Kyle Wyman won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race One Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide, Wyman withstood pressure throughout the entire nine-lap race and held on to win for the fifth time this season, moving into the Championship point lead.
Defending Champion Hayden Gillim shadowed Wyman for most of the race, but on the final lap, Gillim had problems downshifting his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide going into Turn Two and ran very wide. This allowed Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers to come through and grab second place.
Gillim recovered in time to salvage third place.
Bobby Fong got off to a slow start on his SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Challenger but ended up fourth and with a new Race Lap Record of 1:28.321. The old record was a 1:28.338 set by Kyle Wyman in 2023.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli rounded out the top five finishers.
Troy Herfoss, the Championship point leader coming into the race, was in the fight for third with Landers and Fong late in the race when he ran off the edge of the track at Turn 10 and crashed. The reigning Australian Superbike Champion was able to pick up his S&S Indian Challenger and continue on to salvage points for 11th.
Just six weeks after breaking his right foot, Cameron Beaubier won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race One Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. The five-time Champion got the holeshot from pole position, built up a lead that reached 4.9 seconds at one point, and then held on to win by a deceptively small margin of 1.157 seconds.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin closed in on a cruising Beaubier at the end of the race but had to settle for the runner-up spot. That, however, was enough for Herrin to take over the Championship point lead, albeit by a single point.
Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen battled Herrin for second place for much of the race and crossed the line not far behind the Ducati rider in third place. Petersen was given a five-second time penalty for jumping the start, but luckily for him it had no effect on his finishing position. Petersen is now third in the Championship standings, just two points behind leader Herrin.
Sean Dylan Kelly crossed the finish line fourth, shortly after Herrin and Petersen, and like Petersen, Kelly was given a five-second time penalty for a start infraction that ultimately had no impact on his race finish.
Petersen’s teammate, three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne came home fifth, which put him second in the Championship point standings after the race.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was closing in on Gagne at the end of the race but came up short and finished sixth.
Xavi Fores held off his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Brandon Paasch in a race-long duel over seventh.
Team Brazil BMW’s Danilo Lewis scored ninth overall and the Superbike Cup race victory, just 0.386 second ahead of fellow Superbike Cup competitor Ashton Yates and his Jones Honda in 10th place.
Championship contender Bobby Fong crashed his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha out of third place near the midway point of the race, and Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach fell a few laps later. Neither Fong nor Beach finished the race.
Beaubier Wins His Fourth, Title Chase Tightens Even More At Laguna Seca
Just three points covers the top three in the 2024 Steel Commander Superbike Championship
Cameron Beaubier (6) got the jump on the field, including Cameron Petersen (45) and Josh Herrin (2), and led every lap of Saturday’s Steel Commander Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MONTEREY, CA (July 13, 2024) – If you thought the points race in the 2024 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Championship was close coming into the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca round, turns out you were wrong. Now it’s close.
How does three points separating the top three sound? That’s what we have with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin now atop the championship by one point over Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne, who in turn is just one point ahead of his teammate Cameron Petersen.
So, who among those three won Saturday’s first of two Steel Commander Superbike races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca? None of them.
The win went to five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier, the rider who is trying to claw back the most points on the lead group in the championship after missing several rounds with a broken heel.
On Saturday, Beaubier was dominant and claw back he did. Going into today’s race, Beaubier trailed Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong by 55 points. Following his fourth win of the season today, Beaubier now trails Herrin by 41 points.
Beaubier beat Herrin to the line by 1.1 seconds, though the margin was much bigger before the slow down and celebration in the final few corners.
Herrin had his hands full with Petersen for most of the race, but the South African had jumped the start and incurred a five-second penalty. Thus, Herrin was never in any real danger of losing the spot. The second place was Herrin’s sixth podium of the season, and it moved him into the points lead, albeit by just a point.
Petersen rode hard and it was enough to give him third place, despite the five-second penalty. At the finish he was seven seconds behind Herrin and some three seconds clear of EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly with the Floridian also fighting through after incurring a five-second jump start penalty.
Somehow Gagne and his arm-pump issues managed a top-five finish as the three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion continues to garner points despite his physical condition. He is planning on getting surgery following the Laguna Seca weekend. Through all of this, Gagne is just a point behind Herrin in the title battle.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was sixth, less than a second behind Gagne and well clear of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés, who barely beat his teammate Brandon Paasch to the finish line.
Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis was ninth and the winner of the Superbike Cup, a class within a class for Stock 1000 spec bikes. Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10 and was second in the Superbike Cup.
Notables not finishing the race were Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach and Wrench Motorcycles’ Fong with both riders crashing out in separate incidents. Fong suffered the most as he lost the lead in the championship and now trails Herrin by 11 points.
Earlier in the day, Beaubier earned pole position with a new lap record in Q2 of 1:22.556 to break Herrin’s record from 2018.
Herrin leads the title chase with 169, followed by Gagne with 168 and Petersen with 167 points. Fong is fourth with 158, 26 more than Baz. Beaubier is sixth with 128 points, eight ahead of Kelly.
Superbike Race 1
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Ashton Yates (Honda)
Quotes
Cameron Beaubier – Winner
“To be honest, I’m pretty tired. The last month has been a roller coaster, from breaking my heel and flying straight down to Dr. Brian to get it fixed, then watching these guys race at Brainerd and just knowing how good we started the season and how good I was feeling on the bike and how hard the team has been working to just see it thrown away in front of me. It was pretty tough. Like I said before, I saw the points going into Ridge and I felt like if I could just go get a couple points there, we could be in contention towards the end of the year, just with how the way everything is shaking out. But yesterday felt amazing – just to ride the bike like I know how to ride it. I can ride at 100 percent, I can push. I feel good. Yeah, I’m definitely struggling a little bit with my fitness because I haven’t done anything in the past month. I’ve ridden the bicycle a couple times and been to the gym a couple times, but definitely not my normal program. It feels amazing to get this today.”
Josh Herrin – Second Place
“I saw him (Cameron Petersen) and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) creep at the beginning, but I just saw plus whatever it was on the board. For some reason I thought I saw plus 2.5, which wouldn’t have made sense because he had a five-second penalty. I don’t know. I was just in my head like, ‘what’s going on?’ I had a feeling that that’s what it was from, but I was trying to shake my head at him to just let me focus on what I got to do in front of me instead of what’s behind me. I knew he was there no matter what. It’s not like I’m going to slow down. I raced here last year with a broken ankle, so I know it’s a difficult track for your ankle and obviously just your foot in general. So, I just kept pushing as hard as I could, just in case something happened at the end and he (Beaubier) started fading a little bit, that I was there. I didn’t want to worry about what my gap was to the guy behind me. But he never got it and it just stayed plus five. But I figured, about halfway through I’m like, that must be what it’s for. Like I said, every time Cam (Petersen) went by me, I just would fight right back just in case I could make some way on Beaubier at the front, but he was just riding too good today, so it wasn’t possible. Just hoping that tomorrow can be a little bit better.”
