Nicolo Bulega won the World Superbike Superpole Race Sunday morning at MotorLand Aragon, in Spain. Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R, the Italian won the 10-lap race by just 0.105 seconds.
2024 WorldSuperbike Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu was the runner-up on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR, and Bulega’s teammate, Alvaro Bautista was third.
Danilo Petrucci finished his race 7th on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati Panigale V4R.
American Garrett Gerloff finished 15th on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Toprak Razgatlioglu leads the championship with 503 points, 41 ahead of Nicolo Bulega who has 462 points. Danilo Petrucci is third with 276 points.
BACK ON TOP: Bulega ends Razgatlioglu’s winning streak with hard-fought Superpole Race victory. The #11 returned to the top step of the rostrum for the first time since Race 2 at Most after a last-corner pass on Razgatlioglu.
It was Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) turn to come out on top of a last-lap decider at MotorLand Aragon in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after beating Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on the final lap of the 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race. The pair changed positions on all but one lap of the race during the Tissot Aragon Round as the #11 claimed his first win since May – which was another final corner overtake on the #1.
Decided at the final corner: Bulega ends Razgatlioglu’s winning run
Bulega got the holeshot as lights went out but Razgatlioglu got ahead at Turn 15 on the opening lap, before defending through Turn 16 but running wide at Turn 17, allowing Bulega back ahead. Razgatlioglu made the same move on Lap 2, before Bulega outbraked him at Turn 1 – but ‘El Turco’ held the outside line into Turn 2. On Lap 3, Bulega utilised Turn 12 and the pair were side-by-side through the following three corners, with the #1 holding the lead out of Turn 17. On Lap 4, Turn 16 was the place the #11 tried to use to move ahead and immediately pulled out a gap over his rival. However, the gap came down and Razgatlioglu forced his way through at Turn 15, although Bulega responded at Turn 16 once again. It was the same story on Lap 6 before the Ducati rider held the lead through Turn 1 at the start of Lap 7, although at Turn 7 Razgatlioglu moved back ahead; before they swapped again at Turn 16. Two laps later, ‘El Turco’ got ahead at Turn 7 again before Bulega re-passed his rival at Turn 12, and they then traded paint at Turn 15 on the same lap. Turn 16 was where they swapped yet again as Bulega took the lead on the final lap, although he ran wide through Turn 7 which allowed the BMW rider to take the lead at Turn 8. Bulega trailed his rival onto the back straight but took advantage of ‘El Turco’ running wide at Turn 16 to claim a hard-fought victory. The only lap they didn’t exchange position on was Lap 8. They will start Race 2 from first and second on the grid, while Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) returned to the podium with P3. It ends Razgatlioglu’s run of victories at 13, equalling his record, while BMW had the 100th race on the podium.
Iannone back at the front: P4 for ‘The Maniac’
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) will go from the second row in Race 2 after claiming P4, finishing less than a second away from Bautista ahead. However, ‘The Maniac’ had to fend off Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) who finished in fifth, after running in the podium places, while he’s joined on the second row by twin brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
Close for the second row: Petrucci just misses out by 0.051s
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was seventh which means he’ll go from the third row in Race 2, missing out on a top-six finish by just 0.051s. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) joins Petrucci on the third row with Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in ninth, securing him P9 on the grid for Race 2.
Retirements from the Superpole race : three riders don’t finish
There was a Turn 5 collision on the opening lap at Turn 5 between Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), Tito Rabat (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), with the latter able to continue both Montella and Rabat retiring. The incident was investigated after the race with Montella given a double Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding. Michael Rinaldi (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) retired from the race with a technical issue.
The top nine from the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.105s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.703s
4. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +1.593s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +1.810s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +3.626s
7. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +3.677s
8. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +5.138s
9. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.115s
Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP25 on Michelin control tires, the two-time MotoGP World Champion won the 24-lap race by 4.196 seconds.
His teammate, Marc Marquez was the runner-up and become the new 2025 MotoGP World Champion.
Joan Mir placed third on his Honda HRC Castrol RC213V.
Marco Bezzecchi, piloting his Aprilia Racing RS-GP25 crossed the finish line fourth.
Franco Morbidelli took fifth on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati Desmosedici GP24.
Marc Marquez leads the championship with 541 points, 201 ahead of Alex Marquez who has 340 points. Francesco Bagnaia is third with 274 points.
Bagnaia secures sublime double, Marc Marquez takes historic seventh MotoGP crown. A poised win. An unbelievable comeback. And a home podium for Honda as Mir adds to a day of celebrations at Motegi.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took the Grand Prix honours on Sunday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, poised under pressure as he got back to the business of winning in MotoGP – despite tension in the pitbox as small puffs of smoke ramped up the drama.
In second place, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) kept equally cool to take an incredible seventh MotoGP World Championship with second place, completing the greatest comeback in sporting history – 2184 days after he last ruled the most exciting sport on Earth.
In third, the headlines kept coming – Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) got back on the podium for the first time since 2021, and gave Honda a home podium to celebrate on a day for the history books at Motegi.
But back to where it started. And so, after a weekend of anticipation, it was time to get the ball rolling on the MotoGP Grand Prix to see whether Marc Marquez would clinch his seventh MotoGP title. At lights out, Bagnaia got a lovely launch again to grab the holeshot ahead of a fast-starting Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as Marc Marquez kept hold of P3 on the opening lap. Alex Marquez was P7, one place behind Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).
Pecco’s lead at the start of Lap 2 was 0.7s over Acosta, as Mir picked his way back up to P4 after dropping to P6 on the opening lap from the front row. And on the next lap, a 1:44.412 saw Pecco lead by 1.2s, with Marc Marquez tucked right behind his compatriot in P3.
There was an early retirement for Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) who encountered an issue on his RC213V to end another positive weekend prematurely. That meant HRC’s sole podium hopes fell into the lap of Mir, and the 2020 World Champion was less than half a second away from Marc Marquez’s rear tyre.
At the end of Lap 6, Pecco’s lead crept beyond the two second mark, while it was as you were in the podium fight – but Mir gained some time on the #93 after the champion elect made a small error at Turn 5. Then, on Lap 9 of 24, another slight error came at Turn 10. It didn’t cost Marc Marquez too much time, but this wasn’t as smooth sailing as it could have been so far as he and Mir began to reel in Acosta.
By Lap 11, Acosta’s pace was beginning to suffer and at Turn 3, Marc Marquez drew alongside the KTM and made a move for P2 stick. And straight away, Marquez was able to begin lapping a very similar pace to his teammate Pecco, who was 3.7s up the road at the start of Lap 13. Marquez, meanwhile, had put some breathing space between him and Acosta, one second of it to be exact, as the #37 began to come under plenty of pressure from Mir, with Bezzecchi sniffing a podium chance in P4.
The pressure then told as Mir made a classy Turn 7 move up the inside of Acosta to jump into P3, as we then saw smoke coming out of his Ducati. What was the problem? Was it race ending? Not for now, and he wasn’t losing time either – but this was a concern for Bagnaia and Ducati, who was leading by 4.1s.
The gap went up again by a tenth on Lap 16, so for the time being, it wasn’t a full-on issue. In the meantime, Acosta’s podium hopes were fading quickly as Bezzecchi and then Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) got the better of him.
With seven laps to go, Marc Marquez was in a title-winning position. And as comfortable as one could be in his position P2, with Mir slowly chipping away at the gap between the former HRC teammates in P3. Mir, meanwhile, was 2.4s clear of Bezzecchi as the #36 and HRC began to dream of a phenomenal return to the podium.
Acosta’s top six hopes then ended with a Turn 1 runoff, as we saw more smoke coming out of Bagnaia’s Ducati. Pensive and worried faces were plastered across the factory Ducati box and pitboard, and across millions of faces around the world, but Pecco continued on his way for now. The gap was coming down; it was now 2.8s with four laps left, but Pecco wasn’t even looking down or noticing something might be going wrong. Stange.
With two laps to go, Pecco led Marc Marquez by two seconds. As things stood, Marc Marquez just needed to guide his Ducati home for the greatest comeback to be completed. Mir was comfortable and now, a very lonely P3.
Last lap time. And history beckoned. A long look over the shoulder came on the exit of Turn 2, and it was empty space. You’re under no threat from behind Marc, that seventh MotoGP title was a minute and a half away. Bagnaia crossed the line to take his first double of the season, very much back in business, as just behind, more history was made.
Marc Marquez becomes the 2025 MotoGP World Champion at Motegi. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Four surgeries. Four years of mostly blood, sweat and tears. But finally, for the first time since 2019, Marc Marquez stands atop the world with a seventh MotoGP World Championship – the longest wait a rider has ever had between premier class crowns.
Mir, after coming close on Saturday, completes the podium after his own journey of bad luck and a difficult run, the 2020 Champion delivering the goods for Honda on home turf.
Fourth went to Bezzecchi as he made big progress, just holding off Morbidelli by the flag. Alex Marquez takes P6 after a tougher weekend for MM93’s sole remaining rival on the way in. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) completed the top ten.
