Hayden Gillim continued his domination of the MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers class at Brainerd International Raceway with a convincing victory in Saturday’s Mission Challenge race.
Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, Gillim won the two-lap dash-for-cash by 1.342 seconds, earning the $5,000 winner-take-all purse.
Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers went from sixth on the grid to second place at the finish.
Troy Herfoss was running in second place on his S&S Indian Challenger until he ran wide in Turn 12 on the final lap. The reigning Australian Superbike Champion recovered in time to still get third place.
Hayden Gillim took pole position during MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Gillim turned a 1:34.717, which eclipsed the new All-Time Lap Record of 1:34.747 he set in Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday.
Troy Herfoss bounced back from two crashes on Friday to qualify second with a 1:34.883 on his S&S Indian Challenger.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara was third-fastest with a 1:35.013.
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing teammates Kyle Wyman (1:35.111) and James Rispoli (1:35.187) will line up on row two alongside Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers (1:35.480).
Herrera just beats Carrasco across the line in an historic first WorldWCR race at Misano
Maria Herrera (6) beat Ana Carrasco (22) to win the first-ever WorldWCR race. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Race 1 Highlights:
Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) wins the inaugural five-lap WorldWCR race at the Misano World Circuit, setting a blistering pace and crossing the line just 0.067 of a second ahead of fellow Spaniard Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team)
Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) came out on top in the exciting battle for third, closing half a second ahead of Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), fourth, and Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha), fifth
It was Spaniard Carrasco who set the fastest lap of the race, a 1’48.594 (lap four). This result means that she will start Sunday’s Race 2 from pole position
The race came to a premature end for Lena Kemmer (Bertl K. Racing Team), Iryna Nadieieva (MPS.RT) and Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team), all of whom crashed but sustained no serious injuries
It was a race of three parts, the original race red-flagged on lap six due to a serious incident for Mia Rusthen (Rusthen Racing) through Turn 16. Norwegian Rusthen has suffered a head injury with concussion and is currently receiving treatment at the Bufalini Trauma Centre in Cesena. The patient’s condition has been stabilised
A second ‘heat’ was also red-flagged after Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) crashed on lap one. The South African rider has been diagnosed with concussion and was transported by helicopter to the Bufalini Trauma Centre. The rider is conscious
Championship Standings:
Herrera’s maiden WorldWCR victory means that she takes an early championship lead with 25 points
Carrasco and Sanchez follow close behind, having banked 20 and 16 points respectively
Key Points:
Pole position: Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) – 1’49.390
Race 1 winner: Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team)
Race fastest lap: Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) – 1’48.594
P1 | Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team
“I’m so happy, not only to have won the first ever WorldWCR race, but also because we have been able to achieve this result after so much hard work over the last month. I didn’t even ride the bike until yesterday but I really wanted to win, so I pushed hard in every session and was also able to set pole, which came as a nice surprise. I had a great battle with Ana in the race; it was tough, and I was on the limit, but I was strong on the brakes. I still need to understand the bike more in order to be faster, but I’m working well with the team and am really pleased with what we’ve done so far.”
P2 | Ana Carrasco | Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team
“I’m pretty happy with today’s result, especially after the red flags earlier in the day. A race made up of only five laps is always difficult to manage and, in the end, I wasn’t quite able to win, but it was very close. I’ll try to improve a little ahead of tomorrow and go for the win in Race 2. This is my first race since last October so Maria has definitely had more race experience than me this season, and perhaps the sprint format suited her better today. Our pace was almost identical though, so I think we’re in for a similar race tomorrow. I think there were some nerves among the riders today, with this being the very first race in a new championship, but that’s to be expected I guess; I was nervous too!”
P3 | Sara Sanchez | 511 Terra&Vita Racing Team
“Today was not easy, not least because we started the race three times. I’m very happy to have reached the podium, also because the level is very high, but I want to keep improving so that I can try to win tomorrow. I lost time off the line today and then only had five laps in which to make up the lost ground. It was great to be there battling with Neila and Ponziani, but I think with a longer race tomorrow I can be more competitive, as long as I make a better start than I did in Race 1.”
