JORGE MARTÍN ALMOGUERA WILL BE AN APRILIA RACING RIDER FROM 2025 WITH A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT
It could only be Jorge Martín the ideal rider to ensure continuity after the announcement of Aleix Espargaró’s retirement, who has always been Martín’s friend and mentor. Martín has signed a multi-year contract with Aprilia Racing starting in 2025, and the Team and the entire Piaggio Group welcome a rider who best represents the desire to establish himself at the top of MotoGP.
MASSIMO RIVOLA (Aprilia Racing CEO)
“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to reach the goal we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing. Thanks to Dr. Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting any time we made the decision.”
A five-year contract extension confirms the Austrian GP on the calendar until 2030 inclusive
It’s official: the Austrian Grand Prix will be on the MotoGP™ calendar until 2030. Previously confirmed until 2025, a new agreement ensures the world’s most exciting sport will continue to race at the spectacular Red Bull Ring – Spielberg from 2026-2030 inclusive.
After nearly two decades, the Austrian GP returned to the calendar in 2016 and immediately became a fan and paddock favourite, winning Best Grand Prix for its first event back and then taking the trophy again in 2019. Set in the glorious Styrian hills in Spielberg, the Red Bull Ring provides a stunning backdrop for MotoGP™ – serving up fantastic racing, iconic final corner showdowns, and a full programme of fan activities throughout the Grand Prix.
Mark Mateschitz, owner of the Red Bull Ring: “Anyone who loves motorsport loves MotoGP. It embodies racing in its purest form. When the best riders in the world go head-to-head and there are multiple changes of position in a single lap, nobody can stay in their seats. Once you’ve experienced the enthusiasm of the fans here at the Red Bull Ring, you can’t get enough of it. I am delighted that we have been able to secure this great event for the spectators with a long-term commitment to Austria and to the Steiermark in particular.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports: “We’re very happy to announce that the Austrian Grand Prix will be on the calendar until 2030. Not only is it one of the world’s most beautiful racetracks, it also delivers an incredible weekend for fans with fantastic facilities, great entertainment events, and spectacular racing. The Red Bull Ring has staged some of our most iconic modern moments since the track returned to the calendar.
“As the home track for KTM and part of Red Bull’s incredible commitment to motorsport, it’s also an important venue for many of our stakeholders and Austrian motorsport as a whole. We’re very happy to announce that we’ll be returning until 2030 and look forward to many more years working together.”
Tyler Scott won MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 on spec Dunlop tires, Scott went from third to first in the run from the final corner to the finish line and won in a photo finish.
Tyler Scott (70). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The official margin of victory was 0.001 second, but MotoAmerica officials said the margin was actually smaller than that.
Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz drafted past PJ Jacobsen from the final corner to the checkered flag but came up short by the smallest margin imaginable and got second place.
Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL rider Jacobsen led out of the final corner but ended getting third place, just 0.010 second behind the winner.
The official finish photo, or scan, shot at 10,000 frames per second. Photo courtesy MotoAmerica.
Maxi Gerardo led a lot of the race on his TopPro Racing Suzuki but could do no better than fourth, just 0.354 second behind Jacobsen.
Stefano Mesa also fought for the lead throughout the race but finished fifth, 1.882 seconds back.
The race was originally started and stopped with red flags twice, and then it was moved to the end of the day and run for seven instead of 11 laps.
How Close Is Close? Scott Wins Supersport At Road America By .001 Of A Second
Ultra-Close Racing At Road America In All The Support Classes
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 2, 2024) – Normally, Supersport is not the final race of the weekend at a MotoAmerica event, but a couple of red flags during its initial timeslot dictated that it be pushed ahead to late Sunday afternoon at Road America. Little did anyone know that it would turn out to be the closest three-rider race finish in the 10-year history of the MotoAmerica series.
Supersport – Scott By A Whisker
Sunday’s weather turned out to be ideal compared with the rain-sodden conditions on Saturday, and MotoAmerica’s Supersport class put on an incredible show. “Supersport Next Generation” is the name of the game, which means that motorcycles with engine displacements ranging from the 599cc Yamaha YZF-R6, to the 749cc Suzuki GSX-R750, to the 955cc Ducati Panigale V2 all race in Supersport with balancing measures taken to level the competition.
So, how level is the competition in Supersport? At the finish line, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott barely nipped Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz in a photo finish, with Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen finishing third and just one one-hundredth of a second behind Scholtz.
It was a breathtaking result, and Scott talked about it afterwards. “Our season definitely didn’t start off good at all,” Scott said. “Daytona was good. We finished second. We had a big crash there. Atlanta, we did all right in the rain. Had a big crash out of the lead, and at Barber, too. So, we’ve had a little bit of bad luck. The level in Supersport this year is just a lot higher than in previous years. You’ve got PJ, Scholtz and the new Gerardo kid. They’re all ex-Superbike riders. So, the level just gets notched up. So, we’re pushing to the edge and just over-pushing for my part. The team has done a great job preparing the bike. The team did a great job this weekend. Overall, the goal is to not try and lead the race and pull away because that hasn’t worked the last two weekends for us. I can race and I know how to race well, so the goal was just to stay with the front pack and start racing at the end for the lead. Coming up the hill, I had a plan to at least draft one of them. When they split, the only opportunity that I had was if PJ didn’t go to the wall. If he would have gone to the wall, I wouldn’t have had the opening. I just had enough of an opening to try and see what I could do in the last couple-hundred feet.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – “Must-Win” For Wyman Accomplished
Speaking of close finishes, the penultimate race of the weekend was also nearly a photo finish. Mission King Of The Baggers, which is MotoAmerica’s uniquely American Harley-Davidson versus Indian Motorcycle rival series, came right down to the finish line, as well.
And, with Harley-Davidson’s headquarters located just an hour south of Road America in Milwaukee, plus 91-year-old namesake Willie G. Davidson at the track along with thousands of H-D employees and also fans of The Motor Company, Kyle Wyman, aboard his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide Special (signed by “Willie G.” just before the start of the race), rose to the challenge and won the drag race to the checkered flag over S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss. The Australian’s teammate Tyler O’Hara completed the podium in third, while Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli finished fourth.
The margin of victory for Wyman was just .039 of a second over Herfoss, and he was more relieved than ecstatic that he won, since he faced the intense pressure and overcame it.
“A hundred percent a must-win today,” Wyman said. “Usually, you have kind of two shots at it. Yesterday, I was not comfortable, so I didn’t feel like I really had a shot to fight for the win. I knew it was all eggs in one basket on Sunday. Troy (Herfoss) found something this morning. I was struggling a little bit. We made a small change for the race, just to try to get me a predictable bike. I knew it was going to be a scrap. I think we all knew nobody was going to get away, so just try to get me something that was comfortable to ride that I could kind of throw around where I needed to. Got a good start. The Gillim train in the beginning was a little erratic. I know he’s doing what he has to do. He’s a little bit down on horsepower, but I had some close calls with him, for sure. Got me sucked into the back-end of him a couple times. I thought we were going to touch wheels. Once Troy came up, he got through on me, and I just latched on. There were a couple areas where he had a little bit of pace on me, but there were other areas where I could kind of reel him back. Like I said at COTA, I love a one-on-one. When I looked back, I guess these guys got kind of separated. I looked back and saw we had a gap to third. I was like, all right. It’s a mano-e-mano type of thing. I love it. I’m having the most enjoyment of my entire racing career, racing these baggers and especially this year racing Troy. It’s a fantastic challenge. It’s a fantastic rivalry, and one with a whole lot of respect. I’m really enjoying it, as he is. I can’t wait to get back with my guys and celebrate because we got the ‘must-win’ done.
“I’m super thankful to the whole Harley-Davidson team. To have Willie G. out here in his homecoming year. They’re going to celebrate him at homecoming coming up here in July in Milwaukee. It’s a pretty special deal. Pretty amazing feeling.”
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Landers’ Last-Lap Dash
RevZilla/Motul/ Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers couldn’t match the pace of Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario early in Sunday’s race, but he stuck around, bided his time, and took full advantage of the lack of grip on Di Mario’s Aprilia to make a pass on the last lap and notch victory, his second of the season.
Di Mario had a solid weekend at Road America, following up his second-place finish in the rain on Saturday with another runner-up finish on Sunday. His teammate Gus Rodio, meanwhile, had a weekend to forget with two non-finishes, which has given Landers and Di Mario sizeable leads in the championship.
Landers led the title chase going into Sunday’s race after finishing third yesterday, and he added to that lead with a victory on Sunday. Following his 50th career win across all classes, Landers is nine points clear of Di Mario, 135-126, with Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle third on 110 points – one point better than Rodio, who slips down to fourth in the championship.
The battle for third was a good one with Doyle vs. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor for the majority of the race. Doyle, however, had a miscue on the last lap while chasing Moor, allowing the Oregonian to secure third and his first Twins Cup podium.
TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher came out of it all in fourth with Doyle recovering for fifth.
