Rain, Resilience And A Last-Lap Penalty: MotoAmerica Feature Classes Battle The Elements On Saturday At NJMP.
Hayes Masters The Wet For Career Win No. 91, Herfoss Denies Teammate Gillim By Inches In Baggers, Gouker Gets His Chip And A Late Yellow-Flag Penalty Shakes Up Twins Cup Race 1.
Millville, NJ (Sept. 26, 2026) – Four MotoAmerica feature classes closed out day two at New Jersey Motorsports Park under another gray sky, with scattered but steady showers keeping the Thunderbolt Circuit wet for the majority of the day. MotoAmerica officials were forced to adjust the schedule on the fly, and several classes lost their morning qualifying sessions entirely, leaving them with only a brief Wet Familiarization period to get themselves and their machines ready to race.
- Supersport
Supersport’s Qualifying 2 session ran for 30 minutes Saturday morning, but with nobody expected to touch Friday’s dry-weather times, teams instead used the time to dial in race setup for what everyone knew was coming: a soaked Race 1. That preparation paid off in a big way for BPR Racing Yamaha’s Josh Hayes, who carved his way from second on the grid to his 91st career win — a milestone he reached in his 435th career start by calling on every ounce of the wet-weather mastery that’s earned him the nickname the Mississippi Madman. The win bumps Hayes up to third in Supersport points, two ahead of Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight’s Kayla Yaakov.
For much of the opening laps, it looked like a two-rider affair, with Hayes and Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila’s Josh Herrin separated by as little as two-tenths of a second while Yaakov shadowed them in third. But the race flipped on its head by the halfway mark: as Hayes began stretching his lead, Herrin found himself fending off a surging Yaakov instead of chasing the leader. With six laps remaining, Yaakov made the move stick, passing Herrin and pulling away as the Californian lost rear grip in the tricky conditions. Yaakov crossed the line second, 3.611 seconds clear of Herrin in third.
Polesitter and recently appointed Supersport champion Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse Ducati’s Darryn Binder never got the chance to factor into that fight — a spinning rear wheel off the start line dropped him from the front row to 11th before the race had even settled, and he could only recover to fourth by the checkered flag.
New Jersey native Rodio Racing’s Gus Rodio thrilled the home crowd by running as high as third before settling for a hard-earned fifth, and Liberty Yamaha Racing turned to fill-in specialist Karel Hanika — a two-time FIM World Endurance Champion — to replace the injured Dominic Doyle, and the Czech rider delivered immediately with a sixth-place finish in his MotoAmerica Supersport debut.
The wet conditions claimed six riders before the finish, including Ryder Davis (Ducati Pittsburgh/Mosites Motorsports) and MP13 Racing/One Cure Racing’s Joseph LiMandri Jr., who were both running inside the top five before going down in their own separate crashes. Their misfortune promoted Hayes’ teammate, Brenden Ketelsen, to fourth, but his run was short-lived. Ketelsen crashed entering the front straight and was forced out of the race, exiting the course nursing his right arm. Although battered, he’ll be able to suit up for Sunday’s Race 2.
The following quote is from Supersport Race 1 Winner Josh Hayes: “It does. I’ve been in this situation here many times before. I won quite a few races in the rain and the dry here. Honestly because of that, everybody was like, ‘Our money is on you that you’re going to win.’ I was fast in the morning, whenever we rode in that 30-minute session. So I actually felt quite a bit of pressure to have to come up with it. I rode pretty hard. In the middle there I had put some good laps together. When I saw I had a gap, I kind of relaxed it quite a bit just to make sure I didn’t mess it up. Big thanks to BPR, Dunlop, what a job. The track is difficult. Everybody did a fantastic job and I’m glad to put a Yamaha up on top of the podium one more time.”
- Mission King Of The Baggers
Mother Nature wasn’t finished with the Baggers class either, wiping out their morning Q2 session and the Bagger Challenge entirely and replacing them with a Free Practice session in its place. By the time Race 1 rolled around — slotted in after Superbike’s second contest of the day, during a stretch with no fresh rain — a semi-dry line had begun to form, forcing every rider into a gamble on tires. Defending champion Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman rolled the dice on a rear slick paired with a front rain tire but made the switch too late to complete a warm-up lap, dropping him from second on the grid all the way to a pit-lane start. J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian’s Troy Herfoss, teammate Hayden Gillim, and SDI Racing’s Tyler O’Hara all gambled on full slicks instead — and it proved to be the winning call.
Herfoss played the long game, patiently working through traffic and even slipping as far back as fourth after a small bobble, before mounting a charge in the closing laps that carried him past his own teammate for the win by just 0.035 seconds — the tightest of margins after Gillim, the reigning 2026 champion, had led every lap but the last.
