Home Blog Page 1587

MotoGP: British And Australian Races Cancelled

David Swarts
-
0
MotoGP: British And Australian Races Cancelled

British and Australian Grands Prix cancelled

Friday, 29 May 2020

The FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports regret to announce the cancellation of the British and Australian Grands Prix. The ongoing coronavirus outbreak and resulting calendar changes have obliged the cancellation of both events.

The British Grand Prix was set to take place from the 28th to the 30th of August at the classic Silverstone Circuit. Silverstone hosted the first Grands Prix held on the British mainland from 1977, and MotoGP™ returned to the illustrious track ten years ago. 2020 will now sadly mark the first year MotoGP™ sees no track action in the British Isles for the first time in the Championship’s more than 70-year history.

The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was set to take place at the legendary Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit from the 23rd to the 25th of October. Phillip Island hosted the very first Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1989 and since 1997 has been the only home of MotoGP™ Down Under – with its unique layout providing some of the greatest battles ever witnessed on two wheels.

The cancellation of the British Grand Prix also obliges the cancellation of the corresponding British Talent Cup track activity at the same event.

Stuart Pringle, Silverstone Managing Director: “We are extremely disappointed about the cancellation of the British MotoGP event, not least as the cancelled race in 2018 is still such a recent memory, but we support the decision that has had to be taken at this exceptional time.

“I want to thank the stoic British fans for their patience and support.  We must now look forward to 2021 when Silverstone will once again host the fastest and most historic MotoGP race on the calendar and work hard to make it a truly exceptional event for all to enjoy.”

Paul Little AO, Australian Grand Prix Corporation Chairman: “We’re very disappointed that MotoGP fans throughout Victoria, Australia and internationally won’t get the chance to make the pilgrimage to see the world’s best riders compete on one of the best circuits anywhere in the world, but the right decision has been made.

“The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix puts Phillip Island on the global stage and it’ll be back better than ever in 2021.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “We’re saddened to have to announce the cancellation of these iconic events after finding no way through the logistical and operational issues resulting from the pandemic and rearranged calendar. Silverstone and Phillip Island are always two of the most thrilling race weekends of the season, with both tracks never failing in their promise to deliver some of the closest racing in our Championship.

“On behalf of Dorna, I would like to once again extend my thanks to the fans for their understanding and patience as we wait for the situation to improve. We look forward to returning to Silverstone and Phillip Island next year for more incredible battles.”

MotoAmerica: Teams Happy, Grateful For Opportunity To Go Racing

David Swarts
-
0
MotoAmerica: Teams Happy, Grateful For Opportunity To Go Racing

Nearly two months after its 2020 racing season was scheduled to begin at Circuit of The Americas in Texas, MotoAmerica is finally set to begin racing this coming weekend at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America. And although there will not be any fans in attendance, the riders and team are happy just for the opportunity to go racing again. The fact that they will do so in front of possibly the largest TV audience the series has ever known will simply be a bonus.

On the surface, MotoAmerica has spent the last eight weeks postponing, cancelling, and rescheduling races all around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but behind the scenes the series has been working together with Road America and local officials in Wisconsin on a plan to return to racing safely.

That work has paid off in MotoAmerica’s ability to go racing, as scheduled, this weekend at Road America and to do so with an enhanced TV deal with FOX Sports and a new deal with Eurosport that will see MotoAmerica’s races broadcast live to an international audience.

“I think the TV package MotoAmerica has put together for this round is really good,” Cameron Beaubier, Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s four-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion, told Roadracingworld.com Thursday. “We’re on FS1 [FOX Sports 1] right before NASCAR [on Sunday], so I think we have the ability to get some good attention there. And then there’s the Eurosport deal. I remember watching Eurosport when I was a kid racing overseas. It was the only channel I could watch and understand over in Europe. So, I think that’s really cool as well.

“Honestly, I’m just so happy to be back at the racetrack. Obviously, it’s not the best-case scenario without fans here, but Road America and MotoAmerica have done everything they could to get us here to go racing. We’re one of the only motorsports back racing in this country and maybe the whole world, but I’m just happy to be back here with my team.

“It’s going to be a little different in the pits [with the health and safety protocols], but once I put my helmet on and get on track everything should be the same.”

KWS/Inde Motorsports Ranch Ducati rider/team owner Kyle Wyman echoed Beaubier’s enthusiasm for the new TV package, especially the ability for motorsports-starved fans in other parts of the world to watch MotoAmerica via its TV partners and its Live+ streaming service.

“It’s a really big deal,” said Wyman. “I’ve talked to a lot of people at Ducati Corse, and those guys are getting MotoAmerica Live+ so they can watch us. It’s going to be awesome because we’re going to be racing in primetime for those guys. I’m loving it.

“And for Eurosport, I heard that each country that is getting our feed is commentating in their own language. That’s huge. I thought we were just going to copy and paste our feed over there, but they’re going to broadcast it with their own coverage. That’s a big step for MotoAmerica, I think, a really big step. I think it’s great.”

And riders and team leaders are giving credit where the credit is due – MotoAmerica.

“I’ve been really happy that the MotoAmerica management team and ownership team didn’t sit around waiting,” said Chris Ulrich, Vice President of Racing Operations for Team Hammer, which races as M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. “They made something happen. They looked at it and saw an opportunity and they made it happen, which is what racers do. Chuck Aksland [MotoAmerica COO] and Wayne Rainey [MotoAmerica President] are both former racers who know how to make stuff happen, and Terry [Karges, MotoAmerica CMO] and Richard Varner [MotoAmerica CFO] are businessman who know how to make stuff happen.

“It’s positive for us. It’s positive for motorcycle road racing in the United States. We’ll see how the weekend goes. Hopefully, we’ll do a good job.”

Activity at Road America gets underway Friday, May 29 at 8:30 a.m. Central Time with the first Liqui Moly Junior Cup practice.

MotoAmerica Live+ coverage begins at 11:20 a.m. Friday for the opening HONOS Superbike Qualifying Practice and runs through the end of on-track action on Friday. Live+ coverage resumes at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 30 and at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 31.

Both HONOS Superbike races at Road America will be broadcast live in America. Race One will air on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, while Race Two will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31.

Both MotoAmerica Supersport races at Road America will be broadcast live on MAVTV. Race One happens at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, and Race Two is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31.

And both Superbike and both Supersport races will be broadcast live to multiple European countries and England via Eurosport.

Finally, Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race Two, which happens at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, will be broadcast tape delayed on FOX Sports 2.

Check your local listings for the actual broadcast times.

MotoAmerica: Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Previews Road America

David Swarts
-
0
MotoAmerica: Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Previews Road America

Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Ready to Roll at Road America

After the long wait to get the green light for racing to start up, the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team is excited to kick off the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike season this weekend at Road America, on May 29-31.

Cameron Beaubier looks to get his title defense off to a great start at a track where he’s had a lot of success. The four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion has seven wins in the last 10 races at the four-mile circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. While the new season marks some changes team wise, the Californian has made a smooth transition with his new crew chief Richard Stanboli and is eager to fire up his Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha R1.

Making his return to Yamaha, Jake Gagne will line up alongside his fellow Californian this weekend and looks to come out swinging. The 27-year-old has had a lot of success in the support classes with the Yamaha brand. He also has a proven track record at Road America, including sweeping the weekend enroute to both his 2014 Daytona Sportbike and 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 title.

Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“The entire Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team is super excited to finally be racing. We’ve been putting in a lot of work doing the off season and can’t wait to put it to the test. As for Road America, we expect to win. That is our only goal and short of that we will take any information we get for the second round at Road America.”

Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“I’m really excited to get back racing. I’m sure it’s going to be a little bit of a strange weekend off the bike at Road America, but on the bike everything is the same. We rode last week to dust the cobwebs off and now it’s go time!”

Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“I couldn’t be more excited to finally get back to the races! It’s been a wild year for everyone so far and I know we all want to get back to doing what we love. The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha R1 is an awesome machine to ride and we’ve had some solid days of testing. Road America has always been one of my favorite tracks and I know this R1 will fly around there. Big thanks to the whole team for working so hard to get ready for the races and to MotoAmerica and all the fans for getting us back to the track! Let’s go racing!”

MotoGP: KTM’s Pol Espargaro, Dani Pedrosa Test At Red Bull Ring

David Swarts
-
0
MotoGP: KTM’s Pol Espargaro, Dani Pedrosa Test At Red Bull Ring

KTM BACK ON TRACK AT RED BULL RING IN PRIVATE MOTOGP TEST

MotoGP 2020 Private Test (AUT)

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing completed their first laps towards the long-delayed 2020 MotoGP campaign this week when Pol Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa took part in a two-day private test around the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Both Spaniards worked on set-up refinement and re-familiarisation with the KTM RC16.

KTM relocated to the confines of the Red Bull Ring and in full adherence to Health and Safety guidelines in the wake of COVID-19 remissions on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The wheels of the KTM RC16 were spun for the first time since the IRTA test at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar at the end of February. Over twenty team members – most of which travelled inside the country but also from neighbouring territories – joined current racer Espargaro and test rider Pedrosa for further set-up work with a view towards a potential first event of the season in the coming months. All had tested negative for COVID-19 before resuming MotoGP activities after a three month pause.

Espargaro’s teammate, Brad Binder, could not take part in the test due to the travel restrictions affecting his current location in South Africa.

 

Dani Pedrosa (26) in action at Red Bull Ring. Photo by Philip Platzer, courtesy Red Bull KTM.
Dani Pedrosa (26) in action at Red Bull Ring. Photo by Philip Platzer, courtesy Red Bull KTM.

KTM are expecting to run another private testing session in the near future and then continue to prepare resources and material for all four MotoGP riders in anticipation of the first round of Grand Prix this summer.

Pol Espargaro: “I don’t think I have ever been so long without a bike – especially one for competition – so it was a little bit difficult in the first few runs yesterday but I was quickly up to the kind of rhythm I was setting in Qatar. It was great to get back in action and I think we all felt that: there were a lot of smiling faces in the box. Technically we made some improvements. The first priority was to get our feeling back with the bike but we also brought quite a lot to test and this was interesting. The good weather meant we could play with a lot on the bike and we improved mostly with the chassis but also some electronics. I’m really happy. Now just to look forward to the first race.”

Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “I’m really happy we could organise these two days here in Spielberg and get the MotoGP team back on track. It was a big effort to get it done but we tested everybody, made it happen and I think it was key for the mentality of the company, the team, everyone in the racing department and especially the riders. In general, we have been lucky with the weather. It was good for Pol to get back to race speed: after such a long time off the bike riders really need laps. For Dani also it was important to restart the test programme. Thanks go to the team for making this happen and to Spielberg for letting us test here. We now hope to have more news on the calendar in the middle of June and we are really looking forward to go racing again.”

Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: “Seeing the bikes on the racetrack – where they belong – was great for all of us. It was a pleasure to see the happy faces of the riders and the crew but then it was back to work and back to normal. We tried to make the most of the time at the Red Bull Ring. With Pol we were able to check his 2020 bike on a new track and with Dani we ran a very extensive test program. But the most important thing was also the significance: we are making great strides. There is definitely an interesting Grand Prix calendar ahead of us and it is time to prepare our team for it. In the past weeks and months we had been very radical with our response to the virus situation through the closure of our motorsport department, but I promised the team that we would be the first to go out again. We were finally able to keep that promise here at the Red Bull Ring.”

MV Agusta Hires Filippo Bassoli As Marketing Director

David Swarts
-
0
MV Agusta Hires Filippo Bassoli As Marketing Director

FILIPPO BASSOLI IS MV AGUSTA’S NEW MARKETING DIRECTOR

a visionary creator of iconic brands with an eclectic mind and an impressive track record in automotive communication

Varese, May 28, 2020 – MV Agusta is announcing the appointment of Filippo Bassoli to the position of Group Marketing Director, effective June 1st, 2020. Bassoli will report to MV Agusta’s CEO Timur Sardarov and will be in charge of developing and deploying MV Agusta’s marketing strategy to support the company’s expansion plans.

A visionary, pioneering entrepreneur, he was among the first in Italy to create web agencies and digital startups. Bassoli was also behind the success of Blogo, the first editorial network of vertical blogs. He devoted particular attention to Motoblog and Autoblog, two of the most successful automotive sites in Europe. For years he has been a consultant to Ducati, WP and Dainese before becoming Global Marketing Director of iconic Deus Ex Machina.

Timur Sardarov, CEO of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. said: “I welcome Filippo to our team, a talented young individual with great experience in managing iconic brands and a proven ability to think out of the box. His creative, entrepreneurial mind will be of great support in the implementation of our strategic growth plan over the coming years. I am confident he will do extremely well as the new, charismatic leader of our group’s marketing department.”

Filippo Bassoli commented: “Nothing stimulates me more than bikes, lifestyle and iconic Made in Italy. When MV Agusta contacted me for the position, I was thrilled at the prospect of joining such a fascinating company with its unequalled history of successes and immense brand equity.”

Racetrack Insights With Josh Hayes, Part One, Road America

David Swarts
-
0
Racetrack Insights With Josh Hayes, Part One, Road America

If one looks at an aerial photo or a map of a road race course it’s fairly easy to visualize a pretty good racing line around the track, to see where the braking zones are, and to figure out most of the passing spots.

To go as fast as possible around a racetrack in practice and on two wheels isn’t quite as easy and winning motorcycle road races on the same tracks is another story all together.

When it comes to winning motorcycle road races on tracks in America, there are not many people who can match the resume of Josh Hayes.

 

Josh Hayes (4) at speed on his MP13 Racing Yamaha during the opening practice session at the 79th Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Josh Hayes (4) at speed on his MP13 Racing Yamaha during the opening practice session at the 79th Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

After a start in club racing around his hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi, and several years on the WERA and Formula USA National circuits, Hayes graduated to AMA Pro Racing. During a professional career that spanned more than 20 years – and counting, Hayes won a total of 83 AMA Pro/MotoAmerica races, three support class titles, and four AMA Pro Superbike Championships.

In addition to that, Hayes has raced in the FIM Endurance World Championship, run at the front in FIM Supersport World Championship races, and finished seventh while competing in his first (and only) MotoGP race as a substitute rider at Valencia in 2011.

More recently, Hayes won two races at the International Island Classic vintage event in January of this year at Phillip Island, raced at the front throughout the 2019 Daytona 200 and was on provisional pole position for the 2020 Daytona 200, and finished on the podium in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2019.

When he’s not racing, Hayes is a USMCA-certified rider coach for top competitors, including Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne, as well as working with Garrett Gerloff.

Considering Road America is the track that is first and second on the amended 2020 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing calendar, we asked Hayes for his overall thoughts on the track and what the keys are to going fast and winning on the historic four-mile-long circuit.

 

Road America. Photo by John Ewert, courtesy of Road America.
Road America. Photo by John Ewert, courtesy of Road America.

 

“When people ask me what’s my favorite racetrack on the calendar, Road America is always at or near the top of my list,” said Hayes. “It’s a track that I enjoyed from the very first time I rode on it. I loved the fact that you got three top-gear straightaways each lap and a lot of second-gear turns, which means there’s a lot of heavy braking, a lot of passing, a lot of grinding.

“One of the iconic things about the front straightaway at Road America is a lot of the guys, when the wind is coming out of the west, will tend to hug the pit lane wall. Danny Eslick still does it. I was never one to do that very much. I think the only time I ever did it was when I was trying to use someone else’s draft.

“For me, climbing up the front straightaway and shifting from third to fourth gear was all about timing and track placement. I tended to work on going up the left side of the racetrack, but I found a little sweet spot that was a couple of feet off the left side of the track where it didn’t kick up a wheelie. When I was in the middle or the right side of the track the bike tended to want to wheelie worse.

 

Josh Herrin (2) and Cameron Beaubier (6) fight wheelies as they race up Road America’s front straightaway toward the finish line at the end of MotoAmerica Superbike Race One in 2018. Beaubier won. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Josh Herrin (2) and Cameron Beaubier (6) fight wheelies as they race up Road America’s front straightaway toward the finish line at the end of MotoAmerica Superbike Race One in 2018. Beaubier won. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“There’s a little bit of paying attention and finding the right spot to get up that hill well on the run to the line without having to back out on a Superbike or Stock 1000, and that’s critical. For me, it was a matter of finding the right spot on the racetrack and clicking the shifter at the right moment to set the front wheel back down instead of having it climb up at 150 mph.

“There are few things that you always remember about a racetrack. At Road America, one of them is the bump in Turn One, which is right at the apex. It’s third gear and right when you turn in, so you have to get over it cleanly and get any passes done early.

“One thing that I always worked on really hard at Road America was Turn Three. I felt if I nailed Turn Three, the sweeping right onto the middle straightaway, it was a big key to a fast lap. It came around for me at a key time in my career when I was learning not to charge every corner entrance and instead take advantage of the corner exits more, and Turn Three was a crucial corner for me during that transition in my riding.

 

With race leader Bobby Fong already out of frame to the right, Sean Dylan Kelly heads Hayden Gillim, Josh Hayes, PJ Jacobsen, Richie Escalante, and the rest of the field during MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
With race leader Bobby Fong already out of frame to the right, Sean Dylan Kelly heads Hayden Gillim, Josh Hayes, PJ Jacobsen, Richie Escalante, and the rest of the field through Turn Three during MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“Now that I’m coaching, I’m very often watching guys and seeing where they are picking up the throttle in Turn One and Turn Three as a good reference for me. It helps me form a good picture of what my guys are doing.

“Turn Five is all about the approach. There’s a couple of waves at the top of the hill heading down into Turn Five, and I learned a long time ago they were a perfect braking marker for me. They’re hard to see when you’re on top of them. You have to see them from a distance coming at them, and I could find them, trees or not, no matter what time of day it was. So, I had a very consistent brake marker going down in there without having to look off to the side of the racetrack.

“Now, Turn Five is another key area, kind of like Turn 10 at Road Atlanta, where I learned quite a bit about racing, especially for when I raced against guys like Aaron Yates. That’s where I learned to manage going to the brakes and still figure out how to out brake somebody. I could go to the brakes at the same time as the guy in front of me, but it’s a long enough braking zone that I could ease off of the brakes and roll up alongside them and then try to brake at the maximum again by managing brake pressure. This allowed me not to have to lunge past them at the very beginning, which is especially hard to do on a Superbike. So, Turn Five taught me a lot about racing.

 

MotoAmerica Twins Cup racers fight for positions on the brakes into Road America’s Turn Five in 2019. Here, Alex Dumas (16) leads Draik Beauchamp (77), Darren James (229), Joseph Blasius (24), Kris Turner (38), Chris Parrish (1), Jeff Tigert (911), Cooper McDonald (120), and the rest of the field. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MotoAmerica Twins Cup racers fight for positions on the brakes into Road America’s Turn Five in 2019. Here, Alex Dumas (16) leads Draik Beauchamp (77), Darren James (229), Joseph Blasius (24), Kris Turner (38), Chris Parrish (1), Jeff Tigert (911), Cooper McDonald (120), and the rest of the field. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“From Turn Six under the bridge and then into Turn Seven, you don’t have perfect reference markers of where to make your transition down into Turn Seven. I think that’s another good indicator of where a rider’s eyes are and how many tools they use for getting around the racetrack, because there’s not a simple reference to ride to this point, turn, and go through there. When I see guys be ultra-consistent at the exit of Turn Seven it tells me they are using all their available tools to make things happen.

 

Rocco Landers (97) leads Dallas Daniels (69), Kevin Olmedo (14), Damian Jigalov (78) and the rest of the field from Road America’s Turn Six and into Turn Seven during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Rocco Landers (97) leads Dallas Daniels (69), Kevin Olmedo (14), Damian Jigalov (78) and the rest of the field from Road America’s Turn Six and into Turn Seven during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“Having the fastest motorcycle will always help at Road America, but it’s not everything. There’s just enough rhythm sections that if you have a slightly slower motorcycle but time things perfectly you can still figure out how to win.

“There are some areas where you can make up a lot of ground, like from Turn Six to the chicane area. A bike with a little less horsepower that handles well can make some things happen in that section. And you can still put it together quite well from Canada Corner to the last turn to give yourself a chance at the win, but it’s never easy to do.

 

Josh Herrin (2) shows Garrett Gerloff (31), Cameron Beaubier (1), JD Beach (95), Mathew Scholtz (11), Kyle Wyman (33), and Cameron Petersen (45) the way from Canada Corner to Turn 13 and onto the final turn at Road America during MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Josh Herrin (2) leads Garrett Gerloff (31), Cameron Beaubier (1), JD Beach (95), Mathew Scholtz (11), Kyle Wyman (33), and Cameron Petersen (45) from Canada Corner and into Turn 13 at Road America during MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“The final corner, Turn 14, is such a cool corner. It offers several different ways you can manage it.

