Charlotte HM Doubleheader to run Friday and Saturday before Bank of America ROVAL 400
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 26, 2020) – American Flat Track is thrilled to announce an exciting development in its updated 2020 schedule – the 2020 Charlotte Half-Mile doubleheader races will run Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 on the same weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400. This three-day racing extravaganza will be the first time in history these two historic motorsports will run races in the same market, at the same venue, on the same weekend.
With over 60 years of racing history to its credit, Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) has become known as “America’s Home for Racing.” It will further solidify this title by hosting three back-to-back-to-back opportunities to witness high-speed motorsports action. On Friday and Saturday at CMS’s The Dirt Track at Charlotte, the athletes in all three classes of American Flat Track will spend two nights vying for a spot in the AFT championship hunt. The weekend’s action will culminate on Sunday with NASCAR’s premier class, as its world famous drivers attack the unique ROVAL 400 on the CMS road course.
For the avid racing enthusiast, the opportunity to witness America’s Original Extreme Sport coupled with the premier four-wheeled racing in the world presents a unique opportunity for the ultimate American motorsports experience.
“American Flat Track and NASCAR are the two most American and most iconic of all motorsports so we are delighted to be partnering with the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway to bring race fans this unprecedented and unique weekend of two and four-wheeled racing,” said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. “The Dirt Track at Charlotte is one of the favorite destinations for our teams and riders as the facilities are outstanding and the famous Charlotte red clay makes for high speed thrills all evening.”
“At Charlotte Motor Speedway, we pride ourselves on hosting world-class race events and bringing out the very best entertainment for the fans,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter. “With the addition of the back-to-back days of American Flat Track to an already action-packed Bank of America ROVAL 400 weekend, we’re looking forward to delivering on that promise in October and showing fans of both series why we’re known as America’s Home for Racing.”
Tickets for AFT’s return to the historic Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2020 Charlotte Half-Mile I and Charlotte Half-Mile II doubleheader weekend on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 will be available for purchase in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to www.americanflattrack.com and AFT’s social media channels for ticketing news and the latest updates on AFT’s upcoming 2020 season.
How to Watch:
NBCSN and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2020 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT remains in highly-coveted programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold – the most-robust motorsports offering in the digital marketplace – is a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event and maintaining an active archive of all AFT content.
About American Flat Track:
American Flat Track is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visit http://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram, live stream the events with TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on NBCSN.
Superleggera V4 001/500 delivered at Borgo Panigale
Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, personally delivered model number 001/500 and the certificate of authenticity of the Superleggera V4 to the lucky owner
Belgian Ducatista Filip Van Schil, who already owns nine Ducati motorcycles, was invited to Borgo Panigale to pick up his Superleggera V4
“Receiving the motorbike directly in the Company and touching the passion of the people who work in Borgo Panigale is an experience that I will always remember. Days like this are what make Ducati unique and different from all the other motorcycle manufacturers,” said Filip Van Schil on receiving the motorcycle
Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 26 June 2020 – The number 001/500 model of the Ducati Superleggera V4 – the only motorcycle in the world homologated for road use with carbon fibre frame, swingarm and rims and produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer in a limited run of just 500 units – has been officially delivered to its new owner, the Belgian Ducatista Filip Van Schil, who already possesses nine other Ducati bikes.
For the occasion Ducati invited Van Schil to the Borgo Panigale factory for a special tour, in which he was able to see up close the line where his motorbike was built and meet the specialized worker who made its engine. The day then continued with a visit to the company Museum, the Centro Stile Ducati and the Racing Department. In addition, as with all the other Superleggera V4 owners, Filip will have an incredible opportunity to test the Panigale V4 R, which competes in the SBK World Championship, on the track at Mugello as part of the “Superbike Experience”.
“When I received the call and the official invitation to come to Borgo Panigale to collect my Superleggera V4, the number 001 of 500, although I have always been a Ducatista, my legs trembled with emotion,” said Filip Van Schil. “A welcome like this, even though I was the first to call and order the bike, is something unimaginable. Receiving it directly in the company and touching the passion of the people who work in Borgo Panigale is an experience that I will always remember. Days like this are what make Ducati unique and different from all the other motorcycle manufacturers.”
It was Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, who unveiled the Superleggera V4 001, and then handed it over to its new owner. The ceremony took place inside the Centro Stile Ducati.
“Today is a special day. Experiencing on the track in the morning the incredible emotions that a Superleggera V4 can give at Mugello, and then handing over the keys of the 001/500 motorcycle to the first customer in the afternoon makes this day truly magical! Being able to meet and see the passion of our customers in person is always very exciting, and even more so is making them proud and allowing their dreams to come true,” said Claudio Domenicali. “The Superleggera V4 is the only motorcycle in the world approved for road use with a carbon fibre frame, subframe, swingarm and rims. It is a mix of mechanical engineering, technique and “made in Italy” design that amazes for its performance, style and attention to detail. I am really proud of the work done by all the technicians and engineers of Borgo Panigale, they have created an engineering masterpiece that fully embodies the fundamental values of our brand: Style, Sophistication, Performance and Trust. Today another star of the Ducati firmament was born, dedicated to our most passionate customers, and to collectors and connoisseurs.”
The attention that Ducati wished to reserve for the Ducatista does not stop with an invitation to the company and the delivery of a copy of the book Stile Ducati bearing the date of this unforgettable day and a special dedication from Claudio Domenicali. As will all those who have bought or will buy a Superleggera V4, Van Schil also received a sculptural reproduction of the Superleggera V4 personalized with the number of the bike it accompanies. The Superleggera V4 will be delivered to owners accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and inside a wooden crate with dedicated graphics, specially created for the transport of this masterpiece of motor engineering.
“Each one of our daily decisions is dictated by the goal of making our fans happier and prouder. I am very happy to be here with Mr. Van Schil because this ceremony testifies the passion, professionalism and attention to detail that we reserve for our customers and fans in Borgo Panigale today, as in all our dealers around the world,” said Francesco Milicia, VP Global Sales and After Sales. “Ducati dealers allow fans to get hold of our bikes, our clothing and the entire range of accessories, but also to experience a meeting place where, with competent people dedicated to them, they can share their passion and great emotions. Today’s ceremony represents all of this and is a symbolic delivery for Ducati enthusiasts all over the world.”
The package that Ducati has provided for this unique project includes, in addition to what has already been mentioned, a racing kit, the possibility of customizing the Superleggera V4 leathers with air-bag and part of the “SuMisura Ducati” line and the opportunity to complete the look with a carbon helmet.
Even more incredible and exclusive is the opportunity, limited to only 30 owners of the Superleggera V4, to purchase access to the “MotoGP Experience”. For the first time, in fact, it will be possible to ride the Desmosedici GP on the circuit, followed directly by Ducati Corse technicians, making a dream come true for all fans of sports bikes and the red bikes of Borgo Panigale.
Westby Racing Is All-In For A Big Encore Weekend At Road America
Tulsa, OK – June 25, 2020 – Round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship starts this Friday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and riders Mathew Scholtz and Cody Wyman, along with the entire Westby Racing team, are excited about this rare opportunity to return to the iconic, 4.05-mile, 14-turn natural road course for the second consecutive round.
And, what makes this round extra-special is that the fans will be in attendance, which gives Mathew, Cody and the team extra motivation to win.
“We’re really looking forward to being back at Road America,” commented Mathew. “The first round went really well for us, and for this round, we’ve got a couple of new parts that should really help with the power of the bike. (Crew Chief) Ed (Sullivan), (Electronics Specialist) Herschel (Auxier), and I have sat down and come up with a plan to improve the bike even further. So, I’m excited to get back out there and build on what we did in round one. Also, it’s going to be great to race in front of the fans. It was a little bit strange to be at the biggest circuit on our schedule a month ago and not have the fans in attendance. Having fans there brings a whole different atmosphere and gets everyone pumped up even more. Road America has been a difficult track for me over the past few years but finishing second in race one last month was very encouraging. We’re aiming to improve even more this weekend.”
Superbike Superpole is on Saturday at 10:30 AM Central, Superbike race one will go green on Saturday at 1:15 PM Central, and Superbike Race 2 is on Sunday also at 1:45 PM Central. Both races will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and Eurosport, as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
Cody Wyman (34). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.
Cody, who competes in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship aboard the #34 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R3, is looking forward to returning to Road America after finishing just one spot off the podium in Sunday’s race at round one.
“I can’t wait to get back to competing, especially in front of all the fans at Road America.” Cody said. “I know there’s a huge fan base up there eager to get out and enjoy some racing. It’s a little strange going back to the same racetrack, but we know what to expect for the races. I’ve had weeks to discuss adjustments to make the bike even better this time around. We also had a solid fourth-place finish on Sunday and are looking to build off that momentum. My goal is to fight for the podium, and to be closer to the front group. There may be some weather on Friday to work around, but it should be an awesome weekend to put on a show for the fans. See you all there!”
Junior Cup race one starts on Saturday at 2:15 PM Central, and Junior Cup race two is on Sunday at 2:45 PM Central. Saturday’s race will be broadcast live on Facebook and via tape-delay on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), and Sunday’s race will be broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 (check your local listings for FS2 airtimes). In addition, both Junior Cup races will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
Meet Mathew and Cody, Get Some Autographed Posters, And More
Mathew and Cody will both be at the Westby Racing transporter in the Road America paddock during two Dunlop Paddock Autograph Signings. The first one is on Saturday from 12:15 to 12:45 PM, and the second one is on Sunday from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM. They’ll have free, autographed posters and other team items to hand out while practicing social distancing for the fans’ protection.
Superb P1 for Scott Redding after 3 testing days at Misano. Positive feelings for Chaz Davies.
Almost four months have passed since the first round of the 2020 WorldSBK season held at Phillip Island, Australia. Then, unfortunately, the restrictions due to the spread of Covid-19 forced teams and riders to a long stop.
Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, the engines of the Ducati Panigale V4 R returned to sing for a quick shakedown (just a few laps), which helped Chaz and Scott to regain confidence with the bikes and make the first laps on the new asphalt of the Misano World Circuit.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders then carried out two intense days of testing which ended today offering extremely positive data.
Scott Redding notched up the best chrono among the Wsbk riders (only 135 thousandths of a second off the fastest MotoGP rider) and lapped consistently on race pace too.
Positive sensations also for Chaz Davies (177 laps completed throughout the three testing days) who found a very good feeling with his Panigale V4 R, especially lapping with used tyres.
Scott Redding (45) at Misano. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Scott Redding (P1 – 1’33.067)
“These were three very positive days as it was important to regain the feeling with the bike. We have worked a lot especially with used tyres and we have tried new solutions that have given positive feedback. I’ve been working out a lot these months with the goal of losing weight. In the end, I also managed to set a good chrono but this is not important. It was great to get back to work with the guys and I can’t wait to get back on track”.
Chaz Davies (7) at Misano. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Chaz Davies (P5 – 1’34.053)
“It was nice to get back out there and see a lot of familiar faces. It has been a long four months and there was a great desire to reconnect with the bike and the track. We worked a lot to try many solutions and get some important feedback. We have improved in some areas and we have to improve in other aspects but the direction is the right one”.