History made. Back in business. Comeback complete. The greatest feat in sport? We believe so. But there’s even more to come as MotoGP heads for the Indonesian GP in Lombok – see you there!
Daniel Holgado won the FIM Moto2 World Championship race Sunday at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan. Riding his CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard won the 19-lap race by 1.304 second.
The Brit Jake Dixon was the runner-up on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Boscoscuro.
Brazilian Diogo Moreira was third on his Italtrans Racing Kalex.
Colombian and winner’s teammate, David Alonso finished fourth.
Championship point leader Manuel Gonzalez took fifth on his LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt IntactGP Kalex.
American Joe Roberts crashed his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex and didn’t finish the race.
Manuel Gonzalez leads the championship with 238 points, 34 ahead of Diogo Moreira who has 204 points. Aron Canet is third with 189 points.
Holgado dominates as title race tightens after Motegi. A flawless ride from the #27 saw him back-up his Barcelona victory whilst a Long Lap Penalty for Gonzalez – combined with a podium for Moreira – keeps the title fight on its toes.
Hitting the front and clearing off, it was a masterful display from Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team), bagging a second win of his rookie season at Motegi. Taking over the reins on Lap 2 and pulling out a lead, he beat Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team). In the title fight, Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) had to serve a Long Lap Penalty after a collision with Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) but finished fifth, sporting a 34-point lead to Indonesia.
It was a mega start from Moreira, who came bursting through from fifth on the grid to lead through Turns 1 and 2, getting the better of Holgado who had originally grabbed the holeshot. Polesitter Gonzalez had a tough start, dropping down to P9 by the end of the opening lap after being pushed and shoved at the start. At Turn 3 on Lap 2, Holgado took the lead back from Moreira, who was just ahead of Tony Arbolino (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) and Friday’s pacesetter Dixon.
Having dropped down to ninth, Gonzalez began to scrap with Vietti on Lap 4 but their battle boiled over. Vietti re-passed the Spaniard at Turn 9 but the Championship leader let the brakes off at Turn 10 and tangled with the #13. Vietti’s Grand Prix ended in the gravel whilst Gonzalez continued but was handed a Long Lap Penalty for causing a crash.
Moreira’s firecracker start was now over and he started dropping back, first to Arbolino at the start of Lap 6 and then to Dixon at Turn 5 on Lap 7. Whilst they battled, they hadn’t seen which way Holgado had gone as the Catalan GP winner had pulled out a lead of over three seconds. On Lap 9, ‘Manugas’ served his Long Lap Penalty, dropping him from P7 to P9 with main title rival Moreira in fourth but under attack from David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team). A mistake at the end of Lap 10 by Arbolino allowed Dixon to come through into second but was now over four seconds adrift of runaway leader Holgado.
With five laps to go, Moreira came through on Arbolino at Turn 7, an important move in the title race with Gonzalez down in seventh. Arbolino’s afternoon then got worse as Alonso bounced through into fourth at Turn 5 a lap later, the Colombian’s quest for a podium and taking vital points away from Moreira not over yet. Neither was Gonzalez’s comeback as he took sixth from Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) at Turn 11 with three to go before getting ahead of Arbolino for fifth place on the penultimate lap.
Nobody could lay a glove on Holgado as he took a second win in three GPs ahead of Dixon, who also made it a second rostrum in three. Moreira resisted a last lap onslaught from Alonso to hold onto a podium, taking five points out of Gonzalez’s title lead with ‘Manugas’ fifth. Arbolino clinched a solid sixth ahead of Baltus, Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI), Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) and Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in P10. In 15th, Aron Canet’s (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) title aspirations continue to fade and he’s now 49 behind Gonzalez.
David Muñoz won the FIM Moto3 World Championship race Sunday at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan. Using his Pirelli-shod LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt IntactGP KTM, the Spaniard won the 17-lap race by 1.618 second.
Championship point leader, Jose Antonio Rueda was the runner-up on his Red Bull KTM Ajo.
Rookie, Maximo Quiles was third, just 0.585 second behind Rueda.
Valentin Perrone crossed the finish line fourth on his Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Adrian Fernandez, piloting his Leopard Racing Honda, got fifth.
Jose Antonio Rueda leads the championship with 315 points, 93 ahead of Angel Piqueras who has 222 points. Maximo Quiles is third with 204 points.
Muñoz storms to magnificent Motegi win as Rueda earns first match point. The #64 wins by 1.6s ahead of the title race leader as Quiles wins the battle for P3 in the final sector.
As the saying goes, fortune favours the brave – and that was exactly the case in a Moto3 encounter at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan as David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) earned a dominant win in tricky conditions. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) strung together a fantastic late race charge to finish in P2 and therefore head to Indonesia with a chance at clinching the title, as Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) fended off Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in the final sector to collect his eighth rostrum of the year.
Rueda got the launch he would have been hoping for from pole, and so did Perrone from P2, as Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) pocketed an early P3 on home soil before Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA), Muñoz, Quiles and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) picked their way through the order.
Turn 5, Lap 2 – the first change for the lead. Kelso it was who shoved his way past Rueda, before Muñoz followed the Aussie through. A lap later, Quiles and Perrone demoted Rueda to P5, as David Almansa (Leopard Racing) set the fastest lap of the race to latch onto the back of the lead group having started from the back of the grid.
Spots of rain were in the air to add a little more dose of spice to this Moto3 scrap, as Quiles – on Lap 4 – grabbed the race lead baton for the first time, but P1 was changing a lot in the opening half of the race. Kelso’s victory charge became a little trickier at Turn 10 when he and Almansa had a slight bit of contact, which saw the #66 drop to outside the top 10.
By Lap 8, Muñoz was a second clear of Furusato as the rain spots got a little heavier in some parts of the circuit. The group was split now and our top two in the championship, Rueda and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), were P10 and P9, with Perrone, Quiles and Almansa operating in the top five.
Then, disappointment for the home crowd as Furusato highsided at Turn 2 on Lap 9 out of second place, and after initially getting his Honda going, Furusato crashed again. This time on the exit of Turn 5 in the tunnel – thankfully, he was all ok.
With six laps to go, Muñoz led Perrone by 1.5s, with the Argentine 0.9s clear of Quiles. Rueda was P6 behind the two Leopard Hondas of Almansa and Adrian Fernandez, with Ryusei Yamanaka and Piqueras in tow.
Then, drama. Piqueras was down at Turn 10, but such was the rapidness of the remount, the rider second in the title race was still in P11 – but the #36 was losing more points to Rueda, who was now P5 in a Leopard sandwich.
With two to go, Almansa’s brilliant ride ended with a crash as Rueda entered the podium battle with Quiles and Perrone. Muñoz was 1.9s up the road and had a third win of the season in his hands, but only two of Quiles, Rueda and Perrone would join him on the Motegi rostrum. Rueda snatched P2 at Turn 7 and defended well down the hill into Turn 11, as Perrone launched a late attack on Quiles through Turn 13. Quiles held the outside line though, which became the inside at Turn 14, and that meant the rookie battle for P3 was won by Quiles as Muñoz strode to a phenomenal win.
Rounding out the top five was Fernandez, who finished ahead of home hero Yamanaka in P6. Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) had a double Long Lap penalty, but that didn’t stop the Italian from collecting a P7 in Japan, with Kelso forced to settle for P8. Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) completed the top 10, with Piqueras – despite the crash – finishing in P11 as his title hopes begin to quickly fade.
Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), the returning Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP – MTA), Carpe and Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse) were the final point scorers.
So onto Indonesia we go, and it’s a big weekend ahead for Rueda. Will the #99 clinch the Moto3 crown in Mandalika?
American Kensei Matsudaira crashed his Idemitsu ATC – USA Honda on the 2.98-mile (4.80 km) track during Asia Talent Cup Race 2 Sunday morning at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan.
Bobby Fong has worked all year long to get his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 to work in slick conditions, and he proved the merit of that approach on Saturday. Fong said his bike suffered serious tire wear and was sliding more than it had all weekend, but he still pulled away for the win as title competitors Cameron Beaubier and Josh Herrin slipped, slid and ran wide, battling among themselves.
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Cameron Beaubier said he was forced to use the harder compound R7 rear tire on his BMW M 1000 RR because the softer R5 would not last race distance on his machine. But he bounced back from two crashes on Friday, posted a decent qualifying time and was quick enough for second in the race, stayed in the title fight with two races on the schedule tomorrow.
Josh Herrin (1). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Josh Herrin’s crew finally diagnosed the brake problem that had plagued him all day, and Herrin shot from tenth on the grid into the podium battle within half a lap of the start. But he was unable to run with Fong and had to settle for third.
Mathew Scholtz (1) leads Blake Davis (22) and PJ Jacobsen (15) at the start of Saturday’s Supersport race. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Matthew Scholtz was pulling away from the field when title contender PJ Jacobsen’s rear tire went flat. Scholtz’ had also suffered with a tire problem in qualifying, and officials had shortened the race from 19 laps to 15. Officials actually red-flagged the race after 12 laps. Scholtz’ win, combined with Jacobsen’s DNF, sealed the Motovation Supersport title for Scholtz. After the bitter words Jacobsen and Scholtz had exchanged earlier in the season, it was nice to see Scholtz stop and give Jacobsen a ride back to the paddock on the cool-down lap.
