Xavier Zayat rode his Kawasaki ZX-6R to wins in six races, including Expert Unlimited Grand Prix, on day one of the Southeast and Atlantic Championship Cup Series Twin Sprints event featuring AMA-sanctioned ASRA Sprints Presented by Pirelli Tire at NCBike, in Garysburg, North Carolina.
Editorial Note: Use the scroll and zoom tools in the bottom left corner of the PDF viewer to better see all of the race results.
080121 NCBIKE CCS Results
This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Lewis, Gloddy, De Keyrel, Kelly Victorious In MotoAmerica’s Return To BIR
Close MotoAmerica Support Class Racing Rules The Day In Minnesota
BRAINERD, MN (July 31, 2021) – Jake Lewis and Richie Escalante both came to Brainerd International Raceway needing race wins in order to pull back the points disadvantage they faced heading into Minnesota. Lewis did just that while Escalante was thwarted in his attempt on a sunny, yet smoky, Saturday in the resort town of Brainerd.
With Lewis winning the Stock 1000 race, he was able to re-take the championship points lead over series rival Corey Alexander. Escalante, however, came up just short – .075 of a second short! – in his attempt to stop the runaway train that is Sean Dylan Kelly in the Supersport class.
In the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup class, meanwhile, Benjamin Gloddy was able to turn the tables on Tyler Scott and now trails the championship leader by seven points.
The Twins Cup race was also close with hometown hero Kaleb De Keyrel topping race-long leader Anthony Mazziotto by just .244 of a second with a last-lap pass.
Stock 1000: Lewis Takes Over
In the only Stock 1000 race of the weekend, Altus Motorsports Suzuki rider Jake Lewis started from pole and got the holeshot, but Chuckwalla Valley Raceway/Octane Lending Kawasaki rider Michael Gilbert chased Lewis down and took the lead temporarily until Lewis re-established himself at the front on lap three and maintained his advantage all the way to the checkered flag.
While Gilbert finished second, it looked like the third-place finisher was going to be Ashton Yates, but on the final go-around of the 13-lap race, MESA37 Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa was able to pass Yates to take third.
Lewis’ win, his third of the year, combined with Corey Alexander’s fifth-place finish, gives Lewis the points lead by two points, 157-155.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be this fast this weekend,” Lewis said. “The bike has just been feeling really good this weekend. The crew has been working flawlessly. No issues at all throughout the whole weekend, which has been nice. Last week like I said on the podium, I was down in Georgia on vacation with my girlfriend and her brother is a big workout guy and we went running every day. I even lost some weight. Just getting in better shape. It does a lot for my confidence. I just feel really good physically and mentally. I know the only way I can kind of win the championship is to get race wins. I was kind of in a deficit. Coming into this round, 12 points is quite a bit. Especially after that DNF, we gave up a lot of points. Just got to be smooth the rest of the year and keep trying for wins.”
Supersport: Kelly Again!
HONOS HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante came into Brainerd International Raceway with a plan to stem the tide. The defending Supersport Champion knew he had to stop points leader Sean Dylan Kelly’s winning streak and start a winning streak of his own. In Saturday’s race one, despite being pressured by Escalante for virtually the entire 16-lap event, Kelly was never headed and raced his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to his eighth win of the season and fifth victory in a row. Meanwhile, third place went to Kelly’s teammate Sam Lochoff, who passed Benjamin Smith on lap 13, and completed the podium.
“It was definitely a tough race,” said Kelly. “Not super happy with how my pace was. I was definitely expecting more of myself, but that’s how us racers are. We win a race, and we still aren’t too happy about it. Happy with the race win, with the consistency and being able to fight up there, not letting Richie by. We need to do some homework and make a proper step for tomorrow. Honestly, everything has felt good up to this point. I just went out onto the track today and had a lot of moments. We saw some weird crashes. There was clearly some stuff on the track. Just definitely bothered me. Didn’t have the best confidence out there once we had some moments. But we’re going to do our homework tomorrow and come back just a little bit better. Looking forward to making a good race.”
Twins Cup: Homeboy Wins
Saturday’s Twins Cup race was one of best events of the day as former Minnesotan Kaleb De Keyrel returned to the track on which he learned to race and got the win aboard his Robem Engineering Aprilia. But it wasn’t easy. Veloce Racing Aprilia rider Anthony Mazziotto came from the second row of the starting grid and led most of the 12-lap race until De Keyrel overtook Mazziotto in the final turn before the finish line. While Mazziotto settled for second, Innovative Motorsports/Mike’s Imports Suzuki rider Teagg Hobbs rose from his second-row, fifth-place starting position to third and the final spot on the podium.
In the beginning of the race, Jackson (Blackmon) and Hayden (Schultz) were all riding really good,” said De Keyrel. Mazziotto got away. I’m sitting back there kind of battling with these three and I’m like, ‘Oh man. He’s getting away, getting away, getting away.’ By the time I got by, he had a pretty big lead. I just was like, all right, I need to keep chipping away a little bit, a little bit, a little bit. But I kind of wasted a lot of tire catching back up to him. I could tell he was struggling, and I also knew I was struggling quite a bit, so on that last lap I knew I needed to try and plan an attack somewhere. But, like he said, going through turn one, he was sliding the rear and I was right here. So, his rear is sliding and I’m right next to him. It was just a fun race. It was pretty sketchy towards the end and we both had to just ride smart. You had to be super easy on the throttle because we didn’t have very much grip towards the end. So, I’m going to have to go back with the crew and try to figure out a better game plan as far as longevity of the tire for race two.
“I really wanted to win, just because I have a ton of friends and family out here supporting me, cheering me on. So, I really wanted to win for them. Honestly, the last lap, me and him are both sliding around so much, I wasn’t even focused on the win. I was just focused on keeping it upright, to be honest with you. It was really fun.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup: Gloddy Turns The Tables
Landers Racing Kawasaki rider Benjamin Gloddy won two SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup races earlier this season, but he has finished second to Scott Powersports KTM rider Tyler Scott a lot more times than he would like. On Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, Gloddy and Scott engaged in another of their frequent battles for the win, and on the final lap of the race, it was Gloddy who overtook Scott in the final turn to get the win. The victory moved Gloddy to within seven points of Championship leader Scott. Third place went to Veloce Racing Kawasaki rider Max Toth, who made his return to the class after suffering a hand injury in a crash at Ridge Motorsports Park at the end of June.
“This feels pretty good being back here,” Gloddy said about his race win. “I was struggling with grip a lot through the race. Just tried to keep the tire underneath me. I was kind of having to ride it more like a bigger bike to get on the contact patch and drive off the corner. Great race with Tyler. We’ll make some changes. Hopefully, we can have a better race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
FIVE WINS IN A ROW FOR M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S SEAN DYLAN KELLY
Team Hammer enjoyed a spectacular return to Brainerd International Raceway following a 17-year absence, scoring two wins and four podiums in Saturday’s MotoAmerica races with the promise of more coming on Sunday.
The headliner again was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who extended his MotoAmerica Supersport win streak to five in another nail-biter.
Yet again, ‘SDK’ demonstrated his unique ability to keep his opponents corralled close behind him, immediately countered any passing attempts, and kept his nerves all the while by scoring an eighth win of the ‘21 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season by a scant 0.075-second margin.
Kelly managed this despite lacking some of the speed he previously showed aboard his GSX-R600 in the run-up to the race, leaving him hopeful for an even more convincing showing in Race 2.
“Overall, it was good,” he said. “We led the entire time, and I tried to be as consistent as I could. It was a tough race. Honestly, I was expecting more. We’re going to have to do some studying tonight because our pace has been better than this all weekend. I had a few moments and didn’t have the sensation I was expecting. So, I’m expecting more — we’re going to do our homework and come back stronger tomorrow.
“We’re doing the right things. We just need to keep making steps. Thanks to my whole M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team and all my guys for working so hard and always believing in me.”
Kelly was joined on the podium by his rookie teammate, Sam Lochoff. The South African dropped back as far as sixth and once ran off the track in the wake of incidents involving other riders, but still managed to charge his way to a clear third.