More, from a press release issued by
Highs and lows for Sekhmet Racing in first WorldWCR race(s)
P18 for Lissy Whitmore but DNF for Mallory Dobbs while fighting for top ten at Misano
Misano, 15 June 2024
The inaugural round of the World Women’s Circuit Racing Championship has brought mixed success for Sekhmet International Racing Team riders Lissy Whitmore and Mallory Dobbs at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
The team’s British racer Whitmore was happy to come home just outside the points in P18 in her first world championship race, but with a crash for her American teammate Dobbs bringing to an end a charge through the pack on a chaotic opening day.
The 12-lap race was first set to take place on Saturday morning, but red flags came out half way through it after an incident involving Mia Rusthen. Initially delayed, the race was then postponed until the end of the day and shortened to five laps.
Red flagged again after a crash on the opening lap, when the race eventually got underway properly, both Dobbs and Whitmore were able to make strong starts. Rising to as high as 11th, Dobbs was making progress towards the top ten when she crashed out unhurt at turn 14.
Whitmore was able to make steady progress throughout the race, only just losing out in the battle for P17 in the final corners.
Thankfully both won’t have long to wait until they get to capitalise on Saturday’s experience though, with the series’ second race to set underway on Sunday morning at 1150 local time. The race will be televised free and in full on the series’ YouTube channel.
Maddi Patterson, Team Principal
Firstly, I’d like to send my best wishes to Mia. I hope she has a speedy recovery and to her family, friends and supporters, we are all rooting for her. Secondly, to the other competitors who have been hurt and injured in today’s racing, I wish you well and I was happy to see you back walking around the paddock at the conclusion of today’s racing.
It was a bit of a mixed bag today. For my riders and myself. I think there’s a lot to learn and there’s no shame in saying that. New track, lots of stop and starts, and a reality check. Don’t sweat the small stuff, is my observation and my advice.
Lissy went out and did what we wanted her to. She had great starts, and the first restart was looking so promising before it was red flagged. I know to the outsider looking in it might not look that way – but looking at the bigger picture, she is turning into a great young professional, and she showed today what I have said all along. The tools are there, and she’s doing it.
I was gutted for Mal because I know all she wanted to do was hunt down that top 10 position. The reality is she hasn’t had a good start to the weekend and I hope it improves. This is a new track for Mallory. A new country and a new way of working. I have no doubt she will find her feet and hone in on her craft. It’s there. I don’t ever want to hear her doubt herself again. She needs to find the faith.
Lissy Whitmore, #34
P18
I qualified and then I finished, so I’m really happy, because that was the target. The only way is up for me, and I am happy overall.
There’s more pace to come. I just need to not forget that this is my first time at this circuit as well as my second time ever riding an R7 as well. Before Cremona, I’d never touched one. It’s just little things I need to remember; I’m still learning, and we’ve had a good-ish start.
Too much went through my head on the restarts. We’ve had a really unfortunate day. All I can ask is that we not brush it under the carpet but learn from it and I just hope that everybody today who was involved in all of those crashes is okay, because it’s not nice to have to see and it’s not nice to have to experience.
I’ve had chats with James Toseland and Neil Hodgson, with Sam Lowes, and they’ve all said the same thing to me – just clear your head from today, you’ll automatically feel better tomorrow. We’re just going to see what happens!
James came over on the grid and he was helping me out. I was happy. I feel like I belong. I’d had a bit of imposter syndrome because it’s a big paddock and I’ve never been in something like this before, but I feel like I’m meant to be here now.
Mallory Dobbs, #14
DNF
If we start with the positives, it does feel like we’ve made a lot of steps in the right direction today.
We improved. The nice thing about the first restart is that we’d done our Long Lap Penalty and we’d moved up two grid spots from our original start. When we did the restart the second time, we got to gain two grid spots and we didn’t have a Long Lap Penalty anymore, so it was a better race for us. It put us in a better situation, which was exciting.
It was unfortunate for the riders who went down – we obviously want to make sure that everyone is okay, but we did good in the restart and worked our way up to 11th before we crashed. Really good improvements, and we did decrease our lap time by a little bit.
In the race we kind of lost the group that was ahead of us on the last lap, and I figured it would just be good to set some good laps to get a better grid position for tomorrow, to put us in a little bit of a better spot – just was doing my own thing running some laps and unfortunately took the front in Turn 14.