Cameron Petersen – Third Place
“Yeah, I knew straightaway. As the lights went out, I knew I jump-started. I saw my number up on the yellow board. I kind of figured what was going on. Josh (Herrin) did have some really good pace at the end there. I was kind of struggling to hold onto the back of him. I had a few big moments right there and then because I knew even if I did make the pass, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I just kind of decided to settle down a little bit. At the same time, I kind of chilled for a couple laps. Then I remembered, I still got to beat the guys by five seconds behind me. So, I put my head down again. But they held the lights for a long, long time and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) just crept next to me and I kind of went off of his movement. But, stoked to be back up on the podium. Hopefully, we don’t do the same stupid mistake tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Petersen Strengthens Superbike Championship Bid with Podium Finish at Laguna Seca
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen keeps podium streak rolling to close the points gap in the hotly contested MotoAmerica Superbike title fight
MARIETTA, Ga. – July 14, 2024 – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen overcame a five-second penalty to finish third in yesterday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. The South African continues to strengthen his position in the hotly contested premier class title fight, moving to within two points of the leader. Despite feeling less than 100% with lingering arm pump issues, Jake Gagne maintained his position in the championship with a top-five finish on the physically demanding 2.238-mile track in Monterey, California. The Colorado rider heads into today’s final race before the break, trailing by one point in the runner-up spot.
Petersen had a good start to the day and qualified third to start on the front row of the grid. In the first race of Round 6 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, he slotted into the runner-up spot and maintained the position but was ultimately shuffled to third. Unfortunately, the South African was assessed a five-second penalty for jumping the start, and although he was third on the track, he was shuffled down the order. Petersen kept pushing and threw down some fast times, staying on the heels of the competition and ultimately making back the five seconds to score a third-place finish. His fourth consecutive podium and eighth of the season closed the gap to the leaders, just two points from the top spot and a point behind his teammate.
Although he had a tough start to the weekend qualifying eighth in the combined times, Gagne had a solid start in seventh and made the pass for sixth on the following lap. The defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion rode a strong pace despite dealing with lingering arm pump issues and scored a top-five finish. Gagne’s efforts earned valuable points to remain within a point of the championship leader.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team looks to return to the top step of the podium as racing resumes this afternoon with MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Laguna is always a special place and almost the home track tor the team. We are pleased that despite the circumstances, we are still in a good championship position with both Jake and Cameron. We will have a look at our information from Race 1 and see if we can improve the results for Race 2.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“I kind of knew straight away that I jump-started. They held the red light for a long time, and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) started creeping up, and I messed up going off of him. It was a great race, though. I tried to go with Cam (Beaubier) in the beginning but his pace was a little bit too strong for me. Then Josh and I had a good battle the whole race. I knew the situation and what was going on, so even if I passed him it wouldn’t change anything on the podium. I had a couple of moments there towards the end, so I was like, ‘Just bring it home.’ We’ll come back stronger tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“After struggling so much at the last couple of rounds, it was good to feel a bit better physically and to be a bit closer to the front. Hopefully we can be closer to the front tomorrow and score some points.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars [sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company], Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin, Alabama, and Florida. YMUS subsidiaries Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMC), based in Georgia, and Yamaha Jet Boat Manufacturing U.S.A. (YJBM) based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. YMUS owns Skeeter Boats [Texas] with its division G3 Boats [Missouri]. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine [Rhode Island] and divisions Bennett Marine [Florida], Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders [Wisconsin] and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. [Indiana].
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, USA, dba Yamaha Financial Services, is an affiliate of Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA offering financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide.
PJ Jacobsen won MotoAmerica Supersport Race One Saturday afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Jacobsen, riding his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2, passed title rival Mathew Scholtz two laps from the end and held on to take his fourth victory of the season by 0.772 second.
Scholtz led from early in the race on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, but an encounter with a slower rider and a subsequent mistake erased the small, 0.6-second advantage the South African held over Jacobsen. Scholtz said he made another mistake after Jacobsen passed him, relegating Scholtz to the runner-up spot.
Blake Davis fought through the second group to claim third place and his third podium finish of 2024 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha.
Jake Lewis was fourth on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750, Maxi Gerardo got fifth on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing Suzuki, Corey Alexander took sixth on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die + Forming machine, Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki rider Stefano Mesa finished 0.037 second behind Alexander in seventh, Jacobsen’s teammate Kayla Yaakov came home eighth, David Anthony scored ninth on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki, and Roberto Tamburini rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing F3 RR.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott did not start (DNS) after suffering mechanical issues on the warm-up lap.
Jacobsen Over Scholtz In Supersport, Wyman Tops Mission King Of The Baggers
The Action Is Hot And Heavy In Support Class Racing At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
PJ Jacobsen (15) came out on top of a battle with Mathew Scholtz (11) in Supersport action from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MONTEREY, CA (July 13, 2024) – For the majority of Saturday’s Supersport race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, it appeared as though Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was closing in on his seventh race win of the season. But Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen had other ideas.
With just a few laps to go in the race, Scholtz was circulating about as comfortably as you can with a lead that was always just a bit under a second. But things changed in the Corkscrew when the South African encountered a lapped rider right in the middle of the track. Scholtz made his way through, but Jacobsen was suddenly locked in on his rear wheel.
On the next lap, Jacobsen made an unexpected move in turn six, a corner not known as a passing spot. From there he put his head down and gapped Scholtz, who started making mistakes while trying to close back in on the New Yorker.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis made a return to the podium with his third-place finish, his first since the Barber Motorsports round back in May.
Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis ended up forth, just a second clear of TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott’s miserable season continued as a mechanical problem knocked him out of the race before it even started. Scott is the only rider other than Scholtz and Jacobsen to win a Supersport race in 2024.
“I was sitting behind him for most of the race,” Jacobsen said. “I felt quite comfortable, but our pace I thought was very good. We were consistently doing 27.0 to 26.8. It was always one, two tenths. You’re going around Laguna, one or two tenths every lap is a lot. So, to make a small mistake or if you get backing in, or a small movement from the rear coming off the corner, let the other guy get away quickly. So, I feel like it kind of shows here a bit more at Laguna when you make a mistake because we’re so close in the lap times. So, it’s very difficult. We’re on the edge and the lap time is just consistently the same. But when that guy went down the Corkscrew, he kind of backed up (Mathew) Scholtz back to me. I feel like I was there, but then it seemed like I don’t know if he slowed down at that point because of grip issues or what, or if I went faster. I’m not really sure, but it seemed like I was able to then latch onto him again. Then I saw the whole race at turn six that he was struggling quite a bit. Now he knows for tomorrow. But it was a great overtake. The last two laps when I passed him, I felt like I just had to push. But I didn’t have too much grip, either. I feel like he was really killing me off of that turn two. So, we have to work on that as a team tonight, and also the last corner as well. Just too much spin off the bike. So, we need to go back and do our homework. They’ll do their homework. I’m sure the race pace will be even a bit faster tomorrow and even another crazy race.”
Hayden Gillim (1) won the Stock 1000 class on Saturday over Jayson Uribe (360). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Stock 1000 – Gillim Bounces Back
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim didn’t get the start he was hoping for, but he certainly got the finish he wanted as he bounced back from a fourth-place start to take his fifth win of the Stock 1000 season.
