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MotoAmerica: Superbike Race One Results From Laguna Seca
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gagne Wins Again – Barely – In HONOS Superbike Race One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
The HONOS Superbike Series Leader Wins Eighth In A Row
MONTEREY, CA (July 10, 2021) – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne won his eighth straight MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike race today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but this one was different. This one was close.
How close? Just a tick over a second and that was the biggest lead of the race as Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz finished just 1.173 seconds behind Gagne after applying relentless pressure for the duration of the red-flag interrupted race.
“To see less than a second, you know if you run a little wide here, a little wide there, they’re going to be right on you,” Gagne said. “I’m lucky I got a couple great starts again. We managed to go down in turn two and not see anybody, which was nice. Like Loris (Baz) and Cam (Petersen) said, after that red flag with the heat cycle on those tires we were all sliding around pretty good, I think more than we had all weekend. So, when that happens you kind of run into some new issues. The bike feels a little bit different. I was pushing hard, though. I kept watching that pit board. I saw those guys were right there within a second, so I had nothing to do but go and go. That race went by quick. It’s been a while since we had a red flag, so I think after 15 laps it flies by so quick. Hats off to the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Yamaha team. These guys are working hard. I know we got to do some work tomorrow because everybody is going to be going faster. I think we can try some things in the morning warmup and see if we can’t get it rolling a little better. It’s going to be exciting.”
Baz was all smiles after having his best race of the season thus far in keeping Gagne.
“I think both starts sucked,” Baz said. “The others just did a normal start in the second. That’s the main thing we have to improve at the moment. I felt like we struggled to launch our bike. I managed to put some clean moves and nice moves on the corkscrew on Josh (Herrin) and Cam (Petersen). It didn’t cost me a lot. I think it’s not the start that cost me the win. Maybe the red flag cost me I believe more, because I had the soft rear and that tire, every time even in the session if we restart, I never have the same feeling. I was struggling with the rear grip from the beginning in the second half of the race. But also, they were riding super-fast. I was really surprised in the first part to see Josh (Herrin) so close to me because he was pretty far in the qualifying. Also, in the second part, I was pretty surprised to see Cam keeping the gap so close. I was just trying to keep the pressure as much as I could on Jake (Gagne), trying to come back without making any mistakes. He didn’t do any mistakes. He was just a little bit too fast again, but we’re closing. I think he won in Virginia with nearly 20 seconds. I could not see him after lap two. Now I could see him until the checkered flag, so that’s a big improvement. I’m happy. I want to thank the whole team because we didn’t have any weekends with any problems at the moment. We always have some bad luck happening, but luckily this weekend it didn’t happen in race time. It happened on Friday. So, I’m really happy and I want to thank them, the whole Ducati team because they do an amazing job for the first season.”
Third place went to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen, 3.6 seconds behind Baz, and that meant the podium consisted of three different manufacturers (Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki) and three different nationalities (American, French and South African).
Baz had put a pass on Petersen early in the race in the Corkscrew that left an impression on the Suzuki rider.
“I don’t know how often you see somebody pass you on the right going into the Corkscrew up there,” Petersen said. “When I saw Loris (Baz) come up on the outside of me, at that point he had a lot of speed. I knew I couldn’t just let go of the brakes and try to hold it underneath him. It definitely caught me off guard. It was honestly just an unreal move. When he came by me and he got the thing slowed down and pulled it back to the apex, I was like, ‘You know what? You deserve that one.’ It was pretty damn impressive. It was a fun race though, nonetheless.”
Fourth went to another South African in the form of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the Yamaha rider ending up 1.3 seconds adrift of his countryman Petersen and over 12 seconds ahead of Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Josh Herrin.
Some four seconds behind Herrin came Scheibe Racing’s Hector Barbera, the Spaniard beating M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong. The returning Toni Elias ended up eighth on Kyle Wyman’s Panera Bread Ducati.
Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis finished ninth over Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman and won the Superbike Cup in the process.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Scholtz Finishes Just Off The Podium In Superbike While Roach Is 6th In Junior Cup On Saturday At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, CA – July 10, 2021 – On a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Westby Racing teammates Mathew Scholtz and Jack Roach battled hard in their respective races.
Mathew started in fourth on the inside of the second row just behind the polesitter in Superbike race one, and despite losing a position in the opening laps of the red-flagged-and-restarted race, he fought back into fourth and had designs on overtaking fellow South African countryman and good friend Cameron Petersen. Unfortunately, the race had been shortened from 20 laps to 17 due to the restart, and Mathew ran out of laps before he could challenge Petersen for the podium.
Settling for fourth, Mathew maintained his second-place position in the championship point standings and will try to improve on his results with some proposed changes to the bike’s setup, which he and the team will test in Sunday morning’s warmup.