There’s a little bit of bump there, the tyres had gone through a numerous number of restarts, a number of laps. It was a chaotic day of three or four restarts. I think we started three times today, so it was definitely a lot of chaos. The tyres definitely didn’t wear too great, not that that is an excuse. We just went in there, no different than I really had before, although obviously the data will tell us otherwise, and tucked the front. We’re all good physically and we’ll try again tomorrow.
Now we’ll just forget about today and start back over tomorrow. It was a tough day in the office and it’s always hard not to dwell on this stuff, but we definitely just want to reset!
Tyler Scott topped MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 on Dunlop control tires, Scott, age 18, lowered his best lap time from 1:34.099 in Qualifying One (Q1) to a 1:32.771 in Q2 and captured pole position.
Strack Racing Yamaha rider Matthew Scholtz was on top of the timing screen with a 1:32.990 late in Q2, before he was bumped to second by Scott.
Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs also made a big improvement from Q1 to Q2 and claimed the third and final spot on the front row of the grid.
Corey Alexander fractured his pelvis in a crash at Barber Motorsports Park in May, but he was able to come back this weekend and qualify fourth with a 1:33.451 on his Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2.
Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen was fastest in Q1, but he crashed his Panigale V2 early in Q2 and ended up fifth with a 1:33.588.
Jake Lewis will start from sixth on the grid courtesy of the 1:33.836 he did on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750.
Row Three starters include Tytlers Cycles Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa (1:34.107), Jacobsen’s 17-year-old teammate Kayla Yaakov (1:34.449), and SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki rider Max Van (1:34.870).
David Anthony (1:34.980) rounded out the top 10 qualifiers on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R750.
Bobby Fong claimed pole position during MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Fong lapped the 2.5-mile road course in 1:30.537 to top a very tight session.
Frenchman Loris Baz held the top spot briefly with the 1:30.601 he did on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, but Fong bumped Baz to second on the grid.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne was also on top briefly with a 1:30.622 on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1, but he was pushed to third by Baz and Fong.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly qualified fourth with a 1:30.647 on his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen was fifth-fastest with a 1:30.850.
Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin will line up sixth based on his best lap time of 1:31.089, just 0.552 second slower than Fong.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch (1:31.769) and Xavi Fores (1:32.461) will bracket Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW rider JD Beach (1:32.115) on the third row of the grid.
Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss (1:32.464), who is filling in for Beach’s injured teammate Cameron Beaubier, rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.
Just 0.021s separated Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) at the end of 18 laps. The final lap was the only lap that Huertas led
Huertas has extended his championship lead to six points from Montella following his third WorldSSP victory
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) rounded out the podium with a solid P3 performance.
Having switched to the Orelac Racing Verdnatura Ducati Jorge Navarro finished inside the top five for the first time in 2024
By settling the fastest lap of the race Huertas will start Race 2 from pole position ahead of Montella and fourth place finisher Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
Key Points:
Pole position: Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’36.876
Race 1 winner: Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
Race fastest lap: Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) – 1’37.404
P1 | Adrian Huertas | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team
“I’m so happy to win here in Italy. This is a home race for my team but it’s a difficult track for me. Even with this difficulty we are managing to be competitive. My strategy for this race was clever. I waited until the end to attack Yari. It was difficult because I wasn’t certain about being able to overtake him and it could go wrong because there is no margin until the end of the race. It worked really well. We are maturing and we’re ready to keep going.”
Real Steel Motorsports Honda rider Hayden Gillim continued his domination of the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 class Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. After setting a new lap record of 1:31.779 in Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday, Gillim lowered that mark to 1:31.449 in Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday.
Gillim’s time would have put him well up in the Superbike field, but he is not entered in the Superbike class this weekend. Gillim said he made an agreement with his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson King Of The Baggers team to not race in three classes on the same weekend in 2024.
Benjamin Smith was the best of the rest with a 1:32.822 on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and Ashton Yates put his Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on the front row with a 1:33.018.
Row Two starters include Team Brazil BMW’s Danilo Lewis (1:33.162), BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Prince (1:33.212), and OrangeCat Racing BMW’s Jayson Uribe (1:33.338).
Rocco Landers took pole position during MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup qualifying at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R on Dunlop control tires, Landers did a 1:35.804 during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday, and that time held up through Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday to put him at the front of the grid.
Alessandro Di Mario was second-fastest with the 1:36.174 he did on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 during Q2.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio will start from the third and final spot on the front row thanks to the 1:36.412 he did during Q1.
Rossi Moor qualified fourth with a time of 1:36.448 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R.
