More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Beaubier Dominates HONOS Superbike Race One At Road Atlanta

Fourth Win Out Of Five Races For Defending Champion

BRASELTON, GA (August 1, 2020) – Cameron Beaubier won three races in a row before crashing out of the lead in race two at Road America 2, proving that no one is perfect. But he looked pretty damn close to that on a scorching hot Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion riding to his fourth victory of the season in dominating fashion.

Beaubier led off the start, but it was Jake Gagne leading the way through the esses on the opening lap. Although his lead was short lived, it still marked the first time the Monster Energy Attack Performance rider had led a Superbike race. Once his teammate Beaubier sped past, the two teammates circulated together for a few laps before Beaubier pulled away. The points leader slowing in the closing stages of the race to beat Gagne by 4.786 seconds, but said his race was by no means mistake-free.

“I had a couple mistakes in there that I was able to salvage pretty good,” Beaubier said. “They were just scary more than anything. Like Jake (Gagne) said, it was hot and greasy out there. I had a couple pretty good front-end pushes. One down into three where I had that little mistake this morning in Superpole. It was just hot and greasy. Jake got an incredible start from the second row. I knew he was going to be fast. I tried to get by him as quick as I could and just put my head down. But our gap was kind of yo-yo-ing a little bit. To be honest, going into the race I didn’t expect that. So, hats off to him. He’s riding awesome. Hats off to Matty (Scholtz). Three Yamahas up here on the box. It feels really good. It’s going to be another tough one tomorrow. I’m ready for it.”

The win was the 42nd AMA Superbike victory of Beaubier’s career and his sixth at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He now leads the championship by 14 points over Gagne, 100-86.

Gagne, meanwhile, was well clear of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African trailing the Californian by 16.3 seconds at the end of the 19-lap race.

“That was I think one of my best starts all year, for sure,” Gagne said. “I knew I was on the second row after the Superpole, so I wanted to make sure I got off well. I knew once Cam (Beaubier) got to the top of that hill in the lead, he was going to go right from the get-go. I was behind Cam into turn one. He ran a little bit wide out there and I just got a good drive up the hill and managed to lead going down into the chicane up there. I just put my head down. I knew Cam was right on my butt. I thought Mat (Scholtz) would kind of be right there for sure. I know these Yamahas were running good. Then we put our head down. We did some 24s (1:24 lap times) out there. Cam kind of came by me down the straight into turn 10 down there. It was everything I had to try to stick with him and do a couple more 24s. I was happy. I was happy after the day we’ve had. We didn’t get a whole lot of laps today. We missed a lot of that first practice and missed a lot of that Superpole stuff. So, I’m really happy on the progress we made and how hard those guys are working. The Monster Energy Attack Yamaha is really rolling good. We’re starting to learn a lot more. It was good to get up there and race with Cam a little bit and see him for a little while there because he’s been going pretty much all year and out of sight. We learned a lot today. I’m happy. It was a little lonely out there once Cam pulled a couple seconds there, and then it was kind of just rolling around in the heat. It got tough out there. Those tires were really getting worked in that heat. Keeping the front end underneath us and the rear end underneath us, was tough out there. I’m glad we brought it home in second. Again, hats off to the guys because they’re really working hard. We had a lot of weird stuff going down this weekend, so it’s good to bring it in and pull a little bit of a holeshot and lead a little bit and run around there with Cam. Hats off to Cam and Mat. Got a couple Yamahas up there, so it’s good.”

The third-place finish was Scholtz’ second podium of the year and came at a track that he calls one of his favorites.

“After the first lap I settled into fourth behind Toni (Elias) and I could just see immediately Jake and Cam were pulling a massive gap, even after maybe five or six corners. Toni’s bike is quick, and he brakes late so I couldn’t really pass him. I was planning on something into corner 10 but coming onto the back of the straight (Kyle) Wyman passed us. Then his bike was leaking a ton of oil or something. It was spraying all over the front of the bike and my visor. So, I was just trying to miss his line where he was going. That really slowed me down. Then I maybe got about a second off of Toni and Kyle Wyman, and then I think Kyle’s bike stopped in corner 10. Then I just slowly caught up to Toni and passed him. Then I think he was there for a couple of laps after that, but once I began dipping to the mid to upper 25s, I think he was dropping off. So, I just kind of rode my own race from there. It was a little bit boring towards the end. I could see Jake was really far up front. Couldn’t see Cameron, so I was in no-man’s land. So, I was just feeling lost. Hoping in the next race we can pick up the pace and hold onto Jake and Cam.”

