Pre-season testing raises questions, and racing answers them. Sunday’s Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar was only the first race weekend in a long season, but it showed that MotoGP looks much the same as it did at the end of 2023, although there were a few intriguing developments. The dominant force in the class last year, Ducati showed that it is still the bike to beat, that Jorge Martin is still a monster in the Sprints and Francesco Bagnaia is still sublime over the distance of a full Grand Prix.
After Bagnaia smashed lap records in pre-season testing, finishing the Sprint race off the podium seemed like an underachievement. But the defending MotoGP World Champion, who has an ability to stay calm and rebound from disappointments, regrouped and led every lap of the Grand Prix. More than that, he looked like he was in complete control the entire time, going faster when someone got close, and when it was over no one had gotten close enough to even attempt a pass.
Pedro Acosta (31). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Defending Moto2 World Champion and MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta rode like a seasoned professional, finishing second of the four KTM/GASGAS machines on the grid in both races and running with the leaders, even at the cost of destroying his tires, to observe what they were doing. It has been a long, hard road for Tech3 since joining the KTM family, but the excitement in Acosta’s garage in Qatar was palpable. The team believes they have a MotoGP race winner on their bike. And it was interesting to note that Acosta had the very latest KTM aero upgrades on his machine.
Marc Marquez (93). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Marc Marquez fought with the leaders and looked a lot happier than he did at the end of last season when he was with Honda. On a year-old Ducati Desmosedici, Marquez set the fastest lap of Sprint race. With the Honda RC213Vs now buried toward the bottom of the time sheets at Qatar, it gives you an appreciation of just how much of the bike’s past success was due solely to Marquez.
Luca Marini (10). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Honda’s riders praised the new RC213V during pre-season testing, but in the heat of battle, it proved no more competitive than last year’s machine. Luca Marini was dead last in the Sprint race and ran last for much of the Grand Prix after KTM’s Jack Miller crashed and remounted and passed Marini.
Alex Rins (42). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Yamaha’s Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo said that it would take time for the team’s off-season technical personnel acquisitions to make significant improvements in the performance of the YZF-R1. Quartararo wasn’t exactly downcast during the post-Grand Prix media scrums, but the timing of his told the story – he rushed to the media center and got his publicity responsibilities out of the way and left before the fireworks from the podium celebration had even started. Quartararo was the top-finishing rider on a Japanese bike on Sunday in 10th place, more than 17 seconds back after 21 laps.
Raul Fernandez (25). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Aprilia’s pre-season promise seemed to fall apart when the lights went out in Qatar. Aleix Espargaro’s third in the Sprint was the high point of the weekend for the Aprilia squad. The American Trackhouse Racing team’s best was 13th and 14th by Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez in Saturday’s Sprint.
Bagger Racing League “Battle of the Baggers” Announces Title Sponsorship with Drag Specialties for Fourth Consecutive Year
The Bagger Racing League (BRL) is thrilled to announce the continuation of its partnership with Drag Specialties as the Title Sponsor for the fourth consecutive year. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to delivering unparalleled excitement and innovation to fans of Bagger Racing across the globe.
Renowned as the pinnacle in premium V-twin motorcycle parts and accessories, Drag Specialties has long been a trusted name within the motorcycle community. With an unwavering dedication to quality and advancement, Drag Specialties has consistently provided riders with a comprehensive range of aftermarket solutions, catering to the diverse needs of enthusiasts worldwide.
“We are extremely proud to have Drag Specialties back for the 4th consecutive year and look forward to 2024 being our biggest and best year yet,” said Rob Buydos, Founder of BRL. The enduring partnership between BRL and Drag Specialties promises to elevate the Bagger Racing experience, captivating audiences with each exhilarating race.
As the title sponsor, Drag Specialties will lead the charge in igniting the BRL 2024 season, infusing every race with adrenaline-fueled excitement and pushing the boundaries of Bagger Racing. “Revving up the BRL 2024 season, Drag Specialties blazes the trail as the title sponsor, infusing every race with adrenaline-fueled excitement and pushing the boundaries of Bagger Racing,” remarked Paul Devine, VP LeMans – Drag Specialties.
The ongoing collaboration between BRL and Drag Specialties underscores a shared passion for excellence and innovation within the motorcycle community. Together, they are poised to captivate audiences and redefine the landscape of Bagger Racing in 2024 and beyond.
For more information about the Bagger Racing League and Drag Specialties, please visit www.baggerracingleague.com
SUZUKI’S TY SCOTT CAPTURES SECOND IN THE DAYTONA 200. ROCCO LANDERS EARNS FIRST SUZUKI GSX-8R TWINS CUP PODIUM RESULT.
Brea, CA — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer saw the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/ FIM North American Road Racing Championship opener end in bittersweet fashion, highlighted by a runner-up finish in Saturday’s 82nd Daytona 200 to go along with the lap record and pole position the team secured earlier in the week. Suzuki GSX-Rs dominated the top ten, earning six of the top ten results in this year’s 200-mile contest.
Former Twins Cup class champion Rocco Landers (97) came out on top in an intense drafting battle in Daytona’s Twins Cup race 2, riding the new Suzuki GSX-8R parallel twin. Landers guided the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R to this exciting new bike’s first-ever MotoAmerica podium in a sterling racing debut.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott stormed past the checkered flag in second position in the 57-lap Daytona 200.
Richie Escalante missed second after running short of fuel on the final lap, still earning fourth.
Brandon Paasch put in a steady ride to seventh.
Teagg Hobbs battled up from 22nd on the grid to the top ten.
Twins Cup
Rossi Moor improved to finish fourth in his second-career Twins Cup race.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki
Twins Cup
Rocco Landers came out on top of a four-rider battle for second to give the Suzuki GSX-8R a debut weekend podium.
Scott, who had separated his shoulder in a crash earlier in the weekend, said, “I’ve got to thank the whole Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad and my mom and dad and everyone for getting me here. The crew was amazing, and the pit stops went really smoothly. I had good pace and just kept putting laps down. It was unfortunate to see Richie run out of gas, but I’m happy with P2 even though I really wanted the win.”
Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers (97) earns the GSX-8R’s first podium. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Former MotoAmerica Twins Cup class champion Rocco Landers (97) came out on top of a four-rider drafting battle for second that also included Team Hammer’s Rossi Moor.
“I told the team last night, I think we have a podium on our hands,” Landers said. “The bike is brand new, obviously, and I first saw it on Wednesday. The team and Suzuki have been working hard, and we’ve been making consistent improvements. It’s incredible to put the GSX-8R on the podium in just the bike’s second race. This is a really good debut, and once the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines team gets some more development, this will no doubt be a consistent, race-winning bike.”
Rounding out the Suzuki GSX-8R’s spectacular racing debut, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (92) battled to a strong fourth place finish in Daytona’s Twin’s Cup Race 2, giving the impressive new GSX-8R 40% of the top five places in the contest.
Richie Escalante (54) battled up front throughout the 57-lap race, but ran short of fuel to finish fourth. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
In the Daytona 200, Team Hammer’s Richie Escalante (54) led early aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 and spent the majority of the contest applying pressure on the leader from second, showcasing the speed that earned him the new Daytona track record during qualifying. However, while he was robbed of a near-certain runner-up finish after running short of fuel, he managed to coast the machine across the line and took fourth.
An early-race incident damaged Escalante’s windscreen. He felt the reduced aerodynamics, in combination with pushing the pace to close the gap to the leader most of the race, caused the issue.
“For sure, I really wanted to win today,” Escalante said. “I felt really good. I just tried my best, lap-by-lap, pushing, pushing, pushing. I could see the leader right there and was pushing so hard to try to close the gap and fight for the victory. But I ran out of fuel. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose – it’s just a part of racing. I tried my best and want to thank my team. The Suzuki was great all week long.”
Two-time Daytona 200 winner Brandon Paasch rode a steady race earning seventh place in the 2024 Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Superbike regular Brandon Paasch (96) registered a steady ride, running with the front pack early before putting his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 in the top ten by claiming seventh.
“It was great other than some pit stop drama,” said Paasch. “It was a long race and out by myself for most of the time. It would have been good to get back on top again having won the race before, but it is what it is.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) rode up through the Daytona 200 pack, earning a top-ten finish. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Despite starting from the eighth row, Teagg Hobbs (79) clawed his way up from 22nd on the grid to earn tenth place after 200 high-speed miles.
“It wasn’t the greatest weekend for us,” said Hobbs. “We had some issues out of our control come up. I didn’t get up to speed and we didn’t get a lot of time to improve the bike. For the race, I did what I could to finish. I’m glad to get a top-ten result but we’re looking to be at the front. After the weekend we had, I’m happy to finish and ready to focus on the season.”
Rossi Moor (92) fought hard for a podium, ultimately finishing fourth in Daytona’s Twins Cup Race 2. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (92) continued his quick acclimation to the MotoAmerica Twins Cup series, battling for the podium and finishing fourth in his second race aboard the brand-new, Suzuki GSX-8R.
“In one regard, it was good to battle for the podium,” said Moor. “We didn’t have the pace yesterday to do it, but the team worked hard and made the bike even better for me today. I made a small mistake on the last lap when I wheelied coming out of The Chicane and that cost me a shot at the podium. The team did a great job here of closing the gap. We will keep working hard and see what we can do from here.”
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
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Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Ben Young Finish Top 10 at the 2024 Daytona 200 on Bridgestone Motorcycle Tires
Three riders finished in the top 10 at the 82nd running of the Daytona 200 on Bridgestone BATTLAX race tires: Karel Hanika (fifth place), Marvin Fritz (sixth place) and Ben Young (ninth place).