Shortly after the race concluded, MotoAmerica issued a bulletin that removed the R4 Soft and R6 Medium compound rear slicks from the allocation for Supersport competitors for Sunday. The only tire allowed will be the R7 Medium+. The Sunday warmup has been extended to 25 minutes.
Hayden Gillim (69) and Cameron Petersen (45) wheelie at the start of the King of The Baggers race on Saturday. Photo by Michael Gougis.
SDI Racing Cameron Petersen had a very good Saturday – aside from crashing his Supersport machine during the final qualifying session – and walked away with three podium finishes. Petersen took second in King of The Baggers qualifying on his Indian and pulled away from the field during the Challenge race, earning a cool $5,000 for three laps of work. Petersen then finished third in the Supersport race and second in the Baggers race, 0.229 seconds behind winner Hayden Gillim.
Bradley Smith. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Factory Harley-Davidson rider Bradley Smith warms up before qualifying on Saturday morning.
More, from a news release issued by MotoAmerica:
Bobby Fong (50) leads Jake Gagne (32), Josh Herrin (1) and Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong won his sixth MotoAmerica Superbike race of the season in the first of three races at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. More importantly for the Californian, the victory extended his points lead to 13 over Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier heading into tomorrow’s final two races of the season.
Although the championship is far from over, Fong is likely breathing a little easier on Saturday night.
Fong was in the mix from the get-go as he chased his teammate Jake Gagne in the early laps with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin behind the two Yamahas. Herrin had started 14th on the grid, but a great start and a heroic first corner saw him up to third right off the bat. Beaubier, who started the race eight points behind Fong, was also in the mix in fourth and working hard to latch on to the top three.
Fong took over at the front with a pass on Gagne on the fourth of 20 laps. Shortly thereafter, Herrin moved around Gagne and, at one point, got in front of Fong. Beaubier, meanwhile, had also passed Gagne. Beaubier kept going forward and passed Herrin with the two hoping that they could make a dent in Fong’s lead. A lapped rider played a role in not letting that happen, however, with Beaubier and Herrin badly balked.
Fong didn’t put a wheel wrong in crossing the finish line 3.326 seconds ahead of Beaubier and Herrin, with those two separated by just .051 of a second. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly was hot on the tail of the Beaubier/Herrin battle, finishing fourth and just .147 of a second behind at the finish line.
Gagne slipped down to fifth, some nine seconds ahead of OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe, who had his hands full in barely beating front-row starter Ashton Yates and his Jones Honda to the flag.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, OrangeCat Racing’s Andrew Lee and BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau rounded out the top 10.
Notable among the non-finishers were Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim, who crashed on the opening lap, and Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith who exited with a mechanical issue.
With tomorrow’s two races closing the curtain on the 2025 season, Fong leads Beaubier by 13, 339-326. Herrin is third, 31 points behind Fong and 60 ahead of Gagne. Kelly is fifth with 176 points, 14 more than his teammate Escalante.
Superbike Race 1
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Sean Dylan Kelly (Suzuki)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Jayson Uribe (BMW)
Ashton Yates (Honda)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Andrew Lee (BMW)
Bryce Kornbau (Yamaha)
Josh Herrin – Third Place
“We just figured out that we had maybe some dirt or something from the crash built up in the floating rotors and it was causing it to not be allowed to float, and then it was pressing the pads out (ruining Herrin’s qualifying). We fixed it, but obviously we’re starting on the back foot with the grid. That’s the farthest back I think I’ve been in a really long time. I was worried about it. I still am, because we’ve got to get that launch two more times tomorrow. It wasn’t just the launch. It was taking a lot of risk weaving in and out of guys that I don’t really like to do. I knew if I didn’t get up to top five, it was going to be almost impossible to have a chance because of how tight this place is. Just in qualifying yesterday, I got stuck behind. Cam (Beaubier) didn’t seem like he was comfortable, and then Richie (Escalante) was right behind him. I was trying everything I could in qualifying to get around them and I couldn’t. So, I knew it would be hard in the race today if I didn’t figure it out. I got lucky with the start. I was with Bobby (Fong) and then I’ve just been having this problem with the tips of my fingers going numb. It happened whenever I was kind of battling with Bobby. I was like, ‘I’d be better off right now if Cam (Beaubier) was in the mix, too. I didn’t know how far back he was, so I kind of relaxed. Bobby got by me. I still relaxed, kind of hoping that Cam would go by me and then catch up to Bobby and slow things up. That didn’t happen. Me and Cam ended up going into a fight. I wanted to take a jab back at Cam, but I was trying to be smart about it and tried to let him lead us back up to Bobby if he could. Whenever I noticed that wasn’t going to happen – we had that lapper that totally screwed us. When I knew it wasn’t going to happen, then I started kind of battling with him. The white flag caught me by surprise because all race, my qualifying pit board was in a good spot, but in the race, it was in a really bad spot. It was like right as I was trying to pull out behind people, so I never saw it. I just completely spaced out and kind of panicked on the last lap that I wasn’t able to get it done. Hats off to these guys. Huge thanks to my team for figuring out what was going on with the brakes. That was kind of a hard one to figure out. Hopefully, tomorrow goes at least this good, maybe a little bit better.
Cameron Beaubier – Second Place
“Today was a lot better than yesterday. That’s all I can say. I haven’t had a day like that since I was in Moto2 probably, where you crash twice and you’re scratching your head why, what was that? Like I said out there, just big thanks to my team for not yelling at me, for one, and staying late and fixing that thing for two. This morning went a lot better. Honestly, just went out and we changed a couple things with the electronics and tried a different link. But more than anything I just wanted to go out and get my head right and shake those crashes off. The worst thing ever is falling down and not knowing why. Looking at the data and comparing it to all your other laps and it not being much different. It’s frustrating. But that’s racing. I’m really pleased with how I rode today. I did everything I possibly could to hang onto Bob (Fong). We had a good battle. (Josh) Herrin and I had a good battle there at the end for second place. The lapper honestly took any hopes of getting back to Bob away, which was a big bummer. Had quite a few moments out there on the front, losing the rear. We’re in a tough spot right now having to use the 7 rear. We’ve been struggling to make the 5 last long enough to be able to race on it. I’m not sure what these guys are on. I can do a good time with the 5, but it goes off really quick. We’ve got some stuff to try in the morning and see if we can take the fight to this guy twice tomorrow. It’s crunch time. We’ve lost five more points to him, and he’s riding awesome. Same with Josh. Going to give it everything we got tomorrow and see what happens.”
Bobby Fong – Winner
“Honestly, it was sliding a lot more than I expected. My tire – compared to these boys, obviously he (Beaubier) was on the 7, but my tire wear and the sliding was a little concerning for me. Halfway through I was sliding a whole bunch, more than I have all weekend. Obviously, it’s a little bit cooler, so we want to improve that a little bit. I know I kind of ride upright, but for myself I was scaring myself out there a little bit, just sliding a lot. We’ve got to improve on that and get a little better start tomorrow. It will be cool to see my teammate up here as well. These guys are riding good. It will be good to get Jake Gagne (up here) for helping out.”
More, from a news release issued by MotoAmerica:
Mathew Scholtz (1) was in a class of his own in Supersport action from New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz wrapped up the 2025 Motovation Supersport Championship in style at New Jersey Motorsports Park, with the South African dominating Saturday’s race one and playing no part in the battle for second behind him.
With Scholtz having rear-tire issues in Q2, the race was shortened from 19 to 15 laps for safety reasons. Those same tire issues reared their ugly head in the race, with others having problems that ultimately forced race officials to red-flag the race after 12 laps.
On Saturday afternoon, MotoAmerica’s Race Direction issued a bulletin regarding Sunday’s Supersport race.
“Following today’s Supersport race, Dunlop and MotoAmerica are removing the following rear specs from the rider allocation: Sportmax Slick 180/60R17 R4 Soft Sportmax Slick 180/60R17 R6 Med. With immediate effect the only rear spec (tire) available will be: 180/65R17 R7 Med+. The front-tire allocation has not been modified.
“The warm-up (session) has been extended to 25 minutes, and no tire stickers will be required for front or rear tires. The front-tire allocation has not been modified. Each Supersport competitor will receive one FOC (free of charge) rear tire for use in morning warm up. Race 2 will be 19 laps as scheduled.”
The win was Scholtz’ 10th on the season, and it earned him his second successive Supersport title. In his two championship seasons, Scholtz has tasted victory in 18 of the 36 MotoAmerica Supersport races.
Second place was a battle royale, with Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen, Strack Racing’s Blake Davis, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, and Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati’s Cameron Petersen all in the mix.
Jacobsen was the first to go when his rear tire failed, forcing the New Yorker to pull off and leaving the other three to go at it.
