BAGGER RACING LEAGUE, IN HIGH GEAR AHEAD OF FIRST RACE AND RALLY
HIRES RACE DIRECTOR AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR PUBLISHES OFFICIAL RULES AND OPENS RACE REGISTRATION
DURANGO, CO – Bagger Racing League’s inaugural event is just over two months away, and the growing race league isn’t wasting any time.
They’ve hired a Race Director, Technical Director, Referee and Starter. Bagger Racing League (BRL) is proud to announce that race registration is now open.
To register for the first Bagger Racing League event, Drag Specialities Battle of the Baggers, Salt Lake City, June 25–27 at Utah Motorsports Campus, click here or visit www.BaggerRacingLeague.com. For those needing to get licensed prior to the event, Bagger Racing League has licensing and race school reciprocity with Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycling Association (CVMA), WERA, Competition Riders of America (CRA), Championship cup Series (CCS), American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM), American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (ARHMA) and Pacfic Track Time.
AHRMA has welcomed BRL prospective racers at their most recent Academy of Racing at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. Interested riders can register for the next AHRMA Roadracing School on Friday, May 28 at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas here.
“We’re thrilled so many companies have jumped on board as sponsors, and we can’t wait to get them in front of racers, riders and the general public,” said BRL founder Rob Buydos. “We also couldn’t be happier with our new race director, Alex Mock—Alex is a consummate professional with the kind of high-level experience and expertise we were looking for in a director.”
Based out of Corona, California, Alex Mock is the former head of race operations and promoter of the Supermoto National Championship Series and Roland Sands Design SuperHooligans, among others. He has a wide range of experience in race operations, timing, and scoring and race promotions, and he holds a race coach certificate with the U.S. Motorcycle Coaching Association (USMCA) and is the current American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Roadrace Director.
“Bagger Racing League’s melding of high-performance and touring motorcycles is something new and exciting,” said Mock. “I’m honored to be on board, and I’m raring to begin my race directorship at the inaugural event in June.”
Dan Berkes is confirmed as the Technical Director and brings a wealth of V-Twin specific performance knowledge and experience. Berke’s experience in a Harley-Davidson dealership, as an aftermarket parts shop owner and aftermarket performance parts distributor as well as his attention to detail will be invaluable as the Technical Director of the Bagger Racing League.
Bagger Racing League is more than racing it is a 3-day long event that features the world’s largest V-Twin vendor village at a racetrack, stunt shows, camping, the Arlen Ness Custom Bike Show, music and lots of racing.
BRL features 5 classes of racing:
1. Hooligan GP: Includes any V-twin inspired platform.
2. Big Twin GP: Includes any large-displacement big twin.
3. Stunt GP: Entrants will qualify or not based on a stunt performance the day before racing; types of stunts include burnouts, drifting, wheelies, and the like.
4. Premier Class Bagger GP: Bikes must have a fairing and bags to qualify.
5. Pro Stock Bagger: Bikes must have fairing and bags to qualify.
“Within hours of announcing the Bagger Racing League, we had over 20 teams signed contracts to race with the Bagger Racing League. In the subsequent weeks, the groundswell of support has proven the need for a V-Twin centric race and rally. We can’t wait to see everyone at the Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers in Salt Lake City at the end of June and have the best 3 days of V-Twin racing in history” Said Bagger Racing League COO, John M. Oakes.
Bagger Racing League round 1 Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers takes place June 25–27, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at Utah Motorsports Complex. Presale tickets are now available.
BRL Official Rules are posted and can be perused here.
About Bagger League Racing
Bagger League Racing is a motorsports event series featuring high-performance touring V-twin motorcycles. The only event of its kind, it was founded by Rob Buydos and John Oakes in 2021.
For riders thinking about getting into the track day riding game, there are obstacles real and imagined. The real ones can be tough enough. You don’t need imagined ones on top of those.
Often, new riders are told/read on social media that they have to have good tires to go to the track. This is true. But what constitutes a good tire? Do you have to have slicks? Is it imperative to have a spare set of rims with racing tires mounted up just to go have a good time riding around your favorite circuit?
The simple answer is no. And the more complex answer is that a good set of modern performance-oriented radials are good enough to get you through a day of trashing around your favorite circuit with style. And an even more complex answer is that even tires that have been used on the street can successfully make the transition to occasional track use.
Which brings us to the immediate instance: Dunlop’s RoadSport 2.
A Dunlop RoadSport2 front tire. Photo courtesy Dunlop.
Dunlop has a range of performance-oriented street radials, ranging from the budget Sportmax GPR-300 up to the Sportmax Q4. While perusing the company’s catalogue for a new set of boots for my Suzuki SV650 street machine, I ran across the following phrase in the company’s literature for the RoadSport 2:
Available in popular sport bike sizes to fit machines such as the Suzuki SV650.
A Dunlop RoadSport2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Dunlop.
I’m not always the warmest McNugget in the Happy Meal, so the universe apparently didn’t want there to be any ambiguity about which tires I, the owner of a Suzuki SV650, should purchase. I bought a set in April 2020.
The tires feature a radial construction with a single-compound tread. They are designed for quick warmup and light, quick steering. The company says they are designed to provide a balance between value and performance and to offer grip at sportbike-appropriate lean angles.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, I put approximately 5,500 street miles on this set of tires. I was careful to maintain proper street tire pressures, and I upgraded the suspension a bit – as someone wise once said, the entire purpose of a chassis is to keep the tires happy.
So even a trip from Southern California to Seattle and back didn’t flat-spot the tires in the center, and they still felt grippy enough for freeway onramp shenanigans a year after I bought them. The tires also felt dead-stable at speed on the freeway, didn’t beat me up and didn’t wander over rain grooves. All good.
Then, for the purposes of a different article, I needed to put a few track miles on the bike. And I thought, I’ve been telling people for years in the Trackday Directory that the bike in the garage is good enough to get started on. Well, I had a bike in the garage. Put up or shut up, I thought.
I did four long (30-minute) sessions at Buttonwillow Raceway Park at a TrackDaz event on the RoadSport 2 tires. I dropped the pressures to 32 psi front, 28 psi rear, cold, and didn’t touch them the rest of the day. I also didn’t use tire warmers.
Perhaps my familiarity with Suzuki’s middleweight twin assisted things, but I was quickly comfortable and having fun. As promised, the tires quickly warmed to the point where I was knee-down in the first session, and they did nothing wrong through the long sweeping corners at the track, the front tracking true and holding a line comfortably with the speedo reading 90 mph through Riverside.
As my confidence built, I could get the rear to slide a bit, but it was all completely under control. As a matter of fact, I didn’t realize how much I was hanging the rear out until the gentleman pitted next to me commented on how aggressively I was riding when I passed him on his KTM 1290 Super Duke!
At the end of the day, the rear was shagged all the way to the edge and looked like they’d been on the track. But they’re still in good shape, and I’m still using them on the street. And I’ll be looking for another set of RoadSport (or tires from the company’s multi-compound RoadSmart series) when I eventually burn these out.
BARTCON Racing rider Dominic Doyle missed the Supersport races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and will miss the upcoming races at VIRginia International Raceway due to a broken right arm he suffered during the season-opening event in Georgia.
“Unfortunately after further scans, we have confirmed that our Supersport rider Dominic Doyle has suffered a fracture of his right wrist, more specifically the radius bone, after crashing out in Friday’s free practice at Road Atlanta,” team owner Colin Barton wrote in an e-mail to Roadracingworld.com. “Dominic will have the cast on for at least a month and will be out for VIR, but hopefully after some accelerated physio/rehab and hard training, we can get him ready for Road America in mid-June.”
SUZUKI’S SEAN DYLAN KELLY WINS TWICE AT ROAD ATLANTA
Brea, CA – Suzuki Motor USA, LLC and Team Hammer kicked off the 2021 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship in midseason form, racking up a pair of victories, three podiums, and a pole position in the ‘21 opener at Road Atlanta.
The weekend’s leading man was undoubtedly M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who made good on his promise to come back even stronger in ‘21 following a five-win, championship runner-up MotoAmerica Supersport campaign a year ago.
‘SDK’ delivered back-to-back blowout victories from pole in MotoAmerica Supersport competition at Road Atlanta. He twice demonstrated his elite dog-fighting capabilities aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 early before ultimately breaking his pursuers’ challenge and escaping to take the checkered flag alone at the front.
As a result, Kelly now boasts four consecutive class victories dating back to the end of last season. The rising star said, “That was amazing. It’s awesome to see fans here again cheering us on. This is what we work for as a team. For myself, this offseason, it was really tough after a difficult 2020 season. But this is what we work for.
“I came into 2021 better than ever, and my team came into 2021 better than ever. We worked really hard this weekend and this is our reward. We’re going to keep going just like this. We’re really strong and we’re going to keep on fighting.”
Sam Lochoff (44) kicked off his 2021 season with two impressive top ten finishes in Atlanta. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Kelly’s new teammate, Sam Lochoff, impressed in his MotoAmerica Supersport class (and team) debut. The South African twice fought his way forward from the outside of Row 3, claiming a fifth-place result on Saturday and a seventh on Sunday despite still acclimating to the power of Suzuki’s Supersport contender.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Superbike duo of Bobby Fong and Cameron Petersen flashed serious potential and came away with a runner-up result and four top-fives despite battling against misfortune and difficult circumstances.
Bobby Fong (50) raced hard and delivered a podium finish and a top five finish to back it up. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Fong stormed to second aboard his factory GSX-R1000 Superbike on Saturday and showed the pace to improve upon that position in Sunday’s rematch.
Unfortunately, the Californian was judged to have jumped the start and was assessed a ride-thru penalty while running at the front of the pack. The penalty eliminated Fong from contention for the win, but Fong rode hard after serving the penalty and salvaged a fifth-place finish in the end.
“It wasn’t a bad weekend. We came out in one piece with no crashes and got some points,” said Fong. “I jumped the start in race two and I apologize to the team for that. The track is downhill there on the start and I got a bit of a roll. It’s unfortunate, but that is part of racing. When I was leading, I didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard and I felt comfortable racing with those guys. The team worked really well this weekend and I feel really good about our season.”
Cameron Petersen (45) took home two top-five finishes in his debut ride in the Superbike class. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
South African Cam Petersen scored a pair of fourths, despite riding at less than 100% due to a healing injured foot.
Wyatt Farris (79) had two solid races in his debut on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Unrealized potential was the theme for a number of other Suzuki pilots; M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Wyatt Farris earned tenth- and 13th-place finishes in Stock 1000 after a preseason injury hampered his testing program.
Jake Lewis (85) is back on a Suzuki and delivered two fourth-place finishes over the weekend. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Altus Motorsports Suzuki’s ultra-talented Jake Lewis twice teased race-winning potential on his Team Hammer-built GSX-R1000 in Stock 1000 before reeling in a pair of fourths.
Team Hammer and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will look to make good on a promising opener when the 2021 season resumes at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, on May 21-23.
More, from a press release issued by Jayson Uribe’s publicist:
Jayson Uribe in MotoAmerica Top 10!
Jayson Uribe (36). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Jayson Uribe Racing.
It was a challenging weekend for ADR Racing’s Jayson Uribe, who ultimately walked away with a top ten finish yesterday, in the second Superbike race of the opening MotoAmerica event of the year, after a monster crash earlier in the weekend at Road Atlanta.
Now Suzuki mounted, Uribe made a promising start before falling heavily on Friday afternoon, resulting in a trip to the local hospital which thankfully revealed no broken bones. Determined to take to the grid, Jayson’s first race on Saturday yielded no points, meaning a tough race on Sunday, the #36 having to start from nineteenth on the grid.
Working his way forward, Jayson was soon inside the top, where he eventually finished, collecting six points and his first top ten of the season. He moves on to Round 2 at VIR in a couple of weeks looking to build upon his exploits of the opening round.
Jayson Uribe: “Overall, it was an interesting opening weekend for the ADR team. We were off to a good start, right up until QP1 on Friday afternoon when we had a small piece of the rear brake fail, which caused fluid to get on to the rear tire and send me skyward. Absolutely no fault of anyone, just a faulty piece that no one could’ve predicted or planned for. Long story short, I was taken to the hospital for some X-rays and to fix up some scrapes. Still have all nine fingers though! I woke up on Saturday morning very sore, but ready to get back on the bike. My crew worked late into the night to make sure the bike was perfect, which I appreciate greatly. David Anthony (my team mate and boss) ended up having an off in QP2 and sustained an injury to his hand that ruled him out of the weekend. From that point on, my goal was just to finish the weekend and take-home points for the team. Race 1 on Saturday was rough, as we got tangled up in some oil from an incident in turn 1, which caused me to come to the pits to clean everything off. We went back out just to gather data and prep for race 2. In race 2, I was gridded in 19th from the finish in race 1, which gave me a lot of work to do. After clawing my way up to 10th, I decided to play it safe and bring home some points for the team. Overall, the ADR crew had a bit of a rough go at Atlanta. We are all looking forward to starting fresh for round 2!”
More, from a press release issued by Travis Wyman Racing:
Travis Wyman scores victory, podium at MotoAmerica Superbikes at Atlanta
BMW rider leaves Road Atlanta round with championship points lead in Stock 1000 Class, Superbike Cup
Travis Wyman (10). Photo by Paul Phillips, courtesy Travis Wyman Racing.
BRASELTON, Ga. — As Travis Wyman traveled to the Road Atlanta road course on Thursday, he was hoping his offseason testing program had done enough to help him get a good start to the 2021 MotoAmerica season. By the end of his fourth and final race of the April 30-May 2 event, the California Superbike School instructor had accomplished that goal and now sits atop the points standings in two MotoAmerica classes.
The Las Vegas rider kicked off his second season racing aboard a 2020 BMW S 1000 RR — with title sponsorship from Keith Code’s California Superbike School — with a victory and third place in the weekend’s two Stock 1000 races and was the top-finishing Superbike Cup rider in both MotoAmerica Superbike races.
Wyman was fast from start of the weekend, posting the fastest lap time in Stock 1000 practice on Friday morning. After having trouble getting a clean flying lap in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session due to a crowded racetrack, Wyman finished Saturday qualifying in second.
Saturday afternoon’s Stock 1000 race saw Wyman recover from a lackluster start to claim a podium finish. After falling back to fifth place at the end of Lap 1, Wyman battled with several other riders for the duration of the 13-lap race. The only lap Wyman crossed the start/finish line in third place was the last lap. Wyman also ended that race with an exclamation point, breaking the lap record for the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Class at Road Atlanta with a time of 1:26.949 on the final lap.
Later Saturday, Wyman lined up for first Superbike race of 2021. After starting the race 12th on the grid, Wyman fell as far back as 14th before charging forward to ninth place by the end of Lap 3. Attrition farther up the field moved Wyman up the running order. He finished the race in seventh and secured the best finish among the Superbike Cup riders.
For Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, Wyman got a better start and gradually reeled in the race leader. After making a draft pass for the lead on Lap 9, Wyman built a commanding lead, taking the victory by a margin of 2.876 seconds. Later Sunday afternoon, Wyman scored his second top-10 Superbike finish of the weekend. Starting from seventh place on the grid, Wyman held off a challenge from another Superbike Cup rider to score a eighth-place finish and a second-consecutive first place among the Superbike Cup field. Wyman also lowered his personal best lap time around Road Atlanta when he posted a 1:26.690.
The next round of the 2021 MotoAmerica season takes place May 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. The track is one of Wyman’s favorites on the MotoAmerica schedule, and he has recorded a win and a third-place in MotoAmerica’s last two Stock 1000 races on the facility’s 2.25-mile North Course.
Travis Wyman / No. 10
“The weekend at Road Atlanta went about as good as it could have. If I’d gotten a better start in Saturday’s Stock 1000 race, I think I would’ve been in contention to win that race too. I’ve had success here before, but I put this year’s good results down to being prepared for the start of the season. Thanks to my Irv Seaver BMW-sponsored offseason testing program, I felt comfortable pushing my BMW from the start of the weekend and had great pace from the first practice session. I got a better start in Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, and my team had my BMW dialed in. It’s been an amazing weekend, but there’s still a lot of racing to go this year. I really enjoy racing at VIR, and I think we’ll be in the hunt for more victories there.”
More, from a press release issued by Robem Engineering:
Robem Engineering riders endure difficult race Sunday on final day of MotoAmerica Superbikes at Atlanta
De Keyrel, Schultz, Khamsouk unable to take part in restarted Twins Cup race after suffering crashes at Road Atlanta’s Turn 1
Kaleb De Keyrel (51) on his Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660. Photo by Sara Chappell Photos.
BRASELTON, Ga. — Saturday afternoon, the Robem Engineering team was celebrating the triumphant debut of the Aprilia RS 660 in MotoAmerica Twins Cup competition. About 24 hours later, the team’s three riders were unable to finish Sunday’s Twins Cup contest, as Kaleb De Keyrel, Hayden Schultz and Toby Khamsouk all crashed out of the race at the start of Lap 8.
Despite not claiming any championship points Sunday, all three Robem Engineering Aprilias were running in the top seven or better for the first seven laps of the race, with De Keyrel and Schultz locked in a battle for the race lead. The team leaves the first of nine MotoAmerica rounds in 2021 with a win and a podium finish in the books, as well as two riders in the top nine in the Twins Cup points standings.
Hayden Schultz (49). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Robem Engineering.
At the start of Sunday’s Twins Cup race, it was De Keyrel who grabbed the holeshot and led the field into Road Atlanta’s uphill Turn 1. From there, it was a four-way battle for the lead, with De Keyrel and Schultz taking their turns at the front of the quartet. De Keyrel was consistently fast, posting a 1:35.180 on Lap 4 – the fastest lap of the race at that point in time – then besting that time on Lap 6 with a 1:35.703. As De Keyrel was vying for the lead at the start of Lap 8, fluid began leaking from his bike, causing De Keyrel, Schultz, Khamsouk and another rider to crash as they entered Turn 1. The race was stopped and, due to damage all three bikes suffered in their respective crashes, none of the Robem riders were able to take part in the restarted race.
Toby Khamsouk (27). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Robem Engineering.
The Robem Engineering team will be back in action at Round 2 of the 2021 MotoAmerica season, which takes place May 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. The tight, twisty nature of VIR’s 2.25-mile North Course should suit the good handling characteristics of the Aprilia RS 660, and all three riders will aim to further their goal of winning Aprilia’s first MotoAmerica title.
Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2021 include The Center for Plastic Surgery, Velocity Calibrations, Bitubo Suspension, Dunlop, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, DNA Filters, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies and SC-Project.
More, from a press release issued by Pure Attitude Racing:
Podium, a brace of top tens, points for all four riders – MotoAmerica started in style for Pure Attitude Racing in Atlanta
Pure Attitude Racing made their intentions clear in the opening round of the 2021 MotoAmerica series at Road Atlanta this past weekend. Trevor Standish raced to a maiden Twins Cup podium, his team mates securing solid race finishes in both Supersport and Twins Cup too!
The weekend began in style in Gainesville Square where all four riders attended the annual ‘Season Kick Off’ Party, one of the team’s machines was also on display.
