The best piece of protective equipment does you no good if it’s sitting on the shelf in the garage or hanging in a closet when you crash. Part of the trick of designing truly effective protection is making it easy to use and operate.
Alpinestars’ new Tech-Air 7X airbag system is, in my experience, the most comfortable, easy-to-use and easy-to-operate track-oriented airbag system I have used to date. It does not provide the absolute highest, MotoGP-rider level protection of its most protective system. But it is user-serviceable, easy to get on, and is cooler than other systems. And it is truly universal, in that it can be used under any suit that provides enough space for the system to deploy in the case of a crash.
I wore the system for seven 20-minute sessions at an Aprilia Racer Days event at Circuit of The Americas. When the sun came out, it was baking; when it was cloudy, it was humid. It was a test of the system’s wearability, and it passed that evaluation with five stars.
The internal mechanism of the Alpinstars Tech-Air 7X. In the center is the computer and the battery; the user-switchable argon canisters are on either side. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Tech Overview
Best to think of the Alpinestars Tech-Air 7X as an evolved version of the Tech-Air Race. It is FIM-homologated, meaning that you can race in the system in International-level competition where airbags are mandatory. It comes preset in Track mode, but the Tech-Air app allows the user to switch it to Road mode when desired. When deployed, the system decreases impact force by 90 percent compared to a passive Level One back protector.
The protection configuration differs from the company’s Tech-Air 10 system. The Tech-Air 7X does not have hip protection, and it offers individual bladders on each side of the riders’ chest. The Tech-Air 10 has a solid panel across the chest, offering more protection but flowing less air to the rider. The Tech-Air 7 also is worn like a vest, rather than a mid-thigh bodysuit (similar to a warm-water wetsuit) with the Tech-Air 10. The Tech-Air 7X inflates to cover the riders’ chest, back, collarbones and tailbone.
The Tech-Air 7X comes with two argon cartridges for two separate inflations, and the cartridges can be replaced at the track by the rider. A pull handle releases the protective cover over the internal mechanism, and the cartridges can be unscrewed and replaced literally in seconds. Each cartridge costs approximately $99, and the unit can be deployed four times before it has to be sent back to an Alpinestars service center for inspection and refurbishment. The units are carefully designed to ensure that cartridge replacement is done correctly – if not, the cover cannot be replaced. For racers who are obsessive about weight reduction, one of the argon cartridges can be removed and replaced with the plug that comes with the system.
Activating the system is as simple as attaching two velcro tabs across the chest. An LED array displays the system charging status and its mode, road or track.
When the velcro tab is connected, magnets connect and switch the system on. LEDs indicate charging status and mode. Photo courtesy Alpinestars.
Riding Impressions
I found the Tech-Air 7X as easy to slip into as my regular passive Alpinestars protective vest, and the GP Force suit slid easily over the back protector/inflation control unit hump. The back protection construct itself is CE-certified as a Level One protector, which means that even if the airbag failed to deploy in a crash, the rider still has protection against impact forces. It’s nowhere near the protection of a deployed airbag, but I’m old enough to remember when we raced with no back protector at all, so it’s still a dramatic improvement over those days.
The only time I really thought about the Tech-Air 7X system was when I would sit up to brake. The airflow across the chest was noticeably greater than that of the Tech-Air 10, and it made a real difference in rider comfort.
Other than that, I zipped it up in the morning, took it off when I was done, and never thought about it the rest of the day. And that, for me, is the highest praise I can give safety gear without crashing.
I feel like until I experienced this unit, I was paying for airbag levels of protection with decreased comfort and ease of operation. While this system does not offer the protection of the Tech-Air 10, it is easier to use, easier to wear and easier on the rider when they are on the machine. And if that’s what it takes to get riders into an airbag system, that’s nothing but good.
YART FASTEST IN THE EWC SO FAR AFTER DRAMA-HIT FIRST QUALIFYING FOR 24 HEURES MOTOS
The battle for pole position in the 24 Heures Motos, round one of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship, is go with Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team on top in the first three sessions that help towards forming the grid for the famous Le Mans race.
Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika – riding with the #1 on their Bridgestone-equipped Yamaha YZF-R1 following their 2023 EWC title triumph – were quickest in the Blue, Yellow and Red sessions held on a sunny but chilly Circuit Bugatti this afternoon.
Once again, First Qualifying was split into four colour-coded rider groups (Blue, Yellow, Red and Green) with each group getting 20 minutes of running on the 4.185-kilometre track.
But with the final qualifying order based on the average time of the fastest two riders from each team (the results of the fourth rider are not taken into account), it’s not until after Second Qualifying on Friday morning that the grid for the 47th 24 Heures Moto is known.
Niccolò Canepa was the quickest Blue Rider for Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team in an unofficial lap record time of 1m34.708s followed by Florian Alt (Honda Viltaïs Racing), Gregg Black (Yoshimura SERT Motul), Josh Hook (F.C.C. TSR Honda France) and Illya Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team).
Canepa, who is still recovery from a shoulder injury sustained during a crash while practicing for the Daytona 200 in the USA last month, said: “I’m really happy especially because I didn’t do many winter tests. I still don’t fell 100 per cent with my shoulder and I know the race is going to be very tough so I will have to count on my team-mates a lot because I still have pain and not so much power. But to do one lap I really enjoyed and it came out an incredible lap that I really didn’t expect, but the bike and the tyres were really amazing. I was sure this was a record that would not last long because I thought Marvin and Karel would beat it. Unfortunately they couldn’t beat it so I can keep it but they still did an amazing job. It was a bit of drama for them and I am sorry but I’m really happy for the result of today and we are all three in the first place and this is what counts.”
Kenny Foray was the quickest Superstock category contender on a 1m36.868s for Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team with Sébastien Suchet (National Motos Honda) and Yudai Kamei (Team Étoile) next up. Tom Ward (TRT27 AZ Moto), Eemeli Lahti (Pit-Lane Endurance) and Martin Vugrinec (Maco Racing) all fell.
In the Yellow Rider session, Marvin Fritz continued YART’s impressive qualifying performance in a time of 1m35.139s, although his initial best lap 1m34.738s was cancelled due to a track limits infrignement. Steven Odendaal was second for Honda Viltaïs Racing with F.C.C. TSR Honda France rider Mike Di Meglio in third. Despite a fall, Christian Gamarino (Kawasaki Webike Trickstar) excelled on his step up to the Formula EWC category having helped Team 33 Louit April Moto win the Superstock-based FIM Endurance World Cup in 2023. Randy Krummenacher was fifth fastest for Tati Team Beringer Racing, now Honda-powered in the EWC. Jan Bühn (Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team) headed the Superstock order followed by Valentin Suchet (National Motos Honda) and Baptiste Guittet, who returns to Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore following a season competing in the Formula EWC category with Tati Team Beringer Racing. Meanwhile, Florian Marino (KM99) and Kamil Krzemień (Wójcik Racing Team EWC) both suffered falls during their 20-minute session.
Karel Hanika took over the #1 Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team for the Red Rider session and continued the Austrian squad’s dominance in a time of 1m35.028s, despite crashing on his first flying lap, which resulted in his mechanics spending just under seven minutes repairing his damaged bike. Alan Techer was second quickest for F.C.C. TSR Honda France followed by Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team), Leandro Mercado (Honda Viltaïs Racing) and Dan Linfoot on his debut for Yoshimura SERT Motul. National Motos Honda’s Guillaume Raymond was the quickest Superstock contender with a 1m37.756s best. Kevin Calia was second quickest on Team Aviobike by M2 Revo’s Aprilia as Philipp Steinmayr went third fastest on his debut for Honda No Limits. Fallers in the penultimate First Qualifying session included Alan Agogue (TCP Racing), Maiku Watanuki (3ART Best of Bike).
The Green Rider session is taking on added significance for Superstock riders this season under new rules that allow teams contesting the FIM Endurance World Cup to nominate four race riders rather than the traditional three. Martin Renaudin was fastest in the Dunlop-equipped class for Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda followed by Gino Rea (Wójcik Racing Team) on his competition comeback following serious injury. Dylan Mille was third fastest for Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki. The quickest overall session time went to Yoshimura SERT Motul’s reserve rider Cocoro Atsumi ahead of Robin Mulhauser (Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team) and Hannes Soomer, on his first EWC appearance for BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.
Following Night Practice from 20h30 local time today, Second Qualifying is due to get under way at 10h20 tomorrow (Friday).
Chapter three of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season is about to take place at the legendary TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Countless classics at this track and also in recent rounds mean that 2024’s Pirelli Dutch Round is destined to be one for the ages; we caught up with the main stars on Thursday during WorldSBK’s media day.
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We want to be on the podium!”
After a strong Barcelona, the rostrum is the aim for home-hero Michael van der Mark: “It’s always nice to arrive at your home track when you’ve had some decent results before. In Australia and especially Barcelona, we had some really good results. We come here with confidence and knowing the base we have is really good. We want to be on the podium, and we’ve had a good start to the season. We have a good base and we’re fast. It would be nice to be on the podium. It’s a nice confirmation knowing you have a bike that can fight for the podium and victories. It takes a little bit of pressure away. We know the package is there, we just have to finetune it and focus on riding. Honestly, the only thing I can do is deliver results. I’ve been unlucky the last two years. I’m fit, I’m feeling good on the bike and all I can do now is deliver results.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I have a dream this year to win the Championship”
Two wins last time out at a track he and BMW had never won at, Assen has also been a place where Toprak Razgatlioglu and BMW haven’t mounted the top step: “I’ve never won here at Assen in the Superbike class; I hope I can this weekend. It looks a little strange as the weather can always change easily. It’s cold but I’m ready to race in both wet and dry races. I have a dream this year to win this Championship; I can’t say before the end of the season. My dream looks possible. I am happy with Michael as a teammate and the atmosphere in the garage is very good and we work well together. If BMW ask me, it’s easy to say Michael, he’s a good teammate, a good guy and respectful; we work together in the race and Superpole. Maybe at this track, he’ll help me as he knows it better than me –in the wet, he’ll show me the best line!”
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I’m not in a hurry to make a decision”
With silly season in full flow, Alvaro Bautista’s future could hold the key to many for 2025: “To win a race is always very important, but especially after coming from a difficult winter for me with my injury and also the feeling I started with the bike in testing that was not the best. It was very important to recover the good feeling during the Barcelona weekend. I think the win was the consequence of this feeling and from my physical condition. It gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the Championship. Honestly, I don’t have anything on my mind about my future. It’s been very tough for me. In Barcelona, I recovered the good feeling. I always say I keep racing because I’m having a lot of fun riding my bike and with a good feeling. It’s important to have a good feeling on my bike and try to always improve. With this crazy grid, you have to be an even better rider than before! I try to always be a better rider. I’m just focused on this and trying to be better and better. I’m not in a hurry to make a decision.”
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “This could be the most difficult race for me”
Back after arm-pump surgery, Nicolo Bulega says this could be his most difficult round yet: “I had some problems during the races so I decided to have the surgery before Assen as this track is a bit difficult physically, with the change of direction. With the Superbike, it can be hard. I decided to do it before this race and I’m still not at 100% but I am recovering day by day and I can ride well. I always push at 100% when I’m on the bike; this could be the most difficult race for me because we’ve had the test before the other races. I also come here after the surgery, without a test, so perhaps Friday will be more difficult for me. I’m happy because it’s a track I like a lot and I’ll try to do my best.”
Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “We have to walk before we can run”
17 wins and 25 podiums: will Assen’s most successful rider, Jonathan Rea, get his season off to a proper start after six races where he’s struggled: “I’m really excited to be back at Assen, I like the layout of the track and also my fans bring some good energy here. It’s just a case of trying to find some form and performance both from myself and the R1. I think Catalunya Race 2 was my first normal race with no issue, so I banked some points. What I realised was starting from P13 is that it’s so difficult to reach that front group, so it was a race I started making progress. It’s not the positions we want to fight for, but we have to start somewhere after a lot of disappointments. Looking forward to seeing if Assen can bring us some more fortune. Looking back at previous years, it’s a track that suits not just me but the Yamaha R1. It’s a place we can make that step, but it’s a step by progress. We have to walk before we can run.”
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven): “My target is to be in a factory team… I felt interest from many manufacturers”
Back at Assen and looking to his future, Andrea Iannone made a bold claim for 2025: “I’m a little bit excited because it’s really good to be back here. I won in the past in my first year in Moto2™ and also, I’ve had really good races more or less every year at this track. It’s the first race we don’t have a test before the round and I’m a little bit worried because I don’t know what happens, but I hope we immediately start in a good way. I don’t know about my future. I’m happy I’m being spoken about, but I don’t know at the moment. I want to continue to live this moment and I’m focused on riding well because I know if I’m on top, I have many chances. My target is to be in a factory team, but we will see. After a long time, I felt many things and I felt interest from many manufacturers. I’m honoured. I think after Assen, in Misano, we will know something more about this.”