The result was the second podium of Lochoff’s young MotoAmerica Supersport career.
Lochoff said, “My pace wasn’t great, but I was really consistent. I ran off in the Carousel because I thought there was oil on the right side of my tire after a couple guys went down.” Lochoff recovered without any damage and saw his fortunes rise throughout the race.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s premier-class duo of Bobby Fong and Cameron Petersen were major players in the day’s MotoAmerica Superbike contest as well. Petersen stormed to the holeshot aboard his GSX-R1000R and battled for a podium before ultimately finishing fourth.
Californian Fong was even better on the day, matching his best result of the 2021 season taken way back in the opener by pushing the leader with his pace early while powering his way to a hard-earned runner-up result.
Fong said, “It’s great to be back up here — I’m so ecstatic. My crew has been working hard all weekend. They’ve been working hard all year. We’ve been having a little bit of a bad luck streak, so it’s nice to get a good result. I have to figure out a few things on the track, but I already have a pretty good pace. Hopefully, we improve it overnight and go one better tomorrow.”
In Stock 1000 action, Jake Lewis ran away with the win on his Team Hammer-built Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000R, taking the title lead in the process. The cherry on top was the impressive performance of M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Wyatt Farris, who earned his best finish of the season by coming home in seventh position.
Team Hammer will be gunning for more glory in Sunday’s Superbike and Supersport contests.
About Team Hammer
The 2021 season marks Team Hammer’s 41st consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 119 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 317 times and have won nine AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gagne Down But Not Out At BIR As He Wins 10th Straight MotoAmerica Superbike Race
Jake Gagne Crashes But Still Wins HONOS Superbike In Minnesota
BRAINERD, MN (July 31, 2021) – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne has now won 10 races in a row in the 2021 MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Championship, but this one was different. On Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, Gagne crashed and still managed to win the first AMA Superbike race held at BIR in 17 years.
Leading the race on the second lap, Gagne crashed in front of the pack and was stuck in the middle of the track as the field motored by on both sides. He finally ran to safety and, with his bike still on track, a red flag was thrown, stopping the race. Fortunately for Gagne, his Yamaha suffered only minor damage and he was able to ride back to the hot pit for repairs prior to the restart.
From there it was typical Gagne as he grabbed the lead and pulled away, ultimately besting M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong by 4.675 seconds to win his 10th race of the year and extending his championship points lead to 74 points. The win, which was also the 10th of his career, moves him into a tie with Mike Baldwin for 19th on the all-time AMA Superbike win list.
“That was the highest my heart rate has probably been in a while,” Gagne said of the crash and the panic that ensued while dodging his fellow racers. “We sat on the grid for a long time both times. I know we were all kind of wondering what was going on. I know there was a crash on the warmup lap or the sighting lap. I saw the guy right next to me in the grass go flying by. So, that was just a weird start. I know all our tires were a little cold there at the beginning. I think with that quick of a heat fluctuation, you put so much heat in these tires in turn one and two especially, so from going that cool… I even spun the tire off the line, which I’ve never done in my life. I just lit it up. So, it was just weird.”
“It caught me by surprise,” Gagne said of the crash. “I went into turn three and was barely on the gas. The thing came around on me and I just kept going. I was wondering if it was going to highside me. Luckily, it didn’t. I just kind of lowsided and then I’m sitting there in the middle of the track watching Superbikes fly at me. Luckily, everybody is looking ahead. We can see something is going on, so nothing bad happened. I’m just fortunate that that Yamaha slid. We bent a little lever. We had to mess around with the bars. The only thing that was wrong, we were just a little tweaked during the race, but it was totally fine. Hats off to the team because they hustled. We got that bike together right in the nick of time to get back out for pit lane. Again, thanks to Alpinestars for protecting me. I had a long slide, and the bike was really just sliding on top of me, so it was like digging my butt in the ground. We got a new suit on and went out there and did it again. So, I’m pumped I got another good start. I knew these guys were coming. Tomorrow will be another show. I know it’s tightening up every time. We’ve just got to keep doing our thing and focusing on our part.”
For Fong the race ended a podium drought that dates back to the very first race of the year at Road Atlanta in May.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Fong said. “Before the restart, I felt like I had some pace, for sure. At least to try to see Jake (Gagne) from a distance, just to kind of latch onto him. I’m struggling pretty bad in turn two. I’m losing literally a half a second a lap just in that one turn. I felt pretty good through the infield, but I had a solid machine underneath me today. It was good. The pace was pretty good. I just tried to manage it at the end. I’m looking forward to tomorrow at least to try to be a little closer to Jake. I know (Loris) Baz will be there tomorrow. It was definitely slick out there the first few laps. It was weird because I was in the back of the train, and I just see everybody just coming out of the seat and tucking the front. I had my moments back there, too. It was really weird. But I’m happy to get second and move forward to tomorrow with a positive attitude.”
The battle for third was fought out between the two South Africans – Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen. At the completion of the 15-lap race it was Scholtz grabbing third for his seventh podium of the year, though it still allowed Gagne to pull farther away in the title chase. Gagne now leads Scholtz by a whopping 74 points, 250-176. Petersen, meanwhile, made a big move to third in the championship, moving past Josh Herrin, who missed the race after testing positive for COVID-19.
Scholtz described what was a hectic race from start (and restart) to finish.
“The first lap, I’m not sure,” Scholtz said. “I turned into the first corner. I got hung up with (Loris) Baz, with Jake (Gagne). Then I think through the first lap everyone was slipping and sliding. I know Baz had a couple highside moments. Then (at the) start of the second lap, Jake crashed coming out of corner three. It was just chaos from there. I think Baz kind of thought someone was trying to pass him into corner four and he braked super late and tucked the front there. I was behind Cameron (Petersen). He tucked the front, too. He ran wide, and we got up again to first. Then the red flag came out. So, I knew it was absolute chaos, but it kind of sucks when you get to the front and the two guys that are beating you in the championship… I mean, Jake. Obviously, lucky he wasn’t hurt, but I kind of knew that he was going to get back in there. But the start of the second race it was very slippery, and I didn’t have any grip on the edge of the tire. So, I just kind of struggled for the first five or six laps. Once Cam passed me, he’s a very, very smooth guy. Kind of helped me fix my lines slightly and focus on that more. I could see that the lap times dropped. Then maybe with five or six laps to go, I could see Cam started struggling with his grip out of the corners. I kind of just put my head down and turned a few quick laps so I got past him. Then tried to focus on catching Bobby (Fong), but kind of ran out of laps. The arm pump was getting severe. It’s kind of something we have to look at for tomorrow’s race. Try to make it easier to kind of hold on and not veer so much out of the corners. So, we kind of know what we have to do now. Hopefully, we can get up there and challenge Jake tomorrow.”
Petersen held on for fourth, some 2.5 seconds behind Scholtz and 14.2 seconds ahead of fifth-placed Hector Barbera on the Scheibe Racing BMW.
JD Beach battled early in the race with Barbera but ended up sixth on the second Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha in his replacement ride for Herrin.
Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis was seventh and that put him at the top of the Superbike Cup, a class within a class for those riding Stock 1000-spec motorcycles in the HONOS Superbike race.
Franklin Armory/Andrew Lee Racing’s Andrew Lee was eighth on his Stock 1000-spec Kawasaki ZX-10R ahead of FLY Racing/ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony and his teammate Bradley Ward with the Suzuki-mounted pair finishing ninth and 10th, respectively.
Notable among the non-finishers was Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz with the Frenchman crashing out of the race on the second lap with his Ducati Panigale V4 R too damaged to repair for the restart.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Scholtz Podiums In Superbike, Teammate Roach Is Eighth In Junior Cup, At Brainerd
Brainerd, MN – July 31, 2021 – On Saturday of MotoAmerica’s first-ever race weekend at Brainerd International Raceway, Westby Racing teammates Mathew Scholtz and Jack Roach competed in their respective races on the fast and technical 2.5-mile road course.