“I was quite happy with today’s race,” commented Mathew. “We came into Laguna with some ideas and ways to get ourselves back to the front, and I believe that we achieved that. Today, we finished the closest to first place that we have throughout most of the season so far. We were within five seconds of (race winner Jake) Gagne and just a second off the podium, so I feel like we are ‘right there.’ We have some ideas on where we can improve for tomorrow, and I’m very confident that we should be battling for the podium. Things have been difficult over the past two rounds for myself and the Westby team. We all rallied together here this weekend, put our heads down, and worked things out. I’m very happy to be back where we should be, and I’m looking forward to putting the Westby Yamaha R1 back up on the podium. A big thank you to the crew for all their great work.”
Sunday’s Superbike race two is at 2 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
In Saturday’s Junior Cup race, Jack started from the middle of the third row in eighth, and he moved up to seventh on lap three where he maintained his position until lap six. He dropped back to eighth again on lap seven, but on lap 10, he moved back up to seventh, then kept making forward progress and moved into sixth on lap 11, which he maintained for the remainder of the 13-lap race. More importantly, Jack was in a fierce battle for the podium with a group of several riders.
“It was a good race,” Jack said. “I was happy to be in the battle for the podium, and I also had the fourth-fastest lap time of the race. So, overall, I feel good about today and am looking forward to improving more tomorrow.”
Sunday’s Junior Cup race two is at 3 p.m. PT and will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+, and then broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 this Tuesday, July 13, beginning at 9:30 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.
MotoAmerica: Junior Cup Race One Results From Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: Supersport Race One Results From Laguna Seca (Updated)
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Kelly Over Escalante, Scott Over Gloddy On Day One At WeatherTech Raceway
The Two Pairings Destined To Battle At Every Round In Supersport And Junior Cup
MONTEREY, CA (July 10, 2021) – There are two things that seem to be predictable in the 2021 MotoAmerica Series: Sean Dylan Kelly and Richie Escalante will battle in every Supersport race and Tyler Scott And Ben Gloddy will do likewise in the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup. It was no different today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Supersport: Kelly Wins Another Battle
One thing that has been a consistent theme in the Supersport class over the past two seasons is the friendly, but also red-hot, rivalry between HONOS HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly. In Saturday’s race one at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Kelly started from the pole, and while he did lead every lap of the race, he was also challenged in virtually every lap of the race by defending class champion Escalante.
For Kelly, it was his sixth win of the season and third in a row to match the three-race winning streak with which he started the season. At the checkers, Kelly prevailed by just .099 of a second over Escalante. Third place went to CV28 Racing Yamaha’s Cory Ventura, who also podiumed last year at Laguna Seca, which was also the last time he raced in the MotoAmerica Series.
“It’s been a change of types of races compared to last year,” Kelly said. “I need to adjust a little bit how I’m racing and how I’m thinking. I was kind of in the opposite role last year. I was mostly behind and having to study and having to see where to pass. Today, I think he only got by me one time for a little bit. It’s definitely much different riding up front the entire race and hearing him right behind me in certain sections of the track. I knew that he was stronger in some areas – quite a lot stronger. I saw his wheel a few times. He passed me coming out of Rainey Corner. I knew he was going to save up for the end. But it feels really good to win again at Laguna Seca. I’ve been waiting. We needed to do our homework. The pace wasn’t as good as I was expecting. My bike is good. I’m feeling good. I just need to change some things up for tomorrow to get a better base from the beginning and maintain a little bit better. I had some different decisions compared to the morning, but all good. Really happy that we got the win today. I had to play it as smart as I could the last couple of laps. I expected Richie to go by, so I just pushed really hard, as hard as I could and then just defended the few last corners. It worked out well. Definitely feels good to pass first at Laguna.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup: Great Scott
In SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race one, Scott Powersports KTM rider Tyler Scott started from the pole, got the holeshot, and appeared to be headed for a dominant win. However, Landers Racing Kawasaki’s Ben Gloddy chased down Scott and overtook him on lap eight, but he was unable to make it stick. Scott retook the lead and crossed the finish line .216 of a second over Gloddy. Meanwhile, 24 seconds behind the leaders, Veloce Racing Kawasaki’s David Kohlstaedt and Rodio Racing Kawasaki’s Gus Rodio were waging their own war for the final spot on the podium. At the checkers, Kohlstaedt secured third place.
“I kind of expected to create a gap off the start,” Scott said. “I was trying to do that, and I kept looking back, and it was the same distance. Then, I think it was about halfway, I made two or three mistakes in one lap. That’s all he needed to catch back up to me. In the end, it was a really good battle, and I’m happy with the championship points.”
