainerd
WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu Breaks Lap Record In FP2 At Most
WorldSBK FP2
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Razgatlioglu leads the way in Most
The reigning WorldSBK Champion topped Friday’s practice while Bautista and Rea missed the top three
P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu stormed to a new lap record in FP2 setting a 1’31.506.
Razgatlioglu’s race pace was pretty strong in the afternoon, as he set nine laps in the 1’32 bracket, whilst his final run featured three 1’31s.
“This morning we started well after Donington Park and the bike feels good immediately. In the first session there was some small setting problem, but in the second session we improve the bike, now I am feeling much better and we are ready to race. The lap time is very positive, a very good lap time and also after 25 laps with the rear tyre, I see 32.3 – this is very good for so many laps on this tyre! I am very happy and I set also the lap record with harder tyre! Anyway, we are just focused on the race setup. We use in the race the SC0 tyre, everyone uses the SC0 tyre. We are just focused on working on the bike, and now we are happy, and we are ready. For Superpole, we can use the SCX tyre, but I think this is enough for a good lap time.”
P2 – Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Redding was second with a 1’31.733, 0.227s off Razgatlioglu’s best time.
The BMW rider set 12 laps in the 1’32, half of them in the lower bracket. He dipped into the 1’31s just once.
“I’m happy. Today I started good in the morning, I just used one tyre and we tried to get the feeling, we used the same setting from Donington for me to have at least the connection and the feeling with the bike. This worked really well so I’m happy. And then in the afternoon, we tried to improve a few areas which we did successfully. Temperature came up so it was a bit a different feeling with riding, but the pace was still there which was good. So overall I’m happy and feeling quite comfortable.”
P3 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Rinaldi finished third in the Free Practice combined result 0.314s.
He was the first Ducati rider on Friday finishing just 0.051s ahead of his teammate.
“This morning, I was immediately quite fast. I was a little bit surprised because it was a completely different track. But we were fast so I’m happy. The only issue we had was during FP1 & FP2, I lost a bit of time in the box to wait for a technical reason. This weekend we don’t have the SCX so to adapt in a good way, you need to stay out on track and work even more so I’m not so happy about it. Anyway, I’m third so I don’t want to be too negative because I feel fast. We just need to put every piece together.”
P4 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Bautista stands in fifth place at the end of Friday with a best time of 1’31.871.
He finished 0.365s behind Razgatlioglu for his first day at the Autodrom Most with Ducati.
“Today has been a day to discover the track with this bike. It was my first time with Ducati. In the morning we just made a lot of laps just to get the references and to see the tyre, especially the new compound that Pirelli brought here. I did a lot of laps and the feeling was not too bad, even if the bike was not as perfect as I wanted it to be. In the afternoon, we made some changes on the bike and we found some things better and something worst so we have to analyse the data and see what to use for tomorrow. The tyre selection is not clear. Nothing is clear because we found some positives and some negatives in each tyre. We have to check everything and, together with the bike, the way to go for the rest of the weekend. I think everybody’s in a very similar situation, so it won’t be easy for tomorrow or Sunday. The most important thing is to manage the tyres.”
P5 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Rea was fifth on the opening day of the 2022 Czech Round.
He set his personal best time of 1’31.893 in the morning session, being the only rider inside the top six who didn’t improve in FP2.
“The track was much better than last year, especially that first sector, first chicane. So, I had much more feedback, you can more ride closer to the limit. Just in the afternoon, we were trying to understand the tyre drop, how the tyre behaves when the tyre is old. I only putted a new tyre in the end. But just with the big changes on the bike … we have new items to check, and it wasn’t possible. We get a lot of information. I don’t think the position reflect our true potential. In an ideal world, if we didn’t have so many testing items, I would’ve tried the SCX tyre because that’s also important for us. It’s not an option for both long races but it is still an option for the 10-lap race. We focused on just the standard SC0 option and then the new prototype SC0, which is a different construction. We’re happy with how the day works. And looking forward to see what happen tomorrow, put all the items together and hopefully we can be competitive.”