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Anything can happen when the weather’s a little bit inconsistent”
In the top three of the Championship, Alex Lowes is keen to show Kawasaki’s potential at Assen: “Conditions are always a little bit mixed here at Assen. I know the bike and track well, so I think if there’s minimal dry time, it could be good for us. We have to adapt well to the situation. Anything can happen when the weather’s a little bit inconsistent. We have to make sure we make the right decisions, put ourselves in a good position and I think, dry or wet conditions, we can be quite optimistic about the weekend. This weekend, if we can fight for the podium, be in the mix with the front guys fighting at the front, I think we can be happy and that’s the target. I don’t really know about the future, it’s very early. We’ve got a big break after the Assen round with so long until the next round, so maybe there’ll be some more news in the break. From my side, I don’t know yet. I started the year really strong with Kawasaki, I’ve changed some of the working environment inside the team so it would be nice to keep this progression.”
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “Let’s push and see what we can do”
With a first win still to be had, can happy memories from previous Assen outings spur Andrea Locatelli on: “I have good memories form Assen; I got my first WorldSBK podium here in 2021 and I’ve had a podium every season with Yamaha here, so why not try to repeat it this year? It won’t be easy and probably this weekend, we’ll ride in different conditions with the forecast will be tricky. I feel comfortable though and OK with the bike, so let’s push and see what we can do. We have a really good feeling and it’s a flowing track, so it’s another good track to show our potential and speed. We’ll push for the maximum and see what we have. Toprak was a big surprise for everyone as we didn’t think it could happen immediately but they’re working well during testing and they found a good solution for the race. I’m happy for him because, firstly, he’s my friend and I have a good relationship with him. He’s a big talent; I sent a message to him because I missed him after the race. I want to try and fight again this weekend.”
MotoAmerica Live+ To Debut “Road Atlanta Preview Show” This Weekend At Steel Commander Superbike Series Opener
Thirty Minute Live Interview Show To Debut On Friday Morning From Road Atlanta
IRVINE, CA (April 18, 2024) – MotoAmerica, North America’s premier motorcycle road racing championship, will debut a new feature on MotoAmerica Live+ at this weekend’s opening round of the Steel Commander Superbike series at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The “Road Atlanta Preview Show” will feature MotoAmerica Live+ commentators Roger Hayden and Jamie Howe and will air live from Road Atlanta on Friday, April 19 from 10 to 10:30 a.m.
The show will feature live interviews with several of the top stars of the MotoAmerica Championship and will also be available on-demand for subscribers wanting to view the show at their discretion.
“With Road Atlanta being the opening round for several of our classes, it’s the perfect time to debut this new feature for MotoAmerica Live+,” said MotoAmerica COO Chuck Aksland. “Roger and Jamie will be interviewing some of our top stars from various classes and we know our subscribers will like the new content.”
The “Road Atlanta Preview Show” is exclusive to MotoAmerica Live+ subscribers. To subscribe, click HERE.
MotoAmerica is also pleased to announce that MotoAmerica Live+ is now available on Chromecast, which joins IOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV as platforms where Live+ is available.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
Ready, Set, Go: The 10th Anniversary Season Of MotoAmerica Begins In Earnest At Road Atlanta
Superbike, Supersport And Junior Cup Get Their Championships Started This Weekend At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
IRVINE, CA (April 18, 2024) – While Mission King Of The Baggers and BellissiMoto Twins Cup already have races under their belts in 2024, Steel Commander Superbike, Supersport and Junior Cup will start their championships this coming weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as the 10th anniversary of the MotoAmerica series begins in earnest in Braselton, Georgia, April 19-21.
Excitement is high as a full contingent of five classes and 10 races are slated for the iconic Road Atlanta with 137 entries spread over the five classes.
Here’s a closer look at the Support classes after yesterday’s preview of the Steel Commander Superbike opener.
Supersport – 44 Entries! Say What?
Forty-four entries will attempt to qualify for the two Supersport races at Road Atlanta. That’s right. Forty-four.
Where do we begin? Since defending class champion Xavi Forés, who won both races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta last year, isn’t defending his title, we can’t start there. And since Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin is racing Superbikes for the rest of the season, we can’t start there.
So, let’s begin with how they finished behind Forés last year and go from there.
That puts us right smack dab on the rider who really has to be the pre-season favorite – Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott. Scott ended up second in the title chase in 2023, winning four of the last seven races and standing on the podium a total of 11 times. The youngster from Pennsylvania returns with the same team and the same aspirations. Last year, Scott was second and fourth in the two races at Road Atlanta.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa, fourth in the standings last year with one win and five other podiums, is the second-highest finisher in Supersport who is returning to the class (Josh Hayes, who was third in last year’s title chase, isn’t entered at Road Atlanta).
Scott’s teammate from last year, Teagg Hobbs, is also returning to the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki fold after finishing fifth in last year’s championship with three podium finishes.
Jake Lewis, seventh last year, is another returnee and he will do so with the Altus Racing team on a Suzuki GSX-R750. Ditto for racer/team owner David Anthony who was eighth in 2023 on his own Wrench Motorcycles-backed team.
Super Carl Racing’s Carl Soltisz rounds out the list of those finishing in the top 10 who are returning to the Supersport wars again.
So, who is new? That list is long, and it starts with the new three-rider Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL team of PJ Jacobsen, Kayla Yaakov, and Cory Alexander (who will race with Roller Die + Forming sponsorship) on Ducati Panigale V2s.
The biggest new name in Supersport is Mathew Scholtz, the South African winner of five MotoAmerica Superbike races in his career. With the demise of Westby Racing, Scholtz drops down to the Supersport category with Strack Racing (nee Squid Hunter Racing) on a Yamaha YZF-R6. The team has Yamaha support and Scholtz should be up front from the get-go.
Two-time MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion Blake Davis makes the move to Supersport full time for the N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto team and its Yamaha YZF-R6.
Melissa Paris’s MP13 Racing has changed brands and will field a two-rider team of Italian Roberto Tamburini and Hunter Dunham on MV Agusta F3 800.
There are a few moving up from other classes, namely Max Van who will race a Suzuki GSX-R750 for SportbikeTrackGear.com. after several years of Junior Cup wins and podiums.
Mission King Of The Baggers – The Battle Has Begun
With four races under its belt, the Mission King Of The Baggers class is in full swing while the majority of the other classes have yet to dip a toe into the 2024 MotoAmerica pool.
While it’s obviously still early in the season, it’s not too early to see how this is going to play out. Simply put, it’s going to be a war.
Leading the battle thus far is Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman, with the New Yorker winning three of the four races from the two rounds held at Daytona International Speedway and Circuit of The Americas. In the race he didn’t win, Wyman finished second.
But before we start handing out number-one plates, there’s plenty left to fight for and plenty of those willing to fight. At the top of that heap is class rookie Troy Herfoss and his S&S/Indian Motorcycle Challenger. Herfoss won his first career Mission King Of The Baggers race in the first of two races at COTA, and he’s been a close second to Wyman in the three races the Road Glide-mounted Wyman has won.
Wyman leads the Australian by 10 points as the series heads to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The top two have been consistently fast at both racetracks and that has put them 34 (Wyman) and 24 (Herfoss) points ahead of Wyman’s Harley teammate James Rispoli, who has three third-place finishes and a fourth so far in 2024. Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara started his season with a few bumps in the road at Daytona, but he rebounded nicely with his first podium of the year at COTA.
Then comes the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s duo of defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim and rookie Rocco Landers. Gillim has been in the mix in all four of the races held so far and Landers is learning the ropes with a best of fifth place so far in his debut at Daytona.
Even though he is currently eighth in the title chase behind RydFast Racing’s Kyle Ohnsorg, a wise man would never bet against SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong winning races. After a wretched Daytona, Fong was fourth in the battle and finished fourth in race two at COTA.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Gus. Rodio.
The takeaway from the opening round of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup season is that Gus Rodio isn’t messing around. Rodio and his Aprilia RS 660 dominated both races at Daytona International Speedway, winning by big margins in each and breaking the lap record for the class on several occasions.
But Daytona is Daytona. At least that’s what you’re saying if you were on the losing end of the runaway train that was Rodio in Florida.
Although he lost 19 points to Rodio at Daytona, you won’t see much in the way of panic from RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers. After all, no one has won more Twins Cup races (15 wins) than 2020 class champion Landers. Considering he was on a new bike (the Suzuki GSX-8R) and with a new team, fifth and second wasn’t a bad beginning at Daytona.
Landers heads to Road Atlanta trailing Rodio by 19 points.
Third in the title chase after the opening round is Rodio’s Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering teammate Alessandro Di Mario. Di Mario was fourth and third in the two races.
Rossi Moor made his BellissiMoto Twins Cup debut at Daytona and was seventh and fourth on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R, which puts him fourth heading into Road Atlanta.
Dominic Doyle won a Twins Cup race last year at Pittsburgh International Race Complex and was also up front at Daytona, finishing second in race one. Doyle’s Giaccomoto Yamaha Racing’s teammate Sonya Lloyd will also be in action after a pair of 12ths in her Twins Cup debut at Daytona.
Last year’s Junior Cup Champion Avery Dreher will be pulling double duty and adding BellissiMoto Twins Cup to his weekends after finishing third in race one at Daytona before DNFing race two.
Former Junior Cup racer Sean Ungvarsky returned to MotoAmerica action at Daytona with a pair of top-10 finishes and he will be in action at Road Atlanta on a Koch Racing Yamaha YZF-R7.
Junior Cup – Who Will Battle Dreher
It would be extremely hard to pick someone other than defending champion Avery Dreher to win the 2024 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship. After all, Dreher and his Bad Boys Racing team won six of the 12 races last year against the Rossi Moors, Levi Badies and Eli Blocks of the world. And other than Block, those race winners from 2023 have moved on.
But as certain as we are that Dreher starts the season as the favorite, we’re equally confident that there will be someone who steps up to challenge the Floridian. We’re just not sure who that will be, and that’s half the fun of MotoAmerica’s Junior Cup class. New year, new faces.
The highest-ranking Junior Cup racers from last year staying in the class are Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez (sixth in 2023 with two podiums) and Yandel Medina, the New York Safety Track Racing rider from New York who was seventh in last year’s title chase with two podiums. Then there’s the aforementioned Block, who will ride a BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 alongside Maryland’s Matthew Chapin.
Also keep an eye on last year’s Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner Trenton Keesee.
Two foreign riders will line up at the Road Atlanta opener – El Salvador’s JT Rivera and Brit Kobe Garbett. Garbett will also be on the only non-Kawasaki Ninja 400 in the class as he will grid up on a Yamaha YZF-R3.
Pre-Road Atlanta Notes…
Kyle Wyman won both of the Mission King Of The Baggers races at Road Atlanta last year, besting Tyler O’Hara in the pair of races. Third in race one went to Hayden Gillim with Bobby Fong finishing third in race two.
Wyman earned pole position for the two Bagger races with his 1:30.427 to lead O’Hara and his 1:31.092 and Gillim’s 1:31.366.
Last year’s two Supersport races were won by Xavi Forés in his first time to Road Atlanta. Forés beat Tyler Scott in race one and Stefano Mesa in race two. Josh Hayes was third in both races.
Forés earned pole position for the Supersport races with his 1:28.977, just over a second off Garrett Gerloff’s lap record of 1:27.860 from race two in 2017.
In Twins Cup action from a year ago, Blake Davis and Rocco Landers split wins with Gus Rodio finishing second in both races. Both Davis and Landers had issues in the races they didn’t win with Davis 11th in race two and Landers DNFing in race one.
Landers was on pole position for the two Twins Cup races with his 1:31.907 at new Road Atlanta lap record for the Twins.
Avery Dreher was perfect at Road Atlanta last year with two victories in the Junior Cup class. Dreher topped Max Van in both races with Hayden Bicknese third in both.
Eighteen of the 44 Supersport entries will be mounted on Suzuki GSX-R750s, the highest of the six manufacturers in the class. Kawasaki is next with 10 ZX-6Rs entered. Yamaha will be represented by seven YZF-R6s with five Ducati Panigale V2s, two Triumphs and two MV Agustas filling the entry list.
Nine countries will also be represented among those 44 Supersport entries: South Africa, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, El Salvador, Australia, Uruguay, Canada and the USA
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
RACE PREVIEW: ROAD ATLANTA
The Rahal Ducati Moto team prepares for the first two rounds of Supersport points competition at Road Atlanta.
ZIONSVILLE, Ind (04.17.2024) – After a six-week break, the trio of Rahal Ducati Moto riders and their teams are preparing to begin their MotoAmerica Supersport championship journey.
Since the Daytona 200, the team has made several changes to prepare the Ducati Panigale V2s for regular-season competition. Additionally, the team has welcomed former Supersport champion and industry veteran Richard Alexander Jr. to the team as team manager.
The team heads to the 2.550-mile track just outside of Atlanta after a successful test at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday.
The trio of riders will take the track for Practice and Qualifying 1 on Friday, followed by Qualifying 2 and Race 1 on Saturday, and a warm-up and Race 2 on Sunday.
QUOTE BOARD:
COREY ALEXANDER (No. 23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m super excited for Road Atlanta. The anticipation since Daytona has been building up and I know the team has made a lot of really big changes to the bikes and the overall structure to make sure we have the best possible weapon to race with. I’m eager to see how the weekend plays out. Thanks to Graham and everyone at RDM for the huge effort the last several weeks to keep us competitive.”