“In the beginning when his tire was fresh, I just had nothing for him, especially on the short chutes,” Landers said. “That’s where I lose most of my time. The long straights aren’t that big of a deal. It’s just until we get to sixth gear. Once we’re at the top of fifth, sixth gear it’s not so bad. I saw his tire start to go off and he kept dropping me. I was pushing so hard that entire race. I was having a little bit of front-end issues. The right-hand side of my tire might have been overheating. But I kind of was hoping Gus (Rodio) would be my ticket back up to Alessandro (Di Mario), but he ended up going down in five on lap two or three. At that point, I was like, just put my head down and see what I could do. I did not think I was going to be able to catch him, because he came across the line at 1.8 something on the last lap. I just pushed as hard as I possibly could. Honestly, going into the chicane on the last lap, I didn’t even think I was going to be able to. I just waited until he got on the brakes and was like, ‘screw it. if I blow the chicane, I blow the chicane and get second rather than settling for it’ and I just sent it. Somehow it worked. I’m very surprised, to be honest with you. But that was a good race. I almost think it topped yesterday’s rain race, but not quite. I think that was my greatest race ever. This is maybe second. It always changes. I couldn’t have done it without my team. They’ve been busting their butts. We’ve been trying to get this bike as good as possible. The thing is handling absolutely phenomenally, especially on the front end.”
Junior Cup – Chapin Does The Double
Junior Cup normalcy returned under the sunny skies of Elkhart Lake on Sunday with some 10-12 riders in the lead pack for most of the race after Saturday’s horrible weather didn’t make for the best racing.
When all was said and done, however, the lead pack dwindled to nine and it was game on with yesterday’s winner in the rainstorm, Matthew Chapin, doing most of the leading and using his diminutive size and a fast motorcycle to somehow make it to the stripe first nearly every time.
Including the one that mattered most – the last one.
The win was BARTCON Racing-backed Chapin’s third and that, combined with Yandel Medina finishing ninth, gave him the championship points lead.
Second place today, and just .346 of a second behind Chapin, was Barber’s doubleheader winner Logan Cunnison on his Speed Demon Racing-backed Kawasaki Ninja 400 with Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez taking the final podium spot.
Six riders crossed the line in quick succession with Karns Performance’s Levi Badie fourth, Bad Boys Racing’s Avery Dreher fifth and BPM’s Issac Woodworth sixth.
“My bike has been really, really fast all weekend,” Chapin said. “I’ve been pretty fast, and I was feeling confident. I knew if I stayed out front, I could maybe pull a gap. I knew I could hold the lead. I just put my head down the whole race. I wanted to lead the whole time because I didn’t want to get shuffled back.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – She’s Back
The mice got their chance to play in yesterday’s first of two Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. battles as defending series champion Mikayla Moore sat it out with a thigh injury. Today, the cat returned, and she was at the top as always with Moore taking her third win of the year by a whopping 23.937 seconds.
Behind her came a battle for second between Aubrey Credaroli and yesterday’s winner Cassie Creer with Credaroli getting the spot at the line by just .243 of a second. Creer was third, a day after earning her first-career MotoAmerica podium and victory.
Camille Conrad backed up her podium finish yesterday on a soaking wet racetrack with fourth today under bright sunshine. Kira Knebel rounded out the top-five finishers.
Fortunately for Moore, she was able to swap helmets prior to the race after realizing she couldn’t see out of her faceshield.
“I went over to the Arai tent, and I told them I needed my helmet and make sure it’s good, since it was the same helmet that I crashed in,” Moore said. “He said it was all checked out, but at the last minute I went to go put it on and I put the visor down and I could not see no one in front of me. It was super blurry. I had Kendall with K Tech come over and I was like, ‘I need that other helmet ASAP, because I’m blind right now. I can’t see nobody.’”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
ROAD AMERICA RACE 2
SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 2024 | WARM UP & RACE 2
Today’s activities started with the morning warm up, which solidified the team’s confidence in their machines heading into the race. With PJ Jacobsen topping the charts with a time of 2:17.734 and Kayla Yaakov nearly matching her qualifying times, finishing the session in 12th.
The sunny skies and dry track conditions provided a picture perfect setting for today’s Race 2 at Road America. The race ran just over two laps before the first red flag was waved for an expired engine. With the red conditions, both XPEL bikes made their way back to the hot pit for adjustments. Due to the first red coming out within the first three laps, the riders took the restart from their original starting positions.
During the first lap of the restarted race, an incident occurred near the tail of the field that immediately brought out a second red flag. The field made their way back to pit lane and were soon told the remainder of the race would be postponed until after the Superbike and King of the Baggers races.
Once Race 2 resumed, it was seven laps of determination to get to the end. Yaakov got an amazing restart but was caught in the field which eventually became distanced from the leading five. Jacobsen moved through the top four, making a pass for the lead out of Canada corner, but ultimately finishing third at the finish line in the closest-ever finish in MotoAmerica history (0.001 seconds between first and second and 0.009 seconds between second and third).
The team heads to Brainerd, MN for Rounds 7 & 8 of competition Friday, June 14 – Sunday, June 16. More information on the participation of Corey Alexander and the Roller Die machine at the Brainerd course will be provided as the event nears.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 3rd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st (131 pts., 12 pt. lead)
NOTES: Has collected a podium finish at every race so far this season // Remains the championship leader heading into Rounds 7 & 8 of 18
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Going into the dry race today, I was a bit optimistic. I think walking out of here with a podium is a good result. I tried everything I could to lead the end of the race and end up in first, but we got passed at the finish line. I don’t think I had enough to draft those guys if I was sitting behind them, so I had to lead out of the last corner and try my hardest. I want to thank the entire Rahal Ducati Moto / XPEL team for doing a great job this whole weekend. We are leaving with another podium finish which has me confident going to Brainerd. I like that track – I had my first Superbike win there, so hopefully the adjustments we make to our bike should provide us a good result.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 12th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 11th (35 pts., -1 position)
NOTES: The rain in Saturday’s race hindered Kayla’s forward progression in learning the Road America track on the Supersport bike // Yaakov was making big gains each session throughout the weekend and could have utilized the dry race yesterday to progress further and translate data to be used for today’s race
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Today was a very tough race. After so many restarts and not many full laps completed, it was very hard to find a flow and balance that worked for me and the bike. In the second restart, I was in a very good position and hanging onto the lead group, but unfortunately the race was red flagged and I wasn’t able to get the same jump on the third restart as I did in the second. I was struggling quite a bit without a draft, and was shuffled back even though I was strong in the infield sections. Really unfortunate, but I’ll put this race behind me and focus on Brainerd.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We always want more, but it wasn’t a bad day for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. PJ got really good points, and in my opinion, he rode a pretty perfect race. We were just down a little bit of top speed, but he put in a pass on the last lap, led out the last corner, and went back to third place. There’s not much he could’ve done different. Kayla also rode a really good race. She’s still adapting to the big bike on the bigger tracks with bigger breaking zones, so there is still a lot to learn but she is showing a lot of growth each week. Overall, it was a good weekend resulting in good points. I want to congratulate Tyler Scott on his win – he’s had a couple pretty hard weekends and a couple pretty hard crashes. We will move forward to Brainerd and try to get back on the top of the box.”
Kyle Wyman won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman used a last-lap pass to take a narrow victory by 0.039 second.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss fought his way to the front on his S&S Indian Challenger, but Wyman passed him on the run to the checkered flag, relegating him to second place.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara came out on top of another, equally entertaining battle for third place.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli crossed the finish line fourth, 0.047 second behind O’Hara and 0.223 second ahead of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Champion Hayden Gillim in fifth.
Josh Herrin won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Herrin led from start to finish and won the 12-lap race by 9.058 seconds.
Bobby Fong was the best of the rest, taking a runner-up finish on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW rider JD Beach was right behind Fong for much of the race but could not make a move and came in third, 0.326 second behind Fong. Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz took the checkered flag 0.434 second behind Beach in fourth.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne was third early in the race but slipped backwards to a lonely fifth-place finish on his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1.
Sean Dylan Kelly was running second on the final lap when he ran wide entering Canada Corner due to an apparent mechanical issue with his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR. Kelly continued as best he could and salvaged sixth.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch and Xavi Fores were separated by 0.013 second at the finish line with Paasch getting seventh and Fores taking eighth.
Benjamin Smith got ninth and the Superbike Cup victory on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha, and Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Team Brazil BMW.
Race One winner Cameron Petersen was running seventh on lap six when his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 suffered a smokey failure, forcing him to retire.
Five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier did not start Race Two. Beaubier crashed during Race One and broke the heel in his right foot. Beaubier’s recovery time was not known at post time.
Herrin Dominates Steel Commander Superbike Race Two At Road America
Josh Herrin Rides His Ducati To A Nine-Second Win In Elkhart Lake
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 2, 2024) – It may not have been a walk in the park, but it was definitely a high-speed stroll through the track known as America’s National Park of Speed for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin on Sunday at Road America.
Herrin stormed away at the start of the 12-lap race and was never threatened. The chasing pack kept the gap in the two-second range for a few laps, but then the margin just steadily grew exponentially until it got to the 10-second mark. The Ducati Panigale V4 R was in its element on the high-speed track and Herrin was enjoying every minute of it.
At the completion of the 12 laps, Herrin was a tick over nine seconds clear of the chasing pack. It was his first win of what has been a difficult season thus far for the 2013 Superbike Champion. It was also the 11th Superbike win of his career, which ties him for 18th on the all-time Superbike win list with Anthony Gobert.
The chasing pack was hectic and consisted of four – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.
Kelly did most of the leading in second place, but Fong was on a mission and riding hard to make up for an obvious speed disadvantage with his Yamaha YZF-R1 against the BMW M 1000 RRs of Kelly and Beach. Baz, meanwhile, also had a fast bike but couldn’t go farther forward until the last lap.