Then everything changed again as the race was red flagged with three laps to go, with Scholtz cruising out front and his crew pleading with him to slow down. On the cool-down lap, the two-time champion stopped to give his championship rival Jacobsen a ride back to the paddock.
Second place went to Davis over Petersen and Scott, with Jacobsen’s teammate Kayla Yaakov rounding out the top five.
In the title chase, Scholtz’ 358 points give him an uncatchable 46-point lead over Jacobsen, who in turn is 62 points ahead of Davis despite not finishing on Saturday. Petersen moves to fourth with 10 more points than Scott, who rounds out the top five with his 191 points going into Sunday’s season finale.
“I kind of wanted to go out there and run my own pace for the first couple laps,” Scholtz said. “I think I did a 21.5, 21.7, and I felt pretty comfortable there. I think if PJ (Jacobsen) started pressuring me, I could have maybe dropped two or three tenths. The wind had definitely come up there, and the rear tire was kind of spinning a little bit more. We did bump the pressure up from the morning qualifying because we just saw that the tire delaminated. So, we kind of had that worry. But overall, once I kind of saw PJ on the side of the track, my team wasn’t even showing me lap times or the gap, they were just telling me to slow down. I kind of just chilled out a little bit. I think it was four laps to go and they red-flagged it. I kind of knew that I had clinched the championship, but you’re always worried that they’re going to send you back out there. Overall, the (Yamaha) R9 has been absolutely ripping this whole year. I would definitely say that it’s the best bike out there on the grid. Blake (Davis) was in second, so I knew that he was going to get his elbows out for me. Tomorrow, I know that he is going to pick up the pace, and Cam (Petersen) will too. They’ll definitely be there. We’re just going to have to see if they’re going to make us run a harder compound tire, after what happened to PJ, I’m guessing. Overall, it’s been a brilliant two years for me dropping down to the Supersport class, riding for the Strack team. Like I said on the podium, I don’t know what 2026 has in store for me yet. Obviously, we’re talking about the Superbike class, but it’s all down to budget and everything else. Whatever those guys want, I’ll be there, whether it’s Junior Cup,
Twins, Superbike, whatever. Those guys are awesome. They treat me well. They treat me like family and my wife. I’m very, very happy over there.”
SC-Project Twins Cup – Chapin Stops The Streak
Alessandro Di Mario came into New Jersey Motorsports Park with the 2025 SC-Project Twins Cup Championship in hand, and with a seven-race win streak. Matthew Chapin came into the final round of the season confident of stopping that streak. And he did just that – by a paper-thin .040 of a second.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Chapin and Robem Engineering’s Di Mario battled throughout the race with Chapin taking the lead for good with four laps to go. He held that lead despite Di Mario nipping at his heels to the bitter end.
Di Mario’s Robem teammate Hank Vossberg recovered from a tough few early laps to finish third, some six seconds behind the lead duo and the same margin ahead of fourth-placed Isaac Woodworth on his Karns/TST Industries Suzuki GSX-8R. Brown Town Racing’s Chase Brown rounded out the top five.
The win was Chapin’s third of the season and his first since he swept both races at Daytona International Speedway in March. It also helped solidify his runner-up spot in the championship. He now leads Bad Boys Racing’s Avery Dreher by 30 points, with Avery suffering a mechanical issue that took him out of the battle for third early in the race.
Vossberg’s lonely third-place finish moved him to within three points of Dreher heading into tomorrow’s finale.
“That one felt absolutely amazing,” Chapin said. “I feel like I worked as hard as I possibly could for that. I had this thing on the limit the whole time. I had a little bit of a moment in the first lap, but I think that the team finally found a positive setting that we’re at. The bike was handling great all weekend. I just got to thank all my sponsors, all my friends and family for coming out.
Chapin wasn’t nervous about being passed on the run to the finish line.
“I knew that I had the mile per hour on this thing, the top speed,” the Marylander said. “I knew that I had it at the last corner. I really wasn’t too worried if I was going to lead or not on the last lap out of the last corner, because I felt like I could draft him. I kept trying to chip away at Alessandro (Di Mario), but it was really hard to close that initial gap. Once I got it closed, it wasn’t too hard to stay there, but that race was awesome. That was probably the race of my life.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – Gillim Leads The Way
It’s not every day that a Mission King Of The Baggers race ends without a factory rider from either Harley-Davidson or Indian Motorcycle on the podium. On Saturday, that’s exactly what happened with RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim beating SDI Racing’s Cameron Petersen and Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers.
A different kind of podium lockout.
Gillim and Petersen battled for the lead from the get-go, with Gillim at the front but under constant pressure from the South African. It came down to the final lap with Gillim surviving near catastrophe in the final corner when his Road Glide was tied in knots on the run to the flag.
At the finish line, it was Gillim by .229 of a second over Petersen.
Landers, meanwhile, joined Gillim and Petersen as the only three to turn laps in the 1:22s, but he couldn’t quite get close enough to latch on to the lead pair. He finished third, 3.7 seconds behind Gillim and 3.2 seconds ahead of Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s newly crowned King Of The Baggers Champion, Kyle Wyman.
S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Loris Baz was fifth, less than a second ahead of Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli.
Notable among the non-finishers was Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Bradley Smith, with the Brit escaping uninjured from a scary crash on the opening lap.
“Honestly, with like three to go or something, the bike was doing some weird kind of maintenance throttle in these long corners,” Gillim said. “The thing would all of a sudden cut out, like just have a little spurt. A couple times it made me kind of fall in on the bike. It hadn’t done it in the last corner yet until that last lap, whenever I was really needing a good run. I looked back, I think, with two to go. With those little things happening, I was just figuring Cam (Petersen) was going to come by. These things are really hard to pass on. Once I kind of knew that he was right there, and it had happened a couple times already, I thought, ‘if I can just put the bike in the right spot, you can make an almost impossible pass as long as you get a good run onto the front straight.’ At that point, that was all I was trying to do, was just block in the spots that I needed to block in. It was really good. So far, the last couple weekends, Saturdays have been really good for me. Sundays not so much. We’ll see if we can change that tomorrow. We’re in New Jersey. The weather… Like right now, it’s raining outside. It’s a constant factor. We’ll see what we got tomorrow, see what the weather does, see how everybody goes in the morning. It’s nice for the RevZilla/Motul Vance & Hines guys to finally after… honestly all three of us have been in the same boat for the first part of the season. Everything was really, really tough, and these last couple races everybody has come on really strong. It’s just really good for the class because there’s not a single factory bike up here right now. It’s pretty good.”
Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul – Vossberg Splish Splashes To Win
Rain hit the Millville area when the Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul was ready to start, and the youngsters were given a “wet familiarization” session to get a feel for the conditions.
Early on in the race, it looked like a cakewalk for the fast-starting Bodie Paige on the Jones Honda Krämer APX-350 MA, but the Australian crashed out and appeared to have suffered an injured left arm.
From there it was all Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg, but it wasn’t without a near-miss of his own as the Wisconsinite came oh so close to a highside. The teenager saved the near-crash and rode on to victory, his fourth of the season.
Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane got the better of Warhorse Ducati/American Racing’s Derek Sanchez with the Dominican youngster earning his first Talent Cup podium.
Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt and Royalty Racing’s Carson King rounded out the top five. Team Roberts’ Kody Kopp was a few seconds behind in sixth and well ahead of seventh-placed Ian Fraley on the Real Steel Honda entry.
“It was definitely a wild ride there,” Vossberg said of his near crash. “I knew that was one of the places I’d have to think about while I was out there and I just kind of got in the zone. I just had to remind myself that you’re racing in the rain, and you got to take it easy. I can’t give it up to the team enough for giving me such a great bike. I have to dedicate this race to Ross Olson. He was such a great person, and he meant a lot to the racing community, and it was such a bad thing to lose him. Just want to give it up to him.”
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg won the MotoAmerica Parts Unlimited Talent Cup race at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane finished second ahead of Envy Powered by Warhorse’s Derek Sanchez, with Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt and Royalty Racing’s Carson King rounding out the top five.
Hayden Gillim took the win for RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the Mission King of The Baggers race on Saturday. SDI Racing’s Cameron Petersen finished second ahead of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Rocco Landers, with Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman and S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Loris Baz completing the top five.
Bobby Fong took his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 to the MotoAmerica Superbike win at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin completed the podium, with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne completing the top five.
Mathew Scholtz of Strack Racing sealed his second straight National Championship when he took the win at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the MotoAmerica Motovation Supersport race on Saturday. Strack Racing’s Blake Davis finished second ahead of Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati’s Cameron Petersen in third, with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott and Rahal Ducati Moto w/ XPEL’s Kayla Yaakov completing the top five. Title challenger PJ Jacobsen suffered a flat rear tire while running second and retired.
Sam Lowes (14) and Danilo Petrucci (9) at MotorLand Aragon. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Nicolo Bulega won the World Superbike Superpole Race Sunday morning at MotorLand Aragon, in Spain. Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R, the Italian won the 10-lap race by just 0.105 seconds.