When the on-track action got underway on Friday, riders Nate Minster and Austin Miller made great strides between sessions in Supersport, the pair showing great speed and potential on the opening day of season. Both riders improved further in final qualifying, although Nate Minster took a spill which ruled him out of Race 1. Twins Cup duo, Liam MacDonald and Trevor Standish had an up and down day one but bounced back in style to qualify strongly ahead of their two races.
Looking back at the races – two in both classes – the team are delighted with the performance of all four riders who each ensured a bag full of points as the season heads to Virginia International Raceway in a couple of weeks.
Trevor Standish. Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Trevor Standish began his title campaign in Twins Cup with a fighting fourth on Saturday, which he followed up with a stunning ride to P2 on Sunday, the #16 leaving Road Atlanta with the championship lead! Liam MacDonald showed that he has lost none of his speed, despite not racing competitively for over a year. The Kiwi, who is making is MotoAmerica debut this season, finished tenth and seventh, declaring himself content with the weekend, and delighted with how welcome Pure Attitude Racing have made him feel.
Austin Miller (61). Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Austin Miller opened his points tally with a career equalling best result of twelfth, the #61 Kawasaki rider running strongly in race too, before a small issue meant he had to retire. Nate Minster, who had initially qualified on the third row of the grid, secured the team’s third top ten finish of the weekend, taking eighth in a confidence building ride on Sunday.
Trevor Standish 4th / 2nd: “The season got off to a great start. I finished fourth on Saturday which was a career best finish in the Twins Cup class for me. I made another good start in Race 2 on Sunday and was running a strong fifth. I was hanging with the lead group and I noticed some smoke along the main straight. I had made a couple of mistakes, which was lucky in hindsight as there was a three-rider crash into Turn 1. I knew it must have been fluid, so I was extra cautious. We regrouped and I made the hole shot and was able to pressure Teagg Hobbs throughout. It was a great feeling to lead the opening lap and a half and to be able to fight for the win. I made the fastest lap of the race on the last lap and am leading the Twins Cup championship too which is unbelievable, I actually have no words. The next round is at one of my favourite circuits – VIR – and I hope we can keep the momentum going. I want to thank the whole Pure Attitude Team for all their hard work this weekend, especially Kent and AJ, and thank the fans for going so crazy at the podium!”
Liam MacDonald (37). Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Liam MacDonald: 10th / 7th: “Q2 I was frustrated to only get one clean lap, but the main thing is that I made the grid after the crash in Q1. For the race, from lap seven to eleven I was in survival mode. I couldn’t feel my arms or my hands. I could barely twist the throttle. I lost a couple of places on the final lap but that’s racing. I learned a lot and to finish my first race in the US in the top ten is more than I expected. I am really stoked with how Race 2 went. I’m upset that I made a mistake on the last lap but that won’t happen as I get more used to the bike and I understand how to race a Twins Cup bike. We aren’t quite there with the perfect set-up, but we aren’t far away, and the potential is there. I need to improve my physical fitness, I haven’t raced for over a year, but I am confident that we can run in the top six pretty soon. I am so happy for my team mate Trevor and so happy for the team. I already feel part of the Pure Attitude family and I cannot wait for the next race.”
Nate Minster (99). Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Nate Minster – DNS / 8th: “Qualifying went well, especially on Saturday when I was able to improve my time by over a second. I crashed heavily though towards the end of Q2 and despite the best efforts of the team I was unable to make the grid for race one. We were able to race on Sunday and whilst I didn’t feel the best after my Q2 get off, I was able to make a good start and was chasing for seventh. I ended up eighth, which when you consider what happened and the work, we had to do to get back out there isn’t too bad.”
Austin Miller: 12th / 15th: “Race one went great despite a rough opening lap on the initial start. I shifted into third gear and got on the gas a little too hard out of Turn 10 and as I crested the hill towards the final turn the front wheel went skywards. Luckily, I was able to get it stopped but was dead last after going through the gravel. The next lap there was a red flag which really helped me out. My initial jump on the restart wasn’t great but I avoided another incident at Turn 1 and was able to bring it home in the twelfth position and I was able to improve my lap time again, in race conditions. Race two there was another red flag unfortunately when I was running in the top fourteen. I was able to run in the points in the restart but with three laps to go I had a small problem with the bike. I lost power and had to reset it which worked but the issue happened again, and I had to retire to the pits.”
More, from a press release issued by Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing:
Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing, presented by Motorcycle Xcitement, scores points-paying finish in first time racing at Road Atlanta in MotoAmerica season opener
BMW rider places in top 20 in MotoAmerica Stock 1000 races on Saturday, Sunday
Jeremy Cook (81). Photo by BrockImaging, courtesy Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing.
BRASELTON, Ga. — For Jeremy Cook, his first full pro road racing season started at a track he’d never ridden on before. Despite enduring mechanical problems with his BMW S 1000 RR on Thursday and Friday, the Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing rider got a positive start to his first full MotoAmerica racing season when he finished in the points in Sunday’s Stock 1000 race.
Cook – who is an instructor for presenting sponsor Motorcycle Xcitement — first competed in a MotoAmerica race in 2015, and MotoAmerica’s season-opening Superbikes at Atlanta round marked the first of nine MotoAmerica rounds that Cook plans to compete in this year.
After encountering problems with his motorcycle’s clutch system Thursday night while prepping the BMW and Friday during the Stock 1000 Class’ Friday practice session, Cook qualified 23rd for the weekend’s two Stock 1000 races.
In Saturday’s race, Cook moved up three positions on the first lap, crossing start/finish in 20th-place. He got past another rider on Lap 2 and maintained 19th place to the end of the contest. In Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, Cook made another good start and was running in 15th place at the end of Lap 1. Though Cook dropped as far as 18th on Laps 8 and 9, he recovered in the latter stages of the race to finish 15th and claimed his first championship point of his 2021 campaign.
The next stop on MotoAmerica’s schedule is VIRginia International Raceway May 21-23. Though Cook has some bad memories of the Alton, Va., track from a severe crash he suffered there in 2009, the Maryland rider also has ample experience on the facility’s 2.25-mile North Course and will be targeting his first top-10 finish of 2021 that weekend.
Jeremy Cook / No. 81
“It was a bit of a struggle this weekend at Road Atlanta. We raced in several Championship Cup Series races at New Jersey Motorsports Park last weekend and thought we were fully prepared for what lied ahead. It was my first time racing at Road Atlanta, and it’s a steep learning curve with this very physical racetrack. Between trying to get the bike set up for a track we didn’t know and the mechanical issues we dealt with Thursday and Friday, it felt like we were behind the eight-ball most of the weekend. I have to give a huge shout out to Roger Lyle of Motorcycle Xcitement for helping us with track knowledge and technical support. I learned a lot about racing at Road Atlanta by going to school on the riders I was competing against and was able to use that knowledge to score Sunday’s points-paying finish. My bad memories of VIR still linger in my head, but I’m happy to be heading to a track my team and I know well.”
The 2021 race season for NEMRR kicked off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in chilly conditions, but the paddock was buzzing with excitement to get out and ride. The series has made some rule changes over the off season to bring NEMRR more in line with CCS national rules, including a move back to open fuel rules (which several riders were anxious to test). Finally, the track opened up the apex of Turn 10 by about 6 feet, giving riders a straighter shot back into the infield. This change was universally received well as riders commented that the turn was both more fun and safer – a win-win for all!
Leading the way on Saturday was 2020 #1 plate holder Rick Doucette, with wins in GTL by #74, Seacoast Sport Cycle Lightweight Grand Prix and 300 Supersport races. During the Saturday riders meeting, Rick received a special “Champion Edition” Fender Guitar to commemorate the 10th overall series championship of his career. Rick has won a record 95 championships and got off to a great start in 2021 on his way to 100.
In the Saturday Michelin/Motorace $1500 Dash for Cash two young standouts put in impressive performances. Sam Greenwood, son of perennial NEMRR standout Scott Greenwood, carried forward the family tradition of winning with a dominating performance. Sam put in the fastest lap of the race on lap 3 and then continued to build up over a 10 second cushion over Rick Doucette and Paul Duval. Duval had to battle hard all race with rising star Eli Block who was incredibly riding a Husquvarna 450 motard bike against a field of 600cc sport bikes. Block and Duval swapped positions constantly during the race, giving the crowd a number of “hold your breath” moments as they literally went through many corners within inches of each other. Block set an all time record lap time for a Motard, recording an incredible 1:14.9 on lap number 5 of the event.
Samuel Greenwood (2). Photo by Martin Hanlon, courtesy NEMRR.
Saturday also marked the inaugural event of the NEMRR Super Street Series, which is an opportunity for track day riders to be part of the NEMRR weekend in a race that is designed more for fun than pure competition. These riders only need to have completed a track day in the previous 12 months (which can be the Friday before the event) and then they get a pair of practices, a heat and a final – all the while being able to watch the best racers in the Northeast between sessions. The winners of these debut classes were Gregory Livanos in the lightweight division and Semir Falic in the unlimited division.
In the amatuer ranks there were two riders who put in particularly impressive performances. Kevin Custer racked up 5 wins in the very competitive middleweight ranks on his Suzuki GSXR600, with his strongest performance coming in the Middleweight Formula 40 class when he dropped into the 1:17 range, a time that will soon make him eligible to advance to Expert. NEMRR also welcomed 12 year old newcomer Alessandro Di Mario who really turned some heads on his Yamaha R3 as we won all three of his races on Sunday and managed to beat all but one of the Experts in the 300 Superbike class. Alessandro’s 1:21 was within two seconds of the all time track record in the class, an incredible performance for an Amatuer racer who was visiting NHMS for the first time!
Round two of the NEMRR series kicks off on May 22, interested riders can visit www.lrrsracing.com for more information. Riders wishing to register for Super Street can either call NEMRR or add the Super Street Class to a Friday track registration with the Penguin Racing School at www.penguinracing.com.
Viñales and Rins fastest as MotoGP™ heads out for more track time at Jerez
The duo pull clear at the top of the timesheets as Mir slots into third and Honda steal some headlines
Monday, 03 May 2021
The post-race test at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto came to a close on Monday with Maverick Viñales on top with a 1:36.879, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider putting in a characteristically busy day at the office as he did 101 laps. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was second just 0.034 back, with Joan Mir making it two Suzukis in the top three although the reigning Champion was four tenths off Viñales as the duo on top pulled clear.
Yamaha were represented by Viñales, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) sat the test out following his arm pump troubles on Sunday. Still, it was a busy day. Adding to Viñales’ full century at the top of the timesheets, in which the number 12 went a few tenths quicker than qualifying, Morbidelli did 67 laps and was P9; Rossi 73 laps for P12.
Morbidelli focused especially on braking and hopes improvements made will help in Le Mans. Both he and teammate Rossi also had a few new parts to try from Yamaha, including a front fender and swingarm.
Rins led the Suzuki charge and despite finishing the test just after lunchtime, the Spaniard put in 59 laps. Once again, he was testing the “possible” 2022 engine that he, teammate Mir and test rider Sylvain Guintoli tested in Qatar. He also worked on improving on used tyres, impressed with the pace as it was a step up on the weekend. He headed to Barcelona for a check up on his shoulder in the afternoon. Mir did 64 laps.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was the top Honda in the test as he was on race day, both times in fourth. He did 71 laps. Five different aero packages were seen at Honda between him, eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and LCR Honda Castrol’s Alex Marquez, which gained a few glances up and down pitlane.
Nakagami tried aero, but then mainly focused on setup. He said he was more consistent and really comfortable, looking forward to Le Mans, and that the 2020 chassis is working well. He also warned against seeing that change back as something signifying the new chassis was negative. Teammate Alex Marquez also felt he made improvements on Monday, and did 75 laps to end the day in P15. That was just ahead of Marc Marquez as the eight-time World Champion only did seven laps, feeling some after effects of his crashes during the weekend.
Pol Espargaro focused on aero, electronics and ergonomics, things he says seem fairly small but when a rider is adapting to a bike, can make a big difference. He says he’ll remain on the same chassis, as he thinks there remains a good margin of improvement. The number 44 was spotted riding at least three different HRC bikes during the test though – his standard, one with different aero and a completely carbon coloured bike.
At Ducati, most recent race winner Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was straight back to work on Monday as he and World Championship-leading teammate Francesco Bagnaia completed a combined total of 84 laps, one day after securing the Bologna factory’s first 1-2 since Brno 2018. Bagnaia was tenth, Miller in P18.
Johann Zarco was the fastest Borgo Panigale machine, however, putting in 75 laps. The Frenchman said he was focusing a lot on suspension rather than new parts, looking for a way to get the full potential of the new bike. Stand-in teammate Tito Rabat also tested on Monday, P20 after 65 laps. Rookie Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) moved up into eighth after 66 laps after a good day’s work, with Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) in P13 after 54 laps.
Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar reported new chassis to try for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder, but the two said the key focus was about the tyres. Oliveira said he was trying to make changes to make the bike work better on the softer front without compromising their existing positives. He found an improvement in pace and was pretty positive. Binder repeated Oliveira’s words that the focus was on making the softer tyre work, purposefully staying away from using the harder front that normally suits them better. He said they found something that seemed to make life a little easier and ended the day in P11 after 66 laps. Oliveira was top KTM in P7 after 72 laps.
Danilo Petrucci in the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing ranks was seen sporting a different tank/seat area, the Italian seemingly trying some ergonomics to improve his feeling on the RC16. He was P19 after 63 laps, teammate Iker Lecuona 64 in P16.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro had a tougher day at the office following his closest ever finish to the MotoGP™ winner, crashing early and then calling an early end to his test not long after, feeling under the weather after the incident although not sustaining any injuries. He ultimately did 12 laps and was P14. Lorenzo Savadori did 54 laps, however, and completed the timesheets.
That’s it from Jerez. It’s now next stop Le Mans, with the SHARK Grand Prix de France now less than two weeks away!
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
FIERCELY DETERMINED VIÑALES TOPS JEREZ TEST
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 3rd May 2021
JEREZ MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales had the opportunity to delve further into his race set-up at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto during today‘s official IRTA Jerez Test. He completed 101 laps, more than any other rider, and finished the day in first place.
1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’36.879 / 101 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales enjoyed a very productive day of riding at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto today. The Spaniard used the one-day official IRTA Jerez Test to work on late braking and improved cornering, and with success. He wrapped up the eight-hour session in first place.
The Factory Yamaha team‘s garage was less busy than usual during the test. Following the arm pump problem he experienced in yesterday‘s race, Fabio Quartararo didn‘t ride today. He will receive a medical check-up. Further updates will follow in due course.
Although the team had one rider less on track, this didn‘t mean they eased their effort. Viñales completed a whopping 101 laps in total – more than four times a race distance – to improve his cornering and late braking. A long run in the afternoon let him get in the laps and obtain the data needed to be all the more confident and competitive at the next round in Le Mans. His best lap of the day, a 1‘36.879s, set on 83/101 saw him complete the Jerez Test at the top of the standings, with a 0.034s margin over his fastest rival.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action in two weeks‘ time for the Grand Prix de France.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
First of all, I want to say that the team is obviously sad that Fabio couldn‘t attend the test today. However, as stated before, his health is the most important thing to us. Following his arm pump problem in yesterday‘s race, Fabio will get a medical check-up and more news should follow soon. In the meantime, we had a full day of riding to do here in Jerez. Maverick‘s Spanish GP was compromised by a turning issue. Today we spent a good amount of time looking into that area and we saw clear improvement. He also did a good long run in the afternoon and completed a total of 101 laps, far more than any other rider. We finished the test on top, which is positive, but the main thing we got out of this test is an increased confidence with the bike for Maverick – this is something really important for the upcoming race in Le Mans. We know that the Bugatti circuit fits the characteristics of our bike well, so we are hoping for a good race weekend there.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
We didn‘t try any new parts. I was just trying to give a bit more and learn about myself, trying to brake a little bit later. It seemed to be working. I was really good in the morning, the conditions were amazing, so we could ride very fast. In the afternoon the conditions were a bit more tricky, but we were still riding very fast. I did a long run, and I was actually quite happy. So, I‘m quite confident for Le Mans, because I think today we found what I needed in Portimao and here in Jerez. I have more confidence with the bike now. I did more laps and adapted a little bit more. I just feel good now. I think in Le Mans we can concentrate on being a bit faster.
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
Successful test in Spain for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT
One day test at Jerez ends with Franco Morbidelli ninth and Valentino Rossi 12th
There was no rest for PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, as they took part in a productive one-day test at Jerez today, just one day after the SpanishGP ended. The day concluded with Franco Morbidelli ninth and Valentino Rossi 12th on the final timesheets.
Fresh from his podium finish yesterday, Morbidelli’s day began in the second hour of the test, when the track opened again following an early red flag stoppage. With a new front fender and new swingarm to try, the Italian got down to work, completing 31 laps before the lunch break. Franco was also able to assess new front fork settings, with the aim of improving the stopping capability of the bike. Completing a further 36 laps after in the final two hours after his lunch break, bringing his total to 67, Morbidelli ended the test ninth with a best time of 1min 37.627secs.
Team-mate Rossi also began his Jerez test once the red flag period was over and, like Morbidelli, he could also test the new front fender and new swingarm on his Yamaha YZR-M1 throughout the day. In addition to this Valentino was able to evaluate settings on the electronic side of the bike. Ahead of the mid-session lunch break the Italian had completed 36 laps, before taking to the track again with under three hours on the clock. At the end of the test Rossi had improved upon his personal best of the last 4 days, setting a 1min 37.700secs, and made a big step forward with his race pace. He completed a total of 73 laps, 37 in the afternoon, and was the 12th fastest rider.
The next time that Morbidelli and Rossi will be on track again will be at Le Mans in ten day’s time, for the Grand Prix de France (14-16 May).
Franco Morbidelli
9th (1’37.627)
We had the opportunity today to work with some new parts and provide my feedback on them, which is nice, but we mostly focused on trying to improve the braking. It was an area that I didn’t have a perfect feeling with, so it was something we could look to better and I think we have found something today that has improved my feeling under braking, so this is good. I hope that the things that we have found here also work in Le Mans. It will be important to do a good job there and I hope that we continue to be strong going forwards, I will be trying my best to be.
Valentino Rossi
12th (1’37.700)
Today was a good test for me because we improved the feeling with the bike, the pace with the race tyre and in the time attack. It was a long day because the conditions were good, so we did a lot of laps. The team and I worked on the balance of the bike, the settings and we can see the improvements, as I was better under braking and in corner entry. We also have some other new bits for the bike, which is good and helps. I’m happy because we were able to improve today, after a difficult weekend, and I have a much better feeling with the bike. It is just a one-day test, we need to see what happens at Le Mans but I am leaving here with a good feeling.
More, from a press release issued by Tech3 KTM Factory Racing:
Work continues for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing in Jerez
Following the fourth round of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci have been straight back to work today at the same venue for the official test under a cloudy Andalusian sky.