PJ JACOBSEN (No. 15 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “Between myself and the team, we’re really looking forward to Road Atlanta. We are starting with a clean slate compared to Daytona – we learned a lot from that weekend. The team is preparing very well for this weekend – having been at Barber [Motorsports Park] for the track day and then straight to Atlanta for a few days has given us a chance to get to know each other and work closely with one another and the bikes. It’s going very well and I feel very confident with the team going into the start of the points season. I think it is going to be a great season, and we’ll see how the weekend goes with all the changes we have made. I like the Road Atlanta circuit and think we will have a strong package going into the race.”
KAYLA YAAKOV (No. 19 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “Road Atlanta has always been one of those tracks that I really enjoy going to – from the fan atmosphere to the racing, it’s a great track. Although I haven’t raced [at Road Atlanta] in over two years, the last MotoAmerica race that I raced there, is one where I was able to cross the line in first place. While the position inevitably was changed due to some post-race penalties, I know I have the pace at the track to win! After completing our final “pre-season” test, where we made major changes and improvements to the bikes, I am extremely excited and confident going into the first round of the Supersport championship!”
BEN SPIES (Team Principal): “We are looking forward to Road Atlanta this weekend. We’ve had a lot of changes with the team and the bikes over the last several weeks, so we feel like we’re headed in an upward trajectory and are able give our riders a good mechanical package, hopefully giving them more confidence as the season goes on and providing them with the best tools to take home hardware each event. Everybody likes Road Atlanta because it’s a good track, so it is a nice place to start the championship battle. Hopefully, we can have some great results and some good weather.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, Inc.:
SUZUKI PREVIEWS MOTOAMERICA SUPERBIKE
Suzuki Teams Look to Build Momentum at Road Atlanta
BREA, CA – April 18, 2024 – Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and its two primary road race teams- Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, and RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki both look to build on their current momentum this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Team Hammer’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will focus on the 2024 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike series fielding two established riders, Richie Escalante (54) and Brandon Paasch (96) each racing the Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike.
Veteran Richie Escalante (54) aims to build on 2023’s solid results in this year’s championship on the Suzuki GSX-R1000R. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Road race veteran and 2020 Supersport champion Escalante (54), from Tizayuca, Mexico, is the first Mexican athlete to card a MotoAmerica championship. With consistent results in his second Superbike season, Escalante placed fourth overall in the 2023 Superbike championship, earning 11 top-five finishes.
Starting 2024 racing in the Daytona 200, Escalante raced a next generation GSX-R750 and spent most of the 200 pressuring the race leader. Escalante further displayed the speed that earned him the track record during qualifying. It wasn’t to be however, as he ran short on fuel on the final lap to earn fourth overall in the 82nd running of the iconic race.
Brandon Paasch (96) will be in the mix in his first full MotoAmerica Superbike season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Brandon Paasch also looks to advance with Team Hammer since joining last year. 2024 marks Paasch’s first full season with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Coming on board midway through 2023, the veteran road racer is a two-time winner of the Daytona 200.
Fully healthy from a back injury that shortened his 2023 season, Paasch is working to return to the consistent performance displayed in 2022, racing in Stock 1000. Paasch captured four podiums, finishing runner-up in the MotoAmerica Superbike Cup on a GSX-R1000R. Paasch also showed promise in the recent Daytona 200, with good speed and a seventh-place result.
Tyler Scott (70) is on the gas for the Supersport title on the Suzuki GSX-R750. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Tyler Scott (70) is on the gas for the Supersport title on the Suzuki GSX-R750.
With Road Atlanta also kicking off 2024’s Supersport season, Team Hammer’s riders include Ty Scott (70), and Teagg Hobbs (79), both riders showing flashes of excellence in 2023. Scott earned a hard-fought second place in the 2023 championship with four race wins and several podium finishes.
Hobbs looks to enhance his 2023 success, earning multiple podiums last year. With the Suzuki GSX-R750 continuing as the bike to race in the Supersport class, both Scott and Hobbs feel 2024 offers an excellent opportunity to take their racing careers to the next level.
Teagg Hobbs (79) continues his promising Supersport career with Team Hammer. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Debuting as a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider at Road Atlanta is Joel Ohman (92). Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Ohman joins Team Hammer to race a GSX-R750 in Supersport. Ohman began his MotoAmerica racing career in 2022 with Open-Source Racing.
For MotoAmerica Twins Cup, the new Suzuki GSX-8R is raced by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers (97), who battled at Daytona’s Twins Cup Race 2 to earn the new GSX-8R’s first-ever podium in its debut race weekend. A former Twins Cup series champion, Landers anticipates much racing success on the new GSX-8R as the bike continues its swift development as a first-class series contender.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers (97) plans to extend his Daytona success on the GSX-8R. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki newcomer Rossi Moor (92) also plans to continue his strong Twins Cup start with the Suzuki GSX-8R. At Daytona, Moor contended for a podium, ultimately finishing fourth after battling throughout the race with Landers.
Team Hammer’s Rossi Moor (92) seeks consistent Twins Cup results in 2024. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
With experienced pro teams noted for their racing success and their first-class race bike and rider development programs, Suzuki is enthusiastic about competing in the 2024 MotoAmerica season, seeing it as a prime opportunity to showcase the GSX-R’s racing legacy and begin a new heritage of success with the GSX-8R.
The 2024 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike series, along with the full schedule of MotoAmerica racing classes begins April 20th at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
For Suzuki road racing news, results, and team updates, visit suzukicycles.com/racing/road-racing. For more information and updates on Team Hammer, visit teamhammer.com.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2024 season marks Team Hammer’s 44th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 133 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 362 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport). The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom have started “The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast,” which will be focused on the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
The original podcast can be found on BuzzSprout.com or listened to via other places you get podcasts.
From the Oxley Bom Podcast:
There’s literally no track in MotoGP with more twists and turns than the Circuit of The Americas in Austin. It’s got twenty of them, so you’re in the wrong place if you’re betting on just raw engine power. And with Ducati still chattering like it’s nobody’s business, all bets are off…
Enter Maverick Viñales on the Aprilia, absolutely nailing his bike’s potential in the many, many corners of this Texan gauntlet. But not all riders were so lucky – and that might tell us some very interesting things about the season ahead. This week, we invite you to go left and right, left and right, again and again while we take you through all the literal and figurative twists and turns of the second race in this year’s tournament. Enjoy!
Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman’s Dub Club, who wrote our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!
Our East Coast tour is starting in Virginia at the end of this month. After that is New Jersey, which was just freshly re-paved! Next is the National Corvette track in Kentucky (outstanding grip there), then six days straight at Barber Motorsports Park, the most beautiful track in America. Seriously, it’s the most beautiful track in America—ask anyone who has been there.
With the season getting rolling, weather shifting to motorcycle-friendly type, and the US MotoGP just happening in Texas, riding is on people’s minds and with that comes a desire to make each ride better with increased confidence from improved skills. We have recently been witnessing students’ huge breakthroughs in the art of cornering. Things like knee down for the first time without trying, just applying good technique and it coming naturally. More importantly we are seeing riders who can recognize their own strengths and weaknesses and have the knowledge to fix their own weak areas.
We will be returning to the West Coast in June and July with Willow Springs, Laguna Seca, the also freshly-repaved Sonoma Raceway, and six days straight at The Ridge just south of Seattle.
From there we go back East again with Barber, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey. From September on we will be on the West Coast.
Take a look at our schedule and sign up for the ones that fit. We’ll see you at the track!
In other news we will be carrying the new Alpinestars Tech Air 7x air vest. It’s $999 and can be deployed twice before being serviced, and YOU can replace the canisters yourself without sending it in. For those wishing to spend less, we can get you the Tech Air 5. We shamelessly push safety equipment for the obvious reasons but also the little extra peace of mind it provides.
Fun fact: did you know the California Superbike School is the largest motorcycle track school in the world and has been since 1980? Because of the name, newcomers get the idea we are only in California. We have been international since the 1990’s. So far this year we have done schools in India, England, Australia, and the Philippines. Coming are events in Norway, Poland, and Cyprus. Over our 44 year history we have been to 138 tracks around the world across 39 countries. We often get return students who had no idea we are in other countries or have been in operation for so long. So if you didn’t know, now you know!
More on the internal side, we have created some elements to increase coaching efficiency and our ability to zero in on the student’s actual primary area of technical weakness versus the apparent one. Sometimes breakthroughs come from uncovering the hidden deficiency that may not be so evident to the rider or a casual observer. Our mission to improve your student experience will never end.
Roadracing World started this exclusive special feature recognizing the most promising young road racers as an answer to pessimists who claimed America had no new, up-and-coming young racers. This edition of the Roadracing World Young Gun Awards marks the 28th consecutive year of showcasing an abundance of new talent.
Roadracing World Young Guns have won:
FIM MotoGP and FIM Superbike races and World Championships;
MotoAmerica and AMA Pro races and Championships, including 13 AMA Pro Superbike Championships;
A KTM RC Cup World Final race;
WERA National Endurance Championships and WERA National Challenge Championships;
ASRA/Formula USA Grand National and CCS National Championships;
AMA Road Racing Grand Championships and Horizon Awards;
USGPRU National Championships;
Many regional and local titles.
The competition has continually become more intense as more – and younger—racers with higher levels of accomplishment are nominated, and the level of achievement required to make the grade keeps getting tougher.
We’ve spent the last several months accepting nominations and evaluating road racers between the ages of 10 and 18 (as of the start of the 2024 season) who have, at a minimum, won Expert-level road races and/or Championships or had outstanding results as an Amateur/Novice. Most of the riders included here have done far more than the minimum.
The young riders recognized here are the most promising young road racers in North America. All have earned the title of Roadracing World Young Gun.
We will feature one Young Gun per day, presenting them in alphabetical order.
Recent racing accomplishments: 2023 season, finished 2nd in MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship (2 wins, 5 total podiums), crashed out of the lead on last lap of CIV Aprilia RS 660 Cup race at Imola, won 12 CVMA race wins; 2022 season, won Northern Talent Cup Championship (5 wins, 10 total podiums in 12 race starts); 2021 season, finished 3rd in Northern Talent Cup Championship (3 wins and 6 total podiums in 14 races), finished 22nd while racing as a wild card in the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship event at Valencia; 2020 season, won MotoAmerica Mini Cup 190 Championship, won FIM Ohvale 190 Mini Road Racing Championship; 2019 season, placed 2nd in CIV (Italian) Ohvale GP-0 190 National Championship, won MotoAmerica Ohvale Talent Cup at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, won Ohvale GP-0 190 races in Hungarian National Championship, earned pole position and led a race at Ohvale World Championship, finished 25th in European Talent Cup race at Jerez (was youngest participant).
2024 racing goal: Win MotoAmerica Twins Cup Championship.
Racing career goals: Win MotoGP World Championship.
Racing heroes: Valentino Rossi, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey.
Some of the riders who have graduated from Young Guns and gone on to racing success in National or International series include:
2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion Jason Aguilar (R.I.P.);
2013 AMA Pro SuperSport East Champion and 2022 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion Corey Alexander;
AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race winner Tommy Aquino (R.I.P.);
2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion, two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion, and multi-time MotoAmerica Superbike race winner J.D. Beach;
five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion and Moto2 World Championship point scorer Cameron Beaubier;
MotoAmerica Twins Cup race winner Jackson Blackmon;
former Canadian Sport Bike Champion Tomas Casas;
three-time Canadian Sport Bike Champion and 2014 Canadian Superbike Champion Jodi Christie;
former AMA Pro SuperSport East Champion and MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 race winner Josh Day;
2011 Daytona 200 winner Jason DiSalvo;
2014 AMA Pro SuperSport Championship runner-up and current MotoAmerica team owner Dustin Dominguez;
2018 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion, 2019 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion, and 2021 Canadian Superbike Champion Alex Dumas;
four-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race winner and former motorcycle track record holder Carlin Dunne (R.I.P.);
Canadian Superbike race winner Bodhi Edie;
two-time AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion, two-time AMA Pro XR1200/Harley-Davidson Champion and four-time Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick;
2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion and MotoAmerica Superbike race winner Bobby Fong;
2010 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion, 2014 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion, 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Superstock 1000 Champion, and three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne;
two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion and World Superbike podium finisher Garrett Gerloff;
2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Championship runner-up Michael Gilbert;
2014 AMA Pro SuperSport Champion, 2023 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion, and 2023 MotoAmerica King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim;
2002 AMA Superbike Champion and 2006 FIM MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden (R.I.P.);
2007 AMA Pro 600cc Supersport Champion, 2014 AMA Pro Superbike Championship runner-up, and 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship runner-up Roger Hayden;
eight-time AMA Pro Superbike race winner and two-time AMA Supersport Champion Tommy Hayden;
2013 AMA Pro Superbike Champion, 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Champion, 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion, and three-time Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin;
MotoAmerica Supersport front-runner Teagg Hobbs;
AMA Pro Superstock race winner Jake Holden;
2011 British Superbike Championship runner-up and former MotoGP and World Superbike regular John Hopkins;
2015 Supersport World Championship runner-up, 2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship runner-up, and MotoAmerica Superbike race winner Patrick “P.J.” Jacobsen;
2021 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion, Moto2 World Championship point scorer, and MotoAmerica Superbike racer Sean Dylan Kelly;
Canadian Superbike race winner Kevin Lacombe;
two-time MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion, 2020 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion, 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship runner-up Rocco Landers;
two-time MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee;
2021 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 and Superbike Cup Champion Jake Lewis;
MotoAmerica Supersport race winner Sam Lochoff;
MotoAmerica Superstock 600 race winner Nick McFadden;
AMA Pro SuperSport race winner and MotoAmerica Supersport race winner Stefano Mesa;
Elena Myers, the first and only woman to win AMA Pro Supersport races;
AMA Pro XR1200 race winner, multi-time Loudon Classic winner, and three-time BRL Champion Shane Narbonne;
2012 Canadian Superbike Championship runner-up Andrew Nelson;
2016 MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup Champion, 2019 British Motostar (Moto3) Champion, MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher, and two-time Daytona 200 winner Brandon Paasch;
2012 Daytona 200 winner and 2010 AMA Pro Supersport West Champion Joey Pascarella;
AMA Pro and Canadian National race winner and multi-time N2/WERA National Endurance Champion Chris Peris;
two-time AMA Pro SuperSport National Champion, British Supersport podium finisher, 2020 AFT Production Twins Champion, and 2023 MotoAmerica King Of The Baggers Championship runner-up James Rispoli;
2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion, MotoAmerica Supersport race winner, and Moto2 World Championship race winner Joe Roberts;
2022 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship runner-up and 2023 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Championship runner-up Gus Rodio;
former Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup Champion and former FIM Moto2 European Championship competitor Benny Solis, Jr.;
three-time AMA Pro Superbike Champion, 2009 Superbike World Champion, MotoGP race winner, and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Ben Spies;
multi-time AMA Pro race winner and four-time overall WERA National Endurance Champion Chris Ulrich;
MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher and former World Superbike competitor Jayson Uribe;
2017 MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup Championship runner-up, 2018 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship runner-up, and MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher Cory Ventura;
Canadian Superbike race winner Alex Welsh;
former AMA Pro Superbike Rookie of the Year, Chinese Superbike Championship race winner, MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher, and MotoAmerica Super Hooligan race winner Cory West;
MotoAmerica Junior Cup and Superbike Cup race winner Ashton Yates;
and two-time AMA Pro Superbike Championship runner-up Blake Young.