Marco Zambenedetti (Ducati Corse Technical Coordinator)
“I am very satisfied with these three days of testing as we were able to test – with Redding and Davies – some new parts and technical solutions we tried a month ago on this circuit with Pirro and Rinaldi. We had good feedback from the riders on the new ergonomics. We also re-tested some of the solutions we tried in Australia and there are still some others to try out, especially from an electronic point of view. We will be able to do it before the race weekend at Jerez”.
Serafino Foti (Team Manage Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We were looking forward to getting back to work and this test was taken with great enthusiasm. They have been three very important days for the riders and the whole team, also to get familiar with the new protocols that we will have to follow in the next rounds. Our season will start again: it will be shorter but at the same time, it will be very intense. As always we will give our best to get the best possible result”.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Reset Test Complete For KRT’s WorldSBK Squad
After an enforced absence from the racetrack due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes completed their first WorldSBK comeback test at Misano today, having enjoyed two full days of intense action at the Italian circuit.
In terms of outright lap times Rea was the second best WorldSBK rider on display at Misano, with 1’33.206 on the very grippy new asphalt that has been recently laid at the 4.226km long coastal circuit. Lowes set his own best–of-test 1’33.694 lap time later in the afternoon, placing him just outside the existing track best lap time, after completing over 100 laps today alone.
The entire KRT squad worked hard at this test to not just get back into the groove after some months away from the track but also to adhere to the national, regional and self-imposed Covid-19 regulations, designed to ensure the safety of everyone involved in these tests.
With differing degrees of overall experience on the Ninja ZX-10RR five times Kawasaki champion Rea and 2020 signing Lowes worked on some different aspects of machine set-up and their approach to these tests in general.
Rea spent today with his technical crew finding greater confidence on the unexpectedly grippy new asphalt. They made the most of the gradual set-up changes to the point where Rea posted the fastest time on race tyres, before he and some others tried out even softer rear qualifiers to improve the pace yet again.
Lowes, at another new circuit for him on the KRT machine, built up his confidence and pace to leave Misano both satisfied with the work already done and ready find more improvements at the next tests in Spain.
Now the team will relocate to their home venue of Montmelo near Barcelona, for a track outing on the eighth and ninth of July. The season itself is due to re-start – after a long gap since the opening round in Australia back in early March – at Jerez de la Frontera, again in Spain, with races on the first and second of August.
Jonathan Rea (1) at Misano. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am quite satisfied with this test and it was very valuable to get up to speed. Yesterday everything felt quite alien to me, especially as the asphalt was new and the grip levels were high. I just had to adapt my riding style a little bit. Also we changed the bike setup; actually to take a little bit of grip away. I was still not 100% confident but I felt better a lot better after the tyre grip had dropped a bit. After six or seven laps I felt more comfortable on the bike. At the end, with a race tyre, I was still able to be very fast and I felt confident to push. We did not get excited or carried away when we were struggling; we just went about it step-by-step with the crew, and with Showa, changing the bike set-up. We did not have many huge items to try. I really feel like here, with the grip level being so high, we have been able to achieve a little bit more natural turning from the bike. That is a huge thing to take away from here and I hope we can apply it to other tracks where we have been struggling in the past.”
Alex Lowes (22) at Misano. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes, stated: “The test today has been really good because we had clear targets that we wanted to achieve at the start of the day. We wanted to do a race simulation while trying to keep a good pace after such a long time off the bike. And also find a direction with the front end setup for the Barcelona tests. We achieved both those things. I had a nice 20 laps this morning, when the track was really hot, which gave us good information for the next races in Jerez and Portimao, because we think they are also going to be hot. At the end of today we tried to improve our pace on new tyres and I was quite satisfied with what we did. After 103 laps I was a little bit tired at the end but it was a successful test and we have a lot of information to take into the next test. That will be another new track for me on the Kawasaki, so it is all about gelling with the bike in all different conditions. I also want to say a big thanks to the team. It has not been easy to organise the test with everything that has gone on but a massive thanks to the KRT guys.”
Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea, stated: “Testing has been very good. After this long lockdown it was very interesting to see how the riders would be, how the mechanics and everybody worked. And they all worked very well. Johnny is in really good shape and he has been working a lot on his psychology and physically he was very strong. He came here with his batteries recharged. This track, on the other hand, is like a new track as it has been completely re-asphalted. The grip is impressive – completely crazy! On a Q tyre Johnny was 1.5 seconds faster than what he did last year. Yesterday, all this new grip made a new request to the balance of the bike and Johnny was not so happy. Step-by-step we understood the direction and from the first ‘out lap’ yesterday to the final one today we did not stop improving. I am honestly very proud of the job everybody did in the team. Johnny did a 1’33.4 today, making him the fastest one with a race tyre. On his Q tyre he made a mistake on the first lap but still did a 1’33.2 on his second lap. That could have been a 1’32.9 or 1’33.0.”
Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: “A very good test; very positive. We know Phillip Island is a special track and we did well there in the season opener. We came here with a positive mentality and I think everybody was glad to come back to the track. Yesterday, when we started off, it was more like a warm-up after being away for so long. But today, we really sat down to improve the speed of the package. This afternoon especially we made some significant steps with the bike performance – and Alex used it to the maximum. We have a clear idea where we improved and also what we need to improve in the following test – so we can go away from this track with a happy face.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “This has been such an intense test. After four months stopped – the longest in the last 10 years for sure – it has been nice to come back to the racetrack. We tried to get into the rhythm and let the riders enjoy on the bikes. It has been our first experience in ‘Covid-19 mode’ and for sure we need to improve our system. We made PCR tests and Antibody tests for all staff. We even asked a few suppliers who were in attendance to do the same, to ensure to the max that nobody could spread the virus. The most important thing will be to be responsible and try to follow current government rules about virus prevention outside the paddock. We are conscious that part of the proposed racing program is linked to preventing Covid-19 from coming into the paddock, so let’s see if we can ‘win’ this race too.”
More, from a press release issued by Go Eleven Team:
THE SUN SETS ON MISANO TESTS, MICHAEL RINALDI IS AT REDDING AND REA’S HEEL!
As soon as the WorldSBK protagonists cross the gates of the circuit, they give back prestige, considering laptimes, to the series derivative championship! All Ducati Superbike teams, the Kawasaki Racing Team and some MotoGP riders, including the official Aprilia and KTM teams, got the rust due to months of inactivity off on the Misano track, which was kissed by good weather and high temperatures.
Michael Rinaldi and the Go Eleven Team arrived ready and prepared for the appointment, bringing several innovative solutions and some comparative to be tested. The rider from Romagna was able to stay complete the huge work for the overall sixteen hours of the session, doing more than one hundred laps. The choices gradually taken helped the team to get closer, with the necessary improvements on the bike, to the best lap time, without neglecting the work with used tyres. Go Eleven was able to confirm and improve itself session after session, till best lap in 1.33.560 in race configuration at the end of the second day, following closely Scott Redding and Johnny Rea, a few tenths from the two official riders and widely ahead of Chaz Davies and the Championship leader Alex Lowes. Really astonishing two days for the Italian team returning from the lockdown; inside the box you can breathe a unique harmony!
Now it’s time to prepare and arrange the final details in view of the restart of the season; there is only one month left for Jerez de la Frontera, the first European stage of this “caliente” WorldSBK 2020. Michael, stay focused and trained, that soon it will be time to give the other riders a hard time!
Michael Rinaldi (21) at Misano. Photo courtesy Go Eleven Team.
Michael Rinaldi (Rider):
“This two day test was very positive for us! After many months we went back on track and completed several kilometers obtaining useful information for the restart of the Championship. At the end of the two days we found the best solution, and we also managed to be very fast. Considering that our time was scored with race tyre, while most of my opponents used the qualifying tyre, I can be satisfied with the work done. In race configuration we were even closer to Scott! Now we have to fix some details when the tyres become used, in view of the first seasonal Rounds. In the two days the bike has always been improving, the changes have given me more confidence and therefore I was able to ride my Panigale as I wanted. Thanks to all our fans and sponsors who, despite the difficult period, allowed us to return on the track as soon as possible; see you in Jerez! ”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“It was fundamental for Go Eleven to participate at the two days test in Misano. After such a long period at home, the technicians needed to resume their work rhythm and, for the rider, it was important to get back on track and ride his Panigale V4-R. We are happy with the result of these two days of testing, because we have completed an intense work schedule. The lap time is important and today it satisfies us! Michael was very good, fast both on one single lap and in race peace, in line with Redding and the World Champion Rea. We can’t wait to race in Jerez!”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing:
Barni Racing Team concludes two days of testing in Misano
Misano Adriatico (ITA), 25th June 2020. During the two-day test at Misano World Circuit, Leon Camier experienced pain at the shoulder operated on last winter. Unfortunately, this physical condition made it difficult for him to find the right feeling while riding the Barni Racing Team’s Ducati Panigale V4 R.
In agreement with the team principal Marco Barnabò, Camier decided to consult the medical team who performed his surgery on the 24th December to get an objective assessment of his physical condition.
There will be a new discussion between the team and the rider after these medical checks to decide what to do, given the Jerez round of the WorldSBK scheduled at the end of July.
Leon Camier (2) at Misano. Photo courtesy Barni Racing.
Leon Camier:
“The shoulder has had a lot of rest in the last months and seemed all fine. I didn’t have any issue with it riding Supermotard or Trials in the last weeks. Not sure whether it’s the position in combination with the obvious strong braking force on a Superbike or something else. I can ride the bike and do sort of OK lap time wise but I’m so disappointed not to be able to ride at my – and the bike’s – full potential. Also feel bad for Barni and the guys, they’re a bunch of great hard working guys and even now they continue to stick with me. Something is not right and I’m going to check with the doctor immediately to know what’s going on.”
Marco Barnabo, Team Principal:
“The whole team and I strongly believe in the path we decided to undertake with Leon, and, during this break, we have always believed that the rider could be 100% physically ready at the restart of the season. At that time, doctors assured us that the rider would have been ready to race and Leon did not have any pain during the training sessions. However, when he took the track in Misano he realized he could not ride as he knows. For this reason we decided to consult the doctors once again to get the full picture of Leon’s situation.”
MotoAmerica: How To Watch Round Two From Road America
It’s All Here: How To Not Miss A Bit Of The Action
IRVINE, CA (June 25, 2020) – If you can’t make it to Road America this weekend for the second round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series this is all you need to know to keep up with everything that’s happening in Wisconsin.