Thereby, they both tried several settings and some new parts in order to improve the base of their KTM RC16 machine in order to improve at the team’s home Grand Prix in Le Mans in less than a fortnight. While less focusing on times, but more on their feeling, Lecuona did 64 laps in the course of the day, Petrucci completed 63 laps and both welcomed the test as a great possibility after preseason was cut short in 2021.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 17th
Time: 1:38.374
Laps: 64
“The plan for today was to work with the soft front, because we know we will have this tyre for many races and I don’t feel fast, so the target was to improve and trying to adapt myself and also the bike to the tyre. During today I struggled a bit, as I was using only the soft front and I didn’t have any feedback.”
“But finally, with the team we tried many things on the base and I managed to be quicker. Also, our pace was better than during the race. In general, I think we were working very well today. We will see what happens in Le Mans, but for the moment I’m fairly satisfied.”
Danilo Petrucci
Position: 19th
Time: 1:38.608
Laps: 63
“We tried mainly a different balance of the bike to make the rear tyre work a bit better. Especially in the latter part of the race we feel good, when the tyre is already worn a bit, also on braking. But we can’t really use the rear tyre when we have some extra traction in the beginning, which means that in Qualifying we struggle quite a bit and also the first part of the race yesterday has been pretty difficult.”
“Overall today I understood the bike more, although I didn’t find what I was looking for. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to Le Mans, which is a track that I was on the podium the last three years. I hope there, we can find a good way.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
Day of post-race testing concluded for the Ducati Lenovo Team at Jerez de la Frontera
After an unforgettable Grand Prix of Spain, which saw Jack Miller taking his first win on the Desmosedici GP and Pecco Bagnaia, new MotoGP Championship leader, taking second place on the podium, the Ducati Lenovo Team got right back to work at Jerez de la Frontera today for a day of post-race collective testing.
Taking advantage of the favourable track conditions, both Bagnaia and Miller took to the track this morning just before noon, completing a total of 40 and 44 laps, respectively, before finishing their test sessions early this afternoon. The Italian clocked a best time of 1:37.690, ending the day in tenth position, while the Australian posted a best lap time of 1:38.455, ending the day eighteenth overall.
“It has been a very positive day. Finally, we completed some work that has been pending since the last pre-season test in Qatar. We completed the entire programme today and were able to close the day early. Today, my pace was good, so I’m satisfied with the job done and ready for the next race at Le Mans”.
Jack Miller (#43, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:38.455 (18°- 44 laps)
“After the race, there is always a lot of rubber on the ground, and the conditions are always favourable to have a test day. Also, the weather today allowed us to work well. We focused on some aspects that we normally don’t have time to work on during the weekend: we repeated tests and tried different setups to understand which one works best. It’s always important to do these double-checks and, above all, we gathered a lot of useful information. Now we will have a few days to rest, but I can’t wait to get back on track at Le Mans”.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will now have a short break of around ten days before returning to action for the fifth round of the 2021 MotoGP season at the historic Circuit Bugatti in Le Mans for the Grand Prix of France, scheduled from 14th-16th May.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
IMPORTANT DATA AND INFO COLLECTED AT PACEY JEREZ TEST
Alex Rins: 2nd – 1’36.913 (+ 0.034)
Joan Mir: 3rd – 1’37.310 (+ 0.431)
Team Suzuki Ecstar remained, with the rest of the MotoGP™ paddock, at the Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto for a one day official test on Monday following the Spanish GP.
The riders headed out early in the day and the main focus was in the engine area, with both Alex Rins and Joan Mir spending time trying out the 2022 spec. engine and putting in many laps.
Rins had strong pace, leading the test session for most of the afternoon having set a very pacey 1’36.913 lap, his fastest at the circuit. Rins reported great feelings and he felt that the base settings of the bike have been improved. He was happy to finish the session in second after a disappointing Sunday at the circuit. He completed 59 laps in total.
Mir closed the day in third with a best time of 1’37.310. He worked on the geometry of the bike as well as the engine, working specifically on the front end of the bike and achieving better feeling. He also did some work on the rear suspension. His pace was consistent and quick, and he put in a total of 64 laps.
The team now look ahead to the next round, the French GP on May 14th-16th.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“Today has been useful; we got good feedback from the riders and we found improvements, which is always the goal of a test day. We feel pleased because we think we’ve found some steps for the next races and also useful information for the future. Both riders put in a lot of laps and their times are strong, so we leave here feeling satisfied.”
Alex Rins:
“Today was a good day for us, we tried several things, including trying the 2022 engine. I was happy and confident with the bike and pleased with how everything went. We also worked on the set-up in terms of suspension and a few small things, and I feel like we’ve improved our base. I was able to set fast times even on used tyres, faster than yesterday, so I’m happy with the result.”
Joan Mir:
“Honestly, I think we had a great day, we did a lot of work and I’m feeling happy. We tried the 2022 engine again and we found what we expected – that it’s not massively different but it’s an improvement, and the characteristics were what we expected. We took a lot of useful information. I also tried different geometry on the bike to try and get better feeling from the front of the bike, and I’m happy with what we’ve done. My lap times were pretty nice, and it’s been a very useful day.”
More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:
KTM COMPLETE JEREZ MOTOGP™ EPISODE WITH SECOND IRTA TEST OF 2021
MotoGP 2021 IRTA test Circuit de Jerez – Angel Nieto (ESP)
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing completed over 200 laps between them today to close a fourth and final day of riding at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto and the one-day IRTA test.
Only hours after the Gran Premio Red Bull de España and the fourth round of the championship the Jerez asphalt was again abused by the MotoGP pack for their second official test of the year.
Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder, Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona continued to work both on the 2021 race configuration of their KTM RC16s in order to optimize the current Michelin tire allocation for the season as well as ideas with a view to the Grands Prix to come.
It was Oliveira who departed the Andalucía venue Monday afternoon with the fastest lap-time from the KTM quartet. He rested 7th and his quickest effort just 0.6 of a second from the top spot. Binder was 11th and was the last rider on track while Lecuona and Petrucci were 17th and 19th respectively.
Le Mans and the mix of high speed and strong braking zones will entertain the Shark Grand Prix de France on May 15th-16th.
Miguel Oliveira: “We took profit of the day to look at different solutions on the bike set-up and the soft front tire and medium rear; as we would in a race simulation. We had many good laps. It was important to understand how to use soft compounds and our front feeling while also trying not to lose with the modifications we’ve already made to gain an advantage. We want to keep the positive characteristics of the bike.”
Brad Binder: “We had a busy day. We wanted to work more with the softer front tire and think ahead to some of the tracks ahead. We did our homework and I’m definitely happy with some of the conclusions we reached to try and make life a bit easier for us. A lot of laps! We had a couple of small new things and managed to assess those. The best part of a test is that you can see which ideas work and which ones don’t. We got some good information for the guys.”
Iker Lecuona: “The target was to improve and trying to adapt myself and also the bike to the soft tire. today I struggled a bit but, finally, with the team we tried many things on the base and I managed to be quicker. Also, our pace was better than during the race. In general, I think we were working very well today. We will see what happens in Le Mans, but for the moment I’m fairly satisfied.”
Danilo Petrucci: “We tried a different balance of the bike to make the rear tire work a bit better. Especially in the latter part of the race we feel good, when the tire is already worn a bit, also in braking. But we can’t really use the rear tire when we have some extra traction in the beginning, which means that in Qualifying we struggle quite a bit and also the first part of the race yesterday has been pretty difficult. Overall today I understood the bike more, although I didn’t find what I was looking for. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to Le Mans, which is a track that I was on the podium the last three years. I hope there, we can find a good way.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “This test day was really important. We had a big agenda and many ideas from the company. The hours were just flying by and all the riders did some fine work. We had a big ‘menu’ of test items for the chassis and we worked a lot on electronics and the suspension also. I think we did a good job and hopefully we can get the benefit out of it in France. Thanks to the factory for the big effort to keep giving us solutions and to both teams for pushing all the way through this week in Jerez.”
Sebastian Risse, Technical Coordinator MotoGP: “I think overall we can say we had a pretty good day. There were quite a few items piling up in the last few weeks because neither the tracks nor the situations allowed us to test during a GP weekend. So, we were looking forward to this opportunity here to work through a wide range of things for the bike. There was a lot and I think each rider found some positives. We did not have time to give everybody everything yet so we will put together a plan to do that in the coming GPs. Of course, only a race scenario can show where we really are but I think we have some more tools at our disposal for the next rounds.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Productive day in Jerez for Pol Espargaro as Marquez ends early
The first in-season test of 2021 was a positive experience for Pol Espargaro, providing a clear direction to follow in the upcoming races.
Monday after the Gran Premio Red Bull de España offered the MotoGP class their first in-season testing day of 2021. There was a brief disruption early in the day as the red flag was brought out after just an hour of running due to falls on circuit.
Pol Espargaro had a busy day around the 4.4 kilometres of the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, completing 89 laps with a best time of 1’37.506. Just around midday, Espargaro suffered a fall at Turn 1 but was unharmed and quickly returned to the garage. In the closing hour of the day Espargaro suffered a second fall, avoiding any injury. Aside from the falls, Espargaro leaves the one-day test with a very positive feeling after a busy and full day of riding.
The day in Jerez was short for Marc Marquez, completing seven laps over two runs before calling an end to his test. After a physically demanding weekend, Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team elected to focus on his continued recovery and allow the maximum amount of time to prepare for the French GP.
The Repsol Honda Team will now focus their attentions on round five, the French Grand Prix at Le Mans where Alex Marquez took his debut podium with the Repsol Honda Team in 2020.
Pol Espargaro
6TH 1’37.506
“We did 89 laps today; it has been a very busy and productive day for us. We have worked on many things, electronics, aero, ergonomics – they seem simple or small topics but when you’re still new to a bike they can make a big difference together. We have performed well today, I was close to Taka who has been the strongest Honda this weekend so I am happy. No matter what, we have learned a lot today and it has been very good for me to have a day like today where we can ride and try things without the pressure of a race weekend. Now we look to Le Mans.”
Marc Marquez
16TH 1’38.303
“Today we didn’t really test, just one run because on the second run my body was already locking up. My neck and my right shoulder were stiff, it’s similar to after Portimao but I was not as locked up as I was after Portugal. The crash I had on Saturday didn’t help with my physical condition. I thought that maybe today when my body had warmed up it would be better, and I could try but straight away I could tell I wasn’t at a good level for riding. We spoke as a team and decided to stop the test, we need to understand that we’re improving step by step and the next target is Le Mans where we will try to improve again.”
KRT and the new Ninja ZX-10RR will soon undertake one last pre-season test at Motorland Aragon, between 4-5 May. It will be the final opportunity for official riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes to fine-tune their set-up before the WorldSBK season starts for real at Motorland between 21-23 May.
The new 2021 Ninja ZX-10RR has shown itself well in the previous winter tests, even if weather conditions have not been as consistently good as the riders and team would have liked. Confidence is high inside the KRT camp after several successful outings with their new technical package, but this coming test is arguably the most important one of all.
At the recent Motorland tests near the end of April Rea and Lowes almost completed all their off-season set-up preparations, just losing some potential track time to changeable weather conditions. If the predictions for good weather for the next tests prove to be true then the last tasks can all be completed in readiness for the first ‘real’ practice sessions of the new season.
The new Ninja features, engine, chassis and most noticeably aerodynamic improvements, including internal front winglets and a vented rear seat unit to provide extra downforce at speed and a more efficient aerodynamic package overall.
Preparing for two full-distance and one sprint races in Aragon is going to be key for both riders in the next few days, particularly as the season starts with back-to-back rounds at Motorland in Spain and then Estoril in Portugal.
Despite the ongoing pandemic the season itself is scheduled to host 13 rounds all in, most occurring in Europe but with two final flyaway events; one in Argentina and one at an entirely new venue in Indonesia.
Alex Lowes, stated: “These final tests are going to be the most important ones. We still have a clear plan which is following on from the last test where we only got half a day riding in with the weather going against us. So, we know what things we need to get ticked off the list before round one. I understand what I need from the bike a lot more this winter, which is allowing me to be better prepared for my second season with Kawasaki and KRT. Because of this I’m really excited to get back out on my new Ninja ZX-10RR.”
Jonathan Rea, stated: “We really will cross the t’s and dot the i’s at this final test at Motorland Aragon. The last test we went to there was productive, and we made some progress, but we never got the chance to do a full race simulation. That is going to be key, something we need to look at understand the bike in a race simulation, with a soft tyre and hard tyre. Aside from that, our test programme has really been about confirming different software and hardware. We have put the pieces together but we have not fine-tuned the bike. We have not got the bike into the window where we are really starting to play with small items, like you would during a race weekend. That is going to be the focus of this test and I really hope to get some consistent weather. I don’t think I have done a winter test this year where we have had two days of the same weather. I really have to thank my team because they have pulled all the stops out to maximise our track time this off-season. We have just been unfortunate with the weather and we have a very good test plan to take us through the season. During these tough times it is very hard to travel and they team make it easier by making sure I always have the right documents. I am looking forward to this last test before the season starts because we will have some of our rivals on track with us as well, riders and manufacturers, so we should get a good idea of where we are.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “In the last couple of tests we did the weather was for sure not as good as we would like, but the forecast for the next two-day test is good. This should allow us to work consistently with no interruptions. I think the next test will be so important to fix the small details before the first round. We are focused now to polish these small details and prepare for full race distances. We will try to make a big competition between Alex and Jonathan, in order to reach the limits on the bike and in the consistency of lap times. We need to prepare for the races, which at Motorland are hard every year. The competition is so high, especially from the Ducati machines, but we expect that all the steps that have been done with the new Ninja ZX-10RR will show that the package is a step ahead compared to last year. I would also like to use this opportunity to congratulate Dorna for the big effort to make 13 rounds possible. It is nice to have the final calendar confirmed, and hopefully the pandemic situation will be stable, step-by-step, and by the end of the year the world will stay in a much more normal way.”
2021 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2021: Races 0, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 99 (84 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 185 (143 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 27 (23 for Kawasaki)
Alex Lowes:
2021: Races: 0, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 24 (4 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)
8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)
Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
KTM EXTEND BENEFICIAL MOTOGP™ PARTNERSHIP WITH TECH3 KTM FACTORY RACING UNTIL 2026
There will be four full-factory KTM RC16s on the MotoGP grid for the next five seasons after KTM renewed their association with the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team and one of the most successful satellite squads in Grand Prix.
Tech3 turned ‘orange’ for 2019 where they helped promising rookie Miguel Oliveira impress with several top ten results. The team and the Portuguese star were able to graduate to the role of Grand Prix winners in 2020 when Oliveira triumphed in Austria and Portugal: bringing Tech3 their first garlands in the premier class.
The 2021 season marks exactly twenty years since the team first entered the premier class of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship. Tech3 was founded in 1990 and enjoyed title success in the old 250cc category before making the jump. They have had representation through the Grand Prix divisions but didn’t scale the heights of MotoGP until Oliveira’s breakthrough achievement last summer.
(From left) Jens Hainbach, Mike Leitner, Heinz Kinigadner, Pit Beirer, Hubert Trunkenpolz, Hervé Poncharal and Stefan Pierer. Photo courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “We are very proud to make this announcement of a new five-year deal with Tech3. It is a very important strategic move for us as part of our long-term strategy in the sport. We already agreed our participation with Dorna for another five years and it was vital to have that foundation and stability in MotoGP by renewing our agreement with Tech3. For the last few years we have been building-up our structure and now it provides an incredible path from Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Moto3, Moto2 and then four valuable places in the premier class where we want to succeed. With Hervé and the Tech3 crew we have the ideal partner and we see the whole operation as part of ‘one team’. It’s more than a pleasure to say we’ll be able to attack the next five years together.”
Hervé Poncharal, Team Principal, Tech3 KTM Factory Racing: “I feel very proud, very privileged and very honored to announce our renewed partnership with KTM. I think we will be the first independent team to announce a five years agreement with a manufacturer in MotoGP history. This is quite an achievement and it also highlights how strong our relationship is and how well the first three years of our partnership have been working. I believe the best is yet to come. We share the same values, the same target, which is to never give up and be ready to race. So now that this deal is done, signed, confirmed, let’s work even harder on the 2021 season and of course let’s think how to be best prepared for 2022. I really believe this organization has all the ingredients to be winning and it’s just up to us to put all the pieces together to make it work and chase victory at every single round.”
Gagne Finally Gets His First Superbike Win At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Jake Gagne Breaks Through With Debut HONOS Superbike Victory In Georgia
Jake Gagne (32) leads Mathew Scholtz (11) during Superbike Race Two at Road Atlanta. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
BRASELTON, GA (May 2, 2021) – After finishing second eight times a season ago, Jake Gagne finally won his first career MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike race and he did so in style, working his way through to the sharp end of the field from his third row starting spot and pulling away to a 4.712-second victory.
Gagne was fast all weekend and qualified on pole position for Saturday’s race, but his race only lasted for a lap as his Fresh N’ Easy Attack Performance Yamaha suffered a mechanical failure that put him out of the race. With Sunday’s race gridded by Saturday’s race results, Gagne started from the middle of the third row. Once he’d adjusted the play out of his slipping clutch, Gagne went on a rampage and his pace was unmatchable.
It was Gagne’s first win of any kind since his Superstock 1000 Championship-winning season in 2015.
“Yeah, it feels good to get something like that off the back,” Gagne said of ending his winless drought. “Obviously, last year (there was) a lot of second places and it wears you down. We came here wanting to win. We came off the truck really firing. After yesterday’s disappointment, this team, the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha work so hard. Those guys were up late last night throwing in one of last year’s motors. So just hats off to those guys. It feels good to get one off my back. Sorry, I didn’t even figure out, two hours before the race they told me I was on the third row, so I didn’t hear about that new fun little rule. So, I knew I had to get off to a good start because I knew Mat (Scholtz) was going to go, and Bobby (Fong) was going to go. I tried so hard to get a good start, I slipped and slipped the clutch. I thought I was in a situation like last year. The first couple laps my clutch was slipping. Luckily, from the experience last year, I knew which way to adjust the clutch. I was going down the straightaway trying to figure it out, and then once I got that dialed in, I knew the bike would keep rolling. I tried to make some passes. Mat was tough. This track is tough to make passes. Turn 10 is one of the main areas and that was where Mat was really strong, even Bobby too. Happy again, we got her done. Looking forward to VIR. I really, really love that place. I know this bike can be a rocket around there.”
The man who came closest to matching Gagne’s pace was Saturday’s race winner Mathew Scholtz on the Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, the South African sticking with Gagne for a few laps before realizing he didn’t have the speed of the race winner. Scholtz held on for second, however, well clear of Gagne’s Fresh N’ Easy Attack Performance Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin, who was third for a second straight day.