2024 WorldSuperbike Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu was the runner-up on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR, and Bulega’s teammate, Alvaro Bautista was third.
Danilo Petrucci finished his race 7th on his Barni Spark Racing Ducati Panigale V4R.
American Garrett Gerloff finished 15th on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Toprak Razgatlioglu leads the championship with 503 points, 41 ahead of Nicolo Bulega who has 462 points. Danilo Petrucci is third with 276 points.
BACK ON TOP: Bulega ends Razgatlioglu’s winning streak with hard-fought Superpole Race victory. The #11 returned to the top step of the rostrum for the first time since Race 2 at Most after a last-corner pass on Razgatlioglu.
It was Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) turn to come out on top of a last-lap decider at MotorLand Aragon in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after beating Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on the final lap of the 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race. The pair changed positions on all but one lap of the race during the Tissot Aragon Round as the #11 claimed his first win since May – which was another final corner overtake on the #1.
Decided at the final corner: Bulega ends Razgatlioglu’s winning run
Bulega got the holeshot as lights went out but Razgatlioglu got ahead at Turn 15 on the opening lap, before defending through Turn 16 but running wide at Turn 17, allowing Bulega back ahead. Razgatlioglu made the same move on Lap 2, before Bulega outbraked him at Turn 1 – but ‘El Turco’ held the outside line into Turn 2. On Lap 3, Bulega utilised Turn 12 and the pair were side-by-side through the following three corners, with the #1 holding the lead out of Turn 17. On Lap 4, Turn 16 was the place the #11 tried to use to move ahead and immediately pulled out a gap over his rival. However, the gap came down and Razgatlioglu forced his way through at Turn 15, although Bulega responded at Turn 16 once again. It was the same story on Lap 6 before the Ducati rider held the lead through Turn 1 at the start of Lap 7, although at Turn 7 Razgatlioglu moved back ahead; before they swapped again at Turn 16. Two laps later, ‘El Turco’ got ahead at Turn 7 again before Bulega re-passed his rival at Turn 12, and they then traded paint at Turn 15 on the same lap. Turn 16 was where they swapped yet again as Bulega took the lead on the final lap, although he ran wide through Turn 7 which allowed the BMW rider to take the lead at Turn 8. Bulega trailed his rival onto the back straight but took advantage of ‘El Turco’ running wide at Turn 16 to claim a hard-fought victory. The only lap they didn’t exchange position on was Lap 8. They will start Race 2 from first and second on the grid, while Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) returned to the podium with P3. It ends Razgatlioglu’s run of victories at 13, equalling his record, while BMW had the 100th race on the podium.
Iannone back at the front: P4 for ‘The Maniac’
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) will go from the second row in Race 2 after claiming P4, finishing less than a second away from Bautista ahead. However, ‘The Maniac’ had to fend off Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) who finished in fifth, after running in the podium places, while he’s joined on the second row by twin brother Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
Close for the second row: Petrucci just misses out by 0.051s
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was seventh which means he’ll go from the third row in Race 2, missing out on a top-six finish by just 0.051s. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) joins Petrucci on the third row with Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in ninth, securing him P9 on the grid for Race 2.
Retirements from the Superpole race : three riders don’t finish
There was a Turn 5 collision on the opening lap at Turn 5 between Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), Tito Rabat (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), with the latter able to continue both Montella and Rabat retiring. The incident was investigated after the race with Montella given a double Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding. Michael Rinaldi (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) retired from the race with a technical issue.
The top nine from the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.105s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.703s
4. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +1.593s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +1.810s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +3.626s
7. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +3.677s
8. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +5.138s
9. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.115s
MotoGP Race start at Motegi. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP25 on Michelin control tires, the two-time MotoGP World Champion won the 24-lap race by 4.196 seconds.
His teammate, Marc Marquez was the runner-up and become the new 2025 MotoGP World Champion.
Joan Mir placed third on his Honda HRC Castrol RC213V.
Marco Bezzecchi, piloting his Aprilia Racing RS-GP25 crossed the finish line fourth.
Franco Morbidelli took fifth on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati Desmosedici GP24.
Marc Marquez leads the championship with 541 points, 201 ahead of Alex Marquez who has 340 points. Francesco Bagnaia is third with 274 points.
Bagnaia secures sublime double, Marc Marquez takes historic seventh MotoGP crown. A poised win. An unbelievable comeback. And a home podium for Honda as Mir adds to a day of celebrations at Motegi.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took the Grand Prix honours on Sunday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, poised under pressure as he got back to the business of winning in MotoGP – despite tension in the pitbox as small puffs of smoke ramped up the drama.
In second place, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) kept equally cool to take an incredible seventh MotoGP World Championship with second place, completing the greatest comeback in sporting history – 2184 days after he last ruled the most exciting sport on Earth.
In third, the headlines kept coming – Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) got back on the podium for the first time since 2021, and gave Honda a home podium to celebrate on a day for the history books at Motegi.
But back to where it started. And so, after a weekend of anticipation, it was time to get the ball rolling on the MotoGP Grand Prix to see whether Marc Marquez would clinch his seventh MotoGP title. At lights out, Bagnaia got a lovely launch again to grab the holeshot ahead of a fast-starting Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as Marc Marquez kept hold of P3 on the opening lap. Alex Marquez was P7, one place behind Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).
Pecco’s lead at the start of Lap 2 was 0.7s over Acosta, as Mir picked his way back up to P4 after dropping to P6 on the opening lap from the front row. And on the next lap, a 1:44.412 saw Pecco lead by 1.2s, with Marc Marquez tucked right behind his compatriot in P3.
There was an early retirement for Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) who encountered an issue on his RC213V to end another positive weekend prematurely. That meant HRC’s sole podium hopes fell into the lap of Mir, and the 2020 World Champion was less than half a second away from Marc Marquez’s rear tyre.
At the end of Lap 6, Pecco’s lead crept beyond the two second mark, while it was as you were in the podium fight – but Mir gained some time on the #93 after the champion elect made a small error at Turn 5. Then, on Lap 9 of 24, another slight error came at Turn 10. It didn’t cost Marc Marquez too much time, but this wasn’t as smooth sailing as it could have been so far as he and Mir began to reel in Acosta.
By Lap 11, Acosta’s pace was beginning to suffer and at Turn 3, Marc Marquez drew alongside the KTM and made a move for P2 stick. And straight away, Marquez was able to begin lapping a very similar pace to his teammate Pecco, who was 3.7s up the road at the start of Lap 13. Marquez, meanwhile, had put some breathing space between him and Acosta, one second of it to be exact, as the #37 began to come under plenty of pressure from Mir, with Bezzecchi sniffing a podium chance in P4.
The pressure then told as Mir made a classy Turn 7 move up the inside of Acosta to jump into P3, as we then saw smoke coming out of his Ducati. What was the problem? Was it race ending? Not for now, and he wasn’t losing time either – but this was a concern for Bagnaia and Ducati, who was leading by 4.1s.
The gap went up again by a tenth on Lap 16, so for the time being, it wasn’t a full-on issue. In the meantime, Acosta’s podium hopes were fading quickly as Bezzecchi and then Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) got the better of him.
With seven laps to go, Marc Marquez was in a title-winning position. And as comfortable as one could be in his position P2, with Mir slowly chipping away at the gap between the former HRC teammates in P3. Mir, meanwhile, was 2.4s clear of Bezzecchi as the #36 and HRC began to dream of a phenomenal return to the podium.
Acosta’s top six hopes then ended with a Turn 1 runoff, as we saw more smoke coming out of Bagnaia’s Ducati. Pensive and worried faces were plastered across the factory Ducati box and pitboard, and across millions of faces around the world, but Pecco continued on his way for now. The gap was coming down; it was now 2.8s with four laps left, but Pecco wasn’t even looking down or noticing something might be going wrong. Stange.
With two laps to go, Pecco led Marc Marquez by two seconds. As things stood, Marc Marquez just needed to guide his Ducati home for the greatest comeback to be completed. Mir was comfortable and now, a very lonely P3.
Last lap time. And history beckoned. A long look over the shoulder came on the exit of Turn 2, and it was empty space. You’re under no threat from behind Marc, that seventh MotoGP title was a minute and a half away. Bagnaia crossed the line to take his first double of the season, very much back in business, as just behind, more history was made.
Marc Marquez becomes the 2025 MotoGP World Champion at Motegi. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Four surgeries. Four years of mostly blood, sweat and tears. But finally, for the first time since 2019, Marc Marquez stands atop the world with a seventh MotoGP World Championship – the longest wait a rider has ever had between premier class crowns.
Mir, after coming close on Saturday, completes the podium after his own journey of bad luck and a difficult run, the 2020 Champion delivering the goods for Honda on home turf.
Fourth went to Bezzecchi as he made big progress, just holding off Morbidelli by the flag. Alex Marquez takes P6 after a tougher weekend for MM93’s sole remaining rival on the way in. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) completed the top ten.