Moments after taking pole position in Junior Cup, Avery Dreher jumped on his TopPro Racing Aprilia RS 660 and earned the fifth spot on the grid with a 1:37.572 lap time.
Dominic Doyle will start the Twins Cup races from sixth thanks to the 1:37.953 he did on his Giaccmoto Yamaha YZF-R7.
Avery Dreher claimed pole position during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. The 17-year-old defending Champion used his Dunlop-shod Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to do a 1:43.695 around the 2.5-mile course and top the field of 20 riders.
The 1:43.809 Matthew Chapin did during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday was good enough to put the BARTCON Racing rider second in the grid.
Karns Performance’s Levi Badie also did not go quicker in Q2, but his 1:44.117 during Q1 was fast enough to secure the third and final spot on the front row.
Ella Dreher, the 14-year-old sister of Avery Dreher, was second in Q2 with a 1:44.133 but will start from the fourth grid spot.
New York Safety Track Racing’s Yandel Medina qualified fifth with a 1:44.355 during Q2.
Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez got the final spot on row two, sixth overall, with a 1:44.620 in Q1.
Bassani Confirmed For 2025 Bimota By Kawasaki Racing Team Project
Axel Bassani will join his current team-mate Alex Lowes in the two-man Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project for the 2025 WorldSBK season after Axel finalised an agreement during his home round at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’.
It was particularly apt that the agreement was concluded on the same weekend as Axel’s first home round since he joined KRT this season. Axel has been adapting to the across the frame four cylinder all the time from winter testing until now and he has relished the opportunity to work inside a factory team environment. He has been making progress race-by-race with the KRT Ninja ZX-10RR, keeping a cool head as he and his crew extract more and more performance from the package with each competitive outing and test session.
Axel is proud to have been selected to play an important role in something so important and high profile for Kawasaki and Bimota next year.
With both current KRT riders confirmed in the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team for 2025 all involved can now concentrate fully on their current tasks, starting with securing the best possible race performances at the fourth round of the season and beyond.
Re-signing both current riders shows the confidence everyone inside the project has in the riding line-up, and a belief that there is even more potential to be unlocked. This early double rider signing also ends any speculation on the immediate future of Axel and Alex, and it is a logical step to ensure a high degree of continuity when undertaking the exciting new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project.
It is also another important step forward in the evolution of the new initiative, which will have the existing Kawasaki Racing Team at its heart, even with a new tech package and new partners to work with from Bimota.
Axel Bassani, stated: ”What better venue than Misano to announce my continuation with the team and involvement with a project that combines skill and commitment from Japan and Italy! As part of my personal racing journey this will help me learn more and develop as a rider. It for sure feels like a logical step by step process for my career path. I am super happy for this opportunity and in terms of confidence and focus for the remainder of 2024 it allows me to invest all my time and energy into the task of points and podiums on the KRT Ninja ZX-10RR.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “We extended the long-term agreement with Axel as he has 100% covered the expectations we had of him. His potential is shown in details of quality during the first races of 2024 season. We are so committed to give him the necessary tools to consolidate his potential. At the same time he will polish himself to understand how to ride such different bike compared to the one he used in past. Everybody in team is very happy with this continuity and we expect amazing 2025 with him”.
Steve Guttridge, Race Planning Manager for Kawasaki Motors Europe added: “These are complex times and continuity is fundamentally important. To add Axel’s commitment to the realisation that Alex is investing his experience into the new project is a giant step forward”.
Attending the Misano round of WorldSBK in person, Shigemi Tanaka, General Manager, Marketing & Sales Division, Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. concluded: “This weekend we witness the next step in the evolution of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project. By securing the talents of Axel and Alex both Kawasaki and Bimota have two fundamental parts of the jig-saw in place and we can move on with the complex development of the new machine. Equally it quells speculation allowing everyone involved with the project to concentrate on a successful 2025 WorldSBK season on the Ninja ZX-10RR”.
Hayden Gillim continued his domination of the MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers class at Brainerd International Raceway with a convincing victory in Saturday’s Mission Challenge race.
Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, Gillim won the two-lap dash-for-cash by 1.342 seconds, earning the $5,000 winner-take-all purse.
Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers went from sixth on the grid to second place at the finish.