Twins Cup: De Keyrel Over Mazziotto
The final race on Saturday was in Twins Cup, and Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Kaleb De Keyrel seems to have WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca absolutely dialed.
Despite starting fifth on the grid, De Keyrel progressed quickly to the front, taking over the lead on the first lap and holding off polesitter and Veloce Racing Aprilia rider Anthony Mazziotto to notch his third podium in a row at Laguna Seca and his second win in his past three annual visits to the venue. At the stripe, Mazziotto was just .217 of a second behind De Keyrel, while third place went to Righteous Racing Aprilia’s Jody Barry to complete an all-Aprilia RS 660 podium. Barry, incidentally, overtook De Keyrel on lap five, but he was unable to make it stick.
When asked if he felt pressure from the riders behind him, De Keyrel said, “To be honest, I didn’t feel a whole lot of pressure just because I didn’t know where everybody was. So, I was just like, well, I’m going to push as hard as I can. I kept seeing plus zero on the board and I’m like, come on. What’s going on here? I was just pushing as hard as I could. It was pretty greasy, so it was kind of sketchy because we were pushing really fast and the bike definitely kind of wasn’t liking it for a while there. Then towards the end I was just like, well, I’ve got to put in as hard as I can possibly go. The lappers always kind of come into play here at Laguna. It’s always that last lap. Last year, I kind of got the short end of the stick on that so I had to keep the momentum rolling up that hill. I was coming up behind them and it was either go inside or outside, but there was only like two feet or not even. They were coming out and I’m like, I’m going. I’m committed. So, I’m on just the curbing. There’s sand here and a guy right here, and I’m squeezing through the outside. It paid off. I figured either one, they were going to follow me through that little hole, which I was like, that would be really sketchy. But even I had to go pretty tight coming into six. So, I knew I had to get around them as fast as I could. I had to kind of do a little bit of a sketchy pass to make that happen, but then again, if I would have killed all my momentum, they would have sucked right back up onto me. So, I knew I had to do it. It paid off. It was a super fun race. Just kind of got out there and got in a groove. I was surprised I was able to click off 31’s I think pretty consistent, so that was good. Just felt pretty comfortable. Hopefully, we can just keep the momentum rolling to Brainerd, the hometown.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
SIXTH 2021 WIN FOR M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S SEAN DYLAN KELLY AT LAGUNA SECA
Photo By Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Team Hammer.
Team Hammer extended its storming mid-season form, snaring another race victory and a pair of podiums as the 2021 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season picked back up on Saturday at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
It came as no surprise that the win was scored by the surging Sean Dylan Kelly aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600 in the day’s MotoAmerica Supersport contest.
‘SDK’ followed his typical script, leading from pole and fighting off an intense challenge to claim the checkered flag by a narrow 0.099-second. Despite feeling the pressure from close behind throughout, the Floridian only saw his rival come alongside on a single occasion on lap 14 of 19. Kelly countered immediately, striking back in the very next corner before keeping his opponent corralled behind him for the remainder of the race.
The win was Kelly’s third in succession and sixth overall in 2021, extending his championship advantage beyond a race at 26 points.
He said, “It feels so good to win again at Laguna Seca. It was definitely a hard race… The lap times have been really close and I knew it was going to be a tough race. It was close, but we’re here to show we can fight it out and win. A huge thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for getting my bike ready to go.”
Kelly was joined in celebration by his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, Cameron Petersen. The South African, who earned his maiden MotoAmerica Superbike podium just five races back, already boasts a career tally of four thanks to another standout performance on Saturday.
Petersen suffered off the line despite his front-row grid position, dropping to fifth in the early stages of the race. However, an early red flag provided him another opportunity and he made the most of it. Petersen got away in second aboard his GSX-R1000 Superbike and quickly settled into third, where he would remain to the race’s conclusion.
“For sure, that red flag played to my advantage, big time,” Petersen said. “I got such a horrible start that first time and I could see the front three guys getting away. I was getting a little bit frustrated, but I made up for it on the restart. I managed to get a good start and put in a good race.
“Hats off to the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team. They keep working hard and keep giving me the best possible bike every weekend. That’s allowing me to show that I can do my thing and get on the podium in the Superbike class.”
Meanwhile, second Superbike pilot Bobby Fong and second Supersport rider Sam Lochoff added to Team Hammer’s points haul on the day with a seventh-place finish apiece.
Earlier, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Wyatt Farris qualified 11th for Sunday’s Stock 1000 race with a best lap of 1:28.592.
All five riders will be back in action and clawing for top positions on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
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 116 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 311 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.
MotoAmerica: O’Hara Takes King Of The Baggers Pole At Laguna
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British Superbike: Race One Results And Report From Knockhill
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, qualified 11th in British Supersport and finished sixth in Race One on Saturday.