“When he (Gagne) passed me, I tried to hang onto him for about three or four laps afterwards and I was pushing super hard,” Scholtz said. “I nearly tucked the front in a couple corners. He was stronger in some of the corners, I was stronger in some of the other sections. But we were just going backwards and forwards and it kind of seemed to just wear my tires out pretty quickly. It kind of helped me to see where his bike is definitely better than where ours is. We need to just work on getting off the corner, but otherwise I’m just happy to be back up here. Well done to Jake. Well done to Josh. It’s really awesome to have a Yamaha sweep. VIR is the next round for us and it’s one of my strongest tracks, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Herrin’s pace was faster than his identical third-place finish on Saturday, though he was slowed in the latter part of the race with arm pump.
“Today for me, performance-wise, was a lot better,” Herrin said. “I think Mathew’s (Scholtz) time was the same, as fast as me. Jake (Gagne) obviously didn’t make the whole race yesterday. So, I was happy to improve my lap time. I was closer to the guys in the beginning of the race. I made a lot of improvements overnight and from this morning. We were able to get a lot of laps in. Richard (Stanboli, his team owner/crew chief) really put his head down and made a lot of improvements to bike to get me a lot more comfortable. That one was just on me. I struggled with arm pump throughout it. I don’t think I would have been able to hang with those guys, but I would have been a little bit happier with how close I was if I didn’t have the problem. So, I’ve got to go home and work on that. Other than that, I’m super happy. It’s been only about a year since I was on the podium. I guess I lucked out on that one, too. I’m waiting for the legit podium when nobody is out. That’s when I’ll be happy. But I’m super happy leaving here with two podiums, good points. Stoked that Jake (Gagne) was able to get his first win. I didn’t know it was his first win. I know it’s a great feeling.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen completed a successful debut weekend with the team, the South African finishing fourth, some 10 seconds clear of his teammate Bobby Fong, after finishing fifth on Saturday.
Fong’s day was made more difficult as he was deemed to have jumped the start and was forced to do a ride-through penalty that put him well back in the pack. He persevered though and was rewarded with fifth and the 11 championships that went with it. Prior to the penalty, Fong was battling with Gagne and Scholtz at the front.
Sixth place went to Panera Bread Ducati’s Kyle Wyman, the team owner/rider some three seconds ahead of Scheibe Racing BMW’s Hector Barbera. Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman was eighth and the top Superbike Cup rider with Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis and FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Jayson Uribe rounding out the top 10.
Scholtz leads the championship as the series heads to VIRginia International Raceway, May 21-23, chase after two races, 45-32, over Herrin.
For the second straight race, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati of New York’s Loris Baz failed to score a point. The Frenchman, who was making his MotoAmerica debut at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, crashed out of race one and was halted by a mechanical problem in race two.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Scores Stunning Maiden Superbike Victory in Race Two at Road Atlanta
Jake Gagne (32). Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne produced a superb performance to take his first MotoAmerica Superbike victory today in race two at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Teammate Josh Herrin continued his impressive start for the team to bookend the podium in a well-controlled third place.
Starting ninth after his DNF on Saturday, Gagne made a blazing getaway to move up to fourth behind Herrin who held onto his third-place grid slot. Before the first lap was complete, the number 32 rider passed his teammate for the final podium position and set about closing down the leaders. A couple of laps before the halfway mark, Gagne scythed his way through to second and then took the lead after a fine slipstream in Turn 10a.
A tense chase for the lead then began between Gagne and fellow Yamaha rider Mathew Scholtz, but the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing R1 showed its strength in the final five laps to help Gagne set the fastest lap time. Extending his lead to over 4.7 seconds, the Californian took the checkered flag to score an emotional first win in the premier class.
After his teammate passed him, Herrin battled for fourth. The 2013 Superbike Champion kept pushing and made his way into third on Lap 10. Battling arm pump issues in the demanding conditions at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Herrin maintained his third position to score his second consecutive podium finish and leave the season opener third in the point standings.
With a win and two third places from the first round, the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team looks to build on their momentum at round two at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on May 21-23.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Today was a nice turnaround for the team and about what we expected going into the event. Jake rode a smart race for the win and Josh continued to improve, bringing home third. The Westby team also did a great job to make it a Yamaha, Attack Performance sweep. We look forward to the next round at VIR. It’s normally a good racetrack for the Yamaha R1!”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“After yesterday’s DNF we were super motivated to get that win today. It feels amazing to finally get a Superbike win and I couldn’t ask for a better crew to do it with! Hats off to the team for finishing strong and giving me an amazing bike after a rough start. I’m ready for more at VIR!”
Josh Herrin – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“I’m extremely happy with our finishes this weekend. We never gave up and it paid off. I’m looking forward to a great weekend at VIR! Huge congrats to Jake Gagne and his crew on their first win!”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Road Atlanta a road of mixed fortunes for Ducati duo Baz and Wyman
Sunnyvale, Calif., May 2, 2021 – The first round of MotoAmerica 2021 saw a mixed bag of results for Ducati duo Kyle Wyman and Loris Baz.
Under bright blue skies at the world famous Road Atlanta, Wyman led the Ducati charge with a fifth in race one and sixth in race two on the gorgeous Panera Bread Ducati Panigale, ensuring the Arizona resident will leave the Peach State eighth overall in the standings heading to round two at VIR.
Unfortunately, for Baz, it wasn’t the weekend he’d hoped for on his MotoAmerica debut. After qualifying an impressive third, Baz engaged in a fierce battle with Yamaha’s eventual race winner Mathew Scholtz for the lead in the opening race but crashed at turn 10A, ending his race with five laps to go.
It was looking good for Baz in race two before a technical issue pitted him for repairs. He eventually finished 20th with Yamaha’s Jake Gagne taking the race win.
Loris Baz (76). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Ducati.
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“For sure, it was not the weekend we wanted,” Baz admitted. “But we will keep the head up. The guys in the team did a strong job. I needed a better start in race two than on I did on Saturday and got it, but I still don’t have a good feeling on the new tire. But once the tire started to drop, I felt so good. The feeling was awesome on the Ducati. I went P3 but then we had a technical issue, so I had to come in and change the part. I am disappointed, but once again, I will keep the head up because there is still 450 points in this championship on offer. We’re alive and we’re going make it up. We will work harder and we will come to VIR stronger than ever.”
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Ducati.
Kyle Wyman (Panera Bread Ducati – Ducati #33)
“In race one I got off to a pretty decent start from the third row and ended up in a battle for seventh with Hector Barbara,” Wyman said. “I was pushing hard from there. We had some issues with edge grip on the bike. I was just trying to bring it home and get some good data for the guys and with some attrition we ended up top five, so I was pretty happy with that considering how little time we’ve had on this new bike.
“Then in race two we started from fifth thanks to the first race finish position and I got a really good start but spent the race getting more acquainted with the Panigale. I started gaining some decent pace in the middle of the race, but again, I just need more time on the bike and need to test get more confidence. Thanks to my guys, they built me a great bike and we’ll be ready for VIR in a couple of weeks.”
Round two of the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be held at Virginia International Raceway on May 21-23, 2021.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
A One And A Two For Superbike Championship Leader Scholtz At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Braselton, GA – May 2, 2021 – Following up his season-opening MotoAmerica Superbike race win on Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, West Racing’s Mathew Scholtz finished as runner-up in Sunday’s round-one-concluding race. On the strength of his first- and second-place finishes, Mathew is currently leading the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Starting from the pole based on his number-one finishing position in race one, Mathew got off the line well, but he had to slot into second place going into turn one. He held the position for the first four laps and then moved into the lead on lap five, which he maintained until he was passed on lap seven. The race leader had to pit in order to serve a penalty for jumping the start, and then, fellow Yamaha Superbike rider Jake Gagne overtook Mathew, which kept him in second place where he stayed all the way to the checkered flag. Josh Herrin ultimately finished third behind Mathew, which completed the all-Yamaha Superbike podium.
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads Bobby Fong (50), Jake Gagne, Josh Herrin (2), Cameron Petersen (45), and Loris Baz (76) at Road Atlanta. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
“When Gagne passed me, I tried to hang onto him for about three or four laps afterwards and I was pushing super-hard,” Mathew said. “I nearly tucked the front in a couple of corners. He was stronger in some of the corners, I was stronger in some of the other sections. But, we were just going backwards and forwards, and it seemed to just wear my tires out pretty quickly. It helped me to see where his bike is better than ours. We need to just work on getting off the corner, but otherwise I’m just happy to be back up here. Well done to Jake. Well done to Josh. It’s really awesome to have a Yamaha sweep. VIR is the next round for us, and it’s one of my strongest tracks, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Jack Roach (12) leads a group of Junior Cup riders. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Westby Racing’s Junior Cup rider Jack Roach, who finished eighth in Saturday’s race one, unfortunately followed up that result with an unlucky 13th on Sunday. He’ll regroup, keep training hard, and come back strong for round two of the 2021 season.
Jack commented, “This weekend was one to forget. The team got a lot of information from the bike, and so did I. I feel like my results didn’t show how hard I was riding. I know that I was the fastest kid in the corners thanks to the brilliant handling of the Westby Racing YZF-R3. Thank you to the N2 Racing crew. They’ve been a massive help to us, and I can’t wait for VIR because the track suits the R3 really well.”
Next up for Westby Racing is round two of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on May 21 through 23.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 45
2. Josh Herrin – Yamaha – 32
3. Bobby Fong – Suzuki – 31 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Standings
First-Time Winners Highlight Sunday At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Ben Gloddy And Teagg Hobbs Join Jake Gagne With Debut Wins In Georgia
BRASELTON, GA (May 2, 2021) – Sunday was a day of first-time winners at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with Ben Gloddy and Teagg Hobbs joining HONOS Superbike winner Jake Gagne in winning their first MotoAmerica races on a sunny Sunday in Georgia.
After finishing on the podium eight times last year, Gloddy finally took to the top step with a hard-fought win in the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race at Road Atlanta today. Hobbs, meanwhile, had also never made it to the top step of a MotoAmerica race until taking victory in the Twins Cup on Sunday.
Ben Gloddy (72) held off yesterday’s winner Tyler Scott (70) to earn his first-ever SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race victory. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
In SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup, Ben Gloddy finally broke through with the race win that he’s been coveting for the past couple of years. A frequent visitor to the podium, but never on the top step, Gloddy, who races a Kawasaki for Landers Racing, took the checkers in Sunday’s race two by a scant .127 of a second over Scott Powersports KTM rider Tyler Scott. Third place on Sunday went to KERmoto Kawasaki’s Cody Wyman.
Incidentally, Wyman’s podium result completed a rare road racing trifecta, with all three Wyman brothers finishing on the podium: Travis winning in Stock 1000, Kyle finishing second in King Of The Baggers, and Cody coming home third in Junior Cup.
“It was good to get the monkey off the back,” Gloddy said. “Last year, we were finishing third. I think I finished third eighth times last year. Yesterday, we put it in second and the goal after that was just to keep making progress forward. We were able to do that today and get on the top step of the box. Me and Tyler (Scott) pulled a little bit of a gap there in the middle of the race. I was kind of hoping for me and Tyler’s sake, it would be me and him out front, but we got caught by that group again, and I was just trying to stay as far in front of that group as I could and not get tossed too far back. Doing that, I was able to draft Tyler down the back straightaway and cut him off in the last corner, so I was able to get the win.”
Tyler O’Hara (29) beat Kyle Wyman (33) to the finish line in King of the Baggers. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
King Of The Baggers: The King Is Back
Round one of the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship featured an exciting battle at the front between Mission Foods S&S Cycle Indian Challenger rider Tyler O’Hara, who was last year’s King Of The Baggers invitational winner, and MotoAmerica Superbike rider Kyle Wyman, who was aboard his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special. O’Hara and Wyman each took turns at the front with Wyman getting the holeshot and leading the race until lap five when O’Hara took the lead and, ultimately, the checkers.
At the stripe, O’Hara’s margin of victory over Wyman was just under half a second. Meanwhile, third place went to Frankie Garcia, who raced his Roland Sands Design Indian Challenger to his second consecutive King Of The Baggers podium finish.
“Kyle (Wyman) is riding awesome,” O’Hara said of the newest addition to the King Of The Baggers rider lineup. “To have that full factory effort coming in here, it’s an awesome challenge. I love a challenge, and I think it’s great for the sport and it’s just going to elevate both of our programs, and our bikes are just going to get better and better. So definitely it’s good to have. Hopefully, we can get some more bikes. The Indian Challenger, you can go out and buy it and basically get all the parts that I’m running on my bike and come out and race. I’m looking forward to getting more bikes on the grid, but for sure there’s definitely more of a challenge this year.”
Sean Dylan Kelly wheelies his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki after winning the Supersport race for the second day in a row on Sunday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
Supersport: Kelly Does The Double
The first double race winner of 2021 is M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who completed a perfect weekend in the Supersport class by earning the pole and winning both Saturday’s race one and Sunday’s race two. Defending class champion Richie Escalante salvaged what started out as a rough weekend when he crashed and destroyed his 2021 HONOS Kawasaki and had to race his 2020 bike in both Supersport events. Escalante made the best of the situation and finished second to Kelly on Saturday and again on Sunday. Class rookie Rocco Landers emerged on Sunday with a third-place finish after surviving a last-turn skirmish for the final podium spot.
“I have to be very, very proud of the work and very happy with this weekend,” Kelly said. “Honestly, it’s been a tough road ever since the 2020 season. We already know how Richie was from the start of last year. It was definitely tough for me throughout the year and then throughout the off-season. I’ve just been really focused on my work, focused on what we have to improve. It’s been big teamwork between working on myself, working with the team. They made huge steps. I made huge steps. Our package is just much better, and here’s the results. We came in really well this weekend. I just focused on being better in the end of the races. That’s where we struggled last year. Here’s the result. I wasn’t expecting a pole position yesterday, but we got that. The pace in yesterday’s race was really, really good. We focused on some improvements for today. I didn’t go any faster in the race, but I think just certain things were a little different out there but still my pace was just as good. Really happy with my consistency with the gap that we made to second. Overall, just very proud of all the work. I just want to thank my whole team, thank my sponsors and everyone who was behind me, supporting me, and believing in me. We’re just going to keep on working. We have a long way to go. We’re just going to keep on going with this focus and go into every weekend working to dominate.”
Travis Wyman (10). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Stock 1000: Wyman Gets It Done
In Sunday morning’s Stock 1000 race two, the middle Wyman brother Travis rode his Travis Wyman Racing BMW to victory one day after finishing third in race one. Wyman caught up to and overtook early race leader Geoff May, who finished second aboard his Geoff May Racing/VisionWheel.com Honda. Meanwhile, Jones Honda rider Ashton Yates rounded out the podium after finishing second in Saturday’s race one.
“I still didn’t get a very good start,” Wyman said. “But we made a pretty good change last night. We kind of gambled on something in the warmup to get a little bit more grip out of the bike in the long term, and we did. We improved it, for sure. But really the biggest change today was just getting through the pack of riders. Jake (Lewis) kind of really gave me an advantage. He hit a false neutral there or something. So, when I got out front and I had a little bit of a gap, I knew that I could click off some laps to catch Geoff (May), but it definitely wasn’t easy. I was pushing really hard. I was seeing 27 flat, 27 flat on my timer, and I wasn’t really making up a lot of ground. But I could tell that Geoff was struggling a little bit and the tire was starting to fall off. I think mine just held on a little bit longer. Towards the end of the race, I was able to close the gap. Definitely got to give it to my crew chief, Steve, for making that adjustment this morning to our rear end.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) topped Trevor Standish (16) in the restarted Twins Cup Race Two. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Twins Cup: Hobbs Gets His First
Saturday’s Twins Cup race one winner Kaleb De Keyrel crashed his Robem Engineering Aprilia in Sunday’s race two, and the incident unfortunately also collected his teammate Hayden Schultz, who finished third on Saturday, along with two other teammates and Saturday second-place finisher Jody Barry. All told, four Aprilia riders were caught up in the incident, and thankfully none of the five were seriously injured. The race was red flagged, but none of the Aprilia riders who crashed were able to make the restart.
As a result, the podium after Sunday’s race two was completely different from Saturday’s race one podium. Polesitter and Innovative Motorsports/Mike’s Imports Suzuki rider Teagg Hobbs escaped the incident completely, restarted the race, and went on to win by just .264 of a second over second-place finisher Trevor Standish aboard his Pure Attitude Racing Suzuki. Third place went to GCP Suzuki’s Chris Parrish.
“Pretty tough weekend,” Hobbs said. “We were P1 almost every session we went out. That was harder for me because that was the most pressure I’ve ever felt. So going into yesterday’s race, we were running all right, then I got the sign for the jump start. I was gutted immediately. I knew I needed to put it past me today before today’s race. Learn from those mistakes. I went into today’s race, and we were running all right. There was a big pack up front. Kaleb went by me on the front straight, and I held my line on the outside of him and all of a sudden, I saw a bunch of smoke and he went backwards. I heard a bunch of noises. I looked back and there were three guys on the ground. Obviously, the red flag came out, and we came in. I thought they’d be back in the race, given how long the cleanup time was. Then I saw the starting grid and these guys were all behind me. I was like, ‘Oh boy. This isn’t going to be an easy one.” Just put my lines down and tried to focus for the race. Off the line I wanted to get a good start and try to lead, but also like Trevor was saying, I didn’t want to lead into turn one. Luckily my start was horrendous. The first few laps were a little hairy into turn one, but I took the lead and I knew I just needed to do whatever I could to stay up front. Trevor was putting a lot of pressure on me. Every time I went by the start/finish I saw on my board ‘plus 0.’ I tried my best to ride the best last few laps I could and finally won one of these things, so I’m stoked. I’ve got a lot of pressure on me now to chase down the points leader going into Virginia. I’m happy for Trevor, happy for Chris.”
The Bagger Racing League will include a Stunt GP racing class and stunt shows. Photo by Justin George, courtesy BRL.
BAGGER RACING LEAGUE, IN HIGH GEAR AHEAD OF FIRST RACE AND RALLY
HIRES RACE DIRECTOR AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR PUBLISHES OFFICIAL RULES AND OPENS RACE REGISTRATION
DURANGO, CO – Bagger Racing League’s inaugural event is just over two months away, and the growing race league isn’t wasting any time.
They’ve hired a Race Director, Technical Director, Referee and Starter. Bagger Racing League (BRL) is proud to announce that race registration is now open.
To register for the first Bagger Racing League event, Drag Specialities Battle of the Baggers, Salt Lake City, June 25–27 at Utah Motorsports Campus, click here or visit www.BaggerRacingLeague.com. For those needing to get licensed prior to the event, Bagger Racing League has licensing and race school reciprocity with Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycling Association (CVMA), WERA, Competition Riders of America (CRA), Championship cup Series (CCS), American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM), American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (ARHMA) and Pacfic Track Time.
AHRMA has welcomed BRL prospective racers at their most recent Academy of Racing at Willow Springs Raceway in Rosamond, California. Interested riders can register for the next AHRMA Roadracing School on Friday, May 28 at Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas here.
“We’re thrilled so many companies have jumped on board as sponsors, and we can’t wait to get them in front of racers, riders and the general public,” said BRL founder Rob Buydos. “We also couldn’t be happier with our new race director, Alex Mock—Alex is a consummate professional with the kind of high-level experience and expertise we were looking for in a director.”
