ALESSANDRO DI MARIO IS 2024 MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP CHAMPION
The 15-year-old rookie Alessandro Di Mario is the new Twins Cup Champion in MotoAmerica, riding the Aprilia RS 660 for Team Rodio Racing — Powered by Robem Engineering. At the recent Circuit of the Americas race weekend, Di Mario secured the pole position and won both races to become the second rider to win the Twins Cup title, a class dedicated to twin-cylinder bikes, on an Aprilia RS 660.
Di Mario arrived at COTA 19 points behind the championship leader and clinched the title after a dominant weekend. He was the fastest rider in every practice session and qualifying, winning both Twins Cup races with significant margins and securing the title with a 31-point lead.
Di Mario, the 15-year-old from Kentucky, completed his rookie season in Twins Cup with three wins, six additional podium finishes and three pole positions in 12 races, becoming the second rider to win a Twins Cup title on an Aprilia RS 660.
Aprilia has now won half of the championships it has contested since homologating the RS 660 for MotoAmerica Twins Cup in 2021, where it won the championship in its first year. The RS 660 continues to deliver high levels of performance and competitiveness, as shown by its excellent results in MotoAmerica. In the 2024 season, it secured 17 podiums finishes over 12 races and has achieved over 70 podiums in the Twins Cup Championship since its debut four seasons ago. In the final 2024 Twins Cup championship standings, five of the Top 10 riders raced an Aprilia RS 660.
ALESSANDRO DI MARIO
“I am extremely happy to have won the championship. I couldn’t have done it without the support of all my sponsors, my fantastic team, and the Aprilia RS 660, which has proven to be a winner once again. Thank you all!.”
MASSIMO RIVOLA
“I would like to congratulate Alessandro Di Mario and the Rodio Racing Team Powered by Robem Engineering for winning the Twins Cup title in MotoAmerica. Despite being only 15 years old, Alessandro has shown great speed, talent, and the ability to fight. The combination with the Aprilia RS 660 was perfect, winning the championship for the second time in its four years of participation in the Twins Cup. This is the best way to consolidate a path that will take it to world competitions soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing:
Di Mario claims pole, wins two races to clinch the 2024 MotoAmerica Twins Cup title
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering rider, Twins Cup rookie caps off season with dominant performance Sept. 13-15 at Circuit of the Americas
Alessandro Di Mario, the 2024 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion. Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Aprilia.
AUSTIN, Texas – It turned out to be a dream rookie campaign for Alessandro Di Mario in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup. The Kentuckian and 2022 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner capped off his first year racing in Twins Cup with a perfect weekend – pole position, two race wins and a come-from-behind effort to capture the 2024 Twins Cup title.
Di Mario started the Sept. 13-15 round at the Circuit of the Americas with a 19-point deficit in the Twins Cup points standings, but his dominant form – along with his chief rival in the championship battle enduring several setbacks – enabled Di Mario to win the title by a 31-point margin. The title is a testament to Di Mario’s consistently strong results this season despite racing in a new class. In the 12 Twins Cup contests held in 2024, Di Mario scored three victories, six additional podium finishes and three pole positions.
The championship also marked the second Twins Cup title won by an Aprilia rider in the last four years. The Robem Engineering team won the 2021 title with rider Kaleb De Keyrel in Aprilia’s debut season in the class.
Di Mario’s teammate, Gus Rodio, also had a positive end to what turned into a challenging season. He qualified just off the front row in fourth place and earned third- and fourth-place finishes in the races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to finish the season fourth in the points standings.
Both Di Mario and Rodio showed strong pace from the start of the weekend. Di Mario topped the time sheets in Friday morning practice with a 2:18.270 lap time, and Rodio ended that session sixth-fastest. Di Mario’s pace improved later Friday in Qualifying 1, where he lowered his best time of the weekend to a 2:17.742 — which was 2.280 seconds faster than the next-fastest rider in the session. Rodio showed an even bigger improvement as he shaved more than two seconds off his best time from practice to provisionally qualify fourth.
Qualifying wrapped up Saturday morning with Di Mario having claimed pole position. He went more than half a second faster than in Qualifying 1 to take pole by 0.812 seconds. Rodio lowered his best lap time of the weekend to a 2:20.827, which was good enough for fourth place on the starting grid for the round’s two Twins Cup contests.
Later Saturday in Race 1, Di Mario didn’t get the best jump off the line but quickly made his way to the front before the field had reached Turn 1. Di Mario was in firm control of the race lead when the race was stopped on Lap 4 due to a crash. When racing resumed with five laps to go, Di Mario again led the field at the end of Lap 1 – and every lap thereafter. He went on to take the win by almost seven seconds – his second victory of the season – and assumed the points lead for the first time in his Twins Cup career. Rodio also had a very good race, as he joined his teammate on the podium with a third-place finish.
Sunday afternoon’s Race 2 had Di Mario’s dominant form on full, uninterrupted display as he capped off his title-winning season on the top step of the podium. Di Mario and his chief rival raced each other hard for the first few corners of the opening lap, but Di Mario’s fast and consistent pace allowed him to gradually pull away and build a large gap to the rest of the field. Di Mario’s margin of victory was more than 6.5 seconds, and a technical problem for his chief rival’s motorcycle allowed Di Mario to finish the season with a 31-point advantage in the championship standings.
Alessandro Di Mario / No. 27
“I am extremely happy to have won the championship. I couldn’t have done it without all my sponsors and my amazing team. Thank you everyone!”
Gus Rodio (96). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Aprilia.
Gus Rodio / No. 96
“I had a great day on my Aprilia RS 660 on Saturday. We missed a lot of track time earlier in the weekend, so we were super happy to get a podium finish. We struggled very hard this weekend, but it was so nice to get my bike back to feeling like one with it. I’m also happy with the season overall. It was one of those seasons that makes you appreciate when everything goes smooth that much more. I’m excited for what the future holds, and I want to thank the whole Robem team and my Rodio side of the team. I know Robem will be in my corner with anything I need for the rest of my career, and I’m so thankful to have built such a strong relationship with the team.”
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s technical partners for the 2024 season include Spellcaster Productions, Luxestar VIP, Geoscape Solar, MAR Contractors, Blud Lubricants, Spiegler Performance, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag Performance Wheels, Millennium Technologies, Sprint Filter, Dunlop, SC Project, MVR Endeavor, GRG Designs, REB Graphics, NGK Spark Plugs, EvolveGT, Bitubo Suspension and N2 Racing
Editorial Note: A second MotoGP event was scheduled at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli after the Grand Prix of Kazakhstan was cancelled due to flooding and related problems in the region of the new venue.
Reload for Emilia-Romagna: can the home heroes take back their territory?
There’s a lot on the line as the paddock returns to the fabulous Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – from the Constructors’ crown to some Ducati milestones
Monday, 16 September 2024
Buckle up for more MotoGP™ as we get ready for the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna, with season silverware on the line already and plenty of extra bragging rights to race for. The biggest is the Constructors’ crown, with Ducati able to wrap that up on Sunday after their stunning form so far. They’re 229 points clear of KTM and 239 ahead of Aprilia, with 222 the golden number by the flag on Sunday to wrap it up. They could also win it in style, as their next victory would be their 100th MotoGP™ win. With the top two in the title fight – Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – split by only seven points, and so much on the line between them and those they’ll likely be racing most closely at the front, all that’s on offer promises a serious show.
THE SHOW WILL GO ON
Martin will want to prove a serious point, for himself after that flag-to-flag gamble didn’t pay off, and for the points to extend that gap at the top. And for the future when it comes to the Constructors’ crown and that milestone 100th MotoGP™ win. If that’s not enough motivation, he’d also like to beat the Italian riders on their home turf and take the glory for his Italian team, who title sponsor the event. Coming out swinging probably won’t cover it, and he still knows he won in 2023 when the weather threw no curveballs.
Bagnaia, meanwhile, arrives with more margin to play with now the gap is back down to single digits in the Championship. But he also arrives preparing for his own milestone: his 100th MotoGP™ start, and on home turf for him and the Ducati Lenovo Team. As their double and reigning World Champion, those milestones must speak to him too. Constructors’ crown secured on home turf in his 100th MotoGP™ race, by taking Ducati’s 100th MotoGP™ win? The stars have aligned if Bagnaia can make it happen. This time round, he’ll also be closer to full fitness – something he hasn’t been at Misano since 2022.
On to Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). Now confirmed alongside Bagnaia in the factory squad next season, he’ll be keen to start inking in some Ducati milestones ahead of the switch. Force that territory to be shared. He’ll also be keen to stop Bagnaia doing so as the two prepare to share a garage, and on the #1’s home turf. Having now won two in a row, if Marquez wins a third it’s the first time he’ll have taken three or more consecutive MotoGP™ GP wins since 2019. It would also extend his record as the most winning rider at Misano on the current grid… and close that Championship gap to the top two even more.
And then there’s Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). He’s got a 100% podium record in MotoGP™ races he’s started at Misano, which is no mean feat. He shares some of his rivals’ motivation – home turf, for one – and that 100th MotoGP™ win for Ducati would probably feel pretty sweet. He’s also still well in contention in the title fight, and only nine points behind Marc Marquez. Qualifying further up would only intensify the Jaws music for those he was chasing down last time out.
ON THE CHASE
Saturday at the San Marino GP proved once again there are plenty of rivals for the top four in the Championship though. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) has been gaining speed throughout 2024, and in the Tissot Sprint last time out took his first Saturday rostrum finish. He was also fast on Sunday before crashing out. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) also took a front row and top five in the GP race, and a better launch off the line could improve those fortunes even more on take two. Teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio will have had longer to recover as we get back on track, and Alex Marquez’ (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) Sunday at San Marino was a solid one. Can they move forward?
At KTM and GASGAS there was also good speed on Sunday, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) coming home fourth after both he and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) had a solid Sprint. Acosta will want to minimise those mistakes, and it’ll be interesting as he races at a venue for the second time in his rookie season. It went well for him in the 2021 Doha GP. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a good weekend last time out too, taking his best Sunday finish since Portimão, on top of scoring in the Sprint. More of that will be the minimum aim for the Aussie, and more points the aim for Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) after a tougher one at Misano on our first visit.
CHAPEAU!
Meanwhile at Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) must be in the conversation for rider of the weekend last time out, having equalled his best Sunday finish so far in 2024 and scored in the Sprint to make it his equal best weekend for points. The Iwata factory and their 2021 World Champion want to be racing for more than seventh, but the world-beating form they’ve both shown before is built – or rebuilt – over time. Quartararo and teammate Alex Rins have tested at Misano a few weeks ago, done the San Marino GP, and now pocketed some more track time in the Monday test, in which Quartararo was fifth quickest. So can they make another step forward this time out?
BACK IN THE SADDLE
Steps forward is likewise the aim at Aprilia as the Noale factory suffer a tougher patch of form. Neither Maverick Viñales nor Aprilia Racing teammate Aleix Espargaro took any points at the San Marino GP, so that’s a clear aim this time out. They’ll also hope that work at the Monday Test – focused on the here and now – will help to turn those fortunes around. Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), meanwhile, DID score – five points on Sunday to come home top Noale machine. He’ll want more, the factory wants more, the factory riders will want to beat him, and teammate Raul Fernandez will also want to hit back.
Finally, at Honda it’s a first full weekend at Misano for Repsol Honda Team’s Joan Mir and Luca Marini. Both suffering with illness sidelining them last time out, they did get back out for the Monday test so they’ll hope that sets them up to get back in the mix at the Grand Prix. Meanwhile at IDEMITSU and CASTROL Honda LCR, there were some solid points for Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco, respectively. Notably, they’re now on an equal total this season – and Nakagami is ahead in the standings thanks to that P11 finish in Aragon. They’ll want to beat each other and beat the Repsol Honda duo, and to continue adding information and kilometres to Honda’s mission to move forward. What can they do with a full line-up and after the extra track time of the Misano Test?
We’ll find out this weekend as another 37 points go into play – and a whole lot more.
SHOWTIME
Saturday
Tissot Sprint: 15:00 (UTC +2)
Sunday
Grand Prix: 13:00 (UTC +2)
What’s happening at the #EmiliaRomagnaGP?
Festivities kick off on Wednesday for the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna. To take MotoGP™ even closer to our passionate fanbase in Italy, there will be a fan event on Wednesday evening in the city centre of Rimini, headlined by Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) – including a Q&A for the fans in attendance.
On Thursday afternoon, MotoGP™ podcast Last On The Brakes will welcome Prima Pramac Racing’s Franco Morbidelli.
Then we’re into the press conferences, with the first set to host Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Then, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be joined by Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) for the second.
Moto2™: Can Ogura double down on take two?
Thanks to a third win of 2024, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) ensured he sits as the new Championship leader heading into Round 14 of the year. Following a difficult trio of races in Silverstone, Austria – where he picked up a right-hand fracture – and Aragon, the Japanese star was back on the box for the first time since his German GP P3.
Ogura beat Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) by 0.6s to earn a nine-point lead over teammate Sergio Garcia, whose weekend ended with a commendable comeback to P12 after a Friday and Saturday to forget for the Spaniard. The title race pendulum has certainly swung from one side of the garage to the other down at MT Helmets – MSI, now we’ll see how Garcia bounces back.
Ogura and Canet were joined on the podium by Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) who bagged a second podium in a row. The Italian looks somewhat back to his best after a tricky opening half to the season, and another home race rostrum would go down very nicely before the flyaways begin.
Elsewhere, Manuel Gonzalez’s P4 (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) was a solid effort from the Spaniard, as Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) admitted his P5 “felt like a win” after the Briton clawed his way back from P14 on the grid to earn some more decent points in his quest for the title.In addition, home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will be seeking redemption after his late crash from P4, and so will Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) after the Spaniard slid out of contention on Lap 1.
The ever-changing Moto2™ title race landscape is a fascinating one to keep tabs on. What will unfold as we land back at Misano?
Moto3™: Can the chasers keep up the pressure?
We witnessed a comeback for the ages in Moto3™ last time out as Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) clinched a phenomenal win despite taking not one, but two Long Lap penalties. The rookie’s debut win was sublime, so will the #36 be able to go back-to-back when he lands at the same venue this weekend?