Bridgestone marked its largest presence to date at the Daytona 200, providing full engineering support, sponsorship and BATTLAX race tires to 15 riders from seven different countries.
All finishing Bridgestone-shod riders advanced significantly from their starting grid position.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 10, 2024) – Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) today announced that three Bridgestone-backed riders secured top 10 finishes at the historic 82nd running of the Daytona 200. Karel Hanika rode his YART-ProKASRO Yamaha R6 to a fifth place finish, followed by YART teammate Marvin Fritz in sixth place and Ben Young of Team BATTLAX in ninth. This was a record showing for Bridgestone BATTLAX race tires at the Daytona 200.
In addition to three of the top 10 riders being on Bridgestone BATTLAX tires, Hanika completed the second overall fastest lap time at 1:48.628, only 0.003 seconds behind the fastest lap of the race. This was the first Daytona 200 for YART Yamaha teammates Hanika and Fritz, who are the reigning champs of the FIM Endurance World Championship series. Canadian Superbike Champion Ben Young was able to advance through the grid on his Team BATTLAX Suzuki Canada GSX-R750 for a ninth place finish.
Bridgestone marked its largest presence to date at this year’s Daytona 200, providing full engineering support, sponsorship and BATTLAX race tires to 15 riders from seven different countries:
Karel Hanika, YART Yamaha (Czech Republic)
Marvin Fritz, YART Yamaha (Austria)
Ben Young, Team BATTLAX (Canada)
Matt Truelove (England)
Diego Perez Zuasti (Spain)
Trevor Daley, Team BATTLAX (Canada)
Matt Simpson (Canada)
Alexandre Michel (Canada)
Maverick Cyr (Canada)
Niccolo Canepa, YART Yamaha (Italy)
Harry Truelove (England)
Alex Coelho (Portugal)
Sébastien Tremblay (Canada)
Brad MacRae (Canada)
Samuel Guérin (Canada)
An incredible effort was put in by all teams, although racing incidents and mechanical issues caused a few riders to miss the start or DNF. But notably, all Bridgestone riders that finished the race advanced significantly from their starting grid position.
Rider
Number
Country
Grid Position
Finish Position
Karel Hanika
98
Czech Rep.
17
5
Marvin Fritz
17
Austria
14
6
Ben Young
86
Canada
20
9
Matt Truelove
123
England
21
12
Diego Perez Zuasti
135
Spain
34
16
Trevor Daley
166
Canada
30
20
Matt Simpson
191
Canada
46
25
Alex Michel
199
Canada
53
28
Maverick Cyr
104
Canada
39
30
“We’re thrilled that three riders finished in the top 10 on Bridgestone BATTLAX tires at the Daytona 200 this year, marking a first for Bridgestone,” said Jared Williams, General Manager Bridgestone Motorcycle Tire business in the United States and Canada. “These outstanding results, and the fact that each of the riders who finished advanced significantly through the grid from their starting positions, underscores the incredible grip, performance, and reliability of Bridgestone BATTLAX tires. Congratulations to all riders and teams on an incredible race weekend.”
“The Bridgestone tires performed unbelievably well,” said Young. “During the last stint in particular, the tires provided the extra edge and advantage needed to push past and gap the other riders to get the job done and end in the right position.”
Bridgestone’s top 10 finish at the Daytona 200 aligns with the “Emotion” and “Ease” values of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment, encompassing eight values all beginning with the letter “E,” solidifies Bridgestone’s dedication to fostering a more sustainable world.
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson:
HARLEY-DAVIDSON FACTORY RIDER KYLE WYMAN SNAGS DOUBLE DAYTONA VICTORIES TO OPEN 2024 KING OF THE BAGGERS RACE SEASON
Cory West Tops All-Harley Podium in Saturday’s Super Hooligan Race
MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider Kyle Wyman scored a Daytona double by winning the first two MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers races of the 2024 season at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider James Rispoli finished in third place in both races. Wyman and Rispoli were aboard the team’s new race-prepared 2024 Road Glide® motorcycles.
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Harley-Davidson.
Team Saddlemen rider Cory West rode a race-prepared Harley-Davidson® Pan America® 1250 Special motorcycle to victory and topped an all-Harley podium in the Mission Super Hooligan race on Saturday. Team Saddlemen rider Jake Lewis finished second, and Gator Harley/KWR rider Cody Wyman was third completing the sweep. West also finished in third place in the Super Hooligan race on Friday and leads the series points after two of 10 scheduled rounds.
James Rispoli (43). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Harley-Davidson.
The first King of the Baggers race on Friday saw a thundering pack of 17 bagger race motorcycles topping 185 mph on the high-banked oval portion of the 3.52-mile Daytona International Speedway road course. Wyman and Rispoli were part of a four-bike group that battled for the lead for the entire race and started the last of six laps separated by less than one second. Wyman had been quick through the backstraight chicane all race and on the last lap got a strong drive out of the final corner to pass Factory Indian rider Troy Herfoss for the lead heading onto the last section of the oval. Wyman had enough momentum to hold off Herfoss and Rispoli across the finish line with a 0.018 second advantage over Herfoss and 0.137 second over Rispoli. Defending King of the Baggers series champion Hayden Gillim finished fourth on the RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, 0.837 seconds behind Wyman.
“On that last lap we were just about parked, but I refused to pass to lead the race until the moment it counted,” said Wyman. “I saw a window coming out of the chicane and was just able to hold them off for the win.”
The second King of the Baggers race on Saturday saw Wyman, Rispoli, Herfoss, Gillim, and Factory Indian rider Tyler O’Hara break away from the pack early in the race and swap positions on each lap. On the final lap, Herfoss gapped Wyman on the back stretch but braked late and over-shot the entry to the chicane, giving Wyman an opportunity to pounce. Wyman again got a strong drive onto the last section of the high-bank oval and was able to out-run Herfoss to the finish by 0.137 seconds. Rispoli finished 1.518 seconds back in third place.
“I was in survival mode on the last lap,” said Wyman. “I lost my quick-shifter and I was going to be happy to finish second, but Herfoss gave me a chance and we made it work. Hats off to my entire Harley-Davidson crew for all their hard work this weekend.”
“What an unreal weekend,” said Rispoli. “There was so much nervousness before the races. So, it was a massive relief to get two podiums in my first weekend with the Factory Harley-Davidson team. I am so stoked for the entire team, and I know we will be a force for the future rounds.”
Cory West (13) leading Super Hooligan Race Two at Daytona. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Harley-Davidson.
After 2 of 18 rounds in the 2024 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series Kyle Wyman leads with 50 points. Herfoss is second with 40 points, followed by Rispoli with 32 points and Gillim with 24 points.
Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing returns to action at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, April 12-13 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing is sponsored by Mission® Foods, Rockford Fosgate®, Brembo®, Öhlins®, Protolabs®, SYN3® lubricants, and Screamin’ Eagle® Performance Parts and Accessories.
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results – Daytona International Speedway Race 1
Kyle Wyman (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
Troy Herfoss (Ind) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
James Rispoli (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
Zachary Schumacher (H-D) Nowaskey Extreme Performance
Gunnar Ouellette (H-D) Trask Performance
Ruben Xaus (H-D) Feuling Parts
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
GUS RODIO RIDES APRILIA RS 660 TO TWO COMMANDING VICTORIES IN MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP SEASON OPENER AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
APRILIA RIDERS CLAIM FOUR OF THE SIX PODIUM PLACES AVAILABLE IN RACES HELD FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Gus Rodio. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Aprilia.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – 10 MARCH 2024 – Aprilia rider Gus Rodio’s campaign to clinch the MotoAmerica Twins Cup title he narrowly missed out on in 2023 could not have started in a better way. The Hammonton, N.J., resident piloted his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 to two victories by impressive margins at the season-opening round of MotoAmerica’s 2024 Twins
Cup at Daytona International Speedway.
Rodio’s two wins were just a couple of the successes Aprilia RS 660 riders had on Friday and Saturday on the iconic facility’s 3.51-mile motorcycle road course layout. Rodio’s teammates – Twins Cup rookie Alessandro Di Mario and veteran Ben Gloddy – and TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher scored two podium finishes and three additional top-five finishes between them. In total, Aprilia riders claimed 11 of the 20 total Top-10 finishes on the double race weekend.
Rodio’s eye-popping pace was evident from the first on-track session of the round, as his best lap in the Thursday practice session was more than 1.5 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Dreher posted the second-best time, followed by Gloddy in third, Di Mario in eighth, Dreher’s TopPro Racing teammate, Romeo Chiavini, in ninth and Righteous Racing’s Ray Hofman in 10th.
The first of two qualifying sessions took place later Thursday, and Rodio was again at the top of the time sheets with a lap time that more than a second faster than his best time in practice. Dreher was third-fastest in the session, with Gloddy sixth-fastest, Di Mario seventh-fastest, Chiavini ninth-fastest and Hofman 10th.
Qualifying concluded on Friday morning with Rodio having secured the first pole position of the 2024 MotoAmerica Twins Cup season by 0.822 seconds. Dreher qualified third, giving Aprilia two machines on the front row of the grid. Gloddy ended up qualifying fifth, Di Mario seventh, and Chiavini 10th.