Troy Herfoss was running in second place on his S&S Indian Challenger until he ran wide in Turn 12 on the final lap. The reigning Australian Superbike Champion recovered in time to still get third place.
Hayden Gillim took pole position during MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide on Dunlop control tires, Gillim turned a 1:34.717, which eclipsed the new All-Time Lap Record of 1:34.747 he set in Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday.
Troy Herfoss bounced back from two crashes on Friday to qualify second with a 1:34.883 on his S&S Indian Challenger.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara was third-fastest with a 1:35.013.
Harley-Davidson Factory Racing teammates Kyle Wyman (1:35.111) and James Rispoli (1:35.187) will line up on row two alongside Gillim’s teammate Rocco Landers (1:35.480).
Herrera just beats Carrasco across the line in an historic first WorldWCR race at Misano
Maria Herrera (6) beat Ana Carrasco (22) to win the first-ever WorldWCR race. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Race 1 Highlights:
Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) wins the inaugural five-lap WorldWCR race at the Misano World Circuit, setting a blistering pace and crossing the line just 0.067 of a second ahead of fellow Spaniard Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team)
Sara Sanchez (511 Terra&Vita Racing Team) came out on top in the exciting battle for third, closing half a second ahead of Roberta Ponziani (Yamaha Motoxracing WCR Team), fourth, and Beatriz Neila (Ampito / Pata Prometeon Yamaha), fifth
It was Spaniard Carrasco who set the fastest lap of the race, a 1’48.594 (lap four). This result means that she will start Sunday’s Race 2 from pole position
The race came to a premature end for Lena Kemmer (Bertl K. Racing Team), Iryna Nadieieva (MPS.RT) and Mallory Dobbs (Sekhmet Motorcycle Racing Team), all of whom crashed but sustained no serious injuries
It was a race of three parts, the original race red-flagged on lap six due to a serious incident for Mia Rusthen (Rusthen Racing) through Turn 16. Norwegian Rusthen has suffered a head injury with concussion and is currently receiving treatment at the Bufalini Trauma Centre in Cesena. The patient’s condition has been stabilised
A second ‘heat’ was also red-flagged after Jessica Howden (Team Trasimeno) crashed on lap one. The South African rider has been diagnosed with concussion and was transported by helicopter to the Bufalini Trauma Centre. The rider is conscious
Championship Standings:
Herrera’s maiden WorldWCR victory means that she takes an early championship lead with 25 points
Carrasco and Sanchez follow close behind, having banked 20 and 16 points respectively
Key Points:
Pole position: Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team) – 1’49.390
Race 1 winner: Maria Herrera (Klint Forward Factory Team)
Race fastest lap: Ana Carrasco (Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team) – 1’48.594
P1 | Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team
“I’m so happy, not only to have won the first ever WorldWCR race, but also because we have been able to achieve this result after so much hard work over the last month. I didn’t even ride the bike until yesterday but I really wanted to win, so I pushed hard in every session and was also able to set pole, which came as a nice surprise. I had a great battle with Ana in the race; it was tough, and I was on the limit, but I was strong on the brakes. I still need to understand the bike more in order to be faster, but I’m working well with the team and am really pleased with what we’ve done so far.”
P2 | Ana Carrasco | Evan Bros Racing Yamaha Team
“I’m pretty happy with today’s result, especially after the red flags earlier in the day. A race made up of only five laps is always difficult to manage and, in the end, I wasn’t quite able to win, but it was very close. I’ll try to improve a little ahead of tomorrow and go for the win in Race 2. This is my first race since last October so Maria has definitely had more race experience than me this season, and perhaps the sprint format suited her better today. Our pace was almost identical though, so I think we’re in for a similar race tomorrow. I think there were some nerves among the riders today, with this being the very first race in a new championship, but that’s to be expected I guess; I was nervous too!”
P3 | Sara Sanchez | 511 Terra&Vita Racing Team
“Today was not easy, not least because we started the race three times. I’m very happy to have reached the podium, also because the level is very high, but I want to keep improving so that I can try to win tomorrow. I lost time off the line today and then only had five laps in which to make up the lost ground. It was great to be there battling with Neila and Ponziani, but I think with a longer race tomorrow I can be more competitive, as long as I make a better start than I did in Race 1.”