Piqueras will certainly be hoping so. And if there are no long laps to contend with, that will make his life a lot easier – but as we know, it won’t be as simple as that. One rider who will be out to stop his compatriot from doubling up is Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). The #96 has returned to form with two podiums in the last three outings seeing the Spaniard climb to P2 in the overall standings.
Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) responded to his disappointing Aragon outing by grabbing a seventh podium of the year, as the Spaniard edged out Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) by less than a tenth. The Japanese star and fifth place finisher Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) were two riders who picked their way past a frustrated David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) on the final lap, as the Colombian finished in P7 following a drop one place penalty for exceeding track limits in the last lap too. That promoted Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) to P6 as Alonso finished off the podium in consecutive races for the first time this season.
That said, the #80 still boasts a commanding 70-point lead in the Championship chase, but he will be hunting revenge in Emilia-Romagna. Can he bounce back?
From sun to soaked: Frost and Correa weather the Oulton challenge
The R&G British Talent Cup rolled into Oulton Park for the penultimate round of the season, with 50 points up for grabs
Monday, 16 September 2024
The penultimate round of the season was split down the middle in terms of weather for the R&G British Talent Cup field. Race 1 took place in ideal race conditions and delivered one of the most competitive and entertaining bouts of the season. Championship leader Lucas Brown (SENCAT Talent Team / Mortimer Racing), starting from pole, was immediately challenged by Julian Correa (Microlise Cresswell Racing) and Filip Surowiak (Honda – Team City Lifting/RS Racing), who launched off the line to seize the early lead.
Julian Correa (40) led Race One but ultimately ended up finishing second, 0.182 second behind winner Ryan Frost (24). Photo courtesy BTC.
Contender Amanuel Brinton (Kovara Projects / RS Racing) began strong but soon struggled with his pace and setup, slipping down the order. Dropping down to 10th on the opening lap was but a minor setback for Brown, who quickly tore through the pack, carving his way back into contention.
An exchange of blows between Correa and Surowiak allowed Ryan Frost (Fibre Tec Honda) to close in, while Brown, joined in a series of intense battles with Frost and Surowiak. Correa held firm at the front, fending off constant threats.
Biding his time behind Correa, Frost made a perfect pass at Lodge Corner on the final lap, snatching the lead. Correa pushed hard to retake the position but couldn’t match Frost’s acceleration out of the final corner. With that, Frost secured his fourth win of the season, while Brown completed a remarkable comeback to finish third on the podium.
The R&G British Talent Cup is streamed live on YouTube in 2024! Watch Race 1 HERE and Race 2 HERE.
Wet conditions levelled the playing field in Race 2 and rounded out another exciting chapter in the 2024 R&G British Talent Cup.
Ryan Frost (24) leads Lucas Brown (29), Julian Correa (40), and the rest of the field early in wet Race Two. Photo courtesy BTC.
Starting from pole, Ryan Frost got a strong launch, but it was Lucas Brown who seemed poised to take the early advantage. However, a wobble from Ronnie Harris (Kovara Projects / RS Racing) coming out of the Britten Chicane led to chaos on the first lap, causing the championship leader to crash out. With Brown out of the race, the door was wide open for his rivals to capitalise and close the gap in the standings.
As the race settled in, a battle for the lead emerged between Frost, Filip Surowiak, and Julian Correa. Surowiak initially took control, leading the pack through most of the opening laps—not despite the wet conditions but thriving because of them. But Frost and Correa made sure he wouldn’t get too comfortable.
The final laps saw multiple changes for the lead, with Correa finally making a decisive pass at Druids and holding off Surowiak’s last-lap challenge to claim his second victory of the season for Microlise Cresswell Racing. Surowiak finished a close second, just 0.182 behind. Meanwhile, Amanuel Brinton, with eyes on the podium, launched a thrilling late charge to snatch third place from Fibre Tec Honda’s Harley McCabe at the line by just 0.121 seconds.
Further back, the race was no less eventful. Frost, after an impressive start, struggled in the latter stages and was involved in an incident with Charlie Barnes (SENCAT Talent Team / Mortimer Racing), leading to a Long Lap penalty. Despite this, he managed to finish in fifth place, salvaging some valuable points.
With that, Brown clings to his title race lead, thanks to that Race 1 podium. Brinton sits 28 points adrift, with Frost and Correa close in the top three fight, just five and six points behind Brinton respectively.
Next time out a triple-header, with 75 points up for grabs, at Donington Park on the 28th and 29th of September for the final round of the 2024 R&G British Talent Cup.
With four rounds to go, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) remains the championship leader despite being ruled out of the previous round after an injury sustained in FP1. His 365 points mean he still has a 55-point advantage over Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who holds 310 points. Another exciting battle to watch is for third place in the standings.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is currently in third with 243 points, 122 behind Toprak and 67 behind his teammate. With no points scored in the last two races for Bautista (DNF in the Tissot Superpole Race and declared unfit for Race 2), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) is now only eight points behind the reigning World Champion.
A New Circuit
It will be the first time the WorldSBK paddock races at the Cremona Circuit, a track most of the grid tested earlier this season.
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest rider in the first test, clocking a 1’28.860 lap time. However, Razgatlioglu managed to beat Gardner’s time by a few tenths during a second private test at the same track.
Recent Form
Nicolo Bulega achieved his first back-to-back victories this season. Notably, in all three races where Bulega won, Razgatlioglu was not on the podium.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), the leading Independent rider, secured three podium finishes in all three races at Magny-Cours for the first time in his career.
Declared unfit during the French Round
Toprak Razgatlioglu was ruled out of the French Round following a Free Practice 2 crash on Friday. He suffered a mild traumatic pneumothorax.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed at the last chicane on Lap 1 in Race 1 at Magny-Cours and underwent surgery to repair a deep abrasion to his right thumb.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was ruled out of Race 2 at the French Round following a crash in the Tissot Superpole Race. Bautista was diagnosed with a fracture to his eighth rib on the left side.
Further update on their recoveries will be issued ahead of the Acerbis Italian Round on worldsbk.com
Race report: Yoshimura SERT Motul takes EWC title glory with Bol d’Or victory
Yoshimura SERT Motul (12) won the Bol d’Or 24-hour race and the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship. Photo courtesy FIM EWC.
Suzuki-powered team triumphs twice after 24 hours of dramatic EWC action
KM 99 completes 2024 as the leading EWC independent team with second place
Niccolò Canepa retires from racing with YART Yamaha battling back to third
Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore finishes first in Superstock
National Motos Honda FMA secures Dunlop-supplied FIM Endurance World Cup
For immediate release (15 September 2024): Yoshimura SERT Motul banked a win double in the FIM Endurance World Championship today (Sunday), coming out on top of an epic EWC title showdown by landing back-to-back Bol d’Or victories at Circuit Paul Ricard.
The Suzuki-powered outfit’s riding trio of Gregg Black, Dan Linfoot and Étienne Masson performed without error to secure Yoshimura SERT Motul’s second EWC crown – the first since 2021 – to go with the 11 titles won when the France-based squad ran under the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team banner.
By finishing first, Suzuki has now triumphed in the legendary Bol d’Or 24-hour race 20 times with Black and Masson becoming four-time winners of the long-standing EWC event.
“Of course when you join a team like Yoshimura SERT Motul you expect to have the results to fight for the championship but to win the championship in the first year is a dream for me,” said Linfoot, the only Yoshimura SERT Motul rider to have finished on the podium in all four EWC races this season. “To win Le Mans, second in Spa, third in Suzuka and finally winning the Bol d’Or to take the championship is an incredible experience. To work with this fantastic team and my incredible team-mates, all the staff, it’s been a fantastic year. It’s an amazing moment.”
Black, who recovered from injury to race in the Bol d’Or, said: “Injuring my wrist was a pretty difficult moment after winning Le Mans and getting a podium at Spa. The injury in the Suzuka test was quite a complicated break and put me out for the race. But Cocoro, Dan and Albert [Arenas] did a great job and got some important points for the championship. It’s been two complicated months for me, getting my wrist back into condition and trying to have the mental and physical strength to get back on the bike. A lot of strength goes through the wrist on a bike, and I wasn’t sure 100 per cent if I would be back, but I did all my 10 stints in the race, tried to keep up the pace and be as fast as possible.”
Gregg Black: “It’s been two complicated months for me, getting my wrist back into condition and trying to have the mental and physical strength to get back on the bike. I wasn’t sure 100 per cent if I would be back, but I did all my 10 stints in the race, tried to keep up the pace and be as fast as possible”
Yamaha-powered KM 99 scored its first EWC podium in only its second year in the championship with second place for Randy de Puniet, Jérémy Guarnoni and Florian Marino to end 2024 as the top independent EWC team.
“It was a really good race for us,” ex-MotoGP racer de Puniet said. “In the beginning of the year we made some mistakes but after Suzuka we didn’t make any more. We had some luck during this race, SERT was too fast, the pace was incredible, the BMW too, but they had some trouble at the end of the race and that’s why we finished second. For the team it’s a perfect result, for me too, even if one day I would like to win an endurance race.”
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team began the Bol d’Or title decider leading the standings as one of four teams in championship contention. Although it completed the Formula EWC podium in third, it fell short in its efforts to defend the EWC title it won in 2023 after two time-consuming unscheduled pitstops.
The result meant YART rider Niccolò Canepa, who was partnered by Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika, will retire from racing without the third world title he craved. But he’ll nevertheless go down in history as one of the all-time EWC greats.
“This is not exactly the race we were hoping for, we were hoping to battle a bit more with SERT and make their life a bit more difficult,” said Canepa. “Unfortunately, we had a problem in the first stint and we never fight for the victory in this race. Because of the problem we had in the first stint we kept having problems through the race. But we never expected to be on the podium today, so we must be happy for this third place because it’s been a tough race for us.”
Despite being held back by technical issues, National Motos Honda FMA won the FIM Endurance World Cup for Teams with riders Guillaume Raymond, Sébastien Suchet and Valentin Suchet. That was after Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore took Bol d’Or honours in the Dunlop-supplied category in a fine fourth overall with a line-up consisting of Enzo De La Vega, Baptiste Guittet, Maxim Pellizotti and Mathieu Gines, the 2014 EWC champion.
“For sure we didn’t expect it, but we tried to make the best race with all my team-mates and the team,” Gines said. “We did a good race with very constant stints. It was a very good performance, perhaps less performance than the team that topped the qualifying but, in the end, this team stopped the race. We finished a perfect race with a nice bike.”
New FIM Endurance World Cup winner Valentin Suchet, who lost out on the title in the final 20 minutes of last year’s Bol d’Or due to a technical issue, said: “Honestly, it was a really tough race, especially mentally. We went into it thinking it would be straightforward, no pressure, just run our race – but that’s not how it turned out. It was an emotional rollercoaster. At first, we thought it was just a minor mechanical issue. We lost a lap, no big deal, we got going again… then another issue, and another, and another – then the chain, then the radiator, and everything that came with it. After the chain broke, I damaged the shifter, had to bring it back in, and that even messed up the brake caliper. By the time I came back for the third time and went out for the fourth, I had tears under my helmet. We were exhausted, completely drained, and in my head, I thought it was over. It was an absolute nightmare of a race, but in the end, we were rewarded for all the hard work we’ve put in these past two years.”
Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda finished second to secure the runner-up spot in the title table as TRT27 AZ Moto took the chequered flag in third place. Outgoing champion squad Team 33 Louit April Moto placed fourth with 3ART Best of Bike in fifth and JMA Racing Action Bike completing the top-six Superstock finishers.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team started the Bol d’Or on pole position for the third year running as one of four overall title chasers. After a new race lap record from Markus Reiterberger – a 1m52.517s – helped BMW move into the lead in the early hours of Sunday morning, a crash for squad newcomer Hannes Soomer put Yoshimura SERT Motul back ahead. It also left the Estonian sidelined with a shoulder injury and forced Reiterberger and Illya Mykhalchyk to complete the race as a duo, albeit substantially delayed due to mechanical issues.
There was also frustration for Tati Team Beringer Racing and F.C.C. TSR Honda France, which both failed to go the distance due to engine failures having led early in the race. Honda Viltaïs Racing was on course to complete the podium after a lengthy battle with KM99 but dropped out of contention with an engine issue.
Maco Racing Team, Wójcik Racing Team and Mana-au Competition took season-best finishes of fifth, sixth and seventh respectively in Formula EWC but Motobox Kremer Racing retired.
Kawasaki Webike Trickstar, which had been in the top 10, stopped with a broken engine after 18h15. Meanwhile, ADSS 97 withdrew its Kawasaki due an overheating issue, while BMRT3D maxxwss Nevers, Honda No Limits, Tati Team Beringer Racing, Team Bolliger Switzerland and Uniserv Moto82 Team all dropped out during the night.
Having impressed throughout qualifying and having also led the Superstock category in the early stages, EWC newcomer Hungarian Endurance Racing Team by Moto-Jungle suffered Bol d’Or heartbreak when engine failure put it out shortly before 17h45. Superstock qualifying pacesetter Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team and Team Aviobike by M2 Revo were firmly in the top-three battle when they hit trouble. Team Étoile was leading its class when it retired on Sunday morning.
Superstock squads Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki, Slider Endurance, Pitlane Endurance – JP3, Team Players, Team Racing 85 by Soleane all finished but Honda No Limits, Team TCP Racing and Team 202 were less fortunate.
NEW PYRAMID TO CREATE PATHWAY TO THE TOP IN EWC
In partnership with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe, which is marking 10 years as promoter of the FIM Endurance World Championship in 2024, is excited to set out a clear pathway to the top in the EWC with a new entry-level category, a key component as the build-up to 2025 begins.
WBD Sports’ commitment to further widening the appeal – and thereby increasing entry numbers – of international motorcycle racing’s toughest discipline is centred on a pyramid that gives riders and their teams alternative platforms to compete on, regardless of their level of experience and financial means. Utilising FIM-homologated 1000cc production-based motorcycles, the EWC’s ladder or progression starts with the all-new FIM Production World Trophy, continues with the Superstock class for more modified machinery and reaches its peak with Formula EWC, the fastest and most technically advanced tier.