Elias rode his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to fourth, well clear of his teammate Bobby Fong who had crashed in the morning session at speed and injured his right hand. Fong, in turn, had a big lead over FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, the Australian also having a lonely ride to sixth.

Disrupt Racing/CCFOffiesolutions.com’s Geoff May rode his Kawasaki ZX-10R to seventh, almost a second ahead of FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Bradley Ward. Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders and Procomps Racing Team’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.

Two of the top riders in the series, One Cure/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman and Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin, both suffered mechanical problems that knocked them out of the race.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Dominate Race One at Road Atlanta

Cameron Beaubier was back on top at Road Atlanta with another stellar performance to score his fourth MotoAmerica Superbike win of the season. His Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing teammate Jake Gagne crossed the line comfortably in second on a hot August Saturday in Braselton, Georgia.

Beaubier kept his 2020 Superpole streak alive and once again started from pole. He rocketed off the line, but Gagne also got off to a flying start from the second row of the grid and slipped past him to take the lead in turn one. The pair quickly put a gap on the rest of the competition with the defending champ right on Gagne’s heels. Beaubier didn’t wait too long to make his move, passing his teammate on the second lap going into turn eight. He put his head down and knocked down some consistent fast laps to return to the top step of the podium and expand his points lead in the championship to 14 points.

Gagne tried to stay on the back of Beaubier in the hot, greasy conditions, but the Superbike veteran was able to build a gap. He kept his fellow Californian honest throughout the 19-lap race and finished second to secure his fourth podium this season with the new team.

After another impressive double podium for the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team on Saturday, they head into tomorrow’s race two looking for another top result.

Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“The team is in a good place at the moment. Our riders and crew are continuing to gel with the equipment and each other. There are very few challenges that they cannot overcome. Today was another example of that. After a technical issue in morning warmup, the team came together and gave the riders a couple of great Yamaha R1s that they could win on. Without a doubt Cameron and Jake rode as champions should, darting away from the rest of the field. I am very proud of how the season is going.”

Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“It was a tough race, demanding physically and on the bikes! It was hot and greasy out there today. My bike worked great and I was happy with how I rode. Jake rode really good today as well, putting the pressure on me and it’s always nice to have three Yamahas up on the podium. I’ve got to keep my head down tomorrow!”

Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“We got off to a great start and it was nice to lead a few laps. Cam came by me and I tried everything I could to hang on to him, but his pace was just a bit better. Once he pulled that gap, it was a hot, lonely race but the Dunlop’s held up really well. Hats off to the crew because we’ve had to deal with a few little issues this weekend and haven’t had the laps on track that we’d like, but they are always working hard. I’m happy with how our R1 felt and we are improving the feel for me every time we go out. We’ll try to improve on a few areas for tomorrow’s race and get off to another good start!”

More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:

Westby Racing’s Scholtz Notches A Podium Finish In Superbike and Wyman Is Eighth In Junior Cup At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Braselton, GA – August 1, 2020 – After two rounds of the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship at Road America in Wisconsin, Westby Racing was ready to race this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, which is a home track for the team’s Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz, team manager Chuck Giacchetto, and crew chief Ed Sullivan, who all live in the Atlanta area.

For Mathew, the “home cooking” was just what he needed as his qualified second in Saturday morning’s Superpole session, and then he crossed the finish line in third in the afternoon’s Superbike race one.