From the outside of the front row, Mathew got off to a good start in the 18-lap race, but Jake Gagne and Loris Baz both crashed on lap two, and the race was red-flagged. On the 15-lap restart, Mathew slotted into second place, but he was overtaken by Bobby Fong, and then he battled for third with Cam Petersen until lap 10 when he secured the final spot on the podium all the way to the checkered flag.
With his third-place result, Mathew maintained second in the championship point standings and will be ready to improve on his result in Sunday’s Superbike race two.
Mathew Scholtz said, “After the red-flagged race was restarted, it was very slippery, and I didn’t have any grip on the edge of the tire. So, I just kind of struggled for the first five or six laps. Once Cam (Petersen) passed me, he’s a very, very smooth rider. That kind of helped me fix my lines slightly and focus on that more. I could see that the lap times dropped. Then, maybe with five or six laps to go, I could see Cam started struggling with his grip out of the corners. I put my head down and turned a few quick laps, and I got past him. Then, I tried to focus on catching Bobby (Fong), but I ran out of laps. The arm pump was getting pretty severe. It’s something we have to look at for tomorrow’s race. Try to make it easier to hold on and not veer so much out of the corners. So, we know what we have to do now. Hopefully, we can get up there and challenge Jake (Gagne) tomorrow.”
Ed Sullivan, Westby Racing Crew Chief said, “I am happy with today’s result. We’ve had good race pace all weekend, so while the first portion of the race didn’t play out in our favor, Mathew settled down, rode really well, and showed his pace in the second half of the race. We have some changes to try in morning warm up, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do in tomorrow’s race.”
Chuck Giacchetto, Team Manager, added, “Today was a very good day for the team. I feel we are definitely giving Mathew what he needs to succeed, and I very much believe in Mathew’s desire to be great. The second half of the season started today, and I’m very excited to see it play out because our team generally makes great strides in the second half of the season. I’d like to personally thank all the fans here at Brainerd. What a great bunch of folks!”
Sunday’s Superbike race two is at 3 p.m. CT and will be broadcast via tape delay on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 7:30 p.m. CT. In addition, the race will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
In Saturday’s Junior Cup race, Jack started from the inside of the third row in seventh, and he moved up to sixth on the opening lap. He dropped back to seventh again on lap two, and then, he was shuffled back to eighth on lap four where he battled among a large group of riders. As a result, he was unable to improve his position for the remainder of the 11-lap race.
Sunday’s Junior Cup race two is at 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+, as well as broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 this Tuesday, August 3, beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, finished 8th in British Supersport Race One Saturday at Thruxton.
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More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
O’Halloran victorious as Glenn Irwin crashes out of podium contention
Jason O’Halloran claimed his fifth win of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season, after leading Christian Iddon by 2.433s as the race was red flagged when Glenn Irwin crashed out of the podium fight, unhurt.
O’Halloran got an incredible start from pole position to grab the lead ahead of Irwin and Peter Hickman, however a crash on the opening lap for Kyle Ryde and Joe Francis bought out the BMW Safety Car. Both riders were able to walk away from the crash, and the race resumed on lap four.
O’Halloran controlled the pace at the front, breaking away from the pack in the later stages of the race to build a more comfortable buffer before the race was halted. This leaves him just a single point adrift of Christian Iddon in the overall standings ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
Prior to his accident, Irwin was right in the fight for the podium, holding second position ahead of Hickman and Iddon in the opening stages with Ryan Vickers in contention too.
On lap five, Hickman’s FHO Racing BMW machine moved into second. Honda Racing’s Irwin was then pushed back a further place into fourth as Iddon then made a move, drafting through on the VisionTrack Ducati.
Iddon then pushed Hickman for second place, making a move at the Chicane as the battle intensified for the podium. It was a battle between Iddon, Hickman and Irwin for the final two places inside the top three as O’Halloran made his break at the front.
Irwin was soon up to third, as he produced a stunning move around the outside at the Chicane on lap 13. His progress came to a sudden end a lap later though as he crashed out at 119mph. With his stricken Honda Fireblade in the track, the race was red flagged. Irwin was able to walk away from the incident, whilst his rivals Iddon and Hickman climbed onto the podium.
Vickers had his best result in fourth place for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team, holding off Lee Jackson who completed the top five for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki, with four manufacturers in the top four positions.
Danny Kent was another rider to secure his best result in Bennetts BSB in sixth place for the Buildbase Suzuki team, ahead of Bradley Ray and Gino Rea.
Tarran Mackenzie was running sixth, but a cut of the Chicane meant the McAMS Yamaha rider was given a 2-second long lap equivalent time penalty, ending up in ninth place with Tommy Bridewell completing the top-ten.
It was another disappointing race for reigning champion Josh Brookes; he was outside the points in 17th place.
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Jason O’Halloran – McAMS Yamaha
BikeSocial Race 1 winner
“Normally throughout practice you will have done a long run. I did one this morning, but it was straight out of the pits and it was first bit of dry track time all weekend, so it was a bit of an unknown.
“The pace was definitely faster than what I thought it would be, not from trying to do that, but it just came to me and I thought while the pace is there and the tyre feels good, I’ll just keep doing my thing.
“The gap to the guys behind me was staying constant for about the first five or six laps and I saw it start to grow, so I just wanted to keep my pace and try to get away.
“It was a comfortable win, but it certainly was never easy. I didn’t have to block too much, didn’t have to worry about the guys behind me, which is a nice feeling.
“I think tomorrow’s race might be a bit slower, another five or six laps is a lot around here when the tyre starts to drop, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. All the guys will improve again and so we need to do the same for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by VisionTrack Ducati:
Iddon Maintains Championship Lead At Thruxton
Christian Iddon maintained his Bennetts British Superbike Championship lead this afternoon when the VisionTrackChristian Iddon Ducati rider took a second place in the opening race of the fourth round held at Thruxton.
But it again proved to be a tough day for reigning champion Josh Brookes with the Australian struggling and ending the race in 17th position for Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team.
After wet conditions yesterday at the super-fast Hampshire track, today saw good, dry conditions although the fortunes of the two PBM riders varied in free practice with Christian placing third on the factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 RR and Josh back in 17th.
That pattern continued in qualifying where Tyneside-based Iddon posted the fifth fastest time for a second row start for the afternoon’s 15-lap race whilst Josh was back in 20th and on the seventh row.
Iddon slotted into fourth at the completion of the opening lap which was where he remained until the fifth lap when he overhauled Honda’s Glenn Irwin. Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran, Iddon’s main championship rival at present, led but on lap 12, Christian moved up to second to ensure his losses were a minimum.
The race ended on the penultimate lap after Irwin crashed heavily, fortunately without injury, and O’Halloran took the win ahead of Iddon which means the pair are separated by just one point in Iddon’s favour ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
For Brookes, it was another challenging race and after losing a number of places on the opening lap, the combination of a poor start and being slowed by a first lap crash, he dropped to 23rd at one point. He regrouped and managed to gain six places, but 17th meant he was outside the points to remain in 11th overall in the standings.
Christian Iddon: “Thruxton’s different to any other circuit we go to, and it’s been a bit of a bogey track for me in the past so it’s nice to finish on the podium this time around. I was really surprised at the pace we were doing and managing the tyre was the challenge, but I stayed patient and managed the race as best I could. I was a bit nervous ahead of the weekend, but we’ve stuck to our plan and didn’t panic when the riders ahead of me made a bit of a break. Jason’s pace was too much but the others came back to me and whilst it’s always sad to finish a race on a red flag, it’s another good podium.”
Josh Brookes: “It’s been another tough weekend so far and we’ve been trying to limit the amount of front-end Josh Brookeschatter we’ve been having. It hasn’t been the traditional feeling, but we can see from the data that there’s not as much travel in the front. We made some changes for the race but when things are going wrong in racing, they go wrong, and I was pushed wide by the first corner crash which lost me a lot of time. The changes we’d made were in the wrong direction too and it was near impossible to make any kind of impression. We’ll be going with the opposite of that for tomorrow and do our best to get back to where we should be.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It’s been a very good day for Christian and having had tough times here previously for other teams, we drilled it into him that being patient and not destroying the tyre was key. He probably could have gone with Jason but knew he wouldn’t have had tyre left in the final third, so he played the waiting game and did so superbly. It’s not easy for a racer to do as it goes against their instincts, but he rode with his head and also with a lot of heart.