DATE TIME NETWORK CLASS LIVE/DELAYED
June 26 12:20 p.m. MA Live+ All Live
June 27 10:10 a.m. MA Live+ All Live
June 27 2 p.m. FS1 & Eurosport HONOS Superbike 1 Live
June 27 4 p.m. MAVTV & Eurosport Supersport 1 Live
June 28 10:40 a.m. MA Live+ All Live
June 28 1:30 p.m. MAVTV Supersport 2 Live
June 28 2:30 p.m. FS1 & Eurosport HONOS Superbike 2 Live
June 30 8 p.m. FS2 Road America Rewind Delayed
June 30 9 p.m. FS2 Liqui Moly Junior Cup 1 Delayed
June 30 9:30 p.m. Liqui Moly Junior Cup 2 Delayed
July 5 5 p.m. NBCSN Inside MotoAmerica Premier
All times are Eastern Time
More, from another press release issued by MotoAmerica:
MotoAmerica Live+: Don’t Miss Out On A Single Minute Of Road America 2 Action
Here’s What You Need To Know To Keep On Top Of The Action
Don’t miss a single minute of the action from Road America this weekend in round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series. Your MotoAmerica Live+ subscription allows you catch all the on-track action (and quite a bit of off-track action as well) from all the classes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
MotoAmerica Headed Back To Road America With Fans In Attendance
Round Two Slated For This Weekend in Wisconsin
IRVINE, CA (June 25, 2020) – If you’re racing in the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, specifically in the HONOS Superbike class, one thing is certain: You’re hoping that there’s no such thing as déjà vu when the proceedings get rolling again at Road America this weekend for round two as MotoAmerica becomes the first motorcycle series in the U.S. to host fans post COVID-19 shutdown.
You don’t have to have a very long memory to recall how four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier performed in the opening round of the series. The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha rider demoralized the field with two runaway victories at a racetrack that normally features nail-biting finishes.
Beaubier led every session except for the warm-up on Sunday morning when mechanical issues held him to just one complete lap. He also broke the lap record with his 2:11.145 coming in the second session. Then the Californian simply owned the races, winning the two by margins of 7.8 and 14.3 seconds, respectively.
But that was then, and this is now, and we will find out in a few short days if the rest of the pack has found anything to gain time on Beaubier.
It’s Beaubier’s new teammate Jake Gagne who is closest to Beaubier in the championship after one round, the laid-back Californian finishing third and second in his debut on the second Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha YZF-R1.
Gagne had battles in both races with Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong, with Scholtz finishing second in race one with Gagne third and Fong fourth. In race two, the other two handed Gagne second place when the pair crashed out together in turn five after Fong clashed with Scholtz. Both men were quick up until that point with both dipping into the 2:11s. Ditto for Gagne.
That left an intense battle for the final podium spot between Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin and KWR’s Kyle Wyman and his Ducati Panigale V4 R. Herrin came out on top, by just .011 of a second, and his sixth- and third-place finishes puts him third in the title chase, 24 points behind Beaubier and just two points ahead of Wyman who earned fifth- and fourth-place finishes in the opener.
Scholtz is tied for fifth with Celtic HSBK Racing’s PJ Jacobsen with FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, Fong, RideHVMC’s Corey Alexander and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounding out the top 10 in the series standings after one round.
The rider who struggled the most in the series opener is the same rider who most believe can make Beaubier’s life a bit more difficult. That man is Toni Elias. Elias’ opening weekend was atrocious. In race one, the Spaniard’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 lost its chain and in race two the former 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion crashed. He comes to round two with zero points and a real need to get his feet back on the ground on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. If there’s a highlight to the weekend for Elias, it’s the fact that his best time over the course of the weekend this year was .675 of a second quicker than his best from a year ago.
Road America 2 Notes…
With the debut of the Mini Cup by Motul class and Heritage Cup exhibition class, entries for round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica series have eclipsed the 180-rider mark.
Ticket sales are also on the rise with sales on pace to equal or surpass the 2019 numbers just one race after no spectators were allowed at round one, a race that had record numbers of viewers worldwide. “We’re extremely happy with how the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series went at Road America,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “We had huge television numbers with FOX Sports, Eurosport, MAVTV, NBC Sports, YouTube and MotoAmerica Live+. The event went off without a hitch, thanks to the efforts of our in-house staff, the staff at Road America, our volunteers, the riders and the teams. Now we get to go back to Road America and race in front of our fans, which will make this second race in Wisconsin even better. The COVID 19 pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives in some way and we’re happy to give our fans the opportunity to get out and see some racing at a world-class facility like Road America. We will be doing so, of course, using COVID guidelines.”
Beaubier’s two victories in the HONOS Superbike class at Road America in round one were the 39th and 40th career AMA Superbike wins for the four-time series champion. Beaubier is third on the all-time AMA Superbike win list behind Mat Mladin (82) and Josh Hayes (61).
Of the active riders in the HONOS Superbike class, Beaubier is on top of the all-time AMA Superbike race wins list with 40 victories. Toni Elias is tied for fourth on the list with Miguel Duhamel with 32 wins. The next highest number of wins by an active MotoAmerica rider is Josh Herrin with eight wins followed by Mathew Scholtz with two.
Road America 2 will mark the debut of the MotoAmerica Mini Cup by Motul class. The Ohvale-spec racing class will feature riders aged as young as seven competing on the go-kart track, which is located by the Carousel corner.
Cameron Beaubier broke his two-year-old lap record at Road America 1, the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha rider putting in his quick lap in the second session – a 2:11.145. Beaubier’s previous best – a 2:11.422 – was set during Superpole in 2018.
Valentin Debise’s racing plans were thwarted by COVID-19 travel restrictions when he was denied a visa to leave his home country of France. Debise was slated to ride the second Scheibe Racing BMW in the HONOS Superbike races at Road America 2.
Six different manufacturers will be represented on the grid at Road America: Yamaha (eight entries), BMW (four entries), Suzuki (four entries), Kawasaki (five entries), Ducati (two entries) and Honda (one entry).
As far as manufacturers go, Yamaha has the most wins at Road America with 21 followed by Suzuki with 17, Honda (12), Ducati (eight) and Kawasaki (four). Yamaha had won seven of eight races until Suzuki swept both races in 2019 with Toni Elias and Josh Herrin. Beaubier started a new Yamaha streak with his two wins in Road America 1 at the end of May.
Riders from six different countries will line up at Road America in the HONOS Superbike class with the U.S., Spain, South Africa, Great Britain, Brazil and Australia all represented.
Cameron Beaubier has now won nine HONOS Superbike races at Road America and that ties him with Mat Mladin as the all-time Superbike race winner in America’s Dairyland. Going into last year’s two races, Beaubier had won seven of the past 10 Superbike races in Elkhart Lake, but he was shut out in 2019 with two second-place finishes. Beaubier ended that streak with his two wins at Road America 1 a month ago.
The official track length at Road America is 4.048 miles, which makes it the longest on the MotoAmerica schedule. The track features 14 turns and is affectionally known as “four miles of fun.”
Three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer won the first-ever AMA Superbike race at Road America in 1980.
More, from another press release issued by MotoAmerica:
More Close Racing Expected For MotoAmerica Support Classes At Road America
Road America Ready To Host Round Two With Fans
IRVINE, CA (June 25, 2020) – If you remove Richie Escalante’s two runaway wins in the Supersport class in the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series at Road America at the end of May, the combined margin of victory for the other support classes on a sunny weekend in Wisconsin was a scant .168 of a second. Yes, .168 of a second.
All that close racing happened without fans in the season opener, but this weekend’s action will take place with fans at the picturesque four-mile-long racetrack in Elkhart Lake as MotoAmerica becomes the first motorcycle series in the U.S. to host fans post COVID-19 shutdown.
Like the premier HONOS Superbike class with Cameron Beaubier’s first-round domination, the Supersport Series opener also featured a double winner with HONOS Racing’s Escalante starting his season off with a bang with two race victories on his new Kawasaki ZX-6R. Escalante topped Celtic HSBK’s Brandon Paasch in race one by 11.5 seconds and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly by 16.1 seconds in race two to complete his perfect weekend. On track, Paasch was second both times out, but he was disqualified from race two when his Yamaha YZF-R6 was found to be under the mandatory weight limit. Kelly, meanwhile, had his troubles in race one when he crashed out.
With his two closest competitors each failing to score points in one of the two races, Escalante leads the championship heading into this weekend’s Road America 2 by 24 points over the surprising Nate Minster. Minster and his TSE Racing Yamaha finished fourth in each race and he ended the weekend four points clear of Kevin Olmedo in the championship chase. Olmedo earned his first Supersport podium in race one but slipped back to 10th in race two. Paasch and Kelly are tied for fourth – 30 points behind Escalante.
Going into the opening round of the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Series, it was almost a forgone conclusion that defending champion Rocco Landers would have his way with the rest of the field. After all, Landers did win 14 Liqui Moly Junior Cup races last year en route to the title.
But it seems as though no one reminded Dominic Doyle of that.
Doyle won both races over the course of the weekend – by the slightest of margins. On Saturday, the South African beat Landers by .078 of a second. On Sunday, it was even closer with the BARTCON Kawasaki besting Landers by a Bond-like .007 of a second. For those not keeping track, that translates to Landers and his Landers Racing Kawasaki missing out on victory in two races by a combined .085 of a second.
With his two wins, Doyle goes back to Road America with a 10-point lead on Landers. Third place is held jointly by Benjamin Gloddy, the New Hampshire resident ending up fifth and third in the two races on his Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki and Celtic HSBK Racing’s Samuel Lochoff, who mirrored Gloddy’s results with a third and a fifth. Westby Racing’s Cody Wyman heads to Wisconsin for round two tied for fifth in the point standings with Rodio Racing’s Gus Radio.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get closer than .007 of a second, they did. In Saturday’s opening round of the Twins Cup Series, 1833CJKNOWS’ Kaleb De Keyrel won by just .002 of a second. And guess who was second? Yes, it was Landers – in his Twins Cup debut on the Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com Suzuki. On Sunday the same two went at it again – this time joined in the battle by Robem Engineering’s Jackson Blackmon. Believe it or not, Landers again came up short. Just short. Like .082 of a second short and that put him in third place as Blackmon beat him to the line by just .001 of a second. So in four races, Landers lost out on victory by a combined margin of .169 of a second. We have a feeling that Landers might show up for round two just a bit fired up.
With De Keyrel 14 points ahead of Landers heading into round two, Blackmon is third, a further five points behind. Jason Madama, who put his Syndicate Racing/Apex Assassin’s Yamaha on the podium in race one, is fourth in the points and five points clear of his friend/rival Chris Parrish.
PJ Jacobsen made his Stock 1000 debut a successful one, the Celtic HSBK Racing Ducati rider beating Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen and his Suzuki GSX-R1000 by 4.26 seconds with Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander third on his Kawasaki ZX-10R. Mesa37Racing/Tango’s Stefano Mesa and Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert rounded out the top five with the Stock 1000 class only having one race in the opener.
Road America Support Class Notes…
MotoAmerica has upped the minimum weight requirement for the Ducati Panigale V4 R to 180 kilograms from 170 kg in the Stock 1000 class, effective immediately. PJ Jacobsen rode the Celtic HSBK Ducati to victory in the Stock 1000 class in the opening round of the series at Road America and will have to race with 22 pounds added to the Panigale for round two.
The largest grid for round two at Road America? That would be the Twins Cup class with 28 of the twin-cylinder motorcycles entered for the second round of the MotoAmerica Series. Stock 1000 features the second highest entry with 23 followed by Supersport with 22 and Liqui Moly Junior Cup with 20. The premier HONOS Superbike class will feature 24 entries for Road America 2.
Double duty: Rocco Landers isn’t the only Liqui Moly Junior Cup rider pulling double duty this weekend. While Landers will compete again in both Liqui Moly Junior Cup and Twins Cup, he will be joined by Cameron Jones. Jones, who rides the only Honda CBR500R in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup, will race a Honda CBR600RR in the Supersport class at Road America this weekend.