Starting second on the grid, Gillim was fourth into turn one and he had work to do. He was helped a bit by OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe when the polesitter ran wide in turn two on the third lap. Gillim wasted little time in keeping the hammer down and he took the lead from Motorsport Exotica’s Andrew Lee shortly thereafter. From there he never looked back.
Gillim’s championship rival Uribe managed to finish second after fending off what ended up being a four-rider battle for third place early on, but it allowed Gillim to gain five more points in the title chase. The Kentuckian now leads Uribe by 11 points heading into the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park in September.
Third ended up going to BPR Racing’s Bryce Prince with his third podium of the season ending a four-race streak without finishing in the top three. Prince had struggled at the past two rounds at Brainerd International Raceway and Ridge Motorsports Park, two tracks he’d never seen, and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was a welcome sight for the Californian. He was able to pass Lee late in the race to take the spot.
With Lee fourth, FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith rounded out the top five.
“I definitely didn’t,” Gillim said of not getting the start he wanted. “This year has been great with starts. I’ve been getting really great starts. I holeshotted a few. I think I was just too antsy and wanted to try and get a good start and try and get to the front if I could. There was a little bit longer light than I was expecting it to be, so then by the time the lights started going off, I had kind of blown my wad a little bit. Gave ourselves a little bit of work. It was good. The bike, we made some changes from this morning. The bike is a lot different from what it was at the Ridge. We’re kind of back to where we were at Brainerd, setup-wise. We’ve just been chasing some chatter and haven’t been able to get away from it. It got better in the race, but we’re trying everything. Then I’m struggling with rear grip coming out of turn two, three, four. Just spinning the thing up. Struggling on dries a little bit. So, it was tough to make the passes. Luckily for me, Jayson (Uribe) ran wide the one lap into turn two and I was able to get by him. Then that lap, I got a good run out of six on Andrew and made the pass into the Corkscrew. It took them a little bit to get by Andrew and I was able to get a little bit of a gap. Then the last five laps or so, that gap came down pretty quick from me to Jayson. He made me push a lot harder than I wanted to at the end of the race, especially with having crashed a few of the last races.”
Kyle Wyman (33) leads the Mission King Of The Baggers race over the hill and into Turn Two with Hayden Gillim (1) and the rest giving chase. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman In Control
The Mission King Of The Baggers Championship returned to the track where the hugely popular race series began in 2021: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Saturday’s final qualifying and three-lap Challenge portended things to come as Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman earned the pole with a record lap and won the $5000 in the winner-take-all dash for cash. Wyman was having a good day. Then, it got even better. The New Yorker notched his fifth win of the year and his 25th all-time AMA/MotoAmerica victory of his career with a dominant start-to-finish performance where he was never headed.
Wyman’s win enabled him to leap-frog over championship leader Troy Herfoss and take the points lead. Herfoss crashed his S&S/Indian Motorcycle and, while he managed to get back in the race, he finished 11th.
Rounding out the podium were RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines teammates Rocco Landers and Hayden Gillim with young upstart Landers taking advantage of a late-race bobble by veteran Gillim to overtake him and finish second to Gillim’s third-place result.
“We’ve done a really nice job this week,” Wyman said. “The whole team has worked super hard to get me comfortable and keep chipping away at it. Try to start fast and continue from there. It’s been really good. I haven’t had a race like this this year, where I could get out front and control the pace like I have in years past. So, it feels really, really good to get that kind of up my sleeve for 2024. It’s definitely confidence-inspiring to go wire to wire. That’s the kind of momentum I want to carry on throughout the rest of the season and just be smart about it and have a plan and be patient. That’s where my approach is, at the moment.”
The Mission Super Hooligan National Championship race gets going with Jake Lewis (85) and Cory West (13) leading the way. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – O’Hara Finally
Although it’s somewhat hard to believe, defending Mission Super Hooligan National Championship Champion Tyler O’Hara had yet to win a race in 2024 when the series rolled on to the Monterey Peninsula. But that streak was snapped on Saturday with his first victory of the season coming at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The race was wild and somewhat sloppy with five riders battling for victory with that win ultimately going to O’Hara and his S&S/Indian FTR by .206 of a second over Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Cory West after a ferocious last-lap battle.
KWR Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Schultz earned his second podium of the season with his third-place finish on his Pan America. Schultz had put a hard pass on O’Hara’s teammate Troy Herfoss in the final corner that also allowed Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Jake Lewis to beat the Australian to the flag.
“These short races, they kept getting shorter and shorter,” O’Hara said. “We kept going. We kept doing restarts and red flag. Trying to take care of my clutch and not fire the clutch. Just get out there and get out front and control the pace. Having a plan in these races doesn’t work. You got to just use your instinct and go for it. We got our strengths. To be honest, I feel like the bike is running awesome. It can turn on a dime. I can put it anywhere I want. I got a string of podiums. I’m scoring points. I got a lot of momentum right now. I’m really enjoying riding. I’m working with my passion and I’m enjoying it. I’ve also been working my ass off, too. My team has been working really hard as well, and they deserve this. I think we put in the effort. This one is my team. Shout out to my dad. It’s his birthday. He’s been battling the flu and some stuff, so he couldn’t make it. He’s my biggest fan. He has always believed in me and supports me. That’s a big part of racing is the support system away from the track. It’s been a while since I won. I’ve had to dig deep and work for this. These guys made a big step this year. It’s a lot of fun. Cory (West) is an awesome guy to race with. We race each other hard. We race each other clean. We’re rubbing, but rubbing is racing. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I enjoy it. To get the trophy from Scott Parker (multi-time AMA Grand National Champion) is special. I named my first son after Scott Parker – Parker O’Hara. So that was the icing on the cake. Get a picture with Wayne. My whole SNS Cycle, Indian Motorcycle team, Mission Foods, everybody that supports us. Paul Langley, thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity five years ago when we came here on the King of the Baggers and prolonged my career. I’m really enjoying it. I’m really hungry. We had a lot of adversity this weekend in the other class. We’re just going to keep fighting. We never give up. It’s a long season. I think he was having some issues with his bike off the start. I don’t know what was going on. I saw him working on it during the red flag. His bike kind of intermittent was missing shifts or something. I kind of didn’t want to follow him really because it was intermittent. But they made a big step, and it makes it fun. Two manufacturers, three, four manufacturers going for it. The depth is there. But I think we’ve worked really hard for this, and I think we deserve it.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA RACE 1
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2024 | QUALIFYING 2 & RACE 1
The Rahal Ducati Moto team started off the day carrying high momentum, earning three top-tens in Qualifying 1. The team put together faster lap times in Qualifying 2, resulting in Kayla Yaakov and Corey Alexander advancing their starting positions and PJ Jacobsen remaining in the pole position for the start of Race 1.
Jacobsen battled with Strack Racing’s Mathew Schotlz for the duration of the race, overtaking him on Lap 17 and earning a win for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. Alexander and Yaakov, both starting the race off favorably, each ran into a few small issues yet finished in the top ten.
Another exciting day at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will begin tomorrow with a morning warm-up session followed by Race 2 at 5:10 pm EST as Jacobsen fights to sweep the weekend.”