It was on the last lap and the run to the final corner and the dash up the hill that the pack lost Kelly, with his BMW faltering as it was stuck in fifth gear. He would finish but it would be in sixth and not the second place he was fighting for. Fong ended up a well-deserved second with Beach third, less than half a second behind the Yamaha on the run to the flag. Then came Baz just a few 10ths behind.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne passed Kelly for fifth with the Floridian nursing the bike up the hill to sixth. Gagne’s ride had been mostly lonely.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was seventh after beating his fill-in teammate Xavi Forés by just .013 of a second. FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
After three rounds and seven races in the Steel Commander Superbike Championship, Gagne leads the injured Cameron Beaubier by 18 points, 113-95, with the five-time Superbike Championship expected to miss at least the next round with the broken heel he suffered in Saturday’s crash at Road America.
Fong jumps to third in the title chase, 25 points behind Gagne and just seven behind Beaubier. Saturday’s race winner Cameron Petersen is fourth in the championship after his Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered a terminal illness that took the South African out of race two after just six laps.
Kelly is tied with Petersen for fourth and fortunate he could nurse the BMW to the finish line. The pair are 30 points behind Gagne and four points ahead of Herrin, who obviously gained tons of ground with his first victory of the year.
Superbike Race Two
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
JD Beach (BMW)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
Benjamin Smith (Yamaha)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Quotes
Josh Herrin – Winner
“Obviously, no Superbike win is ever easy,” Herrin said. “The guys gave me a great bike today. I had a great bike yesterday, but I’m just terrible in the rain on it. This one feels extra special, but the laps just kept clicking. I just felt super good. I was in a rhythm. I didn’t think about anybody behind me once, until three laps to go and I saw plus nine. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a magical moment, for sure. It was one of those ones that you can’t explain, and you don’t really know why it happened. I mean, I know I had a great bike and I felt great, and I’ve been putting in the work, but it never comes that easy. I just want to thank the entire Warhorse HSBK Racing team for all the hard work that they do. I’m happy because the last race in New Jersey last year was really tough, and then we went to Road Atlanta, and I was leading and got ran off the track. Then I had a rain race that I sucked in again. Barber was terrible. Yesterday was terrible. So, it’s been a really hard six, seven, eight months, somewhere around there. I’m happy to be back up here. I told the guys, if we have two years on this bike it will make a huge difference. We were showing that in Atlanta, just with the way that we’re able to start Friday and be there right away. It just helps a lot with your confidence. This weekend told the same story. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and just really happy to be with the same team for three years in a row. I have a lot of fun with these guys. It’s really rare. I’ve been doing this for 19 years and this is the third time that I’ve felt like this in 19 years. One was with Graves. One was with Richard (Stanboli) in ’18, and now this team. It doesn’t happen very often that you get the full package, and right now we have it. I’m super happy. I’m bummed that Cam (Beaubier) wasn’t out there. I’m hoping that he has a speedy recovery because I know he for sure would have been there. I’m sure he’ll be back soon and fast. Brainerd is going to be tough, for sure. I’m ready and excited and just grateful for this.”
Bobby Fong – Second Place
“It was a hard-fought race,” Fong said. “It was me and Dylan (Sean Dylan Kelly) putting in our licks. I had to be smart. They had a little bit of horsepower and I had to get a run on him on each straightaway. I would back up a little bit going into the turns and try to come out with him just to stay as close as I could in the draft. I saw JD (Beach) pass me and I thought maybe (Loris) Baz was going to get in there and make some moves. I had to counter and counter fast just to keep my position. Now we’ve moved up in third in the championship and a little bit closer to (Jake) Gagne. Our goal is to be top Yamaha. It’s a bummer that (Cameron) Beaubier was out. Obviously, he was pretty dominant all weekend. Hopefully, he’s back soon because he was the standard all weekend.”
JD Beach – Third Place
“It’s hard,” Beach said. “I want to be pumped about this, but I feel like we’re still so far off right now. It’s not from a lack of trying from the team or myself. We’re just missing something, and I know once we get it, we’ll be right there. I guess it’s nice that I’m not pumped about a third, but in all honesty, it is great to be up here and to be third. I want to be fighting with Josh (Herrin) and Cameron (Beaubier) and the guys at the front. I’m glad we took a big step forward from Barber. That was a hard weekend. We’ll just keep fighting and we’ll keep working. We’ve still got a lot of races to go. There’s no quitting, so we’ll just keep going.”
HICKMAN CLAIMS 14TH TT WIN IN DRAMATIC RST SUPERBIKE RACE
Peter Hickman claimed his 14th TT win during a dramatic RST Superbike TT Race at the Isle of Man TT Races, matching Mike Hailwood’s tally. The Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing rider taking the lead on the final lap to win by 5.84 seconds from Davey Todd (Milwaukee BMW) with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) in third.
It was one of the most thrilling races of recent times as Michael Dunlop (MasterMac by Hawk/MD Racing Honda) originally led by twenty-five seconds at two-thirds race distance only to have an issue with the sidepod on his visor leaving the pits after his second stop – this resulted in him stopping on Bray Hill, which dropped him down to fourth.
The race got underway on time at 2.40pm with near perfect conditions around the Mountain Course and it was Todd who led through Glen Helen for the first time, his advantage over Hickman just 0.037 seconds. They were quickly followed by Harrison, Dunlop, Hickman’s team-mate Josh Brookes and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) as only 3.5 seconds covered the top six but Brookes was soon out, retiring at Handley’s after his chain came off.
Todd maintained his lead at Ballaugh, only 0.166 seconds ahead of new second-placed rider Harrison and it was now Dunlop in third as Hickman slipped back to fourth. But, by Ramsey, Todd had extended his lead over Harrison to 1.18 seconds, although Hickman was the fastest rider from Ballaugh to Ramsey. James Hind, fifth in Saturday’s Supersport race, was another retirement as was Shaun Anderson.
An opening lap of 134.417mph gave Todd a 2.2 second advantage over Dunlop (134.118mph), aided by the best ever sector time from the Bungalow to Cronk Ny Mona, but Harrison (134.048mph) was only half a second further back with Hickman (133.754mph) still in fourth. Hillier (132.172mph) and KTS Racing’s Jamie Coward (131.627mph) were now fifth and sixth ahead of Conor Cummins, John McGuinness, David Johnson and Mike Browne, the latter becoming officially the fastest ever Aprilia rider around the Mountain Course.
Dunlop was quickest to Glen Helen and cut Todd’s lead to 1.5 seconds and although Hickman was closing in on Harrison, the gap between them now just three tenths of a second, he’d lost another second to the leaders. Coward was also closing in on Hillier, the deficit now 2.2 seconds.
Over Ballaugh Bridge and Dunlop was ahead by half a second and round Ramsey Hairpin for the second time, he’d extended his lead over Todd to 4.4 seconds with the quickest ever sector time between the two timing points.
Dunlop was inside the outright lap record at Ramsey and although he fell just short, a second lap of 135.543mph saw him move nine seconds clear. Hickman (134.701mph) was charging though, and he was now in second, four tenths of a second ahead of Todd (133.980mph) as Harrison (133.234mph) continued to lose ground in fourth. Hillier (131.898mph) and Coward (132.098mph) continued to hold onto fifth and sixth ahead of McGuinness, Cummins, Johnson and Browne, the latter just a fraction outside his first ever 130mph lap.
Hickman lost time in the pits though and dropped back to third at Glen Helen on lap three, five seconds behind Todd and a further nine behind the pace setting Dunlop. Hillier had also added five seconds to his advantage over Hillier whilst Dunlop moved ahead of Harrison along the Sulby Straight to now lead on the road.
Dunlop was extending his lead through every timing point and at half race distance, he’d pulled 17.3 seconds clear of Todd with Hickman now four seconds adrift of his fellow BMW rider. Harrison was running in a comfortable fourth, but Coward had now overhauled Hillier for fifth, albeit by just 0.3 seconds. Cummins retired from ninth though at the pits as did Phil Crowe and Rob Hodson with 16-time winner Ian Hutchinson going out at Windy Corner.
Back at the front and a fourth lap speed of 135.235mph enabled Dunlop to stretch his lead further over Todd to 25.1 seconds as he came in for his second pit stop but the battle for third was hotting up as Harrison, benefitting from a tow from Dunlop, posted a personal best lap of 135.185mph to move two seconds ahead of Hickman. Coward (132.655mph) also set a new personal best as he took a stranglehold of fifth with McGuinness now up to sixth.
However, drama followed after Dunlop left the pits as his new visor hadn’t clipped in correctly and he stopped down Bray Hill losing valuable time to fix it – when he got to Glen Helen for the penultimate time, he’d dropped to fourth with Harrison in the lead! Hickman was only 1.1 second behind Harrison though with Todd ten seconds adrift in third.
Starting the final lap it had changed again with Hickman now leading Harrison by two seconds with Todd, who’d taken the best Ballaugh-Ramsey sector time off Dunlop, well in touch and only 4.7 seconds back, which set it all up for a thrilling final 37.73 miles.
Having been in the position before though, Hickman tightened his grip of the race throughout the lap and final lap speed of 135.534mph gave him a 5.8 second victory over Todd with Harrison completing the podium in third. Dunlop was left to wonder what might have been in fourth with his only consolation being a new Superbike lap record of 135.970mph.