KTM are excited to announce they will rely on the skills of Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira to represent Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2021. The South African and Portuguese, former Moto3™ and Moto2™ teammates, will reunite in the premier class. Meanwhile KTM will extend their purposeful attack on MotoGP by welcoming and harnessing the experience and GP-winning speed of Danilo Petrucci who will partner Iker Lecuona at Red Bull KTM Tech3 for the ’21 campaign. All four racers will steer works KTM RC16s.
Miguel Oliveira moves into the factory set-up alongside Binder for what will be his third term in MotoGP and his sixth in total with KTM. The 25-year old will have completed two campaigns as part of Red Bull KTM Tech3 even if 2019 was curtailed with a blameless shoulder problem and 2020 has so far been blighted by repercussions of the COVID-19 virus. Oliveira impressed with nine points-scoring results and a strong top eight classification at the Grand Prix of Austria in his rookie season during 2019.
Binder, 24, has yet to make his MotoGP debut in 2020 but inked a new contract to remain in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing colors for 2021. The South African has been part of the Red Bull KTM family since 2015 and became the company’s third Moto3 World Champion in 2016; lodging all of his 15 GP victories ‘in orange’.
Both riders have won Moto3 and Moto2 Grands Prix for KTM and have come through a structure that the company have labelled the ‘KTM GP Academy’; a system of talent recognition and support that stretches from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup through the FIM World Championship categories.
Binder and Oliveira are familiar with each other’s characters and working methods having previously been teammates in the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad in Moto3 in 2015 and then Moto2 in 2017 and 2018. They have appeared on a Grand Prix podium together six times: notably three in a row towards the end of the 2017 Moto2 championship.
Red Bull KTM Tech3 will count on the knowledge and wisdom of nine seasons of MotoGP experience accumulated by Danilo Petrucci for 2021. The 29-year old will be only the second Italian to represent the French crew in MotoGP this century. He has gathered nine podium finishes so far in the class and has steered three different bikes since entering Grand Prix in 2012. Petrucci’s determination, coupled with his grounded character and work ethic, will make an apt foil for teammate Iker Lecuona. The 20-year old Spaniard is waiting to begin his first term in MotoGP in 2020 and recently re-signed to race again for Red Bull KTM Tech3 in 2021.
KTM would like to convey thanks to Pol Espargaro. 2020 will be the fourth year together in a collaboration that has delivered several milestone achievements and both parties want to pursue different paths in MotoGP from 2021 onwards.
The 2020 FIM MotoGP World Championship will finally get underway with a double-header event – the Grandes Premios Red Bull de España and Andalucía – at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain on July 19th and 26th.
Brad Binder: “I’m incredibly excited to be able to have another season on the Red Bull Factory Racing RC16 and I’m really looking forward to getting this year underway and my first MotoGP race under my belt. It’s an honor to have this opportunity and I’m looking at a bright future with KTM and some great times to come.”
Miguel Oliveira: “I’m really happy about this opportunity that KTM have given me for the next two years. I feel that they trust me to show my value as a rider in this project. Since day one I have given my best to the bike and believed in its potential to achieve good results and this is what we want to deliver in the near future. I think we are in the right place to do it, and for me to develop as a rider. It’s a great, great opportunity. We still have to focus on 2020 but I feel grateful for this great challenge. Thanks to the KTM family.”
Iker Lecuona: “I would like to truly thank Red Bull KTM Tech3 for the confidence they are placing in me for their 2021 project. I felt very good with the new RC16 from day one and the bike has really progressed from the configuration we used in the 2019 Valencia race. I think we can make some great races with this machine. Signing for 2021 gives me enough peace of mind to be able to fight for my goal of being Rookie of the Year. I feel like I’m in a great family here.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: “It gives me great pleasure to stick these four hungry guys together for our MotoGP program. Brad and Miguel have a productive working relationship and have shown the talent and the desire to win races through all stages of Grand Prix. We believe they have the determination necessary to push our MotoGP project forward. The same goes for Red Bull KTM Tech3 where we’re happy to bring Danilo into the family. His experience counts for a lot but we’re also banking on a rider that is committed and with the right attitude. We believe he still has something to show in MotoGP. On one side we are investing in MotoGP front-runners ‘of the future’ but they could easily become stars already in 2021 and that would be exciting to see. We have two set-ups but really it is one big team with all four athletes on the same bikes and with the same possibilities. Our riders’ development and success will be a great KTM story and it will taste even sweeter to take these guys to new heights in such a tough competition.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “We have two very talented riders in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2021 and we’ve seen in both Moto2 and Moto3 what they are able to do. It’s great to be able to bring both of them through the ranks into MotoGP. Miguel has already made positive first steps in the category and performed so well at Red Bull Ring last year. He was unlucky with the crash at Silverstone because he suffered with his shoulder for the rest of the season. We expect him to have a good championship this year and be even more ready to change set-ups for 2021. For Brad we know his skills and potential as a rider. Of course, he is the rookie but we’ll bring him up to speed in 2020 and help him to learn the category to be stronger for 2021. Right now, we’re looking forward to racing in 2020 and have to thank everyone that managed to make a race calendar happen this summer. We are very confident with our current rider line-up: as we said, Brad will learn, and Pol has a great chance to get some decent results. We cannot wait.”
Hervé Poncharal, Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Principal: “Iker Lecuona, the youngest rider on the MotoGP grid at the moment, is going to be with us again in 2021. We are all very happy about that because it was a big move for him to jump on a MotoGP bike and, unfortunately, he hasn’t had a lot of chances yet to show what he can do. Then we will have the pleasure to welcome Mr. Danilo Petrucci with us from 2021. Danilo is a man I respect a lot. He is a ‘normal’ guy, who always say hello to everyone, who has a lot of charisma and a great sense of humor. On top of that – and maybe even more important – he is also a team player and a MotoGP winner. There are four factory Red Bull KTM riders on the grid with the same support, the same equipment and this shows us the support that KTM is giving to the team. I would like to thank Stefan Pierer, Hubert Trunkenpolz and Pit Beirer: these are exciting news and it is an exciting program. We want to do well in 2020 but we are also already impatient to start working with our 2021 crew.”
Miguel Oliveira
DOB: 4th January 1995 in Pragal, Portugal
GP Victories: 12 (6 in Moto3; 6 in Moto2)
Podiums: 34 (13 in Moto3; 21 in Moto2)
Pole Positions: 4 (2 in Moto3; 2 in Moto2)
Race Fastest Lap: 10 (6 in Moto3; 4 in Moto2)
Brad Binder
DOB: 11th August 1995 in Potchefstroom, South Africa
Greenville, S.C. — Intended to meet the needs of motorcycle riders from 100% track to 100% street, Michelin has renewed its entire Sport offering by launching four new motorcycle tire ranges this year: MICHELIN® Power 5, MICHELIN® Power GP, MICHELIN® Power Cup 2 and MICHELIN® Power Slick 2.
“As the official tire supplier for MotoGP™, Michelin is thrilled to provide an entire new range of sportbike tires for the track and street,” said Shane Messner, director of two wheel for Michelin North America. “The new Power lineup caters to riders of all levels, whether they are looking for excellent wet grip and durability, or faster lap times.”
Each product features its own specific performance characteristics through the use of high technology materials and casing designs. Michelin’s entire offering was designed simultaneously to ensure consistency and predictable performance for riders from one tire to another. Riders who purchase multiple tires from the MICHELIN Power lineup will benefit from a seamless bike set up and more time on the road and track.
Michelin supports a growing network of trackside distributors and installers across the country that carry the full range of race, trackday and DOT sport bike tires. Michelin recently expanded race tire distribution to Western Power Sports through its network of climate-controlled warehouses. Consumers can contact their local sportbike tire retailer for pricing and availability.
A Michelin Power 5 front tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power 5: The premium sportbike tire for maximum fun in wet and dry conditions
The MICHELIN Power 5 tire is intended for on-road riders of sport and sport touring bikes who demand a high level of performance. Grip in all conditions, especially in the rain, as well as an overabundance of traction and reassuring behavior under aggressive braking are among the requirements of these riders.
A Michelin Power GP front tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power GP: The 50/50 track day tire with extraordinary wet and dry grip
The MICHELIN Power GP tire is designed for riders who prefer sporty riding and do occasionally test their skills during trackdays. This 50/50 tire offers a very good balance between adhesion and longevity in any condition.
A Michelin Power Cup 2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power Cup 2: Increase your track time while lowering your lap times!1
The MICHELIN Power Cup 2 tire is designed for track use but approved for the road. Offering fast individual lap times, and consistently fast on multiple 10-lap sessions, it more than satisfies fans of trackdays.
A Michelin Power Slick 2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power Slick 2 tire: Step up to Michelin’s next level of grip for even shorter lap times2
The MICHELIN Power Slick 2 tire is fully dedicated to track use. It is not approved for the road and is specifically targeted at trackday and racing enthusiasts. Particularly fast both on a single lap and on multiple 10-lap sessions, it is the ultimate track tire that delivers extraordinary grip from the first lap to the last. Easy to use, it does not require specific adjustments to the motorcycle and its rapid warm-up eliminates the need for tire warmers.
1 – Based on external test conducted at the Cartagena Circuit in Spain using a 2019 Suzuki® GSX-R1000R fitted with 120/70 ZR 17 front and 190/55 ZR 17 rear tires comparing lap times of MICHELIN® Power Cup 2 tires with MICHELIN® Power Cup Evo tires. Local on-track results may vary.
2 – Based on internal test conducted at the Cartagena Circuit in Spain using a 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000R fitted with 120/70 ZR 17 front and 190/55 ZR 17 rear tires comparing lap times of MICHELIN® Power Slick 2 tires with MICHELIN® Power Slick Evo tires. Local on-track results may vary.
About Michelin
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility, sustainably; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its clients’ needs; providing digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve a variety of industries. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) has more than 21,400 employees and operates 19 major manufacturing plants.
Action from an American Flat Track race in 2019. Photo courtesy of AFT.
AFT to Join NASCAR Cup Series in Charlotte
Charlotte HM Doubleheader to run Friday and Saturday before Bank of America ROVAL 400
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 26, 2020) – American Flat Track is thrilled to announce an exciting development in its updated 2020 schedule – the 2020 Charlotte Half-Mile doubleheader races will run Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 on the same weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America ROVAL 400. This three-day racing extravaganza will be the first time in history these two historic motorsports will run races in the same market, at the same venue, on the same weekend.
With over 60 years of racing history to its credit, Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS) has become known as “America’s Home for Racing.” It will further solidify this title by hosting three back-to-back-to-back opportunities to witness high-speed motorsports action. On Friday and Saturday at CMS’s The Dirt Track at Charlotte, the athletes in all three classes of American Flat Track will spend two nights vying for a spot in the AFT championship hunt. The weekend’s action will culminate on Sunday with NASCAR’s premier class, as its world famous drivers attack the unique ROVAL 400 on the CMS road course.
For the avid racing enthusiast, the opportunity to witness America’s Original Extreme Sport coupled with the premier four-wheeled racing in the world presents a unique opportunity for the ultimate American motorsports experience.