P6 – Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW)
The BMW rider displayed a strong pace in the afternoon before clocking in a couple of low 1’32s
“The feeling was good from the first laps of FP1, I just had to find my pace. I’ve been here only once, and it wasn’t with Superbike. I was pretty happy to see that the updates BMW bring in Donington were working here as well. I was happy to see that the bike was behaving in a good way from the first laps. We had a lot of things to do, it seems like it’s going to rain tomorrow so we had try all the tyres and other things today. I wasn’t really fast in FP1, but we managed to improve every laps with the old tyre. We then had a pretty good FP2. We tried the SCX at the end just to see how it was. It wasn’t a perfect lap time but we’re on the good way and we just need to confirm tomorrow.”
To note:
Honda’s Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, who had never visited the track before, finished in 10th and 11th place. A big crash at Turn 6 at the start of FP2, Lecuona didn’t get back out, losing vital track time on his Most debut. The Spaniard will need to get a medical check before FP3 as he suffered lower back contusions.
WorldSBK action resumes on Saturday from 09:00 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole at 11:10 and Race 1 at 14:00.
MotoAmerica Set For 150th Superbike Race
MotoAmerica’s 150th Superbike Race Set For BIR
When The Checkered Flag Falls On Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, The 150th MotoAmerica Superbike Race Will Be In The Books
IRVINE, CA (July 29, 2022) – Sunday’s MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway will mark a milestone for North America’s premier motorcycle road racing championship as it will be the 150th Superbike race held in the MotoAmerica era, which dates to the first-ever MotoAmerica Superbike race on April 11, 2015, at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
The winner that day? Fittingly, it was four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes who ushered in the new series with a victory over his Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier, the man who would carry the MotoAmerica torch as its champion for five out of the next six years. Back then Superstock 1000 bikes ran with the Superbikes with separate results. Thus, it was also fitting that the first Superstock 1000 race gave us a glimpse into the future as it was won by Jake Gagne, the current MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion.
There were just 11 Superbike entries on the grid at COTA in 2015, 15 less than the 26 who were led home to the finish at COTA this year by race winner Danilo Petrucci.
That first season of MotoAmerica racing also featured several wet races, including the “rainey” one that opened the era in Texas with Hayes topping his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate Beaubier by 5.2 seconds and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden rounding out the podium.
The following day, Beaubier won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I have a lot of friends here in Texas and I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Hayes said after winning what was his 49th career Superbike victory on day one. “We’ve had some dodgy weather, we’ve had some good weather, we’ve had a little bit of everything. I feel like we’ve had a good sprinkle of everything. To have a successful race weekend and come out of here with a win, regardless of what happens tomorrow, it’s fantastic. I’m very happy to be up here and get one in for Yamaha and the new R1. My team has done an amazing job. I was prepared, rain or shine. Mentally, I was in a really good state. I was ready to go either way very early in the weekend.”
In race two, Beaubier (who qualified on pole position) won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I saw him coming into the last corner and I was like, ‘No, this is my frickin’ race,’ “ Beaubier said. “It was pretty cool to get it done today. I looked back to make sure he was up and then looked at my leg and there was some rubber there. But it’s a lot of fun racing these guys. I feel like we have respect for each other, but at the same time we can lean on each other pretty hard. I’m looking forward to this year.”
There were nine rounds and 18 MotoAmerica Superbike races held in the first season of MotoAmerica, and Hayes would win 10 of them, including both races in the season-ender at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Although Beaubier would win tw2o fewer races than Hayes, it was the young Californian who claimed the first MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
In taking the 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike crown, Beaubier became the 20th different rider to win an AMA Superbike Championship.
“It’s a dream come true for me to win the championship in my second year on a Superbike and my first year with this brand-new R1. Josh (Hayes) is an awesome teammate and a great Champion. He’s helped me so much.”
Beaubier would successfully defend his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in 2016, but there was a new challenger in the series – a diminutive Spaniard by the name of Toni Elias – who would push Beaubier and the rest to a new level.
Beaubier again won eight of the 18 races in 2016, but Elias and his Yoshimura Suzuki won six – including his two debut races at COTA. Hayes would win a pair of races and Hayden would also win two.