Race 1 Results
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Iddon strikes back to claim opening victory at Knockhill
Christian Iddon returned to the top step of the podium in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship to get revenge for missing out at the season opener. The VisionTrack Ducati rider held off Jason O’Halloran and Danny Buchan to win the opening BikeSocial race at Knockhill.
At the start of the race O’Halloran had launched off the pole position to grab the lead ahead of Iddon and Buchan, but the order shifted as the SYNETIQ BMW rider moved into second on the third lap with a decisive overtake.
Meanwhile Iddon had grasped the lead, but the VisionTrack Ducati rider soon was relegated to second as Buchan hit the front of the pack on lap six.
As Buchan tried to make a break on his chasing rivals he saved a huge moment, when he tucked the front at the hairpin, and his incredible reactions meant he may have lost the lead but he was able to regroup from fourth place.
Iddon had taken command at the front of the pack, but O’Halloran was stalking him all the way to the chequered flag as the pair continue their duel from Oulton Park.
Peter Hickman had taken advantage of Buchan’s mistake to move up a place into a potential podium position, but a problem on the final lap meant he was forced to retire the FHO Racing BMW, handing the final top three place back to his BMW rival.
Bradley Ray had a strong performance in fourth to score his best result of the season so far for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW ahead of rookie Rory Skinner, who delivered a stellar performance to claim fifth place in only his fourth Bennetts BSB race with FS-3 Kawasaki.
Tarran Mackenzie bounced back from a crash in qualifying to score sixth after a battle with Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki in the closing stages, as Tommy Bridewell, Lee Jackson and defending champion Josh Brookes completed the top ten.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, BikeSocial Race 1:
1. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)
2. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.348s
3. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.445s
4. Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +4.185s
5. Rory Skinner (FS-3 Kawasaki) +4.634s
6. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +6.021s
7. Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +6.181s
8. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +7.504s
9. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +9.565s
10. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +10.709s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Knockhill Race 1:
1. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 95
2. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 85
3. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 44
4. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 41
5. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 40
6. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 40
7. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) 32
8. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 31
This weekend’s coverage of the Knockhill round is live on free-to-air channel Quest. Fans can stream the live coverage free-of-charge via discovery+ with live uninterrupted ad-free coverage also available via the Eurosport app
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Christian Iddon – VisionTrack Ducati
Knockhill BikeSocial Race 1 winner
“Honestly I was just so pumped to win. I feel like I have led so many laps so far this year, when I passed for the lead I was like ‘hmm, not sure if I want to lead yet’ but I got a good run.
“I thought I’d do it and just ruffle a few feathers and then Danny came through and setting an insanely fast pace, but he lost the front, so there I was back with a clear track again.
“I just sort of raced my lap timer and it was coming up with good times so I was happy. I tried to keep constant and work on myself a little bit, I learnt a little bit out the back section when Danny was in front and then later in the race I just found a little bit of something in myself at turn seven.
“That made everything a little bit quicker and made it easier to ride, so that made the second half of the race good and then my pit board was coming down just ever so slightly. I was coming into that last corner with just visions of a bike getting parked up the inside of me like at Oulton, so thankfully no bike came through!
“I was that concentrated on holding a tight line I forgot to change gear fully! I think I was still in third gear in the middle of the corner, so I had to quickly shift a few gears and obviously, I’d parked the bike so we were good.
“I’ve not felt particularly comfortable on the bike all day, there’s not been a lap where I feel like it’s really doing what I want, but having said that it’s doing the lap times that I need, so it obviously is doing what I want! I still think we need to refine the feeling with it but I’m super pumped.”
MotoAmerica: Barry Grabs Twins Cup Pole Position At Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: Kelly Captures Supersport Pole Position At Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: How To Watch The Action At Laguna Seca
MotoAmerica: How To Watch Round Five GEICO Motorcycle Superbikes Speedfest at Monterey
It’s All Here: How To Not Miss A Bit Of The Action
Everything you need to know for round five of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Monterey
MotoAmerica: Gagne Takes Superbike Pole Position At Laguna Seca
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Editorial Note: By virtue of his 1:26.057 during Superbike Q2, HONOS HVMC Kawasaki rider Corey Alexander gets pole position for Sunday’s sole Stock 1000 race.
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MotoAmerica: Twins Cup Race Results From Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: Superbike Race One Results From Laguna Seca
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gagne Wins Again – Barely – In HONOS Superbike Race One At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
The HONOS Superbike Series Leader Wins Eighth In A Row
MONTEREY, CA (July 10, 2021) – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne won his eighth straight MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike race today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, but this one was different. This one was close.