Mathew commented, “After the first lap, I settled into fourth place behind Toni (Elias), and I could see immediately that Jake (Gagne) and Cameron (Beaubier) were pulling a massive gap, even after only just five or six corners. Toni’s bike is quick, and he brakes late so I couldn’t really pass him. I was planning on something going into turn 10, but coming onto the back of the straight, (Kyle) Wyman passed us. Then his bike was leaking fluid. It was spraying all over the front of my bike and my helmet visor. So, I was just trying to stay off his race line, and that really slowed me down. Then I maybe got about a second off of Toni and Kyle, and I think Kyle’s bike stopped in turn 10. I caught up to Toni and passed him. Toni was right behind me for a couple of laps after that, but once I began dipping to the mid- to upper-25s, he started dropping off. So, I just kind of rode my own race from there. It was a little bit boring towards the end. I could see Jake pretty far ahead of me, but I couldn’t see Cameron at all, so I was in no-man’s land. I’m hoping in the tomorrow’s race that we can pick up the pace and hold onto Jake and Cam.”

Sunday’s Superbike Race 2 is at 3 PM Eastern and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and Eurosport, as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.

In Junior Cup, Cody Wyman’s reunion with Road Atlanta, after a five-year hiatus from a track that he really likes, netted him a third-row starting position and an eighth-place finish in Saturday’s race one. Cody was less than thrilled with the results, but he has his chin up and is determined to get a higher finish in Sunday’s race two.

“We made some changes to the front-end of the bike, and they made the handling better, but it was still a tough race for me,” Cody said. “I got a decent start and did my best to roll with the leaders, but I lost the draft and got stuck in a big battle for fifth place. It was very hot today, and the track was pretty greasy as a result, so I definitely had some moments. We all swapped positions, and I put myself in a really good spot on the final lap, with a couple bikes ahead of me that I could draft. But, turn 10a and 12 were a bit of a mess for me, and I ended up crossing the line in eighth. Thank you to my team for the support. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to try out a small change on the bike and then, we’ll see how it goes for race two.’”

Junior Cup Race 2 is at 2 PM Eastern and will be broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 (check your local listings for FS2 airtimes), in addition to being live-streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.

For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com

Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Kelly Puts A Stop To Escalante’s Perfection

Landers, De Keyrel And Alexander Also Win At Road Atlanta

BRASELTON, GA (August 1, 2020) – HONOS Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante rolled into Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta riding the high of winning four straight Supersport races, but M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly put an end to Escalante’s perfect Supersport season with a thrilling victory on a hot Saturday in Georgia.

With Escalante finishing second to Kelly it means that no one in the 2020 MotoAmerica Series is undefeated.

Supersport: Kelly Takes It!

Supersport race one was an absolute battle between Kelly and Escalante, with Kelly emerging victorious by just .052 of a second to snap Escalante’s four-race winning streak. The race was red-flagged when Nolan Lamkin crashed in the early going, and it was restarted with the original starting grid and Escalante in the pole position. Kelly got the jump on Escalante, but Escalante stayed close throughout the 18-lap event, and the two swapped the lead several times. On the final run to the checkers, Kelly had enough of a gap to hold off Escalante’s draft-pass move. Meanwhile, Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha’s Brandon Paasch ran a solid race in third to round out the podium.

“First of all, I’m just super happy to finally get the win,” Kelly said. “I haven’t gotten one since Pittsburgh. At the end of the day, after waiting so long, you get hungry, and more hungry, and more hungry. Especially after the start to the season that we had. We definitely had a rough start at Road America 1, but we’ve just built on it ever since. Honestly, I owe it all to the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team. John and Chris Ulrich, Jeremy Toye, my crew chief. They’ve really put in a lot of work. We’ve just been moving forward ever since. I’m extremely happy. We still have work to do for tomorrow, but this is just taking it in. First win of the season. Really happy. Thanks to everyone that’s watching back at home, especially my dad who I obviously wish was here, but that’s all right. I know he’s still pretty emotional back at home.”

Stock 1000: Alexander’s First

In Saturday’s Stock 1000 race, Ride HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Corey Alexander notched his first MotoAmerica win. Second-place finisher Cameron Petersen hung with Alexander in the opening laps of the race, but his Altus Motorsports Tucker Hagerty Suzuki developed a technical issue, and Alexander was able to stretch his lead to nearly four seconds at the checkers. Alex Dumas, the 2018 Liqui Moly Junior Cup and 2019 Twins Cup Champion, recorded his first podium result in the Stock 1000 class with a third-place result.