History made. Back in business. Comeback complete. The greatest feat in sport? We believe so. But there’s even more to come as MotoGP heads for the Indonesian GP in Lombok – see you there!
Daniel Holgado won the FIM Moto2 World Championship race Sunday at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan. Riding his CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team Kalex on Pirelli control tires, the Spaniard won the 19-lap race by 1.304 second.
The Brit Jake Dixon was the runner-up on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Boscoscuro.
Brazilian Diogo Moreira was third on his Italtrans Racing Kalex.
Colombian and winner’s teammate, David Alonso finished fourth.
Championship point leader Manuel Gonzalez took fifth on his LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt IntactGP Kalex.
American Joe Roberts crashed his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex and didn’t finish the race.
Manuel Gonzalez leads the championship with 238 points, 34 ahead of Diogo Moreira who has 204 points. Aron Canet is third with 189 points.
Holgado dominates as title race tightens after Motegi. A flawless ride from the #27 saw him back-up his Barcelona victory whilst a Long Lap Penalty for Gonzalez – combined with a podium for Moreira – keeps the title fight on its toes.
Hitting the front and clearing off, it was a masterful display from Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team), bagging a second win of his rookie season at Motegi. Taking over the reins on Lap 2 and pulling out a lead, he beat Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team). In the title fight, Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) had to serve a Long Lap Penalty after a collision with Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) but finished fifth, sporting a 34-point lead to Indonesia.
It was a mega start from Moreira, who came bursting through from fifth on the grid to lead through Turns 1 and 2, getting the better of Holgado who had originally grabbed the holeshot. Polesitter Gonzalez had a tough start, dropping down to P9 by the end of the opening lap after being pushed and shoved at the start. At Turn 3 on Lap 2, Holgado took the lead back from Moreira, who was just ahead of Tony Arbolino (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) and Friday’s pacesetter Dixon.
Having dropped down to ninth, Gonzalez began to scrap with Vietti on Lap 4 but their battle boiled over. Vietti re-passed the Spaniard at Turn 9 but the Championship leader let the brakes off at Turn 10 and tangled with the #13. Vietti’s Grand Prix ended in the gravel whilst Gonzalez continued but was handed a Long Lap Penalty for causing a crash.
Moreira’s firecracker start was now over and he started dropping back, first to Arbolino at the start of Lap 6 and then to Dixon at Turn 5 on Lap 7. Whilst they battled, they hadn’t seen which way Holgado had gone as the Catalan GP winner had pulled out a lead of over three seconds. On Lap 9, ‘Manugas’ served his Long Lap Penalty, dropping him from P7 to P9 with main title rival Moreira in fourth but under attack from David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team). A mistake at the end of Lap 10 by Arbolino allowed Dixon to come through into second but was now over four seconds adrift of runaway leader Holgado.
With five laps to go, Moreira came through on Arbolino at Turn 7, an important move in the title race with Gonzalez down in seventh. Arbolino’s afternoon then got worse as Alonso bounced through into fourth at Turn 5 a lap later, the Colombian’s quest for a podium and taking vital points away from Moreira not over yet. Neither was Gonzalez’s comeback as he took sixth from Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) at Turn 11 with three to go before getting ahead of Arbolino for fifth place on the penultimate lap.
Nobody could lay a glove on Holgado as he took a second win in three GPs ahead of Dixon, who also made it a second rostrum in three. Moreira resisted a last lap onslaught from Alonso to hold onto a podium, taking five points out of Gonzalez’s title lead with ‘Manugas’ fifth. Arbolino clinched a solid sixth ahead of Baltus, Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI), Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) and Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in P10. In 15th, Aron Canet’s (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) title aspirations continue to fade and he’s now 49 behind Gonzalez.
David Muñoz won the FIM Moto3 World Championship race Sunday at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan. Using his Pirelli-shod LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt IntactGP KTM, the Spaniard won the 17-lap race by 1.618 second.
Championship point leader, Jose Antonio Rueda was the runner-up on his Red Bull KTM Ajo.
Rookie, Maximo Quiles was third, just 0.585 second behind Rueda.
Valentin Perrone crossed the finish line fourth on his Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Adrian Fernandez, piloting his Leopard Racing Honda, got fifth.
Jose Antonio Rueda leads the championship with 315 points, 93 ahead of Angel Piqueras who has 222 points. Maximo Quiles is third with 204 points.
Muñoz storms to magnificent Motegi win as Rueda earns first match point. The #64 wins by 1.6s ahead of the title race leader as Quiles wins the battle for P3 in the final sector.
As the saying goes, fortune favours the brave – and that was exactly the case in a Moto3 encounter at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan as David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) earned a dominant win in tricky conditions. Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) strung together a fantastic late race charge to finish in P2 and therefore head to Indonesia with a chance at clinching the title, as Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) fended off Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in the final sector to collect his eighth rostrum of the year.
Rueda got the launch he would have been hoping for from pole, and so did Perrone from P2, as Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) pocketed an early P3 on home soil before Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA), Muñoz, Quiles and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) picked their way through the order.
Turn 5, Lap 2 – the first change for the lead. Kelso it was who shoved his way past Rueda, before Muñoz followed the Aussie through. A lap later, Quiles and Perrone demoted Rueda to P5, as David Almansa (Leopard Racing) set the fastest lap of the race to latch onto the back of the lead group having started from the back of the grid.
Spots of rain were in the air to add a little more dose of spice to this Moto3 scrap, as Quiles – on Lap 4 – grabbed the race lead baton for the first time, but P1 was changing a lot in the opening half of the race. Kelso’s victory charge became a little trickier at Turn 10 when he and Almansa had a slight bit of contact, which saw the #66 drop to outside the top 10.
By Lap 8, Muñoz was a second clear of Furusato as the rain spots got a little heavier in some parts of the circuit. The group was split now and our top two in the championship, Rueda and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), were P10 and P9, with Perrone, Quiles and Almansa operating in the top five.
Then, disappointment for the home crowd as Furusato highsided at Turn 2 on Lap 9 out of second place, and after initially getting his Honda going, Furusato crashed again. This time on the exit of Turn 5 in the tunnel – thankfully, he was all ok.
With six laps to go, Muñoz led Perrone by 1.5s, with the Argentine 0.9s clear of Quiles. Rueda was P6 behind the two Leopard Hondas of Almansa and Adrian Fernandez, with Ryusei Yamanaka and Piqueras in tow.
Then, drama. Piqueras was down at Turn 10, but such was the rapidness of the remount, the rider second in the title race was still in P11 – but the #36 was losing more points to Rueda, who was now P5 in a Leopard sandwich.
With two to go, Almansa’s brilliant ride ended with a crash as Rueda entered the podium battle with Quiles and Perrone. Muñoz was 1.9s up the road and had a third win of the season in his hands, but only two of Quiles, Rueda and Perrone would join him on the Motegi rostrum. Rueda snatched P2 at Turn 7 and defended well down the hill into Turn 11, as Perrone launched a late attack on Quiles through Turn 13. Quiles held the outside line though, which became the inside at Turn 14, and that meant the rookie battle for P3 was won by Quiles as Muñoz strode to a phenomenal win.
Rounding out the top five was Fernandez, who finished ahead of home hero Yamanaka in P6. Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) had a double Long Lap penalty, but that didn’t stop the Italian from collecting a P7 in Japan, with Kelso forced to settle for P8. Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) completed the top 10, with Piqueras – despite the crash – finishing in P11 as his title hopes begin to quickly fade.
Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), the returning Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP – MTA), Carpe and Stefano Nepa (SIC58 Squadra Corse) were the final point scorers.
So onto Indonesia we go, and it’s a big weekend ahead for Rueda. Will the #99 clinch the Moto3 crown in Mandalika?
Kensei Matsudaira (28) at Motegi. Photo courtesy ATC.
American Kensei Matsudaira crashed his Idemitsu ATC – USA Honda on the 2.98-mile (4.80 km) track during Asia Talent Cup Race 2 Sunday morning at Mobility Resort Motegi, in Japan.
Bobby Fong has worked all year long to get his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 to work in slick conditions, and he proved the merit of that approach on Saturday. Fong said his bike suffered serious tire wear and was sliding more than it had all weekend, but he still pulled away for the win as title competitors Cameron Beaubier and Josh Herrin slipped, slid and ran wide, battling among themselves.
Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Cameron Beaubier said he was forced to use the harder compound R7 rear tire on his BMW M 1000 RR because the softer R5 would not last race distance on his machine. But he bounced back from two crashes on Friday, posted a decent qualifying time and was quick enough for second in the race, stayed in the title fight with two races on the schedule tomorrow.
Josh Herrin (1). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Josh Herrin’s crew finally diagnosed the brake problem that had plagued him all day, and Herrin shot from tenth on the grid into the podium battle within half a lap of the start. But he was unable to run with Fong and had to settle for third.