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 1st
FINISHED: 1st
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (216 pts)
NOTES: Remains in the championship hunt, closing the gap to just 23 points behind leader Mathew Scholtz
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We got pole position today, leading every session through Practice 1 and Qualifying 1 and 2. We were in a good position for the race today. It was a really good battle today with [Mathew] Scholtz, but we ended up getting the win. I feel that we were both pushing the entire race, and I started chipping away towards the end. It seemed the grip started going off for him. It was a hard race, but I think tomorrow will be even more of a battle for him and I.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 3rd
FINISHED: 6th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (98 pts)
NOTES: Struggled with tire and small electrical issue from the beginning of the race resulting in loss of positions
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Unfortunate race after a great qualifying this morning. We struggled to get into a rhythm, as we had no rear grip from the very first lap. We also suffered from a little bit of a electronic gremlin, which started on the first lap and progressively got worse throughout the race. It’s a bummer for sure, knowing we had the pace to stay up with the front two guys, but I’m stoked for PJ to be up on the podium and hopefully keep chipping away at the championship. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be up there with them.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 8th
FINISHED: 8th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 7th (97 pts)
NOTES: Ran as high as third in the 19-lap race // Suffered from issues with the front end, causing her to fall behind in positions
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Race 1 here at Laguna Seca. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to be honest. We were running in third and fourth for a bit there, feeling really comfortable with the bike, but we started running into some front end issues that got worse and worse as the race went on. I had a small moment as I was leading my group in third place, and tried to regroup from there but the front tire wasn’t going to have it. I struggled from that point on, and tried to salvage it. I tried to keep the bike up and score some points. Tomorrow we’re hopefully going to make some changes to help that, because I felt like I had pace to be on the podium today, but unfortunately that’s what happens in racing and we have to take it how it is. Hopefully we get another good start tomorrow morning, make some changes, try some things out, and have a better day.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We had a really good race today. PJ rode really well and never gave up. He was able to sneak past Mathew within the last few laps for the win. That’s really important for the championship. Kayla and Corey both rode really good. Kayla ran into a couple little problems mid-race but before that everything looked super promising. Corey rode a really good race too. We’ll try to make the bikes a little bit better tomorrow morning and improve.”
Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Gillim got off to a sub-par start on his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, but within a few laps he passed multiple riders and took the lead.
The defending Champion then built a three-second advantage, which he successfully managed to claim the victory — his fifth of the season — and extend his Championship points lead.
Pole-sitter Jayson Uribe also had to fight back through the race and was actually catching Gillim toward the end, but the Californian had to settle for the runner-up spot on his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Continuing the comeback theme, Bryce Prince went from fifth to third place in the closing laps and secured his third podium finish of the season on his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Andrew Lee was a close fourth on his Motorsport Exotica BMW, and Benjamin Smith rounded out the top five on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha.
Kyle Wyman won the MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers dash-for-cash Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop tires, Wyman was scored the winner, earning a $5,000 check from race sponsor Mission Foods.
Rocco Landers finished second, 1.477 seconds behind Wyman on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss crossed the finish line first on his S&S Indian Challenger, but Herfoss was penalized five seconds for a jump-start violation, which demoted him to third place.
Landers’ teammate Hayden Gillim was leading the race on lap two of three when he crashed without injury.
Kyle Wyman took pole position during MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers qualifying Saturday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman turned a best time of 1:28.182, which was not only good enough to claim pole position it also broke his own lap record of 1:28.338 from 2023.
Rocco Landers was the best of the rest with a time of 1:28.705 on his RevZilla/Motu/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Landers’ teammate, defending Champion Hayden Gillim earned the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:28.773.
Just six weeks after breaking his right foot at Road America, Cameron Beaubier took pole position with a new lap record during MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike qualifying Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, the five-time Champion covered the 2.2-mile course in 1:22.556, eclipsing Josh Herrin’s mark of 1:22.908 from 2018.
Rookie sensation Sean Dylan Kelly was also under the old lap record with a second-best 1:22.886 in his first appearance at Laguna Seca on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing BMW Superbike.
Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen put in a 1:23.085 in the closing seconds of the session to take the third and final spot on the front row of the grid.
Josh Herrin was on top of the order with just a few minutes remaining in the session with a 1:23.128 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, but when the dust settled, Herrin ended up fourth of the grid, albeit with a strong race pace.
Bobby Fong, the current Superbike Championship point leader, qualified fifth with a 1:23.550 on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch improved his time from 1:24.928 on Friday to 1:23.813 on Saturday to secure the sixth spot on the grid.
Row-three qualifiers included Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach (1:23.915), three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne (1:24.012), and Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz (1:24.092).
Paasch’s teammate Xavi Fores rounded out the top 10 qualifiers with a 1:24.422.
Jayson Uribe captured pole position during MotoAmerica Stock 1000 qualifying Saturday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. The Californian lapped the undulating 2.2-mile course in 1:25.288 on his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR. That effort came up a little short of breaking Corey Alexander’s lap record of 1:25.222, but it was good enough for Uribe to top the field.
Defending Champion Hayden Gillim qualified second with a 1:25.623 on his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Andrew Lee claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:25.722 on his Motorsport Exotica BMW.
PJ Jacobsen earned pole position during MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2 on Dunlop control tires, the veteran turned a lap time of 1:26.411 on the historic 2.2-mile course and topped the field of 32 riders.
Mathew Scholtz was second-best with a time of 1:26.707 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, and Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:26.743 on his Roller Die + Forming-sponsored Ducati.
Blake Davis was fourth-fastest at 1:26.901 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha. Jake Lewis ended up fifth in qualifying with a lap time of 1:26.390 on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750. Maxi Gerardo secured the final spot on the second row, sixth overall, with a best lap of 1:26.980 on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing Suzuki.
Row-three qualifiers include Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott (1:27.080), Jacobsen’s other teammate Kayla Yaakov (1:27.243), and Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini (1:27.842).
Cory West will start the MotoAmerica RSD Mission Super Hooligan races from pole position at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America, West turned a 1:29.624 to lead the field of 32 entries during Friday’s Qualifying One (Q1). With cooler ambient and track temperatures affecting grip during Qualifying Two (Q2) early Saturday morning, West’s time held up to lock him in at pole position.
In fact, none of the top eight riders from Q1 went faster in Q2.
West’s teammate Jake Lewis (1:29.777) will start from second on the grid, and defending Champion Tyler O’Hara (1:29.934) and his S&S Indian FTR will line up in the third and final spot on the front row.
Row-two starters include KWR Harley-Davidson teammates Cody Wyman (1:29.983) and Hayden Schultz (1:30.020) and O’Hara’s teammate, reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss (1:30.230).
Lining up on row three will be Cody Wyman’s older brother Travis Wyman (1:30.493) on the third Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America, Stefano Mesa (1:31.427) on the Tytlers Cycle Racing Energica Eva Ribelle RS electric machine, and Roland Sands Design/Trackhouse Racing Indian’s Hawk Mazzotta, who improved from 1:33.949 to 1:33.267 in the inferior track conditions of Q2.
Kyle Wyman won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race One Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide, Wyman withstood pressure throughout the entire nine-lap race and held on to win for the fifth time this season, moving into the Championship point lead.