More, from a press release issued by
Highs and lows for Sekhmet Racing in first WorldWCR race(s)
P18 for Lissy Whitmore but DNF for Mallory Dobbs while fighting for top ten at Misano
Misano, 15 June 2024
The inaugural round of the World Women’s Circuit Racing Championship has brought mixed success for Sekhmet International Racing Team riders Lissy Whitmore and Mallory Dobbs at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
The team’s British racer Whitmore was happy to come home just outside the points in P18 in her first world championship race, but with a crash for her American teammate Dobbs bringing to an end a charge through the pack on a chaotic opening day.
The 12-lap race was first set to take place on Saturday morning, but red flags came out half way through it after an incident involving Mia Rusthen. Initially delayed, the race was then postponed until the end of the day and shortened to five laps.
Red flagged again after a crash on the opening lap, when the race eventually got underway properly, both Dobbs and Whitmore were able to make strong starts. Rising to as high as 11th, Dobbs was making progress towards the top ten when she crashed out unhurt at turn 14.
Whitmore was able to make steady progress throughout the race, only just losing out in the battle for P17 in the final corners.
Thankfully both won’t have long to wait until they get to capitalise on Saturday’s experience though, with the series’ second race to set underway on Sunday morning at 1150 local time. The race will be televised free and in full on the series’ YouTube channel.
Maddi Patterson, Team Principal
Firstly, I’d like to send my best wishes to Mia. I hope she has a speedy recovery and to her family, friends and supporters, we are all rooting for her. Secondly, to the other competitors who have been hurt and injured in today’s racing, I wish you well and I was happy to see you back walking around the paddock at the conclusion of today’s racing.
It was a bit of a mixed bag today. For my riders and myself. I think there’s a lot to learn and there’s no shame in saying that. New track, lots of stop and starts, and a reality check. Don’t sweat the small stuff, is my observation and my advice.
Lissy went out and did what we wanted her to. She had great starts, and the first restart was looking so promising before it was red flagged. I know to the outsider looking in it might not look that way – but looking at the bigger picture, she is turning into a great young professional, and she showed today what I have said all along. The tools are there, and she’s doing it.
I was gutted for Mal because I know all she wanted to do was hunt down that top 10 position. The reality is she hasn’t had a good start to the weekend and I hope it improves. This is a new track for Mallory. A new country and a new way of working. I have no doubt she will find her feet and hone in on her craft. It’s there. I don’t ever want to hear her doubt herself again. She needs to find the faith.
Lissy Whitmore, #34
P18
I qualified and then I finished, so I’m really happy, because that was the target. The only way is up for me, and I am happy overall.
There’s more pace to come. I just need to not forget that this is my first time at this circuit as well as my second time ever riding an R7 as well. Before Cremona, I’d never touched one. It’s just little things I need to remember; I’m still learning, and we’ve had a good-ish start.
Too much went through my head on the restarts. We’ve had a really unfortunate day. All I can ask is that we not brush it under the carpet but learn from it and I just hope that everybody today who was involved in all of those crashes is okay, because it’s not nice to have to see and it’s not nice to have to experience.
I’ve had chats with James Toseland and Neil Hodgson, with Sam Lowes, and they’ve all said the same thing to me – just clear your head from today, you’ll automatically feel better tomorrow. We’re just going to see what happens!
James came over on the grid and he was helping me out. I was happy. I feel like I belong. I’d had a bit of imposter syndrome because it’s a big paddock and I’ve never been in something like this before, but I feel like I’m meant to be here now.
Mallory Dobbs, #14
DNF
If we start with the positives, it does feel like we’ve made a lot of steps in the right direction today.
We improved. The nice thing about the first restart is that we’d done our Long Lap Penalty and we’d moved up two grid spots from our original start. When we did the restart the second time, we got to gain two grid spots and we didn’t have a Long Lap Penalty anymore, so it was a better race for us. It put us in a better situation, which was exciting.
It was unfortunate for the riders who went down – we obviously want to make sure that everyone is okay, but we did good in the restart and worked our way up to 11th before we crashed. Really good improvements, and we did decrease our lap time by a little bit.
In the race we kind of lost the group that was ahead of us on the last lap, and I figured it would just be good to set some good laps to get a better grid position for tomorrow, to put us in a little bit of a better spot – just was doing my own thing running some laps and unfortunately took the front in Turn 14.