WILLOW SPRINGS GRAND PRIX APRIL 13TH & 14TH – EVENT REPORT
When headed out to the track, no matter the discipline, your end goal is to get to the starting line, start and finish the race, hopefully do well enough for a trophy, and return home safely for Monday morning’s work alarm. But to accomplish that task, there may be a lot of other races mixed in to meet that goal. Racing home from work on Friday to make sure you get to the track before the gate closes. Racing to fix your bike if you break in practice. Your heartbeat racing as you line up for the green flag. And sometimes you get in a race with an entity that you cannot control: Mother Nature. The story of the 2024 Willow Springs Grand Prix (WSGP) became just that: a race against the predicted weather that tried its best to squash the event. Thankfully we have a team of veteran race staff and a group of hardcore participants who were up for the challenge.
The April race weekend at Willow Springs has been going on for 25 years before my team worked with the raceway to keep it alive for the last few years. I have personally experienced 100-degree heat as well as snow and sideways hail with 30 mph steady winds during this historical racing weekend. While April weather in Southern California has always been semi-predictable, this year was an exception. Although seeing 80-degree days during the week leading up to the event, every weekend over the last six weeks has been attacked by startling cold & wet. Confident we would have a super spectator turn out with excellent weather the week before the event, our confidence fell as the week drew out. To our dismay, 90-degree weather with little wind on Friday afternoon turned to 40 degree weather with fantastic wind that evening. It was gusting so strongly throughout the night I thought our trailer would be blown on its side. While still howling at my 5am wake up call, miraculously the wind quit by 9am on Saturday morning with a dry track.
The Classic Track Day team diligently watched the radar throughout the day as the practice day and festival pushed on. And much to our luck, the weather held up! The wind backed off a bit and the temps almost broke 60. The Classic British Spares performance motorcycle show collected nearly twenty entries and the moto swap meet had hundreds of gawkers throughout the day. The Sly Fox performance stunt team was able to get in a few sessions for revelers with their drifter cross program. But minutes after the last rider was off the track at 5pm the wind picked up and dumped rain for a few hours. While the rain unfortunately ruined the Speedkings evening drag races, we were all stoked to get in eight hours of decent track riding and practice.
As we hung out in the garages Saturday evening, working on bikes and enjoying libations, we lamented the weather prediction for Sunday. It was not looking good with even lower temps and the threat of rain as early as noon. We had to come up with a plan to pull off the WSGP races…so we did! My 5am wake up call found ice on the windows and a temp of 30 degrees. Would it be too cold to race even without the rain? I spoke with fellow racers as the morning drew on, and as the temps began to increase, the consensus was: “Let’s Race!”
Caroline Patterson (110) prepares for a race at the Willow Springs Grand Prix. Photo by CaliPhotography.com, courtesy Willow Springs Grand Prix.
To avoid the impending threat of rain we decided to hold an open practice at 9am followed by a quick session for sidecars. The first race, the twenty lap Ironman, began early at 9:45 a.m., and we pushed through with the rest of the program as quickly as we could, knowing that lunch could wait. While a sprinkle of rain drew a few modern superbike riders into the pits for Race 5, we finished the eight-race program just before 12:30 p.m. And as crazy as it sounds, just minutes after the last race it started to sprinkle, followed by a full downpour for hours in the afternoon. During the awards ceremony there were cheers for racers and organizers alike for pulling off the WSGP against all odds of the impending weather!
Now, down to race business. The WSGP held eight races of combined classes for nearly every motorcycle made after 1960, including sidecars.
MAIN CLASSES (Light / Medium / Heavy):
VINTAGE – pre-1973 air-cooled, drum brakes *Presented by JRC Engineering*
CLASSIC 80s – pre-1983 air-cooled, any performance enhancements *Presented by Moto Republic*
SUPER CLASSIC – all bikes up to 2001 *Presented by Classic British Spares*
MODERN STANDARD – no superbikes, all adventure and naked bikes *Presented by San Diego BMW*
MODERN SUPERBIKE – modern full-fairing inline four superbikes *Presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys*
SIDCARS – determined by SRA-West *Presented by Barnett Clutch & Cable*
AMERICAN TWINS – USA made, any year *Presented by Danny’s Electric*
ADD ON CLASSES (Light / Medium / Heavy – All Years):
IRONMAN – 20 laps *Presented by SoCal Motorcycles*
SUPER SINGLES *Presented by Moto Chop Shop*
POWER TWINS *Presented by Biltwell, Inc*
VINTAGE LEMANS PURSUIT – pre 1983, delayed start for 350cc machines, winner takes all *Presented by McMarrow Family Restaurants*
Standout performances included the beat down by John James in the Ironman Heavyweight class over other competitors, with a best time of 1.29.647. Not far behind in Ironman Middleweight was Demond Wilson with a best time of 1.33.216. Kevin Kautzky and Bernard Juchli battled with Wade Boyd & his passenger for a few laps before checking out and sailing in for the win in sidecars. The LeMans pursuit was a treat to watch and the format actually worked with two middleweight competitors catching the lightweight bikes after 4 laps, giving Jason Lindquist and his TZ125 the win over second place Paul Piskor on his Bridgestone, followed by Caroline Patterson in third on her Honda CL350. While Race 5 saw some rain spotting on turn 8 during the races, seven competitors stayed on the track for a wet and wild race, seeing Wayne Gann of Cha Cha Cha Motorsports take the overall win! A great battle between Danny Spina & Gilbert Conde went down in American Twins, with Danny’s monster Harley finally checking out halfway through the race. An unexpected battle happened in the same race with Eric Reyes on his big, modern bagger leading Jason Lindquist on Rob North’s personal 1971 BSA Rocket III. While Eric had the upperhand the entire race, Jason shared with the awards ceremony crowd that while he wasn’t prepared to detonate Rob’s bike, he saw that he was inching closer to catching Eric and put the hammer down to come in third overall on the last lap. Not too often one gets to see and hear those mismatched machines battling on the front straight of Willow!
With a mix of vintage & modern race bikes on the track, it was a treat to see where the competition would lie. More of a treat was that AMA Pro Mookie Wilkerson passed six new racers in his school on Saturday with half of them competing Sunday’s races, including Tom Ferguson, Jay Stock & Craig Beecher. Congrats and welcome to the party guys! As a promoter, the financials are always a big concern. But to be the catalyst of seeing six new competitors get on the racetrack feeds my soul and I am so proud that our organization can help make that happen. Curtis Adams, the WSGP 2024 grand marshal, agrees with this sentiment and he shared words of wisdom & congratulations to staff and racers alike at the awards ceremony.
While numbers were down on both the track day & races because of the weather, support was up on sponsorship of this annual event. Classic British Spares joined as the title sponsor, which allowed us to advertise with Road Racing World and add more to the marketing budget to help spread the word. Kyle & his dad Malcolm were on hand all weekend greeting guests and making the paddock look sharp. Class sponsors included Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys, Moto Chop Shop, Barnett Clutch & Cable, JRC Engineering, SoCal Motorcycles, McMarrow Family Restaurants, Moto Republic, San Diego BMW & Danny’s Electric. Support also came from Oxford Suites of Lancaster, Motion Pro & Biltwell Inc. Lastly, Cha Cha Cha Motorsports tossed $800 towards a racer-only raffle at the end of the awards ceremony with eight lucky folks taking $100 home for gas money. Y’all might hear this statement all of the time, but I am telling the truth that we would not have been able to make this event happen without the support of these moto-centric businesses. Thank you all ten times over!
The fourth annual Willow Springs Grand Prix will return next Spring, hopefully to better weather. In an effort to get more spectators and racers to the event, we will look to move off of MotoGP weekend in Austin. We are always looking for more support with very affordable sponsorship packages for those businesses and individuals who are looking to gain more exposure through our fun-first, one-off motorcycle race & classic motorcycle celebration weekend. Contact Brady to learn more.
Wrapping up this race report, I want to thank my friends (read: volunteer staff) who show up to regularly to make the WSGP and Classic Track Day happen. Financial support is amazing & necessary, but the support I receive from this gang outweighs anything else. Thank you to Scott Fabbro, Dave Ehrhart, Jason Reeves, Cal & Les Lewis, Brian Herzfeldt, Jim Connelly, Pat Wilkening, Don Leanhardt, Jay Larossa, Miki Masuda & Russ Granger for your support and camaraderie. Bad weather or not, I know it will always be a great day at the track with this crew! See y’all next year!
ASRA Adds Premier Motorcycle Race Event at VIR to August Schedule
Motorcycle racing is coming back to the prestigious VIRginia International Raceway. The American Superbike Racing Association (ASRA), Evolve GT track days, and Virginia International Raceway (VIR) have partnered to host a major motorcycle racing event August 2-4.
“We are extremely excited to partner with VIR to bring motorcycle racing back to this internationally recognized and revered facility. I cannot thank VIR enough for sharing the opportunity to race in 2024 and years to come,” said Alex Spellman, President, ASRA.
The three-day, multi-track event will thrill spectators with access to world-class facilities and services at VIR, the paddocks, vendors, and tons of racing action. The racing lineup for the weekend includes a wide range of motorcycle classes and age ranges, featuring 400s, Twins, Middleweight, and Unlimited classes on the VIR North Course circuit and the FIM Mini Cup series racing on VIR’s kart track.
The author wearing the Alpinestars Tech-Air 7X system at an Aprilia Racer Days event held in conjunction with RideSmart Motorcycle School at Circuit of The Americas. Photo courtesy Alpinestars.
The best piece of protective equipment does you no good if it’s sitting on the shelf in the garage or hanging in a closet when you crash. Part of the trick of designing truly effective protection is making it easy to use and operate.
Alpinestars’ new Tech-Air 7X airbag system is, in my experience, the most comfortable, easy-to-use and easy-to-operate track-oriented airbag system I have used to date. It does not provide the absolute highest, MotoGP-rider level protection of its most protective system. But it is user-serviceable, easy to get on, and is cooler than other systems. And it is truly universal, in that it can be used under any suit that provides enough space for the system to deploy in the case of a crash.
I wore the system for seven 20-minute sessions at an Aprilia Racer Days event at Circuit of The Americas. When the sun came out, it was baking; when it was cloudy, it was humid. It was a test of the system’s wearability, and it passed that evaluation with five stars.
The internal mechanism of the Alpinstars Tech-Air 7X. In the center is the computer and the battery; the user-switchable argon canisters are on either side. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Tech Overview
Best to think of the Alpinestars Tech-Air 7X as an evolved version of the Tech-Air Race. It is FIM-homologated, meaning that you can race in the system in International-level competition where airbags are mandatory. It comes preset in Track mode, but the Tech-Air app allows the user to switch it to Road mode when desired. When deployed, the system decreases impact force by 90 percent compared to a passive Level One back protector.
The protection configuration differs from the company’s Tech-Air 10 system. The Tech-Air 7X does not have hip protection, and it offers individual bladders on each side of the riders’ chest. The Tech-Air 10 has a solid panel across the chest, offering more protection but flowing less air to the rider. The Tech-Air 7 also is worn like a vest, rather than a mid-thigh bodysuit (similar to a warm-water wetsuit) with the Tech-Air 10. The Tech-Air 7X inflates to cover the riders’ chest, back, collarbones and tailbone.