“American Flat Track and NASCAR are the two most American and most iconic of all motorsports so we are delighted to be partnering with the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway to bring race fans this unprecedented and unique weekend of two and four-wheeled racing,” said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. “The Dirt Track at Charlotte is one of the favorite destinations for our teams and riders as the facilities are outstanding and the famous Charlotte red clay makes for high speed thrills all evening.”
“At Charlotte Motor Speedway, we pride ourselves on hosting world-class race events and bringing out the very best entertainment for the fans,” said Charlotte Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Greg Walter. “With the addition of the back-to-back days of American Flat Track to an already action-packed Bank of America ROVAL 400 weekend, we’re looking forward to delivering on that promise in October and showing fans of both series why we’re known as America’s Home for Racing.”
Tickets for AFT’s return to the historic Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 2020 Charlotte Half-Mile I and Charlotte Half-Mile II doubleheader weekend on Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10 will be available for purchase in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to www.americanflattrack.com and AFT’s social media channels for ticketing news and the latest updates on AFT’s upcoming 2020 season.
How to Watch:
NBCSN and TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2020 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT remains in highly-coveted programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold – the most-robust motorsports offering in the digital marketplace – is a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event and maintaining an active archive of all AFT content.
About American Flat Track:
American Flat Track is the world’s premier dirt track motorcycle racing series and one of the longest-running championships in the history of motorsports. Sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing in Daytona Beach, Fla., the series is highly regarded as the most competitive form of dirt track motorcycle racing on the globe. For more information on American Flat Track, please visit http://www.americanflattrack.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, check us out on Instagram, live stream the events with TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and catch all the American Flat Track racing action on NBCSN.
Ducati VP Global Sales and After Sales Francesco Milicia (left) and Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali (right) deliver Superleggera V4 #001 to Ducatista Filip Van Schil (center) at the Ducati factory in Italy. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Superleggera V4 001/500 delivered at Borgo Panigale
Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, personally delivered model number 001/500 and the certificate of authenticity of the Superleggera V4 to the lucky owner
Belgian Ducatista Filip Van Schil, who already owns nine Ducati motorcycles, was invited to Borgo Panigale to pick up his Superleggera V4
“Receiving the motorbike directly in the Company and touching the passion of the people who work in Borgo Panigale is an experience that I will always remember. Days like this are what make Ducati unique and different from all the other motorcycle manufacturers,” said Filip Van Schil on receiving the motorcycle
Borgo Panigale (Bologna, Italy), 26 June 2020 – The number 001/500 model of the Ducati Superleggera V4 – the only motorcycle in the world homologated for road use with carbon fibre frame, swingarm and rims and produced by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer in a limited run of just 500 units – has been officially delivered to its new owner, the Belgian Ducatista Filip Van Schil, who already possesses nine other Ducati bikes.
For the occasion Ducati invited Van Schil to the Borgo Panigale factory for a special tour, in which he was able to see up close the line where his motorbike was built and meet the specialized worker who made its engine. The day then continued with a visit to the company Museum, the Centro Stile Ducati and the Racing Department. In addition, as with all the other Superleggera V4 owners, Filip will have an incredible opportunity to test the Panigale V4 R, which competes in the SBK World Championship, on the track at Mugello as part of the “Superbike Experience”.
“When I received the call and the official invitation to come to Borgo Panigale to collect my Superleggera V4, the number 001 of 500, although I have always been a Ducatista, my legs trembled with emotion,” said Filip Van Schil. “A welcome like this, even though I was the first to call and order the bike, is something unimaginable. Receiving it directly in the company and touching the passion of the people who work in Borgo Panigale is an experience that I will always remember. Days like this are what make Ducati unique and different from all the other motorcycle manufacturers.”
It was Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, who unveiled the Superleggera V4 001, and then handed it over to its new owner. The ceremony took place inside the Centro Stile Ducati.
“Today is a special day. Experiencing on the track in the morning the incredible emotions that a Superleggera V4 can give at Mugello, and then handing over the keys of the 001/500 motorcycle to the first customer in the afternoon makes this day truly magical! Being able to meet and see the passion of our customers in person is always very exciting, and even more so is making them proud and allowing their dreams to come true,” said Claudio Domenicali. “The Superleggera V4 is the only motorcycle in the world approved for road use with a carbon fibre frame, subframe, swingarm and rims. It is a mix of mechanical engineering, technique and “made in Italy” design that amazes for its performance, style and attention to detail. I am really proud of the work done by all the technicians and engineers of Borgo Panigale, they have created an engineering masterpiece that fully embodies the fundamental values of our brand: Style, Sophistication, Performance and Trust. Today another star of the Ducati firmament was born, dedicated to our most passionate customers, and to collectors and connoisseurs.”
The attention that Ducati wished to reserve for the Ducatista does not stop with an invitation to the company and the delivery of a copy of the book Stile Ducati bearing the date of this unforgettable day and a special dedication from Claudio Domenicali. As will all those who have bought or will buy a Superleggera V4, Van Schil also received a sculptural reproduction of the Superleggera V4 personalized with the number of the bike it accompanies. The Superleggera V4 will be delivered to owners accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and inside a wooden crate with dedicated graphics, specially created for the transport of this masterpiece of motor engineering.
“Each one of our daily decisions is dictated by the goal of making our fans happier and prouder. I am very happy to be here with Mr. Van Schil because this ceremony testifies the passion, professionalism and attention to detail that we reserve for our customers and fans in Borgo Panigale today, as in all our dealers around the world,” said Francesco Milicia, VP Global Sales and After Sales. “Ducati dealers allow fans to get hold of our bikes, our clothing and the entire range of accessories, but also to experience a meeting place where, with competent people dedicated to them, they can share their passion and great emotions. Today’s ceremony represents all of this and is a symbolic delivery for Ducati enthusiasts all over the world.”
The package that Ducati has provided for this unique project includes, in addition to what has already been mentioned, a racing kit, the possibility of customizing the Superleggera V4 leathers with air-bag and part of the “SuMisura Ducati” line and the opportunity to complete the look with a carbon helmet.
Even more incredible and exclusive is the opportunity, limited to only 30 owners of the Superleggera V4, to purchase access to the “MotoGP Experience”. For the first time, in fact, it will be possible to ride the Desmosedici GP on the circuit, followed directly by Ducati Corse technicians, making a dream come true for all fans of sports bikes and the red bikes of Borgo Panigale.
Westby Racing rider Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.
Westby Racing Is All-In For A Big Encore Weekend At Road America
Tulsa, OK – June 25, 2020 – Round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship starts this Friday at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, and riders Mathew Scholtz and Cody Wyman, along with the entire Westby Racing team, are excited about this rare opportunity to return to the iconic, 4.05-mile, 14-turn natural road course for the second consecutive round.
And, what makes this round extra-special is that the fans will be in attendance, which gives Mathew, Cody and the team extra motivation to win.
“We’re really looking forward to being back at Road America,” commented Mathew. “The first round went really well for us, and for this round, we’ve got a couple of new parts that should really help with the power of the bike. (Crew Chief) Ed (Sullivan), (Electronics Specialist) Herschel (Auxier), and I have sat down and come up with a plan to improve the bike even further. So, I’m excited to get back out there and build on what we did in round one. Also, it’s going to be great to race in front of the fans. It was a little bit strange to be at the biggest circuit on our schedule a month ago and not have the fans in attendance. Having fans there brings a whole different atmosphere and gets everyone pumped up even more. Road America has been a difficult track for me over the past few years but finishing second in race one last month was very encouraging. We’re aiming to improve even more this weekend.”
Superbike Superpole is on Saturday at 10:30 AM Central, Superbike race one will go green on Saturday at 1:15 PM Central, and Superbike Race 2 is on Sunday also at 1:45 PM Central. Both races will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and Eurosport, as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
Cody Wyman (34). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.
Cody, who competes in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship aboard the #34 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R3, is looking forward to returning to Road America after finishing just one spot off the podium in Sunday’s race at round one.
“I can’t wait to get back to competing, especially in front of all the fans at Road America.” Cody said. “I know there’s a huge fan base up there eager to get out and enjoy some racing. It’s a little strange going back to the same racetrack, but we know what to expect for the races. I’ve had weeks to discuss adjustments to make the bike even better this time around. We also had a solid fourth-place finish on Sunday and are looking to build off that momentum. My goal is to fight for the podium, and to be closer to the front group. There may be some weather on Friday to work around, but it should be an awesome weekend to put on a show for the fans. See you all there!”
Junior Cup race one starts on Saturday at 2:15 PM Central, and Junior Cup race two is on Sunday at 2:45 PM Central. Saturday’s race will be broadcast live on Facebook and via tape-delay on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), and Sunday’s race will be broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 (check your local listings for FS2 airtimes). In addition, both Junior Cup races will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
Meet Mathew and Cody, Get Some Autographed Posters, And More
Mathew and Cody will both be at the Westby Racing transporter in the Road America paddock during two Dunlop Paddock Autograph Signings. The first one is on Saturday from 12:15 to 12:45 PM, and the second one is on Sunday from 11:30 AM to 12:15 PM. They’ll have free, autographed posters and other team items to hand out while practicing social distancing for the fans’ protection.
Scott Redding (45) at speed at Misano. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Superb P1 for Scott Redding after 3 testing days at Misano. Positive feelings for Chaz Davies.
Almost four months have passed since the first round of the 2020 WorldSBK season held at Phillip Island, Australia. Then, unfortunately, the restrictions due to the spread of Covid-19 forced teams and riders to a long stop.
Finally, on Tuesday afternoon, the engines of the Ducati Panigale V4 R returned to sing for a quick shakedown (just a few laps), which helped Chaz and Scott to regain confidence with the bikes and make the first laps on the new asphalt of the Misano World Circuit.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati riders then carried out two intense days of testing which ended today offering extremely positive data.
Scott Redding notched up the best chrono among the Wsbk riders (only 135 thousandths of a second off the fastest MotoGP rider) and lapped consistently on race pace too.
Positive sensations also for Chaz Davies (177 laps completed throughout the three testing days) who found a very good feeling with his Panigale V4 R, especially lapping with used tyres.
Scott Redding (45) at Misano. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Scott Redding (P1 – 1’33.067)
“These were three very positive days as it was important to regain the feeling with the bike. We have worked a lot especially with used tyres and we have tried new solutions that have given positive feedback. I’ve been working out a lot these months with the goal of losing weight. In the end, I also managed to set a good chrono but this is not important. It was great to get back to work with the guys and I can’t wait to get back on track”.
Chaz Davies (7) at Misano. Photo courtesy Ducati.
Chaz Davies (P5 – 1’34.053)
“It was nice to get back out there and see a lot of familiar faces. It has been a long four months and there was a great desire to reconnect with the bike and the track. We worked a lot to try many solutions and get some important feedback. We have improved in some areas and we have to improve in other aspects but the direction is the right one”.
Marco Zambenedetti (Ducati Corse Technical Coordinator)
“I am very satisfied with these three days of testing as we were able to test – with Redding and Davies – some new parts and technical solutions we tried a month ago on this circuit with Pirro and Rinaldi. We had good feedback from the riders on the new ergonomics. We also re-tested some of the solutions we tried in Australia and there are still some others to try out, especially from an electronic point of view. We will be able to do it before the race weekend at Jerez”.