There’s a little bit of bump there, the tyres had gone through a numerous number of restarts, a number of laps. It was a chaotic day of three or four restarts. I think we started three times today, so it was definitely a lot of chaos. The tyres definitely didn’t wear too great, not that that is an excuse. We just went in there, no different than I really had before, although obviously the data will tell us otherwise, and tucked the front. We’re all good physically and we’ll try again tomorrow.
Now we’ll just forget about today and start back over tomorrow. It was a tough day in the office and it’s always hard not to dwell on this stuff, but we definitely just want to reset!
Tyler Scott topped MotoAmerica Supersport Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 on Dunlop control tires, Scott, age 18, lowered his best lap time from 1:34.099 in Qualifying One (Q1) to a 1:32.771 in Q2 and captured pole position.
Strack Racing Yamaha rider Matthew Scholtz was on top of the timing screen with a 1:32.990 late in Q2, before he was bumped to second by Scott.
Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs also made a big improvement from Q1 to Q2 and claimed the third and final spot on the front row of the grid.
Corey Alexander fractured his pelvis in a crash at Barber Motorsports Park in May, but he was able to come back this weekend and qualify fourth with a 1:33.451 on his Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2.
Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen was fastest in Q1, but he crashed his Panigale V2 early in Q2 and ended up fifth with a 1:33.588.
Jake Lewis will start from sixth on the grid courtesy of the 1:33.836 he did on his Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750.
Row Three starters include Tytlers Cycles Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa (1:34.107), Jacobsen’s 17-year-old teammate Kayla Yaakov (1:34.449), and SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki rider Max Van (1:34.870).
David Anthony (1:34.980) rounded out the top 10 qualifiers on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R750.
Bobby Fong claimed pole position during MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, Fong lapped the 2.5-mile road course in 1:30.537 to top a very tight session.
Frenchman Loris Baz held the top spot briefly with the 1:30.601 he did on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, but Fong bumped Baz to second on the grid.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne was also on top briefly with a 1:30.622 on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1, but he was pushed to third by Baz and Fong.
Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly qualified fourth with a 1:30.647 on his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen was fifth-fastest with a 1:30.850.
Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin will line up sixth based on his best lap time of 1:31.089, just 0.552 second slower than Fong.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammates Brandon Paasch (1:31.769) and Xavi Fores (1:32.461) will bracket Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW rider JD Beach (1:32.115) on the third row of the grid.
Australian Superbike Champion Troy Herfoss (1:32.464), who is filling in for Beach’s injured teammate Cameron Beaubier, rounded out the top 10 qualifiers.
Just 0.021s separated Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) at the end of 18 laps. The final lap was the only lap that Huertas led
Huertas has extended his championship lead to six points from Montella following his third WorldSSP victory
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) rounded out the podium with a solid P3 performance.
Having switched to the Orelac Racing Verdnatura Ducati Jorge Navarro finished inside the top five for the first time in 2024
By settling the fastest lap of the race Huertas will start Race 2 from pole position ahead of Montella and fourth place finisher Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team)
Key Points:
Pole position: Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’36.876
Race 1 winner: Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
Race fastest lap: Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) – 1’37.404
P1 | Adrian Huertas | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team
“I’m so happy to win here in Italy. This is a home race for my team but it’s a difficult track for me. Even with this difficulty we are managing to be competitive. My strategy for this race was clever. I waited until the end to attack Yari. It was difficult because I wasn’t certain about being able to overtake him and it could go wrong because there is no margin until the end of the race. It worked really well. We are maturing and we’re ready to keep going.”
Real Steel Motorsports Honda rider Hayden Gillim continued his domination of the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 class Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. After setting a new lap record of 1:31.779 in Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday, Gillim lowered that mark to 1:31.449 in Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday.
Gillim’s time would have put him well up in the Superbike field, but he is not entered in the Superbike class this weekend. Gillim said he made an agreement with his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson King Of The Baggers team to not race in three classes on the same weekend in 2024.
Benjamin Smith was the best of the rest with a 1:32.822 on his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and Ashton Yates put his Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on the front row with a 1:33.018.
Row Two starters include Team Brazil BMW’s Danilo Lewis (1:33.162), BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Prince (1:33.212), and OrangeCat Racing BMW’s Jayson Uribe (1:33.338).
Rocco Landers took pole position during MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup qualifying at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R on Dunlop control tires, Landers did a 1:35.804 during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday, and that time held up through Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday to put him at the front of the grid.