The 2017 season was expanded to 10 rounds and 20 races for the first time, and it would again feature Beaubier/Elias battles with Elias taking the crown with 10 race wins to Beaubier’s five, though Beaubier’s season ended four rounds early after the Yamaha man suffered a shoulder injury at Pitt Race that required surgery. Hayden, meanwhile, won three more races in 2017, the last three wins of his career, and he ended up second to his teammate in the final point standings.
South African Mathew Scholtz won his first MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2017 on his Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and he did so in the rain in the season finale at Barber Motorsport Park. Scholtz’s victory was also noteworthy in that it was the first time a MotoAmerica Superbike race was won by a rider on a Superstock 1000-spec motorcycle.
The 2018 season was again a Beaubier vs. Elias battle that went the way of Beaubier, even though Elias won more races (nine to eight). Beaubier’s season was more consistent, and he was crowned MotoAmerica Superbike Champion for the third time.
Other winners on the year were Attack Performance Yamaha’s Josh Herrin (two wins) and Westby Racing’s Scholtz (one win at COTA, again in the rain).
The 2018 season was also the first without Hayes on a Superbike, the four-time champ replaced on the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing team by two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Garrett Gerloff.
Elias again won the most races in 2019 (seven to Beaubier’s six) and again he was beaten to the championship by Beaubier, who won the last three races while Elias faltered to take the title by just five points. Beaubier’s two victories in the season finale in Alabama were the 37th and 38th of his career, and the result of those wins was his fourth AMA Superbike title.
The 2019 season was also a breakout year for Gerloff with the Texan winning four races and turning heads in the process. At the end of the year, Gerloff signed a deal that would see him move to the World Superbike Championship for the 2020 season.
Beaubier’s final season of MotoAmerica racing in 2020 put an exclamation mark on his stateside racing career as he won a record-setting 16 races while earning his fifth MotoAmerica Superbike title. He also ended the year with 54 career Superbike wins, a mark that puts him third on the all-time AMA Superbike win list. With a fifth title in his pocket, it was time to move on and Beaubier jumped to the Moto2 World Championship in 2021.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong won three races in 2020 with HSBK Racing Ducati’s Lorenzo Zanetti also winning a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As it turns out, Beaubier’s record-setting 16-win season in 2020 didn’t last long as his teammate Jake Gagne took over the lead role in the Fresh N Lean Attack Performance Yamaha team and did so with a season to remember. Gagne ended up winning a record 17 races on the year.
The other race winners in 2021 were Scholtz with two victories and Cameron Petersen with one.
With 12 races complete in 2022 heading into the 149th and 150th MotoAmerica races, Gagne has seven wins and leads the championship by just three points over Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci and his three victories.
Petersen and Scholtz are the other two riders with wins in 2022.
With MotoAmerica celebrating its 150th Superbike race this weekend, the staff of MotoAmerica, its racers, teams and sponsors all remember the two men who lost their lives on July 19, 2015, in an accident on the opening lap of the second Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Spaniards Bernat Martinez and Daniel Rivas. They are not forgotten.
148 Superbike Races. 13 Winners
Cameron Beaubier 51
Toni Elias 32
Jake Gagne 24
Josh Hayes 13
Roger Hayden 5
Mathew Scholtz 5
Garrett Gerloff 4
Josh Herrin 4
Danilo Petrucci 3
Bobby Fong 3
Cameron Petersen 2
JD Beach 1
Lorenzo Zanetti 1
Seven Championships. 3 Champions
Cameron Beaubier 5
Toni Elias 1
Jake Gagne 1
Manufacturer Wins (148 Races)
Yamaha 100
Suzuki 44
Ducati 4
World Supersport: Aegerter On Lap Record Pace In FP1 At Autodrom Most
WorldSBK: Rea Under Race Lap Record, Gerloff P3 In FP1 At Most
MotoGP Interview: Kingmaker Aki Ajo, In The July Issue
Featured In the July 2022 issue of Roadracing World:
Aki Ajo is the most successful team boss in the MotoGP paddock—over the past decade or so he’s guided Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta and others to World Championships. What’s his secret?