The battle for fifth went all the way to the end with Hillier coming out on top, 2.8 second ahead of McGuinness with Coward only 0.2s behind his fellow Honda rider. The top ten was completed by INCompetition Aprilia’s Browne, Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW) and Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau by FHO BMW).
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R, Landers came from behind, took the lead on the final lap, and held on to win by 0.154 second.
Alessandro Di Mario led most of the race on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660, but the 15-year-old said his softer-option rear tire ran out of grip at the end of the race.
Rossi Moor passed Dominic Doyle on the final lap to get third and his first Twins Cup podium finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Avery Dreher finished fourth on his TopPro Racing Aprilia.
Doyle crashed his Giaccmoto Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 on the final lap but was able to remount and salvage fifth place.
Matthew Chapin won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 on Dunlop control tires, Chapin led a large group riders across the stripe for six of the seven laps and won by 0.346 second.
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison was the runner-up, and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez made a big comeback through the race to score third.
The top six finishers were within 0.660 second of each other at the checkered flag.
Mikayla Moore won MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the defending Champion bounced back from a crash and injury that prevented her from riding in Race One and ran away to win five-lap Race Two by 23.9 seconds.
With the win, Moore retook the lead in the Championship point standings.
Aubrey Credaroli took the runner-up spot by 0.2 second over third-place finisher Cassie Creer.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia won the FIM MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at the Mugello circuit, in Italy. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP24 on Michelin control tires, the two-time and defending World Champion won the 23-lap race by 0.799 second
Bagnaia’s Italian teammate Enea Bastianini took a runner-up finish in front of his home fans.
Jorge Martin made it an all-Ducati podium by placing third on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez finished fourth on his Gresini Ducati.
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta got fifth on his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 machine.
Nuvola azzurra: Bagnaia reigns as Bastianini charges past Martin and Marquez at Mugello
Ducati Lenovo paint Mugello blue as the reigning Champion lays down the gauntlet and the Beast has his Sprint revenge
The start of the MotoGP race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Sunday, 02 June 2024
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed a near-perfect weekend on home turf with a masterclass victory in the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo. The Italian stormed to the lead from lights out and then kept it on perfect rails to stay a tantalising distance ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) for much of the race, with the gap going up and down but never quite in range for an attack. That instead came from Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the #23 put together an almighty final charge.
The Beast duelled Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and then put in a late burst of lightning speed to catch Martin, that enough to put him within striking distance at the final corner. And strike he did. Slicing up the inside and keeping it clean as anything, the #23 served his Tissot Sprint revenge to make it a Ducati Lenovo 1-2, with Martin forced to settle for third.
As the lights went out, Bagnaia went full Bagnaia. Second around San Donato as he threaded the needle from the second row, he immediately then lined up and pickpocketed Martin to go into the lead. From there, the hammer was down as Martin dug in to hold on, with Bastianini third ahead of Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
The chess game was on from there on out. Three tenths, six tenths, eight tenths, five tenths; Martin wasn’t getting dropped but he wasn’t consistently able to stay close enough to attack the #1 in the lead.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was on the march. Marquez made a move on Bastianini into San Donato and headed wide, with the #23 hitting back immediately, and that put the rookie superstar right on Marquez’ tail. The GASGAS shadowed him round the lap but couldn’t find a way through, then heading wide at the final corner and forced to watch the Gresini disappear out of striking distance.
At the front, the chess match rolled on. Bagnaia led Martin led Bastianini, with Marquez then starting to harry the #23. Acosta was a few tenths further back, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) starting to come under pressure from Viñales with 12 to go. It was tense holding stations, with the one small ripple in the calm coming as Martin went deep into San Donato with 10 laps to go, but he gathered it back up.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (1) leads Jorge Martin (89). Photo courtesy Dorna.
By six laps to go, it wasn’t check mate but it was starting to heat up into a grandstand finish. Marc Marquez finally made a move on Bastianini, attacking into San Donato with a clean move that gave the #23 no right of reply. His mission seemed then to catch Martin, but Martin was starting to cut the gap to the front once again. By three laps to go, it had been halved from the eight or nine tenth maximum Bagnaia had had at any point. Game on?
Very much so, but not for the #89. Instead, Bagnaia threw down the gauntlet and disappeared again as Bastianini stole the spotlight. Through on Marc Marquez at Scarperia, the exact same style of move the #93 had pulled on him, the Beast was on a charge and his next target was the other half of the Sprint tangle that had sent him into the gravel.
Locked on and flying, as Bagnaia crossed the line to take his third Italian GP win in a row as part of his second Mugello double, Bastianini was homing in. Into the very final corner the Ducati Lenovo Team rider found space on the inside to complete the fairtytale 1-2 for the team, and in some serious style as pandemonium erupted in the grandstands. Over the line with time in hand over Martin, Bastianini followed Bagnaia home – and Martin’s lead is cut to just 18 points.
Still, it was another podium finish and a good haul of points, and it was ahead of fellow frontrunner Marc Marquez, who was forced to settle for fourth. Acosta ended up in a lonelier ride for fifth after he’d lost touch with the front group.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) caught Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and got past him, and then managed to catch Viñales and Morbidelli to create a three-way fight for sixth. He made made it past the Aprilia just as the race entered the final three laps, but Morbidelli managed to stay ahead to take P6 ahead of the VR46 rider, Viñales and Alex Marquez.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) didn’t get the same stellar start as he did in Saturday, but the South African held off Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) to complete the top ten.
It’s now just 18 points separating Martin from Bagnaia at the top of the Championship, and after a maximum of 259 have already been on the table. Will the tale twist again at Assen? We’ll find out in a few weeks as MotoGP™ now resets and reloads before heading for the Cathedral. And Ducati keep pondering their 2025 line-up.
Joe Roberts (16) held off Manuel Gonzalez (18) to win the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022
In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP. Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.
Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.
Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).
Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.
In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.
As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.
Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!
David Alonso (80) won the Moto3 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Alonso just keeps the edge on Veijer to extend his lead to 37 points
David Alonso (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) remains the rider to beat in Moto3™, taking his fifth win of the season in style at Mugello. The Colombian led from the front for much of a shortened 11-lap dash and held off a late charge from Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to take another 25-point haul. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) charged up from P13 on the grid to secure third and his first ever Grand Prix podium.
The initial start was red-flagged following a crash for Fillippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Zurutuza heading to hospital for further examination. Once back underway, the distance was reduced to 11 laps of Mugello, with one clear aim for most: keep up with Alonso.
There was drama nearly immediately as Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) tagged riders at Turn 1 and sent Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Stefano Nepa (LEVEL UP-MTA) crashing out, with the #96 given a double Long Lap for irresponsible riding.
Meanwhile at the front, it was a breakway group of six making their moves: Alonso, Veijer, Yamanaka, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports).
With four to go, it looked like Alonso was trying to make a break, and it took Veijer a couple of laps to take over in second and get enough breathing space to start trying to close the Colombian down. But that he did, and by the start of the final lap the Dutchman was within a couple of tenths, with Ortola in third.
Ultimately, however, he couldn’t get close enough to make a move, and then there was drama in the fight for the final place on the podium too as Ortola slid out at Turn 12, ending his rostrum hopes. One of the quickest remounts of all time saw him still take sixth, but Yamanaka was up the road to take his maiden Grand Prix podium and continue his impressive consistency running near the front in 2024.
Fourth went to Furusato as he was the final rider within a couple of seconds of the front, with Muñoz forced to settle for fifth further down the road. Ortola remounted for that sixth ahead of another impressive ride from rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Matteo Bertelle (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the top ten in a closer group battle.
The gap is now 37 points for Alonso at the top. Now it’s next stop Assen after a spring break, but the question remains the same: can anyone stop the Colombian? Veijer nearly managed it at Mugello, and on his home turf in the Netherlands, he’ll try and find another kitchen sink to add to his armory.
Jorge Martin (right) and Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola (left). Photo courtesy Aprilia.
JORGE MARTÍN ALMOGUERA WILL BE AN APRILIA RACING RIDER FROM 2025 WITH A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT
It could only be Jorge Martín the ideal rider to ensure continuity after the announcement of Aleix Espargaró’s retirement, who has always been Martín’s friend and mentor. Martín has signed a multi-year contract with Aprilia Racing starting in 2025, and the Team and the entire Piaggio Group welcome a rider who best represents the desire to establish himself at the top of MotoGP.
MASSIMO RIVOLA (Aprilia Racing CEO)
“A path of unstoppable growth, Jorge is a building block to reach the goal we are all looking for with great hunger at Aprilia Racing. Thanks to Dr. Michele Colaninno for this opportunity, we spoke last night and without wasting any time we made the decision.”
The Red Bull Ring, in Austria. Photo courtesy Michelin.
MotoGP™ to race at the Red Bull Ring until 2030
A five-year contract extension confirms the Austrian GP on the calendar until 2030 inclusive
It’s official: the Austrian Grand Prix will be on the MotoGP™ calendar until 2030. Previously confirmed until 2025, a new agreement ensures the world’s most exciting sport will continue to race at the spectacular Red Bull Ring – Spielberg from 2026-2030 inclusive.
After nearly two decades, the Austrian GP returned to the calendar in 2016 and immediately became a fan and paddock favourite, winning Best Grand Prix for its first event back and then taking the trophy again in 2019. Set in the glorious Styrian hills in Spielberg, the Red Bull Ring provides a stunning backdrop for MotoGP™ – serving up fantastic racing, iconic final corner showdowns, and a full programme of fan activities throughout the Grand Prix.