Serafino Foti (Team Manage Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We were looking forward to getting back to work and this test was taken with great enthusiasm. They have been three very important days for the riders and the whole team, also to get familiar with the new protocols that we will have to follow in the next rounds. Our season will start again: it will be shorter but at the same time, it will be very intense. As always we will give our best to get the best possible result”.
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki:
Reset Test Complete For KRT’s WorldSBK Squad
After an enforced absence from the racetrack due to the Covid-19 pandemic the Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Jonathan Rea and Alex Lowes completed their first WorldSBK comeback test at Misano today, having enjoyed two full days of intense action at the Italian circuit.
In terms of outright lap times Rea was the second best WorldSBK rider on display at Misano, with 1’33.206 on the very grippy new asphalt that has been recently laid at the 4.226km long coastal circuit. Lowes set his own best–of-test 1’33.694 lap time later in the afternoon, placing him just outside the existing track best lap time, after completing over 100 laps today alone.
The entire KRT squad worked hard at this test to not just get back into the groove after some months away from the track but also to adhere to the national, regional and self-imposed Covid-19 regulations, designed to ensure the safety of everyone involved in these tests.
With differing degrees of overall experience on the Ninja ZX-10RR five times Kawasaki champion Rea and 2020 signing Lowes worked on some different aspects of machine set-up and their approach to these tests in general.
Rea spent today with his technical crew finding greater confidence on the unexpectedly grippy new asphalt. They made the most of the gradual set-up changes to the point where Rea posted the fastest time on race tyres, before he and some others tried out even softer rear qualifiers to improve the pace yet again.
Lowes, at another new circuit for him on the KRT machine, built up his confidence and pace to leave Misano both satisfied with the work already done and ready find more improvements at the next tests in Spain.
Now the team will relocate to their home venue of Montmelo near Barcelona, for a track outing on the eighth and ninth of July. The season itself is due to re-start – after a long gap since the opening round in Australia back in early March – at Jerez de la Frontera, again in Spain, with races on the first and second of August.
Jonathan Rea (1) at Misano. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Jonathan Rea, stated: “I am quite satisfied with this test and it was very valuable to get up to speed. Yesterday everything felt quite alien to me, especially as the asphalt was new and the grip levels were high. I just had to adapt my riding style a little bit. Also we changed the bike setup; actually to take a little bit of grip away. I was still not 100% confident but I felt better a lot better after the tyre grip had dropped a bit. After six or seven laps I felt more comfortable on the bike. At the end, with a race tyre, I was still able to be very fast and I felt confident to push. We did not get excited or carried away when we were struggling; we just went about it step-by-step with the crew, and with Showa, changing the bike set-up. We did not have many huge items to try. I really feel like here, with the grip level being so high, we have been able to achieve a little bit more natural turning from the bike. That is a huge thing to take away from here and I hope we can apply it to other tracks where we have been struggling in the past.”
Alex Lowes (22) at Misano. Photo courtesy Kawasaki.
Alex Lowes, stated: “The test today has been really good because we had clear targets that we wanted to achieve at the start of the day. We wanted to do a race simulation while trying to keep a good pace after such a long time off the bike. And also find a direction with the front end setup for the Barcelona tests. We achieved both those things. I had a nice 20 laps this morning, when the track was really hot, which gave us good information for the next races in Jerez and Portimao, because we think they are also going to be hot. At the end of today we tried to improve our pace on new tyres and I was quite satisfied with what we did. After 103 laps I was a little bit tired at the end but it was a successful test and we have a lot of information to take into the next test. That will be another new track for me on the Kawasaki, so it is all about gelling with the bike in all different conditions. I also want to say a big thanks to the team. It has not been easy to organise the test with everything that has gone on but a massive thanks to the KRT guys.”
Pere Riba, Crew Chief for Jonathan Rea, stated: “Testing has been very good. After this long lockdown it was very interesting to see how the riders would be, how the mechanics and everybody worked. And they all worked very well. Johnny is in really good shape and he has been working a lot on his psychology and physically he was very strong. He came here with his batteries recharged. This track, on the other hand, is like a new track as it has been completely re-asphalted. The grip is impressive – completely crazy! On a Q tyre Johnny was 1.5 seconds faster than what he did last year. Yesterday, all this new grip made a new request to the balance of the bike and Johnny was not so happy. Step-by-step we understood the direction and from the first ‘out lap’ yesterday to the final one today we did not stop improving. I am honestly very proud of the job everybody did in the team. Johnny did a 1’33.4 today, making him the fastest one with a race tyre. On his Q tyre he made a mistake on the first lap but still did a 1’33.2 on his second lap. That could have been a 1’32.9 or 1’33.0.”
Marcel Duinker, Crew Chief for Alex Lowes, stated: “A very good test; very positive. We know Phillip Island is a special track and we did well there in the season opener. We came here with a positive mentality and I think everybody was glad to come back to the track. Yesterday, when we started off, it was more like a warm-up after being away for so long. But today, we really sat down to improve the speed of the package. This afternoon especially we made some significant steps with the bike performance – and Alex used it to the maximum. We have a clear idea where we improved and also what we need to improve in the following test – so we can go away from this track with a happy face.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “This has been such an intense test. After four months stopped – the longest in the last 10 years for sure – it has been nice to come back to the racetrack. We tried to get into the rhythm and let the riders enjoy on the bikes. It has been our first experience in ‘Covid-19 mode’ and for sure we need to improve our system. We made PCR tests and Antibody tests for all staff. We even asked a few suppliers who were in attendance to do the same, to ensure to the max that nobody could spread the virus. The most important thing will be to be responsible and try to follow current government rules about virus prevention outside the paddock. We are conscious that part of the proposed racing program is linked to preventing Covid-19 from coming into the paddock, so let’s see if we can ‘win’ this race too.”
More, from a press release issued by Go Eleven Team:
THE SUN SETS ON MISANO TESTS, MICHAEL RINALDI IS AT REDDING AND REA’S HEEL!
As soon as the WorldSBK protagonists cross the gates of the circuit, they give back prestige, considering laptimes, to the series derivative championship! All Ducati Superbike teams, the Kawasaki Racing Team and some MotoGP riders, including the official Aprilia and KTM teams, got the rust due to months of inactivity off on the Misano track, which was kissed by good weather and high temperatures.
Michael Rinaldi and the Go Eleven Team arrived ready and prepared for the appointment, bringing several innovative solutions and some comparative to be tested. The rider from Romagna was able to stay complete the huge work for the overall sixteen hours of the session, doing more than one hundred laps. The choices gradually taken helped the team to get closer, with the necessary improvements on the bike, to the best lap time, without neglecting the work with used tyres. Go Eleven was able to confirm and improve itself session after session, till best lap in 1.33.560 in race configuration at the end of the second day, following closely Scott Redding and Johnny Rea, a few tenths from the two official riders and widely ahead of Chaz Davies and the Championship leader Alex Lowes. Really astonishing two days for the Italian team returning from the lockdown; inside the box you can breathe a unique harmony!
Now it’s time to prepare and arrange the final details in view of the restart of the season; there is only one month left for Jerez de la Frontera, the first European stage of this “caliente” WorldSBK 2020. Michael, stay focused and trained, that soon it will be time to give the other riders a hard time!
Michael Rinaldi (21) at Misano. Photo courtesy Go Eleven Team.
Michael Rinaldi (Rider):
“This two day test was very positive for us! After many months we went back on track and completed several kilometers obtaining useful information for the restart of the Championship. At the end of the two days we found the best solution, and we also managed to be very fast. Considering that our time was scored with race tyre, while most of my opponents used the qualifying tyre, I can be satisfied with the work done. In race configuration we were even closer to Scott! Now we have to fix some details when the tyres become used, in view of the first seasonal Rounds. In the two days the bike has always been improving, the changes have given me more confidence and therefore I was able to ride my Panigale as I wanted. Thanks to all our fans and sponsors who, despite the difficult period, allowed us to return on the track as soon as possible; see you in Jerez! ”
Denis Sacchetti (Team Manager):
“It was fundamental for Go Eleven to participate at the two days test in Misano. After such a long period at home, the technicians needed to resume their work rhythm and, for the rider, it was important to get back on track and ride his Panigale V4-R. We are happy with the result of these two days of testing, because we have completed an intense work schedule. The lap time is important and today it satisfies us! Michael was very good, fast both on one single lap and in race peace, in line with Redding and the World Champion Rea. We can’t wait to race in Jerez!”
More, from a press release issued by Barni Racing:
Barni Racing Team concludes two days of testing in Misano
Misano Adriatico (ITA), 25th June 2020. During the two-day test at Misano World Circuit, Leon Camier experienced pain at the shoulder operated on last winter. Unfortunately, this physical condition made it difficult for him to find the right feeling while riding the Barni Racing Team’s Ducati Panigale V4 R.
In agreement with the team principal Marco Barnabò, Camier decided to consult the medical team who performed his surgery on the 24th December to get an objective assessment of his physical condition.
There will be a new discussion between the team and the rider after these medical checks to decide what to do, given the Jerez round of the WorldSBK scheduled at the end of July.
Leon Camier (2) at Misano. Photo courtesy Barni Racing.
Leon Camier:
“The shoulder has had a lot of rest in the last months and seemed all fine. I didn’t have any issue with it riding Supermotard or Trials in the last weeks. Not sure whether it’s the position in combination with the obvious strong braking force on a Superbike or something else. I can ride the bike and do sort of OK lap time wise but I’m so disappointed not to be able to ride at my – and the bike’s – full potential. Also feel bad for Barni and the guys, they’re a bunch of great hard working guys and even now they continue to stick with me. Something is not right and I’m going to check with the doctor immediately to know what’s going on.”
Marco Barnabo, Team Principal:
“The whole team and I strongly believe in the path we decided to undertake with Leon, and, during this break, we have always believed that the rider could be 100% physically ready at the restart of the season. At that time, doctors assured us that the rider would have been ready to race and Leon did not have any pain during the training sessions. However, when he took the track in Misano he realized he could not ride as he knows. For this reason we decided to consult the doctors once again to get the full picture of Leon’s situation.”
Kyle Wyman (33) in action on his Ducati Panigale V4 R at Road America. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Kyle Wyman Racing.
MotoAmerica: How To Watch Round Two From Road America
It’s All Here: How To Not Miss A Bit Of The Action
IRVINE, CA (June 25, 2020) – If you can’t make it to Road America this weekend for the second round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series this is all you need to know to keep up with everything that’s happening in Wisconsin.