The Tech-Air 7X comes with two argon cartridges for two separate inflations, and the cartridges can be replaced at the track by the rider. A pull handle releases the protective cover over the internal mechanism, and the cartridges can be unscrewed and replaced literally in seconds. Each cartridge costs approximately $99, and the unit can be deployed four times before it has to be sent back to an Alpinestars service center for inspection and refurbishment. The units are carefully designed to ensure that cartridge replacement is done correctly – if not, the cover cannot be replaced. For racers who are obsessive about weight reduction, one of the argon cartridges can be removed and replaced with the plug that comes with the system.
Activating the system is as simple as attaching two velcro tabs across the chest. An LED array displays the system charging status and its mode, road or track.
When the velcro tab is connected, magnets connect and switch the system on. LEDs indicate charging status and mode. Photo courtesy Alpinestars.
Riding Impressions
I found the Tech-Air 7X as easy to slip into as my regular passive Alpinestars protective vest, and the GP Force suit slid easily over the back protector/inflation control unit hump. The back protection construct itself is CE-certified as a Level One protector, which means that even if the airbag failed to deploy in a crash, the rider still has protection against impact forces. It’s nowhere near the protection of a deployed airbag, but I’m old enough to remember when we raced with no back protector at all, so it’s still a dramatic improvement over those days.
The only time I really thought about the Tech-Air 7X system was when I would sit up to brake. The airflow across the chest was noticeably greater than that of the Tech-Air 10, and it made a real difference in rider comfort.
Other than that, I zipped it up in the morning, took it off when I was done, and never thought about it the rest of the day. And that, for me, is the highest praise I can give safety gear without crashing.
I feel like until I experienced this unit, I was paying for airbag levels of protection with decreased comfort and ease of operation. While this system does not offer the protection of the Tech-Air 10, it is easier to use, easier to wear and easier on the rider when they are on the machine. And if that’s what it takes to get riders into an airbag system, that’s nothing but good.
Niccolo Canepa (1) turned the fastest lap time during provisional FIM World Endurance qualifying Thursday at the 24-Hours of Le Mans, helping Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC finish on top. Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe.
YART FASTEST IN THE EWC SO FAR AFTER DRAMA-HIT FIRST QUALIFYING FOR 24 HEURES MOTOS
The battle for pole position in the 24 Heures Motos, round one of the 2024 FIM Endurance World Championship, is go with Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team on top in the first three sessions that help towards forming the grid for the famous Le Mans race.
Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz and Karel Hanika – riding with the #1 on their Bridgestone-equipped Yamaha YZF-R1 following their 2023 EWC title triumph – were quickest in the Blue, Yellow and Red sessions held on a sunny but chilly Circuit Bugatti this afternoon.
Once again, First Qualifying was split into four colour-coded rider groups (Blue, Yellow, Red and Green) with each group getting 20 minutes of running on the 4.185-kilometre track.
But with the final qualifying order based on the average time of the fastest two riders from each team (the results of the fourth rider are not taken into account), it’s not until after Second Qualifying on Friday morning that the grid for the 47th 24 Heures Moto is known.
Niccolò Canepa was the quickest Blue Rider for Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team in an unofficial lap record time of 1m34.708s followed by Florian Alt (Honda Viltaïs Racing), Gregg Black (Yoshimura SERT Motul), Josh Hook (F.C.C. TSR Honda France) and Illya Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team).
Canepa, who is still recovery from a shoulder injury sustained during a crash while practicing for the Daytona 200 in the USA last month, said: “I’m really happy especially because I didn’t do many winter tests. I still don’t fell 100 per cent with my shoulder and I know the race is going to be very tough so I will have to count on my team-mates a lot because I still have pain and not so much power. But to do one lap I really enjoyed and it came out an incredible lap that I really didn’t expect, but the bike and the tyres were really amazing. I was sure this was a record that would not last long because I thought Marvin and Karel would beat it. Unfortunately they couldn’t beat it so I can keep it but they still did an amazing job. It was a bit of drama for them and I am sorry but I’m really happy for the result of today and we are all three in the first place and this is what counts.”
Kenny Foray was the quickest Superstock category contender on a 1m36.868s for Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team with Sébastien Suchet (National Motos Honda) and Yudai Kamei (Team Étoile) next up. Tom Ward (TRT27 AZ Moto), Eemeli Lahti (Pit-Lane Endurance) and Martin Vugrinec (Maco Racing) all fell.
In the Yellow Rider session, Marvin Fritz continued YART’s impressive qualifying performance in a time of 1m35.139s, although his initial best lap 1m34.738s was cancelled due to a track limits infrignement. Steven Odendaal was second for Honda Viltaïs Racing with F.C.C. TSR Honda France rider Mike Di Meglio in third. Despite a fall, Christian Gamarino (Kawasaki Webike Trickstar) excelled on his step up to the Formula EWC category having helped Team 33 Louit April Moto win the Superstock-based FIM Endurance World Cup in 2023. Randy Krummenacher was fifth fastest for Tati Team Beringer Racing, now Honda-powered in the EWC. Jan Bühn (Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team) headed the Superstock order followed by Valentin Suchet (National Motos Honda) and Baptiste Guittet, who returns to Team 18 Sapeurs Pompiers CMS Motostore following a season competing in the Formula EWC category with Tati Team Beringer Racing. Meanwhile, Florian Marino (KM99) and Kamil Krzemień (Wójcik Racing Team EWC) both suffered falls during their 20-minute session.
Karel Hanika took over the #1 Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team for the Red Rider session and continued the Austrian squad’s dominance in a time of 1m35.028s, despite crashing on his first flying lap, which resulted in his mechanics spending just under seven minutes repairing his damaged bike. Alan Techer was second quickest for F.C.C. TSR Honda France followed by Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team), Leandro Mercado (Honda Viltaïs Racing) and Dan Linfoot on his debut for Yoshimura SERT Motul. National Motos Honda’s Guillaume Raymond was the quickest Superstock contender with a 1m37.756s best. Kevin Calia was second quickest on Team Aviobike by M2 Revo’s Aprilia as Philipp Steinmayr went third fastest on his debut for Honda No Limits. Fallers in the penultimate First Qualifying session included Alan Agogue (TCP Racing), Maiku Watanuki (3ART Best of Bike).
The Green Rider session is taking on added significance for Superstock riders this season under new rules that allow teams contesting the FIM Endurance World Cup to nominate four race riders rather than the traditional three. Martin Renaudin was fastest in the Dunlop-equipped class for Chromeburner-RAC41-Honda followed by Gino Rea (Wójcik Racing Team) on his competition comeback following serious injury. Dylan Mille was third fastest for Junior Team Le Mans Sud Suzuki. The quickest overall session time went to Yoshimura SERT Motul’s reserve rider Cocoro Atsumi ahead of Robin Mulhauser (Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team) and Hannes Soomer, on his first EWC appearance for BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.
Following Night Practice from 20h30 local time today, Second Qualifying is due to get under way at 10h20 tomorrow (Friday).
Toprak Razgatlioglu (54). Photo courtesy BMW Motorrad Motorsport.
Outspoken ahead of Assen
Chapter three of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season is about to take place at the legendary TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. Countless classics at this track and also in recent rounds mean that 2024’s Pirelli Dutch Round is destined to be one for the ages; we caught up with the main stars on Thursday during WorldSBK’s media day.
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We want to be on the podium!”
After a strong Barcelona, the rostrum is the aim for home-hero Michael van der Mark: “It’s always nice to arrive at your home track when you’ve had some decent results before. In Australia and especially Barcelona, we had some really good results. We come here with confidence and knowing the base we have is really good. We want to be on the podium, and we’ve had a good start to the season. We have a good base and we’re fast. It would be nice to be on the podium. It’s a nice confirmation knowing you have a bike that can fight for the podium and victories. It takes a little bit of pressure away. We know the package is there, we just have to finetune it and focus on riding. Honestly, the only thing I can do is deliver results. I’ve been unlucky the last two years. I’m fit, I’m feeling good on the bike and all I can do now is deliver results.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I have a dream this year to win the Championship”
Two wins last time out at a track he and BMW had never won at, Assen has also been a place where Toprak Razgatlioglu and BMW haven’t mounted the top step: “I’ve never won here at Assen in the Superbike class; I hope I can this weekend. It looks a little strange as the weather can always change easily. It’s cold but I’m ready to race in both wet and dry races. I have a dream this year to win this Championship; I can’t say before the end of the season. My dream looks possible. I am happy with Michael as a teammate and the atmosphere in the garage is very good and we work well together. If BMW ask me, it’s easy to say Michael, he’s a good teammate, a good guy and respectful; we work together in the race and Superpole. Maybe at this track, he’ll help me as he knows it better than me –in the wet, he’ll show me the best line!”
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I’m not in a hurry to make a decision”
With silly season in full flow, Alvaro Bautista’s future could hold the key to many for 2025: “To win a race is always very important, but especially after coming from a difficult winter for me with my injury and also the feeling I started with the bike in testing that was not the best. It was very important to recover the good feeling during the Barcelona weekend. I think the win was the consequence of this feeling and from my physical condition. It gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the Championship. Honestly, I don’t have anything on my mind about my future. It’s been very tough for me. In Barcelona, I recovered the good feeling. I always say I keep racing because I’m having a lot of fun riding my bike and with a good feeling. It’s important to have a good feeling on my bike and try to always improve. With this crazy grid, you have to be an even better rider than before! I try to always be a better rider. I’m just focused on this and trying to be better and better. I’m not in a hurry to make a decision.”
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “This could be the most difficult race for me”
Back after arm-pump surgery, Nicolo Bulega says this could be his most difficult round yet: “I had some problems during the races so I decided to have the surgery before Assen as this track is a bit difficult physically, with the change of direction. With the Superbike, it can be hard. I decided to do it before this race and I’m still not at 100% but I am recovering day by day and I can ride well. I always push at 100% when I’m on the bike; this could be the most difficult race for me because we’ve had the test before the other races. I also come here after the surgery, without a test, so perhaps Friday will be more difficult for me. I’m happy because it’s a track I like a lot and I’ll try to do my best.”
Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “We have to walk before we can run”
17 wins and 25 podiums: will Assen’s most successful rider, Jonathan Rea, get his season off to a proper start after six races where he’s struggled: “I’m really excited to be back at Assen, I like the layout of the track and also my fans bring some good energy here. It’s just a case of trying to find some form and performance both from myself and the R1. I think Catalunya Race 2 was my first normal race with no issue, so I banked some points. What I realised was starting from P13 is that it’s so difficult to reach that front group, so it was a race I started making progress. It’s not the positions we want to fight for, but we have to start somewhere after a lot of disappointments. Looking forward to seeing if Assen can bring us some more fortune. Looking back at previous years, it’s a track that suits not just me but the Yamaha R1. It’s a place we can make that step, but it’s a step by progress. We have to walk before we can run.”
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven): “My target is to be in a factory team… I felt interest from many manufacturers”
Back at Assen and looking to his future, Andrea Iannone made a bold claim for 2025: “I’m a little bit excited because it’s really good to be back here. I won in the past in my first year in Moto2™ and also, I’ve had really good races more or less every year at this track. It’s the first race we don’t have a test before the round and I’m a little bit worried because I don’t know what happens, but I hope we immediately start in a good way. I don’t know about my future. I’m happy I’m being spoken about, but I don’t know at the moment. I want to continue to live this moment and I’m focused on riding well because I know if I’m on top, I have many chances. My target is to be in a factory team, but we will see. After a long time, I felt many things and I felt interest from many manufacturers. I’m honoured. I think after Assen, in Misano, we will know something more about this.”
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK): “Anything can happen when the weather’s a little bit inconsistent”
In the top three of the Championship, Alex Lowes is keen to show Kawasaki’s potential at Assen: “Conditions are always a little bit mixed here at Assen. I know the bike and track well, so I think if there’s minimal dry time, it could be good for us. We have to adapt well to the situation. Anything can happen when the weather’s a little bit inconsistent. We have to make sure we make the right decisions, put ourselves in a good position and I think, dry or wet conditions, we can be quite optimistic about the weekend. This weekend, if we can fight for the podium, be in the mix with the front guys fighting at the front, I think we can be happy and that’s the target. I don’t really know about the future, it’s very early. We’ve got a big break after the Assen round with so long until the next round, so maybe there’ll be some more news in the break. From my side, I don’t know yet. I started the year really strong with Kawasaki, I’ve changed some of the working environment inside the team so it would be nice to keep this progression.”
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha): “Let’s push and see what we can do”
With a first win still to be had, can happy memories from previous Assen outings spur Andrea Locatelli on: “I have good memories form Assen; I got my first WorldSBK podium here in 2021 and I’ve had a podium every season with Yamaha here, so why not try to repeat it this year? It won’t be easy and probably this weekend, we’ll ride in different conditions with the forecast will be tricky. I feel comfortable though and OK with the bike, so let’s push and see what we can do. We have a really good feeling and it’s a flowing track, so it’s another good track to show our potential and speed. We’ll push for the maximum and see what we have. Toprak was a big surprise for everyone as we didn’t think it could happen immediately but they’re working well during testing and they found a good solution for the race. I’m happy for him because, firstly, he’s my friend and I have a good relationship with him. He’s a big talent; I sent a message to him because I missed him after the race. I want to try and fight again this weekend.”