YAMAHA R7 ENDURANCE SERIES TO JOIN TWO EWC WEEKENDS AS A SUPPORT RACE
In addition to the new FIM Production World Trophy, the new-for-2025 Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will be a support race at two European rounds of the EWC, serving as a potential starting point for riders and teams considering climbing the EWC pyramid in the future.
The all-new Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will provide a platform for riders and teams to progress from national to international level. Using the Yamaha R7 motorcycle on tyres from a controlled supplier, the Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will be contested over long-distance races at two European EWC events in 2025. This will give contenders the chance to experience an EWC event with the view of entering the championship as permanent teams in future seasons. The Yamaha R7 Endurance Series is open to all regardless of age and experience, either racing for a team or on a purely privateer basis.
American Julian Correa won British Talent Cup Race Two Sunday at rainy Oulton Park, in England. Riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Honda, Correa won the wet 10-lap race by 0.182 second.
Team City Lifting/RS Racing’s Filip Surowiak was the runner-up, and Kovara Projects/RS Racing’s Amanuel Brinton placed third.
Correa’s countryman Joshua Raymond, Jr. was 14th on his Fibre Tec Honda.
Troy Herfoss won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin, Texas. Riding his S&S Indian Challenger on Dunlop control tires, the reigning Australian Superbike Champion won the five-lap race by just 0.445 second. It was Herfoss’ sixth win of the season, and it drew him closer to the top of the Championship point standings.
Kyle Wyman was right behind Herfoss the entire way but couldn’t make a pass with his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide. Instead, Wyman settled for second place and a smaller, two-point Championship lead over Herfoss heading into the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Rocco Landers backed up his win in Race One by taking third place in Race Two on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Hayden Gillim, Landers’ teammate and the defending Champion, finished fourth.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli rounded out the top five finishers.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara was racing at the front on the original start, but his Indian started leaking oil, causing the race to be stopped with a red flag so the oil could be cleaned off the track. Because of the oil leak, O’Hara was not allowed to restart the race.
Ryde rebounds to close the gap to Bridewell as Irwin returns to winning ways
Kyle Ryde. Photo courtesy MSVR.
The opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown delivered drama in an intense Oulton Park weekend as Glenn Irwin returned to winning ways in race two, but Kyle Ryde rebounded in style in race three to close the gap to Tommy Bridewell to just six points in the standings ahead of Donington Park.
Three intense races in Cheshire saw seven different riders claim podium finishers for as many different teams and five different manufacturers, as Irwin added to his winning tally, whilst Ryde made it a double victory in the final race of the weekend.
After dry conditions yesterday, race two was wet and Hager PBM Ducati emerged victorious after Irwin made a determined last lap move on Leon Haslam at Hislops. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider ran on, but was able to re-join in third place as Danny Kent capitalised to take second place at the McAMS Racing Yamaha team’s home round.
Bridewell bounced back from yesterday’s race one crash to finish fourth in race two for Honda Racing UK, but it was disappointment for Ryde who could only finish 13th, which meant he lost the standings lead to the reigning champion.
Race three began in damp but improving conditions and several riders looked set to make a gamble on tyre choice. However, after a red flag interruption when Lewis Rollo crashed out at Hislops, the race was restarted in full wet conditions after another rain shower with a five lap sprint to the chequered flag.
In the first part of the race, Storm Stacey had again showed his prowess in the wet conditions and on the restart, he launched off the line to take the lead for LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki. Ryde was on the attack though and the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider moved into second position on lap two, before taking the lead a lap later at Old Hall.
Ryde was then able to break the pack by an impressive 5.965s at the chequered flag to close a further three points on Bridewell as the defending champion held off Stacey for second place as LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki celebrated another podium finish.
Bridewell heads into the penultimate round of the Showdown with just a six-point lead as Ryde prepares for his home round on 27/28/29 September. Irwin meanwhile leads the chasing pack after nearly halving the advantage to the top of the standings in Cheshire, trailing Bridewell by 45 points with a maximum of 180 points remaining over the final two rounds.
Kyle Ryde
OMG GRILLA Racing Yamaha
“The goal this weekend was to claw a few points back and we did that in a massive fashion yesterday.
“The 13th I had in Race 2 wasn’t ideal, but the team and I came back to win a tricky Race 3.
“Thank you to the Bennetts BSB fans for voting me as Rider of the Round, my second in a row, and thank you to the team for giving me a great bike.
“I’m looking forward to Donington Park, my home round and we’ll continue to fight for the title.”
Cameron Beaubier won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Three Sunday afternoon at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.
With the Championship on the line, Beaubier, Josh Herrin, and Sean Dylan Kelly battled it out for 10 laps in the scorching heat and humidity. Beaubier and Herrin swapped the lead back and forth nearly every lap, but in the end Beaubier was able to get his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW to the checkered flag first to win his sixth race of the season and keep his title hopes alive.
Herrin pushed all the way to the end and nearly crashed his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on the final lap, but he was able to save it and hang on to finish second. Although a win would have clinched the Championship for Herrin, he heads into the season finale doubleheader at New Jersey Motorsports Park with a 46-point lead over Beaubier.
After taking his career-first win in Race Two, rookie sensation Kelly was a close third on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing BMW in Race Three.
Richie Escalante pushed forward at the end of the race to claim fourth place on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz ran fourth for much of the race but slipped to fifth in the final laps.
Escalante’s teammate Brandon Paasch was in the fight for fourth until he had an issue three laps from the end that relegated him to sixth.
Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach got seventh.
Ashton Yates took eighth and the win in the Superbike Cup category.
Benjamin Smith finished ninth on his new FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha Superbike.
Cameron Petersen ended a troubled weekend with 10th on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Kelly Gets His First, Beaubier Takes Two Of Three On The Weekend At COTA
Sean Dylan Kelly Scored A Career-First Victory In Race Two, Beaubier Holds Off Herrin In Race Two To Keep Title Hopes Alive As The Series Heads To New Jersey Motorsport Park
This is what Superbike race three looked like at the front for the duration. Cameron Beaubier (6) beat Josh Herrin (2) and Sean Dylan Kelly (40) to take the championship fight to New Jersey. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
AUSTIN, TX (September 15, 2024) – Sean Dylan Kelly will never forget that on September 15, 2024, he won his first MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race. He’ll also know that he beat the very best in a straight fight to get that win after passing five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier in the last corner on the last lap of Circuit of The Americas on a scorching hot Sunday.
That was the early race on Sunday. There was more to come in race three.
With a track temperature of 120 degrees, the third and final Superbike race got started with another Josh Herrin holeshot. This time, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beaubier didn’t waste much time in moving past his championship rival. But it didn’t last as Ezra Beaubier’s (his younger brother) BMW blew up and dumped oil on the track, bringing out a red flag.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin got the jump on the field on the restart, but this time there was jostling at the top for the duration with Herrin leading five laps and Beaubier holding the spot across the line on five occasions, including the final four.
At the finish it was Beaubier holding off Herrin by .970 of a second after an absolute thrillfest of a Superbike race. Kelly was also in the fray until backing off near the end of the race to finishing 2.9 seconds behind in third.
When all was said and done, Beaubier had won two of the three Steel Commander Superbike races to pull back valuable points on Herrin. Going into the series finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park in two weeks, Beaubier trails Herrin by 46 points, 300-254.
“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance,” might be a bit optimistic, but Beaubier’s win-second-win weekend has breathed a bit of life into his championship aspirations.
The top three in race three were the same as in race two, but not in the same order. It was Beaubier, Herrin, Kelly in race three; Kelly, Beaubier, Herrin in race two.
Fourth place in the final race of the weekend went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, almost five seconds ahead of Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz with Escalante’s teammate Brandon Paasch finishing for the second time on the day.
Seventh place in race three went to Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach, who was well clear of Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates.
FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen rounded out the top 10.
Superbike Race 2
Despite all the back and forth at the front, Kelly somehow managed to lead all 12 laps at the stripe, but he lost the lead on the final lap when Beaubier stuffed his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000R under the similar BMW of Kelly at the end of the backstraight. At this point, it looked like Beaubier had control with just a handful of corners left, but Kelly was determined, and he returned the favor on his former Moto2 teammate with a lunge up the inside in the final corner. From there he was able to get to the finish line first to earn that first-ever Superbike in a race to remember.
All of this played into the hands of Herrin, who dropped off the lead duo and hoped that Kelly could somehow beat Beaubier to help him in his championship quest. With Kelly doing just that, Beaubier only pulled back four points on Herrin and not the nine he would have gained if he’d won with Kelly between them. Herrin was just a tick under five seconds adrift of the lead duo.
Kelly’s margin of victory over Beaubier was .177 of a second and it made him the sixth different winner of a MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2024 – joining Herrin, Beaubier, Jake Gagne, Bobby Fong, and Cameron Petersen.
In winning the first race of his career as a rookie on a first-year team, EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Kelly became the 66th rider to win an AMA Superbike National.
Herrin’s teammate Baz improved his pace dramatically from Saturday’s race one to finish fourth, some eight seconds off the leader after slowing in the final laps.
Another to improve from Saturday’s race one was Wrench Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong with the Californian racing to fifth – one spot better than in race one.
Sixth place went to Paasch, with the youngster finding something in morning warmup to increase his pace.
Petersen, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beach and Yates rounded out the top 10.
Escalante stood on the podium in race one on Saturday, but he suffered a crash in race two that resulted in a DNF.
Quotes
Sean Dylan Kelly – First/Third
“Yeah, this one is definitely up there. It was unreal to get that first superbike win, as you guys can imagine. I’ve been working really, really hard for it. From the beginning of the season, just being close in a handful of races. I crashed out of the lead in Road America. I had a couple more chances here and there. Didn’t just come true, but this race two earlier today was absolutely incredible. It was pretty cool to be battling with these guys and even cooler to be honest to be able to do that pass in the last corner for the win. That was insane. Brought me a little flashback from Supersport days with Richie (Escalante), doing all those last-lap scraps. It was also a little bit of a fairytale first win with that special livery that we did ten days ago with all the kids from the Children’s Hospital. Obviously, it was a dream to be able to make it happen. Dreaming and doing are two different things, and that was amazing. Just feeling on top of the moon with what we did today.”
Josh Herrin – Third/Second
“I was feeling extra motivated. We’ve got the DRE (Ducati ride day) tomorrow. I like going to those things with a win. It’s not fun going if you don’t win. Everybody is not as pumped. We had the Ferracci stuff on. I wanted to get it for him. I’m bummed that we didn’t get it with that on. But it was kind of like one of those days where it was so hot that if you don’t just give it your all, then you’re going to be a lot weaker, in my mind. You can think, I’m going to go out and just relax, but then you do worse because you just let the heat get to you. Where if you just put your head down and go for it, then it makes it a lot easier. It was hot behind Cam’s (Beaubier) bike, so I didn’t want to sit behind him the whole race. Probably took one too many risks. I just talked to Hayes on the way in. He said those are the rides that make your crew happy to be working for you. So, I just wanted to go out and do good for them, do good for my family. I wanted to go hang out. I don’t want to win by just riding around and cruising. I want to win by riding like Beaubier or (Josh) Hayes or (Mat) Mladin did. I don’t want to just ride around. That was a super difficult weekend. I’m happy to come out of here. It’s crazy how many points you can lose even when you’re riding that good. We lost I think 14 points or something. I got really lucky in race two because I didn’t think I was going to be able to battle for the win, and when I saw Sean (Dylan Kelly) go and I know how motivated he is to win, I just wanted to leave a little bit of a gap, or try to create a bigger gap to him and Beaubier because I knew Beaubier was going to be strong at the end, and I just was adding up during the race. If I can make myself lose four points instead of five points, it puts me in a better position. I can then beat him in the third race and have one point on top, because I know he’s got more race wins than me. So, I needed to beat him in the last one. Just probably way too much thinking going on this weekend. That last race, I just I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to go. Hats off to the boys for making such a good bike. Congrats to Sean on his win. It’s not just cool seeing him win because he’s getting his first win, but we’re OnlyFans teammates. He’s been racing at my house since he was a little kid, so it’s cool battling and just getting beat by somebody that got raised at my house racing. That’s a cool feeling. Hats off to them. Good job, Beaubier. Get to hopefully wrap it up at our home race in Jersey.”
Cameron Beaubier – Second/First
“Those last couple laps, I just put everything I had into trying to open up just enough of a gap to where I could keep the track open and get to the line first. Josh (Herrin) and I were stuffing each other left and right, pretty much all day. It was a pretty fun race this afternoon, honestly. I think to go out and push as hard as you can this afternoon was going to be pretty tough, so I felt like the way we were racing each other, it kind of kept it light and kept us on our toes and not just drilling the pace lap after lap after lap. I felt like that was honestly pretty fun. It was a good fight. I was pretty surprised he was fighting me that hard with as much as he has to lose. I definitely wouldn’t have been doing that. Didn’t do that in the past, but credit to him. He was riding hard. It was good. I haven’t had a tough day like that in a long time. That was a pretty hard day with those two superbike races on Sunday in 100-plus heat out at this track. I’d say this track is probably one of the most physical tracks we have on the schedule. Happy with being able to just come back after my foot injury with some fitness. The last month break was really good for me just to try to get some fitness back. We’re keeping it alive going into Jersey, but to be honest with you, it’s pretty much done. I did everything I could for the boys to just give us a fighting chance.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
The title fight rolls on to New Jersey after Josh Herrin’s heroic COTA performance
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 15, 2024 — Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin showed his racing maturity during a steaming hot weekend at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, taking three podium places and putting himself in the box seat to wrap up the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship title at New Jersey Motorsports Park at the end of September.
In a weekend where sealing the title was a distinct possibility, Herrin refused to play it safe and threw caution to the wind, engaging in three nail-biting races with Cameron Beaubier and Sean Dylan Kelly.
Resplendent in a special Fast by Ferracci livery to mark 30 years since Troy Corser sealed Ducati’s last AMA Superbike title in 1994, Herrin was at his spectacular best, sliding the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R around the expansive 3.4-mile layout and making some incredible around-the-outside moves in race three on Beaubier.