Based out of Corona, California, Alex Mock is the former head of race operations and promoter of the Supermoto National Championship Series and Roland Sands Design SuperHooligans, among others. He has a wide range of experience in race operations, timing, and scoring and race promotions, and he holds a race coach certificate with the U.S. Motorcycle Coaching Association (USMCA) and is the current American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA) Roadrace Director.
“Bagger Racing League’s melding of high-performance and touring motorcycles is something new and exciting,” said Mock. “I’m honored to be on board, and I’m raring to begin my race directorship at the inaugural event in June.”
Dan Berkes is confirmed as the Technical Director and brings a wealth of V-Twin specific performance knowledge and experience. Berke’s experience in a Harley-Davidson dealership, as an aftermarket parts shop owner and aftermarket performance parts distributor as well as his attention to detail will be invaluable as the Technical Director of the Bagger Racing League.
Bagger Racing League is more than racing it is a 3-day long event that features the world’s largest V-Twin vendor village at a racetrack, stunt shows, camping, the Arlen Ness Custom Bike Show, music and lots of racing.
BRL features 5 classes of racing:
1. Hooligan GP: Includes any V-twin inspired platform.
2. Big Twin GP: Includes any large-displacement big twin.
3. Stunt GP: Entrants will qualify or not based on a stunt performance the day before racing; types of stunts include burnouts, drifting, wheelies, and the like.
4. Premier Class Bagger GP: Bikes must have a fairing and bags to qualify.
5. Pro Stock Bagger: Bikes must have fairing and bags to qualify.
“Within hours of announcing the Bagger Racing League, we had over 20 teams signed contracts to race with the Bagger Racing League. In the subsequent weeks, the groundswell of support has proven the need for a V-Twin centric race and rally. We can’t wait to see everyone at the Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers in Salt Lake City at the end of June and have the best 3 days of V-Twin racing in history” Said Bagger Racing League COO, John M. Oakes.
Bagger Racing League round 1 Drag Specialties Battle of the Baggers takes place June 25–27, 2021, in Salt Lake City, Utah, at Utah Motorsports Complex. Presale tickets are now available.
BRL Official Rules are posted and can be perused here.
About Bagger League Racing
Bagger League Racing is a motorsports event series featuring high-performance touring V-twin motorcycles. The only event of its kind, it was founded by Rob Buydos and John Oakes in 2021.
Even a well-used set of good performance radials can serve you well at a track day. The author on his beloved bargain blaster Suzuki SV650 with a set of year-old Dunlop RoadSport 2 radials at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. Photo by CaliPhotography.com.
Copyright 2021, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
by Michael Gougis
For riders thinking about getting into the track day riding game, there are obstacles real and imagined. The real ones can be tough enough. You don’t need imagined ones on top of those.
Often, new riders are told/read on social media that they have to have good tires to go to the track. This is true. But what constitutes a good tire? Do you have to have slicks? Is it imperative to have a spare set of rims with racing tires mounted up just to go have a good time riding around your favorite circuit?
The simple answer is no. And the more complex answer is that a good set of modern performance-oriented radials are good enough to get you through a day of trashing around your favorite circuit with style. And an even more complex answer is that even tires that have been used on the street can successfully make the transition to occasional track use.
Which brings us to the immediate instance: Dunlop’s RoadSport 2.
A Dunlop RoadSport2 front tire. Photo courtesy Dunlop.
Dunlop has a range of performance-oriented street radials, ranging from the budget Sportmax GPR-300 up to the Sportmax Q4. While perusing the company’s catalogue for a new set of boots for my Suzuki SV650 street machine, I ran across the following phrase in the company’s literature for the RoadSport 2:
Available in popular sport bike sizes to fit machines such as the Suzuki SV650.
A Dunlop RoadSport2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Dunlop.
I’m not always the warmest McNugget in the Happy Meal, so the universe apparently didn’t want there to be any ambiguity about which tires I, the owner of a Suzuki SV650, should purchase. I bought a set in April 2020.
The tires feature a radial construction with a single-compound tread. They are designed for quick warmup and light, quick steering. The company says they are designed to provide a balance between value and performance and to offer grip at sportbike-appropriate lean angles.
Between April 2020 and April 2021, I put approximately 5,500 street miles on this set of tires. I was careful to maintain proper street tire pressures, and I upgraded the suspension a bit – as someone wise once said, the entire purpose of a chassis is to keep the tires happy.
So even a trip from Southern California to Seattle and back didn’t flat-spot the tires in the center, and they still felt grippy enough for freeway onramp shenanigans a year after I bought them. The tires also felt dead-stable at speed on the freeway, didn’t beat me up and didn’t wander over rain grooves. All good.
Then, for the purposes of a different article, I needed to put a few track miles on the bike. And I thought, I’ve been telling people for years in the Trackday Directory that the bike in the garage is good enough to get started on. Well, I had a bike in the garage. Put up or shut up, I thought.
I did four long (30-minute) sessions at Buttonwillow Raceway Park at a TrackDaz event on the RoadSport 2 tires. I dropped the pressures to 32 psi front, 28 psi rear, cold, and didn’t touch them the rest of the day. I also didn’t use tire warmers.
Perhaps my familiarity with Suzuki’s middleweight twin assisted things, but I was quickly comfortable and having fun. As promised, the tires quickly warmed to the point where I was knee-down in the first session, and they did nothing wrong through the long sweeping corners at the track, the front tracking true and holding a line comfortably with the speedo reading 90 mph through Riverside.
As my confidence built, I could get the rear to slide a bit, but it was all completely under control. As a matter of fact, I didn’t realize how much I was hanging the rear out until the gentleman pitted next to me commented on how aggressively I was riding when I passed him on his KTM 1290 Super Duke!
At the end of the day, the rear was shagged all the way to the edge and looked like they’d been on the track. But they’re still in good shape, and I’m still using them on the street. And I’ll be looking for another set of RoadSport (or tires from the company’s multi-compound RoadSmart series) when I eventually burn these out.
Dominic Doyle during pre-season testing on his new BARTCON Racing Kawasaki ZX-6R. Photo courtesy BARTCON Racing.
BARTCON Racing rider Dominic Doyle missed the Supersport races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and will miss the upcoming races at VIRginia International Raceway due to a broken right arm he suffered during the season-opening event in Georgia.
“Unfortunately after further scans, we have confirmed that our Supersport rider Dominic Doyle has suffered a fracture of his right wrist, more specifically the radius bone, after crashing out in Friday’s free practice at Road Atlanta,” team owner Colin Barton wrote in an e-mail to Roadracingworld.com. “Dominic will have the cast on for at least a month and will be out for VIR, but hopefully after some accelerated physio/rehab and hard training, we can get him ready for Road America in mid-June.”
Sean Dylan Kelly (40) does the double with a pair of dominant wins on his GSX-R600. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
SUZUKI’S SEAN DYLAN KELLY WINS TWICE AT ROAD ATLANTA
Brea, CA – Suzuki Motor USA, LLC and Team Hammer kicked off the 2021 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship in midseason form, racking up a pair of victories, three podiums, and a pole position in the ‘21 opener at Road Atlanta.
The weekend’s leading man was undoubtedly M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who made good on his promise to come back even stronger in ‘21 following a five-win, championship runner-up MotoAmerica Supersport campaign a year ago.
‘SDK’ delivered back-to-back blowout victories from pole in MotoAmerica Supersport competition at Road Atlanta. He twice demonstrated his elite dog-fighting capabilities aboard his Suzuki GSX-R600 early before ultimately breaking his pursuers’ challenge and escaping to take the checkered flag alone at the front.
As a result, Kelly now boasts four consecutive class victories dating back to the end of last season. The rising star said, “That was amazing. It’s awesome to see fans here again cheering us on. This is what we work for as a team. For myself, this offseason, it was really tough after a difficult 2020 season. But this is what we work for.
“I came into 2021 better than ever, and my team came into 2021 better than ever. We worked really hard this weekend and this is our reward. We’re going to keep going just like this. We’re really strong and we’re going to keep on fighting.”
Sam Lochoff (44) kicked off his 2021 season with two impressive top ten finishes in Atlanta. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Kelly’s new teammate, Sam Lochoff, impressed in his MotoAmerica Supersport class (and team) debut. The South African twice fought his way forward from the outside of Row 3, claiming a fifth-place result on Saturday and a seventh on Sunday despite still acclimating to the power of Suzuki’s Supersport contender.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Superbike duo of Bobby Fong and Cameron Petersen flashed serious potential and came away with a runner-up result and four top-fives despite battling against misfortune and difficult circumstances.
Bobby Fong (50) raced hard and delivered a podium finish and a top five finish to back it up. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Fong stormed to second aboard his factory GSX-R1000 Superbike on Saturday and showed the pace to improve upon that position in Sunday’s rematch.
Unfortunately, the Californian was judged to have jumped the start and was assessed a ride-thru penalty while running at the front of the pack. The penalty eliminated Fong from contention for the win, but Fong rode hard after serving the penalty and salvaged a fifth-place finish in the end.
“It wasn’t a bad weekend. We came out in one piece with no crashes and got some points,” said Fong. “I jumped the start in race two and I apologize to the team for that. The track is downhill there on the start and I got a bit of a roll. It’s unfortunate, but that is part of racing. When I was leading, I didn’t feel like I was pushing too hard and I felt comfortable racing with those guys. The team worked really well this weekend and I feel really good about our season.”
Cameron Petersen (45) took home two top-five finishes in his debut ride in the Superbike class. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
South African Cam Petersen scored a pair of fourths, despite riding at less than 100% due to a healing injured foot.
Wyatt Farris (79) had two solid races in his debut on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Unrealized potential was the theme for a number of other Suzuki pilots; M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Wyatt Farris earned tenth- and 13th-place finishes in Stock 1000 after a preseason injury hampered his testing program.
Jake Lewis (85) is back on a Suzuki and delivered two fourth-place finishes over the weekend. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Altus Motorsports Suzuki’s ultra-talented Jake Lewis twice teased race-winning potential on his Team Hammer-built GSX-R1000 in Stock 1000 before reeling in a pair of fourths.
Team Hammer and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will look to make good on a promising opener when the 2021 season resumes at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, on May 21-23.
More, from a press release issued by Jayson Uribe’s publicist:
Jayson Uribe in MotoAmerica Top 10!
Jayson Uribe (36). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Jayson Uribe Racing.
It was a challenging weekend for ADR Racing’s Jayson Uribe, who ultimately walked away with a top ten finish yesterday, in the second Superbike race of the opening MotoAmerica event of the year, after a monster crash earlier in the weekend at Road Atlanta.
Now Suzuki mounted, Uribe made a promising start before falling heavily on Friday afternoon, resulting in a trip to the local hospital which thankfully revealed no broken bones. Determined to take to the grid, Jayson’s first race on Saturday yielded no points, meaning a tough race on Sunday, the #36 having to start from nineteenth on the grid.
Working his way forward, Jayson was soon inside the top, where he eventually finished, collecting six points and his first top ten of the season. He moves on to Round 2 at VIR in a couple of weeks looking to build upon his exploits of the opening round.
Jayson Uribe: “Overall, it was an interesting opening weekend for the ADR team. We were off to a good start, right up until QP1 on Friday afternoon when we had a small piece of the rear brake fail, which caused fluid to get on to the rear tire and send me skyward. Absolutely no fault of anyone, just a faulty piece that no one could’ve predicted or planned for. Long story short, I was taken to the hospital for some X-rays and to fix up some scrapes. Still have all nine fingers though! I woke up on Saturday morning very sore, but ready to get back on the bike. My crew worked late into the night to make sure the bike was perfect, which I appreciate greatly. David Anthony (my team mate and boss) ended up having an off in QP2 and sustained an injury to his hand that ruled him out of the weekend. From that point on, my goal was just to finish the weekend and take-home points for the team. Race 1 on Saturday was rough, as we got tangled up in some oil from an incident in turn 1, which caused me to come to the pits to clean everything off. We went back out just to gather data and prep for race 2. In race 2, I was gridded in 19th from the finish in race 1, which gave me a lot of work to do. After clawing my way up to 10th, I decided to play it safe and bring home some points for the team. Overall, the ADR crew had a bit of a rough go at Atlanta. We are all looking forward to starting fresh for round 2!”
More, from a press release issued by Travis Wyman Racing:
Travis Wyman scores victory, podium at MotoAmerica Superbikes at Atlanta
BMW rider leaves Road Atlanta round with championship points lead in Stock 1000 Class, Superbike Cup
Travis Wyman (10). Photo by Paul Phillips, courtesy Travis Wyman Racing.
BRASELTON, Ga. — As Travis Wyman traveled to the Road Atlanta road course on Thursday, he was hoping his offseason testing program had done enough to help him get a good start to the 2021 MotoAmerica season. By the end of his fourth and final race of the April 30-May 2 event, the California Superbike School instructor had accomplished that goal and now sits atop the points standings in two MotoAmerica classes.
The Las Vegas rider kicked off his second season racing aboard a 2020 BMW S 1000 RR — with title sponsorship from Keith Code’s California Superbike School — with a victory and third place in the weekend’s two Stock 1000 races and was the top-finishing Superbike Cup rider in both MotoAmerica Superbike races.
Wyman was fast from start of the weekend, posting the fastest lap time in Stock 1000 practice on Friday morning. After having trouble getting a clean flying lap in Friday afternoon’s qualifying session due to a crowded racetrack, Wyman finished Saturday qualifying in second.
Saturday afternoon’s Stock 1000 race saw Wyman recover from a lackluster start to claim a podium finish. After falling back to fifth place at the end of Lap 1, Wyman battled with several other riders for the duration of the 13-lap race. The only lap Wyman crossed the start/finish line in third place was the last lap. Wyman also ended that race with an exclamation point, breaking the lap record for the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Class at Road Atlanta with a time of 1:26.949 on the final lap.
Later Saturday, Wyman lined up for first Superbike race of 2021. After starting the race 12th on the grid, Wyman fell as far back as 14th before charging forward to ninth place by the end of Lap 3. Attrition farther up the field moved Wyman up the running order. He finished the race in seventh and secured the best finish among the Superbike Cup riders.
For Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, Wyman got a better start and gradually reeled in the race leader. After making a draft pass for the lead on Lap 9, Wyman built a commanding lead, taking the victory by a margin of 2.876 seconds. Later Sunday afternoon, Wyman scored his second top-10 Superbike finish of the weekend. Starting from seventh place on the grid, Wyman held off a challenge from another Superbike Cup rider to score a eighth-place finish and a second-consecutive first place among the Superbike Cup field. Wyman also lowered his personal best lap time around Road Atlanta when he posted a 1:26.690.
The next round of the 2021 MotoAmerica season takes place May 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. The track is one of Wyman’s favorites on the MotoAmerica schedule, and he has recorded a win and a third-place in MotoAmerica’s last two Stock 1000 races on the facility’s 2.25-mile North Course.
Travis Wyman / No. 10
“The weekend at Road Atlanta went about as good as it could have. If I’d gotten a better start in Saturday’s Stock 1000 race, I think I would’ve been in contention to win that race too. I’ve had success here before, but I put this year’s good results down to being prepared for the start of the season. Thanks to my Irv Seaver BMW-sponsored offseason testing program, I felt comfortable pushing my BMW from the start of the weekend and had great pace from the first practice session. I got a better start in Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, and my team had my BMW dialed in. It’s been an amazing weekend, but there’s still a lot of racing to go this year. I really enjoy racing at VIR, and I think we’ll be in the hunt for more victories there.”
More, from a press release issued by Robem Engineering:
Robem Engineering riders endure difficult race Sunday on final day of MotoAmerica Superbikes at Atlanta
De Keyrel, Schultz, Khamsouk unable to take part in restarted Twins Cup race after suffering crashes at Road Atlanta’s Turn 1
Kaleb De Keyrel (51) on his Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660. Photo by Sara Chappell Photos.
BRASELTON, Ga. — Saturday afternoon, the Robem Engineering team was celebrating the triumphant debut of the Aprilia RS 660 in MotoAmerica Twins Cup competition. About 24 hours later, the team’s three riders were unable to finish Sunday’s Twins Cup contest, as Kaleb De Keyrel, Hayden Schultz and Toby Khamsouk all crashed out of the race at the start of Lap 8.
Despite not claiming any championship points Sunday, all three Robem Engineering Aprilias were running in the top seven or better for the first seven laps of the race, with De Keyrel and Schultz locked in a battle for the race lead. The team leaves the first of nine MotoAmerica rounds in 2021 with a win and a podium finish in the books, as well as two riders in the top nine in the Twins Cup points standings.
Hayden Schultz (49). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Robem Engineering.
At the start of Sunday’s Twins Cup race, it was De Keyrel who grabbed the holeshot and led the field into Road Atlanta’s uphill Turn 1. From there, it was a four-way battle for the lead, with De Keyrel and Schultz taking their turns at the front of the quartet. De Keyrel was consistently fast, posting a 1:35.180 on Lap 4 – the fastest lap of the race at that point in time – then besting that time on Lap 6 with a 1:35.703. As De Keyrel was vying for the lead at the start of Lap 8, fluid began leaking from his bike, causing De Keyrel, Schultz, Khamsouk and another rider to crash as they entered Turn 1. The race was stopped and, due to damage all three bikes suffered in their respective crashes, none of the Robem riders were able to take part in the restarted race.
Toby Khamsouk (27). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Robem Engineering.
The Robem Engineering team will be back in action at Round 2 of the 2021 MotoAmerica season, which takes place May 21-23 at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Va. The tight, twisty nature of VIR’s 2.25-mile North Course should suit the good handling characteristics of the Aprilia RS 660, and all three riders will aim to further their goal of winning Aprilia’s first MotoAmerica title.
Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2021 include The Center for Plastic Surgery, Velocity Calibrations, Bitubo Suspension, Dunlop, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, DNA Filters, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies and SC-Project.
More, from a press release issued by Pure Attitude Racing:
Podium, a brace of top tens, points for all four riders – MotoAmerica started in style for Pure Attitude Racing in Atlanta
Pure Attitude Racing made their intentions clear in the opening round of the 2021 MotoAmerica series at Road Atlanta this past weekend. Trevor Standish raced to a maiden Twins Cup podium, his team mates securing solid race finishes in both Supersport and Twins Cup too!
The weekend began in style in Gainesville Square where all four riders attended the annual ‘Season Kick Off’ Party, one of the team’s machines was also on display.
When the on-track action got underway on Friday, riders Nate Minster and Austin Miller made great strides between sessions in Supersport, the pair showing great speed and potential on the opening day of season. Both riders improved further in final qualifying, although Nate Minster took a spill which ruled him out of Race 1. Twins Cup duo, Liam MacDonald and Trevor Standish had an up and down day one but bounced back in style to qualify strongly ahead of their two races.
Looking back at the races – two in both classes – the team are delighted with the performance of all four riders who each ensured a bag full of points as the season heads to Virginia International Raceway in a couple of weeks.