Defending Champion Hayden Gillim shadowed Wyman for most of the race, but on the final lap, Gillim had problems downshifting his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide going into Turn Two and ran very wide. This allowed Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers to come through and grab second place.
Gillim recovered in time to salvage third place.
Bobby Fong got off to a slow start on his SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Challenger but ended up fourth and with a new Race Lap Record of 1:28.321. The old record was a 1:28.338 set by Kyle Wyman in 2023.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli rounded out the top five finishers.
Troy Herfoss, the Championship point leader coming into the race, was in the fight for third with Landers and Fong late in the race when he ran off the edge of the track at Turn 10 and crashed. The reigning Australian Superbike Champion was able to pick up his S&S Indian Challenger and continue on to salvage points for 11th.
Just six weeks after breaking his right foot, Cameron Beaubier won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race One Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. The five-time Champion got the holeshot from pole position, built up a lead that reached 4.9 seconds at one point, and then held on to win by a deceptively small margin of 1.157 seconds.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin closed in on a cruising Beaubier at the end of the race but had to settle for the runner-up spot. That, however, was enough for Herrin to take over the Championship point lead, albeit by a single point.
Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen battled Herrin for second place for much of the race and crossed the line not far behind the Ducati rider in third place. Petersen was given a five-second time penalty for jumping the start, but luckily for him it had no effect on his finishing position. Petersen is now third in the Championship standings, just two points behind leader Herrin.
Sean Dylan Kelly crossed the finish line fourth, shortly after Herrin and Petersen, and like Petersen, Kelly was given a five-second time penalty for a start infraction that ultimately had no impact on his race finish.
Petersen’s teammate, three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne came home fifth, which put him second in the Championship point standings after the race.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was closing in on Gagne at the end of the race but came up short and finished sixth.
Xavi Fores held off his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Brandon Paasch in a race-long duel over seventh.
Team Brazil BMW’s Danilo Lewis scored ninth overall and the Superbike Cup race victory, just 0.386 second ahead of fellow Superbike Cup competitor Ashton Yates and his Jones Honda in 10th place.
Championship contender Bobby Fong crashed his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha out of third place near the midway point of the race, and Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach fell a few laps later. Neither Fong nor Beach finished the race.
Beaubier Wins His Fourth, Title Chase Tightens Even More At Laguna Seca
Just three points covers the top three in the 2024 Steel Commander Superbike Championship
Cameron Beaubier (6) got the jump on the field, including Cameron Petersen (45) and Josh Herrin (2), and led every lap of Saturday’s Steel Commander Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MONTEREY, CA (July 13, 2024) – If you thought the points race in the 2024 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Championship was close coming into the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca round, turns out you were wrong. Now it’s close.
How does three points separating the top three sound? That’s what we have with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin now atop the championship by one point over Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne, who in turn is just one point ahead of his teammate Cameron Petersen.
So, who among those three won Saturday’s first of two Steel Commander Superbike races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca? None of them.
The win went to five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier, the rider who is trying to claw back the most points on the lead group in the championship after missing several rounds with a broken heel.
On Saturday, Beaubier was dominant and claw back he did. Going into today’s race, Beaubier trailed Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong by 55 points. Following his fourth win of the season today, Beaubier now trails Herrin by 41 points.
Beaubier beat Herrin to the line by 1.1 seconds, though the margin was much bigger before the slow down and celebration in the final few corners.
Herrin had his hands full with Petersen for most of the race, but the South African had jumped the start and incurred a five-second penalty. Thus, Herrin was never in any real danger of losing the spot. The second place was Herrin’s sixth podium of the season, and it moved him into the points lead, albeit by just a point.
Petersen rode hard and it was enough to give him third place, despite the five-second penalty. At the finish he was seven seconds behind Herrin and some three seconds clear of EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly with the Floridian also fighting through after incurring a five-second jump start penalty.
Somehow Gagne and his arm-pump issues managed a top-five finish as the three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion continues to garner points despite his physical condition. He is planning on getting surgery following the Laguna Seca weekend. Through all of this, Gagne is just a point behind Herrin in the title battle.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz was sixth, less than a second behind Gagne and well clear of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés, who barely beat his teammate Brandon Paasch to the finish line.
Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis was ninth and the winner of the Superbike Cup, a class within a class for Stock 1000 spec bikes. Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10 and was second in the Superbike Cup.
Notables not finishing the race were Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach and Wrench Motorcycles’ Fong with both riders crashing out in separate incidents. Fong suffered the most as he lost the lead in the championship and now trails Herrin by 11 points.
Earlier in the day, Beaubier earned pole position with a new lap record in Q2 of 1:22.556 to break Herrin’s record from 2018.
Herrin leads the title chase with 169, followed by Gagne with 168 and Petersen with 167 points. Fong is fourth with 158, 26 more than Baz. Beaubier is sixth with 128 points, eight ahead of Kelly.
Superbike Race 1
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Ashton Yates (Honda)
Quotes
Cameron Beaubier – Winner
“To be honest, I’m pretty tired. The last month has been a roller coaster, from breaking my heel and flying straight down to Dr. Brian to get it fixed, then watching these guys race at Brainerd and just knowing how good we started the season and how good I was feeling on the bike and how hard the team has been working to just see it thrown away in front of me. It was pretty tough. Like I said before, I saw the points going into Ridge and I felt like if I could just go get a couple points there, we could be in contention towards the end of the year, just with how the way everything is shaking out. But yesterday felt amazing – just to ride the bike like I know how to ride it. I can ride at 100 percent, I can push. I feel good. Yeah, I’m definitely struggling a little bit with my fitness because I haven’t done anything in the past month. I’ve ridden the bicycle a couple times and been to the gym a couple times, but definitely not my normal program. It feels amazing to get this today.”
Josh Herrin – Second Place
“I saw him (Cameron Petersen) and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) creep at the beginning, but I just saw plus whatever it was on the board. For some reason I thought I saw plus 2.5, which wouldn’t have made sense because he had a five-second penalty. I don’t know. I was just in my head like, ‘what’s going on?’ I had a feeling that that’s what it was from, but I was trying to shake my head at him to just let me focus on what I got to do in front of me instead of what’s behind me. I knew he was there no matter what. It’s not like I’m going to slow down. I raced here last year with a broken ankle, so I know it’s a difficult track for your ankle and obviously just your foot in general. So, I just kept pushing as hard as I could, just in case something happened at the end and he (Beaubier) started fading a little bit, that I was there. I didn’t want to worry about what my gap was to the guy behind me. But he never got it and it just stayed plus five. But I figured, about halfway through I’m like, that must be what it’s for. Like I said, every time Cam (Petersen) went by me, I just would fight right back just in case I could make some way on Beaubier at the front, but he was just riding too good today, so it wasn’t possible. Just hoping that tomorrow can be a little bit better.”