Ultimately, Herrin took second place in race one, third in race two, and a very close second in race three, leaving Texas with a 46-point title lead with one round, two races, and 50 points remaining in the 2024 championship.
For Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz, the fast Frenchman carded two fourth place finishes and a fifth at COTA, elevating himself to equal sixth in the championship standings with the absent Jake Gagne.
2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship After Round Eight
P1 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 300
P2 – Cameron Beaubier 254
P3 – Bobby Fong 213
P4 – Sean Dylan Kelly 208
P5 – Cameron Petersen 195
P6 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 192
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“I can’t ask for much better than what we did this weekend,” Herrin said. “They were incredibly difficult conditions—we knew Cam (Beaubier) was going to be strong this weekend, as Sean (Dylan Kelly) due to his Moto2 experience here, but I’m really happy with what myself and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team accomplished.
“We made lots of improvements over the weekend to the bike, and I’m happy to be going into the DRE (Ducati Ride Experience) event on Monday with all the Ducatisti after a weekend like that.
“This whole year has been great, so now we have a 46-point lead heading into New Jersey, where I’ll just ride my race and try to wrap this thing up.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“It’s been a long weekend for everyone,” Baz said in the heat of Sunday afternoon. “The results weren’t quite what we wanted, but we were strong all weekend. The pace was good, and I felt more comfortable on the bike. I was losing a lot of time on the straight, but the guys changed the engine last night, which was a bit better. However, we need to find a little more grip as well.
“I need to be a little more aggressive in the early stages, but overall, it was a good weekend for the team, which is the most important thing. Josh did a great job, and I tried to help him as much as possible, especially in qualifying. I can’t say I’m really happy, but we’re all working hard and looking forward to a great final round in a few weeks’ time.”
The final round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s home race at New Jersey Motorsports Park and is scheduled for September 27-29, 2024.
Mathew Scholtz has one hand on the 2024 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship trophy after he won Race Two Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) and his only title rival experienced some bad luck.
Scholtz, riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 on Dunlop control tires, fought his way to the front and was able to win the 11-lap race by two seconds.
Tyler Scott led at points on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, but he had to settle for second place in the scorching hot conditions.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha rider Blake Davis backed up his podium performance in Race One with a third place, 0.4 second behind Scott, in Race Two.
Corey Alexander came back from a slow start to claim fourth on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die + Forming Panigale V2.
Race One winner Jake Lewis didn’t have the winning pace in Race Two and the best he could do was fifth, right behind Alexander, on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki.
The big news in Race Two, however, was the crash of Scholtz’s Championship rival PJ Jacobsen. Jacobsen was running third on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2, right behind Scott, on the final lap when he lost the front and fell two corners from the finish.
Jacobsen was able to pick up his Ducati and return to the race, but he crossed the line 19th and out of the points. As a result, Scholtz’s lead in the Championship point standings went from 14 to 39 points with two races and 50 possible points remining.
Two Points Separate Wyman From Herfoss With NJMP Finale To Come
The Battle For The 2024 Mission King Of The Baggers Title Will Go Down To The Wire In Jersey
Troy Herfoss (17) won his sixth Mission King Of The Baggers race of the season after a battle with Kyle Wyman (33). The pair will go to the season finale in New Jersey separated by just two points. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
AUSTIN, TX (September 15, 2024) – With Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman and S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss winning 12 of the 16 Mission King Of The Baggers races, it’s fitting that those two will battle to the bitter end in a winner-take-all-championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, September 27-29.
Of course, the duo battled on Sunday afternoon at Circuit of The Americas with the two running nose to tail for the majority of the race. At the end of the five-lap sprint, it was Herfoss taking his sixth win of the season with Wyman just .445 of a second behind in second place.
The championship? There’s now just two points between the two with Wyman leading Herfoss, 315-313, with the series headed to Wyman’s home track of NJMP in two weeks.
No one else was a real factor in this one with Saturday’s Mission King Of The Baggers victor Rocco Landers riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to third, 3.7 seconds behind the lead duo.
Landers’ teammate Hayden Gillim rode to a gutsy fourth after undergoing surgery on a broken hand just a week or so prior to racing in Texas. Gillim was right on Landers at the finish line.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli rounded out the top five, some five seconds adrift of the intra-team Landers/Gillim battle.
“Today was a really good day,” Herfoss said. “Yesterday I got caught out. It was a tough race yesterday. Just having young Rocco (Landers) again. I see a lot in him. I know that he’s going to race to win every stage of the year. I sort of didn’t open fire as much as I probably could have, but in saying that, he was just so in control. I sort of knew that if I was going to make a pass, he was so dialed in it wasn’t going to do much. It wasn’t going to get me far. But today, we made a few adjustments and sort of predicted the way the track would go in that heat. I kept a good eye on the Superbike races today. The answer is yes, I was extremely comfortable. As I said on the podium, a little bit of a smart-ass comment, but I have also been super respectful all the year because I was so comfortable, I don’t go back on that. I felt like it was a puppet show, and I felt like I was in charge of it. I tried to get Kyle (Wyman) to do something he didn’t want to do, and like I knew he was too smart to try. It’s even and we’re going to the last round. Best man can win. I understand full well that it’s a track that he’s really good at. I’ve got a lot of respect for that. I can’t wait to go there and see what I can do there.”
Mathew Scholtz (11) beat Tyler Scott (70) and Blake Davis (22) to win the Supersport race on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Supersport – Breathing Room For Scholtz
The 2024 Supersport Championship will go down to the final round of the season after a drama-filled weekend that began with a 25-point lead for Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz over Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen and ended with Scholtz now taking a 39-point lead to New Jersey Motorsports Park for the final two races of the championship.
Scholtz survived some intense challenges from the other riders and a near-get-off from his Yamaha to take the checkered flag by a little over two seconds ahead of Vision Wheel ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott. Third place went to N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha’s Blake Davis.
But, what about Jacobsen? Well, the title contender led the race, was shuffled back in the lead pack, and ultimately looked like he’d finish on the podium until the penultimate corner on the final lap when he inexplicably went down and slid out of the race, which cost him most of the valuable points that he had gained from the results of Saturday’s race one.
“I knew I had the pace to do (fast laps) consistently, and I knew that I should be able to win,” Scholtz said. “It sucks that PJ crashed, but it really, really helps me in the championship. So, now, we go to New Jersey for the final round. Two more races, and we have the advantage. We’ll be ready.”
Tyler O’Hara (1) leads Cory West (13), Troy Herfoss (17) and the rest of the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship pack at COTA on Sunday. West emerged from the fray as the class champion. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – West Crowned!
Saddlemen Harley-Davidson’s Cory West did exactly what he needed to do to earn the 2024 Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. He finished second to championship rival Tyler O’Hara on Saturday morning at COTA, and that earned the veteran racer from Arkansas his first career AMA title.
The race was won by S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s O’Hara, but it wasn’t enough as he didn’t get the help he was hoping for. When his teammate Troy Herfoss went out with a mechanical problem, that put the onus of help on the shoulders of his other teammate, 61-year-old Jeremy McWilliams. McWilliams gave it his all but came up .167 of a second behind West in third. Even if he’d gotten the spot and West had ended the race tied with O’Hara on points, the title would have gone to West based on the tiebreaker of number of wins.
Second place on the track went to uber talent Alessandro Di Mario, who was riding a non-homologated Ducati Streetfighter V2. Di Mario was racing knowing that the bike would be disqualified, but it didn’t take away from the fact that the 15-year-old was impressive in his debut in the class.
Fourth place went to West’s teammate Jake Lewis, with the Kentuckian playing the role of wingman to perfection. The third Saddlemen Harley-Davidson teamster, Travis Wyman, finished fifth.
“It’s hard to stay cool when it’s so hot out,” West said. “Saddlemen Harley Davidson Pan America… I can’t say enough. That bike just worked awesome. It was a really stressful race. I had to finish third. I knew what TO (Tyler O’Hara) was going to do. He was going to go out and try to win it. I just kept my head down and did what I could. This is a dream come true. It’s something that you’ve always wanted when you were a kid when you start to racing, to be a champion. It’s just complete, man. It’s a check off the old bucket list. I really have to thank everybody. Dave, Amy, Chris. My beautiful wife, who is due in eight days. Jake, Taylor, Kento, Eric, Matty, Fury, Ricky, everybody. I love you guys. My family is here this weekend. I’ve got so many friends. We brought home the number-one plate, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Alessandro Di Mario came into the COTA round well behind in the championship point standings, but he left with the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario Takes It
The BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship came down to the final race of the season, and at the start, it looked like we were going to get the epic showdown was expected between title contenders Alessandro Di Mario and Rocco Landers, who were only separated by six points after Saturday’s race one.
Landers got the holeshot coming out of turn one on the first lap, but 15-year-old phenom Di Mario took the lead before the opening lap had been completed, and he pressed his advantage all the way to the checkered flag.
The Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering rider led every lap of the race and took the checkered flag by more than six and a half seconds.
Meanwhile, after challenging on the opening lap, Landers had a mechanical problem, which put him out of the race and unfortunately out of the championship.
For Di Mario, who is only in his second year of MotoAmerica racing and is a Twins Cup rookie, he notched his first of what may be many MotoAmerica class championships to come.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Friday, finished second for his best result of the season, while Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle came home third, which was his sixth podium finish in the 2024 BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship.
Di Mario, whose cool, calm demeanor belies his young age, was asked if he felt the pressure of being in contention for his first MotoAmerica Championship.
“It was hard. It wasn’t easy at all,” Di Mario said. “Rocco (Landers) was fast all year. I came into this weekend, and I was really confident. I like the track. It was really hot, but it was a little better than yesterday. Yesterday felt a lot worse. I just went out and I knew what I could do. I just tried to do as many fast laps as possible at the start, tried to pull a little gap. When I saw the pit board with the gap, I started to manage it until the last lap. My last lap was super slow. I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I left off quite a bit. I just want to thank everybody, my whole team, Mike, Chad, Kevin, Freddy from home, Sara for the pictures. I love you. My teammate, Gus (Rodio). He’s been a great teammate all year. I just want to thank all my sponsors. Also, my brother. He’s in the Marine Corps. I think he’s watching from home. I love you. I just want to thank everybody. Dainese, HJC, all my sponsors. Thank you so much.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS RACE 2
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 | WARM-UP & RACE 2
Sunday at Circuit of The Americas proved bittersweet for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. The battle for the podium came down to the very last lap with PJ Jacobsen trading positions with championship leader Mathew Scholtz, Tyler Scott, and Blake Davis. In true competitor fashion, Jacobsen was determinded to go for second-place on the final lap to keep the championship tight, however his move in Turn 19 of 20 landed him in the gravel. Jacobsen was able to get his bike back up and join the race to finish 19th. Scholtz now leads Jacobsen by 39 points leading into the final two rounds of the season.
Corey Alexander fumbled on the start but was able to quickly move through the field and picking off competitors one at a time. Wearing race boots a size smaller than usual to help with shifting, Alexander eventually climbed to the fourth position when he crossed the finish line earning his eighth top five of the season.
Kayla Yaakov rode her first-ever Supersport race at Circuit of The Americas just last year. Showing improvement steadily throughout the weekend, Kayla earned a seventh place finish after impressive passes throughout the field.
The team packs the truck to head to the East Coast where the final two rounds of the season will be held at all three rider’s home track of New Jersey Motorsports Park. Join the team at the season finale September 27-29.
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 5th
FINISHED: 4th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (140 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We had a great race today. I got a bad start – the first one we’ve had in a long time, which made our race more difficult than it should have been. We had the pace to run away with the front group, but I made it too hard for myself with the gap. Unfortunately, with my size, and without a draft, it was very difficult. Overall, it was a positive weekend. I hate for PJ to crash out like that on the last lap, but for me, it was a positive weekend. Thanks to the whole crew for sweating it out with the brutal heat.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 7th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 8th (134 pts)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “It was a decent end to the weekend. We made such a big improvement from Friday and Race 1, so I can’t thank my team enough. This program has helped me so much, and to see where I was last year at this race to where I am now, it’s a completely different rider. I owe it all to Ben and all the fitness that he’s put me through, to Graham for trusting me, and Richie for putting together this amazing program for us riders. We tried our best today, and we were able to come out on top of the group that I was in, and continue to improve our pace. Now, we are going to focus on New Jersey, our home race. I think we’ll have a good showing and hopefully get all three bikes on the podium. That and getting PJ his championship would be a dream ending to the season.”
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 3rd
FINISHED: 19th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (290 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Honestly, it was a bad weekend for us. We were struggling here all weekend with the bike. The team did a great job, we just have to figure some things out after this weekend. I’m not sure if it was the heat that was making us struggle. We go to my home race next in New Jersey, so I’m pretty confident about those races. It’s a bummer to end the weekend like this but we’ll focus on New Jersey and getting two wins there.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a little bit of a bittersweet Sunday. PJ had a good start and great pace, Corey was riding really well after getting hung up at the start, but he came through the pack. Kayla had a better race than she did yesterday, so we had some improvements. With the heat at the track, our chassis and the bike were struggling with edge grip and losing too much for PJ to make the difference. He was going for it, trying to save valuable championship points going for second place, but lost the front. That’s how it happens sometimes in racing. We have one race weekend left, but we have to be happy with the year and how everything has gone so far. As a team, you always want to win, so it’s a bit frustrating, but we’ll regroup and come back stronger in a couple of weeks.”
Alessandro Di Mario (27). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Aprilia.
Aprilia RS 660 conquers America
ALESSANDRO DI MARIO IS 2024 MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP CHAMPION
The 15-year-old rookie Alessandro Di Mario is the new Twins Cup Champion in MotoAmerica, riding the Aprilia RS 660 for Team Rodio Racing — Powered by Robem Engineering. At the recent Circuit of the Americas race weekend, Di Mario secured the pole position and won both races to become the second rider to win the Twins Cup title, a class dedicated to twin-cylinder bikes, on an Aprilia RS 660.