Trevor Standish. Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Trevor Standish began his title campaign in Twins Cup with a fighting fourth on Saturday, which he followed up with a stunning ride to P2 on Sunday, the #16 leaving Road Atlanta with the championship lead! Liam MacDonald showed that he has lost none of his speed, despite not racing competitively for over a year. The Kiwi, who is making is MotoAmerica debut this season, finished tenth and seventh, declaring himself content with the weekend, and delighted with how welcome Pure Attitude Racing have made him feel.
Austin Miller (61). Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Austin Miller opened his points tally with a career equalling best result of twelfth, the #61 Kawasaki rider running strongly in race too, before a small issue meant he had to retire. Nate Minster, who had initially qualified on the third row of the grid, secured the team’s third top ten finish of the weekend, taking eighth in a confidence building ride on Sunday.
Trevor Standish 4th / 2nd: “The season got off to a great start. I finished fourth on Saturday which was a career best finish in the Twins Cup class for me. I made another good start in Race 2 on Sunday and was running a strong fifth. I was hanging with the lead group and I noticed some smoke along the main straight. I had made a couple of mistakes, which was lucky in hindsight as there was a three-rider crash into Turn 1. I knew it must have been fluid, so I was extra cautious. We regrouped and I made the hole shot and was able to pressure Teagg Hobbs throughout. It was a great feeling to lead the opening lap and a half and to be able to fight for the win. I made the fastest lap of the race on the last lap and am leading the Twins Cup championship too which is unbelievable, I actually have no words. The next round is at one of my favourite circuits – VIR – and I hope we can keep the momentum going. I want to thank the whole Pure Attitude Team for all their hard work this weekend, especially Kent and AJ, and thank the fans for going so crazy at the podium!”
Liam MacDonald (37). Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Liam MacDonald: 10th / 7th: “Q2 I was frustrated to only get one clean lap, but the main thing is that I made the grid after the crash in Q1. For the race, from lap seven to eleven I was in survival mode. I couldn’t feel my arms or my hands. I could barely twist the throttle. I lost a couple of places on the final lap but that’s racing. I learned a lot and to finish my first race in the US in the top ten is more than I expected. I am really stoked with how Race 2 went. I’m upset that I made a mistake on the last lap but that won’t happen as I get more used to the bike and I understand how to race a Twins Cup bike. We aren’t quite there with the perfect set-up, but we aren’t far away, and the potential is there. I need to improve my physical fitness, I haven’t raced for over a year, but I am confident that we can run in the top six pretty soon. I am so happy for my team mate Trevor and so happy for the team. I already feel part of the Pure Attitude family and I cannot wait for the next race.”
Nate Minster (99). Photo courtesy Pure Attitude Racing.
Nate Minster – DNS / 8th: “Qualifying went well, especially on Saturday when I was able to improve my time by over a second. I crashed heavily though towards the end of Q2 and despite the best efforts of the team I was unable to make the grid for race one. We were able to race on Sunday and whilst I didn’t feel the best after my Q2 get off, I was able to make a good start and was chasing for seventh. I ended up eighth, which when you consider what happened and the work, we had to do to get back out there isn’t too bad.”
Austin Miller: 12th / 15th: “Race one went great despite a rough opening lap on the initial start. I shifted into third gear and got on the gas a little too hard out of Turn 10 and as I crested the hill towards the final turn the front wheel went skywards. Luckily, I was able to get it stopped but was dead last after going through the gravel. The next lap there was a red flag which really helped me out. My initial jump on the restart wasn’t great but I avoided another incident at Turn 1 and was able to bring it home in the twelfth position and I was able to improve my lap time again, in race conditions. Race two there was another red flag unfortunately when I was running in the top fourteen. I was able to run in the points in the restart but with three laps to go I had a small problem with the bike. I lost power and had to reset it which worked but the issue happened again, and I had to retire to the pits.”
More, from a press release issued by Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing:
Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing, presented by Motorcycle Xcitement, scores points-paying finish in first time racing at Road Atlanta in MotoAmerica season opener
BMW rider places in top 20 in MotoAmerica Stock 1000 races on Saturday, Sunday
Jeremy Cook (81). Photo by BrockImaging, courtesy Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing.
BRASELTON, Ga. — For Jeremy Cook, his first full pro road racing season started at a track he’d never ridden on before. Despite enduring mechanical problems with his BMW S 1000 RR on Thursday and Friday, the Bob’s BMW Jeremy Cook Racing rider got a positive start to his first full MotoAmerica racing season when he finished in the points in Sunday’s Stock 1000 race.
Cook – who is an instructor for presenting sponsor Motorcycle Xcitement — first competed in a MotoAmerica race in 2015, and MotoAmerica’s season-opening Superbikes at Atlanta round marked the first of nine MotoAmerica rounds that Cook plans to compete in this year.
After encountering problems with his motorcycle’s clutch system Thursday night while prepping the BMW and Friday during the Stock 1000 Class’ Friday practice session, Cook qualified 23rd for the weekend’s two Stock 1000 races.
In Saturday’s race, Cook moved up three positions on the first lap, crossing start/finish in 20th-place. He got past another rider on Lap 2 and maintained 19th place to the end of the contest. In Sunday’s Stock 1000 race, Cook made another good start and was running in 15th place at the end of Lap 1. Though Cook dropped as far as 18th on Laps 8 and 9, he recovered in the latter stages of the race to finish 15th and claimed his first championship point of his 2021 campaign.
The next stop on MotoAmerica’s schedule is VIRginia International Raceway May 21-23. Though Cook has some bad memories of the Alton, Va., track from a severe crash he suffered there in 2009, the Maryland rider also has ample experience on the facility’s 2.25-mile North Course and will be targeting his first top-10 finish of 2021 that weekend.
Jeremy Cook / No. 81
“It was a bit of a struggle this weekend at Road Atlanta. We raced in several Championship Cup Series races at New Jersey Motorsports Park last weekend and thought we were fully prepared for what lied ahead. It was my first time racing at Road Atlanta, and it’s a steep learning curve with this very physical racetrack. Between trying to get the bike set up for a track we didn’t know and the mechanical issues we dealt with Thursday and Friday, it felt like we were behind the eight-ball most of the weekend. I have to give a huge shout out to Roger Lyle of Motorcycle Xcitement for helping us with track knowledge and technical support. I learned a lot about racing at Road Atlanta by going to school on the riders I was competing against and was able to use that knowledge to score Sunday’s points-paying finish. My bad memories of VIR still linger in my head, but I’m happy to be heading to a track my team and I know well.”
Elijah Block (92). Photo by Martin Hanlon, courtesy NEMRR.
NEMRR Race #1 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
The 2021 race season for NEMRR kicked off at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in chilly conditions, but the paddock was buzzing with excitement to get out and ride. The series has made some rule changes over the off season to bring NEMRR more in line with CCS national rules, including a move back to open fuel rules (which several riders were anxious to test). Finally, the track opened up the apex of Turn 10 by about 6 feet, giving riders a straighter shot back into the infield. This change was universally received well as riders commented that the turn was both more fun and safer – a win-win for all!
Leading the way on Saturday was 2020 #1 plate holder Rick Doucette, with wins in GTL by #74, Seacoast Sport Cycle Lightweight Grand Prix and 300 Supersport races. During the Saturday riders meeting, Rick received a special “Champion Edition” Fender Guitar to commemorate the 10th overall series championship of his career. Rick has won a record 95 championships and got off to a great start in 2021 on his way to 100.
In the Saturday Michelin/Motorace $1500 Dash for Cash two young standouts put in impressive performances. Sam Greenwood, son of perennial NEMRR standout Scott Greenwood, carried forward the family tradition of winning with a dominating performance. Sam put in the fastest lap of the race on lap 3 and then continued to build up over a 10 second cushion over Rick Doucette and Paul Duval. Duval had to battle hard all race with rising star Eli Block who was incredibly riding a Husquvarna 450 motard bike against a field of 600cc sport bikes. Block and Duval swapped positions constantly during the race, giving the crowd a number of “hold your breath” moments as they literally went through many corners within inches of each other. Block set an all time record lap time for a Motard, recording an incredible 1:14.9 on lap number 5 of the event.
Samuel Greenwood (2). Photo by Martin Hanlon, courtesy NEMRR.
Saturday also marked the inaugural event of the NEMRR Super Street Series, which is an opportunity for track day riders to be part of the NEMRR weekend in a race that is designed more for fun than pure competition. These riders only need to have completed a track day in the previous 12 months (which can be the Friday before the event) and then they get a pair of practices, a heat and a final – all the while being able to watch the best racers in the Northeast between sessions. The winners of these debut classes were Gregory Livanos in the lightweight division and Semir Falic in the unlimited division.
In the amatuer ranks there were two riders who put in particularly impressive performances. Kevin Custer racked up 5 wins in the very competitive middleweight ranks on his Suzuki GSXR600, with his strongest performance coming in the Middleweight Formula 40 class when he dropped into the 1:17 range, a time that will soon make him eligible to advance to Expert. NEMRR also welcomed 12 year old newcomer Alessandro Di Mario who really turned some heads on his Yamaha R3 as we won all three of his races on Sunday and managed to beat all but one of the Experts in the 300 Superbike class. Alessandro’s 1:21 was within two seconds of the all time track record in the class, an incredible performance for an Amatuer racer who was visiting NHMS for the first time!
Round two of the NEMRR series kicks off on May 22, interested riders can visit www.lrrsracing.com for more information. Riders wishing to register for Super Street can either call NEMRR or add the Super Street Class to a Friday track registration with the Penguin Racing School at www.penguinracing.com.
Maverick Vinales (12). Photo courtesy Monster Energy Yamaha.
FIM MotoGP World Championship/Official IRTA Test
Jerez Circuit, Spain
May 3, 2021
Official Test Results (all on Michelin tires):
Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:36.879
Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 1:36.913
Joan Mir, Spain (Suzuki), 1:37.310
Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 1:37.348
Johann Zarco, France (Ducati), 1:37.435
Pol Espargaro, Spain (Honda), 1:37.506
Miguel Oliveira, Portugal (KTM), 1:37.508
Luca Marini, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.559
Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Yamaha), 1:37.627
Francesco Bagnaia, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.690
Brad Binder, South Africa (KTM), 1:37.698
Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:37.700
Enea Bastianini, Italy (Ducati), 1:37.717
Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:37.885
Alex Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:38.170
Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:38.303
Iker Lecuona, Spain (KTM), 1:38.374
Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:38.455
Danilo Petrucci, Italy (KTM), 1:38.608
Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 1:38.826
Lorenzo Savadori, Italy (Aprilia), 1:39.024
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Viñales and Rins fastest as MotoGP™ heads out for more track time at Jerez
The duo pull clear at the top of the timesheets as Mir slots into third and Honda steal some headlines
Monday, 03 May 2021
The post-race test at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto came to a close on Monday with Maverick Viñales on top with a 1:36.879, the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider putting in a characteristically busy day at the office as he did 101 laps. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was second just 0.034 back, with Joan Mir making it two Suzukis in the top three although the reigning Champion was four tenths off Viñales as the duo on top pulled clear.
Yamaha were represented by Viñales, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) and Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) as Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) sat the test out following his arm pump troubles on Sunday. Still, it was a busy day. Adding to Viñales’ full century at the top of the timesheets, in which the number 12 went a few tenths quicker than qualifying, Morbidelli did 67 laps and was P9; Rossi 73 laps for P12.
Morbidelli focused especially on braking and hopes improvements made will help in Le Mans. Both he and teammate Rossi also had a few new parts to try from Yamaha, including a front fender and swingarm.
Rins led the Suzuki charge and despite finishing the test just after lunchtime, the Spaniard put in 59 laps. Once again, he was testing the “possible” 2022 engine that he, teammate Mir and test rider Sylvain Guintoli tested in Qatar. He also worked on improving on used tyres, impressed with the pace as it was a step up on the weekend. He headed to Barcelona for a check up on his shoulder in the afternoon. Mir did 64 laps.
Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was the top Honda in the test as he was on race day, both times in fourth. He did 71 laps. Five different aero packages were seen at Honda between him, eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and LCR Honda Castrol’s Alex Marquez, which gained a few glances up and down pitlane.
Nakagami tried aero, but then mainly focused on setup. He said he was more consistent and really comfortable, looking forward to Le Mans, and that the 2020 chassis is working well. He also warned against seeing that change back as something signifying the new chassis was negative. Teammate Alex Marquez also felt he made improvements on Monday, and did 75 laps to end the day in P15. That was just ahead of Marc Marquez as the eight-time World Champion only did seven laps, feeling some after effects of his crashes during the weekend.
Pol Espargaro focused on aero, electronics and ergonomics, things he says seem fairly small but when a rider is adapting to a bike, can make a big difference. He says he’ll remain on the same chassis, as he thinks there remains a good margin of improvement. The number 44 was spotted riding at least three different HRC bikes during the test though – his standard, one with different aero and a completely carbon coloured bike.
At Ducati, most recent race winner Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) was straight back to work on Monday as he and World Championship-leading teammate Francesco Bagnaia completed a combined total of 84 laps, one day after securing the Bologna factory’s first 1-2 since Brno 2018. Bagnaia was tenth, Miller in P18.
Johann Zarco was the fastest Borgo Panigale machine, however, putting in 75 laps. The Frenchman said he was focusing a lot on suspension rather than new parts, looking for a way to get the full potential of the new bike. Stand-in teammate Tito Rabat also tested on Monday, P20 after 65 laps. Rookie Luca Marini (Sky VR46 Avintia) moved up into eighth after 66 laps after a good day’s work, with Enea Bastianini (Avintia Esponsorama) in P13 after 54 laps.
Pitlane reporter Simon Crafar reported new chassis to try for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Miguel Oliveira and Brad Binder, but the two said the key focus was about the tyres. Oliveira said he was trying to make changes to make the bike work better on the softer front without compromising their existing positives. He found an improvement in pace and was pretty positive. Binder repeated Oliveira’s words that the focus was on making the softer tyre work, purposefully staying away from using the harder front that normally suits them better. He said they found something that seemed to make life a little easier and ended the day in P11 after 66 laps. Oliveira was top KTM in P7 after 72 laps.
Danilo Petrucci in the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing ranks was seen sporting a different tank/seat area, the Italian seemingly trying some ergonomics to improve his feeling on the RC16. He was P19 after 63 laps, teammate Iker Lecuona 64 in P16.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Aleix Espargaro had a tougher day at the office following his closest ever finish to the MotoGP™ winner, crashing early and then calling an early end to his test not long after, feeling under the weather after the incident although not sustaining any injuries. He ultimately did 12 laps and was P14. Lorenzo Savadori did 54 laps, however, and completed the timesheets.
That’s it from Jerez. It’s now next stop Le Mans, with the SHARK Grand Prix de France now less than two weeks away!
More, from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
FIERCELY DETERMINED VIÑALES TOPS JEREZ TEST
Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 3rd May 2021
JEREZ MOTOGP OFFICIAL TEST
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales had the opportunity to delve further into his race set-up at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto during today‘s official IRTA Jerez Test. He completed 101 laps, more than any other rider, and finished the day in first place.
1st MAVERICK VIÑALES 1’36.879 / 101 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales enjoyed a very productive day of riding at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto today. The Spaniard used the one-day official IRTA Jerez Test to work on late braking and improved cornering, and with success. He wrapped up the eight-hour session in first place.
The Factory Yamaha team‘s garage was less busy than usual during the test. Following the arm pump problem he experienced in yesterday‘s race, Fabio Quartararo didn‘t ride today. He will receive a medical check-up. Further updates will follow in due course.
Although the team had one rider less on track, this didn‘t mean they eased their effort. Viñales completed a whopping 101 laps in total – more than four times a race distance – to improve his cornering and late braking. A long run in the afternoon let him get in the laps and obtain the data needed to be all the more confident and competitive at the next round in Le Mans. His best lap of the day, a 1‘36.879s, set on 83/101 saw him complete the Jerez Test at the top of the standings, with a 0.034s margin over his fastest rival.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action in two weeks‘ time for the Grand Prix de France.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
First of all, I want to say that the team is obviously sad that Fabio couldn‘t attend the test today. However, as stated before, his health is the most important thing to us. Following his arm pump problem in yesterday‘s race, Fabio will get a medical check-up and more news should follow soon. In the meantime, we had a full day of riding to do here in Jerez. Maverick‘s Spanish GP was compromised by a turning issue. Today we spent a good amount of time looking into that area and we saw clear improvement. He also did a good long run in the afternoon and completed a total of 101 laps, far more than any other rider. We finished the test on top, which is positive, but the main thing we got out of this test is an increased confidence with the bike for Maverick – this is something really important for the upcoming race in Le Mans. We know that the Bugatti circuit fits the characteristics of our bike well, so we are hoping for a good race weekend there.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
We didn‘t try any new parts. I was just trying to give a bit more and learn about myself, trying to brake a little bit later. It seemed to be working. I was really good in the morning, the conditions were amazing, so we could ride very fast. In the afternoon the conditions were a bit more tricky, but we were still riding very fast. I did a long run, and I was actually quite happy. So, I‘m quite confident for Le Mans, because I think today we found what I needed in Portimao and here in Jerez. I have more confidence with the bike now. I did more laps and adapted a little bit more. I just feel good now. I think in Le Mans we can concentrate on being a bit faster.
More, from a press release issued by PETRONAS Yamaha SRT:
Successful test in Spain for PETRONAS Yamaha SRT
One day test at Jerez ends with Franco Morbidelli ninth and Valentino Rossi 12th
There was no rest for PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team, as they took part in a productive one-day test at Jerez today, just one day after the SpanishGP ended. The day concluded with Franco Morbidelli ninth and Valentino Rossi 12th on the final timesheets.
Fresh from his podium finish yesterday, Morbidelli’s day began in the second hour of the test, when the track opened again following an early red flag stoppage. With a new front fender and new swingarm to try, the Italian got down to work, completing 31 laps before the lunch break. Franco was also able to assess new front fork settings, with the aim of improving the stopping capability of the bike. Completing a further 36 laps after in the final two hours after his lunch break, bringing his total to 67, Morbidelli ended the test ninth with a best time of 1min 37.627secs.
Team-mate Rossi also began his Jerez test once the red flag period was over and, like Morbidelli, he could also test the new front fender and new swingarm on his Yamaha YZR-M1 throughout the day. In addition to this Valentino was able to evaluate settings on the electronic side of the bike. Ahead of the mid-session lunch break the Italian had completed 36 laps, before taking to the track again with under three hours on the clock. At the end of the test Rossi had improved upon his personal best of the last 4 days, setting a 1min 37.700secs, and made a big step forward with his race pace. He completed a total of 73 laps, 37 in the afternoon, and was the 12th fastest rider.
The next time that Morbidelli and Rossi will be on track again will be at Le Mans in ten day’s time, for the Grand Prix de France (14-16 May).
Franco Morbidelli
9th (1’37.627)
We had the opportunity today to work with some new parts and provide my feedback on them, which is nice, but we mostly focused on trying to improve the braking. It was an area that I didn’t have a perfect feeling with, so it was something we could look to better and I think we have found something today that has improved my feeling under braking, so this is good. I hope that the things that we have found here also work in Le Mans. It will be important to do a good job there and I hope that we continue to be strong going forwards, I will be trying my best to be.