Mark Mateschitz, owner of the Red Bull Ring: “Anyone who loves motorsport loves MotoGP. It embodies racing in its purest form. When the best riders in the world go head-to-head and there are multiple changes of position in a single lap, nobody can stay in their seats. Once you’ve experienced the enthusiasm of the fans here at the Red Bull Ring, you can’t get enough of it. I am delighted that we have been able to secure this great event for the spectators with a long-term commitment to Austria and to the Steiermark in particular.”
Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of MotoGP™ rights holder Dorna Sports: “We’re very happy to announce that the Austrian Grand Prix will be on the calendar until 2030. Not only is it one of the world’s most beautiful racetracks, it also delivers an incredible weekend for fans with fantastic facilities, great entertainment events, and spectacular racing. The Red Bull Ring has staged some of our most iconic modern moments since the track returned to the calendar.
“As the home track for KTM and part of Red Bull’s incredible commitment to motorsport, it’s also an important venue for many of our stakeholders and Austrian motorsport as a whole. We’re very happy to announce that we’ll be returning until 2030 and look forward to many more years working together.”
Tyler Scott won MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 on spec Dunlop tires, Scott went from third to first in the run from the final corner to the finish line and won in a photo finish.
Tyler Scott (70). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The official margin of victory was 0.001 second, but MotoAmerica officials said the margin was actually smaller than that.
Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz drafted past PJ Jacobsen from the final corner to the checkered flag but came up short by the smallest margin imaginable and got second place.
Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL rider Jacobsen led out of the final corner but ended getting third place, just 0.010 second behind the winner.
The official finish photo, or scan, shot at 10,000 frames per second. Photo courtesy MotoAmerica.
Maxi Gerardo led a lot of the race on his TopPro Racing Suzuki but could do no better than fourth, just 0.354 second behind Jacobsen.
Stefano Mesa also fought for the lead throughout the race but finished fifth, 1.882 seconds back.
The race was originally started and stopped with red flags twice, and then it was moved to the end of the day and run for seven instead of 11 laps.
How Close Is Close? Scott Wins Supersport At Road America By .001 Of A Second
Ultra-Close Racing At Road America In All The Support Classes
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 2, 2024) – Normally, Supersport is not the final race of the weekend at a MotoAmerica event, but a couple of red flags during its initial timeslot dictated that it be pushed ahead to late Sunday afternoon at Road America. Little did anyone know that it would turn out to be the closest three-rider race finish in the 10-year history of the MotoAmerica series.
Supersport – Scott By A Whisker
Sunday’s weather turned out to be ideal compared with the rain-sodden conditions on Saturday, and MotoAmerica’s Supersport class put on an incredible show. “Supersport Next Generation” is the name of the game, which means that motorcycles with engine displacements ranging from the 599cc Yamaha YZF-R6, to the 749cc Suzuki GSX-R750, to the 955cc Ducati Panigale V2 all race in Supersport with balancing measures taken to level the competition.
So, how level is the competition in Supersport? At the finish line, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott barely nipped Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz in a photo finish, with Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen finishing third and just one one-hundredth of a second behind Scholtz.
It was a breathtaking result, and Scott talked about it afterwards. “Our season definitely didn’t start off good at all,” Scott said. “Daytona was good. We finished second. We had a big crash there. Atlanta, we did all right in the rain. Had a big crash out of the lead, and at Barber, too. So, we’ve had a little bit of bad luck. The level in Supersport this year is just a lot higher than in previous years. You’ve got PJ, Scholtz and the new Gerardo kid. They’re all ex-Superbike riders. So, the level just gets notched up. So, we’re pushing to the edge and just over-pushing for my part. The team has done a great job preparing the bike. The team did a great job this weekend. Overall, the goal is to not try and lead the race and pull away because that hasn’t worked the last two weekends for us. I can race and I know how to race well, so the goal was just to stay with the front pack and start racing at the end for the lead. Coming up the hill, I had a plan to at least draft one of them. When they split, the only opportunity that I had was if PJ didn’t go to the wall. If he would have gone to the wall, I wouldn’t have had the opening. I just had enough of an opening to try and see what I could do in the last couple-hundred feet.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – “Must-Win” For Wyman Accomplished
Speaking of close finishes, the penultimate race of the weekend was also nearly a photo finish. Mission King Of The Baggers, which is MotoAmerica’s uniquely American Harley-Davidson versus Indian Motorcycle rival series, came right down to the finish line, as well.
And, with Harley-Davidson’s headquarters located just an hour south of Road America in Milwaukee, plus 91-year-old namesake Willie G. Davidson at the track along with thousands of H-D employees and also fans of The Motor Company, Kyle Wyman, aboard his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide Special (signed by “Willie G.” just before the start of the race), rose to the challenge and won the drag race to the checkered flag over S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss. The Australian’s teammate Tyler O’Hara completed the podium in third, while Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli finished fourth.
The margin of victory for Wyman was just .039 of a second over Herfoss, and he was more relieved than ecstatic that he won, since he faced the intense pressure and overcame it.
“A hundred percent a must-win today,” Wyman said. “Usually, you have kind of two shots at it. Yesterday, I was not comfortable, so I didn’t feel like I really had a shot to fight for the win. I knew it was all eggs in one basket on Sunday. Troy (Herfoss) found something this morning. I was struggling a little bit. We made a small change for the race, just to try to get me a predictable bike. I knew it was going to be a scrap. I think we all knew nobody was going to get away, so just try to get me something that was comfortable to ride that I could kind of throw around where I needed to. Got a good start. The Gillim train in the beginning was a little erratic. I know he’s doing what he has to do. He’s a little bit down on horsepower, but I had some close calls with him, for sure. Got me sucked into the back-end of him a couple times. I thought we were going to touch wheels. Once Troy came up, he got through on me, and I just latched on. There were a couple areas where he had a little bit of pace on me, but there were other areas where I could kind of reel him back. Like I said at COTA, I love a one-on-one. When I looked back, I guess these guys got kind of separated. I looked back and saw we had a gap to third. I was like, all right. It’s a mano-e-mano type of thing. I love it. I’m having the most enjoyment of my entire racing career, racing these baggers and especially this year racing Troy. It’s a fantastic challenge. It’s a fantastic rivalry, and one with a whole lot of respect. I’m really enjoying it, as he is. I can’t wait to get back with my guys and celebrate because we got the ‘must-win’ done.
“I’m super thankful to the whole Harley-Davidson team. To have Willie G. out here in his homecoming year. They’re going to celebrate him at homecoming coming up here in July in Milwaukee. It’s a pretty special deal. Pretty amazing feeling.”
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Landers’ Last-Lap Dash
RevZilla/Motul/ Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers couldn’t match the pace of Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario early in Sunday’s race, but he stuck around, bided his time, and took full advantage of the lack of grip on Di Mario’s Aprilia to make a pass on the last lap and notch victory, his second of the season.
Di Mario had a solid weekend at Road America, following up his second-place finish in the rain on Saturday with another runner-up finish on Sunday. His teammate Gus Rodio, meanwhile, had a weekend to forget with two non-finishes, which has given Landers and Di Mario sizeable leads in the championship.
Landers led the title chase going into Sunday’s race after finishing third yesterday, and he added to that lead with a victory on Sunday. Following his 50th career win across all classes, Landers is nine points clear of Di Mario, 135-126, with Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle third on 110 points – one point better than Rodio, who slips down to fourth in the championship.
The battle for third was a good one with Doyle vs. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor for the majority of the race. Doyle, however, had a miscue on the last lap while chasing Moor, allowing the Oregonian to secure third and his first Twins Cup podium.
TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher came out of it all in fourth with Doyle recovering for fifth.
“In the beginning when his tire was fresh, I just had nothing for him, especially on the short chutes,” Landers said. “That’s where I lose most of my time. The long straights aren’t that big of a deal. It’s just until we get to sixth gear. Once we’re at the top of fifth, sixth gear it’s not so bad. I saw his tire start to go off and he kept dropping me. I was pushing so hard that entire race. I was having a little bit of front-end issues. The right-hand side of my tire might have been overheating. But I kind of was hoping Gus (Rodio) would be my ticket back up to Alessandro (Di Mario), but he ended up going down in five on lap two or three. At that point, I was like, just put my head down and see what I could do. I did not think I was going to be able to catch him, because he came across the line at 1.8 something on the last lap. I just pushed as hard as I possibly could. Honestly, going into the chicane on the last lap, I didn’t even think I was going to be able to. I just waited until he got on the brakes and was like, ‘screw it. if I blow the chicane, I blow the chicane and get second rather than settling for it’ and I just sent it. Somehow it worked. I’m very surprised, to be honest with you. But that was a good race. I almost think it topped yesterday’s rain race, but not quite. I think that was my greatest race ever. This is maybe second. It always changes. I couldn’t have done it without my team. They’ve been busting their butts. We’ve been trying to get this bike as good as possible. The thing is handling absolutely phenomenally, especially on the front end.”
Junior Cup – Chapin Does The Double
Junior Cup normalcy returned under the sunny skies of Elkhart Lake on Sunday with some 10-12 riders in the lead pack for most of the race after Saturday’s horrible weather didn’t make for the best racing.