“Unfortunately, it’s been another struggle so far for Josh and whilst we thought his pace looked good after six or seven laps in qualifying, he wasn’t able to duplicate it in the race. When you qualify a long way back on the grid, you’re fighting a losing battle as you’re never going to make massive in-roads, but the team will make some more changes and he’ll go again tomorrow.”
Tomorrow’s 20-lap races are scheduled for 13:30 and 16:30 respectively.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing UK:
Honda Racing UK on the hunt at Thruxton
The Honda Racing UK team have felt the highs and lows of racing this afternoon at the fourth round of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton, after Glenn Irwin crashed out of podium contention during the closing stages of Race 1.
The Honda team got today off to a flying start with Glenn scoring the second fastest Qualifying time aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to take his first front row start of the season. By mid-race Glenn was sitting fourth after Peter Hickman and Christian Iddon had both made passes, but during the closing the stages Glenn was hot on their heels and wanting a podium spot.
Passing Hickman, Glenn was up to third on the penultimate lap and the first podium of the year was looking set for the Honda team, but celebrations were cut short after Glenn suffered a massive highside and crashed out of the running, thankfully unhurt.
Glenn’s teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi continue to learn the fast and flowing Hampshire circuit. Making their race debut at Thruxton and able to make up places from their qualifying positions during Race 1, Takumi came home 20th and Ryo 21st.
For the teams’ Pirelli National Superstock contender Tom Neave it’s been a strong round so far. Third fastest in yesterday’s combined practice, Tom Qualified sixth for today’s 15-lap race. With a good start off the line Tom enjoyed a solid race, as well as some on-track battles to take the chequered flag fifth aboard the Fireblade.
The team will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday 1 August) for two more Superbike races and the final Superstock race of the weekend.
#2 Glenn Irwin
There’s a lot of positives to be taken from Race 1 today and I’m looking forward to the two longer races tomorrow. We seem to be able to manage the tyre wear over a shorter race, I’m aware that everyone can improve and we’ll continue to do our work in warm up. I’m not going to dwell too much on the crash today, I’m sorry to the team for the added work and thank you to them for rebuilding the bike. I am looking forward to the longer 20-lap races tomorrow, as 13 here was fun!
#88 Ryo Mizuno
I had a good start in FP3, but the qualifying session did not go as I had imagined and I could not make a good flow in the race. The track is fast and all the corners are fun to ride, so I will try my best to finish with a smile tomorrow.
#13 Takumi Takahashi
This is a very fast circuit and all corners are fast corners! It’s not always easy to understand the UK circuits and so far this weekend I haven’t really understood this track so struggling to enjoy a little. Tomorrow we have warm up and two longer races, so I look forward to working with the team and seeing how we get on.
#68 Tom Neave
I said to myself at the start of the weekend if I can keep in the top two rows I’d be happy and we did that in qualifying. I got up to third, but I completely played my game wrong. I felt I had so much more in the tank on those first few laps when I was third, but I thought I’d save my tyre, but in fact I allowed the others to catch me up and pass me, I then spent the rest of the race catching them. Early on I should have just got my head down and got to the front, I learnt a lot and I am disappointed with fifth, tomorrow I’m going to put it on the line a little more and fight for the podium.
More, from a press release issued by Dynavolt Triumph:
Podium run continues for Dynavolt Triumph at Thruxton
Dynavolt Triumph’s Kyle Smith’s podium run continued today in the 2021 Quattro Group British Supersport Championship 12-lap sprint race at Thruxton with a third place from his qualifying position of seventh on the grid.
Both Dynavolt Triumph riders got their first dry run during qualifying earlier in the day with Smith quickly adapting to the dry settings for the afternoon race. Smith made a good start and was up to fifth when he ran off onto the grass going into the complex, losing a significant amount of time but unfazed, he found the pace again to finish third in the Supersport class.
Kyle Smith: “A good first race I just made a small mistake trying to pass Lee fighting for the podium position. I ran on but I felt like I had the pace and made it back up to third position. I’m really happy, the Dynavolt Triumph was working really good in the race so we’ll just carry on the progress and see if we can be a bit higher up in the race tomorrow.”
Teammate Brandon Paasch had an issue with the quickshifter right from the lights and despite that he worked round the problem to deliver another solid top ten finish in eighth place.
Brandon Paasch: “Solid first race here at Thruxton, looking to build for tomorrow and keep moving forward.”
Dynavolt Triumph Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “It was a good ride by Kyle, we have to remember he only had 25 minutes in the dry before that race. For sure he learned a lot in the race about the lines round here in the dry. Quite a big mistake into the complex, he really ran on. If he’d not made that mistake he was fast enough, his tyre looked good and he had the pace to win so we learned a lot and another podium is great.”
“A good ride from Brandon, he dropped back at the start but he rode well to eighth. We are just looking at the data now as he had a problem with the quickshifter and a bit of cutting out but a good top ten finish for him. If it’s dry or wet tomorrow we are in a good position for all conditions, we’re looking forward to it. Congratulations to the team for another podium, let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
The feature race from Thruxton is tomorrow (Sunday) at 15:40 (BST).
Editorial Note: Luke Conner died of COVID-19 today in a hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana, according to AHRMA. He was 61.
AHRMA Mourns the Passing of Luke Conner
(July 31, 2021 Elora, TN) Luke Conner, a pillar of the vintage racing community and former chairman of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Board of Trustees, has died.
Conner was instrumental in developing and maintaining AHRMA’s road racing program as a class and series sponsor and by serving as the road race director in addition to his leadership roles with the association.
“AHRMA has lost a good friend. Multi-term trustee Luke Conner was a member who time and time again answered the bell when our club needed someone to step up. Just a few years ago he stepped in to direct AHRMA’s road race program with absolutely no notice given, he offered a short term loan to the club when needed to get over a hump, and over the years he spent hours with various members who had fallen on tough times and needed some love. Luke was a good friend at the track, a giving leader behind the scenes, and loved his AHRMA family. Race in Peace, Luke,” said Arthur Kowitz, current chairman of the AHRMA Trustees.
Conner served as a member of the Board of Trustees for several years before being elected chairman in 2018. During 2018, he took on the responsibilities of road race director, as a volunteer, following the passing of Cindy Cowell.
His commitment to AHRMA included securing the support of CPL Systems, a major sustainable energy company, as a national road race series sponsor and title sponsor for several years. Later, his racing team Luke’s RaceCraft would sponsor the series.
Curt Comer, AHRMA executive director, remembered Conner, “Luke Conner was Chairman of the Board when I came on as Executive Director. He had navigated AHRMA through some challenging times and was instrumental in many transitions after Cindy Cowell’s passing. His heart for AHRMA and infectious passion will be missed by all who knew him.”
As a racer, Conner competed in a variety of road racing and off-road events. He built, raced and maintained a fleet of race bikes including classic Harley-Davidson road racers.
His enthusiasm for vintage motorcycle racing included attracting new racers into the sport. He frequently offered his own motorcycles to potential racers and his generosity resulted in several new racers entering the AHRMA ranks.
His interest in growing vintage motorcycle competition included drag racing. He was instrumental in bringing vintage drag racing motorcycles into AHRMA racing events at venues that included a drag strip, most recently the AHRMA Classic MotoFest® in the Heartland held in Topeka, Kansas.
About AHRMA:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Ltd. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring and competing on classic motorcycles. With about 4000 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
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Xavier Zayat rode his Kawasaki ZX-6R to wins in six races, including Expert Unlimited Grand Prix, on day one of the Southeast and Atlantic Championship Cup Series Twin Sprints event featuring AMA-sanctioned ASRA Sprints Presented by Pirelli Tire at NCBike, in Garysburg, North Carolina.