How close? Just a tick over a second and that was the biggest lead of the race as Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz finished just 1.173 seconds behind Gagne after applying relentless pressure for the duration of the red-flag interrupted race.
“To see less than a second, you know if you run a little wide here, a little wide there, they’re going to be right on you,” Gagne said. “I’m lucky I got a couple great starts again. We managed to go down in turn two and not see anybody, which was nice. Like Loris (Baz) and Cam (Petersen) said, after that red flag with the heat cycle on those tires we were all sliding around pretty good, I think more than we had all weekend. So, when that happens you kind of run into some new issues. The bike feels a little bit different. I was pushing hard, though. I kept watching that pit board. I saw those guys were right there within a second, so I had nothing to do but go and go. That race went by quick. It’s been a while since we had a red flag, so I think after 15 laps it flies by so quick. Hats off to the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Yamaha team. These guys are working hard. I know we got to do some work tomorrow because everybody is going to be going faster. I think we can try some things in the morning warmup and see if we can’t get it rolling a little better. It’s going to be exciting.”
Baz was all smiles after having his best race of the season thus far in keeping Gagne.
“I think both starts sucked,” Baz said. “The others just did a normal start in the second. That’s the main thing we have to improve at the moment. I felt like we struggled to launch our bike. I managed to put some clean moves and nice moves on the corkscrew on Josh (Herrin) and Cam (Petersen). It didn’t cost me a lot. I think it’s not the start that cost me the win. Maybe the red flag cost me I believe more, because I had the soft rear and that tire, every time even in the session if we restart, I never have the same feeling. I was struggling with the rear grip from the beginning in the second half of the race. But also, they were riding super-fast. I was really surprised in the first part to see Josh (Herrin) so close to me because he was pretty far in the qualifying. Also, in the second part, I was pretty surprised to see Cam keeping the gap so close. I was just trying to keep the pressure as much as I could on Jake (Gagne), trying to come back without making any mistakes. He didn’t do any mistakes. He was just a little bit too fast again, but we’re closing. I think he won in Virginia with nearly 20 seconds. I could not see him after lap two. Now I could see him until the checkered flag, so that’s a big improvement. I’m happy. I want to thank the whole team because we didn’t have any weekends with any problems at the moment. We always have some bad luck happening, but luckily this weekend it didn’t happen in race time. It happened on Friday. So, I’m really happy and I want to thank them, the whole Ducati team because they do an amazing job for the first season.”
Third place went to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen, 3.6 seconds behind Baz, and that meant the podium consisted of three different manufacturers (Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki) and three different nationalities (American, French and South African).
Baz had put a pass on Petersen early in the race in the Corkscrew that left an impression on the Suzuki rider.
“I don’t know how often you see somebody pass you on the right going into the Corkscrew up there,” Petersen said. “When I saw Loris (Baz) come up on the outside of me, at that point he had a lot of speed. I knew I couldn’t just let go of the brakes and try to hold it underneath him. It definitely caught me off guard. It was honestly just an unreal move. When he came by me and he got the thing slowed down and pulled it back to the apex, I was like, ‘You know what? You deserve that one.’ It was pretty damn impressive. It was a fun race though, nonetheless.”
Fourth went to another South African in the form of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the Yamaha rider ending up 1.3 seconds adrift of his countryman Petersen and over 12 seconds ahead of Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha’s Josh Herrin.
Some four seconds behind Herrin came Scheibe Racing’s Hector Barbera, the Spaniard beating M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong. The returning Toni Elias ended up eighth on Kyle Wyman’s Panera Bread Ducati.
Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis finished ninth over Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman and won the Superbike Cup in the process.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Scholtz Finishes Just Off The Podium In Superbike While Roach Is 6th In Junior Cup On Saturday At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, CA – July 10, 2021 – On a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Westby Racing teammates Mathew Scholtz and Jack Roach battled hard in their respective races.
Mathew started in fourth on the inside of the second row just behind the polesitter in Superbike race one, and despite losing a position in the opening laps of the red-flagged-and-restarted race, he fought back into fourth and had designs on overtaking fellow South African countryman and good friend Cameron Petersen. Unfortunately, the race had been shortened from 20 laps to 17 due to the restart, and Mathew ran out of laps before he could challenge Petersen for the podium.
Settling for fourth, Mathew maintained his second-place position in the championship point standings and will try to improve on his results with some proposed changes to the bike’s setup, which he and the team will test in Sunday morning’s warmup.