Jake Gagne (1) leading Mathew Scholtz (11), Cameron Beaubier (6), Cameron Petersen (45), Josh Herrin (2), PJ Jacobsen (99), Toni Elias (24), Richie Escalante (behind Elias), Corey Alexander (23), and the rest of the field during MotoAmerica Superbike Race One at Road Atlanta in 2023. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MotoAmerica Live+ To Debut “Road Atlanta Preview Show” This Weekend At Steel Commander Superbike Series Opener
Thirty Minute Live Interview Show To Debut On Friday Morning From Road Atlanta
IRVINE, CA (April 18, 2024) – MotoAmerica, North America’s premier motorcycle road racing championship, will debut a new feature on MotoAmerica Live+ at this weekend’s opening round of the Steel Commander Superbike series at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The “Road Atlanta Preview Show” will feature MotoAmerica Live+ commentators Roger Hayden and Jamie Howe and will air live from Road Atlanta on Friday, April 19 from 10 to 10:30 a.m.
The show will feature live interviews with several of the top stars of the MotoAmerica Championship and will also be available on-demand for subscribers wanting to view the show at their discretion.
“With Road Atlanta being the opening round for several of our classes, it’s the perfect time to debut this new feature for MotoAmerica Live+,” said MotoAmerica COO Chuck Aksland. “Roger and Jamie will be interviewing some of our top stars from various classes and we know our subscribers will like the new content.”
The “Road Atlanta Preview Show” is exclusive to MotoAmerica Live+ subscribers. To subscribe, click HERE.
MotoAmerica is also pleased to announce that MotoAmerica Live+ is now available on Chromecast, which joins IOS, Android, Roku, and Apple TV as platforms where Live+ is available.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
Stefano Mesa (37) leading Tyler Scott (70), Xavi Fores (12), and Josh Hayes (4) at Road Atlanta in 2023. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Ready, Set, Go: The 10th Anniversary Season Of MotoAmerica Begins In Earnest At Road Atlanta
Superbike, Supersport And Junior Cup Get Their Championships Started This Weekend At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
IRVINE, CA (April 18, 2024) – While Mission King Of The Baggers and BellissiMoto Twins Cup already have races under their belts in 2024, Steel Commander Superbike, Supersport and Junior Cup will start their championships this coming weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as the 10th anniversary of the MotoAmerica series begins in earnest in Braselton, Georgia, April 19-21.
Excitement is high as a full contingent of five classes and 10 races are slated for the iconic Road Atlanta with 137 entries spread over the five classes.
Here’s a closer look at the Support classes after yesterday’s preview of the Steel Commander Superbike opener.
Supersport – 44 Entries! Say What?
Forty-four entries will attempt to qualify for the two Supersport races at Road Atlanta. That’s right. Forty-four.
Where do we begin? Since defending class champion Xavi Forés, who won both races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta last year, isn’t defending his title, we can’t start there. And since Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin is racing Superbikes for the rest of the season, we can’t start there.
So, let’s begin with how they finished behind Forés last year and go from there.
That puts us right smack dab on the rider who really has to be the pre-season favorite – Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott. Scott ended up second in the title chase in 2023, winning four of the last seven races and standing on the podium a total of 11 times. The youngster from Pennsylvania returns with the same team and the same aspirations. Last year, Scott was second and fourth in the two races at Road Atlanta.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa, fourth in the standings last year with one win and five other podiums, is the second-highest finisher in Supersport who is returning to the class (Josh Hayes, who was third in last year’s title chase, isn’t entered at Road Atlanta).
Scott’s teammate from last year, Teagg Hobbs, is also returning to the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki fold after finishing fifth in last year’s championship with three podium finishes.
Jake Lewis, seventh last year, is another returnee and he will do so with the Altus Racing team on a Suzuki GSX-R750. Ditto for racer/team owner David Anthony who was eighth in 2023 on his own Wrench Motorcycles-backed team.
Super Carl Racing’s Carl Soltisz rounds out the list of those finishing in the top 10 who are returning to the Supersport wars again.
So, who is new? That list is long, and it starts with the new three-rider Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL team of PJ Jacobsen, Kayla Yaakov, and Cory Alexander (who will race with Roller Die + Forming sponsorship) on Ducati Panigale V2s.
The biggest new name in Supersport is Mathew Scholtz, the South African winner of five MotoAmerica Superbike races in his career. With the demise of Westby Racing, Scholtz drops down to the Supersport category with Strack Racing (nee Squid Hunter Racing) on a Yamaha YZF-R6. The team has Yamaha support and Scholtz should be up front from the get-go.
Two-time MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion Blake Davis makes the move to Supersport full time for the N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto team and its Yamaha YZF-R6.
Melissa Paris’s MP13 Racing has changed brands and will field a two-rider team of Italian Roberto Tamburini and Hunter Dunham on MV Agusta F3 800.
There are a few moving up from other classes, namely Max Van who will race a Suzuki GSX-R750 for SportbikeTrackGear.com. after several years of Junior Cup wins and podiums.
Mission King Of The Baggers – The Battle Has Begun
With four races under its belt, the Mission King Of The Baggers class is in full swing while the majority of the other classes have yet to dip a toe into the 2024 MotoAmerica pool.
While it’s obviously still early in the season, it’s not too early to see how this is going to play out. Simply put, it’s going to be a war.
Leading the battle thus far is Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman, with the New Yorker winning three of the four races from the two rounds held at Daytona International Speedway and Circuit of The Americas. In the race he didn’t win, Wyman finished second.
But before we start handing out number-one plates, there’s plenty left to fight for and plenty of those willing to fight. At the top of that heap is class rookie Troy Herfoss and his S&S/Indian Motorcycle Challenger. Herfoss won his first career Mission King Of The Baggers race in the first of two races at COTA, and he’s been a close second to Wyman in the three races the Road Glide-mounted Wyman has won.
Wyman leads the Australian by 10 points as the series heads to Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The top two have been consistently fast at both racetracks and that has put them 34 (Wyman) and 24 (Herfoss) points ahead of Wyman’s Harley teammate James Rispoli, who has three third-place finishes and a fourth so far in 2024. Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara started his season with a few bumps in the road at Daytona, but he rebounded nicely with his first podium of the year at COTA.
Then comes the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s duo of defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim and rookie Rocco Landers. Gillim has been in the mix in all four of the races held so far and Landers is learning the ropes with a best of fifth place so far in his debut at Daytona.
Even though he is currently eighth in the title chase behind RydFast Racing’s Kyle Ohnsorg, a wise man would never bet against SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong winning races. After a wretched Daytona, Fong was fourth in the battle and finished fourth in race two at COTA.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Gus. Rodio.
The takeaway from the opening round of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup season is that Gus Rodio isn’t messing around. Rodio and his Aprilia RS 660 dominated both races at Daytona International Speedway, winning by big margins in each and breaking the lap record for the class on several occasions.
But Daytona is Daytona. At least that’s what you’re saying if you were on the losing end of the runaway train that was Rodio in Florida.
Although he lost 19 points to Rodio at Daytona, you won’t see much in the way of panic from RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers. After all, no one has won more Twins Cup races (15 wins) than 2020 class champion Landers. Considering he was on a new bike (the Suzuki GSX-8R) and with a new team, fifth and second wasn’t a bad beginning at Daytona.
Landers heads to Road Atlanta trailing Rodio by 19 points.
Third in the title chase after the opening round is Rodio’s Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering teammate Alessandro Di Mario. Di Mario was fourth and third in the two races.
Rossi Moor made his BellissiMoto Twins Cup debut at Daytona and was seventh and fourth on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R, which puts him fourth heading into Road Atlanta.
Dominic Doyle won a Twins Cup race last year at Pittsburgh International Race Complex and was also up front at Daytona, finishing second in race one. Doyle’s Giaccomoto Yamaha Racing’s teammate Sonya Lloyd will also be in action after a pair of 12ths in her Twins Cup debut at Daytona.
Last year’s Junior Cup Champion Avery Dreher will be pulling double duty and adding BellissiMoto Twins Cup to his weekends after finishing third in race one at Daytona before DNFing race two.
Former Junior Cup racer Sean Ungvarsky returned to MotoAmerica action at Daytona with a pair of top-10 finishes and he will be in action at Road Atlanta on a Koch Racing Yamaha YZF-R7.
Junior Cup – Who Will Battle Dreher
It would be extremely hard to pick someone other than defending champion Avery Dreher to win the 2024 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship. After all, Dreher and his Bad Boys Racing team won six of the 12 races last year against the Rossi Moors, Levi Badies and Eli Blocks of the world. And other than Block, those race winners from 2023 have moved on.
But as certain as we are that Dreher starts the season as the favorite, we’re equally confident that there will be someone who steps up to challenge the Floridian. We’re just not sure who that will be, and that’s half the fun of MotoAmerica’s Junior Cup class. New year, new faces.
The highest-ranking Junior Cup racers from last year staying in the class are Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez (sixth in 2023 with two podiums) and Yandel Medina, the New York Safety Track Racing rider from New York who was seventh in last year’s title chase with two podiums. Then there’s the aforementioned Block, who will ride a BARTCON Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 alongside Maryland’s Matthew Chapin.
Also keep an eye on last year’s Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner Trenton Keesee.
Two foreign riders will line up at the Road Atlanta opener – El Salvador’s JT Rivera and Brit Kobe Garbett. Garbett will also be on the only non-Kawasaki Ninja 400 in the class as he will grid up on a Yamaha YZF-R3.
Pre-Road Atlanta Notes…
Kyle Wyman won both of the Mission King Of The Baggers races at Road Atlanta last year, besting Tyler O’Hara in the pair of races. Third in race one went to Hayden Gillim with Bobby Fong finishing third in race two.
Wyman earned pole position for the two Bagger races with his 1:30.427 to lead O’Hara and his 1:31.092 and Gillim’s 1:31.366.
Last year’s two Supersport races were won by Xavi Forés in his first time to Road Atlanta. Forés beat Tyler Scott in race one and Stefano Mesa in race two. Josh Hayes was third in both races.
Forés earned pole position for the Supersport races with his 1:28.977, just over a second off Garrett Gerloff’s lap record of 1:27.860 from race two in 2017.
In Twins Cup action from a year ago, Blake Davis and Rocco Landers split wins with Gus Rodio finishing second in both races. Both Davis and Landers had issues in the races they didn’t win with Davis 11th in race two and Landers DNFing in race one.
Landers was on pole position for the two Twins Cup races with his 1:31.907 at new Road Atlanta lap record for the Twins.
Avery Dreher was perfect at Road Atlanta last year with two victories in the Junior Cup class. Dreher topped Max Van in both races with Hayden Bicknese third in both.
Eighteen of the 44 Supersport entries will be mounted on Suzuki GSX-R750s, the highest of the six manufacturers in the class. Kawasaki is next with 10 ZX-6Rs entered. Yamaha will be represented by seven YZF-R6s with five Ducati Panigale V2s, two Triumphs and two MV Agustas filling the entry list.
Nine countries will also be represented among those 44 Supersport entries: South Africa, Colombia, Italy, Mexico, El Salvador, Australia, Uruguay, Canada and the USA
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
RACE PREVIEW: ROAD ATLANTA
The Rahal Ducati Moto team prepares for the first two rounds of Supersport points competition at Road Atlanta.
ZIONSVILLE, Ind (04.17.2024) – After a six-week break, the trio of Rahal Ducati Moto riders and their teams are preparing to begin their MotoAmerica Supersport championship journey.
Since the Daytona 200, the team has made several changes to prepare the Ducati Panigale V2s for regular-season competition. Additionally, the team has welcomed former Supersport champion and industry veteran Richard Alexander Jr. to the team as team manager.
The team heads to the 2.550-mile track just outside of Atlanta after a successful test at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday.
The trio of riders will take the track for Practice and Qualifying 1 on Friday, followed by Qualifying 2 and Race 1 on Saturday, and a warm-up and Race 2 on Sunday.
QUOTE BOARD:
COREY ALEXANDER (No. 23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m super excited for Road Atlanta. The anticipation since Daytona has been building up and I know the team has made a lot of really big changes to the bikes and the overall structure to make sure we have the best possible weapon to race with. I’m eager to see how the weekend plays out. Thanks to Graham and everyone at RDM for the huge effort the last several weeks to keep us competitive.”
PJ JACOBSEN (No. 15 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “Between myself and the team, we’re really looking forward to Road Atlanta. We are starting with a clean slate compared to Daytona – we learned a lot from that weekend. The team is preparing very well for this weekend – having been at Barber [Motorsports Park] for the track day and then straight to Atlanta for a few days has given us a chance to get to know each other and work closely with one another and the bikes. It’s going very well and I feel very confident with the team going into the start of the points season. I think it is going to be a great season, and we’ll see how the weekend goes with all the changes we have made. I like the Road Atlanta circuit and think we will have a strong package going into the race.”
KAYLA YAAKOV (No. 19 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “Road Atlanta has always been one of those tracks that I really enjoy going to – from the fan atmosphere to the racing, it’s a great track. Although I haven’t raced [at Road Atlanta] in over two years, the last MotoAmerica race that I raced there, is one where I was able to cross the line in first place. While the position inevitably was changed due to some post-race penalties, I know I have the pace at the track to win! After completing our final “pre-season” test, where we made major changes and improvements to the bikes, I am extremely excited and confident going into the first round of the Supersport championship!”