Alessandro Di Mario was second-fastest with the 1:36.174 he did on his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 during Q2.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio will start from the third and final spot on the front row thanks to the 1:36.412 he did during Q1.
Rossi Moor qualified fourth with a time of 1:36.448 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R.
Moments after taking pole position in Junior Cup, Avery Dreher jumped on his TopPro Racing Aprilia RS 660 and earned the fifth spot on the grid with a 1:37.572 lap time.
Dominic Doyle will start the Twins Cup races from sixth thanks to the 1:37.953 he did on his Giaccmoto Yamaha YZF-R7.
Avery Dreher claimed pole position during MotoAmerica Junior Cup Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. The 17-year-old defending Champion used his Dunlop-shod Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to do a 1:43.695 around the 2.5-mile course and top the field of 20 riders.
The 1:43.809 Matthew Chapin did during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday was good enough to put the BARTCON Racing rider second in the grid.
Karns Performance’s Levi Badie also did not go quicker in Q2, but his 1:44.117 during Q1 was fast enough to secure the third and final spot on the front row.
Ella Dreher, the 14-year-old sister of Avery Dreher, was second in Q2 with a 1:44.133 but will start from the fourth grid spot.
New York Safety Track Racing’s Yandel Medina qualified fifth with a 1:44.355 during Q2.
Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez got the final spot on row two, sixth overall, with a 1:44.620 in Q1.
Axel Bassani. Photo courtesy Kawasaki Racing Team.
Bassani Confirmed For 2025 Bimota By Kawasaki Racing Team Project
Axel Bassani will join his current team-mate Alex Lowes in the two-man Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project for the 2025 WorldSBK season after Axel finalised an agreement during his home round at the Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’.
It was particularly apt that the agreement was concluded on the same weekend as Axel’s first home round since he joined KRT this season. Axel has been adapting to the across the frame four cylinder all the time from winter testing until now and he has relished the opportunity to work inside a factory team environment. He has been making progress race-by-race with the KRT Ninja ZX-10RR, keeping a cool head as he and his crew extract more and more performance from the package with each competitive outing and test session.
Axel is proud to have been selected to play an important role in something so important and high profile for Kawasaki and Bimota next year.
With both current KRT riders confirmed in the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team for 2025 all involved can now concentrate fully on their current tasks, starting with securing the best possible race performances at the fourth round of the season and beyond.
Re-signing both current riders shows the confidence everyone inside the project has in the riding line-up, and a belief that there is even more potential to be unlocked. This early double rider signing also ends any speculation on the immediate future of Axel and Alex, and it is a logical step to ensure a high degree of continuity when undertaking the exciting new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project.
It is also another important step forward in the evolution of the new initiative, which will have the existing Kawasaki Racing Team at its heart, even with a new tech package and new partners to work with from Bimota.
Axel Bassani, stated: ”What better venue than Misano to announce my continuation with the team and involvement with a project that combines skill and commitment from Japan and Italy! As part of my personal racing journey this will help me learn more and develop as a rider. It for sure feels like a logical step by step process for my career path. I am super happy for this opportunity and in terms of confidence and focus for the remainder of 2024 it allows me to invest all my time and energy into the task of points and podiums on the KRT Ninja ZX-10RR.”
Guim Roda, KRT Team Manager, stated: “We extended the long-term agreement with Axel as he has 100% covered the expectations we had of him. His potential is shown in details of quality during the first races of 2024 season. We are so committed to give him the necessary tools to consolidate his potential. At the same time he will polish himself to understand how to ride such different bike compared to the one he used in past. Everybody in team is very happy with this continuity and we expect amazing 2025 with him”.
Steve Guttridge, Race Planning Manager for Kawasaki Motors Europe added: “These are complex times and continuity is fundamentally important. To add Axel’s commitment to the realisation that Alex is investing his experience into the new project is a giant step forward”.
Attending the Misano round of WorldSBK in person, Shigemi Tanaka, General Manager, Marketing & Sales Division, Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. concluded: “This weekend we witness the next step in the evolution of the Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team project. By securing the talents of Axel and Alex both Kawasaki and Bimota have two fundamental parts of the jig-saw in place and we can move on with the complex development of the new machine. Equally it quells speculation allowing everyone involved with the project to concentrate on a successful 2025 WorldSBK season on the Ninja ZX-10RR”.
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