DATE TIME NETWORK CLASS LIVE/DELAYED
June 26 12:20 p.m. MA Live+ All Live
June 27 10:10 a.m. MA Live+ All Live
June 27 2 p.m. FS1 & Eurosport HONOS Superbike 1 Live
June 27 4 p.m. MAVTV & Eurosport Supersport 1 Live
June 28 10:40 a.m. MA Live+ All Live
June 28 1:30 p.m. MAVTV Supersport 2 Live
June 28 2:30 p.m. FS1 & Eurosport HONOS Superbike 2 Live
June 30 8 p.m. FS2 Road America Rewind Delayed
June 30 9 p.m. FS2 Liqui Moly Junior Cup 1 Delayed
June 30 9:30 p.m. Liqui Moly Junior Cup 2 Delayed
July 5 5 p.m. NBCSN Inside MotoAmerica Premier
All times are Eastern Time
More, from another press release issued by MotoAmerica:
MotoAmerica Live+: Don’t Miss Out On A Single Minute Of Road America 2 Action
Here’s What You Need To Know To Keep On Top Of The Action
Don’t miss a single minute of the action from Road America this weekend in round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series. Your MotoAmerica Live+ subscription allows you catch all the on-track action (and quite a bit of off-track action as well) from all the classes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cameron Beaubier (1) leads Jake Gagne (32), Bobby Fong (50), Toni Elias (behind Gagne), Mathew Scholtz (11), Kyle Wyman (33), and the rest of the MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike field early in Race One at Road America. Photo courtesy of Yamaha.
MotoAmerica Headed Back To Road America With Fans In Attendance
Round Two Slated For This Weekend in Wisconsin
IRVINE, CA (June 25, 2020) – If you’re racing in the 2020 MotoAmerica Series, specifically in the HONOS Superbike class, one thing is certain: You’re hoping that there’s no such thing as déjà vu when the proceedings get rolling again at Road America this weekend for round two as MotoAmerica becomes the first motorcycle series in the U.S. to host fans post COVID-19 shutdown.
You don’t have to have a very long memory to recall how four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier performed in the opening round of the series. The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha rider demoralized the field with two runaway victories at a racetrack that normally features nail-biting finishes.
Beaubier led every session except for the warm-up on Sunday morning when mechanical issues held him to just one complete lap. He also broke the lap record with his 2:11.145 coming in the second session. Then the Californian simply owned the races, winning the two by margins of 7.8 and 14.3 seconds, respectively.
But that was then, and this is now, and we will find out in a few short days if the rest of the pack has found anything to gain time on Beaubier.
It’s Beaubier’s new teammate Jake Gagne who is closest to Beaubier in the championship after one round, the laid-back Californian finishing third and second in his debut on the second Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha YZF-R1.
Gagne had battles in both races with Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong, with Scholtz finishing second in race one with Gagne third and Fong fourth. In race two, the other two handed Gagne second place when the pair crashed out together in turn five after Fong clashed with Scholtz. Both men were quick up until that point with both dipping into the 2:11s. Ditto for Gagne.
That left an intense battle for the final podium spot between Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin and KWR’s Kyle Wyman and his Ducati Panigale V4 R. Herrin came out on top, by just .011 of a second, and his sixth- and third-place finishes puts him third in the title chase, 24 points behind Beaubier and just two points ahead of Wyman who earned fifth- and fourth-place finishes in the opener.
Scholtz is tied for fifth with Celtic HSBK Racing’s PJ Jacobsen with FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, Fong, RideHVMC’s Corey Alexander and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounding out the top 10 in the series standings after one round.
The rider who struggled the most in the series opener is the same rider who most believe can make Beaubier’s life a bit more difficult. That man is Toni Elias. Elias’ opening weekend was atrocious. In race one, the Spaniard’s Suzuki GSX-R1000 lost its chain and in race two the former 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion crashed. He comes to round two with zero points and a real need to get his feet back on the ground on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. If there’s a highlight to the weekend for Elias, it’s the fact that his best time over the course of the weekend this year was .675 of a second quicker than his best from a year ago.
Road America 2 Notes…
With the debut of the Mini Cup by Motul class and Heritage Cup exhibition class, entries for round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica series have eclipsed the 180-rider mark.
Ticket sales are also on the rise with sales on pace to equal or surpass the 2019 numbers just one race after no spectators were allowed at round one, a race that had record numbers of viewers worldwide. “We’re extremely happy with how the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series went at Road America,” said MotoAmerica President Wayne Rainey. “We had huge television numbers with FOX Sports, Eurosport, MAVTV, NBC Sports, YouTube and MotoAmerica Live+. The event went off without a hitch, thanks to the efforts of our in-house staff, the staff at Road America, our volunteers, the riders and the teams. Now we get to go back to Road America and race in front of our fans, which will make this second race in Wisconsin even better. The COVID 19 pandemic has impacted everyone’s lives in some way and we’re happy to give our fans the opportunity to get out and see some racing at a world-class facility like Road America. We will be doing so, of course, using COVID guidelines.”
Beaubier’s two victories in the HONOS Superbike class at Road America in round one were the 39th and 40th career AMA Superbike wins for the four-time series champion. Beaubier is third on the all-time AMA Superbike win list behind Mat Mladin (82) and Josh Hayes (61).
Of the active riders in the HONOS Superbike class, Beaubier is on top of the all-time AMA Superbike race wins list with 40 victories. Toni Elias is tied for fourth on the list with Miguel Duhamel with 32 wins. The next highest number of wins by an active MotoAmerica rider is Josh Herrin with eight wins followed by Mathew Scholtz with two.
Road America 2 will mark the debut of the MotoAmerica Mini Cup by Motul class. The Ohvale-spec racing class will feature riders aged as young as seven competing on the go-kart track, which is located by the Carousel corner.
Cameron Beaubier broke his two-year-old lap record at Road America 1, the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha rider putting in his quick lap in the second session – a 2:11.145. Beaubier’s previous best – a 2:11.422 – was set during Superpole in 2018.
Valentin Debise’s racing plans were thwarted by COVID-19 travel restrictions when he was denied a visa to leave his home country of France. Debise was slated to ride the second Scheibe Racing BMW in the HONOS Superbike races at Road America 2.
Six different manufacturers will be represented on the grid at Road America: Yamaha (eight entries), BMW (four entries), Suzuki (four entries), Kawasaki (five entries), Ducati (two entries) and Honda (one entry).
As far as manufacturers go, Yamaha has the most wins at Road America with 21 followed by Suzuki with 17, Honda (12), Ducati (eight) and Kawasaki (four). Yamaha had won seven of eight races until Suzuki swept both races in 2019 with Toni Elias and Josh Herrin. Beaubier started a new Yamaha streak with his two wins in Road America 1 at the end of May.
Riders from six different countries will line up at Road America in the HONOS Superbike class with the U.S., Spain, South Africa, Great Britain, Brazil and Australia all represented.
Cameron Beaubier has now won nine HONOS Superbike races at Road America and that ties him with Mat Mladin as the all-time Superbike race winner in America’s Dairyland. Going into last year’s two races, Beaubier had won seven of the past 10 Superbike races in Elkhart Lake, but he was shut out in 2019 with two second-place finishes. Beaubier ended that streak with his two wins at Road America 1 a month ago.
The official track length at Road America is 4.048 miles, which makes it the longest on the MotoAmerica schedule. The track features 14 turns and is affectionally known as “four miles of fun.”
Three-time World Champion Freddie Spencer won the first-ever AMA Superbike race at Road America in 1980.
More, from another press release issued by MotoAmerica:
More Close Racing Expected For MotoAmerica Support Classes At Road America
Road America Ready To Host Round Two With Fans
IRVINE, CA (June 25, 2020) – If you remove Richie Escalante’s two runaway wins in the Supersport class in the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series at Road America at the end of May, the combined margin of victory for the other support classes on a sunny weekend in Wisconsin was a scant .168 of a second. Yes, .168 of a second.
All that close racing happened without fans in the season opener, but this weekend’s action will take place with fans at the picturesque four-mile-long racetrack in Elkhart Lake as MotoAmerica becomes the first motorcycle series in the U.S. to host fans post COVID-19 shutdown.
Like the premier HONOS Superbike class with Cameron Beaubier’s first-round domination, the Supersport Series opener also featured a double winner with HONOS Racing’s Escalante starting his season off with a bang with two race victories on his new Kawasaki ZX-6R. Escalante topped Celtic HSBK’s Brandon Paasch in race one by 11.5 seconds and M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly by 16.1 seconds in race two to complete his perfect weekend. On track, Paasch was second both times out, but he was disqualified from race two when his Yamaha YZF-R6 was found to be under the mandatory weight limit. Kelly, meanwhile, had his troubles in race one when he crashed out.
With his two closest competitors each failing to score points in one of the two races, Escalante leads the championship heading into this weekend’s Road America 2 by 24 points over the surprising Nate Minster. Minster and his TSE Racing Yamaha finished fourth in each race and he ended the weekend four points clear of Kevin Olmedo in the championship chase. Olmedo earned his first Supersport podium in race one but slipped back to 10th in race two. Paasch and Kelly are tied for fourth – 30 points behind Escalante.
Going into the opening round of the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Series, it was almost a forgone conclusion that defending champion Rocco Landers would have his way with the rest of the field. After all, Landers did win 14 Liqui Moly Junior Cup races last year en route to the title.
But it seems as though no one reminded Dominic Doyle of that.
Doyle won both races over the course of the weekend – by the slightest of margins. On Saturday, the South African beat Landers by .078 of a second. On Sunday, it was even closer with the BARTCON Kawasaki besting Landers by a Bond-like .007 of a second. For those not keeping track, that translates to Landers and his Landers Racing Kawasaki missing out on victory in two races by a combined .085 of a second.
With his two wins, Doyle goes back to Road America with a 10-point lead on Landers. Third place is held jointly by Benjamin Gloddy, the New Hampshire resident ending up fifth and third in the two races on his Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki and Celtic HSBK Racing’s Samuel Lochoff, who mirrored Gloddy’s results with a third and a fifth. Westby Racing’s Cody Wyman heads to Wisconsin for round two tied for fifth in the point standings with Rodio Racing’s Gus Radio.
Just when you thought things couldn’t get closer than .007 of a second, they did. In Saturday’s opening round of the Twins Cup Series, 1833CJKNOWS’ Kaleb De Keyrel won by just .002 of a second. And guess who was second? Yes, it was Landers – in his Twins Cup debut on the Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com Suzuki. On Sunday the same two went at it again – this time joined in the battle by Robem Engineering’s Jackson Blackmon. Believe it or not, Landers again came up short. Just short. Like .082 of a second short and that put him in third place as Blackmon beat him to the line by just .001 of a second. So in four races, Landers lost out on victory by a combined margin of .169 of a second. We have a feeling that Landers might show up for round two just a bit fired up.
With De Keyrel 14 points ahead of Landers heading into round two, Blackmon is third, a further five points behind. Jason Madama, who put his Syndicate Racing/Apex Assassin’s Yamaha on the podium in race one, is fourth in the points and five points clear of his friend/rival Chris Parrish.
PJ Jacobsen made his Stock 1000 debut a successful one, the Celtic HSBK Racing Ducati rider beating Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen and his Suzuki GSX-R1000 by 4.26 seconds with Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander third on his Kawasaki ZX-10R. Mesa37Racing/Tango’s Stefano Mesa and Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert rounded out the top five with the Stock 1000 class only having one race in the opener.
Road America Support Class Notes…
MotoAmerica has upped the minimum weight requirement for the Ducati Panigale V4 R to 180 kilograms from 170 kg in the Stock 1000 class, effective immediately. PJ Jacobsen rode the Celtic HSBK Ducati to victory in the Stock 1000 class in the opening round of the series at Road America and will have to race with 22 pounds added to the Panigale for round two.