“I was quite happy with today’s race,” commented Mathew. “We came into Laguna with some ideas and ways to get ourselves back to the front, and I believe that we achieved that. Today, we finished the closest to first place that we have throughout most of the season so far. We were within five seconds of (race winner Jake) Gagne and just a second off the podium, so I feel like we are ‘right there.’ We have some ideas on where we can improve for tomorrow, and I’m very confident that we should be battling for the podium. Things have been difficult over the past two rounds for myself and the Westby team. We all rallied together here this weekend, put our heads down, and worked things out. I’m very happy to be back where we should be, and I’m looking forward to putting the Westby Yamaha R1 back up on the podium. A big thank you to the crew for all their great work.”
Sunday’s Superbike race two is at 2 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
In Saturday’s Junior Cup race, Jack started from the middle of the third row in eighth, and he moved up to seventh on lap three where he maintained his position until lap six. He dropped back to eighth again on lap seven, but on lap 10, he moved back up to seventh, then kept making forward progress and moved into sixth on lap 11, which he maintained for the remainder of the 13-lap race. More importantly, Jack was in a fierce battle for the podium with a group of several riders.
“It was a good race,” Jack said. “I was happy to be in the battle for the podium, and I also had the fourth-fastest lap time of the race. So, overall, I feel good about today and am looking forward to improving more tomorrow.”
Sunday’s Junior Cup race two is at 3 p.m. PT and will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+, and then broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 this Tuesday, July 13, beginning at 9:30 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.
MotoAmerica: Junior Cup Race One Results From Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: Supersport Race One Results From Laguna Seca (Updated)
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Kelly Over Escalante, Scott Over Gloddy On Day One At WeatherTech Raceway
The Two Pairings Destined To Battle At Every Round In Supersport And Junior Cup
MONTEREY, CA (July 10, 2021) – There are two things that seem to be predictable in the 2021 MotoAmerica Series: Sean Dylan Kelly and Richie Escalante will battle in every Supersport race and Tyler Scott And Ben Gloddy will do likewise in the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup. It was no different today at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Supersport: Kelly Wins Another Battle
One thing that has been a consistent theme in the Supersport class over the past two seasons is the friendly, but also red-hot, rivalry between HONOS HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly. In Saturday’s race one at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Kelly started from the pole, and while he did lead every lap of the race, he was also challenged in virtually every lap of the race by defending class champion Escalante.
For Kelly, it was his sixth win of the season and third in a row to match the three-race winning streak with which he started the season. At the checkers, Kelly prevailed by just .099 of a second over Escalante. Third place went to CV28 Racing Yamaha’s Cory Ventura, who also podiumed last year at Laguna Seca, which was also the last time he raced in the MotoAmerica Series.
“It’s been a change of types of races compared to last year,” Kelly said. “I need to adjust a little bit how I’m racing and how I’m thinking. I was kind of in the opposite role last year. I was mostly behind and having to study and having to see where to pass. Today, I think he only got by me one time for a little bit. It’s definitely much different riding up front the entire race and hearing him right behind me in certain sections of the track. I knew that he was stronger in some areas – quite a lot stronger. I saw his wheel a few times. He passed me coming out of Rainey Corner. I knew he was going to save up for the end. But it feels really good to win again at Laguna Seca. I’ve been waiting. We needed to do our homework. The pace wasn’t as good as I was expecting. My bike is good. I’m feeling good. I just need to change some things up for tomorrow to get a better base from the beginning and maintain a little bit better. I had some different decisions compared to the morning, but all good. Really happy that we got the win today. I had to play it as smart as I could the last couple of laps. I expected Richie to go by, so I just pushed really hard, as hard as I could and then just defended the few last corners. It worked out well. Definitely feels good to pass first at Laguna.”
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup: Great Scott
In SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race one, Scott Powersports KTM rider Tyler Scott started from the pole, got the holeshot, and appeared to be headed for a dominant win. However, Landers Racing Kawasaki’s Ben Gloddy chased down Scott and overtook him on lap eight, but he was unable to make it stick. Scott retook the lead and crossed the finish line .216 of a second over Gloddy. Meanwhile, 24 seconds behind the leaders, Veloce Racing Kawasaki’s David Kohlstaedt and Rodio Racing Kawasaki’s Gus Rodio were waging their own war for the final spot on the podium. At the checkers, Kohlstaedt secured third place.
“I kind of expected to create a gap off the start,” Scott said. “I was trying to do that, and I kept looking back, and it was the same distance. Then, I think it was about halfway, I made two or three mistakes in one lap. That’s all he needed to catch back up to me. In the end, it was a really good battle, and I’m happy with the championship points.”
Twins Cup: De Keyrel Over Mazziotto
The final race on Saturday was in Twins Cup, and Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Kaleb De Keyrel seems to have WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca absolutely dialed.