When all was said and done, however, the lead pack dwindled to nine and it was game on with yesterday’s winner in the rainstorm, Matthew Chapin, doing most of the leading and using his diminutive size and a fast motorcycle to somehow make it to the stripe first nearly every time.
Including the one that mattered most – the last one.
The win was BARTCON Racing-backed Chapin’s third and that, combined with Yandel Medina finishing ninth, gave him the championship points lead.
Second place today, and just .346 of a second behind Chapin, was Barber’s doubleheader winner Logan Cunnison on his Speed Demon Racing-backed Kawasaki Ninja 400 with Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez taking the final podium spot.
Six riders crossed the line in quick succession with Karns Performance’s Levi Badie fourth, Bad Boys Racing’s Avery Dreher fifth and BPM’s Issac Woodworth sixth.
“My bike has been really, really fast all weekend,” Chapin said. “I’ve been pretty fast, and I was feeling confident. I knew if I stayed out front, I could maybe pull a gap. I knew I could hold the lead. I just put my head down the whole race. I wanted to lead the whole time because I didn’t want to get shuffled back.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – She’s Back
The mice got their chance to play in yesterday’s first of two Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. battles as defending series champion Mikayla Moore sat it out with a thigh injury. Today, the cat returned, and she was at the top as always with Moore taking her third win of the year by a whopping 23.937 seconds.
Behind her came a battle for second between Aubrey Credaroli and yesterday’s winner Cassie Creer with Credaroli getting the spot at the line by just .243 of a second. Creer was third, a day after earning her first-career MotoAmerica podium and victory.
Camille Conrad backed up her podium finish yesterday on a soaking wet racetrack with fourth today under bright sunshine. Kira Knebel rounded out the top-five finishers.
Fortunately for Moore, she was able to swap helmets prior to the race after realizing she couldn’t see out of her faceshield.
“I went over to the Arai tent, and I told them I needed my helmet and make sure it’s good, since it was the same helmet that I crashed in,” Moore said. “He said it was all checked out, but at the last minute I went to go put it on and I put the visor down and I could not see no one in front of me. It was super blurry. I had Kendall with K Tech come over and I was like, ‘I need that other helmet ASAP, because I’m blind right now. I can’t see nobody.’”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
ROAD AMERICA RACE 2
SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 2024 | WARM UP & RACE 2
Today’s activities started with the morning warm up, which solidified the team’s confidence in their machines heading into the race. With PJ Jacobsen topping the charts with a time of 2:17.734 and Kayla Yaakov nearly matching her qualifying times, finishing the session in 12th.
The sunny skies and dry track conditions provided a picture perfect setting for today’s Race 2 at Road America. The race ran just over two laps before the first red flag was waved for an expired engine. With the red conditions, both XPEL bikes made their way back to the hot pit for adjustments. Due to the first red coming out within the first three laps, the riders took the restart from their original starting positions.
During the first lap of the restarted race, an incident occurred near the tail of the field that immediately brought out a second red flag. The field made their way back to pit lane and were soon told the remainder of the race would be postponed until after the Superbike and King of the Baggers races.
Once Race 2 resumed, it was seven laps of determination to get to the end. Yaakov got an amazing restart but was caught in the field which eventually became distanced from the leading five. Jacobsen moved through the top four, making a pass for the lead out of Canada corner, but ultimately finishing third at the finish line in the closest-ever finish in MotoAmerica history (0.001 seconds between first and second and 0.009 seconds between second and third).
The team heads to Brainerd, MN for Rounds 7 & 8 of competition Friday, June 14 – Sunday, June 16. More information on the participation of Corey Alexander and the Roller Die machine at the Brainerd course will be provided as the event nears.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 3rd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st (131 pts., 12 pt. lead)
NOTES: Has collected a podium finish at every race so far this season // Remains the championship leader heading into Rounds 7 & 8 of 18
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Going into the dry race today, I was a bit optimistic. I think walking out of here with a podium is a good result. I tried everything I could to lead the end of the race and end up in first, but we got passed at the finish line. I don’t think I had enough to draft those guys if I was sitting behind them, so I had to lead out of the last corner and try my hardest. I want to thank the entire Rahal Ducati Moto / XPEL team for doing a great job this whole weekend. We are leaving with another podium finish which has me confident going to Brainerd. I like that track – I had my first Superbike win there, so hopefully the adjustments we make to our bike should provide us a good result.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 12th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 11th (35 pts., -1 position)
NOTES: The rain in Saturday’s race hindered Kayla’s forward progression in learning the Road America track on the Supersport bike // Yaakov was making big gains each session throughout the weekend and could have utilized the dry race yesterday to progress further and translate data to be used for today’s race
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Today was a very tough race. After so many restarts and not many full laps completed, it was very hard to find a flow and balance that worked for me and the bike. In the second restart, I was in a very good position and hanging onto the lead group, but unfortunately the race was red flagged and I wasn’t able to get the same jump on the third restart as I did in the second. I was struggling quite a bit without a draft, and was shuffled back even though I was strong in the infield sections. Really unfortunate, but I’ll put this race behind me and focus on Brainerd.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We always want more, but it wasn’t a bad day for the Rahal Ducati Moto team. PJ got really good points, and in my opinion, he rode a pretty perfect race. We were just down a little bit of top speed, but he put in a pass on the last lap, led out the last corner, and went back to third place. There’s not much he could’ve done different. Kayla also rode a really good race. She’s still adapting to the big bike on the bigger tracks with bigger breaking zones, so there is still a lot to learn but she is showing a lot of growth each week. Overall, it was a good weekend resulting in good points. I want to congratulate Tyler Scott on his win – he’s had a couple pretty hard weekends and a couple pretty hard crashes. We will move forward to Brainerd and try to get back on the top of the box.”
Kyle Wyman won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Wyman used a last-lap pass to take a narrow victory by 0.039 second.
Reigning Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss fought his way to the front on his S&S Indian Challenger, but Wyman passed him on the run to the checkered flag, relegating him to second place.
Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara came out on top of another, equally entertaining battle for third place.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli crossed the finish line fourth, 0.047 second behind O’Hara and 0.223 second ahead of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Champion Hayden Gillim in fifth.
Josh Herrin won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Herrin led from start to finish and won the 12-lap race by 9.058 seconds.
Bobby Fong was the best of the rest, taking a runner-up finish on his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW rider JD Beach was right behind Fong for much of the race but could not make a move and came in third, 0.326 second behind Fong. Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz took the checkered flag 0.434 second behind Beach in fourth.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne was third early in the race but slipped backwards to a lonely fifth-place finish on his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1.
Sean Dylan Kelly was running second on the final lap when he ran wide entering Canada Corner due to an apparent mechanical issue with his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR. Kelly continued as best he could and salvaged sixth.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch and Xavi Fores were separated by 0.013 second at the finish line with Paasch getting seventh and Fores taking eighth.
Benjamin Smith got ninth and the Superbike Cup victory on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha, and Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10 finishers on his Team Brazil BMW.
Race One winner Cameron Petersen was running seventh on lap six when his Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 suffered a smokey failure, forcing him to retire.
Five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier did not start Race Two. Beaubier crashed during Race One and broke the heel in his right foot. Beaubier’s recovery time was not known at post time.
Herrin Dominates Steel Commander Superbike Race Two At Road America
Josh Herrin Rides His Ducati To A Nine-Second Win In Elkhart Lake
ELKHART LAKE, WI (June 2, 2024) – It may not have been a walk in the park, but it was definitely a high-speed stroll through the track known as America’s National Park of Speed for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin on Sunday at Road America.
Herrin stormed away at the start of the 12-lap race and was never threatened. The chasing pack kept the gap in the two-second range for a few laps, but then the margin just steadily grew exponentially until it got to the 10-second mark. The Ducati Panigale V4 R was in its element on the high-speed track and Herrin was enjoying every minute of it.
At the completion of the 12 laps, Herrin was a tick over nine seconds clear of the chasing pack. It was his first win of what has been a difficult season thus far for the 2013 Superbike Champion. It was also the 11th Superbike win of his career, which ties him for 18th on the all-time Superbike win list with Anthony Gobert.
The chasing pack was hectic and consisted of four – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.
Kelly did most of the leading in second place, but Fong was on a mission and riding hard to make up for an obvious speed disadvantage with his Yamaha YZF-R1 against the BMW M 1000 RRs of Kelly and Beach. Baz, meanwhile, also had a fast bike but couldn’t go farther forward until the last lap.
It was on the last lap and the run to the final corner and the dash up the hill that the pack lost Kelly, with his BMW faltering as it was stuck in fifth gear. He would finish but it would be in sixth and not the second place he was fighting for. Fong ended up a well-deserved second with Beach third, less than half a second behind the Yamaha on the run to the flag. Then came Baz just a few 10ths behind.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne passed Kelly for fifth with the Floridian nursing the bike up the hill to sixth. Gagne’s ride had been mostly lonely.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was seventh after beating his fill-in teammate Xavi Forés by just .013 of a second. FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
After three rounds and seven races in the Steel Commander Superbike Championship, Gagne leads the injured Cameron Beaubier by 18 points, 113-95, with the five-time Superbike Championship expected to miss at least the next round with the broken heel he suffered in Saturday’s crash at Road America.
Fong jumps to third in the title chase, 25 points behind Gagne and just seven behind Beaubier. Saturday’s race winner Cameron Petersen is fourth in the championship after his Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered a terminal illness that took the South African out of race two after just six laps.