The largest grid for round two at Road America? That would be the Twins Cup class with 28 of the twin-cylinder motorcycles entered for the second round of the MotoAmerica Series. Stock 1000 features the second highest entry with 23 followed by Supersport with 22 and Liqui Moly Junior Cup with 20. The premier HONOS Superbike class will feature 24 entries for Road America 2.
Double duty: Rocco Landers isn’t the only Liqui Moly Junior Cup rider pulling double duty this weekend. While Landers will compete again in both Liqui Moly Junior Cup and Twins Cup, he will be joined by Cameron Jones. Jones, who rides the only Honda CBR500R in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup, will race a Honda CBR600RR in the Supersport class at Road America this weekend.
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director (left) and Danilo Petrucci (right). Photo courtesy of Red Bull KTM.
RED BULL KTM ENERGIZE MOTOGP™ LINE-UP FOR 2021
KTM are excited to announce they will rely on the skills of Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira to represent Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in 2021. The South African and Portuguese, former Moto3™ and Moto2™ teammates, will reunite in the premier class. Meanwhile KTM will extend their purposeful attack on MotoGP by welcoming and harnessing the experience and GP-winning speed of Danilo Petrucci who will partner Iker Lecuona at Red Bull KTM Tech3 for the ’21 campaign. All four racers will steer works KTM RC16s.
Miguel Oliveira moves into the factory set-up alongside Binder for what will be his third term in MotoGP and his sixth in total with KTM. The 25-year old will have completed two campaigns as part of Red Bull KTM Tech3 even if 2019 was curtailed with a blameless shoulder problem and 2020 has so far been blighted by repercussions of the COVID-19 virus. Oliveira impressed with nine points-scoring results and a strong top eight classification at the Grand Prix of Austria in his rookie season during 2019.
Binder, 24, has yet to make his MotoGP debut in 2020 but inked a new contract to remain in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing colors for 2021. The South African has been part of the Red Bull KTM family since 2015 and became the company’s third Moto3 World Champion in 2016; lodging all of his 15 GP victories ‘in orange’.
Both riders have won Moto3 and Moto2 Grands Prix for KTM and have come through a structure that the company have labelled the ‘KTM GP Academy’; a system of talent recognition and support that stretches from the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup through the FIM World Championship categories.
Binder and Oliveira are familiar with each other’s characters and working methods having previously been teammates in the Red Bull KTM Ajo squad in Moto3 in 2015 and then Moto2 in 2017 and 2018. They have appeared on a Grand Prix podium together six times: notably three in a row towards the end of the 2017 Moto2 championship.
Red Bull KTM Tech3 will count on the knowledge and wisdom of nine seasons of MotoGP experience accumulated by Danilo Petrucci for 2021. The 29-year old will be only the second Italian to represent the French crew in MotoGP this century. He has gathered nine podium finishes so far in the class and has steered three different bikes since entering Grand Prix in 2012. Petrucci’s determination, coupled with his grounded character and work ethic, will make an apt foil for teammate Iker Lecuona. The 20-year old Spaniard is waiting to begin his first term in MotoGP in 2020 and recently re-signed to race again for Red Bull KTM Tech3 in 2021.
KTM would like to convey thanks to Pol Espargaro. 2020 will be the fourth year together in a collaboration that has delivered several milestone achievements and both parties want to pursue different paths in MotoGP from 2021 onwards.
The 2020 FIM MotoGP World Championship will finally get underway with a double-header event – the Grandes Premios Red Bull de España and Andalucía – at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain on July 19th and 26th.
Brad Binder: “I’m incredibly excited to be able to have another season on the Red Bull Factory Racing RC16 and I’m really looking forward to getting this year underway and my first MotoGP race under my belt. It’s an honor to have this opportunity and I’m looking at a bright future with KTM and some great times to come.”
Miguel Oliveira: “I’m really happy about this opportunity that KTM have given me for the next two years. I feel that they trust me to show my value as a rider in this project. Since day one I have given my best to the bike and believed in its potential to achieve good results and this is what we want to deliver in the near future. I think we are in the right place to do it, and for me to develop as a rider. It’s a great, great opportunity. We still have to focus on 2020 but I feel grateful for this great challenge. Thanks to the KTM family.”
Iker Lecuona: “I would like to truly thank Red Bull KTM Tech3 for the confidence they are placing in me for their 2021 project. I felt very good with the new RC16 from day one and the bike has really progressed from the configuration we used in the 2019 Valencia race. I think we can make some great races with this machine. Signing for 2021 gives me enough peace of mind to be able to fight for my goal of being Rookie of the Year. I feel like I’m in a great family here.”
Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: “It gives me great pleasure to stick these four hungry guys together for our MotoGP program. Brad and Miguel have a productive working relationship and have shown the talent and the desire to win races through all stages of Grand Prix. We believe they have the determination necessary to push our MotoGP project forward. The same goes for Red Bull KTM Tech3 where we’re happy to bring Danilo into the family. His experience counts for a lot but we’re also banking on a rider that is committed and with the right attitude. We believe he still has something to show in MotoGP. On one side we are investing in MotoGP front-runners ‘of the future’ but they could easily become stars already in 2021 and that would be exciting to see. We have two set-ups but really it is one big team with all four athletes on the same bikes and with the same possibilities. Our riders’ development and success will be a great KTM story and it will taste even sweeter to take these guys to new heights in such a tough competition.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “We have two very talented riders in Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for 2021 and we’ve seen in both Moto2 and Moto3 what they are able to do. It’s great to be able to bring both of them through the ranks into MotoGP. Miguel has already made positive first steps in the category and performed so well at Red Bull Ring last year. He was unlucky with the crash at Silverstone because he suffered with his shoulder for the rest of the season. We expect him to have a good championship this year and be even more ready to change set-ups for 2021. For Brad we know his skills and potential as a rider. Of course, he is the rookie but we’ll bring him up to speed in 2020 and help him to learn the category to be stronger for 2021. Right now, we’re looking forward to racing in 2020 and have to thank everyone that managed to make a race calendar happen this summer. We are very confident with our current rider line-up: as we said, Brad will learn, and Pol has a great chance to get some decent results. We cannot wait.”
Hervé Poncharal, Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Principal: “Iker Lecuona, the youngest rider on the MotoGP grid at the moment, is going to be with us again in 2021. We are all very happy about that because it was a big move for him to jump on a MotoGP bike and, unfortunately, he hasn’t had a lot of chances yet to show what he can do. Then we will have the pleasure to welcome Mr. Danilo Petrucci with us from 2021. Danilo is a man I respect a lot. He is a ‘normal’ guy, who always say hello to everyone, who has a lot of charisma and a great sense of humor. On top of that – and maybe even more important – he is also a team player and a MotoGP winner. There are four factory Red Bull KTM riders on the grid with the same support, the same equipment and this shows us the support that KTM is giving to the team. I would like to thank Stefan Pierer, Hubert Trunkenpolz and Pit Beirer: these are exciting news and it is an exciting program. We want to do well in 2020 but we are also already impatient to start working with our 2021 crew.”
Miguel Oliveira
DOB: 4th January 1995 in Pragal, Portugal
GP Victories: 12 (6 in Moto3; 6 in Moto2)
Podiums: 34 (13 in Moto3; 21 in Moto2)
Pole Positions: 4 (2 in Moto3; 2 in Moto2)
Race Fastest Lap: 10 (6 in Moto3; 4 in Moto2)
Brad Binder
DOB: 11th August 1995 in Potchefstroom, South Africa
A Michelin Power Slick 2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
Greenville, S.C. — Intended to meet the needs of motorcycle riders from 100% track to 100% street, Michelin has renewed its entire Sport offering by launching four new motorcycle tire ranges this year: MICHELIN® Power 5, MICHELIN® Power GP, MICHELIN® Power Cup 2 and MICHELIN® Power Slick 2.
“As the official tire supplier for MotoGP™, Michelin is thrilled to provide an entire new range of sportbike tires for the track and street,” said Shane Messner, director of two wheel for Michelin North America. “The new Power lineup caters to riders of all levels, whether they are looking for excellent wet grip and durability, or faster lap times.”
Each product features its own specific performance characteristics through the use of high technology materials and casing designs. Michelin’s entire offering was designed simultaneously to ensure consistency and predictable performance for riders from one tire to another. Riders who purchase multiple tires from the MICHELIN Power lineup will benefit from a seamless bike set up and more time on the road and track.
Michelin supports a growing network of trackside distributors and installers across the country that carry the full range of race, trackday and DOT sport bike tires. Michelin recently expanded race tire distribution to Western Power Sports through its network of climate-controlled warehouses. Consumers can contact their local sportbike tire retailer for pricing and availability.
A Michelin Power 5 front tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power 5: The premium sportbike tire for maximum fun in wet and dry conditions
The MICHELIN Power 5 tire is intended for on-road riders of sport and sport touring bikes who demand a high level of performance. Grip in all conditions, especially in the rain, as well as an overabundance of traction and reassuring behavior under aggressive braking are among the requirements of these riders.
A Michelin Power GP front tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power GP: The 50/50 track day tire with extraordinary wet and dry grip
The MICHELIN Power GP tire is designed for riders who prefer sporty riding and do occasionally test their skills during trackdays. This 50/50 tire offers a very good balance between adhesion and longevity in any condition.
A Michelin Power Cup 2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power Cup 2: Increase your track time while lowering your lap times!1
The MICHELIN Power Cup 2 tire is designed for track use but approved for the road. Offering fast individual lap times, and consistently fast on multiple 10-lap sessions, it more than satisfies fans of trackdays.
A Michelin Power Slick 2 rear tire. Photo courtesy Michelin North America.
MICHELIN® Power Slick 2 tire: Step up to Michelin’s next level of grip for even shorter lap times2
The MICHELIN Power Slick 2 tire is fully dedicated to track use. It is not approved for the road and is specifically targeted at trackday and racing enthusiasts. Particularly fast both on a single lap and on multiple 10-lap sessions, it is the ultimate track tire that delivers extraordinary grip from the first lap to the last. Easy to use, it does not require specific adjustments to the motorcycle and its rapid warm-up eliminates the need for tire warmers.
1 – Based on external test conducted at the Cartagena Circuit in Spain using a 2019 Suzuki® GSX-R1000R fitted with 120/70 ZR 17 front and 190/55 ZR 17 rear tires comparing lap times of MICHELIN® Power Cup 2 tires with MICHELIN® Power Cup Evo tires. Local on-track results may vary.
2 – Based on internal test conducted at the Cartagena Circuit in Spain using a 2019 Suzuki GSX-R1000R fitted with 120/70 ZR 17 front and 190/55 ZR 17 rear tires comparing lap times of MICHELIN® Power Slick 2 tires with MICHELIN® Power Slick Evo tires. Local on-track results may vary.
About Michelin
Michelin, the leading mobility company, is dedicated to enhancing its clients’ mobility, sustainably; designing and distributing the most suitable tires, services and solutions for its clients’ needs; providing digital services, maps and guides to help enrich trips and travels and make them unique experiences; and developing high-technology materials that serve a variety of industries. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) has more than 21,400 employees and operates 19 major manufacturing plants.
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www.roadracingworld.com
November 13, 2026
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