Cameron Petersen – Third Place
“Yeah, I knew straightaway. As the lights went out, I knew I jump-started. I saw my number up on the yellow board. I kind of figured what was going on. Josh (Herrin) did have some really good pace at the end there. I was kind of struggling to hold onto the back of him. I had a few big moments right there and then because I knew even if I did make the pass, it wouldn’t have changed anything. I just kind of decided to settle down a little bit. At the same time, I kind of chilled for a couple laps. Then I remembered, I still got to beat the guys by five seconds behind me. So, I put my head down again. But they held the lights for a long, long time and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) just crept next to me and I kind of went off of his movement. But, stoked to be back up on the podium. Hopefully, we don’t do the same stupid mistake tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Petersen Strengthens Superbike Championship Bid with Podium Finish at Laguna Seca
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen keeps podium streak rolling to close the points gap in the hotly contested MotoAmerica Superbike title fight
MARIETTA, Ga. – July 14, 2024 – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen overcame a five-second penalty to finish third in yesterday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca. The South African continues to strengthen his position in the hotly contested premier class title fight, moving to within two points of the leader. Despite feeling less than 100% with lingering arm pump issues, Jake Gagne maintained his position in the championship with a top-five finish on the physically demanding 2.238-mile track in Monterey, California. The Colorado rider heads into today’s final race before the break, trailing by one point in the runner-up spot.
Petersen had a good start to the day and qualified third to start on the front row of the grid. In the first race of Round 6 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, he slotted into the runner-up spot and maintained the position but was ultimately shuffled to third. Unfortunately, the South African was assessed a five-second penalty for jumping the start, and although he was third on the track, he was shuffled down the order. Petersen kept pushing and threw down some fast times, staying on the heels of the competition and ultimately making back the five seconds to score a third-place finish. His fourth consecutive podium and eighth of the season closed the gap to the leaders, just two points from the top spot and a point behind his teammate.
Although he had a tough start to the weekend qualifying eighth in the combined times, Gagne had a solid start in seventh and made the pass for sixth on the following lap. The defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion rode a strong pace despite dealing with lingering arm pump issues and scored a top-five finish. Gagne’s efforts earned valuable points to remain within a point of the championship leader.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team looks to return to the top step of the podium as racing resumes this afternoon with MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Laguna is always a special place and almost the home track tor the team. We are pleased that despite the circumstances, we are still in a good championship position with both Jake and Cameron. We will have a look at our information from Race 1 and see if we can improve the results for Race 2.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“I kind of knew straight away that I jump-started. They held the red light for a long time, and SDK (Sean Dylan Kelly) started creeping up, and I messed up going off of him. It was a great race, though. I tried to go with Cam (Beaubier) in the beginning but his pace was a little bit too strong for me. Then Josh and I had a good battle the whole race. I knew the situation and what was going on, so even if I passed him it wouldn’t change anything on the podium. I had a couple of moments there towards the end, so I was like, ‘Just bring it home.’ We’ll come back stronger tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“After struggling so much at the last couple of rounds, it was good to feel a bit better physically and to be a bit closer to the front. Hopefully we can be closer to the front tomorrow and score some points.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars [sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company], Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin, Alabama, and Florida. YMUS subsidiaries Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation of America (YMMC), based in Georgia, and Yamaha Jet Boat Manufacturing U.S.A. (YJBM) based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. YMUS owns Skeeter Boats [Texas] with its division G3 Boats [Missouri]. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine [Rhode Island] and divisions Bennett Marine [Florida], Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders [Wisconsin] and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. [Indiana].
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, USA, dba Yamaha Financial Services, is an affiliate of Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA offering financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide.
PJ Jacobsen won MotoAmerica Supersport Race One Saturday afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Jacobsen, riding his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2, passed title rival Mathew Scholtz two laps from the end and held on to take his fourth victory of the season by 0.772 second.
Scholtz led from early in the race on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, but an encounter with a slower rider and a subsequent mistake erased the small, 0.6-second advantage the South African held over Jacobsen. Scholtz said he made another mistake after Jacobsen passed him, relegating Scholtz to the runner-up spot.
Blake Davis fought through the second group to claim third place and his third podium finish of 2024 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha.
Jake Lewis was fourth on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750, Maxi Gerardo got fifth on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing Suzuki, Corey Alexander took sixth on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die + Forming machine, Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki rider Stefano Mesa finished 0.037 second behind Alexander in seventh, Jacobsen’s teammate Kayla Yaakov came home eighth, David Anthony scored ninth on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki, and Roberto Tamburini rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing F3 RR.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott did not start (DNS) after suffering mechanical issues on the warm-up lap.
Jacobsen Over Scholtz In Supersport, Wyman Tops Mission King Of The Baggers
The Action Is Hot And Heavy In Support Class Racing At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
PJ Jacobsen (15) came out on top of a battle with Mathew Scholtz (11) in Supersport action from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MONTEREY, CA (July 13, 2024) – For the majority of Saturday’s Supersport race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, it appeared as though Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was closing in on his seventh race win of the season. But Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen had other ideas.
With just a few laps to go in the race, Scholtz was circulating about as comfortably as you can with a lead that was always just a bit under a second. But things changed in the Corkscrew when the South African encountered a lapped rider right in the middle of the track. Scholtz made his way through, but Jacobsen was suddenly locked in on his rear wheel.
On the next lap, Jacobsen made an unexpected move in turn six, a corner not known as a passing spot. From there he put his head down and gapped Scholtz, who started making mistakes while trying to close back in on the New Yorker.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis made a return to the podium with his third-place finish, his first since the Barber Motorsports round back in May.
Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis ended up forth, just a second clear of TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott’s miserable season continued as a mechanical problem knocked him out of the race before it even started. Scott is the only rider other than Scholtz and Jacobsen to win a Supersport race in 2024.
“I was sitting behind him for most of the race,” Jacobsen said. “I felt quite comfortable, but our pace I thought was very good. We were consistently doing 27.0 to 26.8. It was always one, two tenths. You’re going around Laguna, one or two tenths every lap is a lot. So, to make a small mistake or if you get backing in, or a small movement from the rear coming off the corner, let the other guy get away quickly. So, I feel like it kind of shows here a bit more at Laguna when you make a mistake because we’re so close in the lap times. So, it’s very difficult. We’re on the edge and the lap time is just consistently the same. But when that guy went down the Corkscrew, he kind of backed up (Mathew) Scholtz back to me. I feel like I was there, but then it seemed like I don’t know if he slowed down at that point because of grip issues or what, or if I went faster. I’m not really sure, but it seemed like I was able to then latch onto him again. Then I saw the whole race at turn six that he was struggling quite a bit. Now he knows for tomorrow. But it was a great overtake. The last two laps when I passed him, I felt like I just had to push. But I didn’t have too much grip, either. I feel like he was really killing me off of that turn two. So, we have to work on that as a team tonight, and also the last corner as well. Just too much spin off the bike. So, we need to go back and do our homework. They’ll do their homework. I’m sure the race pace will be even a bit faster tomorrow and even another crazy race.”
Hayden Gillim (1) won the Stock 1000 class on Saturday over Jayson Uribe (360). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Stock 1000 – Gillim Bounces Back
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim didn’t get the start he was hoping for, but he certainly got the finish he wanted as he bounced back from a fourth-place start to take his fifth win of the Stock 1000 season.