Editorial Note: Use the scroll and zoom tools in the bottom left corner of the PDF viewer to better see all of the race results.
080121 NCBIKE CCS Results
This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Lewis, Gloddy, De Keyrel, Kelly Victorious In MotoAmerica’s Return To BIR
Close MotoAmerica Support Class Racing Rules The Day In Minnesota
BRAINERD, MN (July 31, 2021) – Jake Lewis and Richie Escalante both came to Brainerd International Raceway needing race wins in order to pull back the points disadvantage they faced heading into Minnesota. Lewis did just that while Escalante was thwarted in his attempt on a sunny, yet smoky, Saturday in the resort town of Brainerd.
With Lewis winning the Stock 1000 race, he was able to re-take the championship points lead over series rival Corey Alexander. Escalante, however, came up just short – .075 of a second short! – in his attempt to stop the runaway train that is Sean Dylan Kelly in the Supersport class.
In the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup class, meanwhile, Benjamin Gloddy was able to turn the tables on Tyler Scott and now trails the championship leader by seven points.
The Twins Cup race was also close with hometown hero Kaleb De Keyrel topping race-long leader Anthony Mazziotto by just .244 of a second with a last-lap pass.
Stock 1000: Lewis Takes Over
In the only Stock 1000 race of the weekend, Altus Motorsports Suzuki rider Jake Lewis started from pole and got the holeshot, but Chuckwalla Valley Raceway/Octane Lending Kawasaki rider Michael Gilbert chased Lewis down and took the lead temporarily until Lewis re-established himself at the front on lap three and maintained his advantage all the way to the checkered flag.
While Gilbert finished second, it looked like the third-place finisher was going to be Ashton Yates, but on the final go-around of the 13-lap race, MESA37 Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa was able to pass Yates to take third.
Lewis’ win, his third of the year, combined with Corey Alexander’s fifth-place finish, gives Lewis the points lead by two points, 157-155.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be this fast this weekend,” Lewis said. “The bike has just been feeling really good this weekend. The crew has been working flawlessly. No issues at all throughout the whole weekend, which has been nice. Last week like I said on the podium, I was down in Georgia on vacation with my girlfriend and her brother is a big workout guy and we went running every day. I even lost some weight. Just getting in better shape. It does a lot for my confidence. I just feel really good physically and mentally. I know the only way I can kind of win the championship is to get race wins. I was kind of in a deficit. Coming into this round, 12 points is quite a bit. Especially after that DNF, we gave up a lot of points. Just got to be smooth the rest of the year and keep trying for wins.”
Supersport: Kelly Again!
HONOS HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante came into Brainerd International Raceway with a plan to stem the tide. The defending Supersport Champion knew he had to stop points leader Sean Dylan Kelly’s winning streak and start a winning streak of his own. In Saturday’s race one, despite being pressured by Escalante for virtually the entire 16-lap event, Kelly was never headed and raced his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to his eighth win of the season and fifth victory in a row. Meanwhile, third place went to Kelly’s teammate Sam Lochoff, who passed Benjamin Smith on lap 13, and completed the podium.
“It was definitely a tough race,” said Kelly. “Not super happy with how my pace was. I was definitely expecting more of myself, but that’s how us racers are. We win a race, and we still aren’t too happy about it. Happy with the race win, with the consistency and being able to fight up there, not letting Richie by. We need to do some homework and make a proper step for tomorrow. Honestly, everything has felt good up to this point. I just went out onto the track today and had a lot of moments. We saw some weird crashes. There was clearly some stuff on the track. Just definitely bothered me. Didn’t have the best confidence out there once we had some moments. But we’re going to do our homework tomorrow and come back just a little bit better. Looking forward to making a good race.”
Twins Cup: Homeboy Wins
Saturday’s Twins Cup race was one of best events of the day as former Minnesotan Kaleb De Keyrel returned to the track on which he learned to race and got the win aboard his Robem Engineering Aprilia. But it wasn’t easy. Veloce Racing Aprilia rider Anthony Mazziotto came from the second row of the starting grid and led most of the 12-lap race until De Keyrel overtook Mazziotto in the final turn before the finish line. While Mazziotto settled for second, Innovative Motorsports/Mike’s Imports Suzuki rider Teagg Hobbs rose from his second-row, fifth-place starting position to third and the final spot on the podium.
In the beginning of the race, Jackson (Blackmon) and Hayden (Schultz) were all riding really good,” said De Keyrel. Mazziotto got away. I’m sitting back there kind of battling with these three and I’m like, ‘Oh man. He’s getting away, getting away, getting away.’ By the time I got by, he had a pretty big lead. I just was like, all right, I need to keep chipping away a little bit, a little bit, a little bit. But I kind of wasted a lot of tire catching back up to him. I could tell he was struggling, and I also knew I was struggling quite a bit, so on that last lap I knew I needed to try and plan an attack somewhere. But, like he said, going through turn one, he was sliding the rear and I was right here. So, his rear is sliding and I’m right next to him. It was just a fun race. It was pretty sketchy towards the end and we both had to just ride smart. You had to be super easy on the throttle because we didn’t have very much grip towards the end. So, I’m going to have to go back with the crew and try to figure out a better game plan as far as longevity of the tire for race two.
“I really wanted to win, just because I have a ton of friends and family out here supporting me, cheering me on. So, I really wanted to win for them. Honestly, the last lap, me and him are both sliding around so much, I wasn’t even focused on the win. I was just focused on keeping it upright, to be honest with you. It was really fun.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup: Gloddy Turns The Tables
Landers Racing Kawasaki rider Benjamin Gloddy won two SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup races earlier this season, but he has finished second to Scott Powersports KTM rider Tyler Scott a lot more times than he would like. On Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, Gloddy and Scott engaged in another of their frequent battles for the win, and on the final lap of the race, it was Gloddy who overtook Scott in the final turn to get the win. The victory moved Gloddy to within seven points of Championship leader Scott. Third place went to Veloce Racing Kawasaki rider Max Toth, who made his return to the class after suffering a hand injury in a crash at Ridge Motorsports Park at the end of June.
“This feels pretty good being back here,” Gloddy said about his race win. “I was struggling with grip a lot through the race. Just tried to keep the tire underneath me. I was kind of having to ride it more like a bigger bike to get on the contact patch and drive off the corner. Great race with Tyler. We’ll make some changes. Hopefully, we can have a better race tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
FIVE WINS IN A ROW FOR M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S SEAN DYLAN KELLY
Team Hammer enjoyed a spectacular return to Brainerd International Raceway following a 17-year absence, scoring two wins and four podiums in Saturday’s MotoAmerica races with the promise of more coming on Sunday.
The headliner again was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who extended his MotoAmerica Supersport win streak to five in another nail-biter.
Yet again, ‘SDK’ demonstrated his unique ability to keep his opponents corralled close behind him, immediately countered any passing attempts, and kept his nerves all the while by scoring an eighth win of the ‘21 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season by a scant 0.075-second margin.
Kelly managed this despite lacking some of the speed he previously showed aboard his GSX-R600 in the run-up to the race, leaving him hopeful for an even more convincing showing in Race 2.
“Overall, it was good,” he said. “We led the entire time, and I tried to be as consistent as I could. It was a tough race. Honestly, I was expecting more. We’re going to have to do some studying tonight because our pace has been better than this all weekend. I had a few moments and didn’t have the sensation I was expecting. So, I’m expecting more — we’re going to do our homework and come back stronger tomorrow.
“We’re doing the right things. We just need to keep making steps. Thanks to my whole M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team and all my guys for working so hard and always believing in me.”
Kelly was joined on the podium by his rookie teammate, Sam Lochoff. The South African dropped back as far as sixth and once ran off the track in the wake of incidents involving other riders, but still managed to charge his way to a clear third.
The result was the second podium of Lochoff’s young MotoAmerica Supersport career.