“That was the time I called my university!” grins Ajo, recalling his start. “Because I learned technical things, I learned riding and I also learned business…”
—MotoGP Interview: Kingmaker Aki Ajo, by Mat Oxley
It has been a long journey for the 58-year-old Aki Ajo, one that started when he was 11-years-old, rebuilding mopeds as a way to buy a motocross bike. Since then, he has prospered, in large part because he’s always remembered that simplicity is the route to success. Read about one of the pillars of the MotoGP paddock in the latest issue of Roadracing World!
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Ducati To Begin Unveiling New 2023 Models On September 2
Ducati World Première 2023: The Presentations of Ducati’s New Products Will Start From September 2
Seven episodes for the new-for-2023 products from the Borgo Panigale manufacturer will end on November 7 with a preview for the Ducatisti at WDW 2022
All the episodes of the Ducati World Première 2023 will be available on the Ducati.com website, on the YouTube channel, and on Ducati’s social media networks
Borgo Panigale, Bologna, July 28, 2022 – The Ducati World Première season starts again, the series of events that each year presents the new products from the Borgo Panigale manufacturer for the following season. The streaming of the first episode is scheduled for Friday, September 2 at 1:00 PM EST, on the occasion of the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera. The series will continue until November 7, when all Ducati enthusiasts can finally see the model unveiled as a preview to participants in World Ducati Week 2022.
Seven episodes will be dedicated to Ducati’s new products for 2023. Between September, October and November will represent the stages of a journey revealing the bikes on the Ducati.com website, on the YouTube channel and on the social media networks of the Borgo Panigale company. These bikes will then be visible live starting Thursday, November 10, when EICMA 2022 will open its gates to the public.
Below is the calendar of all the episodes of the Ducati World Première 2023 web series:
September 2, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 1 | The Unexpected
September 15, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 2 | Ready for More?
September 29, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 3 | Unlock Earth
October 7, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 4 | This is Racing
October 20, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 5 | Push Forward
October 28, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 6 | Dare to be Bold
November 7, 2022: Ducati World Première – Episode 7 | Next Gen Freedom
#DucatiWorldPremiere # Ducati2023
MotoAmerica: Previews Of The Other Classes Racing At Brainerd
Just One Point Separates Three Men In The Battle For The Mission King Of The Baggers Title
Action-Packed Weekend On Tap For Brainerd International Raceway With Seven Classes Of Racing Slated For July 29-31.
IRVINE, CA (July 28, 2022) – A single point separates three riders in the 2022 MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Championship with just two races remaining in the seven-race series, the first of which will take place at Brainerd International Raceway this weekend, July 29-31.
Hot off his victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Kyle Wyman is tied with his brother Travis and just a single point behind Tyler O’Hara as the title chase heads to Brainerd, Minnesota. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
With Mission King Of The Baggers set to make its Minnesota debut on Sunday in Brainerd, the battle for the championship couldn’t be closer as wins in the past two races have moved the Wyman brothers – Kyle and Travis – and their factory H-D Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Road Glides to within a point of Mission Foods/S&S Cycle/Indian Challenger Team’s Tyler O’Hara and his Indian Challenger. O’Hara has led the championship since winning the opening round at Daytona International Speedway back in March.
With the title chase certain to go to the final round at New Jersey Motorsports Park, September 9-11, the Brainerd round may be the season’s most critical as it will set the stage for the finale.
With his win at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca a few weeks ago, Kyle Wyman became the first two-time winner in the 2022 Mission King Of The Baggers series. The win moved him into a tie with his brother Travis for second – just that single point behind O’Hara. Fourth place in the chase for glory is held by Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams, the teammate to O’Hara and the fourth rider to win a race thus far in 2022. McWilliams also is in the hunt for the title as he trails his teammate by just nine points with two races to go.
After failing to finish the opening race at Daytona, Vance & Hines’ James Rispoli has proven to be a thorn in the side of the four factory riders ahead of him with two podium finishes in the past three races. Rispoli’s V&H teammate Taylor Knapp rounds out the top five as the series lands in Minnesota.
Supersport – Will Anyone Stop Herrin?