“You can run it in there super deep, let it drift wide, and then square the thing up. This works really good, except it leaves a big hole at the entrance that people can jump inside of you and take advantage of you that way and potentially ruin your drive up the straightaway.

“Or you can cover the inside, roll through there really tight, but now you’ve made it a tighter corner and sacrificed exit speed that you have to try to make up by using the exit curbing, which is also scary and hard to do.

“There are a lot of different options, but it’s hard. It’s like the whole thing with the chicane on the last lap at Daytona. People always say, ‘Never lead out of the chicane at Daytona.’ And there’s truth to it to a point, but it’s not right in every scenario.

“Sometimes it works out just to have a little confidence in yourself and try to just crush it and get it perfect and let the other people play the game and maybe get it wrong, which is what happened with Kyle Wyman in the 2019 Daytona 200.

“Road America can be the same way. I’ve seen it go about 50/50 with guys either winning from the front or getting drafted to the finish line. It’s a little bit of a gamble, but it’s also part of what makes Road America the awesome racetrack that it is.”

Isle Of Man TT: “TT Lock-In” Bringing Eight Days Of Free Digital Content

David Swarts
-
0
Isle Of Man TT: “TT Lock-In” Bringing Eight Days Of Free Digital Content
‘TT LOCK-IN’ – EIGHT DAYS OF EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL CONTENT COMING JUNE 2020 FROM IOMTTRACES.COM
Whilst the bikes may not be racing down Bray Hill this year, TT fans can look forward to eight evenings of exclusive TT themed entertainment from the past, present and future as part of ‘TT Lock-In’ fuelled by Monster Energy this June.

Streamed from Saturday 6th to Saturday 13th June, via the Official TT website iomttraces.com, Facebook page and YouTube channel, ‘TT Lock-In’ blends some of the greatest solo and sidecar moments from the track in the TT’s long illustrious history with live interviews, personal insights and revelations from the TT Races biggest stars.

Vlogger Chris Pritchard will be the host for the eight nights of TT content, and he will be joined by double TT Race winner Steve Plater for insightful interviews and indiscreet revelations with some of the riders that have created the headlines over the last 20 years.

The ‘Ultimate TT Races presented by Bennetts’ series turns the clock back on the greatest recent, and not so recent races. ‘TT Lock-In’ will be revisiting classic footage from five great races including the 1992 Senior TT, featuring the head to head between Carl Fogarty and Steve Hislop and the race that many believe is its closest challenger for the ‘greatest race’ accolade  – the 2018 Senior TT.

Other races featured in the series include highlights from Joey Dunlop’s memorable 2000 Formula 1 win, the dramatic and controversial 1994 Junior TT Race and the second Supersport Race from 2012 – the Australasian battle between Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey that produced one of the closest finishes in TT history.

Broadcast live via the TT Lock-In virtual studio, Chris and Steve will be joined by a ‘who’s-who’ of TT racing to provide their own unique views and personal insights to the series. Including the chance to submit their own questions and messages, fans will hear from John McGuinness, Dean Harrison, Carl Fogarty, Phillip McCallen, Rob McElnea, Peter Hickman, Brian Reid and Cameron Donald as well as multi-sidecar TT race winners Ben Birchall and Dave Molyneux.

Meanwhile, the world of Gaming will provide fans with their TT racing fix of another kind. The ‘Virtual TT powered by Motul’ will see eight TT heroes, including Peter Hickman, Conor Cummins and Davey Todd, getting to grips with a new challenge and tackling the familiar course from the comfort of their own homes. Each of the TT Stars will team up with an experienced gamer and go head to head in a competition to be crowned ‘Virtual TT 2020 Champion’.

There’s also an introduction to racing on the Mountain Course for real from TT rider liaison officer, and former TT Race winner, Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle who will provide his unique insight into how to prepare to race the TT Mountain Course.

In depth features and documentaries on teams and riders include a look back at the lap record breaking 2018 TT – ‘One-Three-Five:  Breaking the Barrier’, a tribute to one of the Greatest riders in TT history – ‘the David Jefferies Story’ and a celebration of the career of 23-time TT Race winner John McGuinness. The spotlight will also be turned on one of the TT’s most successful Race teams – ‘TAS: TT Winning Formula’.

There will also be a digital version of the popular TT paddock attraction, the ‘Sundown Cinema’, with a screening of ‘3 Wheeling’ – the feature-length film that follows the high drama of the 2016 Sidecar TT Races, while Arai take us behind the scenes with the renown Italian helmet designer Aldo Drudi whose creations feature in the limited edition Official TT Helmet collection every year.

A complete schedule for the free ‘TT Lock-In’ can be found here, which you can watch via iomttraces.com and the TT Races Official Facebook page and YouTube channel.

MotoAmerica: Support Classes Are Ripe For The Picking

David Swarts
-
0
MotoAmerica: Support Classes Are Ripe For The Picking

The Championships In Supersport, Stock 1000, Liqui Moly Junior Cup And Twins Cup Are Wide-Open Affairs As The Season Begins

IRVINE, CA (May 27, 2020) – Depending on how many MotoAmerica races Rocco Landers can jam into his busy racing schedule, there’s a good chance that all four of the support classes in the 2020 MotoAmerica Series will have new champions at the end of the season.

Landers, the defending Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion, will be pulling double duty this coming weekend in the series opener at Road America, May 29-31, riding a Landers Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 in Junior Cup and a Roadracing World Young Guns/American Racing Suzuki SV650 in the Twins Cup. If he can score enough points in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Series this season while perhaps racing a limited schedule, then he could possibly defend that title. If not, then there will be no repeat champions in 2020 in the support classes.

MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Bobby Fong has moved on to the HONOS Superbike class, riding a GSX-R1000 for the team on which he won the Supersport title last year – M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Twins Cup Champion Alex Dumas will again be Fong’s teammate in the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad, but he won’t be defending his Twins title as he moves to the Stock 1000 class. And, as of now, two-time Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee isn’t going racing in 2020.

With Fong and Supersport Championship runner-up PJ Jacobsen also moving to the HONOS Superbike Series, the Supersport title chase is set to be a wide-open affair. As it looks on paper, the title chase could very well be fought out between the fourth- and fifth-ranked riders from last year – M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly and HONOS Racing’s Richie Escalante.

There are, however, several others who could challenge – namely Aguilar Racing’s Jason Aguilar and Celtic HSBK Racing’s Brandon Paasch, another rider whose international racing schedule is in flux. Altus Motorsports’ Kevin Olmedo, who finished second in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup last year, is also a young rider to watch as he moves up a class to Supersport. Another who has shown speed of late is Kelly’s M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Lucas Silva.

It will be interesting to see who steps up to take a Supersport title that seems to be anyone’s for the taking.

As mentioned earlier, the Liqui Moly Junior Cup title chase will depend a lot on what Landers does or doesn’t do. After winning 14 races last year en route to the title, it’s obvious who the title favorite is if his schedule doesn’t end up conflicting: Rocco Landers.

But let’s not sell the others short because you just never know who is going to burst onto the scene, especially when there are 14- and 15-year-olds involved. Put it this way: Did 14-year-old Landers surprise us last year?

The top returning rider in the championship from a year ago (other than Landers) is BARTCON Racing’s Dominic Doyle, the fifth-ranked rider in the class in 2019. Others expected to compete at the front are Westby Racing’s Cody Wyman, Celtic HSBK Racing’s Samuel Lochoff, Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Gloddy, Burleson Racing’s Isaiah Burleson and several others. The opening round at Road America will also mark the series debut of Alexis Olivera, the young Floridian girl racer who will ride a TrackWorx Motorsports Roaring Toyz Kawasaki Ninja 400.

The Stock 1000 class promises to provide ultra-close racing between the likes of last year’s championship runner-up, Mesa37 Racing/Tango’s Stefano Mesa (a race winner last year), Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates, Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert (another race winner from last season), Twins Cup Champion Dumas, Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander, Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen, Celtic HSBK Ducati’s PJ Jacobsen, Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman and the list goes on.

Many of the top Stock 1000 riders are also pulling double duty and racing in the HONOS Superbike class in addition to Stock 1000. That could mean competing in as many as four races over the course of weekend, though not on the opening weekend as there will only be one Stock 1000 race to go with the two Superbike races.

The Twins Cup class will race twice in the season opener and again they will do so without their champion from last year, Alex Dumas. While Dumas may have moved on, there are 29 others ready to fight it out at Road America with plenty of youngsters moving up to the Twins Cup full-time from the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class.

Among those are Pure Attitude Racing’s Trevor Standish, Robem Engineering’s Jackson Blackmon, his teammate Toby Khamsouk, Trackworx Motorsports’ Teagg Hobbs and, of course, Landers.

Those kids will have their hands full with veterans like former champ Chris Parrish on his AP MotoArts/Ghetto Customs Yamaha FZ-07/MT-07, Syndicate Racing/Apex Assassins’ Jason Madama, podium finisher Cooper McDonald on a BARTCON Racing entry, and Laguna Seca race winner Kaleb De Keyrel on the 1-833-CJ-KNOWS Yamaha – to name a few.

The class is robust, it’s competitive and it all gets started with two Twins Cup races to open the season at Road America.

Road America Notes…

Geoff May and Stefano Mesa split wins in last year’s two Stock 1000 races at Road America, which was round four a season ago.

In last year’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup races, it was all Rocco Landers, the 14-year-old winning both races by the slimmest of margins over Dallas Daniels in race one and Kevin Olmedo in race two. The winning margin in both was a combined .187 of a second.

Hayden Gillim and Bobby Fong split wins in the two Supersport races at Road America a year ago and the lone Twins Cup race win went to Draik Beauchamp, in what was his first career MotoAmerica victory.

With his 14 wins in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup in 2019, Rocco Landers became the winningest rider in the class. Alex Dumas, the 2018 class champion, has 10 Liqui Moly Junior Cup wins to his credit. After that, it’s a big drop to Ashton Yates and his three Junior Cup wins. Dumas, meanwhile, won five Twins Cup races in 2019 and that put him at the top of the all-time wins list in the class.