Friday afternoon’s Race 1 saw Rodio gradually pull away at the front while Dreher, Gloddy and Di Mario battled it out with two other riders for the last two steps on the podium. Rodio narrowly missed out on taking the holeshot but had assumed the race lead by the end of Lap 1 and led every lap thereafter – taking victory by a margin of more than 11 seconds. Gloddy, Dreher and Di Mario found themselves in
a four-way – and in the closing laps five-way – fight for the podium, as the group took turns drafting and re-drafting each other during the nine-lap race. On the run to the finish line, Dreher edged out Di Mario for the last step on the podium by 0.087 seconds. Gloddy finished sixth, missing out on a top-five finish by 0.343 seconds.
Other Aprilia riders who finished in the Top-10 include Chiavini in eighth and Hofman in 10th.
In Saturday morning’s Race 2, it took Rodio a little longer to break away from the field – but the result was the same. Like in Race 1, Rodio slotted into second place as the field reached Turn 1 for the first time and moved into the lead later on the first lap. Though another front runner drafted by Rodio to lead at the end of Lap 1, Rodio reassumed the lead on Lap 2 and led the remainder of the race.
Unfortunately for Dreher, an incident on Lap 1, Turn 1, caused him to crash heavily, and he was unable to rejoin the race. When the rider running in second place retired from the race on Lap 4, it allowed Gloddy, Di Mario and two other riders to have a four-way go at the last two podium places. Like in Race 1, riders in the group took turns drafting and re-drafting each other. Di Mario finished in third place – 0.044 seconds behind the second-place rider – and Gloddy clinched a top-five finish.
The other Aprilia riders who scored top-10 finishes include Hofman in eighth and Chiavini in ninth. After two races, Rodio has amassed a 19-point lead in the points standings. Di Mario sits in third place in the standings, Gloddy fifth, Dreher eighth, Chiavini ninth and Hofman in 10th.
Of the 26 riders registered for MotoAmerica Twins Cup at the Daytona round, 12 were slated to compete with Aprilia RS 660s.
The next MotoAmerica Twins Cup race takes place April 21-23 at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Ga.
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m super happy with a perfect weekend in Daytona. We couldn’t ask for anymore, and I’m excited to keep this momentum going into the next round.”
Alessandro Di Mario / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m really happy with how my first time at Daytona turned out. It was a challenging weekend for sure, but we were able to get some solid points for the championship. I want to thank the team for all the work they did behind the scenes, and I am really looking forward to the next rounds. Bring on Atlanta!”
More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing:
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio scores pair of wins in season-opening MotoAmerica Twins Cup races at Daytona International Speedway
Di Mario claims podium finish in Twins Cup debut weekend, Gloddy scores top-five at March 7-9 event
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At the end of the 2023 season, Gus Rodio had proven himself to be one of the frontrunners in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup despite it being his first year racing in the class. At the 2024 season-opening Twins Cup round at Daytona International Speedway, Rodio looked like he was in a class all his own.
The Hammonton, N.J., resident and 2023 Twins Cup runner-up put in two dominating performances on Friday and Saturday to take victory by more than 11 seconds in both contests after being the fastest rider in all three practice and qualifying sessions at the March 7-9 round.
Rodio wasn’t the only rider of the team’s three-athlete lineup to find success at the Daytona round, as Twins Cup rookie Alessandro Di Mario scored a podium finish in his second MotoAmerica race aboard an Aprilia RS 660. And MotoAmerica veteran Ben Gloddy scored a top-five finish after not having ridden his Aprilia since the season-ending round at New Jersey Motorsports Park last year.
The event started off well for all three Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering riders, with Rodio pacing the field in practice on Thursday morning by more than 1.5 seconds and Gloddy and Di Mario finishing the session third-fastest and eighth-fastest, respectively. Rodio continued his impressive form later Thursday in Qualifying 1, taking provisional pole by 0.342 seconds. Gloddy finished that session in sixth place and Di Mario in seventh.
Twins Cup Qualifying 2 on Friday morning saw Rodio cement his grip on pole position while improving his best lap time on his Aprilia RS 660 by more than a second. Gloddy ended up qualifying fifth and Di Mario seventh.
Friday afternoon’s Race 1 proved Rodio was able to maintain the blistering pace he’d shown in qualifying over the course of a nine-lap race. Though he missed out on grabbing the holeshot, Rodio moved up to the race lead later on Lap 1 and never relinquished it, gradually building a large gap to the rest of the field and taking the win by 11.493 seconds. Gloddy and Di Mario were part of a multi-rider battle that was to determine the other two podium places. Di Mario came oh-so-close to getting a podium finish in his first Twins Cup race, but the draft on the long run to the finish line allowed another rider to best him for third place by a mere 0.087 seconds. Gloddy missed out on a top-five finish in similar fashion. He finished sixth — 0.343 seconds behind the rider ahead of him.
Race 2 took place Saturday morning and was the scene of another commanding effort from Rodio. Though he battled with another rider for the first lap, Rodio regained the lead on Lap 2 and began building another large gap – eventually finishing the race more than 11 second ahead of the scrap for the last two podium places. Gloddy and Di Mario were again in the mix for a podium finish, and Di Mario finished third after being edged out for second place by 0.044 seconds. Gloddy scored a fifth-place result and came within 0.041 seconds from taking fourth place.
Rodio’s blistering one-lap pace also was on display at Daytona. He lowered the all-time MotoAmerica Twins Cup lap record to a 1:55.193 in Friday morning’s Qualifying 2 session, then bested that the next day in the morning warm-up session with a lap time of 1:55.119. He also lowered the race lap record during Saturday’s Race 2 to a 1:55.413 — 0.132 seconds faster than the previous record.
The Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering team will be back in action next month at the next MotoAmerica Twins Cup round, which takes place April 21-23 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
Gus Rodio (96). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering.
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m super happy with a perfect weekend in Daytona. We couldn’t ask for anymore, and I’m excited to keep this momentum going into the next round.”
Alessandro Di Mario (27). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering.
Alessandro Di Mario / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m really happy with how my first time at Daytona turned out. It was a challenging weekend for sure, but we were able to get some solid points for the championship. I want to thank the team for all the work they did behind the scenes, and I am really looking forward to the next rounds. Bring on Atlanta!”
Ben Gloddy (72). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering.
Ben Gloddy / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I had a great weekend being back on the Aprilia RS 660 and had some solid finishes for not riding since New Jersey last year! I am hoping I can continue riding with the Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering team for the rest of 2024.”
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s technical partners for the 2024 season include Spellcaster Productions, Luxestar VIP, Geoscape Solar, MAR Contractors, Blud Lubricants, Spiegler Performance, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag Performance Wheels, Millennium Technologies, Sprint Filter, Dunlop, SC Project, MVR Endeavor, GRG Designs, REB Graphics, NGK Spark Plugs, EvolveGT and N2 Racing.
Francesco Bagnaia (1) leads Jorge Martin (89) on the first lap of the MotoGP race in Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Two-time and defending MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia led every lap of the MotoGP Grand Prix in Qatar, winning the first GP of 2024 and taking an early lead in the Championship standings.
The factory Ducati rider managed his lead over Prima Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, last year’s Championship runner up and winner of Saturday’s Sprint race, and factory KTM rider Brad Binder, who would swap second until Binder seized the place for good. Binder, who finished second in the Sprint, also held second in the Championship points, ahead of Martin.
Eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez started his new Ducati career strong, finishing fourth, the best of the 2023 Desmosedicis in the field and less than 1.5 seconds off the podium.
Sync SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez won a tense Moto2 race in Qatar, barely holding off Barry Baltus and his RW-Idrofoglia Kalex by 0.055 seconds at the finish. Sergio Garcia was a close third on his MT Helmets – MTI Boscoscuro, ahead of teammate Ai Oruga.
American Joe Roberts came from 14th on the grid to seventh at the finish.
David Alonso (80) came from deep in the field to take the Moto3 win in Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
CFMOTO Aspar’s David Alonso took the season-opening Moto3 race in Qatar with a last-corner, last-lap pass on Daniel Holgado, who had led nearly the entire 16-lap Grand Prix.
Alonso crossed the line 0.041 seconds ahead of Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Holgado, with Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato third, 0.143 seconds behind the leader. Furusato was the only Honda in the top 11.
Maverick Vinales was quickest in the warmup heading into Sunday evening’s MotoGP race at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar. Vinales’ time of 1:52.660 on the factory Aprilia RS-GP was faster than the existing race lap record of 1:52.987 set by Enea Bastianini in 2023, but well off the 1:50.789 all-time mark set in Saturday’s qualifying by Jorge Martin.
Marco Bezzecchi, Raul Fernandez, Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta completed the top five.
Jett Lawrence First Back-to-Back Winner with Birmingham Supercross Victory
Tom Vialle Also Repeats and takes 250SX Class Win
Birmingham, Ala., (March 10, 2024) Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence grabbed the Holeshot inside Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama and never relinquished the lead spot to become the first rider to string back-to-back wins in the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Heavy rains the night before the race saturated the red dirt track but only light rain fell during the racing at Round 9 of the 17-round season.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb chased Jett from the start but after the opening laps was never close enough to mount an attempt at the lead. Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen recovered from outside the top ten to pass his way forward on the rutted track and claim a third-place finish. In the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle backed up his win last week with a commanding win in Birmingham.