Starting second on the grid, Gillim was fourth into turn one and he had work to do. He was helped a bit by OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe when the polesitter ran wide in turn two on the third lap. Gillim wasted little time in keeping the hammer down and he took the lead from Motorsport Exotica’s Andrew Lee shortly thereafter. From there he never looked back.
Gillim’s championship rival Uribe managed to finish second after fending off what ended up being a four-rider battle for third place early on, but it allowed Gillim to gain five more points in the title chase. The Kentuckian now leads Uribe by 11 points heading into the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park in September.
Third ended up going to BPR Racing’s Bryce Prince with his third podium of the season ending a four-race streak without finishing in the top three. Prince had struggled at the past two rounds at Brainerd International Raceway and Ridge Motorsports Park, two tracks he’d never seen, and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was a welcome sight for the Californian. He was able to pass Lee late in the race to take the spot.
With Lee fourth, FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith rounded out the top five.
“I definitely didn’t,” Gillim said of not getting the start he wanted. “This year has been great with starts. I’ve been getting really great starts. I holeshotted a few. I think I was just too antsy and wanted to try and get a good start and try and get to the front if I could. There was a little bit longer light than I was expecting it to be, so then by the time the lights started going off, I had kind of blown my wad a little bit. Gave ourselves a little bit of work. It was good. The bike, we made some changes from this morning. The bike is a lot different from what it was at the Ridge. We’re kind of back to where we were at Brainerd, setup-wise. We’ve just been chasing some chatter and haven’t been able to get away from it. It got better in the race, but we’re trying everything. Then I’m struggling with rear grip coming out of turn two, three, four. Just spinning the thing up. Struggling on dries a little bit. So, it was tough to make the passes. Luckily for me, Jayson (Uribe) ran wide the one lap into turn two and I was able to get by him. Then that lap, I got a good run out of six on Andrew and made the pass into the Corkscrew. It took them a little bit to get by Andrew and I was able to get a little bit of a gap. Then the last five laps or so, that gap came down pretty quick from me to Jayson. He made me push a lot harder than I wanted to at the end of the race, especially with having crashed a few of the last races.”
Kyle Wyman (33) leads the Mission King Of The Baggers race over the hill and into Turn Two with Hayden Gillim (1) and the rest giving chase. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Wyman In Control
The Mission King Of The Baggers Championship returned to the track where the hugely popular race series began in 2021: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Saturday’s final qualifying and three-lap Challenge portended things to come as Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman earned the pole with a record lap and won the $5000 in the winner-take-all dash for cash. Wyman was having a good day. Then, it got even better. The New Yorker notched his fifth win of the year and his 25th all-time AMA/MotoAmerica victory of his career with a dominant start-to-finish performance where he was never headed.
Wyman’s win enabled him to leap-frog over championship leader Troy Herfoss and take the points lead. Herfoss crashed his S&S/Indian Motorcycle and, while he managed to get back in the race, he finished 11th.
Rounding out the podium were RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines teammates Rocco Landers and Hayden Gillim with young upstart Landers taking advantage of a late-race bobble by veteran Gillim to overtake him and finish second to Gillim’s third-place result.
“We’ve done a really nice job this week,” Wyman said. “The whole team has worked super hard to get me comfortable and keep chipping away at it. Try to start fast and continue from there. It’s been really good. I haven’t had a race like this this year, where I could get out front and control the pace like I have in years past. So, it feels really, really good to get that kind of up my sleeve for 2024. It’s definitely confidence-inspiring to go wire to wire. That’s the kind of momentum I want to carry on throughout the rest of the season and just be smart about it and have a plan and be patient. That’s where my approach is, at the moment.”
The Mission Super Hooligan National Championship race gets going with Jake Lewis (85) and Cory West (13) leading the way. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – O’Hara Finally
Although it’s somewhat hard to believe, defending Mission Super Hooligan National Championship Champion Tyler O’Hara had yet to win a race in 2024 when the series rolled on to the Monterey Peninsula. But that streak was snapped on Saturday with his first victory of the season coming at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
The race was wild and somewhat sloppy with five riders battling for victory with that win ultimately going to O’Hara and his S&S/Indian FTR by .206 of a second over Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Cory West after a ferocious last-lap battle.
KWR Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Schultz earned his second podium of the season with his third-place finish on his Pan America. Schultz had put a hard pass on O’Hara’s teammate Troy Herfoss in the final corner that also allowed Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Jake Lewis to beat the Australian to the flag.
“These short races, they kept getting shorter and shorter,” O’Hara said. “We kept going. We kept doing restarts and red flag. Trying to take care of my clutch and not fire the clutch. Just get out there and get out front and control the pace. Having a plan in these races doesn’t work. You got to just use your instinct and go for it. We got our strengths. To be honest, I feel like the bike is running awesome. It can turn on a dime. I can put it anywhere I want. I got a string of podiums. I’m scoring points. I got a lot of momentum right now. I’m really enjoying riding. I’m working with my passion and I’m enjoying it. I’ve also been working my ass off, too. My team has been working really hard as well, and they deserve this. I think we put in the effort. This one is my team. Shout out to my dad. It’s his birthday. He’s been battling the flu and some stuff, so he couldn’t make it. He’s my biggest fan. He has always believed in me and supports me. That’s a big part of racing is the support system away from the track. It’s been a while since I won. I’ve had to dig deep and work for this. These guys made a big step this year. It’s a lot of fun. Cory (West) is an awesome guy to race with. We race each other hard. We race each other clean. We’re rubbing, but rubbing is racing. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I enjoy it. To get the trophy from Scott Parker (multi-time AMA Grand National Champion) is special. I named my first son after Scott Parker – Parker O’Hara. So that was the icing on the cake. Get a picture with Wayne. My whole SNS Cycle, Indian Motorcycle team, Mission Foods, everybody that supports us. Paul Langley, thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity five years ago when we came here on the King of the Baggers and prolonged my career. I’m really enjoying it. I’m really hungry. We had a lot of adversity this weekend in the other class. We’re just going to keep fighting. We never give up. It’s a long season. I think he was having some issues with his bike off the start. I don’t know what was going on. I saw him working on it during the red flag. His bike kind of intermittent was missing shifts or something. I kind of didn’t want to follow him really because it was intermittent. But they made a big step, and it makes it fun. Two manufacturers, three, four manufacturers going for it. The depth is there. But I think we’ve worked really hard for this, and I think we deserve it.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
WEATHERTECH RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA RACE 1
SATURDAY, JULY 13, 2024 | QUALIFYING 2 & RACE 1
The Rahal Ducati Moto team started off the day carrying high momentum, earning three top-tens in Qualifying 1. The team put together faster lap times in Qualifying 2, resulting in Kayla Yaakov and Corey Alexander advancing their starting positions and PJ Jacobsen remaining in the pole position for the start of Race 1.
Jacobsen battled with Strack Racing’s Mathew Schotlz for the duration of the race, overtaking him on Lap 17 and earning a win for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. Alexander and Yaakov, both starting the race off favorably, each ran into a few small issues yet finished in the top ten.
Another exciting day at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will begin tomorrow with a morning warm-up session followed by Race 2 at 5:10 pm EST as Jacobsen fights to sweep the weekend.”