MotoAmerica: Superbike Field Of 22 Primed For Action At Road America

David Swarts
-
0
MotoAmerica: Superbike Field Of 22 Primed For Action At Road America

Let’s Do This: MotoAmerica To Start The Season At Road America This Weekend

And Finally We Have Racing As It All Begins In Wisconsin

IRVINE, CA (May 27, 2020) – And finally, we race. Fifty-six days after the original series start date, the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship will get rolling at Road America this coming weekend, May 29-31, with the first of its 10 rounds and the first of two in a row at the picturesque venue in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

With the original series opener at Circuit of The Americas moved to November, round two at Road Atlanta moved to July 31-August 2, and the VIRginia International Raceway round cancelled, Road America will host the MotoAmerica series opener for the first time in history after the COVID-19 pandemic caused major changes to sporting event calendars worldwide. The four-mile racetrack in Wisconsin will host back-to-back rounds of the series, the first without fans (May 29-31) and the second (June 26-28) with fans in attendance.

So, finally, it’s time to talk about the racing.

Four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier will lead the newly named HONOS Superbike class into Wisconsin for the series opener as the favorite to earn the title again – based on the fact that he’s won four of the past five Superbike titles.

“I can’t wait to start racing again,” Beaubier said. “It’s been so long, and I’ve really missed it. It will be nice to have things get back to normal and being at the track again and seeing everybody. Starting the season with two rounds at Road America is different, but you won’t get any complaints from me as it’s always been one of my favorites. I look forward to working with my team again and racing my R1. It’s a bummer not having fans for the first one, but we have good TV and live streaming packages so they can keep up with it, and we will see them all in a few weeks for round two.”

Beaubier heads to the season opener in Wisconsin with 38 career AMA Superbike wins, a mark that puts him third on the all-time list behind Mat Mladin (82) and Josh Hayes (61). His four titles also place him in rarified air, equaling his former teammate Hayes and trailing Mladin, who has a record seven AMA Superbike Championships.

Beaubier will again ride a Yamaha YZF-R1, but the team has changed with Richard Stanboli’s Attack Racing effort taking over the Monster Energy-backed team from the in-house team of a season ago.

The man expected to give Beaubier the most trouble in trying to earn a fifth title is 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias, the Spaniard also changing to a new team with Team Hammer’s M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad taking over from Yoshimura in 2020. No one has shot up the all-time win list faster than Elias who now has 32 wins in four years to tie him with Miguel Duhamel for fourth on the list.

Elias led the entire championship in 2019 until the final round when he was caught and passed by Beaubier. The diminutive Elias is sure to be a motivated man in 2020.

Other riders changing teams for 2020 include Jake Gagne, the former Scheibe Racing BMW rider moving to the Monster Energy Attack Racing Yamaha as the replacement for Garrett Gerloff who has joined the World Superbike Championship.

Josh Herrin has also made a team switch. Herrin, who rode for the Yoshimura Suzuki team in 2019, will take Gagne’s spot on the Scheibe BMW S 1000 RR. Herrin will be joined on the Steve Scheibe-owned team by former M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Jake Lewis, who was just signed to the team in the past couple of weeks.

Gagne was eighth in last year’s title chase; Herrin was fifth with two victories on the year.

Westby Racing’s team will remain unchanged with South African Mathew Scholtz returning for a fifth season on the one-rider team (he joined the team for a portion of the 2016 season). Scholtz ended up sixth in last year’s Superbike point standings.

Another rider with a team switch is Scholtz’s fellow South African Cameron Petersen. Petersen will race an Altus Motorsports-backed Suzuki GSX-R1000 in both HONOS Superbike and the Stock 1000 class.

Bobby Fong hasn’t changed teams, but he’s changed classes, the 2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion getting the call up to the HONOS Superbike class for the same M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team on which he earned the Supersport title.

Among the returning teams are those run by racers Kyle Wyman and David Anthony. Wyman is the owner/rider in the one-rider KWR Ducati team, the New Yorker back for a second season on the Panigale V4 R. Anthony, meanwhile, also has his hands both on the bars and in team ownership with the three-rider FLY Racing ADR Motorsports team. Anthony is joined by teammates Sam Verderico and Bradley Ward on the squad with all three on different brands of motorcycles. Anthony will ride a Suzuki GSX-R1000; Verderico will be aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1; and Ward will campaign a Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Also returning to the HONOS Superbike wars is Max Flinders, the Thrashed Bike Racing LLC rider set to race his Yamaha YZF-R1 after finishing 12th in last year’s title chase.

Jeremy Coffey will race one of the five BMWs in the class, the Washingtonian aboard a Superbike Underground-backed S 1000 RR.

Wyman won’t be the only Ducati Panigale V4 R rider in the HONOS Superbike class this year as PJ Jacobsen moves up from the Supersport class after finishing second to Fong in that title chase last year. Jacobsen will race in both Superbike and Stock 1000 in 2020.

Several other Stock 1000 riders will be doing double duty and racing in the HONOS Superbike class at Road America. Among them are Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman, Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates, Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander, Legacy Dental’s Jeffrey Purk, MonkeyMoto AGVSPORT’s Steven Shakespeare, Limitless Racing’s Joseph Giannotto and Procomps Racing Team’s Danilo Lewis.

In all, there are 22 riders entered in the HONOS Superbike opener at Road America.

Road America Notes…

Toni Elias earned pole position for last year’s two Superbike races, the Spaniard earning the top spot in a wet Superpole session. Elias lapped at a 2:30.992 to best his then-Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Josh Herrin and Monster Energy Attack Racing Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier.

Cameron Beaubier is the Superbike lap record holder at Road America, the four-time series champ turning a 2:11.422 during Superpole in 2018.

Josh Herrin had the fastest race lap last year, the Georgian clicking off a 2:12.287 en route to victory in race two. The faster of the two contests was race one, but the best lap (set by Beaubier) was slower than Herrin’s best in race two.

Toni Elias and Josh Herrin split wins in the two Superbike races last year at Road America with Cameron Beaubier finishing second in both and Garrett Gerloff finishing both races in third place. The races were close as always with Elias beating Beaubier by just .253 of a second in race one with Beaubier coming up just .506 short of Herrin in race two.

Of the active riders in the HONOS Superbike class, Cameron Beaubier leads the list of all-time AMA Superbike race wins with 38 victories. That puts him third on the all-time wins list behind Mat Mladin (82) and Josh Hayes (61). 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.

Six different manufacturers will be represented on the grid at Road America: Yamaha (seven entries), BMW (five entries), Suzuki (four entries), Kawasaki (three entries), Ducati (two entries) and Honda (one entry).

As far as manufacturers go, Yamaha has the most wins at Road America with 19 followed by Suzuki with 17, Honda (12), Ducati (eight) and Kawasaki (four). Yamaha had won seven of eight races until Suzuki swept both races last year with Toni Elias and Josh Herrin.

Riders from five different countries will line up at Road America in the HONOS Superbike class with the U.S., Spain, South Africa, Great Britain and Brazil all represented.

Cameron Beaubier has won seven HONOS Superbike races at Road America, a mark eclipsed only by Mat Mladin’s nine wins and Josh Hayes’ eight wins 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.

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.

MotoAmerica: Westby Racing: “Let’s Go Racing”

David Swarts
-
0
MotoAmerica: Westby Racing: “Let’s Go Racing”

“Let’s Go Racing” Is The Battle Cry For Westby Racing This Weekend At Road America

Tulsa, OK – May 27, 2020 – After postponements and cancellations brought about by COVID-19 and despite a first round of the season that will have no spectators, Westby Racing is filled with joy and optimism as they travel to Road America for the start of the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

The team, and its two riders–Mathew Scholtz aboard the #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike and Cody Wyman aboard the #34 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R3 Junior Cup bike–are grateful for all of MotoAmerica’s hard work in getting the season underway, and they are especially excited to be racing at “America’s National Park of Speed” and in front of what will be MotoAmerica largest broadcast audiences in history.

“After months of waiting and not knowing when we were going to be racing, the Westby team and I couldn’t be happier to get back to doing what we all love,” commented Mathew. “Road America has been a difficult round for me over the past couple of years, but with the upgrades to the bike and how our preseason testing went, we’ve made significant steps forward. So, we’re really excited to see how we fare against the other Superbikes. It’s going to be a very strange race, with not having spectators at the track, but that’s not going to change anything for us, with our motivation to win, or how we approach the weekend. Thank you to the MotoAmerica organization for making round one happen. I know that the whole world will be watching us, since we will be the first national (motorcycle road racing) championship to start racing, and we’re ready to go.”

Superbike Superpole is on Saturday at 12 Noon Central, Superbike race one will go green on Saturday at 3 PM Central, and Superbike Race 2 is on Sunday at 1 PM Central. Saturday’s race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), and Sunday’s race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). In addition, both Superbike races will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.

 

Cody Wyman (34). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.
Cody Wyman (34). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.

 

Cody, who hasn’t raced at Road America in a few years, is excited to return to Wisconsin’s 4.05-mile, 14-turn natural road course.

“It felt great to shake down the bike a couple weeks before the first race of the year,” Cody said. “I can’t thank my team enough for all their hard work preparing my Yamaha R3 for competition. It’s been an extra-long off-season, and we’re all eager to get back to the track. I’m looking forward to returning to Road America for the first time in 5 years. It’s a great track with an immense fan base. Things will look a bit different with no spectators at round one, but we’re all really happy that they’ll be able to join us for round two. I’m ready to work the draft and try to be there at the end. The time has come. Let’s go racing!”

Junior Cup race one starts on Saturday at 4 PM Central, and Junior Cup race two is on Sunday at 3 PM Central. Both races will be broadcast via tape delay on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), and they will also be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.

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

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

MotoGP: British And Australian Races Cancelled

The start of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Photo courtesy Michelin.
The start of the 2019 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Photo courtesy Michelin.

British and Australian Grands Prix cancelled

Friday, 29 May 2020

The FIM, IRTA and Dorna Sports regret to announce the cancellation of the British and Australian Grands Prix. The ongoing coronavirus outbreak and resulting calendar changes have obliged the cancellation of both events.

The British Grand Prix was set to take place from the 28th to the 30th of August at the classic Silverstone Circuit. Silverstone hosted the first Grands Prix held on the British mainland from 1977, and MotoGP™ returned to the illustrious track ten years ago. 2020 will now sadly mark the first year MotoGP™ sees no track action in the British Isles for the first time in the Championship’s more than 70-year history.