Kelly is tied with Petersen for fourth and fortunate he could nurse the BMW to the finish line. The pair are 30 points behind Gagne and four points ahead of Herrin, who obviously gained tons of ground with his first victory of the year.
Superbike Race Two
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
JD Beach (BMW)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
Benjamin Smith (Yamaha)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Quotes
Josh Herrin – Winner
“Obviously, no Superbike win is ever easy,” Herrin said. “The guys gave me a great bike today. I had a great bike yesterday, but I’m just terrible in the rain on it. This one feels extra special, but the laps just kept clicking. I just felt super good. I was in a rhythm. I didn’t think about anybody behind me once, until three laps to go and I saw plus nine. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a magical moment, for sure. It was one of those ones that you can’t explain, and you don’t really know why it happened. I mean, I know I had a great bike and I felt great, and I’ve been putting in the work, but it never comes that easy. I just want to thank the entire Warhorse HSBK Racing team for all the hard work that they do. I’m happy because the last race in New Jersey last year was really tough, and then we went to Road Atlanta, and I was leading and got ran off the track. Then I had a rain race that I sucked in again. Barber was terrible. Yesterday was terrible. So, it’s been a really hard six, seven, eight months, somewhere around there. I’m happy to be back up here. I told the guys, if we have two years on this bike it will make a huge difference. We were showing that in Atlanta, just with the way that we’re able to start Friday and be there right away. It just helps a lot with your confidence. This weekend told the same story. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and just really happy to be with the same team for three years in a row. I have a lot of fun with these guys. It’s really rare. I’ve been doing this for 19 years and this is the third time that I’ve felt like this in 19 years. One was with Graves. One was with Richard (Stanboli) in ’18, and now this team. It doesn’t happen very often that you get the full package, and right now we have it. I’m super happy. I’m bummed that Cam (Beaubier) wasn’t out there. I’m hoping that he has a speedy recovery because I know he for sure would have been there. I’m sure he’ll be back soon and fast. Brainerd is going to be tough, for sure. I’m ready and excited and just grateful for this.”
Bobby Fong – Second Place
“It was a hard-fought race,” Fong said. “It was me and Dylan (Sean Dylan Kelly) putting in our licks. I had to be smart. They had a little bit of horsepower and I had to get a run on him on each straightaway. I would back up a little bit going into the turns and try to come out with him just to stay as close as I could in the draft. I saw JD (Beach) pass me and I thought maybe (Loris) Baz was going to get in there and make some moves. I had to counter and counter fast just to keep my position. Now we’ve moved up in third in the championship and a little bit closer to (Jake) Gagne. Our goal is to be top Yamaha. It’s a bummer that (Cameron) Beaubier was out. Obviously, he was pretty dominant all weekend. Hopefully, he’s back soon because he was the standard all weekend.”
JD Beach – Third Place
“It’s hard,” Beach said. “I want to be pumped about this, but I feel like we’re still so far off right now. It’s not from a lack of trying from the team or myself. We’re just missing something, and I know once we get it, we’ll be right there. I guess it’s nice that I’m not pumped about a third, but in all honesty, it is great to be up here and to be third. I want to be fighting with Josh (Herrin) and Cameron (Beaubier) and the guys at the front. I’m glad we took a big step forward from Barber. That was a hard weekend. We’ll just keep fighting and we’ll keep working. We’ve still got a lot of races to go. There’s no quitting, so we’ll just keep going.”
HICKMAN CLAIMS 14TH TT WIN IN DRAMATIC RST SUPERBIKE RACE
Peter Hickman claimed his 14th TT win during a dramatic RST Superbike TT Race at the Isle of Man TT Races, matching Mike Hailwood’s tally. The Monster Energy BMW by FHO Racing rider taking the lead on the final lap to win by 5.84 seconds from Davey Todd (Milwaukee BMW) with Dean Harrison (Honda Racing) in third.
It was one of the most thrilling races of recent times as Michael Dunlop (MasterMac by Hawk/MD Racing Honda) originally led by twenty-five seconds at two-thirds race distance only to have an issue with the sidepod on his visor leaving the pits after his second stop – this resulted in him stopping on Bray Hill, which dropped him down to fourth.
The race got underway on time at 2.40pm with near perfect conditions around the Mountain Course and it was Todd who led through Glen Helen for the first time, his advantage over Hickman just 0.037 seconds. They were quickly followed by Harrison, Dunlop, Hickman’s team-mate Josh Brookes and James Hillier (WTF Racing Honda) as only 3.5 seconds covered the top six but Brookes was soon out, retiring at Handley’s after his chain came off.
Todd maintained his lead at Ballaugh, only 0.166 seconds ahead of new second-placed rider Harrison and it was now Dunlop in third as Hickman slipped back to fourth. But, by Ramsey, Todd had extended his lead over Harrison to 1.18 seconds, although Hickman was the fastest rider from Ballaugh to Ramsey. James Hind, fifth in Saturday’s Supersport race, was another retirement as was Shaun Anderson.
An opening lap of 134.417mph gave Todd a 2.2 second advantage over Dunlop (134.118mph), aided by the best ever sector time from the Bungalow to Cronk Ny Mona, but Harrison (134.048mph) was only half a second further back with Hickman (133.754mph) still in fourth. Hillier (132.172mph) and KTS Racing’s Jamie Coward (131.627mph) were now fifth and sixth ahead of Conor Cummins, John McGuinness, David Johnson and Mike Browne, the latter becoming officially the fastest ever Aprilia rider around the Mountain Course.
Dunlop was quickest to Glen Helen and cut Todd’s lead to 1.5 seconds and although Hickman was closing in on Harrison, the gap between them now just three tenths of a second, he’d lost another second to the leaders. Coward was also closing in on Hillier, the deficit now 2.2 seconds.
Over Ballaugh Bridge and Dunlop was ahead by half a second and round Ramsey Hairpin for the second time, he’d extended his lead over Todd to 4.4 seconds with the quickest ever sector time between the two timing points.
Dunlop was inside the outright lap record at Ramsey and although he fell just short, a second lap of 135.543mph saw him move nine seconds clear. Hickman (134.701mph) was charging though, and he was now in second, four tenths of a second ahead of Todd (133.980mph) as Harrison (133.234mph) continued to lose ground in fourth. Hillier (131.898mph) and Coward (132.098mph) continued to hold onto fifth and sixth ahead of McGuinness, Cummins, Johnson and Browne, the latter just a fraction outside his first ever 130mph lap.
Hickman lost time in the pits though and dropped back to third at Glen Helen on lap three, five seconds behind Todd and a further nine behind the pace setting Dunlop. Hillier had also added five seconds to his advantage over Hillier whilst Dunlop moved ahead of Harrison along the Sulby Straight to now lead on the road.
Dunlop was extending his lead through every timing point and at half race distance, he’d pulled 17.3 seconds clear of Todd with Hickman now four seconds adrift of his fellow BMW rider. Harrison was running in a comfortable fourth, but Coward had now overhauled Hillier for fifth, albeit by just 0.3 seconds. Cummins retired from ninth though at the pits as did Phil Crowe and Rob Hodson with 16-time winner Ian Hutchinson going out at Windy Corner.
Back at the front and a fourth lap speed of 135.235mph enabled Dunlop to stretch his lead further over Todd to 25.1 seconds as he came in for his second pit stop but the battle for third was hotting up as Harrison, benefitting from a tow from Dunlop, posted a personal best lap of 135.185mph to move two seconds ahead of Hickman. Coward (132.655mph) also set a new personal best as he took a stranglehold of fifth with McGuinness now up to sixth.
However, drama followed after Dunlop left the pits as his new visor hadn’t clipped in correctly and he stopped down Bray Hill losing valuable time to fix it – when he got to Glen Helen for the penultimate time, he’d dropped to fourth with Harrison in the lead! Hickman was only 1.1 second behind Harrison though with Todd ten seconds adrift in third.
Starting the final lap it had changed again with Hickman now leading Harrison by two seconds with Todd, who’d taken the best Ballaugh-Ramsey sector time off Dunlop, well in touch and only 4.7 seconds back, which set it all up for a thrilling final 37.73 miles.
Having been in the position before though, Hickman tightened his grip of the race throughout the lap and final lap speed of 135.534mph gave him a 5.8 second victory over Todd with Harrison completing the podium in third. Dunlop was left to wonder what might have been in fourth with his only consolation being a new Superbike lap record of 135.970mph.
The battle for fifth went all the way to the end with Hillier coming out on top, 2.8 second ahead of McGuinness with Coward only 0.2s behind his fellow Honda rider. The top ten was completed by INCompetition Aprilia’s Browne, Michael Rutter (Bathams Ales BMW) and Brian McCormack (Roadhouse Macau by FHO BMW).
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R, Landers came from behind, took the lead on the final lap, and held on to win by 0.154 second.
Alessandro Di Mario led most of the race on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660, but the 15-year-old said his softer-option rear tire ran out of grip at the end of the race.
Rossi Moor passed Dominic Doyle on the final lap to get third and his first Twins Cup podium finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Avery Dreher finished fourth on his TopPro Racing Aprilia.
Doyle crashed his Giaccmoto Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 on the final lap but was able to remount and salvage fifth place.
Matthew Chapin won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 on Dunlop control tires, Chapin led a large group riders across the stripe for six of the seven laps and won by 0.346 second.
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison was the runner-up, and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez made a big comeback through the race to score third.