Valentino Rossi
12th (1’37.700)
Today was a good test for me because we improved the feeling with the bike, the pace with the race tyre and in the time attack. It was a long day because the conditions were good, so we did a lot of laps. The team and I worked on the balance of the bike, the settings and we can see the improvements, as I was better under braking and in corner entry. We also have some other new bits for the bike, which is good and helps. I’m happy because we were able to improve today, after a difficult weekend, and I have a much better feeling with the bike. It is just a one-day test, we need to see what happens at Le Mans but I am leaving here with a good feeling.
More, from a press release issued by Tech3 KTM Factory Racing:
Work continues for Tech3 KTM Factory Racing in Jerez
Following the fourth round of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship season at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci have been straight back to work today at the same venue for the official test under a cloudy Andalusian sky.
Thereby, they both tried several settings and some new parts in order to improve the base of their KTM RC16 machine in order to improve at the team’s home Grand Prix in Le Mans in less than a fortnight. While less focusing on times, but more on their feeling, Lecuona did 64 laps in the course of the day, Petrucci completed 63 laps and both welcomed the test as a great possibility after preseason was cut short in 2021.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 17th
Time: 1:38.374
Laps: 64
“The plan for today was to work with the soft front, because we know we will have this tyre for many races and I don’t feel fast, so the target was to improve and trying to adapt myself and also the bike to the tyre. During today I struggled a bit, as I was using only the soft front and I didn’t have any feedback.”
“But finally, with the team we tried many things on the base and I managed to be quicker. Also, our pace was better than during the race. In general, I think we were working very well today. We will see what happens in Le Mans, but for the moment I’m fairly satisfied.”
Danilo Petrucci
Position: 19th
Time: 1:38.608
Laps: 63
“We tried mainly a different balance of the bike to make the rear tyre work a bit better. Especially in the latter part of the race we feel good, when the tyre is already worn a bit, also on braking. But we can’t really use the rear tyre when we have some extra traction in the beginning, which means that in Qualifying we struggle quite a bit and also the first part of the race yesterday has been pretty difficult.”
“Overall today I understood the bike more, although I didn’t find what I was looking for. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to Le Mans, which is a track that I was on the podium the last three years. I hope there, we can find a good way.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
Day of post-race testing concluded for the Ducati Lenovo Team at Jerez de la Frontera
After an unforgettable Grand Prix of Spain, which saw Jack Miller taking his first win on the Desmosedici GP and Pecco Bagnaia, new MotoGP Championship leader, taking second place on the podium, the Ducati Lenovo Team got right back to work at Jerez de la Frontera today for a day of post-race collective testing.
Taking advantage of the favourable track conditions, both Bagnaia and Miller took to the track this morning just before noon, completing a total of 40 and 44 laps, respectively, before finishing their test sessions early this afternoon. The Italian clocked a best time of 1:37.690, ending the day in tenth position, while the Australian posted a best lap time of 1:38.455, ending the day eighteenth overall.
“It has been a very positive day. Finally, we completed some work that has been pending since the last pre-season test in Qatar. We completed the entire programme today and were able to close the day early. Today, my pace was good, so I’m satisfied with the job done and ready for the next race at Le Mans”.
Jack Miller (#43, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1:38.455 (18°- 44 laps)
“After the race, there is always a lot of rubber on the ground, and the conditions are always favourable to have a test day. Also, the weather today allowed us to work well. We focused on some aspects that we normally don’t have time to work on during the weekend: we repeated tests and tried different setups to understand which one works best. It’s always important to do these double-checks and, above all, we gathered a lot of useful information. Now we will have a few days to rest, but I can’t wait to get back on track at Le Mans”.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will now have a short break of around ten days before returning to action for the fifth round of the 2021 MotoGP season at the historic Circuit Bugatti in Le Mans for the Grand Prix of France, scheduled from 14th-16th May.
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki ECSTAR:
IMPORTANT DATA AND INFO COLLECTED AT PACEY JEREZ TEST
Alex Rins: 2nd – 1’36.913 (+ 0.034)
Joan Mir: 3rd – 1’37.310 (+ 0.431)
Team Suzuki Ecstar remained, with the rest of the MotoGP™ paddock, at the Circuit of Jerez – Angel Nieto for a one day official test on Monday following the Spanish GP.
The riders headed out early in the day and the main focus was in the engine area, with both Alex Rins and Joan Mir spending time trying out the 2022 spec. engine and putting in many laps.
Rins had strong pace, leading the test session for most of the afternoon having set a very pacey 1’36.913 lap, his fastest at the circuit. Rins reported great feelings and he felt that the base settings of the bike have been improved. He was happy to finish the session in second after a disappointing Sunday at the circuit. He completed 59 laps in total.
Mir closed the day in third with a best time of 1’37.310. He worked on the geometry of the bike as well as the engine, working specifically on the front end of the bike and achieving better feeling. He also did some work on the rear suspension. His pace was consistent and quick, and he put in a total of 64 laps.
The team now look ahead to the next round, the French GP on May 14th-16th.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“Today has been useful; we got good feedback from the riders and we found improvements, which is always the goal of a test day. We feel pleased because we think we’ve found some steps for the next races and also useful information for the future. Both riders put in a lot of laps and their times are strong, so we leave here feeling satisfied.”
Alex Rins:
“Today was a good day for us, we tried several things, including trying the 2022 engine. I was happy and confident with the bike and pleased with how everything went. We also worked on the set-up in terms of suspension and a few small things, and I feel like we’ve improved our base. I was able to set fast times even on used tyres, faster than yesterday, so I’m happy with the result.”
Joan Mir:
“Honestly, I think we had a great day, we did a lot of work and I’m feeling happy. We tried the 2022 engine again and we found what we expected – that it’s not massively different but it’s an improvement, and the characteristics were what we expected. We took a lot of useful information. I also tried different geometry on the bike to try and get better feeling from the front of the bike, and I’m happy with what we’ve done. My lap times were pretty nice, and it’s been a very useful day.”
More, from a press release issued by KTM Factory Racing:
KTM COMPLETE JEREZ MOTOGP™ EPISODE WITH SECOND IRTA TEST OF 2021
MotoGP 2021 IRTA test Circuit de Jerez – Angel Nieto (ESP)
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Tech3 KTM Factory Racing completed over 200 laps between them today to close a fourth and final day of riding at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto and the one-day IRTA test.
Only hours after the Gran Premio Red Bull de España and the fourth round of the championship the Jerez asphalt was again abused by the MotoGP pack for their second official test of the year.
Miguel Oliveira, Brad Binder, Danilo Petrucci and Iker Lecuona continued to work both on the 2021 race configuration of their KTM RC16s in order to optimize the current Michelin tire allocation for the season as well as ideas with a view to the Grands Prix to come.
It was Oliveira who departed the Andalucía venue Monday afternoon with the fastest lap-time from the KTM quartet. He rested 7th and his quickest effort just 0.6 of a second from the top spot. Binder was 11th and was the last rider on track while Lecuona and Petrucci were 17th and 19th respectively.
Le Mans and the mix of high speed and strong braking zones will entertain the Shark Grand Prix de France on May 15th-16th.
Miguel Oliveira: “We took profit of the day to look at different solutions on the bike set-up and the soft front tire and medium rear; as we would in a race simulation. We had many good laps. It was important to understand how to use soft compounds and our front feeling while also trying not to lose with the modifications we’ve already made to gain an advantage. We want to keep the positive characteristics of the bike.”
Brad Binder: “We had a busy day. We wanted to work more with the softer front tire and think ahead to some of the tracks ahead. We did our homework and I’m definitely happy with some of the conclusions we reached to try and make life a bit easier for us. A lot of laps! We had a couple of small new things and managed to assess those. The best part of a test is that you can see which ideas work and which ones don’t. We got some good information for the guys.”
Iker Lecuona: “The target was to improve and trying to adapt myself and also the bike to the soft tire. today I struggled a bit but, finally, with the team we tried many things on the base and I managed to be quicker. Also, our pace was better than during the race. In general, I think we were working very well today. We will see what happens in Le Mans, but for the moment I’m fairly satisfied.”
Danilo Petrucci: “We tried a different balance of the bike to make the rear tire work a bit better. Especially in the latter part of the race we feel good, when the tire is already worn a bit, also in braking. But we can’t really use the rear tire when we have some extra traction in the beginning, which means that in Qualifying we struggle quite a bit and also the first part of the race yesterday has been pretty difficult. Overall today I understood the bike more, although I didn’t find what I was looking for. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to Le Mans, which is a track that I was on the podium the last three years. I hope there, we can find a good way.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “This test day was really important. We had a big agenda and many ideas from the company. The hours were just flying by and all the riders did some fine work. We had a big ‘menu’ of test items for the chassis and we worked a lot on electronics and the suspension also. I think we did a good job and hopefully we can get the benefit out of it in France. Thanks to the factory for the big effort to keep giving us solutions and to both teams for pushing all the way through this week in Jerez.”
Sebastian Risse, Technical Coordinator MotoGP: “I think overall we can say we had a pretty good day. There were quite a few items piling up in the last few weeks because neither the tracks nor the situations allowed us to test during a GP weekend. So, we were looking forward to this opportunity here to work through a wide range of things for the bike. There was a lot and I think each rider found some positives. We did not have time to give everybody everything yet so we will put together a plan to do that in the coming GPs. Of course, only a race scenario can show where we really are but I think we have some more tools at our disposal for the next rounds.”
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Productive day in Jerez for Pol Espargaro as Marquez ends early
The first in-season test of 2021 was a positive experience for Pol Espargaro, providing a clear direction to follow in the upcoming races.
Monday after the Gran Premio Red Bull de España offered the MotoGP class their first in-season testing day of 2021. There was a brief disruption early in the day as the red flag was brought out after just an hour of running due to falls on circuit.
Pol Espargaro had a busy day around the 4.4 kilometres of the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, completing 89 laps with a best time of 1’37.506. Just around midday, Espargaro suffered a fall at Turn 1 but was unharmed and quickly returned to the garage. In the closing hour of the day Espargaro suffered a second fall, avoiding any injury. Aside from the falls, Espargaro leaves the one-day test with a very positive feeling after a busy and full day of riding.
The day in Jerez was short for Marc Marquez, completing seven laps over two runs before calling an end to his test. After a physically demanding weekend, Marquez and the Repsol Honda Team elected to focus on his continued recovery and allow the maximum amount of time to prepare for the French GP.
The Repsol Honda Team will now focus their attentions on round five, the French Grand Prix at Le Mans where Alex Marquez took his debut podium with the Repsol Honda Team in 2020.
Pol Espargaro
6TH 1’37.506
“We did 89 laps today; it has been a very busy and productive day for us. We have worked on many things, electronics, aero, ergonomics – they seem simple or small topics but when you’re still new to a bike they can make a big difference together. We have performed well today, I was close to Taka who has been the strongest Honda this weekend so I am happy. No matter what, we have learned a lot today and it has been very good for me to have a day like today where we can ride and try things without the pressure of a race weekend. Now we look to Le Mans.”
Marc Marquez
16TH 1’38.303
“Today we didn’t really test, just one run because on the second run my body was already locking up. My neck and my right shoulder were stiff, it’s similar to after Portimao but I was not as locked up as I was after Portugal. The crash I had on Saturday didn’t help with my physical condition. I thought that maybe today when my body had warmed up it would be better, and I could try but straight away I could tell I wasn’t at a good level for riding. We spoke as a team and decided to stop the test, we need to understand that we’re improving step by step and the next target is Le Mans where we will try to improve again.”
KRT and the new Ninja ZX-10RR will soon undertake one last pre-season test at Motorland Aragon, between 4-5 May. It will be the final opportunity for official riders Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes to fine-tune their set-up before the WorldSBK season starts for real at Motorland between 21-23 May.
The new 2021 Ninja ZX-10RR has shown itself well in the previous winter tests, even if weather conditions have not been as consistently good as the riders and team would have liked. Confidence is high inside the KRT camp after several successful outings with their new technical package, but this coming test is arguably the most important one of all.
At the recent Motorland tests near the end of April Rea and Lowes almost completed all their off-season set-up preparations, just losing some potential track time to changeable weather conditions. If the predictions for good weather for the next tests prove to be true then the last tasks can all be completed in readiness for the first ‘real’ practice sessions of the new season.
The new Ninja features, engine, chassis and most noticeably aerodynamic improvements, including internal front winglets and a vented rear seat unit to provide extra downforce at speed and a more efficient aerodynamic package overall.
Preparing for two full-distance and one sprint races in Aragon is going to be key for both riders in the next few days, particularly as the season starts with back-to-back rounds at Motorland in Spain and then Estoril in Portugal.
Despite the ongoing pandemic the season itself is scheduled to host 13 rounds all in, most occurring in Europe but with two final flyaway events; one in Argentina and one at an entirely new venue in Indonesia.
Alex Lowes, stated: “These final tests are going to be the most important ones. We still have a clear plan which is following on from the last test where we only got half a day riding in with the weather going against us. So, we know what things we need to get ticked off the list before round one. I understand what I need from the bike a lot more this winter, which is allowing me to be better prepared for my second season with Kawasaki and KRT. Because of this I’m really excited to get back out on my new Ninja ZX-10RR.”
Jonathan Rea, stated: “We really will cross the t’s and dot the i’s at this final test at Motorland Aragon. The last test we went to there was productive, and we made some progress, but we never got the chance to do a full race simulation. That is going to be key, something we need to look at understand the bike in a race simulation, with a soft tyre and hard tyre. Aside from that, our test programme has really been about confirming different software and hardware. We have put the pieces together but we have not fine-tuned the bike. We have not got the bike into the window where we are really starting to play with small items, like you would during a race weekend. That is going to be the focus of this test and I really hope to get some consistent weather. I don’t think I have done a winter test this year where we have had two days of the same weather. I really have to thank my team because they have pulled all the stops out to maximise our track time this off-season. We have just been unfortunate with the weather and we have a very good test plan to take us through the season. During these tough times it is very hard to travel and they team make it easier by making sure I always have the right documents. I am looking forward to this last test before the season starts because we will have some of our rivals on track with us as well, riders and manufacturers, so we should get a good idea of where we are.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “In the last couple of tests we did the weather was for sure not as good as we would like, but the forecast for the next two-day test is good. This should allow us to work consistently with no interruptions. I think the next test will be so important to fix the small details before the first round. We are focused now to polish these small details and prepare for full race distances. We will try to make a big competition between Alex and Jonathan, in order to reach the limits on the bike and in the consistency of lap times. We need to prepare for the races, which at Motorland are hard every year. The competition is so high, especially from the Ducati machines, but we expect that all the steps that have been done with the new Ninja ZX-10RR will show that the package is a step ahead compared to last year. I would also like to use this opportunity to congratulate Dorna for the big effort to make 13 rounds possible. It is nice to have the final calendar confirmed, and hopefully the pandemic situation will be stable, step-by-step, and by the end of the year the world will stay in a much more normal way.”
2021 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics
Jonathan Rea: World Champion 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020
2021: Races 0, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 99 (84 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 185 (143 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 27 (23 for Kawasaki)
Alex Lowes:
2021: Races: 0, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 2 (1 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 24 (4 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)
8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)
Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Danilo Petrucci (9) on his Tech3 KTM Factory Racing RC16. Photo courtesy Tech3 KTM Factory Racing.
KTM EXTEND BENEFICIAL MOTOGP™ PARTNERSHIP WITH TECH3 KTM FACTORY RACING UNTIL 2026
There will be four full-factory KTM RC16s on the MotoGP grid for the next five seasons after KTM renewed their association with the Tech3 KTM Factory Racing team and one of the most successful satellite squads in Grand Prix.
Tech3 turned ‘orange’ for 2019 where they helped promising rookie Miguel Oliveira impress with several top ten results. The team and the Portuguese star were able to graduate to the role of Grand Prix winners in 2020 when Oliveira triumphed in Austria and Portugal: bringing Tech3 their first garlands in the premier class.
The 2021 season marks exactly twenty years since the team first entered the premier class of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship. Tech3 was founded in 1990 and enjoyed title success in the old 250cc category before making the jump. They have had representation through the Grand Prix divisions but didn’t scale the heights of MotoGP until Oliveira’s breakthrough achievement last summer.
(From left) Jens Hainbach, Mike Leitner, Heinz Kinigadner, Pit Beirer, Hubert Trunkenpolz, Hervé Poncharal and Stefan Pierer. Photo courtesy KTM Factory Racing.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsports Director: “We are very proud to make this announcement of a new five-year deal with Tech3. It is a very important strategic move for us as part of our long-term strategy in the sport. We already agreed our participation with Dorna for another five years and it was vital to have that foundation and stability in MotoGP by renewing our agreement with Tech3. For the last few years we have been building-up our structure and now it provides an incredible path from Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, Moto3, Moto2 and then four valuable places in the premier class where we want to succeed. With Hervé and the Tech3 crew we have the ideal partner and we see the whole operation as part of ‘one team’. It’s more than a pleasure to say we’ll be able to attack the next five years together.”
Hervé Poncharal, Team Principal, Tech3 KTM Factory Racing: “I feel very proud, very privileged and very honored to announce our renewed partnership with KTM. I think we will be the first independent team to announce a five years agreement with a manufacturer in MotoGP history. This is quite an achievement and it also highlights how strong our relationship is and how well the first three years of our partnership have been working. I believe the best is yet to come. We share the same values, the same target, which is to never give up and be ready to race. So now that this deal is done, signed, confirmed, let’s work even harder on the 2021 season and of course let’s think how to be best prepared for 2022. I really believe this organization has all the ingredients to be winning and it’s just up to us to put all the pieces together to make it work and chase victory at every single round.”
Gagne Finally Gets His First Superbike Win At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Jake Gagne Breaks Through With Debut HONOS Superbike Victory In Georgia
Jake Gagne (32) leads Mathew Scholtz (11) during Superbike Race Two at Road Atlanta. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
BRASELTON, GA (May 2, 2021) – After finishing second eight times a season ago, Jake Gagne finally won his first career MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike race and he did so in style, working his way through to the sharp end of the field from his third row starting spot and pulling away to a 4.712-second victory.
Gagne was fast all weekend and qualified on pole position for Saturday’s race, but his race only lasted for a lap as his Fresh N’ Easy Attack Performance Yamaha suffered a mechanical failure that put him out of the race. With Sunday’s race gridded by Saturday’s race results, Gagne started from the middle of the third row. Once he’d adjusted the play out of his slipping clutch, Gagne went on a rampage and his pace was unmatchable.
It was Gagne’s first win of any kind since his Superstock 1000 Championship-winning season in 2015.