The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was set to take place at the legendary Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit from the 23rd to the 25th of October. Phillip Island hosted the very first Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in 1989 and since 1997 has been the only home of MotoGP™ Down Under – with its unique layout providing some of the greatest battles ever witnessed on two wheels.

The cancellation of the British Grand Prix also obliges the cancellation of the corresponding British Talent Cup track activity at the same event.

Stuart Pringle, Silverstone Managing Director: “We are extremely disappointed about the cancellation of the British MotoGP event, not least as the cancelled race in 2018 is still such a recent memory, but we support the decision that has had to be taken at this exceptional time.

“I want to thank the stoic British fans for their patience and support.  We must now look forward to 2021 when Silverstone will once again host the fastest and most historic MotoGP race on the calendar and work hard to make it a truly exceptional event for all to enjoy.”

Paul Little AO, Australian Grand Prix Corporation Chairman: “We’re very disappointed that MotoGP fans throughout Victoria, Australia and internationally won’t get the chance to make the pilgrimage to see the world’s best riders compete on one of the best circuits anywhere in the world, but the right decision has been made.

“The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix puts Phillip Island on the global stage and it’ll be back better than ever in 2021.”

Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports: “We’re saddened to have to announce the cancellation of these iconic events after finding no way through the logistical and operational issues resulting from the pandemic and rearranged calendar. Silverstone and Phillip Island are always two of the most thrilling race weekends of the season, with both tracks never failing in their promise to deliver some of the closest racing in our Championship.

“On behalf of Dorna, I would like to once again extend my thanks to the fans for their understanding and patience as we wait for the situation to improve. We look forward to returning to Silverstone and Phillip Island next year for more incredible battles.”

MotoAmerica: Teams Happy, Grateful For Opportunity To Go Racing

Action from the 2019 MotoAmerica event at Road America. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Action from the 2019 MotoAmerica event at Road America. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Nearly two months after its 2020 racing season was scheduled to begin at Circuit of The Americas in Texas, MotoAmerica is finally set to begin racing this coming weekend at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin’s Road America. And although there will not be any fans in attendance, the riders and team are happy just for the opportunity to go racing again. The fact that they will do so in front of possibly the largest TV audience the series has ever known will simply be a bonus.

On the surface, MotoAmerica has spent the last eight weeks postponing, cancelling, and rescheduling races all around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but behind the scenes the series has been working together with Road America and local officials in Wisconsin on a plan to return to racing safely.

That work has paid off in MotoAmerica’s ability to go racing, as scheduled, this weekend at Road America and to do so with an enhanced TV deal with FOX Sports and a new deal with Eurosport that will see MotoAmerica’s races broadcast live to an international audience.

“I think the TV package MotoAmerica has put together for this round is really good,” Cameron Beaubier, Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s four-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion, told Roadracingworld.com Thursday. “We’re on FS1 [FOX Sports 1] right before NASCAR [on Sunday], so I think we have the ability to get some good attention there. And then there’s the Eurosport deal. I remember watching Eurosport when I was a kid racing overseas. It was the only channel I could watch and understand over in Europe. So, I think that’s really cool as well.

“Honestly, I’m just so happy to be back at the racetrack. Obviously, it’s not the best-case scenario without fans here, but Road America and MotoAmerica have done everything they could to get us here to go racing. We’re one of the only motorsports back racing in this country and maybe the whole world, but I’m just happy to be back here with my team.

“It’s going to be a little different in the pits [with the health and safety protocols], but once I put my helmet on and get on track everything should be the same.”

KWS/Inde Motorsports Ranch Ducati rider/team owner Kyle Wyman echoed Beaubier’s enthusiasm for the new TV package, especially the ability for motorsports-starved fans in other parts of the world to watch MotoAmerica via its TV partners and its Live+ streaming service.

“It’s a really big deal,” said Wyman. “I’ve talked to a lot of people at Ducati Corse, and those guys are getting MotoAmerica Live+ so they can watch us. It’s going to be awesome because we’re going to be racing in primetime for those guys. I’m loving it.

“And for Eurosport, I heard that each country that is getting our feed is commentating in their own language. That’s huge. I thought we were just going to copy and paste our feed over there, but they’re going to broadcast it with their own coverage. That’s a big step for MotoAmerica, I think, a really big step. I think it’s great.”

And riders and team leaders are giving credit where the credit is due – MotoAmerica.

“I’ve been really happy that the MotoAmerica management team and ownership team didn’t sit around waiting,” said Chris Ulrich, Vice President of Racing Operations for Team Hammer, which races as M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. “They made something happen. They looked at it and saw an opportunity and they made it happen, which is what racers do. Chuck Aksland [MotoAmerica COO] and Wayne Rainey [MotoAmerica President] are both former racers who know how to make stuff happen, and Terry [Karges, MotoAmerica CMO] and Richard Varner [MotoAmerica CFO] are businessman who know how to make stuff happen.

“It’s positive for us. It’s positive for motorcycle road racing in the United States. We’ll see how the weekend goes. Hopefully, we’ll do a good job.”

Activity at Road America gets underway Friday, May 29 at 8:30 a.m. Central Time with the first Liqui Moly Junior Cup practice.

MotoAmerica Live+ coverage begins at 11:20 a.m. Friday for the opening HONOS Superbike Qualifying Practice and runs through the end of on-track action on Friday. Live+ coverage resumes at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 30 and at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 31.

Both HONOS Superbike races at Road America will be broadcast live in America. Race One will air on FOX Sports 2 beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, while Race Two will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31.

Both MotoAmerica Supersport races at Road America will be broadcast live on MAVTV. Race One happens at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, and Race Two is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31.

And both Superbike and both Supersport races will be broadcast live to multiple European countries and England via Eurosport.

Finally, Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race Two, which happens at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, will be broadcast tape delayed on FOX Sports 2.

Check your local listings for the actual broadcast times.

MotoAmerica: Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Previews Road America

Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier (left) and Jake Gagne (right). Photo courtesy of Yamaha.
Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier (left) and Jake Gagne (right). Photo courtesy of Yamaha.

Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Ready to Roll at Road America

After the long wait to get the green light for racing to start up, the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team is excited to kick off the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike season this weekend at Road America, on May 29-31.

Cameron Beaubier looks to get his title defense off to a great start at a track where he’s had a lot of success. The four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion has seven wins in the last 10 races at the four-mile circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. While the new season marks some changes team wise, the Californian has made a smooth transition with his new crew chief Richard Stanboli and is eager to fire up his Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha R1.

Making his return to Yamaha, Jake Gagne will line up alongside his fellow Californian this weekend and looks to come out swinging. The 27-year-old has had a lot of success in the support classes with the Yamaha brand. He also has a proven track record at Road America, including sweeping the weekend enroute to both his 2014 Daytona Sportbike and 2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 title.

Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“The entire Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team is super excited to finally be racing. We’ve been putting in a lot of work doing the off season and can’t wait to put it to the test. As for Road America, we expect to win. That is our only goal and short of that we will take any information we get for the second round at Road America.”

Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“I’m really excited to get back racing. I’m sure it’s going to be a little bit of a strange weekend off the bike at Road America, but on the bike everything is the same. We rode last week to dust the cobwebs off and now it’s go time!”

Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“I couldn’t be more excited to finally get back to the races! It’s been a wild year for everyone so far and I know we all want to get back to doing what we love. The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha R1 is an awesome machine to ride and we’ve had some solid days of testing. Road America has always been one of my favorite tracks and I know this R1 will fly around there. Big thanks to the whole team for working so hard to get ready for the races and to MotoAmerica and all the fans for getting us back to the track! Let’s go racing!”

MotoGP: KTM’s Pol Espargaro, Dani Pedrosa Test At Red Bull Ring

Pol Espargaro (44) in action at Red Bull Ring. Photo by Philip Platzer, courtesy Red Bull KTM.
Pol Espargaro (44) in action at Red Bull Ring. Photo by Philip Platzer, courtesy Red Bull KTM.

KTM BACK ON TRACK AT RED BULL RING IN PRIVATE MOTOGP TEST

MotoGP 2020 Private Test (AUT)

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing completed their first laps towards the long-delayed 2020 MotoGP campaign this week when Pol Espargaro and Dani Pedrosa took part in a two-day private test around the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Both Spaniards worked on set-up refinement and re-familiarisation with the KTM RC16.

KTM relocated to the confines of the Red Bull Ring and in full adherence to Health and Safety guidelines in the wake of COVID-19 remissions on Wednesday and Thursday this week. The wheels of the KTM RC16 were spun for the first time since the IRTA test at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar at the end of February. Over twenty team members – most of which travelled inside the country but also from neighbouring territories – joined current racer Espargaro and test rider Pedrosa for further set-up work with a view towards a potential first event of the season in the coming months. All had tested negative for COVID-19 before resuming MotoGP activities after a three month pause.

Espargaro’s teammate, Brad Binder, could not take part in the test due to the travel restrictions affecting his current location in South Africa.

 

Dani Pedrosa (26) in action at Red Bull Ring. Photo by Philip Platzer, courtesy Red Bull KTM.
Dani Pedrosa (26) in action at Red Bull Ring. Photo by Philip Platzer, courtesy Red Bull KTM.

KTM are expecting to run another private testing session in the near future and then continue to prepare resources and material for all four MotoGP riders in anticipation of the first round of Grand Prix this summer.

Pol Espargaro: “I don’t think I have ever been so long without a bike – especially one for competition – so it was a little bit difficult in the first few runs yesterday but I was quickly up to the kind of rhythm I was setting in Qatar. It was great to get back in action and I think we all felt that: there were a lot of smiling faces in the box. Technically we made some improvements. The first priority was to get our feeling back with the bike but we also brought quite a lot to test and this was interesting. The good weather meant we could play with a lot on the bike and we improved mostly with the chassis but also some electronics. I’m really happy. Now just to look forward to the first race.”

Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Race Manager: “I’m really happy we could organise these two days here in Spielberg and get the MotoGP team back on track. It was a big effort to get it done but we tested everybody, made it happen and I think it was key for the mentality of the company, the team, everyone in the racing department and especially the riders. In general, we have been lucky with the weather. It was good for Pol to get back to race speed: after such a long time off the bike riders really need laps. For Dani also it was important to restart the test programme. Thanks go to the team for making this happen and to Spielberg for letting us test here. We now hope to have more news on the calendar in the middle of June and we are really looking forward to go racing again.”

Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: “Seeing the bikes on the racetrack – where they belong – was great for all of us. It was a pleasure to see the happy faces of the riders and the crew but then it was back to work and back to normal. We tried to make the most of the time at the Red Bull Ring. With Pol we were able to check his 2020 bike on a new track and with Dani we ran a very extensive test program. But the most important thing was also the significance: we are making great strides. There is definitely an interesting Grand Prix calendar ahead of us and it is time to prepare our team for it. In the past weeks and months we had been very radical with our response to the virus situation through the closure of our motorsport department, but I promised the team that we would be the first to go out again. We were finally able to keep that promise here at the Red Bull Ring.”

MV Agusta Hires Filippo Bassoli As Marketing Director

Filippo Bassoli. Photo courtesy MV Agusta.
Filippo Bassoli. Photo courtesy MV Agusta.

FILIPPO BASSOLI IS MV AGUSTA’S NEW MARKETING DIRECTOR

a visionary creator of iconic brands with an eclectic mind and an impressive track record in automotive communication

Varese, May 28, 2020 – MV Agusta is announcing the appointment of Filippo Bassoli to the position of Group Marketing Director, effective June 1st, 2020. Bassoli will report to MV Agusta’s CEO Timur Sardarov and will be in charge of developing and deploying MV Agusta’s marketing strategy to support the company’s expansion plans.

A visionary, pioneering entrepreneur, he was among the first in Italy to create web agencies and digital startups. Bassoli was also behind the success of Blogo, the first editorial network of vertical blogs. He devoted particular attention to Motoblog and Autoblog, two of the most successful automotive sites in Europe. For years he has been a consultant to Ducati, WP and Dainese before becoming Global Marketing Director of iconic Deus Ex Machina.

Timur Sardarov, CEO of MV Agusta Motor S.p.A. said: “I welcome Filippo to our team, a talented young individual with great experience in managing iconic brands and a proven ability to think out of the box. His creative, entrepreneurial mind will be of great support in the implementation of our strategic growth plan over the coming years. I am confident he will do extremely well as the new, charismatic leader of our group’s marketing department.”

Filippo Bassoli commented: “Nothing stimulates me more than bikes, lifestyle and iconic Made in Italy. When MV Agusta contacted me for the position, I was thrilled at the prospect of joining such a fascinating company with its unequalled history of successes and immense brand equity.”

Racetrack Insights With Josh Hayes, Part One, Road America

Josh Hayes (4) at the 2020 MotoAmerica pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes (4), as seen on his MP13 Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 at Barber Motorsports Park in 2020. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

If one looks at an aerial photo or a map of a road race course it’s fairly easy to visualize a pretty good racing line around the track, to see where the braking zones are, and to figure out most of the passing spots.

To go as fast as possible around a racetrack in practice and on two wheels isn’t quite as easy and winning motorcycle road races on the same tracks is another story all together.

When it comes to winning motorcycle road races on tracks in America, there are not many people who can match the resume of Josh Hayes.

 

Josh Hayes (4) at speed on his MP13 Racing Yamaha during the opening practice session at the 79th Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Josh Hayes (4) at speed on his MP13 Racing Yamaha during the opening practice session at the 79th Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

After a start in club racing around his hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi, and several years on the WERA and Formula USA National circuits, Hayes graduated to AMA Pro Racing. During a professional career that spanned more than 20 years – and counting, Hayes won a total of 83 AMA Pro/MotoAmerica races, three support class titles, and four AMA Pro Superbike Championships.

In addition to that, Hayes has raced in the FIM Endurance World Championship, run at the front in FIM Supersport World Championship races, and finished seventh while competing in his first (and only) MotoGP race as a substitute rider at Valencia in 2011.

More recently, Hayes won two races at the International Island Classic vintage event in January of this year at Phillip Island, raced at the front throughout the 2019 Daytona 200 and was on provisional pole position for the 2020 Daytona 200, and finished on the podium in the MotoAmerica Supersport class in 2019.

When he’s not racing, Hayes is a USMCA-certified rider coach for top competitors, including Bobby Fong and Jake Gagne, as well as working with Garrett Gerloff.

Considering Road America is the track that is first and second on the amended 2020 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing calendar, we asked Hayes for his overall thoughts on the track and what the keys are to going fast and winning on the historic four-mile-long circuit.

 

Road America. Photo by John Ewert, courtesy of Road America.
Road America. Photo by John Ewert, courtesy of Road America.

 

“When people ask me what’s my favorite racetrack on the calendar, Road America is always at or near the top of my list,” said Hayes. “It’s a track that I enjoyed from the very first time I rode on it. I loved the fact that you got three top-gear straightaways each lap and a lot of second-gear turns, which means there’s a lot of heavy braking, a lot of passing, a lot of grinding.

“One of the iconic things about the front straightaway at Road America is a lot of the guys, when the wind is coming out of the west, will tend to hug the pit lane wall. Danny Eslick still does it. I was never one to do that very much. I think the only time I ever did it was when I was trying to use someone else’s draft.

“For me, climbing up the front straightaway and shifting from third to fourth gear was all about timing and track placement. I tended to work on going up the left side of the racetrack, but I found a little sweet spot that was a couple of feet off the left side of the track where it didn’t kick up a wheelie. When I was in the middle or the right side of the track the bike tended to want to wheelie worse.

 

Josh Herrin (2) and Cameron Beaubier (6) fight wheelies as they race up Road America’s front straightaway toward the finish line at the end of MotoAmerica Superbike Race One in 2018. Beaubier won. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Josh Herrin (2) and Cameron Beaubier (6) fight wheelies as they race up Road America’s front straightaway toward the finish line at the end of MotoAmerica Superbike Race One in 2018. Beaubier won. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“There’s a little bit of paying attention and finding the right spot to get up that hill well on the run to the line without having to back out on a Superbike or Stock 1000, and that’s critical. For me, it was a matter of finding the right spot on the racetrack and clicking the shifter at the right moment to set the front wheel back down instead of having it climb up at 150 mph.

“There are few things that you always remember about a racetrack. At Road America, one of them is the bump in Turn One, which is right at the apex. It’s third gear and right when you turn in, so you have to get over it cleanly and get any passes done early.

“One thing that I always worked on really hard at Road America was Turn Three. I felt if I nailed Turn Three, the sweeping right onto the middle straightaway, it was a big key to a fast lap. It came around for me at a key time in my career when I was learning not to charge every corner entrance and instead take advantage of the corner exits more, and Turn Three was a crucial corner for me during that transition in my riding.

 

With race leader Bobby Fong already out of frame to the right, Sean Dylan Kelly heads Hayden Gillim, Josh Hayes, PJ Jacobsen, Richie Escalante, and the rest of the field during MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
With race leader Bobby Fong already out of frame to the right, Sean Dylan Kelly heads Hayden Gillim, Josh Hayes, PJ Jacobsen, Richie Escalante, and the rest of the field through Turn Three during MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“Now that I’m coaching, I’m very often watching guys and seeing where they are picking up the throttle in Turn One and Turn Three as a good reference for me. It helps me form a good picture of what my guys are doing.

“Turn Five is all about the approach. There’s a couple of waves at the top of the hill heading down into Turn Five, and I learned a long time ago they were a perfect braking marker for me. They’re hard to see when you’re on top of them. You have to see them from a distance coming at them, and I could find them, trees or not, no matter what time of day it was. So, I had a very consistent brake marker going down in there without having to look off to the side of the racetrack.

“Now, Turn Five is another key area, kind of like Turn 10 at Road Atlanta, where I learned quite a bit about racing, especially for when I raced against guys like Aaron Yates. That’s where I learned to manage going to the brakes and still figure out how to out brake somebody. I could go to the brakes at the same time as the guy in front of me, but it’s a long enough braking zone that I could ease off of the brakes and roll up alongside them and then try to brake at the maximum again by managing brake pressure. This allowed me not to have to lunge past them at the very beginning, which is especially hard to do on a Superbike. So, Turn Five taught me a lot about racing.

 

MotoAmerica Twins Cup racers fight for positions on the brakes into Road America’s Turn Five in 2019. Here, Alex Dumas (16) leads Draik Beauchamp (77), Darren James (229), Joseph Blasius (24), Kris Turner (38), Chris Parrish (1), Jeff Tigert (911), Cooper McDonald (120), and the rest of the field. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MotoAmerica Twins Cup racers fight for positions on the brakes into Road America’s Turn Five in 2019. Here, Alex Dumas (16) leads Draik Beauchamp (77), Darren James (229), Joseph Blasius (24), Kris Turner (38), Chris Parrish (1), Jeff Tigert (911), Cooper McDonald (120), and the rest of the field. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“From Turn Six under the bridge and then into Turn Seven, you don’t have perfect reference markers of where to make your transition down into Turn Seven. I think that’s another good indicator of where a rider’s eyes are and how many tools they use for getting around the racetrack, because there’s not a simple reference to ride to this point, turn, and go through there. When I see guys be ultra-consistent at the exit of Turn Seven it tells me they are using all their available tools to make things happen.

 

Rocco Landers (97) leads Dallas Daniels (69), Kevin Olmedo (14), Damian Jigalov (78) and the rest of the field from Road America’s Turn Six and into Turn Seven during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Rocco Landers (97) leads Dallas Daniels (69), Kevin Olmedo (14), Damian Jigalov (78) and the rest of the field from Road America’s Turn Six and into Turn Seven during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“Having the fastest motorcycle will always help at Road America, but it’s not everything. There’s just enough rhythm sections that if you have a slightly slower motorcycle but time things perfectly you can still figure out how to win.

“There are some areas where you can make up a lot of ground, like from Turn Six to the chicane area. A bike with a little less horsepower that handles well can make some things happen in that section. And you can still put it together quite well from Canada Corner to the last turn to give yourself a chance at the win, but it’s never easy to do.

 

Josh Herrin (2) shows Garrett Gerloff (31), Cameron Beaubier (1), JD Beach (95), Mathew Scholtz (11), Kyle Wyman (33), and Cameron Petersen (45) the way from Canada Corner to Turn 13 and onto the final turn at Road America during MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Josh Herrin (2) leads Garrett Gerloff (31), Cameron Beaubier (1), JD Beach (95), Mathew Scholtz (11), Kyle Wyman (33), and Cameron Petersen (45) from Canada Corner and into Turn 13 at Road America during MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

 

“The final corner, Turn 14, is such a cool corner. It offers several different ways you can manage it.