Jett Lawrence (18). Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“I’m super pumped I was able to link two races together… That was a very difficult track, it could cost you. I felt like old Jett would have thrown it away like Arlington. [You] just had to be very, very patient and not just push this track, it could bite you pretty quickly. We tried going for a little sneaky corner over there; we came up very short. Thank gosh it’s soft so it stopped me. But no, it’s just an awesome, awesome weekend [and an] awesome race. Shout out to the team they’re awesome and now hopefully we can maybe click off some more, but we’ll have to wait and see… the races, they’re all pretty gnarly with all these great riders out here.” – Jett Lawrence
“…after that incident when I crashed in the Heat it was good to rebound and get a good start; and yeah, it was a great ride. I felt awesome… I made a few mistakes in the beginning and that gap [to Jett] got there and then I felt like I did a good job maintaining that. We played cat and mouse and I know what it takes now to run that pace, so [I’m] pretty happy with tonight, solid second. He’s a hell of a competitor, a great rider, so we’ll try to be better for next week… It feels great to be back up here on the box. [When asked what it’s going to take to close the points gap] Who knows! This season’s been crazy, so I think there’s still a lot of guys that are capable of getting in the mix. So for me, I’ve just got to keep having rides like tonight, but one position better.” – Cooper Webb
“I’m really, really happy with how I rode. I’ve just got to get better off the gate. I’ve been putting a lot of practice starts in at home, but ultimately, I’ve got to start further up front. Being 11th [at the beginning of the Main Event] is not the position you want to be in if you want to fight for a win. But I made some really good passes happen and found myself in third; and I was pretty close behind Cooper and Jett, but I ended up not doing – I just couldn’t find the right line in that one rhythm over here and so I ended up doubling my way through and lost a bunch of time. But I had a good gap to the people behind me. So I’m really happy to be just finally back on the box, that was important.” – Ken Roczen
Round 4 of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class saw Tom Vialle take over the lead on the opening lap and never get challenged for the top spot; the win moved him into the championship points lead. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo took over second place just a minute into the 15-minute plus one lap race to earn his third consecutive second-place finish of the season. After going through the LCQ, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker recovered from a start outside of the top five to grab the final spot on the Birmingham podium.
Tom Vialle. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“Grabbing another win, I didn’t expect it. I felt great all day and I had a good heat race… I didn’t have the best start, but I caught all the guys and I was P-1. [Then I just tried to] do some good laps and be consistent all moto. I tried to save [energy for] the last four or five laps and [it] was great. I love the track and we were lucky with the weather [and so] the track was pretty good and I’m really happy. Another win, taking the red plate, and I mean, it’s been a long time [that] I didn’t win two races in a row, [not] since I was back in the GPs. So I feel good and it’s nice to win, I can tell you.” – Tom Vialle
“This track was, I think we say it almost every weekend now, but it was gnarly. Like, we got almost two inches of rain last night and it was just very technical, it kept you on your toes, so I’m excited to be up here on the podium again. I’m just so grateful to be racing again and fighting for wins, fighting for the podium, in the championship battle – this stuff is so special, so I’m grateful to be up here; I want more, I really want to win, so we’re gonna work hard and come out swinging in Indiana again… [to the crowd] And how about Alabama!? This is my first time here and you guys are all so nice. I love it here. You guys are awesome so thanks everyone, we love this.” – Cameron McAdoo
“It’s definitely not ideal [to] start from the outside but I made it work. In the LCQ I pulled a hellova start and then in [the Main Event I] just kind of did the same thing. But I feel like those other guys on the inside had a little better of a jump [and had] the line going to the inside. But overall, I charged up to the front. I was just trying my hardest. I had a rough start to the night with that heat race crash and yeah, there was a lot of things that I wanted to say but, you know, I just kept my cool. You know, it’s important for me just to focus on myself and go out there and execute my laps; and I feel like I did that well. I’ve got to give it up to my whole team… just everyone for helping me, especially keeping me calm… [I’m] just super stoked to be up here on the podium again and, yeah, had a good time.” – Seth Hammaker
Next weekend the championship heads to Indianapolis, Indiana where Round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship will line the racers up inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The 17-round Monster Energy Supercross season also pays points toward the 31-round SuperMotocross World Championship. The SuperMotocross League, after an incredibly successful inaugural year in 2023, brings together the 17-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the 11-round AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The SMX League then delivers post-season racing with two Playoff Rounds and one Final to crown a SuperMotocross World Champion in both the 450cc and 250cc Classes. Last week the dates and venues for the post-season events were announced:
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, now completing its mid-point race, continues its partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Fans who want to contribute towards the St. Jude mission of, Finding Cures. Saving Children, can donate by going to supercrossLIVE.com/St-Jude or text “SUPER” to 785-833.
All 17 rounds of the Supercross season can be watched live and on-demand on PeacockTV, with select rounds broadcast or streamed on NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. International live and on-demand coverage can be viewed through the SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv).
Tickets are available now to catch an upcoming Supercross round in person. For ticket sales, highlight videos, race results, airtimes, and event info please to go SupercrossLIVE.com.
MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two came down to another duel between Kyle Wyman and Australian newcomer Troy Herfoss. Herfoss pulled the pin and charged forward to lead the final lap, but he overshot the entrance to the chicane. Wyman was able to pass Herfoss in the chicane and held on to win the race on his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide.
Herfoss had to settle for his second consecutive runner-up finish on his S&S Cycle Indian Challenger.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli came home third for the second straight race.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara bounced back from a crash in Race One to claim fourth place in Race Two.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Champion Hayden Gillim finished a close fifth behind O’Hara in spite of losing a lot of time in the chicane mid-race.
Wyman Doubles Up In Mission King Of The Baggers At Daytona
Saturday’s Race Features The Same Wyman, Herfoss, Rispoli Podium At Daytona International Speedway
Troy Herfoss (17) leads Tyler O’Hara (29) into turn one at the start of the second Mission King Of The Baggers race at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 9, 2024) – As an undercard to the iconic Daytona 200, three of MotoAmerica’s season championships kicked off at Daytona international Speedway, with the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship having two feature races. Baggers on the banking is a sight to see, and the fans enjoyed every lap of the race class that has become an international phenomenon.
Troy Herfoss leads Kyle Wyman, Tyler O’Hara (hidden), Hayden Gillim, James Rispoli, and Travis Wyman. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Saturday’s Daytona Bike Week-concluding Mission King Of The Baggers race two was, in many ways, a carbon copy of Friday’s KOTB race one. The podium for both races was exactly the same, with Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman getting the double win on the high banks. For Wyman, it was his 13thand 14th wins in the class and the 19th and 20th victories of his AMA/MotoAmerica racing career.
Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss, the three-time Australian Superbike rider making his debut in MotoAmerica and at Daytona, once again looked like he was headed for the win just like on Friday, but a slight mistake by him enabled Wyman to close the gap and take the checkered flag by .137 of a second.
With Herfoss finishing second for the second day in a row, Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli made it onto the podium in third just like he did on Friday.
In the post-race press conference, Wyman didn’t really think Saturday’s race two was a carbon copy of race one even though the podiums were the same.
Kyle Wyman won the Baggers race for the second straight day on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
“It was definitely a different scenario than yesterday.” Wyman said. “Actually, now that I play it back in my mind, I do see that he got in there way deep and you had to take all of that second curb. So, yeah. That makes a lot more sense to me of why. It felt the same as yesterday to me, except I was way further back approaching it at Mach whatever, because I was just trying to make sure I could sniff the draft. I had a problem in the second-to-last lap. I lost a quick shifter, so I was scrambling trying to shift the thing. It’s not an easy bike to shift, even with a quick shifter, so I had to gather it up and that’s the exact time that Troy put his head down. So, he built, like, a second-and-a-half gap, maybe more. On the last lap, I think I was taking chunks out of that in the infield. I think I ran a pretty good infield split, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to get there, even to have a sniff of the draft. Then the next thing I know, I’m going through the dirt again in the same spot as we did yesterday. Just hoping and praying again I’m going to get to the line first. Threw a little juke off NASCAR 4 and tried to shake him off, and he held on.”
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Rodio, Again
Gus Rodio swept the two BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
It seems pretty safe to say that Gus Rodio knows how to win races at Daytona International Speedway. After taking the victory in Twins Cup race one last year, the Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia rider went one better and did the double this year, winning Friday’s BellissiMoto Twins Cup race one and finishing out his Daytona event with a win in Saturday’s race two.
Rodio won each of the two races by more than 11 seconds. On Saturday, second place went to Rocco Landers aboard the brand-new RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R and the third-place finisher was Rodio’s teammate Alessandro Di Mario, the 15-year-old rider recording the second MotoAmerica podium result of his young career.
“I did go, I think, three-tenths faster today than the race yesterday,” Rodio said, “Dom (Doyle) got me off the line and led the first full lap. So, I knew I really had to put my head down for that following lap, just because I needed to do double the work now to get myself in front and then to pull at least. I think I needed to pull six-tenths on him to break the draft, around five or six tenths. So, I got that done in the infield and then from there on, it was just stack time, stack time every single lap and hit all your marks. I was just having fun. That’s really it.
“That was a perfect weekend. Led every session and I think led every session by at least four tenths. So, we came in here with our head down and we knew what we had to do. I did re-break my track record in warmup this morning on the race tires from yesterday. So, I was super happy with that. I like Daytona. It’s really cool here. We’ll see what happens next year.”
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – West Gets It Done
(From left) Jake Lewis, Cory West, and Cody Wyman celebrate their podium finishes in the second Mission Super Hooligan National Championship race at Daytona. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Cory West came close to getting revenge yesterday for his DQ from last year’s Mission Super Hooligan National Championship with his third-place finish in race one. Today, he got full revenge, giving the Harley-Davidson Pan America its first-ever victory while leading a Harley sweep of the podium.
It was not only his first Super Hooligan win but his first win of any kind in the MotoAmerica Championship.
West came out the best of a six-rider scrap at the front and it came down to the usual Daytona drafting war. That war went to West by a scant .020 of a second over his Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson teammate Jake Lewis and .060 of a second ahead of Kyle Wyman Racing Harley-Davidson’s Cody Wyman.