Lochoff said, “My pace wasn’t great, but I was really consistent. I ran off in the Carousel because I thought there was oil on the right side of my tire after a couple guys went down.” Lochoff recovered without any damage and saw his fortunes rise throughout the race.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s premier-class duo of Bobby Fong and Cameron Petersen were major players in the day’s MotoAmerica Superbike contest as well. Petersen stormed to the holeshot aboard his GSX-R1000R and battled for a podium before ultimately finishing fourth.
Californian Fong was even better on the day, matching his best result of the 2021 season taken way back in the opener by pushing the leader with his pace early while powering his way to a hard-earned runner-up result.
Fong said, “It’s great to be back up here — I’m so ecstatic. My crew has been working hard all weekend. They’ve been working hard all year. We’ve been having a little bit of a bad luck streak, so it’s nice to get a good result. I have to figure out a few things on the track, but I already have a pretty good pace. Hopefully, we improve it overnight and go one better tomorrow.”
In Stock 1000 action, Jake Lewis ran away with the win on his Team Hammer-built Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000R, taking the title lead in the process. The cherry on top was the impressive performance of M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Wyatt Farris, who earned his best finish of the season by coming home in seventh position.
Team Hammer will be gunning for more glory in Sunday’s Superbike and Supersport contests.
About Team Hammer
The 2021 season marks Team Hammer’s 41st consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 119 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 317 times and have won nine AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gagne Down But Not Out At BIR As He Wins 10th Straight MotoAmerica Superbike Race
Jake Gagne Crashes But Still Wins HONOS Superbike In Minnesota
BRAINERD, MN (July 31, 2021) – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne has now won 10 races in a row in the 2021 MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Championship, but this one was different. On Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, Gagne crashed and still managed to win the first AMA Superbike race held at BIR in 17 years.
Leading the race on the second lap, Gagne crashed in front of the pack and was stuck in the middle of the track as the field motored by on both sides. He finally ran to safety and, with his bike still on track, a red flag was thrown, stopping the race. Fortunately for Gagne, his Yamaha suffered only minor damage and he was able to ride back to the hot pit for repairs prior to the restart.
From there it was typical Gagne as he grabbed the lead and pulled away, ultimately besting M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong by 4.675 seconds to win his 10th race of the year and extending his championship points lead to 74 points. The win, which was also the 10th of his career, moves him into a tie with Mike Baldwin for 19th on the all-time AMA Superbike win list.
“That was the highest my heart rate has probably been in a while,” Gagne said of the crash and the panic that ensued while dodging his fellow racers. “We sat on the grid for a long time both times. I know we were all kind of wondering what was going on. I know there was a crash on the warmup lap or the sighting lap. I saw the guy right next to me in the grass go flying by. So, that was just a weird start. I know all our tires were a little cold there at the beginning. I think with that quick of a heat fluctuation, you put so much heat in these tires in turn one and two especially, so from going that cool… I even spun the tire off the line, which I’ve never done in my life. I just lit it up. So, it was just weird.”
“It caught me by surprise,” Gagne said of the crash. “I went into turn three and was barely on the gas. The thing came around on me and I just kept going. I was wondering if it was going to highside me. Luckily, it didn’t. I just kind of lowsided and then I’m sitting there in the middle of the track watching Superbikes fly at me. Luckily, everybody is looking ahead. We can see something is going on, so nothing bad happened. I’m just fortunate that that Yamaha slid. We bent a little lever. We had to mess around with the bars. The only thing that was wrong, we were just a little tweaked during the race, but it was totally fine. Hats off to the team because they hustled. We got that bike together right in the nick of time to get back out for pit lane. Again, thanks to Alpinestars for protecting me. I had a long slide, and the bike was really just sliding on top of me, so it was like digging my butt in the ground. We got a new suit on and went out there and did it again. So, I’m pumped I got another good start. I knew these guys were coming. Tomorrow will be another show. I know it’s tightening up every time. We’ve just got to keep doing our thing and focusing on our part.”
For Fong the race ended a podium drought that dates back to the very first race of the year at Road Atlanta in May.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Fong said. “Before the restart, I felt like I had some pace, for sure. At least to try to see Jake (Gagne) from a distance, just to kind of latch onto him. I’m struggling pretty bad in turn two. I’m losing literally a half a second a lap just in that one turn. I felt pretty good through the infield, but I had a solid machine underneath me today. It was good. The pace was pretty good. I just tried to manage it at the end. I’m looking forward to tomorrow at least to try to be a little closer to Jake. I know (Loris) Baz will be there tomorrow. It was definitely slick out there the first few laps. It was weird because I was in the back of the train, and I just see everybody just coming out of the seat and tucking the front. I had my moments back there, too. It was really weird. But I’m happy to get second and move forward to tomorrow with a positive attitude.”
The battle for third was fought out between the two South Africans – Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen. At the completion of the 15-lap race it was Scholtz grabbing third for his seventh podium of the year, though it still allowed Gagne to pull farther away in the title chase. Gagne now leads Scholtz by a whopping 74 points, 250-176. Petersen, meanwhile, made a big move to third in the championship, moving past Josh Herrin, who missed the race after testing positive for COVID-19.
Scholtz described what was a hectic race from start (and restart) to finish.
“The first lap, I’m not sure,” Scholtz said. “I turned into the first corner. I got hung up with (Loris) Baz, with Jake (Gagne). Then I think through the first lap everyone was slipping and sliding. I know Baz had a couple highside moments. Then (at the) start of the second lap, Jake crashed coming out of corner three. It was just chaos from there. I think Baz kind of thought someone was trying to pass him into corner four and he braked super late and tucked the front there. I was behind Cameron (Petersen). He tucked the front, too. He ran wide, and we got up again to first. Then the red flag came out. So, I knew it was absolute chaos, but it kind of sucks when you get to the front and the two guys that are beating you in the championship… I mean, Jake. Obviously, lucky he wasn’t hurt, but I kind of knew that he was going to get back in there. But the start of the second race it was very slippery, and I didn’t have any grip on the edge of the tire. So, I just kind of struggled for the first five or six laps. Once Cam passed me, he’s a very, very smooth guy. Kind of helped me fix my lines slightly and focus on that more. I could see that the lap times dropped. Then maybe with five or six laps to go, I could see Cam started struggling with his grip out of the corners. I kind of just put my head down and turned a few quick laps so I got past him. Then tried to focus on catching Bobby (Fong), but kind of ran out of laps. The arm pump was getting severe. It’s kind of something we have to look at for tomorrow’s race. Try to make it easier to kind of hold on and not veer so much out of the corners. So, we kind of know what we have to do now. Hopefully, we can get up there and challenge Jake tomorrow.”
Petersen held on for fourth, some 2.5 seconds behind Scholtz and 14.2 seconds ahead of fifth-placed Hector Barbera on the Scheibe Racing BMW.
JD Beach battled early in the race with Barbera but ended up sixth on the second Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha in his replacement ride for Herrin.
Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis was seventh and that put him at the top of the Superbike Cup, a class within a class for those riding Stock 1000-spec motorcycles in the HONOS Superbike race.
Franklin Armory/Andrew Lee Racing’s Andrew Lee was eighth on his Stock 1000-spec Kawasaki ZX-10R ahead of FLY Racing/ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony and his teammate Bradley Ward with the Suzuki-mounted pair finishing ninth and 10th, respectively.
Notable among the non-finishers was Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz with the Frenchman crashing out of the race on the second lap with his Ducati Panigale V4 R too damaged to repair for the restart.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Scholtz Podiums In Superbike, Teammate Roach Is Eighth In Junior Cup, At Brainerd
Brainerd, MN – July 31, 2021 – On Saturday of MotoAmerica’s first-ever race weekend at Brainerd International Raceway, Westby Racing teammates Mathew Scholtz and Jack Roach competed in their respective races on the fast and technical 2.5-mile road course.
From the outside of the front row, Mathew got off to a good start in the 18-lap race, but Jake Gagne and Loris Baz both crashed on lap two, and the race was red-flagged. On the 15-lap restart, Mathew slotted into second place, but he was overtaken by Bobby Fong, and then he battled for third with Cam Petersen until lap 10 when he secured the final spot on the podium all the way to the checkered flag.