Mathew Scholtz (1) leads Blake Davis (22) and PJ Jacobsen (15) at the start of Saturday’s Supersport race. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Matthew Scholtz was pulling away from the field when title contender PJ Jacobsen’s rear tire went flat. Scholtz’ had also suffered with a tire problem in qualifying, and officials had shortened the race from 19 laps to 15. Officials actually red-flagged the race after 12 laps. Scholtz’ win, combined with Jacobsen’s DNF, sealed the Motovation Supersport title for Scholtz. After the bitter words Jacobsen and Scholtz had exchanged earlier in the season, it was nice to see Scholtz stop and give Jacobsen a ride back to the paddock on the cool-down lap.
Shortly after the race concluded, MotoAmerica issued a bulletin that removed the R4 Soft and R6 Medium compound rear slicks from the allocation for Supersport competitors for Sunday. The only tire allowed will be the R7 Medium+. The Sunday warmup has been extended to 25 minutes.
Hayden Gillim (69) and Cameron Petersen (45) wheelie at the start of the King of The Baggers race on Saturday. Photo by Michael Gougis.
SDI Racing Cameron Petersen had a very good Saturday – aside from crashing his Supersport machine during the final qualifying session – and walked away with three podium finishes. Petersen took second in King of The Baggers qualifying on his Indian and pulled away from the field during the Challenge race, earning a cool $5,000 for three laps of work. Petersen then finished third in the Supersport race and second in the Baggers race, 0.229 seconds behind winner Hayden Gillim.
Bradley Smith. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Factory Harley-Davidson rider Bradley Smith warms up before qualifying on Saturday morning.
More, from a news release issued by MotoAmerica:
Bobby Fong (50) leads Jake Gagne (32), Josh Herrin (1) and Cameron Beaubier (6). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong won his sixth MotoAmerica Superbike race of the season in the first of three races at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. More importantly for the Californian, the victory extended his points lead to 13 over Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier heading into tomorrow’s final two races of the season.
Although the championship is far from over, Fong is likely breathing a little easier on Saturday night.
Fong was in the mix from the get-go as he chased his teammate Jake Gagne in the early laps with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin behind the two Yamahas. Herrin had started 14th on the grid, but a great start and a heroic first corner saw him up to third right off the bat. Beaubier, who started the race eight points behind Fong, was also in the mix in fourth and working hard to latch on to the top three.
Fong took over at the front with a pass on Gagne on the fourth of 20 laps. Shortly thereafter, Herrin moved around Gagne and, at one point, got in front of Fong. Beaubier, meanwhile, had also passed Gagne. Beaubier kept going forward and passed Herrin with the two hoping that they could make a dent in Fong’s lead. A lapped rider played a role in not letting that happen, however, with Beaubier and Herrin badly balked.
Fong didn’t put a wheel wrong in crossing the finish line 3.326 seconds ahead of Beaubier and Herrin, with those two separated by just .051 of a second. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly was hot on the tail of the Beaubier/Herrin battle, finishing fourth and just .147 of a second behind at the finish line.
Gagne slipped down to fifth, some nine seconds ahead of OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe, who had his hands full in barely beating front-row starter Ashton Yates and his Jones Honda to the flag.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, OrangeCat Racing’s Andrew Lee and BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau rounded out the top 10.
Notable among the non-finishers were Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim, who crashed on the opening lap, and Flo4Law’s Benjamin Smith who exited with a mechanical issue.
With tomorrow’s two races closing the curtain on the 2025 season, Fong leads Beaubier by 13, 339-326. Herrin is third, 31 points behind Fong and 60 ahead of Gagne. Kelly is fifth with 176 points, 14 more than his teammate Escalante.
Superbike Race 1
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Sean Dylan Kelly (Suzuki)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Jayson Uribe (BMW)
Ashton Yates (Honda)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Andrew Lee (BMW)
Bryce Kornbau (Yamaha)
Josh Herrin – Third Place
“We just figured out that we had maybe some dirt or something from the crash built up in the floating rotors and it was causing it to not be allowed to float, and then it was pressing the pads out (ruining Herrin’s qualifying). We fixed it, but obviously we’re starting on the back foot with the grid. That’s the farthest back I think I’ve been in a really long time. I was worried about it. I still am, because we’ve got to get that launch two more times tomorrow. It wasn’t just the launch. It was taking a lot of risk weaving in and out of guys that I don’t really like to do. I knew if I didn’t get up to top five, it was going to be almost impossible to have a chance because of how tight this place is. Just in qualifying yesterday, I got stuck behind. Cam (Beaubier) didn’t seem like he was comfortable, and then Richie (Escalante) was right behind him. I was trying everything I could in qualifying to get around them and I couldn’t. So, I knew it would be hard in the race today if I didn’t figure it out. I got lucky with the start. I was with Bobby (Fong) and then I’ve just been having this problem with the tips of my fingers going numb. It happened whenever I was kind of battling with Bobby. I was like, ‘I’d be better off right now if Cam (Beaubier) was in the mix, too. I didn’t know how far back he was, so I kind of relaxed. Bobby got by me. I still relaxed, kind of hoping that Cam would go by me and then catch up to Bobby and slow things up. That didn’t happen. Me and Cam ended up going into a fight. I wanted to take a jab back at Cam, but I was trying to be smart about it and tried to let him lead us back up to Bobby if he could. Whenever I noticed that wasn’t going to happen – we had that lapper that totally screwed us. When I knew it wasn’t going to happen, then I started kind of battling with him. The white flag caught me by surprise because all race, my qualifying pit board was in a good spot, but in the race, it was in a really bad spot. It was like right as I was trying to pull out behind people, so I never saw it. I just completely spaced out and kind of panicked on the last lap that I wasn’t able to get it done. Hats off to these guys. Huge thanks to my team for figuring out what was going on with the brakes. That was kind of a hard one to figure out. Hopefully, tomorrow goes at least this good, maybe a little bit better.
Cameron Beaubier – Second Place
“Today was a lot better than yesterday. That’s all I can say. I haven’t had a day like that since I was in Moto2 probably, where you crash twice and you’re scratching your head why, what was that? Like I said out there, just big thanks to my team for not yelling at me, for one, and staying late and fixing that thing for two. This morning went a lot better. Honestly, just went out and we changed a couple things with the electronics and tried a different link. But more than anything I just wanted to go out and get my head right and shake those crashes off. The worst thing ever is falling down and not knowing why. Looking at the data and comparing it to all your other laps and it not being much different. It’s frustrating. But that’s racing. I’m really pleased with how I rode today. I did everything I possibly could to hang onto Bob (Fong). We had a good battle. (Josh) Herrin and I had a good battle there at the end for second place. The lapper honestly took any hopes of getting back to Bob away, which was a big bummer. Had quite a few moments out there on the front, losing the rear. We’re in a tough spot right now having to use the 7 rear. We’ve been struggling to make the 5 last long enough to be able to race on it. I’m not sure what these guys are on. I can do a good time with the 5, but it goes off really quick. We’ve got some stuff to try in the morning and see if we can take the fight to this guy twice tomorrow. It’s crunch time. We’ve lost five more points to him, and he’s riding awesome. Same with Josh. Going to give it everything we got tomorrow and see what happens.”
Bobby Fong – Winner
“Honestly, it was sliding a lot more than I expected. My tire – compared to these boys, obviously he (Beaubier) was on the 7, but my tire wear and the sliding was a little concerning for me. Halfway through I was sliding a whole bunch, more than I have all weekend. Obviously, it’s a little bit cooler, so we want to improve that a little bit. I know I kind of ride upright, but for myself I was scaring myself out there a little bit, just sliding a lot. We’ve got to improve on that and get a little better start tomorrow. It will be cool to see my teammate up here as well. These guys are riding good. It will be good to get Jake Gagne (up here) for helping out.”
More, from a news release issued by MotoAmerica:
Mathew Scholtz (1) was in a class of his own in Supersport action from New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz wrapped up the 2025 Motovation Supersport Championship in style at New Jersey Motorsports Park, with the South African dominating Saturday’s race one and playing no part in the battle for second behind him.
With Scholtz having rear-tire issues in Q2, the race was shortened from 19 to 15 laps for safety reasons. Those same tire issues reared their ugly head in the race, with others having problems that ultimately forced race officials to red-flag the race after 12 laps.
On Saturday afternoon, MotoAmerica’s Race Direction issued a bulletin regarding Sunday’s Supersport race.
“Following today’s Supersport race, Dunlop and MotoAmerica are removing the following rear specs from the rider allocation: Sportmax Slick 180/60R17 R4 Soft Sportmax Slick 180/60R17 R6 Med. With immediate effect the only rear spec (tire) available will be: 180/65R17 R7 Med+. The front-tire allocation has not been modified.
“The warm-up (session) has been extended to 25 minutes, and no tire stickers will be required for front or rear tires. The front-tire allocation has not been modified. Each Supersport competitor will receive one FOC (free of charge) rear tire for use in morning warm up. Race 2 will be 19 laps as scheduled.”
The win was Scholtz’ 10th on the season, and it earned him his second successive Supersport title. In his two championship seasons, Scholtz has tasted victory in 18 of the 36 MotoAmerica Supersport races.