“You can run it in there super deep, let it drift wide, and then square the thing up. This works really good, except it leaves a big hole at the entrance that people can jump inside of you and take advantage of you that way and potentially ruin your drive up the straightaway.

“Or you can cover the inside, roll through there really tight, but now you’ve made it a tighter corner and sacrificed exit speed that you have to try to make up by using the exit curbing, which is also scary and hard to do.

“There are a lot of different options, but it’s hard. It’s like the whole thing with the chicane on the last lap at Daytona. People always say, ‘Never lead out of the chicane at Daytona.’ And there’s truth to it to a point, but it’s not right in every scenario.

“Sometimes it works out just to have a little confidence in yourself and try to just crush it and get it perfect and let the other people play the game and maybe get it wrong, which is what happened with Kyle Wyman in the 2019 Daytona 200.

“Road America can be the same way. I’ve seen it go about 50/50 with guys either winning from the front or getting drafted to the finish line. It’s a little bit of a gamble, but it’s also part of what makes Road America the awesome racetrack that it is.”

Isle Of Man TT: “TT Lock-In” Bringing Eight Days Of Free Digital Content

Peter Hickman (10) in action during the 2019 Isle of Man TT. Photo courtesy of Isle of Man TT Press Office.
Peter Hickman (10) in action during the 2019 Isle of Man TT. Photo courtesy of Isle of Man TT Press Office.
‘TT LOCK-IN’ – EIGHT DAYS OF EXCLUSIVE DIGITAL CONTENT COMING JUNE 2020 FROM IOMTTRACES.COM
Whilst the bikes may not be racing down Bray Hill this year, TT fans can look forward to eight evenings of exclusive TT themed entertainment from the past, present and future as part of ‘TT Lock-In’ fuelled by Monster Energy this June.

Streamed from Saturday 6th to Saturday 13th June, via the Official TT website iomttraces.com, Facebook page and YouTube channel, ‘TT Lock-In’ blends some of the greatest solo and sidecar moments from the track in the TT’s long illustrious history with live interviews, personal insights and revelations from the TT Races biggest stars.

Vlogger Chris Pritchard will be the host for the eight nights of TT content, and he will be joined by double TT Race winner Steve Plater for insightful interviews and indiscreet revelations with some of the riders that have created the headlines over the last 20 years.

The ‘Ultimate TT Races presented by Bennetts’ series turns the clock back on the greatest recent, and not so recent races. ‘TT Lock-In’ will be revisiting classic footage from five great races including the 1992 Senior TT, featuring the head to head between Carl Fogarty and Steve Hislop and the race that many believe is its closest challenger for the ‘greatest race’ accolade  – the 2018 Senior TT.

Other races featured in the series include highlights from Joey Dunlop’s memorable 2000 Formula 1 win, the dramatic and controversial 1994 Junior TT Race and the second Supersport Race from 2012 – the Australasian battle between Cameron Donald and Bruce Anstey that produced one of the closest finishes in TT history.

Broadcast live via the TT Lock-In virtual studio, Chris and Steve will be joined by a ‘who’s-who’ of TT racing to provide their own unique views and personal insights to the series. Including the chance to submit their own questions and messages, fans will hear from John McGuinness, Dean Harrison, Carl Fogarty, Phillip McCallen, Rob McElnea, Peter Hickman, Brian Reid and Cameron Donald as well as multi-sidecar TT race winners Ben Birchall and Dave Molyneux.

Meanwhile, the world of Gaming will provide fans with their TT racing fix of another kind. The ‘Virtual TT powered by Motul’ will see eight TT heroes, including Peter Hickman, Conor Cummins and Davey Todd, getting to grips with a new challenge and tackling the familiar course from the comfort of their own homes. Each of the TT Stars will team up with an experienced gamer and go head to head in a competition to be crowned ‘Virtual TT 2020 Champion’.

There’s also an introduction to racing on the Mountain Course for real from TT rider liaison officer, and former TT Race winner, Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle who will provide his unique insight into how to prepare to race the TT Mountain Course.

In depth features and documentaries on teams and riders include a look back at the lap record breaking 2018 TT – ‘One-Three-Five:  Breaking the Barrier’, a tribute to one of the Greatest riders in TT history – ‘the David Jefferies Story’ and a celebration of the career of 23-time TT Race winner John McGuinness. The spotlight will also be turned on one of the TT’s most successful Race teams – ‘TAS: TT Winning Formula’.

There will also be a digital version of the popular TT paddock attraction, the ‘Sundown Cinema’, with a screening of ‘3 Wheeling’ – the feature-length film that follows the high drama of the 2016 Sidecar TT Races, while Arai take us behind the scenes with the renown Italian helmet designer Aldo Drudi whose creations feature in the limited edition Official TT Helmet collection every year.

A complete schedule for the free ‘TT Lock-In’ can be found here, which you can watch via iomttraces.com and the TT Races Official Facebook page and YouTube channel.

MotoAmerica: Support Classes Are Ripe For The Picking

Rocco Landers (97) leads Dallas Daniels (69), Kevin Olmedo (14), Damian Jigalov (78) and the rest of the field from Road America’s Turn Six and into Turn Seven during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Rocco Landers (97) leads Dallas Daniels (69), Kevin Olmedo (14), Damian Jigalov (78) and the rest of the field from Road America’s Turn Six and into Turn Seven during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

The Championships In Supersport, Stock 1000, Liqui Moly Junior Cup And Twins Cup Are Wide-Open Affairs As The Season Begins

IRVINE, CA (May 27, 2020) – Depending on how many MotoAmerica races Rocco Landers can jam into his busy racing schedule, there’s a good chance that all four of the support classes in the 2020 MotoAmerica Series will have new champions at the end of the season.

Landers, the defending Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion, will be pulling double duty this coming weekend in the series opener at Road America, May 29-31, riding a Landers Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 in Junior Cup and a Roadracing World Young Guns/American Racing Suzuki SV650 in the Twins Cup. If he can score enough points in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup Series this season while perhaps racing a limited schedule, then he could possibly defend that title. If not, then there will be no repeat champions in 2020 in the support classes.

MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Bobby Fong has moved on to the HONOS Superbike class, riding a GSX-R1000 for the team on which he won the Supersport title last year – M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Twins Cup Champion Alex Dumas will again be Fong’s teammate in the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad, but he won’t be defending his Twins title as he moves to the Stock 1000 class. And, as of now, two-time Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee isn’t going racing in 2020.

With Fong and Supersport Championship runner-up PJ Jacobsen also moving to the HONOS Superbike Series, the Supersport title chase is set to be a wide-open affair. As it looks on paper, the title chase could very well be fought out between the fourth- and fifth-ranked riders from last year – M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly and HONOS Racing’s Richie Escalante.

There are, however, several others who could challenge – namely Aguilar Racing’s Jason Aguilar and Celtic HSBK Racing’s Brandon Paasch, another rider whose international racing schedule is in flux. Altus Motorsports’ Kevin Olmedo, who finished second in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup last year, is also a young rider to watch as he moves up a class to Supersport. Another who has shown speed of late is Kelly’s M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Lucas Silva.

It will be interesting to see who steps up to take a Supersport title that seems to be anyone’s for the taking.

As mentioned earlier, the Liqui Moly Junior Cup title chase will depend a lot on what Landers does or doesn’t do. After winning 14 races last year en route to the title, it’s obvious who the title favorite is if his schedule doesn’t end up conflicting: Rocco Landers.

But let’s not sell the others short because you just never know who is going to burst onto the scene, especially when there are 14- and 15-year-olds involved. Put it this way: Did 14-year-old Landers surprise us last year?

The top returning rider in the championship from a year ago (other than Landers) is BARTCON Racing’s Dominic Doyle, the fifth-ranked rider in the class in 2019. Others expected to compete at the front are Westby Racing’s Cody Wyman, Celtic HSBK Racing’s Samuel Lochoff, Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Gloddy, Burleson Racing’s Isaiah Burleson and several others. The opening round at Road America will also mark the series debut of Alexis Olivera, the young Floridian girl racer who will ride a TrackWorx Motorsports Roaring Toyz Kawasaki Ninja 400.

The Stock 1000 class promises to provide ultra-close racing between the likes of last year’s championship runner-up, Mesa37 Racing/Tango’s Stefano Mesa (a race winner last year), Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates, Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert (another race winner from last season), Twins Cup Champion Dumas, Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander, Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen, Celtic HSBK Ducati’s PJ Jacobsen, Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman and the list goes on.

Many of the top Stock 1000 riders are also pulling double duty and racing in the HONOS Superbike class in addition to Stock 1000. That could mean competing in as many as four races over the course of weekend, though not on the opening weekend as there will only be one Stock 1000 race to go with the two Superbike races.

The Twins Cup class will race twice in the season opener and again they will do so without their champion from last year, Alex Dumas. While Dumas may have moved on, there are 29 others ready to fight it out at Road America with plenty of youngsters moving up to the Twins Cup full-time from the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class.

Among those are Pure Attitude Racing’s Trevor Standish, Robem Engineering’s Jackson Blackmon, his teammate Toby Khamsouk, Trackworx Motorsports’ Teagg Hobbs and, of course, Landers.

Those kids will have their hands full with veterans like former champ Chris Parrish on his AP MotoArts/Ghetto Customs Yamaha FZ-07/MT-07, Syndicate Racing/Apex Assassins’ Jason Madama, podium finisher Cooper McDonald on a BARTCON Racing entry, and Laguna Seca race winner Kaleb De Keyrel on the 1-833-CJ-KNOWS Yamaha – to name a few.

The class is robust, it’s competitive and it all gets started with two Twins Cup races to open the season at Road America.

Road America Notes…

Geoff May and Stefano Mesa split wins in last year’s two Stock 1000 races at Road America, which was round four a season ago.

In last year’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup races, it was all Rocco Landers, the 14-year-old winning both races by the slimmest of margins over Dallas Daniels in race one and Kevin Olmedo in race two. The winning margin in both was a combined .187 of a second.

Hayden Gillim and Bobby Fong split wins in the two Supersport races at Road America a year ago and the lone Twins Cup race win went to Draik Beauchamp, in what was his first career MotoAmerica victory.