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 1st
FINISHED: 1st
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (216 pts)
NOTES: Remains in the championship hunt, closing the gap to just 23 points behind leader Mathew Scholtz
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We got pole position today, leading every session through Practice 1 and Qualifying 1 and 2. We were in a good position for the race today. It was a really good battle today with [Mathew] Scholtz, but we ended up getting the win. I feel that we were both pushing the entire race, and I started chipping away towards the end. It seemed the grip started going off for him. It was a hard race, but I think tomorrow will be even more of a battle for him and I.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 3rd
FINISHED: 6th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (98 pts)
NOTES: Struggled with tire and small electrical issue from the beginning of the race resulting in loss of positions
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Unfortunate race after a great qualifying this morning. We struggled to get into a rhythm, as we had no rear grip from the very first lap. We also suffered from a little bit of a electronic gremlin, which started on the first lap and progressively got worse throughout the race. It’s a bummer for sure, knowing we had the pace to stay up with the front two guys, but I’m stoked for PJ to be up on the podium and hopefully keep chipping away at the championship. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be up there with them.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 8th
FINISHED: 8th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 7th (97 pts)
NOTES: Ran as high as third in the 19-lap race // Suffered from issues with the front end, causing her to fall behind in positions
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Race 1 here at Laguna Seca. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed to be honest. We were running in third and fourth for a bit there, feeling really comfortable with the bike, but we started running into some front end issues that got worse and worse as the race went on. I had a small moment as I was leading my group in third place, and tried to regroup from there but the front tire wasn’t going to have it. I struggled from that point on, and tried to salvage it. I tried to keep the bike up and score some points. Tomorrow we’re hopefully going to make some changes to help that, because I felt like I had pace to be on the podium today, but unfortunately that’s what happens in racing and we have to take it how it is. Hopefully we get another good start tomorrow morning, make some changes, try some things out, and have a better day.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We had a really good race today. PJ rode really well and never gave up. He was able to sneak past Mathew within the last few laps for the win. That’s really important for the championship. Kayla and Corey both rode really good. Kayla ran into a couple little problems mid-race but before that everything looked super promising. Corey rode a really good race too. We’ll try to make the bikes a little bit better tomorrow morning and improve.”
Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Gillim got off to a sub-par start on his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, but within a few laps he passed multiple riders and took the lead.
The defending Champion then built a three-second advantage, which he successfully managed to claim the victory — his fifth of the season — and extend his Championship points lead.
Pole-sitter Jayson Uribe also had to fight back through the race and was actually catching Gillim toward the end, but the Californian had to settle for the runner-up spot on his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Continuing the comeback theme, Bryce Prince went from fifth to third place in the closing laps and secured his third podium finish of the season on his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Andrew Lee was a close fourth on his Motorsport Exotica BMW, and Benjamin Smith rounded out the top five on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha.
Kyle Wyman won the MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers dash-for-cash Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop tires, Wyman was scored the winner, earning a $5,000 check from race sponsor Mission Foods.
Rocco Landers finished second, 1.477 seconds behind Wyman on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss crossed the finish line first on his S&S Indian Challenger, but Herfoss was penalized five seconds for a jump-start violation, which demoted him to third place.
Landers’ teammate Hayden Gillim was leading the race on lap two of three when he crashed without injury.
Kyle Wyman took pole position during MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers qualifying Saturday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman turned a best time of 1:28.182, which was not only good enough to claim pole position it also broke his own lap record of 1:28.338 from 2023.
Rocco Landers was the best of the rest with a time of 1:28.705 on his RevZilla/Motu/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
Landers’ teammate, defending Champion Hayden Gillim earned the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:28.773.
Just six weeks after breaking his right foot at Road America, Cameron Beaubier took pole position with a new lap record during MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike qualifying Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, the five-time Champion covered the 2.2-mile course in 1:22.556, eclipsing Josh Herrin’s mark of 1:22.908 from 2018.
Rookie sensation Sean Dylan Kelly was also under the old lap record with a second-best 1:22.886 in his first appearance at Laguna Seca on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing BMW Superbike.
Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen put in a 1:23.085 in the closing seconds of the session to take the third and final spot on the front row of the grid.
Josh Herrin was on top of the order with just a few minutes remaining in the session with a 1:23.128 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, but when the dust settled, Herrin ended up fourth of the grid, albeit with a strong race pace.
Bobby Fong, the current Superbike Championship point leader, qualified fifth with a 1:23.550 on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch improved his time from 1:24.928 on Friday to 1:23.813 on Saturday to secure the sixth spot on the grid.
Row-three qualifiers included Beaubier’s teammate JD Beach (1:23.915), three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne (1:24.012), and Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz (1:24.092).
Paasch’s teammate Xavi Fores rounded out the top 10 qualifiers with a 1:24.422.
Jayson Uribe captured pole position during MotoAmerica Stock 1000 qualifying Saturday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. The Californian lapped the undulating 2.2-mile course in 1:25.288 on his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR. That effort came up a little short of breaking Corey Alexander’s lap record of 1:25.222, but it was good enough for Uribe to top the field.
Defending Champion Hayden Gillim qualified second with a 1:25.623 on his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Andrew Lee claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:25.722 on his Motorsport Exotica BMW.
PJ Jacobsen earned pole position during MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2 on Dunlop control tires, the veteran turned a lap time of 1:26.411 on the historic 2.2-mile course and topped the field of 32 riders.
Mathew Scholtz was second-best with a time of 1:26.707 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, and Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:26.743 on his Roller Die + Forming-sponsored Ducati.
Blake Davis was fourth-fastest at 1:26.901 on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha. Jake Lewis ended up fifth in qualifying with a lap time of 1:26.390 on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750. Maxi Gerardo secured the final spot on the second row, sixth overall, with a best lap of 1:26.980 on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing Suzuki.
Row-three qualifiers include Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott (1:27.080), Jacobsen’s other teammate Kayla Yaakov (1:27.243), and Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini (1:27.842).
Cory West will start the MotoAmerica RSD Mission Super Hooligan races from pole position at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, in Monterey, California. Riding his Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America, West turned a 1:29.624 to lead the field of 32 entries during Friday’s Qualifying One (Q1). With cooler ambient and track temperatures affecting grip during Qualifying Two (Q2) early Saturday morning, West’s time held up to lock him in at pole position.
In fact, none of the top eight riders from Q1 went faster in Q2.
West’s teammate Jake Lewis (1:29.777) will start from second on the grid, and defending Champion Tyler O’Hara (1:29.934) and his S&S Indian FTR will line up in the third and final spot on the front row.
Row-two starters include KWR Harley-Davidson teammates Cody Wyman (1:29.983) and Hayden Schultz (1:30.020) and O’Hara’s teammate, reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss (1:30.230).
Lining up on row three will be Cody Wyman’s older brother Travis Wyman (1:30.493) on the third Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America, Stefano Mesa (1:31.427) on the Tytlers Cycle Racing Energica Eva Ribelle RS electric machine, and Roland Sands Design/Trackhouse Racing Indian’s Hawk Mazzotta, who improved from 1:33.949 to 1:33.267 in the inferior track conditions of Q2.
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