BEN SPIES (Team Principal): “We are looking forward to Road Atlanta this weekend. We’ve had a lot of changes with the team and the bikes over the last several weeks, so we feel like we’re headed in an upward trajectory and are able give our riders a good mechanical package, hopefully giving them more confidence as the season goes on and providing them with the best tools to take home hardware each event. Everybody likes Road Atlanta because it’s a good track, so it is a nice place to start the championship battle. Hopefully, we can have some great results and some good weather.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, Inc.:
SUZUKI PREVIEWS MOTOAMERICA SUPERBIKE
Suzuki Teams Look to Build Momentum at Road Atlanta
BREA, CA – April 18, 2024 – Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and its two primary road race teams- Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, and RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki both look to build on their current momentum this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Team Hammer’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will focus on the 2024 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike series fielding two established riders, Richie Escalante (54) and Brandon Paasch (96) each racing the Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike.
Veteran Richie Escalante (54) aims to build on 2023’s solid results in this year’s championship on the Suzuki GSX-R1000R. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Road race veteran and 2020 Supersport champion Escalante (54), from Tizayuca, Mexico, is the first Mexican athlete to card a MotoAmerica championship. With consistent results in his second Superbike season, Escalante placed fourth overall in the 2023 Superbike championship, earning 11 top-five finishes.
Starting 2024 racing in the Daytona 200, Escalante raced a next generation GSX-R750 and spent most of the 200 pressuring the race leader. Escalante further displayed the speed that earned him the track record during qualifying. It wasn’t to be however, as he ran short on fuel on the final lap to earn fourth overall in the 82nd running of the iconic race.
Brandon Paasch (96) will be in the mix in his first full MotoAmerica Superbike season. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Brandon Paasch also looks to advance with Team Hammer since joining last year. 2024 marks Paasch’s first full season with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Coming on board midway through 2023, the veteran road racer is a two-time winner of the Daytona 200.
Fully healthy from a back injury that shortened his 2023 season, Paasch is working to return to the consistent performance displayed in 2022, racing in Stock 1000. Paasch captured four podiums, finishing runner-up in the MotoAmerica Superbike Cup on a GSX-R1000R. Paasch also showed promise in the recent Daytona 200, with good speed and a seventh-place result.
Tyler Scott (70) is on the gas for the Supersport title on the Suzuki GSX-R750. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Tyler Scott (70) is on the gas for the Supersport title on the Suzuki GSX-R750.
With Road Atlanta also kicking off 2024’s Supersport season, Team Hammer’s riders include Ty Scott (70), and Teagg Hobbs (79), both riders showing flashes of excellence in 2023. Scott earned a hard-fought second place in the 2023 championship with four race wins and several podium finishes.
Hobbs looks to enhance his 2023 success, earning multiple podiums last year. With the Suzuki GSX-R750 continuing as the bike to race in the Supersport class, both Scott and Hobbs feel 2024 offers an excellent opportunity to take their racing careers to the next level.
Teagg Hobbs (79) continues his promising Supersport career with Team Hammer. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Debuting as a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider at Road Atlanta is Joel Ohman (92). Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Ohman joins Team Hammer to race a GSX-R750 in Supersport. Ohman began his MotoAmerica racing career in 2022 with Open-Source Racing.
For MotoAmerica Twins Cup, the new Suzuki GSX-8R is raced by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers (97), who battled at Daytona’s Twins Cup Race 2 to earn the new GSX-8R’s first-ever podium in its debut race weekend. A former Twins Cup series champion, Landers anticipates much racing success on the new GSX-8R as the bike continues its swift development as a first-class series contender.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers (97) plans to extend his Daytona success on the GSX-8R. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki newcomer Rossi Moor (92) also plans to continue his strong Twins Cup start with the Suzuki GSX-8R. At Daytona, Moor contended for a podium, ultimately finishing fourth after battling throughout the race with Landers.
Team Hammer’s Rossi Moor (92) seeks consistent Twins Cup results in 2024. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
With experienced pro teams noted for their racing success and their first-class race bike and rider development programs, Suzuki is enthusiastic about competing in the 2024 MotoAmerica season, seeing it as a prime opportunity to showcase the GSX-R’s racing legacy and begin a new heritage of success with the GSX-8R.
The 2024 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike series, along with the full schedule of MotoAmerica racing classes begins April 20th at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
For Suzuki road racing news, results, and team updates, visit suzukicycles.com/racing/road-racing. For more information and updates on Team Hammer, visit teamhammer.com.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2024 season marks Team Hammer’s 44th consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 133 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 362 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport). The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley (right) and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom (left). Photo courtesy Mat Oxley.
Roadracing World MotoGP Editor and Isle of Man TT winner Mat Oxley and two-time World Championship-winning Crew Chief Peter Bom have started “The Oxley Bom MotoGP Podcast,” which will be focused on the FIM MotoGP World Championship.
The original podcast can be found on BuzzSprout.com or listened to via other places you get podcasts.
From the Oxley Bom Podcast:
There’s literally no track in MotoGP with more twists and turns than the Circuit of The Americas in Austin. It’s got twenty of them, so you’re in the wrong place if you’re betting on just raw engine power. And with Ducati still chattering like it’s nobody’s business, all bets are off…
Enter Maverick Viñales on the Aprilia, absolutely nailing his bike’s potential in the many, many corners of this Texan gauntlet. But not all riders were so lucky – and that might tell us some very interesting things about the season ahead. This week, we invite you to go left and right, left and right, again and again while we take you through all the literal and figurative twists and turns of the second race in this year’s tournament. Enjoy!
Want more? Visit our website or support us on Patreon. With big thanks as always to Brad Baloo from The Next Men and Gentleman’s Dub Club, who wrote our theme song. Check out The Nextmen for more great music!
California Superbike School has six days of instruction coming up at Barber Motorsports Park, in Alabama. Photo courtesy California Superbike School.
Our East Coast tour is starting in Virginia at the end of this month. After that is New Jersey, which was just freshly re-paved! Next is the National Corvette track in Kentucky (outstanding grip there), then six days straight at Barber Motorsports Park, the most beautiful track in America. Seriously, it’s the most beautiful track in America—ask anyone who has been there.
With the season getting rolling, weather shifting to motorcycle-friendly type, and the US MotoGP just happening in Texas, riding is on people’s minds and with that comes a desire to make each ride better with increased confidence from improved skills. We have recently been witnessing students’ huge breakthroughs in the art of cornering. Things like knee down for the first time without trying, just applying good technique and it coming naturally. More importantly we are seeing riders who can recognize their own strengths and weaknesses and have the knowledge to fix their own weak areas.
We will be returning to the West Coast in June and July with Willow Springs, Laguna Seca, the also freshly-repaved Sonoma Raceway, and six days straight at The Ridge just south of Seattle.
From there we go back East again with Barber, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey. From September on we will be on the West Coast.
Take a look at our schedule and sign up for the ones that fit. We’ll see you at the track!
In other news we will be carrying the new Alpinestars Tech Air 7x air vest. It’s $999 and can be deployed twice before being serviced, and YOU can replace the canisters yourself without sending it in. For those wishing to spend less, we can get you the Tech Air 5. We shamelessly push safety equipment for the obvious reasons but also the little extra peace of mind it provides.
Fun fact: did you know the California Superbike School is the largest motorcycle track school in the world and has been since 1980? Because of the name, newcomers get the idea we are only in California. We have been international since the 1990’s. So far this year we have done schools in India, England, Australia, and the Philippines. Coming are events in Norway, Poland, and Cyprus. Over our 44 year history we have been to 138 tracks around the world across 39 countries. We often get return students who had no idea we are in other countries or have been in operation for so long. So if you didn’t know, now you know!
More on the internal side, we have created some elements to increase coaching efficiency and our ability to zero in on the student’s actual primary area of technical weakness versus the apparent one. Sometimes breakthroughs come from uncovering the hidden deficiency that may not be so evident to the rider or a casual observer. Our mission to improve your student experience will never end.
Rossi Moor (92) on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R racebike. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Roadracing World started this exclusive special feature recognizing the most promising young road racers as an answer to pessimists who claimed America had no new, up-and-coming young racers. This edition of the Roadracing World Young Gun Awards marks the 28th consecutive year of showcasing an abundance of new talent.
Roadracing World Young Guns have won:
FIM MotoGP and FIM Superbike races and World Championships;
MotoAmerica and AMA Pro races and Championships, including 13 AMA Pro Superbike Championships;
A KTM RC Cup World Final race;
WERA National Endurance Championships and WERA National Challenge Championships;
ASRA/Formula USA Grand National and CCS National Championships;
AMA Road Racing Grand Championships and Horizon Awards;
USGPRU National Championships;
Many regional and local titles.
The competition has continually become more intense as more – and younger—racers with higher levels of accomplishment are nominated, and the level of achievement required to make the grade keeps getting tougher.
We’ve spent the last several months accepting nominations and evaluating road racers between the ages of 10 and 18 (as of the start of the 2024 season) who have, at a minimum, won Expert-level road races and/or Championships or had outstanding results as an Amateur/Novice. Most of the riders included here have done far more than the minimum.
The young riders recognized here are the most promising young road racers in North America. All have earned the title of Roadracing World Young Gun.
We will feature one Young Gun per day, presenting them in alphabetical order.
Recent racing accomplishments: 2023 season, finished 2nd in MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship (2 wins, 5 total podiums), crashed out of the lead on last lap of CIV Aprilia RS 660 Cup race at Imola, won 12 CVMA race wins; 2022 season, won Northern Talent Cup Championship (5 wins, 10 total podiums in 12 race starts); 2021 season, finished 3rd in Northern Talent Cup Championship (3 wins and 6 total podiums in 14 races), finished 22nd while racing as a wild card in the FIM Moto3 Junior World Championship event at Valencia; 2020 season, won MotoAmerica Mini Cup 190 Championship, won FIM Ohvale 190 Mini Road Racing Championship; 2019 season, placed 2nd in CIV (Italian) Ohvale GP-0 190 National Championship, won MotoAmerica Ohvale Talent Cup at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, won Ohvale GP-0 190 races in Hungarian National Championship, earned pole position and led a race at Ohvale World Championship, finished 25th in European Talent Cup race at Jerez (was youngest participant).
2024 racing goal: Win MotoAmerica Twins Cup Championship.
Racing career goals: Win MotoGP World Championship.
Racing heroes: Valentino Rossi, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Rainey.
Some of the riders who have graduated from Young Guns and gone on to racing success in National or International series include:
2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion Jason Aguilar (R.I.P.);
2013 AMA Pro SuperSport East Champion and 2022 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion Corey Alexander;
AMA Pro Daytona SportBike race winner Tommy Aquino (R.I.P.);
2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion, two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion, and multi-time MotoAmerica Superbike race winner J.D. Beach;
five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion and Moto2 World Championship point scorer Cameron Beaubier;
MotoAmerica Twins Cup race winner Jackson Blackmon;
former Canadian Sport Bike Champion Tomas Casas;
three-time Canadian Sport Bike Champion and 2014 Canadian Superbike Champion Jodi Christie;
former AMA Pro SuperSport East Champion and MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 race winner Josh Day;
2011 Daytona 200 winner Jason DiSalvo;
2014 AMA Pro SuperSport Championship runner-up and current MotoAmerica team owner Dustin Dominguez;
2018 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion, 2019 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion, and 2021 Canadian Superbike Champion Alex Dumas;
four-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb race winner and former motorcycle track record holder Carlin Dunne (R.I.P.);
Canadian Superbike race winner Bodhi Edie;
two-time AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion, two-time AMA Pro XR1200/Harley-Davidson Champion and four-time Daytona 200 winner Danny Eslick;
2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion and MotoAmerica Superbike race winner Bobby Fong;
2010 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup Champion, 2014 AMA Pro Daytona SportBike Champion, 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Superstock 1000 Champion, and three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne;
two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion and World Superbike podium finisher Garrett Gerloff;
2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Championship runner-up Michael Gilbert;
2014 AMA Pro SuperSport Champion, 2023 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion, and 2023 MotoAmerica King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim;
2002 AMA Superbike Champion and 2006 FIM MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden (R.I.P.);
2007 AMA Pro 600cc Supersport Champion, 2014 AMA Pro Superbike Championship runner-up, and 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship runner-up Roger Hayden;
eight-time AMA Pro Superbike race winner and two-time AMA Supersport Champion Tommy Hayden;
2013 AMA Pro Superbike Champion, 2016 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Champion, 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion, and three-time Daytona 200 winner Josh Herrin;
MotoAmerica Supersport front-runner Teagg Hobbs;
AMA Pro Superstock race winner Jake Holden;
2011 British Superbike Championship runner-up and former MotoGP and World Superbike regular John Hopkins;
2015 Supersport World Championship runner-up, 2019 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship runner-up, and MotoAmerica Superbike race winner Patrick “P.J.” Jacobsen;
2021 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion, Moto2 World Championship point scorer, and MotoAmerica Superbike racer Sean Dylan Kelly;
Canadian Superbike race winner Kevin Lacombe;
two-time MotoAmerica Junior Cup Champion, 2020 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion, 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship runner-up Rocco Landers;
two-time MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion Andrew Lee;
2021 MotoAmerica Stock 1000 and Superbike Cup Champion Jake Lewis;
MotoAmerica Supersport race winner Sam Lochoff;
MotoAmerica Superstock 600 race winner Nick McFadden;
AMA Pro SuperSport race winner and MotoAmerica Supersport race winner Stefano Mesa;
Elena Myers, the first and only woman to win AMA Pro Supersport races;
AMA Pro XR1200 race winner, multi-time Loudon Classic winner, and three-time BRL Champion Shane Narbonne;
2012 Canadian Superbike Championship runner-up Andrew Nelson;
2016 MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup Champion, 2019 British Motostar (Moto3) Champion, MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher, and two-time Daytona 200 winner Brandon Paasch;
2012 Daytona 200 winner and 2010 AMA Pro Supersport West Champion Joey Pascarella;
AMA Pro and Canadian National race winner and multi-time N2/WERA National Endurance Champion Chris Peris;
two-time AMA Pro SuperSport National Champion, British Supersport podium finisher, 2020 AFT Production Twins Champion, and 2023 MotoAmerica King Of The Baggers Championship runner-up James Rispoli;
2015 MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Champion, MotoAmerica Supersport race winner, and Moto2 World Championship race winner Joe Roberts;
2022 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship runner-up and 2023 MotoAmerica Twins Cup Championship runner-up Gus Rodio;
former Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup Champion and former FIM Moto2 European Championship competitor Benny Solis, Jr.;
three-time AMA Pro Superbike Champion, 2009 Superbike World Champion, MotoGP race winner, and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Famer Ben Spies;
multi-time AMA Pro race winner and four-time overall WERA National Endurance Champion Chris Ulrich;
MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher and former World Superbike competitor Jayson Uribe;
2017 MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup Championship runner-up, 2018 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship runner-up, and MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher Cory Ventura;
Canadian Superbike race winner Alex Welsh;
former AMA Pro Superbike Rookie of the Year, Chinese Superbike Championship race winner, MotoAmerica Supersport podium finisher, and MotoAmerica Super Hooligan race winner Cory West;
MotoAmerica Junior Cup and Superbike Cup race winner Ashton Yates;
and two-time AMA Pro Superbike Championship runner-up Blake Young.