Josh Herrin and his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V2 have dominated this year’s Supersport Championship, and he rolls into BIR with a gaudy 81-point lead in the championship.
Herrin has seven wins on the season – and four in a row – in what is his first season on the Panigale V2. In the two races he didn’t win, Herrin finished fourth and third. Thus, he has podium finishes in nine of the 10 races held thus far.
Four riders have won the MotoAmerica Supersport races with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes and one-off wild card racer Jason Farrell the three who join Herrin as race winners in 2022.
The 16-year-old Scott sits second in the title chase with six podiums, but he also has two non-finishes as he learns the ropes of the class in his rookie season. Scott is just five points ahead of Landers Racing’s Rocco Landers as the two youngsters fight it out for second in the championship while trying to stop the runaway Herrin train.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Kevin Olmedo and the injured Sam Lochoff, Scott’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, round out the top five heading to Brainerd.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Wyman Gaps The Field
Alpha Omega’s Cody Wyman had a successful weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a victory in race two and a second-place finish in race one. As for the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Championship… well, it was an extremely good weekend for Wyman as most of his competition hit some bumps in the road.
Wyman scored 45 points over the two races in California while those closest to him in the championship didn’t fare as well. Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Gus Rodio scored 25 points at Laguna, SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Joe LiMandri Jr. matched Rodio with 25 points, Altus Motorsports Racing’s Kayla Yaakov scored just seven points and LiMandri’s teammate Max Van came away with 10 points.
And just like that, Wyman leads the championship by 18 points over Rodio heading into Brainerd, 166-148, with LiMandri two points farther adrift with 146, while Yaakov and Van fall 44 and 52 points behind Wyman, respectively.
Yuasa Stock 1000 – Alexander On A Roll
If Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim hopes to take the fight for the Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship to the end of the season, he needs to start beating Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander sooner rather than later.
With his fifth win of the season and fourth in a row, Alexander arrives in the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a 17-point cushion on Gillim and a 22-point lead over his Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing teammate Travis Wyman with those three separating themselves from the rest of the class.
If you take away his qualifying crash at VIRginia International Raceway that forced him out of both races with a concussion, Alexander hasn’t been beaten thus far in 2022. The race wins in his absence in Virginia went to Gillim, and those two are the only riders to win Yuasa Stock 1000 races so far this season.
Travis Wyman and DiBrino Racing’s Andy DiBrino, meanwhile, are the only riders in the top five who have finished all seven races.
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Barry By The Skin Of His Teeth
It’s rare when a racer can have two non-finishes in a row and still hold on to the lead in their respective championships, but Jody Barry has somehow managed to do that. With four wins in the first six REV’IT! Twins Cup races, Barry and his Veloce Racing Aprilia RS 660 looked to be cruising right along to a class championship. Right up until the point that he wasn’t.
Barry’s troubles began with a non-finish in race two at Ridge Motorsports Park and continued with zero points coming his way in the lone Twins Cup race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
With Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Anthony Mazziotto winning both races at Ridge and finishing sixth at Laguna Seca, the New Jerseyan gained 35 points on Barry and now trails by just four points as the series arrives in Minnesota. Although there’s plenty of racing left, those two appear to have the edge on the rest of the field as N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis is 36 points behind Barry in third place. Davis, however, did find himself back on the podium with a second-place finish at Laguna Seca, thus ending a podium drought that dated back to his victory at Daytona in the very first race of the season.
Cycle Tech’s Hayden Schultz is just three points adrift of Davis in fourth and just nine ahead of defending class champion Kaleb De Keyrel, with De Keyrel set for a return to his home track at BIR this weekend.
Five riders have won Twins Cup races so far in 2022: Barry (four), Mazziotto (two), Davis (one), Schultz (one) and Cory Ventura (one).
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – The Girls Are Back In Town
The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. program will race for the third time in 2022 with a return to Brainerd International Raceway for the 15-strong field of Royal Enfield Continental GT 650s.
The class championship is led by Washington’s Jennifer Chancellor by just seven points over Georgian Jessica Martin and by 11 over VIRginia International Raceway round winner Kayleigh Buyck. But this is anybody’s title at this point with the top 10 separated by just 18 points as the series hits Brainerd.