Then came the two S&S/Indian Motorcycle FTR1200 who finished first and second in Friday’s race one – Tyler O’Hara and Troy Herfoss – with the third Saddlemen Harley right behind. The top six crossed the finish line separated by just .155 of a second.
Those six were in a class by themselves with Roland Sands Design’s Hawk Mazzotta the best of the rest and 16.4 seconds behind.
“Yesterday was such a scramble that today I kind of got to just play the game,” West said. “Started decent, but just kind of got swamped at the beginning and found myself back in fifth or sixth or something. I just knew I needed to just hold the draft and hang out for a little bit, let a few laps wind down. I think the board was saying three laps to go when I finally got a really good draft, and I came around the outside of everybody going into turn one. It’s a move that I’ve done a long time ago in the 200 on 600s, and it still works. It got me up to the front and then I was just kind of trying to chill in the infield. If I was ahead of the Indians, I knew that it would be good to just kind of slow the pace down in the infield because they were good there. A couple guys drafted me as the race went on, but Cody (Wyman) was just making a push at the front. I knew that we kind of had to keep tabs on him, because he just looked like he wanted to go. So, coming into the last lap, he was leading. I was running second. I followed him through the infield, but I wanted to try to keep a gap between me and him so that I could get that run if I got the draft. If I was too close, I’d pull up beside him and then we would just do this drag race, side by side, looking at each other like, ‘Well, didn’t plan that out very good.’ So, that last lap, drafting him down into the chicane, I knew I didn’t want to lead it. I’ve done that too many times. His brother, Travis (Wyman), he came by me on the brakes. I’m like, ‘well, if one draft is good, maybe two drafts is even better.’ So, I just really tried to hit the brakes and square the chicane up and get a really good drive out of there. Made sure I hit all my shifts perfect and got a good draft off of Travis. As Cody started dropping down the bank, I was getting a little side draft off of Travis. I was like, “Man, I don’t know if this is going to work.’ Then just perfect timing. Cody kind of started drifting up. It just left Travis with no draft, and it gave me the perfect draft. I was just, ‘Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Bring it to the stripe.’ “
Pre-season testing raises questions, and racing answers them. Sunday’s Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar was only the first race weekend in a long season, but it showed that MotoGP looks much the same as it did at the end of 2023, although there were a few intriguing developments. The dominant force in the class last year, Ducati showed that it is still the bike to beat, that Jorge Martin is still a monster in the Sprints and Francesco Bagnaia is still sublime over the distance of a full Grand Prix.
After Bagnaia smashed lap records in pre-season testing, finishing the Sprint race off the podium seemed like an underachievement. But the defending MotoGP World Champion, who has an ability to stay calm and rebound from disappointments, regrouped and led every lap of the Grand Prix. More than that, he looked like he was in complete control the entire time, going faster when someone got close, and when it was over no one had gotten close enough to even attempt a pass.
Pedro Acosta (31). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Defending Moto2 World Champion and MotoGP rookie Pedro Acosta rode like a seasoned professional, finishing second of the four KTM/GASGAS machines on the grid in both races and running with the leaders, even at the cost of destroying his tires, to observe what they were doing. It has been a long, hard road for Tech3 since joining the KTM family, but the excitement in Acosta’s garage in Qatar was palpable. The team believes they have a MotoGP race winner on their bike. And it was interesting to note that Acosta had the very latest KTM aero upgrades on his machine.
Marc Marquez (93). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Marc Marquez fought with the leaders and looked a lot happier than he did at the end of last season when he was with Honda. On a year-old Ducati Desmosedici, Marquez set the fastest lap of Sprint race. With the Honda RC213Vs now buried toward the bottom of the time sheets at Qatar, it gives you an appreciation of just how much of the bike’s past success was due solely to Marquez.
Luca Marini (10). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Honda’s riders praised the new RC213V during pre-season testing, but in the heat of battle, it proved no more competitive than last year’s machine. Luca Marini was dead last in the Sprint race and ran last for much of the Grand Prix after KTM’s Jack Miller crashed and remounted and passed Marini.
Alex Rins (42). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Yamaha’s Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo said that it would take time for the team’s off-season technical personnel acquisitions to make significant improvements in the performance of the YZF-R1. Quartararo wasn’t exactly downcast during the post-Grand Prix media scrums, but the timing of his told the story – he rushed to the media center and got his publicity responsibilities out of the way and left before the fireworks from the podium celebration had even started. Quartararo was the top-finishing rider on a Japanese bike on Sunday in 10th place, more than 17 seconds back after 21 laps.
Raul Fernandez (25). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Aprilia’s pre-season promise seemed to fall apart when the lights went out in Qatar. Aleix Espargaro’s third in the Sprint was the high point of the weekend for the Aprilia squad. The American Trackhouse Racing team’s best was 13th and 14th by Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez in Saturday’s Sprint.
Reigning Bagger Racing League (BRL) Champion Shane Narbonne (1) on his turbocharged TRASK Harley-Davidson. Photo courtesy BRL.
Bagger Racing League “Battle of the Baggers” Announces Title Sponsorship with Drag Specialties for Fourth Consecutive Year
The Bagger Racing League (BRL) is thrilled to announce the continuation of its partnership with Drag Specialties as the Title Sponsor for the fourth consecutive year. This collaboration underscores a shared commitment to delivering unparalleled excitement and innovation to fans of Bagger Racing across the globe.
Renowned as the pinnacle in premium V-twin motorcycle parts and accessories, Drag Specialties has long been a trusted name within the motorcycle community. With an unwavering dedication to quality and advancement, Drag Specialties has consistently provided riders with a comprehensive range of aftermarket solutions, catering to the diverse needs of enthusiasts worldwide.
“We are extremely proud to have Drag Specialties back for the 4th consecutive year and look forward to 2024 being our biggest and best year yet,” said Rob Buydos, Founder of BRL. The enduring partnership between BRL and Drag Specialties promises to elevate the Bagger Racing experience, captivating audiences with each exhilarating race.
As the title sponsor, Drag Specialties will lead the charge in igniting the BRL 2024 season, infusing every race with adrenaline-fueled excitement and pushing the boundaries of Bagger Racing. “Revving up the BRL 2024 season, Drag Specialties blazes the trail as the title sponsor, infusing every race with adrenaline-fueled excitement and pushing the boundaries of Bagger Racing,” remarked Paul Devine, VP LeMans – Drag Specialties.
The ongoing collaboration between BRL and Drag Specialties underscores a shared passion for excellence and innovation within the motorcycle community. Together, they are poised to captivate audiences and redefine the landscape of Bagger Racing in 2024 and beyond.
For more information about the Bagger Racing League and Drag Specialties, please visit www.baggerracingleague.com
Tyler Scott (70) took the pole and raced to a second-place finish in the 82nd running of the Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
SUZUKI’S TY SCOTT CAPTURES SECOND IN THE DAYTONA 200. ROCCO LANDERS EARNS FIRST SUZUKI GSX-8R TWINS CUP PODIUM RESULT.
Brea, CA — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer saw the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/ FIM North American Road Racing Championship opener end in bittersweet fashion, highlighted by a runner-up finish in Saturday’s 82nd Daytona 200 to go along with the lap record and pole position the team secured earlier in the week. Suzuki GSX-Rs dominated the top ten, earning six of the top ten results in this year’s 200-mile contest.
Former Twins Cup class champion Rocco Landers (97) came out on top in an intense drafting battle in Daytona’s Twins Cup race 2, riding the new Suzuki GSX-8R parallel twin. Landers guided the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R to this exciting new bike’s first-ever MotoAmerica podium in a sterling racing debut.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott stormed past the checkered flag in second position in the 57-lap Daytona 200.
Richie Escalante missed second after running short of fuel on the final lap, still earning fourth.
Brandon Paasch put in a steady ride to seventh.
Teagg Hobbs battled up from 22nd on the grid to the top ten.
Twins Cup
Rossi Moor improved to finish fourth in his second-career Twins Cup race.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki
Twins Cup
Rocco Landers came out on top of a four-rider battle for second to give the Suzuki GSX-8R a debut weekend podium.
Scott, who had separated his shoulder in a crash earlier in the weekend, said, “I’ve got to thank the whole Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki squad and my mom and dad and everyone for getting me here. The crew was amazing, and the pit stops went really smoothly. I had good pace and just kept putting laps down. It was unfortunate to see Richie run out of gas, but I’m happy with P2 even though I really wanted the win.”
Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers (97) earns the GSX-8R’s first podium. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Former MotoAmerica Twins Cup class champion Rocco Landers (97) came out on top of a four-rider drafting battle for second that also included Team Hammer’s Rossi Moor.
“I told the team last night, I think we have a podium on our hands,” Landers said. “The bike is brand new, obviously, and I first saw it on Wednesday. The team and Suzuki have been working hard, and we’ve been making consistent improvements. It’s incredible to put the GSX-8R on the podium in just the bike’s second race. This is a really good debut, and once the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines team gets some more development, this will no doubt be a consistent, race-winning bike.”
Rounding out the Suzuki GSX-8R’s spectacular racing debut, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (92) battled to a strong fourth place finish in Daytona’s Twin’s Cup Race 2, giving the impressive new GSX-8R 40% of the top five places in the contest.
Richie Escalante (54) battled up front throughout the 57-lap race, but ran short of fuel to finish fourth. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
In the Daytona 200, Team Hammer’s Richie Escalante (54) led early aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 and spent the majority of the contest applying pressure on the leader from second, showcasing the speed that earned him the new Daytona track record during qualifying. However, while he was robbed of a near-certain runner-up finish after running short of fuel, he managed to coast the machine across the line and took fourth.