Di Mario arrived at COTA 19 points behind the championship leader and clinched the title after a dominant weekend. He was the fastest rider in every practice session and qualifying, winning both Twins Cup races with significant margins and securing the title with a 31-point lead.
Di Mario, the 15-year-old from Kentucky, completed his rookie season in Twins Cup with three wins, six additional podium finishes and three pole positions in 12 races, becoming the second rider to win a Twins Cup title on an Aprilia RS 660.
Aprilia has now won half of the championships it has contested since homologating the RS 660 for MotoAmerica Twins Cup in 2021, where it won the championship in its first year. The RS 660 continues to deliver high levels of performance and competitiveness, as shown by its excellent results in MotoAmerica. In the 2024 season, it secured 17 podiums finishes over 12 races and has achieved over 70 podiums in the Twins Cup Championship since its debut four seasons ago. In the final 2024 Twins Cup championship standings, five of the Top 10 riders raced an Aprilia RS 660.
ALESSANDRO DI MARIO
“I am extremely happy to have won the championship. I couldn’t have done it without the support of all my sponsors, my fantastic team, and the Aprilia RS 660, which has proven to be a winner once again. Thank you all!.”
MASSIMO RIVOLA
“I would like to congratulate Alessandro Di Mario and the Rodio Racing Team Powered by Robem Engineering for winning the Twins Cup title in MotoAmerica. Despite being only 15 years old, Alessandro has shown great speed, talent, and the ability to fight. The combination with the Aprilia RS 660 was perfect, winning the championship for the second time in its four years of participation in the Twins Cup. This is the best way to consolidate a path that will take it to world competitions soon.”
More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing:
Di Mario claims pole, wins two races to clinch the 2024 MotoAmerica Twins Cup title
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering rider, Twins Cup rookie caps off season with dominant performance Sept. 13-15 at Circuit of the Americas
Alessandro Di Mario, the 2024 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion. Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Aprilia.
AUSTIN, Texas – It turned out to be a dream rookie campaign for Alessandro Di Mario in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup. The Kentuckian and 2022 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner capped off his first year racing in Twins Cup with a perfect weekend – pole position, two race wins and a come-from-behind effort to capture the 2024 Twins Cup title.
Di Mario started the Sept. 13-15 round at the Circuit of the Americas with a 19-point deficit in the Twins Cup points standings, but his dominant form – along with his chief rival in the championship battle enduring several setbacks – enabled Di Mario to win the title by a 31-point margin. The title is a testament to Di Mario’s consistently strong results this season despite racing in a new class. In the 12 Twins Cup contests held in 2024, Di Mario scored three victories, six additional podium finishes and three pole positions.
The championship also marked the second Twins Cup title won by an Aprilia rider in the last four years. The Robem Engineering team won the 2021 title with rider Kaleb De Keyrel in Aprilia’s debut season in the class.
Di Mario’s teammate, Gus Rodio, also had a positive end to what turned into a challenging season. He qualified just off the front row in fourth place and earned third- and fourth-place finishes in the races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to finish the season fourth in the points standings.
Both Di Mario and Rodio showed strong pace from the start of the weekend. Di Mario topped the time sheets in Friday morning practice with a 2:18.270 lap time, and Rodio ended that session sixth-fastest. Di Mario’s pace improved later Friday in Qualifying 1, where he lowered his best time of the weekend to a 2:17.742 — which was 2.280 seconds faster than the next-fastest rider in the session. Rodio showed an even bigger improvement as he shaved more than two seconds off his best time from practice to provisionally qualify fourth.
Qualifying wrapped up Saturday morning with Di Mario having claimed pole position. He went more than half a second faster than in Qualifying 1 to take pole by 0.812 seconds. Rodio lowered his best lap time of the weekend to a 2:20.827, which was good enough for fourth place on the starting grid for the round’s two Twins Cup contests.
Later Saturday in Race 1, Di Mario didn’t get the best jump off the line but quickly made his way to the front before the field had reached Turn 1. Di Mario was in firm control of the race lead when the race was stopped on Lap 4 due to a crash. When racing resumed with five laps to go, Di Mario again led the field at the end of Lap 1 – and every lap thereafter. He went on to take the win by almost seven seconds – his second victory of the season – and assumed the points lead for the first time in his Twins Cup career. Rodio also had a very good race, as he joined his teammate on the podium with a third-place finish.
Sunday afternoon’s Race 2 had Di Mario’s dominant form on full, uninterrupted display as he capped off his title-winning season on the top step of the podium. Di Mario and his chief rival raced each other hard for the first few corners of the opening lap, but Di Mario’s fast and consistent pace allowed him to gradually pull away and build a large gap to the rest of the field. Di Mario’s margin of victory was more than 6.5 seconds, and a technical problem for his chief rival’s motorcycle allowed Di Mario to finish the season with a 31-point advantage in the championship standings.
Alessandro Di Mario / No. 27
“I am extremely happy to have won the championship. I couldn’t have done it without all my sponsors and my amazing team. Thank you everyone!”
Gus Rodio (96). Photo by Sara Chappell Photos, courtesy Aprilia.
Gus Rodio / No. 96
“I had a great day on my Aprilia RS 660 on Saturday. We missed a lot of track time earlier in the weekend, so we were super happy to get a podium finish. We struggled very hard this weekend, but it was so nice to get my bike back to feeling like one with it. I’m also happy with the season overall. It was one of those seasons that makes you appreciate when everything goes smooth that much more. I’m excited for what the future holds, and I want to thank the whole Robem team and my Rodio side of the team. I know Robem will be in my corner with anything I need for the rest of my career, and I’m so thankful to have built such a strong relationship with the team.”
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s technical partners for the 2024 season include Spellcaster Productions, Luxestar VIP, Geoscape Solar, MAR Contractors, Blud Lubricants, Spiegler Performance, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag Performance Wheels, Millennium Technologies, Sprint Filter, Dunlop, SC Project, MVR Endeavor, GRG Designs, REB Graphics, NGK Spark Plugs, EvolveGT, Bitubo Suspension and N2 Racing
The start of the full-length MotoGP race at Misano with Francesco Bagnaia (1) leading the way. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Editorial Note: A second MotoGP event was scheduled at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli after the Grand Prix of Kazakhstan was cancelled due to flooding and related problems in the region of the new venue.
Reload for Emilia-Romagna: can the home heroes take back their territory?
There’s a lot on the line as the paddock returns to the fabulous Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – from the Constructors’ crown to some Ducati milestones
Monday, 16 September 2024
Buckle up for more MotoGP™ as we get ready for the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna, with season silverware on the line already and plenty of extra bragging rights to race for. The biggest is the Constructors’ crown, with Ducati able to wrap that up on Sunday after their stunning form so far. They’re 229 points clear of KTM and 239 ahead of Aprilia, with 222 the golden number by the flag on Sunday to wrap it up. They could also win it in style, as their next victory would be their 100th MotoGP™ win. With the top two in the title fight – Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – split by only seven points, and so much on the line between them and those they’ll likely be racing most closely at the front, all that’s on offer promises a serious show.
THE SHOW WILL GO ON
Martin will want to prove a serious point, for himself after that flag-to-flag gamble didn’t pay off, and for the points to extend that gap at the top. And for the future when it comes to the Constructors’ crown and that milestone 100th MotoGP™ win. If that’s not enough motivation, he’d also like to beat the Italian riders on their home turf and take the glory for his Italian team, who title sponsor the event. Coming out swinging probably won’t cover it, and he still knows he won in 2023 when the weather threw no curveballs.
Bagnaia, meanwhile, arrives with more margin to play with now the gap is back down to single digits in the Championship. But he also arrives preparing for his own milestone: his 100th MotoGP™ start, and on home turf for him and the Ducati Lenovo Team. As their double and reigning World Champion, those milestones must speak to him too. Constructors’ crown secured on home turf in his 100th MotoGP™ race, by taking Ducati’s 100th MotoGP™ win? The stars have aligned if Bagnaia can make it happen. This time round, he’ll also be closer to full fitness – something he hasn’t been at Misano since 2022.
On to Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). Now confirmed alongside Bagnaia in the factory squad next season, he’ll be keen to start inking in some Ducati milestones ahead of the switch. Force that territory to be shared. He’ll also be keen to stop Bagnaia doing so as the two prepare to share a garage, and on the #1’s home turf. Having now won two in a row, if Marquez wins a third it’s the first time he’ll have taken three or more consecutive MotoGP™ GP wins since 2019. It would also extend his record as the most winning rider at Misano on the current grid… and close that Championship gap to the top two even more.
And then there’s Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). He’s got a 100% podium record in MotoGP™ races he’s started at Misano, which is no mean feat. He shares some of his rivals’ motivation – home turf, for one – and that 100th MotoGP™ win for Ducati would probably feel pretty sweet. He’s also still well in contention in the title fight, and only nine points behind Marc Marquez. Qualifying further up would only intensify the Jaws music for those he was chasing down last time out.
ON THE CHASE
Saturday at the San Marino GP proved once again there are plenty of rivals for the top four in the Championship though. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) has been gaining speed throughout 2024, and in the Tissot Sprint last time out took his first Saturday rostrum finish. He was also fast on Sunday before crashing out. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) also took a front row and top five in the GP race, and a better launch off the line could improve those fortunes even more on take two. Teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio will have had longer to recover as we get back on track, and Alex Marquez’ (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) Sunday at San Marino was a solid one. Can they move forward?
At KTM and GASGAS there was also good speed on Sunday, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) coming home fourth after both he and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) had a solid Sprint. Acosta will want to minimise those mistakes, and it’ll be interesting as he races at a venue for the second time in his rookie season. It went well for him in the 2021 Doha GP. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a good weekend last time out too, taking his best Sunday finish since Portimão, on top of scoring in the Sprint. More of that will be the minimum aim for the Aussie, and more points the aim for Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) after a tougher one at Misano on our first visit.
CHAPEAU!
Meanwhile at Yamaha, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) must be in the conversation for rider of the weekend last time out, having equalled his best Sunday finish so far in 2024 and scored in the Sprint to make it his equal best weekend for points. The Iwata factory and their 2021 World Champion want to be racing for more than seventh, but the world-beating form they’ve both shown before is built – or rebuilt – over time. Quartararo and teammate Alex Rins have tested at Misano a few weeks ago, done the San Marino GP, and now pocketed some more track time in the Monday test, in which Quartararo was fifth quickest. So can they make another step forward this time out?
BACK IN THE SADDLE
Steps forward is likewise the aim at Aprilia as the Noale factory suffer a tougher patch of form. Neither Maverick Viñales nor Aprilia Racing teammate Aleix Espargaro took any points at the San Marino GP, so that’s a clear aim this time out. They’ll also hope that work at the Monday Test – focused on the here and now – will help to turn those fortunes around. Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing), meanwhile, DID score – five points on Sunday to come home top Noale machine. He’ll want more, the factory wants more, the factory riders will want to beat him, and teammate Raul Fernandez will also want to hit back.
Finally, at Honda it’s a first full weekend at Misano for Repsol Honda Team’s Joan Mir and Luca Marini. Both suffering with illness sidelining them last time out, they did get back out for the Monday test so they’ll hope that sets them up to get back in the mix at the Grand Prix. Meanwhile at IDEMITSU and CASTROL Honda LCR, there were some solid points for Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco, respectively. Notably, they’re now on an equal total this season – and Nakagami is ahead in the standings thanks to that P11 finish in Aragon. They’ll want to beat each other and beat the Repsol Honda duo, and to continue adding information and kilometres to Honda’s mission to move forward. What can they do with a full line-up and after the extra track time of the Misano Test?
We’ll find out this weekend as another 37 points go into play – and a whole lot more.
SHOWTIME
Saturday
Tissot Sprint: 15:00 (UTC +2)
Sunday
Grand Prix: 13:00 (UTC +2)
What’s happening at the #EmiliaRomagnaGP?
Festivities kick off on Wednesday for the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna. To take MotoGP™ even closer to our passionate fanbase in Italy, there will be a fan event on Wednesday evening in the city centre of Rimini, headlined by Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) – including a Q&A for the fans in attendance.
On Thursday afternoon, MotoGP™ podcast Last On The Brakes will welcome Prima Pramac Racing’s Franco Morbidelli.
Then we’re into the press conferences, with the first set to host Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team).
Then, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will be joined by Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) for the second.
Moto2™: Can Ogura double down on take two?
Thanks to a third win of 2024, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) ensured he sits as the new Championship leader heading into Round 14 of the year. Following a difficult trio of races in Silverstone, Austria – where he picked up a right-hand fracture – and Aragon, the Japanese star was back on the box for the first time since his German GP P3.
Ogura beat Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) by 0.6s to earn a nine-point lead over teammate Sergio Garcia, whose weekend ended with a commendable comeback to P12 after a Friday and Saturday to forget for the Spaniard. The title race pendulum has certainly swung from one side of the garage to the other down at MT Helmets – MSI, now we’ll see how Garcia bounces back.
Ogura and Canet were joined on the podium by Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) who bagged a second podium in a row. The Italian looks somewhat back to his best after a tricky opening half to the season, and another home race rostrum would go down very nicely before the flyaways begin.
Elsewhere, Manuel Gonzalez’s P4 (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) was a solid effort from the Spaniard, as Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) admitted his P5 “felt like a win” after the Briton clawed his way back from P14 on the grid to earn some more decent points in his quest for the title.In addition, home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) will be seeking redemption after his late crash from P4, and so will Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) after the Spaniard slid out of contention on Lap 1.
The ever-changing Moto2™ title race landscape is a fascinating one to keep tabs on. What will unfold as we land back at Misano?
Moto3™: Can the chasers keep up the pressure?
We witnessed a comeback for the ages in Moto3™ last time out as Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) clinched a phenomenal win despite taking not one, but two Long Lap penalties. The rookie’s debut win was sublime, so will the #36 be able to go back-to-back when he lands at the same venue this weekend?
Piqueras will certainly be hoping so. And if there are no long laps to contend with, that will make his life a lot easier – but as we know, it won’t be as simple as that. One rider who will be out to stop his compatriot from doubling up is Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3). The #96 has returned to form with two podiums in the last three outings seeing the Spaniard climb to P2 in the overall standings.
Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) responded to his disappointing Aragon outing by grabbing a seventh podium of the year, as the Spaniard edged out Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) by less than a tenth. The Japanese star and fifth place finisher Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) were two riders who picked their way past a frustrated David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) on the final lap, as the Colombian finished in P7 following a drop one place penalty for exceeding track limits in the last lap too. That promoted Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) to P6 as Alonso finished off the podium in consecutive races for the first time this season.
That said, the #80 still boasts a commanding 70-point lead in the Championship chase, but he will be hunting revenge in Emilia-Romagna. Can he bounce back?
American Julian Correa (40) on British Talent Cup (BTC) Race Two at Oulton Park. Photo courtesy BTC.
From sun to soaked: Frost and Correa weather the Oulton challenge
The R&G British Talent Cup rolled into Oulton Park for the penultimate round of the season, with 50 points up for grabs
Monday, 16 September 2024
The penultimate round of the season was split down the middle in terms of weather for the R&G British Talent Cup field. Race 1 took place in ideal race conditions and delivered one of the most competitive and entertaining bouts of the season. Championship leader Lucas Brown (SENCAT Talent Team / Mortimer Racing), starting from pole, was immediately challenged by Julian Correa (Microlise Cresswell Racing) and Filip Surowiak (Honda – Team City Lifting/RS Racing), who launched off the line to seize the early lead.
Julian Correa (40) led Race One but ultimately ended up finishing second, 0.182 second behind winner Ryan Frost (24). Photo courtesy BTC.
Contender Amanuel Brinton (Kovara Projects / RS Racing) began strong but soon struggled with his pace and setup, slipping down the order. Dropping down to 10th on the opening lap was but a minor setback for Brown, who quickly tore through the pack, carving his way back into contention.
An exchange of blows between Correa and Surowiak allowed Ryan Frost (Fibre Tec Honda) to close in, while Brown, joined in a series of intense battles with Frost and Surowiak. Correa held firm at the front, fending off constant threats.
Biding his time behind Correa, Frost made a perfect pass at Lodge Corner on the final lap, snatching the lead. Correa pushed hard to retake the position but couldn’t match Frost’s acceleration out of the final corner. With that, Frost secured his fourth win of the season, while Brown completed a remarkable comeback to finish third on the podium.
The R&G British Talent Cup is streamed live on YouTube in 2024! Watch Race 1 HERE and Race 2 HERE.
Wet conditions levelled the playing field in Race 2 and rounded out another exciting chapter in the 2024 R&G British Talent Cup.
Ryan Frost (24) leads Lucas Brown (29), Julian Correa (40), and the rest of the field early in wet Race Two. Photo courtesy BTC.
Starting from pole, Ryan Frost got a strong launch, but it was Lucas Brown who seemed poised to take the early advantage. However, a wobble from Ronnie Harris (Kovara Projects / RS Racing) coming out of the Britten Chicane led to chaos on the first lap, causing the championship leader to crash out. With Brown out of the race, the door was wide open for his rivals to capitalise and close the gap in the standings.
As the race settled in, a battle for the lead emerged between Frost, Filip Surowiak, and Julian Correa. Surowiak initially took control, leading the pack through most of the opening laps—not despite the wet conditions but thriving because of them. But Frost and Correa made sure he wouldn’t get too comfortable.
The final laps saw multiple changes for the lead, with Correa finally making a decisive pass at Druids and holding off Surowiak’s last-lap challenge to claim his second victory of the season for Microlise Cresswell Racing. Surowiak finished a close second, just 0.182 behind. Meanwhile, Amanuel Brinton, with eyes on the podium, launched a thrilling late charge to snatch third place from Fibre Tec Honda’s Harley McCabe at the line by just 0.121 seconds.
Further back, the race was no less eventful. Frost, after an impressive start, struggled in the latter stages and was involved in an incident with Charlie Barnes (SENCAT Talent Team / Mortimer Racing), leading to a Long Lap penalty. Despite this, he managed to finish in fifth place, salvaging some valuable points.
With that, Brown clings to his title race lead, thanks to that Race 1 podium. Brinton sits 28 points adrift, with Frost and Correa close in the top three fight, just five and six points behind Brinton respectively.
Next time out a triple-header, with 75 points up for grabs, at Donington Park on the 28th and 29th of September for the final round of the 2024 R&G British Talent Cup.
The Cremona Circuit near Milan, Italy, will host the Superbike World Championship this coming weekend. Photo courtesy Dorna.
WorldSBK set to tackle new challenge in Cremona
What to look out for in Cremona
Championship Standings
With four rounds to go, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) remains the championship leader despite being ruled out of the previous round after an injury sustained in FP1. His 365 points mean he still has a 55-point advantage over Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who holds 310 points. Another exciting battle to watch is for third place in the standings.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is currently in third with 243 points, 122 behind Toprak and 67 behind his teammate. With no points scored in the last two races for Bautista (DNF in the Tissot Superpole Race and declared unfit for Race 2), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) is now only eight points behind the reigning World Champion.
A New Circuit
It will be the first time the WorldSBK paddock races at the Cremona Circuit, a track most of the grid tested earlier this season.
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest rider in the first test, clocking a 1’28.860 lap time. However, Razgatlioglu managed to beat Gardner’s time by a few tenths during a second private test at the same track.
Recent Form
Nicolo Bulega achieved his first back-to-back victories this season. Notably, in all three races where Bulega won, Razgatlioglu was not on the podium.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), the leading Independent rider, secured three podium finishes in all three races at Magny-Cours for the first time in his career.
Declared unfit during the French Round
Toprak Razgatlioglu was ruled out of the French Round following a Free Practice 2 crash on Friday. He suffered a mild traumatic pneumothorax.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed at the last chicane on Lap 1 in Race 1 at Magny-Cours and underwent surgery to repair a deep abrasion to his right thumb.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was ruled out of Race 2 at the French Round following a crash in the Tissot Superpole Race. Bautista was diagnosed with a fracture to his eighth rib on the left side.
Further update on their recoveries will be issued ahead of the Acerbis Italian Round on worldsbk.com
Race report: Yoshimura SERT Motul takes EWC title glory with Bol d’Or victory
Yoshimura SERT Motul (12) won the Bol d’Or 24-hour race and the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship. Photo courtesy FIM EWC.
Suzuki-powered team triumphs twice after 24 hours of dramatic EWC action
KM 99 completes 2024 as the leading EWC independent team with second place
Niccolò Canepa retires from racing with YART Yamaha battling back to third
Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore finishes first in Superstock
National Motos Honda FMA secures Dunlop-supplied FIM Endurance World Cup
For immediate release (15 September 2024): Yoshimura SERT Motul banked a win double in the FIM Endurance World Championship today (Sunday), coming out on top of an epic EWC title showdown by landing back-to-back Bol d’Or victories at Circuit Paul Ricard.
The Suzuki-powered outfit’s riding trio of Gregg Black, Dan Linfoot and Étienne Masson performed without error to secure Yoshimura SERT Motul’s second EWC crown – the first since 2021 – to go with the 11 titles won when the France-based squad ran under the Suzuki Endurance Racing Team banner.
By finishing first, Suzuki has now triumphed in the legendary Bol d’Or 24-hour race 20 times with Black and Masson becoming four-time winners of the long-standing EWC event.
“Of course when you join a team like Yoshimura SERT Motul you expect to have the results to fight for the championship but to win the championship in the first year is a dream for me,” said Linfoot, the only Yoshimura SERT Motul rider to have finished on the podium in all four EWC races this season. “To win Le Mans, second in Spa, third in Suzuka and finally winning the Bol d’Or to take the championship is an incredible experience. To work with this fantastic team and my incredible team-mates, all the staff, it’s been a fantastic year. It’s an amazing moment.”
Black, who recovered from injury to race in the Bol d’Or, said: “Injuring my wrist was a pretty difficult moment after winning Le Mans and getting a podium at Spa. The injury in the Suzuka test was quite a complicated break and put me out for the race. But Cocoro, Dan and Albert [Arenas] did a great job and got some important points for the championship. It’s been two complicated months for me, getting my wrist back into condition and trying to have the mental and physical strength to get back on the bike. A lot of strength goes through the wrist on a bike, and I wasn’t sure 100 per cent if I would be back, but I did all my 10 stints in the race, tried to keep up the pace and be as fast as possible.”
Gregg Black: “It’s been two complicated months for me, getting my wrist back into condition and trying to have the mental and physical strength to get back on the bike. I wasn’t sure 100 per cent if I would be back, but I did all my 10 stints in the race, tried to keep up the pace and be as fast as possible”
Yamaha-powered KM 99 scored its first EWC podium in only its second year in the championship with second place for Randy de Puniet, Jérémy Guarnoni and Florian Marino to end 2024 as the top independent EWC team.
“It was a really good race for us,” ex-MotoGP racer de Puniet said. “In the beginning of the year we made some mistakes but after Suzuka we didn’t make any more. We had some luck during this race, SERT was too fast, the pace was incredible, the BMW too, but they had some trouble at the end of the race and that’s why we finished second. For the team it’s a perfect result, for me too, even if one day I would like to win an endurance race.”
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team began the Bol d’Or title decider leading the standings as one of four teams in championship contention. Although it completed the Formula EWC podium in third, it fell short in its efforts to defend the EWC title it won in 2023 after two time-consuming unscheduled pitstops.
The result meant YART rider Niccolò Canepa, who was partnered by Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika, will retire from racing without the third world title he craved. But he’ll nevertheless go down in history as one of the all-time EWC greats.
“This is not exactly the race we were hoping for, we were hoping to battle a bit more with SERT and make their life a bit more difficult,” said Canepa. “Unfortunately, we had a problem in the first stint and we never fight for the victory in this race. Because of the problem we had in the first stint we kept having problems through the race. But we never expected to be on the podium today, so we must be happy for this third place because it’s been a tough race for us.”
Despite being held back by technical issues, National Motos Honda FMA won the FIM Endurance World Cup for Teams with riders Guillaume Raymond, Sébastien Suchet and Valentin Suchet. That was after Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore took Bol d’Or honours in the Dunlop-supplied category in a fine fourth overall with a line-up consisting of Enzo De La Vega, Baptiste Guittet, Maxim Pellizotti and Mathieu Gines, the 2014 EWC champion.
“For sure we didn’t expect it, but we tried to make the best race with all my team-mates and the team,” Gines said. “We did a good race with very constant stints. It was a very good performance, perhaps less performance than the team that topped the qualifying but, in the end, this team stopped the race. We finished a perfect race with a nice bike.”
New FIM Endurance World Cup winner Valentin Suchet, who lost out on the title in the final 20 minutes of last year’s Bol d’Or due to a technical issue, said: “Honestly, it was a really tough race, especially mentally. We went into it thinking it would be straightforward, no pressure, just run our race – but that’s not how it turned out. It was an emotional rollercoaster. At first, we thought it was just a minor mechanical issue. We lost a lap, no big deal, we got going again… then another issue, and another, and another – then the chain, then the radiator, and everything that came with it. After the chain broke, I damaged the shifter, had to bring it back in, and that even messed up the brake caliper. By the time I came back for the third time and went out for the fourth, I had tears under my helmet. We were exhausted, completely drained, and in my head, I thought it was over. It was an absolute nightmare of a race, but in the end, we were rewarded for all the hard work we’ve put in these past two years.”
Chromeburner-RAC 41-Honda finished second to secure the runner-up spot in the title table as TRT27 AZ Moto took the chequered flag in third place. Outgoing champion squad Team 33 Louit April Moto placed fourth with 3ART Best of Bike in fifth and JMA Racing Action Bike completing the top-six Superstock finishers.
BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team started the Bol d’Or on pole position for the third year running as one of four overall title chasers. After a new race lap record from Markus Reiterberger – a 1m52.517s – helped BMW move into the lead in the early hours of Sunday morning, a crash for squad newcomer Hannes Soomer put Yoshimura SERT Motul back ahead. It also left the Estonian sidelined with a shoulder injury and forced Reiterberger and Illya Mykhalchyk to complete the race as a duo, albeit substantially delayed due to mechanical issues.
There was also frustration for Tati Team Beringer Racing and F.C.C. TSR Honda France, which both failed to go the distance due to engine failures having led early in the race. Honda Viltaïs Racing was on course to complete the podium after a lengthy battle with KM99 but dropped out of contention with an engine issue.
Maco Racing Team, Wójcik Racing Team and Mana-au Competition took season-best finishes of fifth, sixth and seventh respectively in Formula EWC but Motobox Kremer Racing retired.
Kawasaki Webike Trickstar, which had been in the top 10, stopped with a broken engine after 18h15. Meanwhile, ADSS 97 withdrew its Kawasaki due an overheating issue, while BMRT3D maxxwss Nevers, Honda No Limits, Tati Team Beringer Racing, Team Bolliger Switzerland and Uniserv Moto82 Team all dropped out during the night.
Having impressed throughout qualifying and having also led the Superstock category in the early stages, EWC newcomer Hungarian Endurance Racing Team by Moto-Jungle suffered Bol d’Or heartbreak when engine failure put it out shortly before 17h45. Superstock qualifying pacesetter Tecmas MRP BMW Racing Team and Team Aviobike by M2 Revo were firmly in the top-three battle when they hit trouble. Team Étoile was leading its class when it retired on Sunday morning.
Superstock squads Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki, Slider Endurance, Pitlane Endurance – JP3, Team Players, Team Racing 85 by Soleane all finished but Honda No Limits, Team TCP Racing and Team 202 were less fortunate.
NEW PYRAMID TO CREATE PATHWAY TO THE TOP IN EWC
In partnership with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Sports Europe, which is marking 10 years as promoter of the FIM Endurance World Championship in 2024, is excited to set out a clear pathway to the top in the EWC with a new entry-level category, a key component as the build-up to 2025 begins.
WBD Sports’ commitment to further widening the appeal – and thereby increasing entry numbers – of international motorcycle racing’s toughest discipline is centred on a pyramid that gives riders and their teams alternative platforms to compete on, regardless of their level of experience and financial means. Utilising FIM-homologated 1000cc production-based motorcycles, the EWC’s ladder or progression starts with the all-new FIM Production World Trophy, continues with the Superstock class for more modified machinery and reaches its peak with Formula EWC, the fastest and most technically advanced tier.