Second place was a battle royale, with Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen, Strack Racing’s Blake Davis, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, and Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati’s Cameron Petersen all in the mix.
Jacobsen was the first to go when his rear tire failed, forcing the New Yorker to pull off and leaving the other three to go at it.
Then everything changed again as the race was red flagged with three laps to go, with Scholtz cruising out front and his crew pleading with him to slow down. On the cool-down lap, the two-time champion stopped to give his championship rival Jacobsen a ride back to the paddock.
Second place went to Davis over Petersen and Scott, with Jacobsen’s teammate Kayla Yaakov rounding out the top five.
In the title chase, Scholtz’ 358 points give him an uncatchable 46-point lead over Jacobsen, who in turn is 62 points ahead of Davis despite not finishing on Saturday. Petersen moves to fourth with 10 more points than Scott, who rounds out the top five with his 191 points going into Sunday’s season finale.
“I kind of wanted to go out there and run my own pace for the first couple laps,” Scholtz said. “I think I did a 21.5, 21.7, and I felt pretty comfortable there. I think if PJ (Jacobsen) started pressuring me, I could have maybe dropped two or three tenths. The wind had definitely come up there, and the rear tire was kind of spinning a little bit more. We did bump the pressure up from the morning qualifying because we just saw that the tire delaminated. So, we kind of had that worry. But overall, once I kind of saw PJ on the side of the track, my team wasn’t even showing me lap times or the gap, they were just telling me to slow down. I kind of just chilled out a little bit. I think it was four laps to go and they red-flagged it. I kind of knew that I had clinched the championship, but you’re always worried that they’re going to send you back out there. Overall, the (Yamaha) R9 has been absolutely ripping this whole year. I would definitely say that it’s the best bike out there on the grid. Blake (Davis) was in second, so I knew that he was going to get his elbows out for me. Tomorrow, I know that he is going to pick up the pace, and Cam (Petersen) will too. They’ll definitely be there. We’re just going to have to see if they’re going to make us run a harder compound tire, after what happened to PJ, I’m guessing. Overall, it’s been a brilliant two years for me dropping down to the Supersport class, riding for the Strack team. Like I said on the podium, I don’t know what 2026 has in store for me yet. Obviously, we’re talking about the Superbike class, but it’s all down to budget and everything else. Whatever those guys want, I’ll be there, whether it’s Junior Cup,
Twins, Superbike, whatever. Those guys are awesome. They treat me well. They treat me like family and my wife. I’m very, very happy over there.”
SC-Project Twins Cup – Chapin Stops The Streak
Alessandro Di Mario came into New Jersey Motorsports Park with the 2025 SC-Project Twins Cup Championship in hand, and with a seven-race win streak. Matthew Chapin came into the final round of the season confident of stopping that streak. And he did just that – by a paper-thin .040 of a second.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Chapin and Robem Engineering’s Di Mario battled throughout the race with Chapin taking the lead for good with four laps to go. He held that lead despite Di Mario nipping at his heels to the bitter end.
Di Mario’s Robem teammate Hank Vossberg recovered from a tough few early laps to finish third, some six seconds behind the lead duo and the same margin ahead of fourth-placed Isaac Woodworth on his Karns/TST Industries Suzuki GSX-8R. Brown Town Racing’s Chase Brown rounded out the top five.
The win was Chapin’s third of the season and his first since he swept both races at Daytona International Speedway in March. It also helped solidify his runner-up spot in the championship. He now leads Bad Boys Racing’s Avery Dreher by 30 points, with Avery suffering a mechanical issue that took him out of the battle for third early in the race.
Vossberg’s lonely third-place finish moved him to within three points of Dreher heading into tomorrow’s finale.
“That one felt absolutely amazing,” Chapin said. “I feel like I worked as hard as I possibly could for that. I had this thing on the limit the whole time. I had a little bit of a moment in the first lap, but I think that the team finally found a positive setting that we’re at. The bike was handling great all weekend. I just got to thank all my sponsors, all my friends and family for coming out.
Chapin wasn’t nervous about being passed on the run to the finish line.
“I knew that I had the mile per hour on this thing, the top speed,” the Marylander said. “I knew that I had it at the last corner. I really wasn’t too worried if I was going to lead or not on the last lap out of the last corner, because I felt like I could draft him. I kept trying to chip away at Alessandro (Di Mario), but it was really hard to close that initial gap. Once I got it closed, it wasn’t too hard to stay there, but that race was awesome. That was probably the race of my life.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – Gillim Leads The Way
It’s not every day that a Mission King Of The Baggers race ends without a factory rider from either Harley-Davidson or Indian Motorcycle on the podium. On Saturday, that’s exactly what happened with RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim beating SDI Racing’s Cameron Petersen and Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers.
A different kind of podium lockout.
Gillim and Petersen battled for the lead from the get-go, with Gillim at the front but under constant pressure from the South African. It came down to the final lap with Gillim surviving near catastrophe in the final corner when his Road Glide was tied in knots on the run to the flag.
At the finish line, it was Gillim by .229 of a second over Petersen.
Landers, meanwhile, joined Gillim and Petersen as the only three to turn laps in the 1:22s, but he couldn’t quite get close enough to latch on to the lead pair. He finished third, 3.7 seconds behind Gillim and 3.2 seconds ahead of Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s newly crowned King Of The Baggers Champion, Kyle Wyman.
S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Loris Baz was fifth, less than a second ahead of Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli.
Notable among the non-finishers was Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Bradley Smith, with the Brit escaping uninjured from a scary crash on the opening lap.
“Honestly, with like three to go or something, the bike was doing some weird kind of maintenance throttle in these long corners,” Gillim said. “The thing would all of a sudden cut out, like just have a little spurt. A couple times it made me kind of fall in on the bike. It hadn’t done it in the last corner yet until that last lap, whenever I was really needing a good run. I looked back, I think, with two to go. With those little things happening, I was just figuring Cam (Petersen) was going to come by. These things are really hard to pass on. Once I kind of knew that he was right there, and it had happened a couple times already, I thought, ‘if I can just put the bike in the right spot, you can make an almost impossible pass as long as you get a good run onto the front straight.’ At that point, that was all I was trying to do, was just block in the spots that I needed to block in. It was really good. So far, the last couple weekends, Saturdays have been really good for me. Sundays not so much. We’ll see if we can change that tomorrow. We’re in New Jersey. The weather… Like right now, it’s raining outside. It’s a constant factor. We’ll see what we got tomorrow, see what the weather does, see how everybody goes in the morning. It’s nice for the RevZilla/Motul Vance & Hines guys to finally after… honestly all three of us have been in the same boat for the first part of the season. Everything was really, really tough, and these last couple races everybody has come on really strong. It’s just really good for the class because there’s not a single factory bike up here right now. It’s pretty good.”
Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul – Vossberg Splish Splashes To Win
Rain hit the Millville area when the Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul was ready to start, and the youngsters were given a “wet familiarization” session to get a feel for the conditions.
Early on in the race, it looked like a cakewalk for the fast-starting Bodie Paige on the Jones Honda Krämer APX-350 MA, but the Australian crashed out and appeared to have suffered an injured left arm.
From there it was all Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg, but it wasn’t without a near-miss of his own as the Wisconsinite came oh so close to a highside. The teenager saved the near-crash and rode on to victory, his fourth of the season.
Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane got the better of Warhorse Ducati/American Racing’s Derek Sanchez with the Dominican youngster earning his first Talent Cup podium.
Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt and Royalty Racing’s Carson King rounded out the top five. Team Roberts’ Kody Kopp was a few seconds behind in sixth and well ahead of seventh-placed Ian Fraley on the Real Steel Honda entry.
“It was definitely a wild ride there,” Vossberg said of his near crash. “I knew that was one of the places I’d have to think about while I was out there and I just kind of got in the zone. I just had to remind myself that you’re racing in the rain, and you got to take it easy. I can’t give it up to the team enough for giving me such a great bike. I have to dedicate this race to Ross Olson. He was such a great person, and he meant a lot to the racing community, and it was such a bad thing to lose him. Just want to give it up to him.”
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hank Vossberg won the MotoAmerica Parts Unlimited Talent Cup race at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane finished second ahead of Envy Powered by Warhorse’s Derek Sanchez, with Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt and Royalty Racing’s Carson King rounding out the top five.
Hayden Gillim took the win for RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the Mission King of The Baggers race on Saturday. SDI Racing’s Cameron Petersen finished second ahead of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Rocco Landers, with Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman and S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Loris Baz completing the top five.
Bobby Fong took his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 to the MotoAmerica Superbike win at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin completed the podium, with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne completing the top five.
Mathew Scholtz of Strack Racing sealed his second straight National Championship when he took the win at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the MotoAmerica Motovation Supersport race on Saturday. Strack Racing’s Blake Davis finished second ahead of Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati’s Cameron Petersen in third, with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott and Rahal Ducati Moto w/ XPEL’s Kayla Yaakov completing the top five. Title challenger PJ Jacobsen suffered a flat rear tire while running second and retired.
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Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
October 16, 2025
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