BIR Pre-Race Support Class Notes…
With 2021 Yuasa Stock 1000 Champion Jake Lewis moving up to the Medallia Superbike class full-time this season, Michael Gilbert suffering a broken leg at Ridge Motorsports Park and Stefano Mesa not entered for Brainerd, the top three in Stock 1000 is guaranteed to be different in 2022. Last year, Lewis topped Gilbert by 3.7 seconds with Mesa third, another two seconds adrift.
Sean Dylan Kelly had a perfect weekend at BIR last year with victories in both Supersport races en route to what would be a championship-winning season for the Floridian. His rival Richie Escalante, meanwhile, had his first non-finish of 2021 after five straight runner-up finishes to Kelly. Kelly is now racing in the Moto2 World Championship with Escalante moving up to the Medallia Superbike class on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team.
Homeboy Kaleb De Keyrel won race one and finished second in race two of the REV’IT! Twins Cup class last year, the Minnesota native ending up atop the championship point standings at season’s end. Anthony Mazziotto topped De Keyrel in a close race two a year ago.
The next win in REV’IT! Twins Cup for De Keyrel will be the 10th of his career in Twins Cup racing and that will make him the all-time winningest rider in the class. De Keyrel is currently tied with Rocco Landers with nine career wins in Twins Cup.
The young rider who won the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Championship last year won his sixth race of the season in race two at BIR a year ago. Tyler Scott, who now competes in the Supersport class on a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, beat Cody Wyman in race two – a day after losing out to Ben Gloddy in race one. Gloddy now competes in the MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup series.
The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. series made its debut last year at Brainerd International Raceway with CJ Lukacs winning the inaugural race.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
MotoAmerica Supersport Round 6 – Herrin Looking to Extend his Massive Supersport Title Lead as MotoAmerica Heads to Minnesota
Sunnyvale, Calif. — Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #2) will face off against America’s best Supersport protagonists this weekend as the series moves to the Great Lakes area of Minnesota.
It will be Herrin’s first time at the 2.5-mile, 13-turn Brainerd racetrack, a place steeped in history as the first venue to host an American round of WorldSBK in 1989, after missing MotoAmerica’s return to the venue in 2021.
The Californian holds an astonishing 81-point advantage in the title chase—over three race wins—from Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, and a good performance here could see Herrin put one hand on the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship. This would be a first not just for him but also for Ducati North America.
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #2): “I’m super excited about this weekend. We tested at Brainerd earlier in the year to make sure we had the gearing all dialed in, so that is one thing less we have to do at this track,” Herrin said. “I’m just hoping to have as much fun this weekend as we’ve had all year. The Ducati V2 is fantastic to race and gives me so much motivation to do my absolute best each time I go out on the circuit. We’re in a good position in the championship, and I’m excited to get out to Minnesota and meet some of the fans, as I know this is a huge event. This is a new racetrack for me after missing last year, and I can’t wait to get after it.”
Round six of the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship kicks off with the opening practice on Friday, July 29 at 9:40 AM CDT. Race one is scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at 2:10 PM CDT with race two due to take place on Sunday, July 31 at 2:10 PM CDT.
WorldSBK: Rea Says “Winning Is Like A Drug”
Hot topics ahead of Most
A variety of topics and endless possibilities from the Thursday debriefs in the Czech Republic
The 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has arrived in the Czech Republic and the Autodrom Most for the Prosecco DOC Czech Round, which marks the halfway point of the season. With this being the sixth round, there’s plenty of gossip going into the round surrounding new deals, pending deals and the results that lie ahead this weekend at one of WorldSBK’s newest venues. We caught up with some of the stars to get their thoughts ahead of action igniting at Most.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Winning is like a drug… that’s where the motivation comes from”
“I’m very excited because at this stage, it was something that we had been speaking about for a long time. I was just wanting to go into the 2022 season to understand how everything is working, understand the motivation to continue – both from my side and Kawasaki’s side. We’re on the same page about improving and the team’s incredible; right from 2015, when they gave me the opportunity to come here and win Championships, we’ve made great stories. It was more of a formality than anything, to understand each other’s wishes. I’m really happy to keep this incredible family together. Winning is like a drug, it’s something that you want more of and it’s what keeps you working hard at home and the team, and I think that’s where the motivation comes from to keep being competitive. It wasn’t harder to be motivated in the past but with Chaz Davies as my main rival, that was my motivation, to be beating him. Then, it’s more about my rivals right now, as they’re improving so much and of course I want to beat them, but I want to improve myself and still be the best that I can be.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK): “Last year, after the long stoppie, I tried again! This year, I’ll try again!”