YAMAHA R7 ENDURANCE SERIES TO JOIN TWO EWC WEEKENDS AS A SUPPORT RACE
In addition to the new FIM Production World Trophy, the new-for-2025 Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will be a support race at two European rounds of the EWC, serving as a potential starting point for riders and teams considering climbing the EWC pyramid in the future.
The all-new Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will provide a platform for riders and teams to progress from national to international level. Using the Yamaha R7 motorcycle on tyres from a controlled supplier, the Yamaha R7 Endurance Series will be contested over long-distance races at two European EWC events in 2025. This will give contenders the chance to experience an EWC event with the view of entering the championship as permanent teams in future seasons. The Yamaha R7 Endurance Series is open to all regardless of age and experience, either racing for a team or on a purely privateer basis.
American Julian Correa (center) won British Talent Cup Race Two over runner-up Filip Surowiak (left) and third-place finisher Amanuel Brinton (right). Photo by Cami Photography, courtesy Michael Correa.
American Julian Correa won British Talent Cup Race Two Sunday at rainy Oulton Park, in England. Riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Honda, Correa won the wet 10-lap race by 0.182 second.
Team City Lifting/RS Racing’s Filip Surowiak was the runner-up, and Kovara Projects/RS Racing’s Amanuel Brinton placed third.
Correa’s countryman Joshua Raymond, Jr. was 14th on his Fibre Tec Honda.
Troy Herfoss won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), in Austin, Texas. Riding his S&S Indian Challenger on Dunlop control tires, the reigning Australian Superbike Champion won the five-lap race by just 0.445 second. It was Herfoss’ sixth win of the season, and it drew him closer to the top of the Championship point standings.
Kyle Wyman was right behind Herfoss the entire way but couldn’t make a pass with his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide. Instead, Wyman settled for second place and a smaller, two-point Championship lead over Herfoss heading into the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Rocco Landers backed up his win in Race One by taking third place in Race Two on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Hayden Gillim, Landers’ teammate and the defending Champion, finished fourth.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli rounded out the top five finishers.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara was racing at the front on the original start, but his Indian started leaking oil, causing the race to be stopped with a red flag so the oil could be cleaned off the track. Because of the oil leak, O’Hara was not allowed to restart the race.
Ryde rebounds to close the gap to Bridewell as Irwin returns to winning ways
Kyle Ryde. Photo courtesy MSVR.
The opening round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship Showdown delivered drama in an intense Oulton Park weekend as Glenn Irwin returned to winning ways in race two, but Kyle Ryde rebounded in style in race three to close the gap to Tommy Bridewell to just six points in the standings ahead of Donington Park.
Three intense races in Cheshire saw seven different riders claim podium finishers for as many different teams and five different manufacturers, as Irwin added to his winning tally, whilst Ryde made it a double victory in the final race of the weekend.
After dry conditions yesterday, race two was wet and Hager PBM Ducati emerged victorious after Irwin made a determined last lap move on Leon Haslam at Hislops. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad Team rider ran on, but was able to re-join in third place as Danny Kent capitalised to take second place at the McAMS Racing Yamaha team’s home round.
Bridewell bounced back from yesterday’s race one crash to finish fourth in race two for Honda Racing UK, but it was disappointment for Ryde who could only finish 13th, which meant he lost the standings lead to the reigning champion.
Race three began in damp but improving conditions and several riders looked set to make a gamble on tyre choice. However, after a red flag interruption when Lewis Rollo crashed out at Hislops, the race was restarted in full wet conditions after another rain shower with a five lap sprint to the chequered flag.
In the first part of the race, Storm Stacey had again showed his prowess in the wet conditions and on the restart, he launched off the line to take the lead for LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki. Ryde was on the attack though and the OMG GRILLA Yamaha Racing rider moved into second position on lap two, before taking the lead a lap later at Old Hall.
Ryde was then able to break the pack by an impressive 5.965s at the chequered flag to close a further three points on Bridewell as the defending champion held off Stacey for second place as LKQ Euro Car Parts Kawasaki celebrated another podium finish.
Bridewell heads into the penultimate round of the Showdown with just a six-point lead as Ryde prepares for his home round on 27/28/29 September. Irwin meanwhile leads the chasing pack after nearly halving the advantage to the top of the standings in Cheshire, trailing Bridewell by 45 points with a maximum of 180 points remaining over the final two rounds.
Kyle Ryde
OMG GRILLA Racing Yamaha
“The goal this weekend was to claw a few points back and we did that in a massive fashion yesterday.
“The 13th I had in Race 2 wasn’t ideal, but the team and I came back to win a tricky Race 3.
“Thank you to the Bennetts BSB fans for voting me as Rider of the Round, my second in a row, and thank you to the team for giving me a great bike.
“I’m looking forward to Donington Park, my home round and we’ll continue to fight for the title.”
Cameron Beaubier won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Three Sunday afternoon at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.
With the Championship on the line, Beaubier, Josh Herrin, and Sean Dylan Kelly battled it out for 10 laps in the scorching heat and humidity. Beaubier and Herrin swapped the lead back and forth nearly every lap, but in the end Beaubier was able to get his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW to the checkered flag first to win his sixth race of the season and keep his title hopes alive.
Herrin pushed all the way to the end and nearly crashed his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on the final lap, but he was able to save it and hang on to finish second. Although a win would have clinched the Championship for Herrin, he heads into the season finale doubleheader at New Jersey Motorsports Park with a 46-point lead over Beaubier.
After taking his career-first win in Race Two, rookie sensation Kelly was a close third on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing BMW in Race Three.
Richie Escalante pushed forward at the end of the race to claim fourth place on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz ran fourth for much of the race but slipped to fifth in the final laps.
Escalante’s teammate Brandon Paasch was in the fight for fourth until he had an issue three laps from the end that relegated him to sixth.
Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach got seventh.
Ashton Yates took eighth and the win in the Superbike Cup category.
Benjamin Smith finished ninth on his new FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha Superbike.
Cameron Petersen ended a troubled weekend with 10th on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Kelly Gets His First, Beaubier Takes Two Of Three On The Weekend At COTA
Sean Dylan Kelly Scored A Career-First Victory In Race Two, Beaubier Holds Off Herrin In Race Two To Keep Title Hopes Alive As The Series Heads To New Jersey Motorsport Park
This is what Superbike race three looked like at the front for the duration. Cameron Beaubier (6) beat Josh Herrin (2) and Sean Dylan Kelly (40) to take the championship fight to New Jersey. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
AUSTIN, TX (September 15, 2024) – Sean Dylan Kelly will never forget that on September 15, 2024, he won his first MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race. He’ll also know that he beat the very best in a straight fight to get that win after passing five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier in the last corner on the last lap of Circuit of The Americas on a scorching hot Sunday.
That was the early race on Sunday. There was more to come in race three.
With a track temperature of 120 degrees, the third and final Superbike race got started with another Josh Herrin holeshot. This time, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beaubier didn’t waste much time in moving past his championship rival. But it didn’t last as Ezra Beaubier’s (his younger brother) BMW blew up and dumped oil on the track, bringing out a red flag.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin got the jump on the field on the restart, but this time there was jostling at the top for the duration with Herrin leading five laps and Beaubier holding the spot across the line on five occasions, including the final four.
At the finish it was Beaubier holding off Herrin by .970 of a second after an absolute thrillfest of a Superbike race. Kelly was also in the fray until backing off near the end of the race to finishing 2.9 seconds behind in third.
When all was said and done, Beaubier had won two of the three Steel Commander Superbike races to pull back valuable points on Herrin. Going into the series finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park in two weeks, Beaubier trails Herrin by 46 points, 300-254.
“So, you’re telling me there’s a chance,” might be a bit optimistic, but Beaubier’s win-second-win weekend has breathed a bit of life into his championship aspirations.
The top three in race three were the same as in race two, but not in the same order. It was Beaubier, Herrin, Kelly in race three; Kelly, Beaubier, Herrin in race two.
Fourth place in the final race of the weekend went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, almost five seconds ahead of Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz with Escalante’s teammate Brandon Paasch finishing for the second time on the day.
Seventh place in race three went to Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach, who was well clear of Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates.
FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen rounded out the top 10.
Superbike Race 2
Despite all the back and forth at the front, Kelly somehow managed to lead all 12 laps at the stripe, but he lost the lead on the final lap when Beaubier stuffed his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000R under the similar BMW of Kelly at the end of the backstraight. At this point, it looked like Beaubier had control with just a handful of corners left, but Kelly was determined, and he returned the favor on his former Moto2 teammate with a lunge up the inside in the final corner. From there he was able to get to the finish line first to earn that first-ever Superbike in a race to remember.
All of this played into the hands of Herrin, who dropped off the lead duo and hoped that Kelly could somehow beat Beaubier to help him in his championship quest. With Kelly doing just that, Beaubier only pulled back four points on Herrin and not the nine he would have gained if he’d won with Kelly between them. Herrin was just a tick under five seconds adrift of the lead duo.
Kelly’s margin of victory over Beaubier was .177 of a second and it made him the sixth different winner of a MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2024 – joining Herrin, Beaubier, Jake Gagne, Bobby Fong, and Cameron Petersen.
In winning the first race of his career as a rookie on a first-year team, EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Kelly became the 66th rider to win an AMA Superbike National.
Herrin’s teammate Baz improved his pace dramatically from Saturday’s race one to finish fourth, some eight seconds off the leader after slowing in the final laps.
Another to improve from Saturday’s race one was Wrench Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong with the Californian racing to fifth – one spot better than in race one.
Sixth place went to Paasch, with the youngster finding something in morning warmup to increase his pace.
Petersen, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beach and Yates rounded out the top 10.
Escalante stood on the podium in race one on Saturday, but he suffered a crash in race two that resulted in a DNF.
Quotes
Sean Dylan Kelly – First/Third
“Yeah, this one is definitely up there. It was unreal to get that first superbike win, as you guys can imagine. I’ve been working really, really hard for it. From the beginning of the season, just being close in a handful of races. I crashed out of the lead in Road America. I had a couple more chances here and there. Didn’t just come true, but this race two earlier today was absolutely incredible. It was pretty cool to be battling with these guys and even cooler to be honest to be able to do that pass in the last corner for the win. That was insane. Brought me a little flashback from Supersport days with Richie (Escalante), doing all those last-lap scraps. It was also a little bit of a fairytale first win with that special livery that we did ten days ago with all the kids from the Children’s Hospital. Obviously, it was a dream to be able to make it happen. Dreaming and doing are two different things, and that was amazing. Just feeling on top of the moon with what we did today.”
Josh Herrin – Third/Second
“I was feeling extra motivated. We’ve got the DRE (Ducati ride day) tomorrow. I like going to those things with a win. It’s not fun going if you don’t win. Everybody is not as pumped. We had the Ferracci stuff on. I wanted to get it for him. I’m bummed that we didn’t get it with that on. But it was kind of like one of those days where it was so hot that if you don’t just give it your all, then you’re going to be a lot weaker, in my mind. You can think, I’m going to go out and just relax, but then you do worse because you just let the heat get to you. Where if you just put your head down and go for it, then it makes it a lot easier. It was hot behind Cam’s (Beaubier) bike, so I didn’t want to sit behind him the whole race. Probably took one too many risks. I just talked to Hayes on the way in. He said those are the rides that make your crew happy to be working for you. So, I just wanted to go out and do good for them, do good for my family. I wanted to go hang out. I don’t want to win by just riding around and cruising. I want to win by riding like Beaubier or (Josh) Hayes or (Mat) Mladin did. I don’t want to just ride around. That was a super difficult weekend. I’m happy to come out of here. It’s crazy how many points you can lose even when you’re riding that good. We lost I think 14 points or something. I got really lucky in race two because I didn’t think I was going to be able to battle for the win, and when I saw Sean (Dylan Kelly) go and I know how motivated he is to win, I just wanted to leave a little bit of a gap, or try to create a bigger gap to him and Beaubier because I knew Beaubier was going to be strong at the end, and I just was adding up during the race. If I can make myself lose four points instead of five points, it puts me in a better position. I can then beat him in the third race and have one point on top, because I know he’s got more race wins than me. So, I needed to beat him in the last one. Just probably way too much thinking going on this weekend. That last race, I just I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to go. Hats off to the boys for making such a good bike. Congrats to Sean on his win. It’s not just cool seeing him win because he’s getting his first win, but we’re OnlyFans teammates. He’s been racing at my house since he was a little kid, so it’s cool battling and just getting beat by somebody that got raised at my house racing. That’s a cool feeling. Hats off to them. Good job, Beaubier. Get to hopefully wrap it up at our home race in Jersey.”
Cameron Beaubier – Second/First
“Those last couple laps, I just put everything I had into trying to open up just enough of a gap to where I could keep the track open and get to the line first. Josh (Herrin) and I were stuffing each other left and right, pretty much all day. It was a pretty fun race this afternoon, honestly. I think to go out and push as hard as you can this afternoon was going to be pretty tough, so I felt like the way we were racing each other, it kind of kept it light and kept us on our toes and not just drilling the pace lap after lap after lap. I felt like that was honestly pretty fun. It was a good fight. I was pretty surprised he was fighting me that hard with as much as he has to lose. I definitely wouldn’t have been doing that. Didn’t do that in the past, but credit to him. He was riding hard. It was good. I haven’t had a tough day like that in a long time. That was a pretty hard day with those two superbike races on Sunday in 100-plus heat out at this track. I’d say this track is probably one of the most physical tracks we have on the schedule. Happy with being able to just come back after my foot injury with some fitness. The last month break was really good for me just to try to get some fitness back. We’re keeping it alive going into Jersey, but to be honest with you, it’s pretty much done. I did everything I could for the boys to just give us a fighting chance.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
The title fight rolls on to New Jersey after Josh Herrin’s heroic COTA performance
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 15, 2024 — Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin showed his racing maturity during a steaming hot weekend at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, taking three podium places and putting himself in the box seat to wrap up the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship title at New Jersey Motorsports Park at the end of September.