Craig Beecher (091), seen here riding a Yamaha FZR750, took the new racer school at the weather-affected Willow Springs Grand Prix. Photo by CaliPhotography.com, courtesy Willow Springs Grand Prix.
WILLOW SPRINGS GRAND PRIX APRIL 13TH & 14TH – EVENT REPORT
When headed out to the track, no matter the discipline, your end goal is to get to the starting line, start and finish the race, hopefully do well enough for a trophy, and return home safely for Monday morning’s work alarm. But to accomplish that task, there may be a lot of other races mixed in to meet that goal. Racing home from work on Friday to make sure you get to the track before the gate closes. Racing to fix your bike if you break in practice. Your heartbeat racing as you line up for the green flag. And sometimes you get in a race with an entity that you cannot control: Mother Nature. The story of the 2024 Willow Springs Grand Prix (WSGP) became just that: a race against the predicted weather that tried its best to squash the event. Thankfully we have a team of veteran race staff and a group of hardcore participants who were up for the challenge.
The April race weekend at Willow Springs has been going on for 25 years before my team worked with the raceway to keep it alive for the last few years. I have personally experienced 100-degree heat as well as snow and sideways hail with 30 mph steady winds during this historical racing weekend. While April weather in Southern California has always been semi-predictable, this year was an exception. Although seeing 80-degree days during the week leading up to the event, every weekend over the last six weeks has been attacked by startling cold & wet. Confident we would have a super spectator turn out with excellent weather the week before the event, our confidence fell as the week drew out. To our dismay, 90-degree weather with little wind on Friday afternoon turned to 40 degree weather with fantastic wind that evening. It was gusting so strongly throughout the night I thought our trailer would be blown on its side. While still howling at my 5am wake up call, miraculously the wind quit by 9am on Saturday morning with a dry track.
The Classic Track Day team diligently watched the radar throughout the day as the practice day and festival pushed on. And much to our luck, the weather held up! The wind backed off a bit and the temps almost broke 60. The Classic British Spares performance motorcycle show collected nearly twenty entries and the moto swap meet had hundreds of gawkers throughout the day. The Sly Fox performance stunt team was able to get in a few sessions for revelers with their drifter cross program. But minutes after the last rider was off the track at 5pm the wind picked up and dumped rain for a few hours. While the rain unfortunately ruined the Speedkings evening drag races, we were all stoked to get in eight hours of decent track riding and practice.
As we hung out in the garages Saturday evening, working on bikes and enjoying libations, we lamented the weather prediction for Sunday. It was not looking good with even lower temps and the threat of rain as early as noon. We had to come up with a plan to pull off the WSGP races…so we did! My 5am wake up call found ice on the windows and a temp of 30 degrees. Would it be too cold to race even without the rain? I spoke with fellow racers as the morning drew on, and as the temps began to increase, the consensus was: “Let’s Race!”
Caroline Patterson (110) prepares for a race at the Willow Springs Grand Prix. Photo by CaliPhotography.com, courtesy Willow Springs Grand Prix.
To avoid the impending threat of rain we decided to hold an open practice at 9am followed by a quick session for sidecars. The first race, the twenty lap Ironman, began early at 9:45 a.m., and we pushed through with the rest of the program as quickly as we could, knowing that lunch could wait. While a sprinkle of rain drew a few modern superbike riders into the pits for Race 5, we finished the eight-race program just before 12:30 p.m. And as crazy as it sounds, just minutes after the last race it started to sprinkle, followed by a full downpour for hours in the afternoon. During the awards ceremony there were cheers for racers and organizers alike for pulling off the WSGP against all odds of the impending weather!
Now, down to race business. The WSGP held eight races of combined classes for nearly every motorcycle made after 1960, including sidecars.
MAIN CLASSES (Light / Medium / Heavy):
VINTAGE – pre-1973 air-cooled, drum brakes *Presented by JRC Engineering*
CLASSIC 80s – pre-1983 air-cooled, any performance enhancements *Presented by Moto Republic*
SUPER CLASSIC – all bikes up to 2001 *Presented by Classic British Spares*
MODERN STANDARD – no superbikes, all adventure and naked bikes *Presented by San Diego BMW*
MODERN SUPERBIKE – modern full-fairing inline four superbikes *Presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys*
SIDCARS – determined by SRA-West *Presented by Barnett Clutch & Cable*
AMERICAN TWINS – USA made, any year *Presented by Danny’s Electric*
ADD ON CLASSES (Light / Medium / Heavy – All Years):
IRONMAN – 20 laps *Presented by SoCal Motorcycles*
SUPER SINGLES *Presented by Moto Chop Shop*
POWER TWINS *Presented by Biltwell, Inc*
VINTAGE LEMANS PURSUIT – pre 1983, delayed start for 350cc machines, winner takes all *Presented by McMarrow Family Restaurants*
Standout performances included the beat down by John James in the Ironman Heavyweight class over other competitors, with a best time of 1.29.647. Not far behind in Ironman Middleweight was Demond Wilson with a best time of 1.33.216. Kevin Kautzky and Bernard Juchli battled with Wade Boyd & his passenger for a few laps before checking out and sailing in for the win in sidecars. The LeMans pursuit was a treat to watch and the format actually worked with two middleweight competitors catching the lightweight bikes after 4 laps, giving Jason Lindquist and his TZ125 the win over second place Paul Piskor on his Bridgestone, followed by Caroline Patterson in third on her Honda CL350. While Race 5 saw some rain spotting on turn 8 during the races, seven competitors stayed on the track for a wet and wild race, seeing Wayne Gann of Cha Cha Cha Motorsports take the overall win! A great battle between Danny Spina & Gilbert Conde went down in American Twins, with Danny’s monster Harley finally checking out halfway through the race. An unexpected battle happened in the same race with Eric Reyes on his big, modern bagger leading Jason Lindquist on Rob North’s personal 1971 BSA Rocket III. While Eric had the upperhand the entire race, Jason shared with the awards ceremony crowd that while he wasn’t prepared to detonate Rob’s bike, he saw that he was inching closer to catching Eric and put the hammer down to come in third overall on the last lap. Not too often one gets to see and hear those mismatched machines battling on the front straight of Willow!
With a mix of vintage & modern race bikes on the track, it was a treat to see where the competition would lie. More of a treat was that AMA Pro Mookie Wilkerson passed six new racers in his school on Saturday with half of them competing Sunday’s races, including Tom Ferguson, Jay Stock & Craig Beecher. Congrats and welcome to the party guys! As a promoter, the financials are always a big concern. But to be the catalyst of seeing six new competitors get on the racetrack feeds my soul and I am so proud that our organization can help make that happen. Curtis Adams, the WSGP 2024 grand marshal, agrees with this sentiment and he shared words of wisdom & congratulations to staff and racers alike at the awards ceremony.
While numbers were down on both the track day & races because of the weather, support was up on sponsorship of this annual event. Classic British Spares joined as the title sponsor, which allowed us to advertise with Road Racing World and add more to the marketing budget to help spread the word. Kyle & his dad Malcolm were on hand all weekend greeting guests and making the paddock look sharp. Class sponsors included Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys, Moto Chop Shop, Barnett Clutch & Cable, JRC Engineering, SoCal Motorcycles, McMarrow Family Restaurants, Moto Republic, San Diego BMW & Danny’s Electric. Support also came from Oxford Suites of Lancaster, Motion Pro & Biltwell Inc. Lastly, Cha Cha Cha Motorsports tossed $800 towards a racer-only raffle at the end of the awards ceremony with eight lucky folks taking $100 home for gas money. Y’all might hear this statement all of the time, but I am telling the truth that we would not have been able to make this event happen without the support of these moto-centric businesses. Thank you all ten times over!
The fourth annual Willow Springs Grand Prix will return next Spring, hopefully to better weather. In an effort to get more spectators and racers to the event, we will look to move off of MotoGP weekend in Austin. We are always looking for more support with very affordable sponsorship packages for those businesses and individuals who are looking to gain more exposure through our fun-first, one-off motorcycle race & classic motorcycle celebration weekend. Contact Brady to learn more.
Wrapping up this race report, I want to thank my friends (read: volunteer staff) who show up to regularly to make the WSGP and Classic Track Day happen. Financial support is amazing & necessary, but the support I receive from this gang outweighs anything else. Thank you to Scott Fabbro, Dave Ehrhart, Jason Reeves, Cal & Les Lewis, Brian Herzfeldt, Jim Connelly, Pat Wilkening, Don Leanhardt, Jay Larossa, Miki Masuda & Russ Granger for your support and camaraderie. Bad weather or not, I know it will always be a great day at the track with this crew! See y’all next year!
VIRginia International Raceway. Photo courtesy of VIR.
ASRA Adds Premier Motorcycle Race Event at VIR to August Schedule
Motorcycle racing is coming back to the prestigious VIRginia International Raceway. The American Superbike Racing Association (ASRA), Evolve GT track days, and Virginia International Raceway (VIR) have partnered to host a major motorcycle racing event August 2-4.
“We are extremely excited to partner with VIR to bring motorcycle racing back to this internationally recognized and revered facility. I cannot thank VIR enough for sharing the opportunity to race in 2024 and years to come,” said Alex Spellman, President, ASRA.
The three-day, multi-track event will thrill spectators with access to world-class facilities and services at VIR, the paddocks, vendors, and tons of racing action. The racing lineup for the weekend includes a wide range of motorcycle classes and age ranges, featuring 400s, Twins, Middleweight, and Unlimited classes on the VIR North Course circuit and the FIM Mini Cup series racing on VIR’s kart track.
A “press release” is promotional text issued by a rider, team, company or organization to inform
the public about an event, product, or service from the issuer’s own point of view, and if deemed
to have news value, may be placed on roadracingworld.com as a service to our readers.
A press release is not an article written by Roadracingworld.com staffers. When a post is labeled with the words “press release”, it means that Roadracingworld.com is not responsible for its content and that Roadracingworld.com makes no guarantee that it is accurate. Not all press releases are posted and Roadracingworld.com may reject press releases if the content is too heavy on commercial promotion with little or no news value or if the press release contains obvious errors.
Accessibility
Accessibility modes
Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Online Dictionary
Readable Experience
Content Scaling
Default
Text Magnifier
Readable Font
Dyslexia Friendly
Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Font Sizing
Default
Line Height
Default
Letter Spacing
Default
Left Aligned
Center Aligned
Right Aligned
Visually Pleasing Experience
Dark Contrast
Light Contrast
Monochrome
High Contrast
High Saturation
Low Saturation
Adjust Text Colors
Adjust Title Colors
Adjust Background Colors
Easy Orientation
Mute Sounds
Hide Images
Hide Emoji
Reading Guide
Stop Animations
Reading Mask
Highlight Hover
Highlight Focus
Big Dark Cursor
Big Light Cursor
Cognitive Reading
Virtual Keyboard
Navigation Keys
Voice Navigation
Accessibility Statement
www.roadracingworld.com
August 5, 2025
Compliance status
We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience,
regardless of circumstance and ability.
To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level.
These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible
to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.
This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific
disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.
Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML,
adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.
If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email
Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