“Yeah, it feels good to get something like that off the back,” Gagne said of ending his winless drought. “Obviously, last year (there was) a lot of second places and it wears you down. We came here wanting to win. We came off the truck really firing. After yesterday’s disappointment, this team, the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha work so hard. Those guys were up late last night throwing in one of last year’s motors. So just hats off to those guys. It feels good to get one off my back. Sorry, I didn’t even figure out, two hours before the race they told me I was on the third row, so I didn’t hear about that new fun little rule. So, I knew I had to get off to a good start because I knew Mat (Scholtz) was going to go, and Bobby (Fong) was going to go. I tried so hard to get a good start, I slipped and slipped the clutch. I thought I was in a situation like last year. The first couple laps my clutch was slipping. Luckily, from the experience last year, I knew which way to adjust the clutch. I was going down the straightaway trying to figure it out, and then once I got that dialed in, I knew the bike would keep rolling. I tried to make some passes. Mat was tough. This track is tough to make passes. Turn 10 is one of the main areas and that was where Mat was really strong, even Bobby too. Happy again, we got her done. Looking forward to VIR. I really, really love that place. I know this bike can be a rocket around there.”
The man who came closest to matching Gagne’s pace was Saturday’s race winner Mathew Scholtz on the Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, the South African sticking with Gagne for a few laps before realizing he didn’t have the speed of the race winner. Scholtz held on for second, however, well clear of Gagne’s Fresh N’ Easy Attack Performance Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin, who was third for a second straight day.
“When he (Gagne) passed me, I tried to hang onto him for about three or four laps afterwards and I was pushing super hard,” Scholtz said. “I nearly tucked the front in a couple corners. He was stronger in some of the corners, I was stronger in some of the other sections. But we were just going backwards and forwards and it kind of seemed to just wear my tires out pretty quickly. It kind of helped me to see where his bike is definitely better than where ours is. We need to just work on getting off the corner, but otherwise I’m just happy to be back up here. Well done to Jake. Well done to Josh. It’s really awesome to have a Yamaha sweep. VIR is the next round for us and it’s one of my strongest tracks, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Herrin’s pace was faster than his identical third-place finish on Saturday, though he was slowed in the latter part of the race with arm pump.
“Today for me, performance-wise, was a lot better,” Herrin said. “I think Mathew’s (Scholtz) time was the same, as fast as me. Jake (Gagne) obviously didn’t make the whole race yesterday. So, I was happy to improve my lap time. I was closer to the guys in the beginning of the race. I made a lot of improvements overnight and from this morning. We were able to get a lot of laps in. Richard (Stanboli, his team owner/crew chief) really put his head down and made a lot of improvements to bike to get me a lot more comfortable. That one was just on me. I struggled with arm pump throughout it. I don’t think I would have been able to hang with those guys, but I would have been a little bit happier with how close I was if I didn’t have the problem. So, I’ve got to go home and work on that. Other than that, I’m super happy. It’s been only about a year since I was on the podium. I guess I lucked out on that one, too. I’m waiting for the legit podium when nobody is out. That’s when I’ll be happy. But I’m super happy leaving here with two podiums, good points. Stoked that Jake (Gagne) was able to get his first win. I didn’t know it was his first win. I know it’s a great feeling.”
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Cameron Petersen completed a successful debut weekend with the team, the South African finishing fourth, some 10 seconds clear of his teammate Bobby Fong, after finishing fifth on Saturday.
Fong’s day was made more difficult as he was deemed to have jumped the start and was forced to do a ride-through penalty that put him well back in the pack. He persevered though and was rewarded with fifth and the 11 championships that went with it. Prior to the penalty, Fong was battling with Gagne and Scholtz at the front.
Sixth place went to Panera Bread Ducati’s Kyle Wyman, the team owner/rider some three seconds ahead of Scheibe Racing BMW’s Hector Barbera. Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman was eighth and the top Superbike Cup rider with Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis and FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Jayson Uribe rounding out the top 10.
Scholtz leads the championship as the series heads to VIRginia International Raceway, May 21-23, chase after two races, 45-32, over Herrin.
For the second straight race, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati of New York’s Loris Baz failed to score a point. The Frenchman, who was making his MotoAmerica debut at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, crashed out of race one and was halted by a mechanical problem in race two.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Scores Stunning Maiden Superbike Victory in Race Two at Road Atlanta
Jake Gagne (32). Photo courtesy Yamaha.
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne produced a superb performance to take his first MotoAmerica Superbike victory today in race two at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Teammate Josh Herrin continued his impressive start for the team to bookend the podium in a well-controlled third place.
Starting ninth after his DNF on Saturday, Gagne made a blazing getaway to move up to fourth behind Herrin who held onto his third-place grid slot. Before the first lap was complete, the number 32 rider passed his teammate for the final podium position and set about closing down the leaders. A couple of laps before the halfway mark, Gagne scythed his way through to second and then took the lead after a fine slipstream in Turn 10a.
A tense chase for the lead then began between Gagne and fellow Yamaha rider Mathew Scholtz, but the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing R1 showed its strength in the final five laps to help Gagne set the fastest lap time. Extending his lead to over 4.7 seconds, the Californian took the checkered flag to score an emotional first win in the premier class.
After his teammate passed him, Herrin battled for fourth. The 2013 Superbike Champion kept pushing and made his way into third on Lap 10. Battling arm pump issues in the demanding conditions at the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Herrin maintained his third position to score his second consecutive podium finish and leave the season opener third in the point standings.
With a win and two third places from the first round, the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team looks to build on their momentum at round two at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR) on May 21-23.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Today was a nice turnaround for the team and about what we expected going into the event. Jake rode a smart race for the win and Josh continued to improve, bringing home third. The Westby team also did a great job to make it a Yamaha, Attack Performance sweep. We look forward to the next round at VIR. It’s normally a good racetrack for the Yamaha R1!”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“After yesterday’s DNF we were super motivated to get that win today. It feels amazing to finally get a Superbike win and I couldn’t ask for a better crew to do it with! Hats off to the team for finishing strong and giving me an amazing bike after a rough start. I’m ready for more at VIR!”
Josh Herrin – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“I’m extremely happy with our finishes this weekend. We never gave up and it paid off. I’m looking forward to a great weekend at VIR! Huge congrats to Jake Gagne and his crew on their first win!”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Road Atlanta a road of mixed fortunes for Ducati duo Baz and Wyman
Sunnyvale, Calif., May 2, 2021 – The first round of MotoAmerica 2021 saw a mixed bag of results for Ducati duo Kyle Wyman and Loris Baz.
Under bright blue skies at the world famous Road Atlanta, Wyman led the Ducati charge with a fifth in race one and sixth in race two on the gorgeous Panera Bread Ducati Panigale, ensuring the Arizona resident will leave the Peach State eighth overall in the standings heading to round two at VIR.
Unfortunately, for Baz, it wasn’t the weekend he’d hoped for on his MotoAmerica debut. After qualifying an impressive third, Baz engaged in a fierce battle with Yamaha’s eventual race winner Mathew Scholtz for the lead in the opening race but crashed at turn 10A, ending his race with five laps to go.
It was looking good for Baz in race two before a technical issue pitted him for repairs. He eventually finished 20th with Yamaha’s Jake Gagne taking the race win.
Loris Baz (76). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Ducati.
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“For sure, it was not the weekend we wanted,” Baz admitted. “But we will keep the head up. The guys in the team did a strong job. I needed a better start in race two than on I did on Saturday and got it, but I still don’t have a good feeling on the new tire. But once the tire started to drop, I felt so good. The feeling was awesome on the Ducati. I went P3 but then we had a technical issue, so I had to come in and change the part. I am disappointed, but once again, I will keep the head up because there is still 450 points in this championship on offer. We’re alive and we’re going make it up. We will work harder and we will come to VIR stronger than ever.”
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Ducati.
Kyle Wyman (Panera Bread Ducati – Ducati #33)
“In race one I got off to a pretty decent start from the third row and ended up in a battle for seventh with Hector Barbara,” Wyman said. “I was pushing hard from there. We had some issues with edge grip on the bike. I was just trying to bring it home and get some good data for the guys and with some attrition we ended up top five, so I was pretty happy with that considering how little time we’ve had on this new bike.
“Then in race two we started from fifth thanks to the first race finish position and I got a really good start but spent the race getting more acquainted with the Panigale. I started gaining some decent pace in the middle of the race, but again, I just need more time on the bike and need to test get more confidence. Thanks to my guys, they built me a great bike and we’ll be ready for VIR in a couple of weeks.”
Round two of the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be held at Virginia International Raceway on May 21-23, 2021.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
A One And A Two For Superbike Championship Leader Scholtz At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Braselton, GA – May 2, 2021 – Following up his season-opening MotoAmerica Superbike race win on Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, West Racing’s Mathew Scholtz finished as runner-up in Sunday’s round-one-concluding race. On the strength of his first- and second-place finishes, Mathew is currently leading the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Starting from the pole based on his number-one finishing position in race one, Mathew got off the line well, but he had to slot into second place going into turn one. He held the position for the first four laps and then moved into the lead on lap five, which he maintained until he was passed on lap seven. The race leader had to pit in order to serve a penalty for jumping the start, and then, fellow Yamaha Superbike rider Jake Gagne overtook Mathew, which kept him in second place where he stayed all the way to the checkered flag. Josh Herrin ultimately finished third behind Mathew, which completed the all-Yamaha Superbike podium.
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads Bobby Fong (50), Jake Gagne, Josh Herrin (2), Cameron Petersen (45), and Loris Baz (76) at Road Atlanta. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
“When Gagne passed me, I tried to hang onto him for about three or four laps afterwards and I was pushing super-hard,” Mathew said. “I nearly tucked the front in a couple of corners. He was stronger in some of the corners, I was stronger in some of the other sections. But, we were just going backwards and forwards, and it seemed to just wear my tires out pretty quickly. It helped me to see where his bike is better than ours. We need to just work on getting off the corner, but otherwise I’m just happy to be back up here. Well done to Jake. Well done to Josh. It’s really awesome to have a Yamaha sweep. VIR is the next round for us, and it’s one of my strongest tracks, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Jack Roach (12) leads a group of Junior Cup riders. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Westby Racing’s Junior Cup rider Jack Roach, who finished eighth in Saturday’s race one, unfortunately followed up that result with an unlucky 13th on Sunday. He’ll regroup, keep training hard, and come back strong for round two of the 2021 season.
Jack commented, “This weekend was one to forget. The team got a lot of information from the bike, and so did I. I feel like my results didn’t show how hard I was riding. I know that I was the fastest kid in the corners thanks to the brilliant handling of the Westby Racing YZF-R3. Thank you to the N2 Racing crew. They’ve been a massive help to us, and I can’t wait for VIR because the track suits the R3 really well.”
Next up for Westby Racing is round two of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on May 21 through 23.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 45
2. Josh Herrin – Yamaha – 32
3. Bobby Fong – Suzuki – 31 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Standings
First-Time Winners Highlight Sunday At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Ben Gloddy And Teagg Hobbs Join Jake Gagne With Debut Wins In Georgia
BRASELTON, GA (May 2, 2021) – Sunday was a day of first-time winners at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with Ben Gloddy and Teagg Hobbs joining HONOS Superbike winner Jake Gagne in winning their first MotoAmerica races on a sunny Sunday in Georgia.
After finishing on the podium eight times last year, Gloddy finally took to the top step with a hard-fought win in the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race at Road Atlanta today. Hobbs, meanwhile, had also never made it to the top step of a MotoAmerica race until taking victory in the Twins Cup on Sunday.
Ben Gloddy (72) held off yesterday’s winner Tyler Scott (70) to earn his first-ever SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race victory. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
In SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup, Ben Gloddy finally broke through with the race win that he’s been coveting for the past couple of years. A frequent visitor to the podium, but never on the top step, Gloddy, who races a Kawasaki for Landers Racing, took the checkers in Sunday’s race two by a scant .127 of a second over Scott Powersports KTM rider Tyler Scott. Third place on Sunday went to KERmoto Kawasaki’s Cody Wyman.
Incidentally, Wyman’s podium result completed a rare road racing trifecta, with all three Wyman brothers finishing on the podium: Travis winning in Stock 1000, Kyle finishing second in King Of The Baggers, and Cody coming home third in Junior Cup.
“It was good to get the monkey off the back,” Gloddy said. “Last year, we were finishing third. I think I finished third eighth times last year. Yesterday, we put it in second and the goal after that was just to keep making progress forward. We were able to do that today and get on the top step of the box. Me and Tyler (Scott) pulled a little bit of a gap there in the middle of the race. I was kind of hoping for me and Tyler’s sake, it would be me and him out front, but we got caught by that group again, and I was just trying to stay as far in front of that group as I could and not get tossed too far back. Doing that, I was able to draft Tyler down the back straightaway and cut him off in the last corner, so I was able to get the win.”
Tyler O’Hara (29) beat Kyle Wyman (33) to the finish line in King of the Baggers. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
King Of The Baggers: The King Is Back
Round one of the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship featured an exciting battle at the front between Mission Foods S&S Cycle Indian Challenger rider Tyler O’Hara, who was last year’s King Of The Baggers invitational winner, and MotoAmerica Superbike rider Kyle Wyman, who was aboard his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special. O’Hara and Wyman each took turns at the front with Wyman getting the holeshot and leading the race until lap five when O’Hara took the lead and, ultimately, the checkers.
At the stripe, O’Hara’s margin of victory over Wyman was just under half a second. Meanwhile, third place went to Frankie Garcia, who raced his Roland Sands Design Indian Challenger to his second consecutive King Of The Baggers podium finish.
“Kyle (Wyman) is riding awesome,” O’Hara said of the newest addition to the King Of The Baggers rider lineup. “To have that full factory effort coming in here, it’s an awesome challenge. I love a challenge, and I think it’s great for the sport and it’s just going to elevate both of our programs, and our bikes are just going to get better and better. So definitely it’s good to have. Hopefully, we can get some more bikes. The Indian Challenger, you can go out and buy it and basically get all the parts that I’m running on my bike and come out and race. I’m looking forward to getting more bikes on the grid, but for sure there’s definitely more of a challenge this year.”
Sean Dylan Kelly wheelies his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki after winning the Supersport race for the second day in a row on Sunday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson
Supersport: Kelly Does The Double
The first double race winner of 2021 is M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who completed a perfect weekend in the Supersport class by earning the pole and winning both Saturday’s race one and Sunday’s race two. Defending class champion Richie Escalante salvaged what started out as a rough weekend when he crashed and destroyed his 2021 HONOS Kawasaki and had to race his 2020 bike in both Supersport events. Escalante made the best of the situation and finished second to Kelly on Saturday and again on Sunday. Class rookie Rocco Landers emerged on Sunday with a third-place finish after surviving a last-turn skirmish for the final podium spot.
“I have to be very, very proud of the work and very happy with this weekend,” Kelly said. “Honestly, it’s been a tough road ever since the 2020 season. We already know how Richie was from the start of last year. It was definitely tough for me throughout the year and then throughout the off-season. I’ve just been really focused on my work, focused on what we have to improve. It’s been big teamwork between working on myself, working with the team. They made huge steps. I made huge steps. Our package is just much better, and here’s the results. We came in really well this weekend. I just focused on being better in the end of the races. That’s where we struggled last year. Here’s the result. I wasn’t expecting a pole position yesterday, but we got that. The pace in yesterday’s race was really, really good. We focused on some improvements for today. I didn’t go any faster in the race, but I think just certain things were a little different out there but still my pace was just as good. Really happy with my consistency with the gap that we made to second. Overall, just very proud of all the work. I just want to thank my whole team, thank my sponsors and everyone who was behind me, supporting me, and believing in me. We’re just going to keep on working. We have a long way to go. We’re just going to keep on going with this focus and go into every weekend working to dominate.”
Travis Wyman (10). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Stock 1000: Wyman Gets It Done
In Sunday morning’s Stock 1000 race two, the middle Wyman brother Travis rode his Travis Wyman Racing BMW to victory one day after finishing third in race one. Wyman caught up to and overtook early race leader Geoff May, who finished second aboard his Geoff May Racing/VisionWheel.com Honda. Meanwhile, Jones Honda rider Ashton Yates rounded out the podium after finishing second in Saturday’s race one.
“I still didn’t get a very good start,” Wyman said. “But we made a pretty good change last night. We kind of gambled on something in the warmup to get a little bit more grip out of the bike in the long term, and we did. We improved it, for sure. But really the biggest change today was just getting through the pack of riders. Jake (Lewis) kind of really gave me an advantage. He hit a false neutral there or something. So, when I got out front and I had a little bit of a gap, I knew that I could click off some laps to catch Geoff (May), but it definitely wasn’t easy. I was pushing really hard. I was seeing 27 flat, 27 flat on my timer, and I wasn’t really making up a lot of ground. But I could tell that Geoff was struggling a little bit and the tire was starting to fall off. I think mine just held on a little bit longer. Towards the end of the race, I was able to close the gap. Definitely got to give it to my crew chief, Steve, for making that adjustment this morning to our rear end.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) topped Trevor Standish (16) in the restarted Twins Cup Race Two. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Twins Cup: Hobbs Gets His First
Saturday’s Twins Cup race one winner Kaleb De Keyrel crashed his Robem Engineering Aprilia in Sunday’s race two, and the incident unfortunately also collected his teammate Hayden Schultz, who finished third on Saturday, along with two other teammates and Saturday second-place finisher Jody Barry. All told, four Aprilia riders were caught up in the incident, and thankfully none of the five were seriously injured. The race was red flagged, but none of the Aprilia riders who crashed were able to make the restart.
As a result, the podium after Sunday’s race two was completely different from Saturday’s race one podium. Polesitter and Innovative Motorsports/Mike’s Imports Suzuki rider Teagg Hobbs escaped the incident completely, restarted the race, and went on to win by just .264 of a second over second-place finisher Trevor Standish aboard his Pure Attitude Racing Suzuki. Third place went to GCP Suzuki’s Chris Parrish.
“Pretty tough weekend,” Hobbs said. “We were P1 almost every session we went out. That was harder for me because that was the most pressure I’ve ever felt. So going into yesterday’s race, we were running all right, then I got the sign for the jump start. I was gutted immediately. I knew I needed to put it past me today before today’s race. Learn from those mistakes. I went into today’s race, and we were running all right. There was a big pack up front. Kaleb went by me on the front straight, and I held my line on the outside of him and all of a sudden, I saw a bunch of smoke and he went backwards. I heard a bunch of noises. I looked back and there were three guys on the ground. Obviously, the red flag came out, and we came in. I thought they’d be back in the race, given how long the cleanup time was. Then I saw the starting grid and these guys were all behind me. I was like, ‘Oh boy. This isn’t going to be an easy one.” Just put my lines down and tried to focus for the race. Off the line I wanted to get a good start and try to lead, but also like Trevor was saying, I didn’t want to lead into turn one. Luckily my start was horrendous. The first few laps were a little hairy into turn one, but I took the lead and I knew I just needed to do whatever I could to stay up front. Trevor was putting a lot of pressure on me. Every time I went by the start/finish I saw on my board ‘plus 0.’ I tried my best to ride the best last few laps I could and finally won one of these things, so I’m stoked. I’ve got a lot of pressure on me now to chase down the points leader going into Virginia. I’m happy for Trevor, happy for Chris.”
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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