In third, O’Hara made it a clean sweep of the podium for Indian Motorcycle, holding off a hard-fighting Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing’s Bradley Smith in the early laps before the Englishman ran off course, handing O’Hara the final spot on the box — his second podium in as many rounds after also finishing third at COTA. M3/Tobacco Road Harley-Davidson’s Max Flinders rounded out the top five in front of a supportive Northeast crowd. Wyman charged back to finish sixth after starting from pit lane.
The following quote is from Mission King Of The Baggers Race 1 Winner Troy Herfoss: “It was one of them races where the rain was coming, it was going. Watching all the other events and trying to work out what to do with tire choice. I always joke that fortune favors the brave, and then five minutes before the race was starting, I was starting to second-guess myself. But I made the decision really early. There were times in the race where it did sprinkle a little bit. I could hear a crash behind me. Then I just started feeling at home. I’ve done no laps this weekend. We had such a rough first day. I sometimes wonder if I’m cut out for this or if I’m really enjoying it, and something like this happens and it’s pretty special. So I just want to say a big thank you to everyone that supports me.”
- Talent Cup
There was no stopping Quarterley Racing’s Nathan Gouker on the way to his coronation weekend, as the newly crowned 2026 Talent Cup champion cruised to his ninth win of the season, controlling the race from the front with little drama.
Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane brought it home alone in second, a result that reinforces his hold on third place in the season standings as he continues to keep fellow Australian Jake Paige at arm’s length in the points battle.
The real fireworks were happening behind them, where Team Hammer’s Paige and Real Steel Honda’s Derek Sanchez traded the final podium spot multiple times over the last four laps of a ferocious scrap, both riders more than five seconds adrift of Drane by that point. Sanchez, still chasing his first podium of the year, held the position into the final lap before Paige found a way past at the very end, snatching third by a mere 0.008 seconds at the line. Sawyer Lafayette (Sawyer Lafayette Racing) rounded out the top five, capping a Saturday that saw Gouker solidify his championship bid.
The following quote is from 2026 Talent Cup Champion and Race 1 Winner Nathan Gouker: “I can’t thank the whole Quarterley Racing powered by Warhorse supported by Wrench Crew enough. All season long they’ve just been progressively improving this bike. If it wasn’t for them, it wouldn’t be possible. It takes a family. I had a great start. From the start, I just managed my gap. I tried to stretch it out to around two and a half to three seconds. From there, towards the end I started slowing the pace down because if I threw it down the road, Dale wouldn’t be very happy. I can’t thank my mom, dad, my whole family, the whole Wrench Crew, Robby (Petersen), Cam (Petersen). He helps me out. My grandparents for coming. Cornerspin. Chris. My cousin. Nanny.”
- Twins Cup
Twins Cup was among the classes hit hardest by the weather, losing its own Qualifying 2 session to standing water on the circuit and instead being sent out for a Wet Familiarization session ahead of a Race 1 shortened from 13 laps to seven. What followed was one of the most chaotic finishes of the weekend. Karns/TST Industries Racing’s Isaac Woodworth took his maiden career win, but the story of the race was written in its closing seconds.
Robem Engineering’s Hank Vossberg — already the crowned champion — led the opening lap before Woodworth surged past on lap two, dropping Vossberg to third behind a hard-charging Quarterley Racing’s Nathan Gouker, who was making his Twins Cup debut.
Gouker ran second behind Woodworth deep into the race, and as the leaders took the white flag, a yellow flag also flew for a downed rider in Sector 1 — the exact moment Gouker made his move to pass Woodworth for what looked like a stunning debut victory. The pass under yellow triggered a post-race penalty, and moments later Vossberg crashed out of third on the very same lap.
When the dust settled, Woodworth was awarded the win, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bodie Paige was promoted to second, and Gouker’s two-position penalty dropped him to third — still a remarkable result in his first-ever Twins Cup start. Vossberg salvaged what he could, crossing in 10th, while Paige’s teammate Matthew Chapin finished fourth and Team ECB Racing’s Eli Block rounded out the top five for the best finish of his season.
The following quote is from Talent Cup Race 2 Winner Isaac Woodworth: “Yeah, it was gnarly. I had a decent launch but the front wheel came off the ground and when it landed, it went sideways. I thought I was going to lay it down in front of everybody. But besides that, it was a great race. I pushed hard. I tried to put a little gap in-between me and Nathan (Gouker), but he closed it up. He was riding really well. He passed me under a waving yellow, so I don’t know how it’s going to play out. Hopefully it works out in our favor. But he was ripping. I was ripping. I felt good. The bike felt great. I couldn’t thank the whole Karns Performance team enough after laying her down yesterday. They worked their butt off all night to put it back together. I can’t thank them enough.”
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