In a weekend where sealing the title was a distinct possibility, Herrin refused to play it safe and threw caution to the wind, engaging in three nail-biting races with Cameron Beaubier and Sean Dylan Kelly.
Resplendent in a special Fast by Ferracci livery to mark 30 years since Troy Corser sealed Ducati’s last AMA Superbike title in 1994, Herrin was at his spectacular best, sliding the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R around the expansive 3.4-mile layout and making some incredible around-the-outside moves in race three on Beaubier.
Ultimately, Herrin took second place in race one, third in race two, and a very close second in race three, leaving Texas with a 46-point title lead with one round, two races, and 50 points remaining in the 2024 championship.
For Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz, the fast Frenchman carded two fourth place finishes and a fifth at COTA, elevating himself to equal sixth in the championship standings with the absent Jake Gagne.
2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship After Round Eight
P1 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 300
P2 – Cameron Beaubier 254
P3 – Bobby Fong 213
P4 – Sean Dylan Kelly 208
P5 – Cameron Petersen 195
P6 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 192
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“I can’t ask for much better than what we did this weekend,” Herrin said. “They were incredibly difficult conditions—we knew Cam (Beaubier) was going to be strong this weekend, as Sean (Dylan Kelly) due to his Moto2 experience here, but I’m really happy with what myself and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team accomplished.
“We made lots of improvements over the weekend to the bike, and I’m happy to be going into the DRE (Ducati Ride Experience) event on Monday with all the Ducatisti after a weekend like that.
“This whole year has been great, so now we have a 46-point lead heading into New Jersey, where I’ll just ride my race and try to wrap this thing up.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“It’s been a long weekend for everyone,” Baz said in the heat of Sunday afternoon. “The results weren’t quite what we wanted, but we were strong all weekend. The pace was good, and I felt more comfortable on the bike. I was losing a lot of time on the straight, but the guys changed the engine last night, which was a bit better. However, we need to find a little more grip as well.
“I need to be a little more aggressive in the early stages, but overall, it was a good weekend for the team, which is the most important thing. Josh did a great job, and I tried to help him as much as possible, especially in qualifying. I can’t say I’m really happy, but we’re all working hard and looking forward to a great final round in a few weeks’ time.”
The final round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s home race at New Jersey Motorsports Park and is scheduled for September 27-29, 2024.
Mathew Scholtz has one hand on the 2024 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship trophy after he won Race Two Sunday at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) and his only title rival experienced some bad luck.
Scholtz, riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 on Dunlop control tires, fought his way to the front and was able to win the 11-lap race by two seconds.
Tyler Scott led at points on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, but he had to settle for second place in the scorching hot conditions.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha rider Blake Davis backed up his podium performance in Race One with a third place, 0.4 second behind Scott, in Race Two.
Corey Alexander came back from a slow start to claim fourth on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die + Forming Panigale V2.
Race One winner Jake Lewis didn’t have the winning pace in Race Two and the best he could do was fifth, right behind Alexander, on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki.
The big news in Race Two, however, was the crash of Scholtz’s Championship rival PJ Jacobsen. Jacobsen was running third on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2, right behind Scott, on the final lap when he lost the front and fell two corners from the finish.
Jacobsen was able to pick up his Ducati and return to the race, but he crossed the line 19th and out of the points. As a result, Scholtz’s lead in the Championship point standings went from 14 to 39 points with two races and 50 possible points remining.
Two Points Separate Wyman From Herfoss With NJMP Finale To Come
The Battle For The 2024 Mission King Of The Baggers Title Will Go Down To The Wire In Jersey
Troy Herfoss (17) won his sixth Mission King Of The Baggers race of the season after a battle with Kyle Wyman (33). The pair will go to the season finale in New Jersey separated by just two points. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
AUSTIN, TX (September 15, 2024) – With Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman and S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss winning 12 of the 16 Mission King Of The Baggers races, it’s fitting that those two will battle to the bitter end in a winner-take-all-championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, September 27-29.
Of course, the duo battled on Sunday afternoon at Circuit of The Americas with the two running nose to tail for the majority of the race. At the end of the five-lap sprint, it was Herfoss taking his sixth win of the season with Wyman just .445 of a second behind in second place.
The championship? There’s now just two points between the two with Wyman leading Herfoss, 315-313, with the series headed to Wyman’s home track of NJMP in two weeks.
No one else was a real factor in this one with Saturday’s Mission King Of The Baggers victor Rocco Landers riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson to third, 3.7 seconds behind the lead duo.
Landers’ teammate Hayden Gillim rode to a gutsy fourth after undergoing surgery on a broken hand just a week or so prior to racing in Texas. Gillim was right on Landers at the finish line.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli rounded out the top five, some five seconds adrift of the intra-team Landers/Gillim battle.
“Today was a really good day,” Herfoss said. “Yesterday I got caught out. It was a tough race yesterday. Just having young Rocco (Landers) again. I see a lot in him. I know that he’s going to race to win every stage of the year. I sort of didn’t open fire as much as I probably could have, but in saying that, he was just so in control. I sort of knew that if I was going to make a pass, he was so dialed in it wasn’t going to do much. It wasn’t going to get me far. But today, we made a few adjustments and sort of predicted the way the track would go in that heat. I kept a good eye on the Superbike races today. The answer is yes, I was extremely comfortable. As I said on the podium, a little bit of a smart-ass comment, but I have also been super respectful all the year because I was so comfortable, I don’t go back on that. I felt like it was a puppet show, and I felt like I was in charge of it. I tried to get Kyle (Wyman) to do something he didn’t want to do, and like I knew he was too smart to try. It’s even and we’re going to the last round. Best man can win. I understand full well that it’s a track that he’s really good at. I’ve got a lot of respect for that. I can’t wait to go there and see what I can do there.”
Mathew Scholtz (11) beat Tyler Scott (70) and Blake Davis (22) to win the Supersport race on Sunday at Circuit of The Americas. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Supersport – Breathing Room For Scholtz
The 2024 Supersport Championship will go down to the final round of the season after a drama-filled weekend that began with a 25-point lead for Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz over Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen and ended with Scholtz now taking a 39-point lead to New Jersey Motorsports Park for the final two races of the championship.
Scholtz survived some intense challenges from the other riders and a near-get-off from his Yamaha to take the checkered flag by a little over two seconds ahead of Vision Wheel ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott. Third place went to N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha’s Blake Davis.
But, what about Jacobsen? Well, the title contender led the race, was shuffled back in the lead pack, and ultimately looked like he’d finish on the podium until the penultimate corner on the final lap when he inexplicably went down and slid out of the race, which cost him most of the valuable points that he had gained from the results of Saturday’s race one.
“I knew I had the pace to do (fast laps) consistently, and I knew that I should be able to win,” Scholtz said. “It sucks that PJ crashed, but it really, really helps me in the championship. So, now, we go to New Jersey for the final round. Two more races, and we have the advantage. We’ll be ready.”
Tyler O’Hara (1) leads Cory West (13), Troy Herfoss (17) and the rest of the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship pack at COTA on Sunday. West emerged from the fray as the class champion. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – West Crowned!
Saddlemen Harley-Davidson’s Cory West did exactly what he needed to do to earn the 2024 Mission Super Hooligan National Championship. He finished second to championship rival Tyler O’Hara on Saturday morning at COTA, and that earned the veteran racer from Arkansas his first career AMA title.
The race was won by S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s O’Hara, but it wasn’t enough as he didn’t get the help he was hoping for. When his teammate Troy Herfoss went out with a mechanical problem, that put the onus of help on the shoulders of his other teammate, 61-year-old Jeremy McWilliams. McWilliams gave it his all but came up .167 of a second behind West in third. Even if he’d gotten the spot and West had ended the race tied with O’Hara on points, the title would have gone to West based on the tiebreaker of number of wins.
Second place on the track went to uber talent Alessandro Di Mario, who was riding a non-homologated Ducati Streetfighter V2. Di Mario was racing knowing that the bike would be disqualified, but it didn’t take away from the fact that the 15-year-old was impressive in his debut in the class.
Fourth place went to West’s teammate Jake Lewis, with the Kentuckian playing the role of wingman to perfection. The third Saddlemen Harley-Davidson teamster, Travis Wyman, finished fifth.
“It’s hard to stay cool when it’s so hot out,” West said. “Saddlemen Harley Davidson Pan America… I can’t say enough. That bike just worked awesome. It was a really stressful race. I had to finish third. I knew what TO (Tyler O’Hara) was going to do. He was going to go out and try to win it. I just kept my head down and did what I could. This is a dream come true. It’s something that you’ve always wanted when you were a kid when you start to racing, to be a champion. It’s just complete, man. It’s a check off the old bucket list. I really have to thank everybody. Dave, Amy, Chris. My beautiful wife, who is due in eight days. Jake, Taylor, Kento, Eric, Matty, Fury, Ricky, everybody. I love you guys. My family is here this weekend. I’ve got so many friends. We brought home the number-one plate, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Alessandro Di Mario came into the COTA round well behind in the championship point standings, but he left with the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Di Mario Takes It
The BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship came down to the final race of the season, and at the start, it looked like we were going to get the epic showdown was expected between title contenders Alessandro Di Mario and Rocco Landers, who were only separated by six points after Saturday’s race one.
Landers got the holeshot coming out of turn one on the first lap, but 15-year-old phenom Di Mario took the lead before the opening lap had been completed, and he pressed his advantage all the way to the checkered flag.
The Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering rider led every lap of the race and took the checkered flag by more than six and a half seconds.
Meanwhile, after challenging on the opening lap, Landers had a mechanical problem, which put him out of the race and unfortunately out of the championship.
For Di Mario, who is only in his second year of MotoAmerica racing and is a Twins Cup rookie, he notched his first of what may be many MotoAmerica class championships to come.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Friday, finished second for his best result of the season, while Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle came home third, which was his sixth podium finish in the 2024 BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship.
Di Mario, whose cool, calm demeanor belies his young age, was asked if he felt the pressure of being in contention for his first MotoAmerica Championship.
“It was hard. It wasn’t easy at all,” Di Mario said. “Rocco (Landers) was fast all year. I came into this weekend, and I was really confident. I like the track. It was really hot, but it was a little better than yesterday. Yesterday felt a lot worse. I just went out and I knew what I could do. I just tried to do as many fast laps as possible at the start, tried to pull a little gap. When I saw the pit board with the gap, I started to manage it until the last lap. My last lap was super slow. I didn’t want to make any mistakes. I left off quite a bit. I just want to thank everybody, my whole team, Mike, Chad, Kevin, Freddy from home, Sara for the pictures. I love you. My teammate, Gus (Rodio). He’s been a great teammate all year. I just want to thank all my sponsors. Also, my brother. He’s in the Marine Corps. I think he’s watching from home. I love you. I just want to thank everybody. Dainese, HJC, all my sponsors. Thank you so much.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS RACE 2
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2024 | WARM-UP & RACE 2
Sunday at Circuit of The Americas proved bittersweet for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. The battle for the podium came down to the very last lap with PJ Jacobsen trading positions with championship leader Mathew Scholtz, Tyler Scott, and Blake Davis. In true competitor fashion, Jacobsen was determinded to go for second-place on the final lap to keep the championship tight, however his move in Turn 19 of 20 landed him in the gravel. Jacobsen was able to get his bike back up and join the race to finish 19th. Scholtz now leads Jacobsen by 39 points leading into the final two rounds of the season.
Corey Alexander fumbled on the start but was able to quickly move through the field and picking off competitors one at a time. Wearing race boots a size smaller than usual to help with shifting, Alexander eventually climbed to the fourth position when he crossed the finish line earning his eighth top five of the season.
Kayla Yaakov rode her first-ever Supersport race at Circuit of The Americas just last year. Showing improvement steadily throughout the weekend, Kayla earned a seventh place finish after impressive passes throughout the field.
The team packs the truck to head to the East Coast where the final two rounds of the season will be held at all three rider’s home track of New Jersey Motorsports Park. Join the team at the season finale September 27-29.
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 5th
FINISHED: 4th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (140 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We had a great race today. I got a bad start – the first one we’ve had in a long time, which made our race more difficult than it should have been. We had the pace to run away with the front group, but I made it too hard for myself with the gap. Unfortunately, with my size, and without a draft, it was very difficult. Overall, it was a positive weekend. I hate for PJ to crash out like that on the last lap, but for me, it was a positive weekend. Thanks to the whole crew for sweating it out with the brutal heat.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 7th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 8th (134 pts)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “It was a decent end to the weekend. We made such a big improvement from Friday and Race 1, so I can’t thank my team enough. This program has helped me so much, and to see where I was last year at this race to where I am now, it’s a completely different rider. I owe it all to Ben and all the fitness that he’s put me through, to Graham for trusting me, and Richie for putting together this amazing program for us riders. We tried our best today, and we were able to come out on top of the group that I was in, and continue to improve our pace. Now, we are going to focus on New Jersey, our home race. I think we’ll have a good showing and hopefully get all three bikes on the podium. That and getting PJ his championship would be a dream ending to the season.”
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 3rd
FINISHED: 19th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (290 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Honestly, it was a bad weekend for us. We were struggling here all weekend with the bike. The team did a great job, we just have to figure some things out after this weekend. I’m not sure if it was the heat that was making us struggle. We go to my home race next in New Jersey, so I’m pretty confident about those races. It’s a bummer to end the weekend like this but we’ll focus on New Jersey and getting two wins there.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a little bit of a bittersweet Sunday. PJ had a good start and great pace, Corey was riding really well after getting hung up at the start, but he came through the pack. Kayla had a better race than she did yesterday, so we had some improvements. With the heat at the track, our chassis and the bike were struggling with edge grip and losing too much for PJ to make the difference. He was going for it, trying to save valuable championship points going for second place, but lost the front. That’s how it happens sometimes in racing. We have one race weekend left, but we have to be happy with the year and how everything has gone so far. As a team, you always want to win, so it’s a bit frustrating, but we’ll regroup and come back stronger in a couple of weeks.”
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