With his 14 wins in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup in 2019, Rocco Landers became the winningest rider in the class. Alex Dumas, the 2018 class champion, has 10 Liqui Moly Junior Cup wins to his credit. After that, it’s a big drop to Ashton Yates and his three Junior Cup wins. Dumas, meanwhile, won five Twins Cup races in 2019 and that put him at the top of the all-time wins list in the class.

MotoAmerica: Superbike Field Of 22 Primed For Action At Road America

Toni Elias (24) leading the start of MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Toni Elias (24) leading the start of MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two at Road America in 2019. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Let’s Do This: MotoAmerica To Start The Season At Road America This Weekend

And Finally We Have Racing As It All Begins In Wisconsin

IRVINE, CA (May 27, 2020) – And finally, we race. Fifty-six days after the original series start date, the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship will get rolling at Road America this coming weekend, May 29-31, with the first of its 10 rounds and the first of two in a row at the picturesque venue in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

With the original series opener at Circuit of The Americas moved to November, round two at Road Atlanta moved to July 31-August 2, and the VIRginia International Raceway round cancelled, Road America will host the MotoAmerica series opener for the first time in history after the COVID-19 pandemic caused major changes to sporting event calendars worldwide. The four-mile racetrack in Wisconsin will host back-to-back rounds of the series, the first without fans (May 29-31) and the second (June 26-28) with fans in attendance.

So, finally, it’s time to talk about the racing.

Four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier will lead the newly named HONOS Superbike class into Wisconsin for the series opener as the favorite to earn the title again – based on the fact that he’s won four of the past five Superbike titles.

“I can’t wait to start racing again,” Beaubier said. “It’s been so long, and I’ve really missed it. It will be nice to have things get back to normal and being at the track again and seeing everybody. Starting the season with two rounds at Road America is different, but you won’t get any complaints from me as it’s always been one of my favorites. I look forward to working with my team again and racing my R1. It’s a bummer not having fans for the first one, but we have good TV and live streaming packages so they can keep up with it, and we will see them all in a few weeks for round two.”

Beaubier heads to the season opener in Wisconsin with 38 career AMA Superbike wins, a mark that puts him third on the all-time list behind Mat Mladin (82) and Josh Hayes (61). His four titles also place him in rarified air, equaling his former teammate Hayes and trailing Mladin, who has a record seven AMA Superbike Championships.

Beaubier will again ride a Yamaha YZF-R1, but the team has changed with Richard Stanboli’s Attack Racing effort taking over the Monster Energy-backed team from the in-house team of a season ago.

The man expected to give Beaubier the most trouble in trying to earn a fifth title is 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias, the Spaniard also changing to a new team with Team Hammer’s M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad taking over from Yoshimura in 2020. No one has shot up the all-time win list faster than Elias who now has 32 wins in four years to tie him with Miguel Duhamel for fourth on the list.

Elias led the entire championship in 2019 until the final round when he was caught and passed by Beaubier. The diminutive Elias is sure to be a motivated man in 2020.

Other riders changing teams for 2020 include Jake Gagne, the former Scheibe Racing BMW rider moving to the Monster Energy Attack Racing Yamaha as the replacement for Garrett Gerloff who has joined the World Superbike Championship.

Josh Herrin has also made a team switch. Herrin, who rode for the Yoshimura Suzuki team in 2019, will take Gagne’s spot on the Scheibe BMW S 1000 RR. Herrin will be joined on the Steve Scheibe-owned team by former M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Jake Lewis, who was just signed to the team in the past couple of weeks.

Gagne was eighth in last year’s title chase; Herrin was fifth with two victories on the year.

Westby Racing’s team will remain unchanged with South African Mathew Scholtz returning for a fifth season on the one-rider team (he joined the team for a portion of the 2016 season). Scholtz ended up sixth in last year’s Superbike point standings.

Another rider with a team switch is Scholtz’s fellow South African Cameron Petersen. Petersen will race an Altus Motorsports-backed Suzuki GSX-R1000 in both HONOS Superbike and the Stock 1000 class.

Bobby Fong hasn’t changed teams, but he’s changed classes, the 2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion getting the call up to the HONOS Superbike class for the same M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team on which he earned the Supersport title.

Among the returning teams are those run by racers Kyle Wyman and David Anthony. Wyman is the owner/rider in the one-rider KWR Ducati team, the New Yorker back for a second season on the Panigale V4 R. Anthony, meanwhile, also has his hands both on the bars and in team ownership with the three-rider FLY Racing ADR Motorsports team. Anthony is joined by teammates Sam Verderico and Bradley Ward on the squad with all three on different brands of motorcycles. Anthony will ride a Suzuki GSX-R1000; Verderico will be aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1; and Ward will campaign a Kawasaki ZX-10R.

Also returning to the HONOS Superbike wars is Max Flinders, the Thrashed Bike Racing LLC rider set to race his Yamaha YZF-R1 after finishing 12th in last year’s title chase.

Jeremy Coffey will race one of the five BMWs in the class, the Washingtonian aboard a Superbike Underground-backed S 1000 RR.

Wyman won’t be the only Ducati Panigale V4 R rider in the HONOS Superbike class this year as PJ Jacobsen moves up from the Supersport class after finishing second to Fong in that title chase last year. Jacobsen will race in both Superbike and Stock 1000 in 2020.

Several other Stock 1000 riders will be doing double duty and racing in the HONOS Superbike class at Road America. Among them are Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman, Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates, Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander, Legacy Dental’s Jeffrey Purk, MonkeyMoto AGVSPORT’s Steven Shakespeare, Limitless Racing’s Joseph Giannotto and Procomps Racing Team’s Danilo Lewis.

In all, there are 22 riders entered in the HONOS Superbike opener at Road America.

Road America Notes…

Toni Elias earned pole position for last year’s two Superbike races, the Spaniard earning the top spot in a wet Superpole session. Elias lapped at a 2:30.992 to best his then-Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Josh Herrin and Monster Energy Attack Racing Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier.

Cameron Beaubier is the Superbike lap record holder at Road America, the four-time series champ turning a 2:11.422 during Superpole in 2018.

Josh Herrin had the fastest race lap last year, the Georgian clicking off a 2:12.287 en route to victory in race two. The faster of the two contests was race one, but the best lap (set by Beaubier) was slower than Herrin’s best in race two.

Toni Elias and Josh Herrin split wins in the two Superbike races last year at Road America with Cameron Beaubier finishing second in both and Garrett Gerloff finishing both races in third place. The races were close as always with Elias beating Beaubier by just .253 of a second in race one with Beaubier coming up just .506 short of Herrin in race two.

Of the active riders in the HONOS Superbike class, Cameron Beaubier leads the list of all-time AMA Superbike race wins with 38 victories. That puts him third on the all-time wins list behind Mat Mladin (82) and Josh Hayes (61). 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.

Six different manufacturers will be represented on the grid at Road America: Yamaha (seven entries), BMW (five entries), Suzuki (four entries), Kawasaki (three entries), Ducati (two entries) and Honda (one entry).

As far as manufacturers go, Yamaha has the most wins at Road America with 19 followed by Suzuki with 17, Honda (12), Ducati (eight) and Kawasaki (four). Yamaha had won seven of eight races until Suzuki swept both races last year with Toni Elias and Josh Herrin.

Riders from five different countries will line up at Road America in the HONOS Superbike class with the U.S., Spain, South Africa, Great Britain and Brazil all represented.

Cameron Beaubier has won seven HONOS Superbike races at Road America, a mark eclipsed only by Mat Mladin’s nine wins and Josh Hayes’ eight wins 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.

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.

MotoAmerica: Westby Racing: “Let’s Go Racing”

Westby Racing Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.
Westby Racing Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.

“Let’s Go Racing” Is The Battle Cry For Westby Racing This Weekend At Road America

Tulsa, OK – May 27, 2020 – After postponements and cancellations brought about by COVID-19 and despite a first round of the season that will have no spectators, Westby Racing is filled with joy and optimism as they travel to Road America for the start of the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

The team, and its two riders–Mathew Scholtz aboard the #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike and Cody Wyman aboard the #34 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R3 Junior Cup bike–are grateful for all of MotoAmerica’s hard work in getting the season underway, and they are especially excited to be racing at “America’s National Park of Speed” and in front of what will be MotoAmerica largest broadcast audiences in history.

“After months of waiting and not knowing when we were going to be racing, the Westby team and I couldn’t be happier to get back to doing what we all love,” commented Mathew. “Road America has been a difficult round for me over the past couple of years, but with the upgrades to the bike and how our preseason testing went, we’ve made significant steps forward. So, we’re really excited to see how we fare against the other Superbikes. It’s going to be a very strange race, with not having spectators at the track, but that’s not going to change anything for us, with our motivation to win, or how we approach the weekend. Thank you to the MotoAmerica organization for making round one happen. I know that the whole world will be watching us, since we will be the first national (motorcycle road racing) championship to start racing, and we’re ready to go.”

Superbike Superpole is on Saturday at 12 Noon Central, Superbike race one will go green on Saturday at 3 PM Central, and Superbike Race 2 is on Sunday at 1 PM Central. Saturday’s race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), and Sunday’s race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1). In addition, both Superbike races will be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.

 

Cody Wyman (34). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.
Cody Wyman (34). Photo courtesy Westby Racing.

 

Cody, who hasn’t raced at Road America in a few years, is excited to return to Wisconsin’s 4.05-mile, 14-turn natural road course.

“It felt great to shake down the bike a couple weeks before the first race of the year,” Cody said. “I can’t thank my team enough for all their hard work preparing my Yamaha R3 for competition. It’s been an extra-long off-season, and we’re all eager to get back to the track. I’m looking forward to returning to Road America for the first time in 5 years. It’s a great track with an immense fan base. Things will look a bit different with no spectators at round one, but we’re all really happy that they’ll be able to join us for round two. I’m ready to work the draft and try to be there at the end. The time has come. Let’s go racing!”

Junior Cup race one starts on Saturday at 4 PM Central, and Junior Cup race two is on Sunday at 3 PM Central. Both races will be broadcast via tape delay on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), and they will also be streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.

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

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

1...1,5861,5871,588...7,720Page 1,587 of 7,720

Follow us

43,094FansLike
19,223FollowersFollow
16,430FollowersFollow
1,200SubscribersSubscribe

Menu

Information

© , Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

AUTHOR LOGIN