“I didn’t really know what to expect going into the race,” Alexander said. “Obviously, I kind of knew about Cameron’s (Petersen) brake issue. So, I wasn’t sure if that was going to be a factor. Also, I felt like we were a little bit off so far this weekend. Just kind of hit a wall with our setup. We’ve been working really hard, the guys at Graves Motorsports, and Chuck (Graves) and my crew chief Chris (Lessing) have really been trying to get the bike to just work a little better for me. Obviously, my size and stuff aren’t the easiest. Making the bike work a little better for me. They found something going into the race that gave me a little bit more confidence to push that next step to run with Cam. Cam’s been riding really good all year. I knew it was going to be tough. Definitely been a little bit frustrated with the first two races we had. Got a good start and put my head down. I didn’t expect to get the holeshot on him. I thought I’d have to follow him for a little bit until maybe his brakes fell off. But overall, just feel really good. It’s a good confidence boost. This whole thing has been obviously tough on everybody with COVID-19 and the whole deal. Back in New York, our dealership is still open. Unfortunately, my uncle (Richie Alexander) couldn’t make it, which is a bummer because he’s been to every single one of my races, since 2008. Definitely sucks he’s not here, but I’m glad we’re racing. Glad everybody’s safe and things will hopefully turn around in the country and we’ll get to keep racing. Hats off to Alex (Dumas). I think we have to stop hanging out every day. He’s starting to pick up on everything. Every time we ride together and come back. We were out in Washington last week and he must have picked up a couple things. He was faster today. He’s been fast all weekend. Really amazing to see him progress. Hats off to these guys.”

Twins Cup: De Keyrel Gets It Done

The final race of the day was Twins Cup, and Kaleb De Keyrel, who has won two of the first three races of the season, was victorious again aboard his 1-833-CJKNOWS Roaring Toyz Yamaha on Saturday at Road Atlanta. Second place went to Hayden Schultz Racing Yamaha’s Hayden Schultz for his second podium in a row. Polesitter Rocco Landers had quite a ride aboard his Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com Suzuki on the final go-around of the 12-lap race. The class rookie made an aggressive move to try and catch De Keyrel, but he very nearly crashed and had to make a miraculous save to salvage a podium in third.

“I just knew that Rocco after qualifying, he laid down that super-fast lap time,” De Keyrel said. “I knew he was going to be there the whole race. I just tried to get off to a good start and just ride good, clean laps and just try and be as consistent as possible. Overall, I’m having a blast out here at Road Atlanta. Ever since we rolled the bike out of the truck, it’s been fast. Just the suspension honestly is the biggest improvement that we’ve been working on big time. We’ve been dialing in the bike more and more for me every race weekend. So, the more laps we get on the track, the better the bike is getting suspension-wise and handling-wise. It’s really starting to feel like my motorcycle. I’m really happy with my 1-833-CJKNOWS Roaring Toyz Yamaha MT07. It’s been working really good out there, so I’m happy.”

Liqui Moly Junior Cup: Landers Nails It Down

Defending Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion Rocco Landers started the 2020 MotoAmerica season with three second-place finishes to Dominic Doyle, but in race number two at Road America 2, Landers finally got the win. On Saturday, Landers put in a dominant performance to record his second-consecutive victory. The Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr. Farr/Wonder CBD Kawasaki rider started from the pole, got the holeshot, and immediately started pulling a gap, which he extended to more than five seconds by the time he crossed the finish line. His pace was as hot as the temperature on Saturday at Road Atlanta, and the Oregonian broke the outright class lap record on his way to the checkers.

Current points leader Doyle got a bad start from the line and had to play catch-up aboard his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki throughout the majority of the 11-lap event. He raced hard, however, and managed to land on the podium in third. Second place went to Celtic HSBK Racing’s Sam Lochoff, the South African getting his best result of the year thus far.

More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:

SEAN DYLAN KELLY WINS A THRILLER IN ATLANTA

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki continued its winning ways as the 2020 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season resumed for Round 3 in blistering hot conditions at Road Atlanta.

The action on track was even hotter than the sweltering conditions in Saturday’s MotoAmerica Supersport showdown. At the conclusion of 17 laps of repeated draft passes and braking duels, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s class title hopeful Sean Dylan Kelly stood atop the podium thanks to a breathtaking final-corner overtake.