Despite starting fifth on the grid, De Keyrel progressed quickly to the front, taking over the lead on the first lap and holding off polesitter and Veloce Racing Aprilia rider Anthony Mazziotto to notch his third podium in a row at Laguna Seca and his second win in his past three annual visits to the venue. At the stripe, Mazziotto was just .217 of a second behind De Keyrel, while third place went to Righteous Racing Aprilia’s Jody Barry to complete an all-Aprilia RS 660 podium. Barry, incidentally, overtook De Keyrel on lap five, but he was unable to make it stick.
When asked if he felt pressure from the riders behind him, De Keyrel said, “To be honest, I didn’t feel a whole lot of pressure just because I didn’t know where everybody was. So, I was just like, well, I’m going to push as hard as I can. I kept seeing plus zero on the board and I’m like, come on. What’s going on here? I was just pushing as hard as I could. It was pretty greasy, so it was kind of sketchy because we were pushing really fast and the bike definitely kind of wasn’t liking it for a while there. Then towards the end I was just like, well, I’ve got to put in as hard as I can possibly go. The lappers always kind of come into play here at Laguna. It’s always that last lap. Last year, I kind of got the short end of the stick on that so I had to keep the momentum rolling up that hill. I was coming up behind them and it was either go inside or outside, but there was only like two feet or not even. They were coming out and I’m like, I’m going. I’m committed. So, I’m on just the curbing. There’s sand here and a guy right here, and I’m squeezing through the outside. It paid off. I figured either one, they were going to follow me through that little hole, which I was like, that would be really sketchy. But even I had to go pretty tight coming into six. So, I knew I had to get around them as fast as I could. I had to kind of do a little bit of a sketchy pass to make that happen, but then again, if I would have killed all my momentum, they would have sucked right back up onto me. So, I knew I had to do it. It paid off. It was a super fun race. Just kind of got out there and got in a groove. I was surprised I was able to click off 31’s I think pretty consistent, so that was good. Just felt pretty comfortable. Hopefully, we can just keep the momentum rolling to Brainerd, the hometown.”
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
SIXTH 2021 WIN FOR M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S SEAN DYLAN KELLY AT LAGUNA SECA
Photo By Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Team Hammer.
Team Hammer extended its storming mid-season form, snaring another race victory and a pair of podiums as the 2021 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season picked back up on Saturday at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
It came as no surprise that the win was scored by the surging Sean Dylan Kelly aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600 in the day’s MotoAmerica Supersport contest.
‘SDK’ followed his typical script, leading from pole and fighting off an intense challenge to claim the checkered flag by a narrow 0.099-second. Despite feeling the pressure from close behind throughout, the Floridian only saw his rival come alongside on a single occasion on lap 14 of 19. Kelly countered immediately, striking back in the very next corner before keeping his opponent corralled behind him for the remainder of the race.
The win was Kelly’s third in succession and sixth overall in 2021, extending his championship advantage beyond a race at 26 points.
He said, “It feels so good to win again at Laguna Seca. It was definitely a hard race… The lap times have been really close and I knew it was going to be a tough race. It was close, but we’re here to show we can fight it out and win. A huge thanks to my M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for getting my bike ready to go.”
Kelly was joined in celebration by his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, Cameron Petersen. The South African, who earned his maiden MotoAmerica Superbike podium just five races back, already boasts a career tally of four thanks to another standout performance on Saturday.
Petersen suffered off the line despite his front-row grid position, dropping to fifth in the early stages of the race. However, an early red flag provided him another opportunity and he made the most of it. Petersen got away in second aboard his GSX-R1000 Superbike and quickly settled into third, where he would remain to the race’s conclusion.
“For sure, that red flag played to my advantage, big time,” Petersen said. “I got such a horrible start that first time and I could see the front three guys getting away. I was getting a little bit frustrated, but I made up for it on the restart. I managed to get a good start and put in a good race.
“Hats off to the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team. They keep working hard and keep giving me the best possible bike every weekend. That’s allowing me to show that I can do my thing and get on the podium in the Superbike class.”
Meanwhile, second Superbike pilot Bobby Fong and second Supersport rider Sam Lochoff added to Team Hammer’s points haul on the day with a seventh-place finish apiece.
Earlier, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Wyatt Farris qualified 11th for Sunday’s Stock 1000 race with a best lap of 1:28.592.
All five riders will be back in action and clawing for top positions on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
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 116 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 311 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.
MotoAmerica: O’Hara Takes King Of The Baggers Pole At Laguna
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British Superbike: Race One Results And Report From Knockhill
Editorial Note: American Brandon Paasch, riding his Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS 765, qualified 11th in British Supersport and finished sixth in Race One on Saturday.
Race 1 Results
More, from a press release issued by MotorSport Vision Racing:
Iddon strikes back to claim opening victory at Knockhill
Christian Iddon returned to the top step of the podium in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship to get revenge for missing out at the season opener. The VisionTrack Ducati rider held off Jason O’Halloran and Danny Buchan to win the opening BikeSocial race at Knockhill.