With his third-place result, Mathew maintained second in the championship point standings and will be ready to improve on his result in Sunday’s Superbike race two.
Mathew Scholtz said, “After the red-flagged race was restarted, it was very slippery, and I didn’t have any grip on the edge of the tire. So, I just kind of struggled for the first five or six laps. Once Cam (Petersen) passed me, he’s a very, very smooth rider. That kind of helped me fix my lines slightly and focus on that more. I could see that the lap times dropped. Then, maybe with five or six laps to go, I could see Cam started struggling with his grip out of the corners. I put my head down and turned a few quick laps, and I got past him. Then, I tried to focus on catching Bobby (Fong), but I ran out of laps. The arm pump was getting pretty severe. It’s something we have to look at for tomorrow’s race. Try to make it easier to hold on and not veer so much out of the corners. So, we know what we have to do now. Hopefully, we can get up there and challenge Jake (Gagne) tomorrow.”
Ed Sullivan, Westby Racing Crew Chief said, “I am happy with today’s result. We’ve had good race pace all weekend, so while the first portion of the race didn’t play out in our favor, Mathew settled down, rode really well, and showed his pace in the second half of the race. We have some changes to try in morning warm up, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can do in tomorrow’s race.”
Chuck Giacchetto, Team Manager, added, “Today was a very good day for the team. I feel we are definitely giving Mathew what he needs to succeed, and I very much believe in Mathew’s desire to be great. The second half of the season started today, and I’m very excited to see it play out because our team generally makes great strides in the second half of the season. I’d like to personally thank all the fans here at Brainerd. What a great bunch of folks!”
Sunday’s Superbike race two is at 3 p.m. CT and will be broadcast via tape delay on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) at 7:30 p.m. CT. In addition, the race will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
In Saturday’s Junior Cup race, Jack started from the inside of the third row in seventh, and he moved up to sixth on the opening lap. He dropped back to seventh again on lap two, and then, he was shuffled back to eighth on lap four where he battled among a large group of riders. As a result, he was unable to improve his position for the remainder of the 11-lap race.
Sunday’s Junior Cup race two is at 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+, as well as broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 this Tuesday, August 3, beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, finished 8th in British Supersport Race One Saturday at Thruxton.
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More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
O’Halloran victorious as Glenn Irwin crashes out of podium contention
Jason O’Halloran claimed his fifth win of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship season, after leading Christian Iddon by 2.433s as the race was red flagged when Glenn Irwin crashed out of the podium fight, unhurt.
O’Halloran got an incredible start from pole position to grab the lead ahead of Irwin and Peter Hickman, however a crash on the opening lap for Kyle Ryde and Joe Francis bought out the BMW Safety Car. Both riders were able to walk away from the crash, and the race resumed on lap four.
O’Halloran controlled the pace at the front, breaking away from the pack in the later stages of the race to build a more comfortable buffer before the race was halted. This leaves him just a single point adrift of Christian Iddon in the overall standings ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
Prior to his accident, Irwin was right in the fight for the podium, holding second position ahead of Hickman and Iddon in the opening stages with Ryan Vickers in contention too.
On lap five, Hickman’s FHO Racing BMW machine moved into second. Honda Racing’s Irwin was then pushed back a further place into fourth as Iddon then made a move, drafting through on the VisionTrack Ducati.
Iddon then pushed Hickman for second place, making a move at the Chicane as the battle intensified for the podium. It was a battle between Iddon, Hickman and Irwin for the final two places inside the top three as O’Halloran made his break at the front.
Irwin was soon up to third, as he produced a stunning move around the outside at the Chicane on lap 13. His progress came to a sudden end a lap later though as he crashed out at 119mph. With his stricken Honda Fireblade in the track, the race was red flagged. Irwin was able to walk away from the incident, whilst his rivals Iddon and Hickman climbed onto the podium.
Vickers had his best result in fourth place for the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki team, holding off Lee Jackson who completed the top five for FS-3 Racing Kawasaki, with four manufacturers in the top four positions.
Danny Kent was another rider to secure his best result in Bennetts BSB in sixth place for the Buildbase Suzuki team, ahead of Bradley Ray and Gino Rea.
Tarran Mackenzie was running sixth, but a cut of the Chicane meant the McAMS Yamaha rider was given a 2-second long lap equivalent time penalty, ending up in ninth place with Tommy Bridewell completing the top-ten.
It was another disappointing race for reigning champion Josh Brookes; he was outside the points in 17th place.
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Jason O’Halloran – McAMS Yamaha
BikeSocial Race 1 winner
“Normally throughout practice you will have done a long run. I did one this morning, but it was straight out of the pits and it was first bit of dry track time all weekend, so it was a bit of an unknown.
“The pace was definitely faster than what I thought it would be, not from trying to do that, but it just came to me and I thought while the pace is there and the tyre feels good, I’ll just keep doing my thing.
“The gap to the guys behind me was staying constant for about the first five or six laps and I saw it start to grow, so I just wanted to keep my pace and try to get away.
“It was a comfortable win, but it certainly was never easy. I didn’t have to block too much, didn’t have to worry about the guys behind me, which is a nice feeling.
“I think tomorrow’s race might be a bit slower, another five or six laps is a lot around here when the tyre starts to drop, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings. All the guys will improve again and so we need to do the same for tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by VisionTrack Ducati:
Iddon Maintains Championship Lead At Thruxton
Christian Iddon maintained his Bennetts British Superbike Championship lead this afternoon when the VisionTrackChristian Iddon Ducati rider took a second place in the opening race of the fourth round held at Thruxton.
But it again proved to be a tough day for reigning champion Josh Brookes with the Australian struggling and ending the race in 17th position for Paul Bird’s Lake District-based team.
After wet conditions yesterday at the super-fast Hampshire track, today saw good, dry conditions although the fortunes of the two PBM riders varied in free practice with Christian placing third on the factory-supported VisionTrack Ducati Panigale V4 RR and Josh back in 17th.
That pattern continued in qualifying where Tyneside-based Iddon posted the fifth fastest time for a second row start for the afternoon’s 15-lap race whilst Josh was back in 20th and on the seventh row.
Iddon slotted into fourth at the completion of the opening lap which was where he remained until the fifth lap when he overhauled Honda’s Glenn Irwin. Yamaha’s Jason O’Halloran, Iddon’s main championship rival at present, led but on lap 12, Christian moved up to second to ensure his losses were a minimum.
The race ended on the penultimate lap after Irwin crashed heavily, fortunately without injury, and O’Halloran took the win ahead of Iddon which means the pair are separated by just one point in Iddon’s favour ahead of tomorrow’s two races.
For Brookes, it was another challenging race and after losing a number of places on the opening lap, the combination of a poor start and being slowed by a first lap crash, he dropped to 23rd at one point. He regrouped and managed to gain six places, but 17th meant he was outside the points to remain in 11th overall in the standings.
Christian Iddon: “Thruxton’s different to any other circuit we go to, and it’s been a bit of a bogey track for me in the past so it’s nice to finish on the podium this time around. I was really surprised at the pace we were doing and managing the tyre was the challenge, but I stayed patient and managed the race as best I could. I was a bit nervous ahead of the weekend, but we’ve stuck to our plan and didn’t panic when the riders ahead of me made a bit of a break. Jason’s pace was too much but the others came back to me and whilst it’s always sad to finish a race on a red flag, it’s another good podium.”
Josh Brookes: “It’s been another tough weekend so far and we’ve been trying to limit the amount of front-end Josh Brookeschatter we’ve been having. It hasn’t been the traditional feeling, but we can see from the data that there’s not as much travel in the front. We made some changes for the race but when things are going wrong in racing, they go wrong, and I was pushed wide by the first corner crash which lost me a lot of time. The changes we’d made were in the wrong direction too and it was near impossible to make any kind of impression. We’ll be going with the opposite of that for tomorrow and do our best to get back to where we should be.”