“Last year, I had two wins at Most and it was the first time here for everyone. This year, my goal is to have three wins, but we will see as Saturday looks like it will have rain. Last year, we were strong and also, Locatelli was quite strong too; I hope that this weekend, we can fight for the podium together, and I’ll try for three wins again, even if it’s not easy! We have a much better feeling now with the SC0 tyre and everyone will have to use the same tyres available, so this is no problem. We’ll try the old and new SC0 tyres, and we’ll see which is better for the race. Last year, after the long stoppie, I tried again! I was surprised but I tried again, but I couldn’t do it. This year, I’ll try again! It’s not easy as it’s 214m, as after we checked the data, but we will see.”
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “About tyres, at the end it will be the same for everyone”
“I think it can be a track that suits our bike because basically, it’s fast corners and I like it a lot, so I am looking forward to starting on Friday and working with my Ducati. About tyres, at the end it will be the same for everyone, so you have to work to make the tyres work. For sure, I feel better with the SCX tyre, but we can only use it in the Superpole and Superpole Race, so we have to use the SC0 and new SC0 from Pirelli. Let’s see what happens with the new tyre. At Donington Park, we were close to the 1000th podium for Ducati but I crashed in Race 1. It’s not in my mind but if we can do it, then perfect.”
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “My goal is to remain with this bike and team”
“I feel really good as we come from a strong few rounds. I want to jump on the bike as it’s a track that can be better than Donington Park. Our goal is to reach the podium this weekend and take the 1000th podium for Ducati. I know Alvaro is very fast, so maybe he will be in the statistics as the 1000th! My goal is to remain with this bike and this team because I feel at home and I think that this bike can make me win a Championship in the future. The last few rounds have helped because of the podium at Misano and the good result at Donington Park. We will start talking but there are no new things to say. I think at Magny-Cours, we will have news.”
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “I enjoy the layout; I think the bike can work well here”
“I’m happy to arrive here at Most and I can’t wait to get out on track. There’s been some slight changes compared to last year and I’m looking forward to it. I enjoy the layout and I think the bike can work really well here; there’s some hard braking and some tight sections but I am interested to see how it goes. As a general rule, whenever everyone has been on the SC0 and I’ve been on the SC0, I’ve been better than when we’re all on the SCX, so it could work in our favour. However, there could be some rain so it will be important to put in laps on dry tyres and the ones that we’ll use.”
Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): I hope this weekend, we can continue this form and continue fighting”
“To get my first podium with BMW at Donington Park was quite a special moment; all the weekend there was better progress from us. We were consistently top five or top six, which was good for the motivation and the spirit for myself and the team; it’s important to have these rounds and it was a weekend I really enjoyed. I’m confident that the changes we made will be good at other circuits like here at Most; whether we’re as good as Donington Park, I don’t know but I don’t think it will be as bad as previous races. Normally, when you change something fundamental on the bike, it changes the characteristics at each place you go. I hope this weekend, we can continue this form and continue fighting and be with the front guys for at least half of the race and learn more stuff that we can then develop.”
Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura): “It feels different; I sleep at home… I’d be so happy to stay with the team for 2023!”
“It feels different! It feels more like I’m going for training because normally I go on a Wednesday to the track and it’s different. This time, it’s Thursday and I sleep at home and everything. This is like I’m going just for training. It’s a little bit of a different feeling but I’m sure when I go to FP1, I will feel the same as the rounds before. We will speak after Most and we will know more but, for sure, I would be so happy to stay with the team because the team is amazing. Everybody supports me as much as possible. I’m very happy and I will be happy if I stay with them for next year.”