Throughout the contest, a confident Kelly routinely put the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R600 wherever he wanted, utilizing a variety of lines and late-brake heroics to keep himself in contention for the victory on the final lap.

As the battle for the win closed on the checkered flag, Kelly somehow navigated around a pair of slower riders and then dove up the inside of his chief rival in the race’s last corner to earn his first victory of the season by 0.052 seconds.

The win was the 18-year-old’s third in just over one season of MotoAmerica competition.

Afterward, he said, “Wow! That was a really good race. It definitely was a hard one. Getting our first win of the season feels so good. We started off the season in a difficult way but we fought through and we’re here. I want to thank the whole M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team — they’ve worked so hard. I’m really happy to get this win for everyone and we’re going to do it again tomorrow.”

The day also proved fruitful for Kelly’s teenaged teammate Alex Dumas. The French Canadian notched up another milestone in his meteoric rise, scoring his first career podium finish in the Stock 1000 class aboard the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Dumas, who raced into the 2020 season on the strength of dominating back-to-back championships in the Junior Cup (2018) and Twins Cup (2019), has instantly proven to be a quick learner — and flat-out quick — on a big-bore racebike as well.

Dumas has climbed up the order in each of his three Stock 1000 races to date, backing up his seventh-place debut with a fourth-place finish in his second attempt. Dumas went one better on Saturday at Road Atlanta, finishing in third position just 0.051 seconds out of second place.

Dumas said, “I feel really good this weekend. I’ve been pretty quick this weekend in practice and qualifying, so I was really looking forward to the race. Unfortunately, I made a small little mistake at the beginning and lost some time, but I kept pushing. It’s great to get my first podium of the year. I’m really happy, and I’ve got to thank everyone at Team Hammer and everyone who supports the team.”

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki MotoAmerica Superbike duo of Toni Elias and Bobby Fong added a double top-five to the team’s list of accomplishments on Saturday.

Toni Elias (2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion and 2010 Moto2  World Champion) ran third early on and pressured for that position mid-race before accepting a lonely fourth.

He was followed home by Bobby Fong, who came to Road Atlanta fresh off his maiden premier-class victory. Fong’s hopes of backing that performance up with a second consecutive win took a big hit earlier in the day when he crashed his GSX-R1000 at high speed.

The bruised and battered Fong soldiered on to fifth-place points to keep his championship hopes alive.

Lucas Silva continued his perfect season’s run of top-tens with another strong Supersport outing. The native Brazilian initially battled inside the top five before ultimately taking the checkered flag in sixth.

Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com’s Rocco Landers made a spectacular save in the final corner of the Twins Cup race to salvage a podium finish following a race-long battle for victory.

Despite feeling under the weather, Landers pulled an early advantage before settling into second. Landers attempted to position his Suzuki SV650 to make a late strike for the win, but his plan was effectively foiled when he got hung up on lappers on the last lap. Landers still did what he could to claw back the advantage in hopes of snaring an unlikely victory, but ran off course in the last corner as a result.

He somehow managed to keep it upright through the gravel and returned to the track in time to cross the stripe in third position.

Team Hammer will have another opportunity to add to its trophy haul on Sunday at Road Atlanta.

About Team Hammer

The 2020 season marks Team Hammer’s 40th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 87 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 248 times and have won seven AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport). The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series

Road Atlanta

Braselton, GA

HONOS Superbike Superpole Qualifying Results (all on Dunlops):

1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam) 1:24:244 Best Lap
2. Mathew Scholtz (Yam) 1:25:039
3. Toni Elias (Suz) 1:25:364
4. Jake Gagne (Yam) 1:25:451
5. Kyle Wyman (Duc) 1:25:664
6. Bobby Fong (Suz) 1:26:191
7. David Anthony (Suz) 1:26:684
8. Bradley Ward (Kaw) 1:27:604
9. Josh Herrin (BMW) 1:27:883

M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Bobby Fong crashed at high speed going into Turn One during the session. He was seen on a video feed walking away from the crash.

Rocco Landers held the previous MotoAmerica Junior Cup lap record at Road Atlanta with a time of 1:42.017 on his Kawasaki Ninja 400.