At the start of the race O’Halloran had launched off the pole position to grab the lead ahead of Iddon and Buchan, but the order shifted as the SYNETIQ BMW rider moved into second on the third lap with a decisive overtake.
Meanwhile Iddon had grasped the lead, but the VisionTrack Ducati rider soon was relegated to second as Buchan hit the front of the pack on lap six.
As Buchan tried to make a break on his chasing rivals he saved a huge moment, when he tucked the front at the hairpin, and his incredible reactions meant he may have lost the lead but he was able to regroup from fourth place.
Iddon had taken command at the front of the pack, but O’Halloran was stalking him all the way to the chequered flag as the pair continue their duel from Oulton Park.
Peter Hickman had taken advantage of Buchan’s mistake to move up a place into a potential podium position, but a problem on the final lap meant he was forced to retire the FHO Racing BMW, handing the final top three place back to his BMW rival.
Bradley Ray had a strong performance in fourth to score his best result of the season so far for the Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW ahead of rookie Rory Skinner, who delivered a stellar performance to claim fifth place in only his fourth Bennetts BSB race with FS-3 Kawasaki.
Tarran Mackenzie bounced back from a crash in qualifying to score sixth after a battle with Ryan Vickers on the RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki in the closing stages, as Tommy Bridewell, Lee Jackson and defending champion Josh Brookes completed the top ten.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Knockhill, BikeSocial Race 1:
1. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati)
2. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) +0.348s
3. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) +0.445s
4. Bradley Ray (Rich Energy OMG Racing BMW) +4.185s
5. Rory Skinner (FS-3 Kawasaki) +4.634s
6. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) +6.021s
7. Ryan Vickers (RAF Regular & Reserve Kawasaki) +6.181s
8. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) +7.504s
9. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) +9.565s
10. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) +10.709s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings after Knockhill Race 1:
1. Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 95
2. Christian Iddon (VisionTrack Ducati) 85
3. Tarran Mackenzie (McAMS Yamaha) 44
4. Danny Buchan (SYNETIQ BMW) 41
5. Tommy Bridewell (Oxford Products Racing Ducati) 40
6. Peter Hickman (FHO Racing BMW) 40
7. Lee Jackson (FS-3 Kawasaki) 32
8. Josh Brookes (VisionTrack Ducati) 31
This weekend’s coverage of the Knockhill round is live on free-to-air channel Quest. Fans can stream the live coverage free-of-charge via discovery+ with live uninterrupted ad-free coverage also available via the Eurosport app
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Christian Iddon – VisionTrack Ducati
Knockhill BikeSocial Race 1 winner
“Honestly I was just so pumped to win. I feel like I have led so many laps so far this year, when I passed for the lead I was like ‘hmm, not sure if I want to lead yet’ but I got a good run.
“I thought I’d do it and just ruffle a few feathers and then Danny came through and setting an insanely fast pace, but he lost the front, so there I was back with a clear track again.
“I just sort of raced my lap timer and it was coming up with good times so I was happy. I tried to keep constant and work on myself a little bit, I learnt a little bit out the back section when Danny was in front and then later in the race I just found a little bit of something in myself at turn seven.
“That made everything a little bit quicker and made it easier to ride, so that made the second half of the race good and then my pit board was coming down just ever so slightly. I was coming into that last corner with just visions of a bike getting parked up the inside of me like at Oulton, so thankfully no bike came through!
“I was that concentrated on holding a tight line I forgot to change gear fully! I think I was still in third gear in the middle of the corner, so I had to quickly shift a few gears and obviously, I’d parked the bike so we were good.
“I’ve not felt particularly comfortable on the bike all day, there’s not been a lap where I feel like it’s really doing what I want, but having said that it’s doing the lap times that I need, so it obviously is doing what I want! I still think we need to refine the feeling with it but I’m super pumped.”
MotoAmerica: Barry Grabs Twins Cup Pole Position At Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: Kelly Captures Supersport Pole Position At Laguna Seca
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MotoAmerica: How To Watch The Action At Laguna Seca
MotoAmerica: How To Watch Round Five GEICO Motorcycle Superbikes Speedfest at Monterey
It’s All Here: How To Not Miss A Bit Of The Action
Everything you need to know for round five of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series to keep you up to date with what’s happening in Monterey
MotoAmerica: Gagne Takes Superbike Pole Position At Laguna Seca
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Editorial Note: By virtue of his 1:26.057 during Superbike Q2, HONOS HVMC Kawasaki rider Corey Alexander gets pole position for Sunday’s sole Stock 1000 race.
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