The top six finishers were within 0.660 second of each other at the checkered flag.
Mikayla Moore won MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Race Two Sunday at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the defending Champion bounced back from a crash and injury that prevented her from riding in Race One and ran away to win five-lap Race Two by 23.9 seconds.
With the win, Moore retook the lead in the Championship point standings.
Aubrey Credaroli took the runner-up spot by 0.2 second over third-place finisher Cassie Creer.
The Mugello Circuit in Italy. Photo courtesy Michelin.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia won the FIM MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at the Mugello circuit, in Italy. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP24 on Michelin control tires, the two-time and defending World Champion won the 23-lap race by 0.799 second
Bagnaia’s Italian teammate Enea Bastianini took a runner-up finish in front of his home fans.
Jorge Martin made it an all-Ducati podium by placing third on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez finished fourth on his Gresini Ducati.
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta got fifth on his Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 machine.
Nuvola azzurra: Bagnaia reigns as Bastianini charges past Martin and Marquez at Mugello
Ducati Lenovo paint Mugello blue as the reigning Champion lays down the gauntlet and the Beast has his Sprint revenge
The start of the MotoGP race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Sunday, 02 June 2024
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed a near-perfect weekend on home turf with a masterclass victory in the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo. The Italian stormed to the lead from lights out and then kept it on perfect rails to stay a tantalising distance ahead of Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) for much of the race, with the gap going up and down but never quite in range for an attack. That instead came from Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the #23 put together an almighty final charge.
The Beast duelled Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and then put in a late burst of lightning speed to catch Martin, that enough to put him within striking distance at the final corner. And strike he did. Slicing up the inside and keeping it clean as anything, the #23 served his Tissot Sprint revenge to make it a Ducati Lenovo 1-2, with Martin forced to settle for third.
As the lights went out, Bagnaia went full Bagnaia. Second around San Donato as he threaded the needle from the second row, he immediately then lined up and pickpocketed Martin to go into the lead. From there, the hammer was down as Martin dug in to hold on, with Bastianini third ahead of Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
The chess game was on from there on out. Three tenths, six tenths, eight tenths, five tenths; Martin wasn’t getting dropped but he wasn’t consistently able to stay close enough to attack the #1 in the lead.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was on the march. Marquez made a move on Bastianini into San Donato and headed wide, with the #23 hitting back immediately, and that put the rookie superstar right on Marquez’ tail. The GASGAS shadowed him round the lap but couldn’t find a way through, then heading wide at the final corner and forced to watch the Gresini disappear out of striking distance.
At the front, the chess match rolled on. Bagnaia led Martin led Bastianini, with Marquez then starting to harry the #23. Acosta was a few tenths further back, with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) starting to come under pressure from Viñales with 12 to go. It was tense holding stations, with the one small ripple in the calm coming as Martin went deep into San Donato with 10 laps to go, but he gathered it back up.
Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (1) leads Jorge Martin (89). Photo courtesy Dorna.
By six laps to go, it wasn’t check mate but it was starting to heat up into a grandstand finish. Marc Marquez finally made a move on Bastianini, attacking into San Donato with a clean move that gave the #23 no right of reply. His mission seemed then to catch Martin, but Martin was starting to cut the gap to the front once again. By three laps to go, it had been halved from the eight or nine tenth maximum Bagnaia had had at any point. Game on?
Very much so, but not for the #89. Instead, Bagnaia threw down the gauntlet and disappeared again as Bastianini stole the spotlight. Through on Marc Marquez at Scarperia, the exact same style of move the #93 had pulled on him, the Beast was on a charge and his next target was the other half of the Sprint tangle that had sent him into the gravel.
Locked on and flying, as Bagnaia crossed the line to take his third Italian GP win in a row as part of his second Mugello double, Bastianini was homing in. Into the very final corner the Ducati Lenovo Team rider found space on the inside to complete the fairtytale 1-2 for the team, and in some serious style as pandemonium erupted in the grandstands. Over the line with time in hand over Martin, Bastianini followed Bagnaia home – and Martin’s lead is cut to just 18 points.
Still, it was another podium finish and a good haul of points, and it was ahead of fellow frontrunner Marc Marquez, who was forced to settle for fourth. Acosta ended up in a lonelier ride for fifth after he’d lost touch with the front group.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) caught Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and got past him, and then managed to catch Viñales and Morbidelli to create a three-way fight for sixth. He made made it past the Aprilia just as the race entered the final three laps, but Morbidelli managed to stay ahead to take P6 ahead of the VR46 rider, Viñales and Alex Marquez.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) didn’t get the same stellar start as he did in Saturday, but the South African held off Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) to complete the top ten.
It’s now just 18 points separating Martin from Bagnaia at the top of the Championship, and after a maximum of 259 have already been on the table. Will the tale twist again at Assen? We’ll find out in a few weeks as MotoGP™ now resets and reloads before heading for the Cathedral. And Ducati keep pondering their 2025 line-up.
Joe Roberts (16) held off Manuel Gonzalez (18) to win the Moto2 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Roberts fights off Gonzalez on the last lap to take first victory since 2022
In a blockbuster Moto2™ race at the Gran Premio d’Italia Brembo, Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) took victory in a nail-biting last lap decider, the American repelling the best efforts of Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) to take top honours for the first time since the 2022 Portuguese GP. Completing the podium was MB Conveyors SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez, who was elbows out in the front fight, as ever.
Off like a rocket at the start, Roberts led early on the opening lap. He had close competition though, with Lopez and a Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) following on eagerly. A flying start also came in from Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) as well, who stormed to seventh after starting 12th.
Lopez would follow Roberts until lap four before he pounced at San Donato, but it wouldn’t be until Turn 3 before he could make the move stick. Unfortunately for the MB Conveyors Speed Up team, it was glory for one and disaster for another in that moment as Lopez’ teammate Fermin Aledguer crashed out after contact from Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team).
Still in the lead, Lopez now had Gonzalez behind as he had found his way through on Roberts. Slightly further back in the lead pack, disaster stuck for Binder who skittled into the gravel at Arrabbiata 1, an early end to what had been a strong weekend all round.
In a six-rider battle for the lead, everything was building to a grandstand last half of the race. The action kicked off as Roberts and Lopez ran wide at Turn 1 – giving them both more work to do – and allowing Gonzalez and Canet to the lead. But it wouldn’t be long before Roberts would then return the favour and find his way through to the front with just three laps remaining, asking questions of the others at the front.
As a dramatic finish loomed, Roberts entered the final lap in the lead. Gonzalez got a fantastic slipstream and attacked round San Donato, but the American hit back at the next available chance, diving to the inside at Turn 2. Under the highest of pressure, Roberts held strong to take his first victory since the 2022 Portuguese GP by just 0.067s. Gonzalez’ search for a first Moto2™ win goes on, and Lopez picked up third podium of the season.
Claiming fourth was Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI), whose advantage in the standings has reduced to seven points. Behind Garcia was teammate Ogura, who Garcia pipped on the last lap, ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and home hero Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) claimed eighth as IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra and OnlyFans American Racing Team’s Marcos Ramirez rounded out the top 10.
Next up is the TT Circuit Assen in three weeks’ time for what is set to be yet another dramatic Grand Prix, so join us for more at the Cathedral!
David Alonso (80) won the Moto3 race at Mugello. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Alonso just keeps the edge on Veijer to extend his lead to 37 points
David Alonso (CFMoto Valresa Aspar Team) remains the rider to beat in Moto3™, taking his fifth win of the season in style at Mugello. The Colombian led from the front for much of a shortened 11-lap dash and held off a late charge from Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) to take another 25-point haul. Ryusei Yamanaka (MT Helmets – MSI) charged up from P13 on the grid to secure third and his first ever Grand Prix podium.
The initial start was red-flagged following a crash for Fillippo Farioli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Xabi Zurutuza (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with Zurutuza heading to hospital for further examination. Once back underway, the distance was reduced to 11 laps of Mugello, with one clear aim for most: keep up with Alonso.
There was drama nearly immediately as Dani Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) tagged riders at Turn 1 and sent Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Stefano Nepa (LEVEL UP-MTA) crashing out, with the #96 given a double Long Lap for irresponsible riding.
Meanwhile at the front, it was a breakway group of six making their moves: Alonso, Veijer, Yamanaka, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) and David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports).
With four to go, it looked like Alonso was trying to make a break, and it took Veijer a couple of laps to take over in second and get enough breathing space to start trying to close the Colombian down. But that he did, and by the start of the final lap the Dutchman was within a couple of tenths, with Ortola in third.
Ultimately, however, he couldn’t get close enough to make a move, and then there was drama in the fight for the final place on the podium too as Ortola slid out at Turn 12, ending his rostrum hopes. One of the quickest remounts of all time saw him still take sixth, but Yamanaka was up the road to take his maiden Grand Prix podium and continue his impressive consistency running near the front in 2024.
Fourth went to Furusato as he was the final rider within a couple of seconds of the front, with Muñoz forced to settle for fifth further down the road. Ortola remounted for that sixth ahead of another impressive ride from rookie Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), rookie Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Matteo Bertelle (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) completed the top ten in a closer group battle.
The gap is now 37 points for Alonso at the top. Now it’s next stop Assen after a spring break, but the question remains the same: can anyone stop the Colombian? Veijer nearly managed it at Mugello, and on his home turf in the Netherlands, he’ll try and find another kitchen sink to add to his armory.
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