Johnny Mowatt, Team Co-ordinator: “It’s been a very good day for Christian and having had tough times here previously for other teams, we drilled it into him that being patient and not destroying the tyre was key. He probably could have gone with Jason but knew he wouldn’t have had tyre left in the final third, so he played the waiting game and did so superbly. It’s not easy for a racer to do as it goes against their instincts, but he rode with his head and also with a lot of heart.
“Unfortunately, it’s been another struggle so far for Josh and whilst we thought his pace looked good after six or seven laps in qualifying, he wasn’t able to duplicate it in the race. When you qualify a long way back on the grid, you’re fighting a losing battle as you’re never going to make massive in-roads, but the team will make some more changes and he’ll go again tomorrow.”
Tomorrow’s 20-lap races are scheduled for 13:30 and 16:30 respectively.
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing UK:
Honda Racing UK on the hunt at Thruxton
The Honda Racing UK team have felt the highs and lows of racing this afternoon at the fourth round of the 2021 Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Thruxton, after Glenn Irwin crashed out of podium contention during the closing stages of Race 1.
The Honda team got today off to a flying start with Glenn scoring the second fastest Qualifying time aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to take his first front row start of the season. By mid-race Glenn was sitting fourth after Peter Hickman and Christian Iddon had both made passes, but during the closing the stages Glenn was hot on their heels and wanting a podium spot.
Passing Hickman, Glenn was up to third on the penultimate lap and the first podium of the year was looking set for the Honda team, but celebrations were cut short after Glenn suffered a massive highside and crashed out of the running, thankfully unhurt.
Glenn’s teammates Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi continue to learn the fast and flowing Hampshire circuit. Making their race debut at Thruxton and able to make up places from their qualifying positions during Race 1, Takumi came home 20th and Ryo 21st.
For the teams’ Pirelli National Superstock contender Tom Neave it’s been a strong round so far. Third fastest in yesterday’s combined practice, Tom Qualified sixth for today’s 15-lap race. With a good start off the line Tom enjoyed a solid race, as well as some on-track battles to take the chequered flag fifth aboard the Fireblade.
The team will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday 1 August) for two more Superbike races and the final Superstock race of the weekend.
#2 Glenn Irwin
There’s a lot of positives to be taken from Race 1 today and I’m looking forward to the two longer races tomorrow. We seem to be able to manage the tyre wear over a shorter race, I’m aware that everyone can improve and we’ll continue to do our work in warm up. I’m not going to dwell too much on the crash today, I’m sorry to the team for the added work and thank you to them for rebuilding the bike. I am looking forward to the longer 20-lap races tomorrow, as 13 here was fun!
#88 Ryo Mizuno
I had a good start in FP3, but the qualifying session did not go as I had imagined and I could not make a good flow in the race. The track is fast and all the corners are fun to ride, so I will try my best to finish with a smile tomorrow.
#13 Takumi Takahashi
This is a very fast circuit and all corners are fast corners! It’s not always easy to understand the UK circuits and so far this weekend I haven’t really understood this track so struggling to enjoy a little. Tomorrow we have warm up and two longer races, so I look forward to working with the team and seeing how we get on.
#68 Tom Neave
I said to myself at the start of the weekend if I can keep in the top two rows I’d be happy and we did that in qualifying. I got up to third, but I completely played my game wrong. I felt I had so much more in the tank on those first few laps when I was third, but I thought I’d save my tyre, but in fact I allowed the others to catch me up and pass me, I then spent the rest of the race catching them. Early on I should have just got my head down and got to the front, I learnt a lot and I am disappointed with fifth, tomorrow I’m going to put it on the line a little more and fight for the podium.
More, from a press release issued by Dynavolt Triumph:
Podium run continues for Dynavolt Triumph at Thruxton
Dynavolt Triumph’s Kyle Smith’s podium run continued today in the 2021 Quattro Group British Supersport Championship 12-lap sprint race at Thruxton with a third place from his qualifying position of seventh on the grid.
Both Dynavolt Triumph riders got their first dry run during qualifying earlier in the day with Smith quickly adapting to the dry settings for the afternoon race. Smith made a good start and was up to fifth when he ran off onto the grass going into the complex, losing a significant amount of time but unfazed, he found the pace again to finish third in the Supersport class.
Kyle Smith: “A good first race I just made a small mistake trying to pass Lee fighting for the podium position. I ran on but I felt like I had the pace and made it back up to third position. I’m really happy, the Dynavolt Triumph was working really good in the race so we’ll just carry on the progress and see if we can be a bit higher up in the race tomorrow.”
Teammate Brandon Paasch had an issue with the quickshifter right from the lights and despite that he worked round the problem to deliver another solid top ten finish in eighth place.
Brandon Paasch: “Solid first race here at Thruxton, looking to build for tomorrow and keep moving forward.”
Dynavolt Triumph Team Manager Simon Buckmaster: “It was a good ride by Kyle, we have to remember he only had 25 minutes in the dry before that race. For sure he learned a lot in the race about the lines round here in the dry. Quite a big mistake into the complex, he really ran on. If he’d not made that mistake he was fast enough, his tyre looked good and he had the pace to win so we learned a lot and another podium is great.”
“A good ride from Brandon, he dropped back at the start but he rode well to eighth. We are just looking at the data now as he had a problem with the quickshifter and a bit of cutting out but a good top ten finish for him. If it’s dry or wet tomorrow we are in a good position for all conditions, we’re looking forward to it. Congratulations to the team for another podium, let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
The feature race from Thruxton is tomorrow (Sunday) at 15:40 (BST).
Editorial Note: Luke Conner died of COVID-19 today in a hospital in Lafayette, Louisiana, according to AHRMA. He was 61.
AHRMA Mourns the Passing of Luke Conner
(July 31, 2021 Elora, TN) Luke Conner, a pillar of the vintage racing community and former chairman of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Board of Trustees, has died.
Conner was instrumental in developing and maintaining AHRMA’s road racing program as a class and series sponsor and by serving as the road race director in addition to his leadership roles with the association.
“AHRMA has lost a good friend. Multi-term trustee Luke Conner was a member who time and time again answered the bell when our club needed someone to step up. Just a few years ago he stepped in to direct AHRMA’s road race program with absolutely no notice given, he offered a short term loan to the club when needed to get over a hump, and over the years he spent hours with various members who had fallen on tough times and needed some love. Luke was a good friend at the track, a giving leader behind the scenes, and loved his AHRMA family. Race in Peace, Luke,” said Arthur Kowitz, current chairman of the AHRMA Trustees.
Conner served as a member of the Board of Trustees for several years before being elected chairman in 2018. During 2018, he took on the responsibilities of road race director, as a volunteer, following the passing of Cindy Cowell.
His commitment to AHRMA included securing the support of CPL Systems, a major sustainable energy company, as a national road race series sponsor and title sponsor for several years. Later, his racing team Luke’s RaceCraft would sponsor the series.
Curt Comer, AHRMA executive director, remembered Conner, “Luke Conner was Chairman of the Board when I came on as Executive Director. He had navigated AHRMA through some challenging times and was instrumental in many transitions after Cindy Cowell’s passing. His heart for AHRMA and infectious passion will be missed by all who knew him.”
As a racer, Conner competed in a variety of road racing and off-road events. He built, raced and maintained a fleet of race bikes including classic Harley-Davidson road racers.
His enthusiasm for vintage motorcycle racing included attracting new racers into the sport. He frequently offered his own motorcycles to potential racers and his generosity resulted in several new racers entering the AHRMA ranks.
His interest in growing vintage motorcycle competition included drag racing. He was instrumental in bringing vintage drag racing motorcycles into AHRMA racing events at venues that included a drag strip, most recently the AHRMA Classic MotoFest® in the Heartland held in Topeka, Kansas.
About AHRMA:
The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Ltd. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring and competing on classic motorcycles. With about 4000 members, AHRMA is the largest vintage racing group in North America and one of the biggest in the world. The association has grown steadily over the years, reflecting the increasing interest in classic bikes.
This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
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