An early-race incident damaged Escalante’s windscreen. He felt the reduced aerodynamics, in combination with pushing the pace to close the gap to the leader most of the race, caused the issue.
“For sure, I really wanted to win today,” Escalante said. “I felt really good. I just tried my best, lap-by-lap, pushing, pushing, pushing. I could see the leader right there and was pushing so hard to try to close the gap and fight for the victory. But I ran out of fuel. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose – it’s just a part of racing. I tried my best and want to thank my team. The Suzuki was great all week long.”
Two-time Daytona 200 winner Brandon Paasch rode a steady race earning seventh place in the 2024 Daytona 200. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Superbike regular Brandon Paasch (96) registered a steady ride, running with the front pack early before putting his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 in the top ten by claiming seventh.
“It was great other than some pit stop drama,” said Paasch. “It was a long race and out by myself for most of the time. It would have been good to get back on top again having won the race before, but it is what it is.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) rode up through the Daytona 200 pack, earning a top-ten finish. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Despite starting from the eighth row, Teagg Hobbs (79) clawed his way up from 22nd on the grid to earn tenth place after 200 high-speed miles.
“It wasn’t the greatest weekend for us,” said Hobbs. “We had some issues out of our control come up. I didn’t get up to speed and we didn’t get a lot of time to improve the bike. For the race, I did what I could to finish. I’m glad to get a top-ten result but we’re looking to be at the front. After the weekend we had, I’m happy to finish and ready to focus on the season.”
Rossi Moor (92) fought hard for a podium, ultimately finishing fourth in Daytona’s Twins Cup Race 2. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (92) continued his quick acclimation to the MotoAmerica Twins Cup series, battling for the podium and finishing fourth in his second race aboard the brand-new, Suzuki GSX-8R.
“In one regard, it was good to battle for the podium,” said Moor. “We didn’t have the pace yesterday to do it, but the team worked hard and made the bike even better for me today. I made a small mistake on the last lap when I wheelied coming out of The Chicane and that cost me a shot at the podium. The team did a great job here of closing the gap. We will keep working hard and see what we can do from here.”
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.
Canadian Superbike Champion Ben Young (86) at speed on his Team BATTLAX Suzuki at Daytona International Speedway. Photo courtesy Bridgestone.
Karel Hanika, Marvin Fritz and Ben Young Finish Top 10 at the 2024 Daytona 200 on Bridgestone Motorcycle Tires
Three riders finished in the top 10 at the 82nd running of the Daytona 200 on Bridgestone BATTLAX race tires: Karel Hanika (fifth place), Marvin Fritz (sixth place) and Ben Young (ninth place).
Bridgestone marked its largest presence to date at the Daytona 200, providing full engineering support, sponsorship and BATTLAX race tires to 15 riders from seven different countries.
All finishing Bridgestone-shod riders advanced significantly from their starting grid position.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (March 10, 2024) – Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) today announced that three Bridgestone-backed riders secured top 10 finishes at the historic 82nd running of the Daytona 200. Karel Hanika rode his YART-ProKASRO Yamaha R6 to a fifth place finish, followed by YART teammate Marvin Fritz in sixth place and Ben Young of Team BATTLAX in ninth. This was a record showing for Bridgestone BATTLAX race tires at the Daytona 200.
In addition to three of the top 10 riders being on Bridgestone BATTLAX tires, Hanika completed the second overall fastest lap time at 1:48.628, only 0.003 seconds behind the fastest lap of the race. This was the first Daytona 200 for YART Yamaha teammates Hanika and Fritz, who are the reigning champs of the FIM Endurance World Championship series. Canadian Superbike Champion Ben Young was able to advance through the grid on his Team BATTLAX Suzuki Canada GSX-R750 for a ninth place finish.
Bridgestone marked its largest presence to date at this year’s Daytona 200, providing full engineering support, sponsorship and BATTLAX race tires to 15 riders from seven different countries:
Karel Hanika, YART Yamaha (Czech Republic)
Marvin Fritz, YART Yamaha (Austria)
Ben Young, Team BATTLAX (Canada)
Matt Truelove (England)
Diego Perez Zuasti (Spain)
Trevor Daley, Team BATTLAX (Canada)
Matt Simpson (Canada)
Alexandre Michel (Canada)
Maverick Cyr (Canada)
Niccolo Canepa, YART Yamaha (Italy)
Harry Truelove (England)
Alex Coelho (Portugal)
Sébastien Tremblay (Canada)
Brad MacRae (Canada)
Samuel Guérin (Canada)
An incredible effort was put in by all teams, although racing incidents and mechanical issues caused a few riders to miss the start or DNF. But notably, all Bridgestone riders that finished the race advanced significantly from their starting grid position.
Rider
Number
Country
Grid Position
Finish Position
Karel Hanika
98
Czech Rep.
17
5
Marvin Fritz
17
Austria
14
6
Ben Young
86
Canada
20
9
Matt Truelove
123
England
21
12
Diego Perez Zuasti
135
Spain
34
16
Trevor Daley
166
Canada
30
20
Matt Simpson
191
Canada
46
25
Alex Michel
199
Canada
53
28
Maverick Cyr
104
Canada
39
30
“We’re thrilled that three riders finished in the top 10 on Bridgestone BATTLAX tires at the Daytona 200 this year, marking a first for Bridgestone,” said Jared Williams, General Manager Bridgestone Motorcycle Tire business in the United States and Canada. “These outstanding results, and the fact that each of the riders who finished advanced significantly through the grid from their starting positions, underscores the incredible grip, performance, and reliability of Bridgestone BATTLAX tires. Congratulations to all riders and teams on an incredible race weekend.”
“The Bridgestone tires performed unbelievably well,” said Young. “During the last stint in particular, the tires provided the extra edge and advantage needed to push past and gap the other riders to get the job done and end in the right position.”
Bridgestone’s top 10 finish at the Daytona 200 aligns with the “Emotion” and “Ease” values of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment. The Bridgestone E8 Commitment, encompassing eight values all beginning with the letter “E,” solidifies Bridgestone’s dedication to fostering a more sustainable world.
Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.
More, from a press release issued by Harley-Davidson:
HARLEY-DAVIDSON FACTORY RIDER KYLE WYMAN SNAGS DOUBLE DAYTONA VICTORIES TO OPEN 2024 KING OF THE BAGGERS RACE SEASON
Cory West Tops All-Harley Podium in Saturday’s Super Hooligan Race
MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider Kyle Wyman scored a Daytona double by winning the first two MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers races of the 2024 season at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing rider James Rispoli finished in third place in both races. Wyman and Rispoli were aboard the team’s new race-prepared 2024 Road Glide® motorcycles.
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Harley-Davidson.
Team Saddlemen rider Cory West rode a race-prepared Harley-Davidson® Pan America® 1250 Special motorcycle to victory and topped an all-Harley podium in the Mission Super Hooligan race on Saturday. Team Saddlemen rider Jake Lewis finished second, and Gator Harley/KWR rider Cody Wyman was third completing the sweep. West also finished in third place in the Super Hooligan race on Friday and leads the series points after two of 10 scheduled rounds.
James Rispoli (43). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Harley-Davidson.
The first King of the Baggers race on Friday saw a thundering pack of 17 bagger race motorcycles topping 185 mph on the high-banked oval portion of the 3.52-mile Daytona International Speedway road course. Wyman and Rispoli were part of a four-bike group that battled for the lead for the entire race and started the last of six laps separated by less than one second. Wyman had been quick through the backstraight chicane all race and on the last lap got a strong drive out of the final corner to pass Factory Indian rider Troy Herfoss for the lead heading onto the last section of the oval. Wyman had enough momentum to hold off Herfoss and Rispoli across the finish line with a 0.018 second advantage over Herfoss and 0.137 second over Rispoli. Defending King of the Baggers series champion Hayden Gillim finished fourth on the RevZilla/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Road Glide, 0.837 seconds behind Wyman.
“On that last lap we were just about parked, but I refused to pass to lead the race until the moment it counted,” said Wyman. “I saw a window coming out of the chicane and was just able to hold them off for the win.”
The second King of the Baggers race on Saturday saw Wyman, Rispoli, Herfoss, Gillim, and Factory Indian rider Tyler O’Hara break away from the pack early in the race and swap positions on each lap. On the final lap, Herfoss gapped Wyman on the back stretch but braked late and over-shot the entry to the chicane, giving Wyman an opportunity to pounce. Wyman again got a strong drive onto the last section of the high-bank oval and was able to out-run Herfoss to the finish by 0.137 seconds. Rispoli finished 1.518 seconds back in third place.
“I was in survival mode on the last lap,” said Wyman. “I lost my quick-shifter and I was going to be happy to finish second, but Herfoss gave me a chance and we made it work. Hats off to my entire Harley-Davidson crew for all their hard work this weekend.”
“What an unreal weekend,” said Rispoli. “There was so much nervousness before the races. So, it was a massive relief to get two podiums in my first weekend with the Factory Harley-Davidson team. I am so stoked for the entire team, and I know we will be a force for the future rounds.”
Cory West (13) leading Super Hooligan Race Two at Daytona. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Harley-Davidson.
After 2 of 18 rounds in the 2024 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series Kyle Wyman leads with 50 points. Herfoss is second with 40 points, followed by Rispoli with 32 points and Gillim with 24 points.
Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing returns to action at the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas, April 12-13 at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
Harley-Davidson® Factory Racing is sponsored by Mission® Foods, Rockford Fosgate®, Brembo®, Öhlins®, Protolabs®, SYN3® lubricants, and Screamin’ Eagle® Performance Parts and Accessories.
MotoAmerica King of the Baggers Race Results – Daytona International Speedway Race 1
Kyle Wyman (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
Troy Herfoss (Ind) S&S/Indian Motorcycle
James Rispoli (H-D) Harley-Davidson Factory Racing
Zachary Schumacher (H-D) Nowaskey Extreme Performance
Gunnar Ouellette (H-D) Trask Performance
Ruben Xaus (H-D) Feuling Parts
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
GUS RODIO RIDES APRILIA RS 660 TO TWO COMMANDING VICTORIES IN MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP SEASON OPENER AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
APRILIA RIDERS CLAIM FOUR OF THE SIX PODIUM PLACES AVAILABLE IN RACES HELD FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Gus Rodio. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Aprilia.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – 10 MARCH 2024 – Aprilia rider Gus Rodio’s campaign to clinch the MotoAmerica Twins Cup title he narrowly missed out on in 2023 could not have started in a better way. The Hammonton, N.J., resident piloted his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 to two victories by impressive margins at the season-opening round of MotoAmerica’s 2024 Twins
Cup at Daytona International Speedway.
Rodio’s two wins were just a couple of the successes Aprilia RS 660 riders had on Friday and Saturday on the iconic facility’s 3.51-mile motorcycle road course layout. Rodio’s teammates – Twins Cup rookie Alessandro Di Mario and veteran Ben Gloddy – and TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher scored two podium finishes and three additional top-five finishes between them. In total, Aprilia riders claimed 11 of the 20 total Top-10 finishes on the double race weekend.
Rodio’s eye-popping pace was evident from the first on-track session of the round, as his best lap in the Thursday practice session was more than 1.5 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Dreher posted the second-best time, followed by Gloddy in third, Di Mario in eighth, Dreher’s TopPro Racing teammate, Romeo Chiavini, in ninth and Righteous Racing’s Ray Hofman in 10th.
The first of two qualifying sessions took place later Thursday, and Rodio was again at the top of the time sheets with a lap time that more than a second faster than his best time in practice. Dreher was third-fastest in the session, with Gloddy sixth-fastest, Di Mario seventh-fastest, Chiavini ninth-fastest and Hofman 10th.
Qualifying concluded on Friday morning with Rodio having secured the first pole position of the 2024 MotoAmerica Twins Cup season by 0.822 seconds. Dreher qualified third, giving Aprilia two machines on the front row of the grid. Gloddy ended up qualifying fifth, Di Mario seventh, and Chiavini 10th.
Friday afternoon’s Race 1 saw Rodio gradually pull away at the front while Dreher, Gloddy and Di Mario battled it out with two other riders for the last two steps on the podium. Rodio narrowly missed out on taking the holeshot but had assumed the race lead by the end of Lap 1 and led every lap thereafter – taking victory by a margin of more than 11 seconds. Gloddy, Dreher and Di Mario found themselves in
a four-way – and in the closing laps five-way – fight for the podium, as the group took turns drafting and re-drafting each other during the nine-lap race. On the run to the finish line, Dreher edged out Di Mario for the last step on the podium by 0.087 seconds. Gloddy finished sixth, missing out on a top-five finish by 0.343 seconds.
Other Aprilia riders who finished in the Top-10 include Chiavini in eighth and Hofman in 10th.
In Saturday morning’s Race 2, it took Rodio a little longer to break away from the field – but the result was the same. Like in Race 1, Rodio slotted into second place as the field reached Turn 1 for the first time and moved into the lead later on the first lap. Though another front runner drafted by Rodio to lead at the end of Lap 1, Rodio reassumed the lead on Lap 2 and led the remainder of the race.
Unfortunately for Dreher, an incident on Lap 1, Turn 1, caused him to crash heavily, and he was unable to rejoin the race. When the rider running in second place retired from the race on Lap 4, it allowed Gloddy, Di Mario and two other riders to have a four-way go at the last two podium places. Like in Race 1, riders in the group took turns drafting and re-drafting each other. Di Mario finished in third place – 0.044 seconds behind the second-place rider – and Gloddy clinched a top-five finish.
The other Aprilia riders who scored top-10 finishes include Hofman in eighth and Chiavini in ninth. After two races, Rodio has amassed a 19-point lead in the points standings. Di Mario sits in third place in the standings, Gloddy fifth, Dreher eighth, Chiavini ninth and Hofman in 10th.
Of the 26 riders registered for MotoAmerica Twins Cup at the Daytona round, 12 were slated to compete with Aprilia RS 660s.
The next MotoAmerica Twins Cup race takes place April 21-23 at the Road Atlanta circuit in Braselton, Ga.
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m super happy with a perfect weekend in Daytona. We couldn’t ask for anymore, and I’m excited to keep this momentum going into the next round.”
Alessandro Di Mario / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m really happy with how my first time at Daytona turned out. It was a challenging weekend for sure, but we were able to get some solid points for the championship. I want to thank the team for all the work they did behind the scenes, and I am really looking forward to the next rounds. Bring on Atlanta!”
More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing:
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio scores pair of wins in season-opening MotoAmerica Twins Cup races at Daytona International Speedway
Di Mario claims podium finish in Twins Cup debut weekend, Gloddy scores top-five at March 7-9 event
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At the end of the 2023 season, Gus Rodio had proven himself to be one of the frontrunners in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup despite it being his first year racing in the class. At the 2024 season-opening Twins Cup round at Daytona International Speedway, Rodio looked like he was in a class all his own.
The Hammonton, N.J., resident and 2023 Twins Cup runner-up put in two dominating performances on Friday and Saturday to take victory by more than 11 seconds in both contests after being the fastest rider in all three practice and qualifying sessions at the March 7-9 round.
Rodio wasn’t the only rider of the team’s three-athlete lineup to find success at the Daytona round, as Twins Cup rookie Alessandro Di Mario scored a podium finish in his second MotoAmerica race aboard an Aprilia RS 660. And MotoAmerica veteran Ben Gloddy scored a top-five finish after not having ridden his Aprilia since the season-ending round at New Jersey Motorsports Park last year.
The event started off well for all three Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering riders, with Rodio pacing the field in practice on Thursday morning by more than 1.5 seconds and Gloddy and Di Mario finishing the session third-fastest and eighth-fastest, respectively. Rodio continued his impressive form later Thursday in Qualifying 1, taking provisional pole by 0.342 seconds. Gloddy finished that session in sixth place and Di Mario in seventh.
Twins Cup Qualifying 2 on Friday morning saw Rodio cement his grip on pole position while improving his best lap time on his Aprilia RS 660 by more than a second. Gloddy ended up qualifying fifth and Di Mario seventh.
Friday afternoon’s Race 1 proved Rodio was able to maintain the blistering pace he’d shown in qualifying over the course of a nine-lap race. Though he missed out on grabbing the holeshot, Rodio moved up to the race lead later on Lap 1 and never relinquished it, gradually building a large gap to the rest of the field and taking the win by 11.493 seconds. Gloddy and Di Mario were part of a multi-rider battle that was to determine the other two podium places. Di Mario came oh-so-close to getting a podium finish in his first Twins Cup race, but the draft on the long run to the finish line allowed another rider to best him for third place by a mere 0.087 seconds. Gloddy missed out on a top-five finish in similar fashion. He finished sixth — 0.343 seconds behind the rider ahead of him.
Race 2 took place Saturday morning and was the scene of another commanding effort from Rodio. Though he battled with another rider for the first lap, Rodio regained the lead on Lap 2 and began building another large gap – eventually finishing the race more than 11 second ahead of the scrap for the last two podium places. Gloddy and Di Mario were again in the mix for a podium finish, and Di Mario finished third after being edged out for second place by 0.044 seconds. Gloddy scored a fifth-place result and came within 0.041 seconds from taking fourth place.
Rodio’s blistering one-lap pace also was on display at Daytona. He lowered the all-time MotoAmerica Twins Cup lap record to a 1:55.193 in Friday morning’s Qualifying 2 session, then bested that the next day in the morning warm-up session with a lap time of 1:55.119. He also lowered the race lap record during Saturday’s Race 2 to a 1:55.413 — 0.132 seconds faster than the previous record.
The Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering team will be back in action next month at the next MotoAmerica Twins Cup round, which takes place April 21-23 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
Gus Rodio (96). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering.
Gus Rodio / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m super happy with a perfect weekend in Daytona. We couldn’t ask for anymore, and I’m excited to keep this momentum going into the next round.”
Alessandro Di Mario (27). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering.
Alessandro Di Mario / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I’m really happy with how my first time at Daytona turned out. It was a challenging weekend for sure, but we were able to get some solid points for the championship. I want to thank the team for all the work they did behind the scenes, and I am really looking forward to the next rounds. Bring on Atlanta!”
Ben Gloddy (72). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering.
Ben Gloddy / Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering
“I had a great weekend being back on the Aprilia RS 660 and had some solid finishes for not riding since New Jersey last year! I am hoping I can continue riding with the Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering team for the rest of 2024.”
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s technical partners for the 2024 season include Spellcaster Productions, Luxestar VIP, Geoscape Solar, MAR Contractors, Blud Lubricants, Spiegler Performance, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag Performance Wheels, Millennium Technologies, Sprint Filter, Dunlop, SC Project, MVR Endeavor, GRG Designs, REB Graphics, NGK Spark Plugs, EvolveGT and N2 Racing.
Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Francesco Bagnaia (1) leads Jorge Martin (89) on the first lap of the MotoGP race in Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Two-time and defending MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia led every lap of the MotoGP Grand Prix in Qatar, winning the first GP of 2024 and taking an early lead in the Championship standings.
The factory Ducati rider managed his lead over Prima Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin, last year’s Championship runner up and winner of Saturday’s Sprint race, and factory KTM rider Brad Binder, who would swap second until Binder seized the place for good. Binder, who finished second in the Sprint, also held second in the Championship points, ahead of Martin.
Eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez started his new Ducati career strong, finishing fourth, the best of the 2023 Desmosedicis in the field and less than 1.5 seconds off the podium.
Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
Alonso Lopez (21). Photo by Michael Gougis.
Sync SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez won a tense Moto2 race in Qatar, barely holding off Barry Baltus and his RW-Idrofoglia Kalex by 0.055 seconds at the finish. Sergio Garcia was a close third on his MT Helmets – MTI Boscoscuro, ahead of teammate Ai Oruga.
American Joe Roberts came from 14th on the grid to seventh at the finish.
Lusail International Circuit, Doha, Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
David Alonso (80) came from deep in the field to take the Moto3 win in Qatar. Photo by Michael Gougis.
CFMOTO Aspar’s David Alonso took the season-opening Moto3 race in Qatar with a last-corner, last-lap pass on Daniel Holgado, who had led nearly the entire 16-lap Grand Prix.
Alonso crossed the line 0.041 seconds ahead of Red Bull GASGAS Tech3’s Holgado, with Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato third, 0.143 seconds behind the leader. Furusato was the only Honda in the top 11.
Maverick Vinales was quickest in the warmup heading into Sunday evening’s MotoGP race at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar. Vinales’ time of 1:52.660 on the factory Aprilia RS-GP was faster than the existing race lap record of 1:52.987 set by Enea Bastianini in 2023, but well off the 1:50.789 all-time mark set in Saturday’s qualifying by Jorge Martin.
Marco Bezzecchi, Raul Fernandez, Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta completed the top five.
Supercross returned to Alabama for the first time in 40 years and Protective Stadium hosted its first Monster Energy AMA Supercross event. The red clay track featured a 308’ start straight, the longest of the season. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports, Inc.
Jett Lawrence First Back-to-Back Winner with Birmingham Supercross Victory
Tom Vialle Also Repeats and takes 250SX Class Win
Birmingham, Ala., (March 10, 2024) Team Honda HRC’s Jett Lawrence grabbed the Holeshot inside Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama and never relinquished the lead spot to become the first rider to string back-to-back wins in the 2024 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. Heavy rains the night before the race saturated the red dirt track but only light rain fell during the racing at Round 9 of the 17-round season.
Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb chased Jett from the start but after the opening laps was never close enough to mount an attempt at the lead. Progressive Insurance ECSTAR Suzuki’s Ken Roczen recovered from outside the top ten to pass his way forward on the rutted track and claim a third-place finish. In the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle backed up his win last week with a commanding win in Birmingham.
Jett Lawrence (18). Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“I’m super pumped I was able to link two races together… That was a very difficult track, it could cost you. I felt like old Jett would have thrown it away like Arlington. [You] just had to be very, very patient and not just push this track, it could bite you pretty quickly. We tried going for a little sneaky corner over there; we came up very short. Thank gosh it’s soft so it stopped me. But no, it’s just an awesome, awesome weekend [and an] awesome race. Shout out to the team they’re awesome and now hopefully we can maybe click off some more, but we’ll have to wait and see… the races, they’re all pretty gnarly with all these great riders out here.” – Jett Lawrence
“…after that incident when I crashed in the Heat it was good to rebound and get a good start; and yeah, it was a great ride. I felt awesome… I made a few mistakes in the beginning and that gap [to Jett] got there and then I felt like I did a good job maintaining that. We played cat and mouse and I know what it takes now to run that pace, so [I’m] pretty happy with tonight, solid second. He’s a hell of a competitor, a great rider, so we’ll try to be better for next week… It feels great to be back up here on the box. [When asked what it’s going to take to close the points gap] Who knows! This season’s been crazy, so I think there’s still a lot of guys that are capable of getting in the mix. So for me, I’ve just got to keep having rides like tonight, but one position better.” – Cooper Webb
“I’m really, really happy with how I rode. I’ve just got to get better off the gate. I’ve been putting a lot of practice starts in at home, but ultimately, I’ve got to start further up front. Being 11th [at the beginning of the Main Event] is not the position you want to be in if you want to fight for a win. But I made some really good passes happen and found myself in third; and I was pretty close behind Cooper and Jett, but I ended up not doing – I just couldn’t find the right line in that one rhythm over here and so I ended up doubling my way through and lost a bunch of time. But I had a good gap to the people behind me. So I’m really happy to be just finally back on the box, that was important.” – Ken Roczen
Round 4 of the Eastern Regional 250SX Class saw Tom Vialle take over the lead on the opening lap and never get challenged for the top spot; the win moved him into the championship points lead. Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Cameron McAdoo took over second place just a minute into the 15-minute plus one lap race to earn his third consecutive second-place finish of the season. After going through the LCQ, Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Seth Hammaker recovered from a start outside of the top five to grab the final spot on the Birmingham podium.
Tom Vialle. Photo courtesy Feld Motor Sports.
“Grabbing another win, I didn’t expect it. I felt great all day and I had a good heat race… I didn’t have the best start, but I caught all the guys and I was P-1. [Then I just tried to] do some good laps and be consistent all moto. I tried to save [energy for] the last four or five laps and [it] was great. I love the track and we were lucky with the weather [and so] the track was pretty good and I’m really happy. Another win, taking the red plate, and I mean, it’s been a long time [that] I didn’t win two races in a row, [not] since I was back in the GPs. So I feel good and it’s nice to win, I can tell you.” – Tom Vialle
“This track was, I think we say it almost every weekend now, but it was gnarly. Like, we got almost two inches of rain last night and it was just very technical, it kept you on your toes, so I’m excited to be up here on the podium again. I’m just so grateful to be racing again and fighting for wins, fighting for the podium, in the championship battle – this stuff is so special, so I’m grateful to be up here; I want more, I really want to win, so we’re gonna work hard and come out swinging in Indiana again… [to the crowd] And how about Alabama!? This is my first time here and you guys are all so nice. I love it here. You guys are awesome so thanks everyone, we love this.” – Cameron McAdoo
“It’s definitely not ideal [to] start from the outside but I made it work. In the LCQ I pulled a hellova start and then in [the Main Event I] just kind of did the same thing. But I feel like those other guys on the inside had a little better of a jump [and had] the line going to the inside. But overall, I charged up to the front. I was just trying my hardest. I had a rough start to the night with that heat race crash and yeah, there was a lot of things that I wanted to say but, you know, I just kept my cool. You know, it’s important for me just to focus on myself and go out there and execute my laps; and I feel like I did that well. I’ve got to give it up to my whole team… just everyone for helping me, especially keeping me calm… [I’m] just super stoked to be up here on the podium again and, yeah, had a good time.” – Seth Hammaker
Next weekend the championship heads to Indianapolis, Indiana where Round 10 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship will line the racers up inside Lucas Oil Stadium. The 17-round Monster Energy Supercross season also pays points toward the 31-round SuperMotocross World Championship. The SuperMotocross League, after an incredibly successful inaugural year in 2023, brings together the 17-round Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the 11-round AMA Pro Motocross Championship. The SMX League then delivers post-season racing with two Playoff Rounds and one Final to crown a SuperMotocross World Champion in both the 450cc and 250cc Classes. Last week the dates and venues for the post-season events were announced:
The Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, now completing its mid-point race, continues its partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Fans who want to contribute towards the St. Jude mission of, Finding Cures. Saving Children, can donate by going to supercrossLIVE.com/St-Jude or text “SUPER” to 785-833.
All 17 rounds of the Supercross season can be watched live and on-demand on PeacockTV, with select rounds broadcast or streamed on NBC, USA Network, CNBC, NBCSports.com, and the NBC Sports app. International live and on-demand coverage can be viewed through the SuperMotocross Video Pass (supermotocross.tv).
Tickets are available now to catch an upcoming Supercross round in person. For ticket sales, highlight videos, race results, airtimes, and event info please to go SupercrossLIVE.com.
MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two came down to another duel between Kyle Wyman and Australian newcomer Troy Herfoss. Herfoss pulled the pin and charged forward to lead the final lap, but he overshot the entrance to the chicane. Wyman was able to pass Herfoss in the chicane and held on to win the race on his Harley-Davidson Factory Racing Road Glide.
Herfoss had to settle for his second consecutive runner-up finish on his S&S Cycle Indian Challenger.
Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli came home third for the second straight race.
Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara bounced back from a crash in Race One to claim fourth place in Race Two.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending Champion Hayden Gillim finished a close fifth behind O’Hara in spite of losing a lot of time in the chicane mid-race.
Wyman Doubles Up In Mission King Of The Baggers At Daytona
Saturday’s Race Features The Same Wyman, Herfoss, Rispoli Podium At Daytona International Speedway
Troy Herfoss (17) leads Tyler O’Hara (29) into turn one at the start of the second Mission King Of The Baggers race at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
DAYTONA BEACH, FL (March 9, 2024) – As an undercard to the iconic Daytona 200, three of MotoAmerica’s season championships kicked off at Daytona international Speedway, with the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship having two feature races. Baggers on the banking is a sight to see, and the fans enjoyed every lap of the race class that has become an international phenomenon.
Troy Herfoss leads Kyle Wyman, Tyler O’Hara (hidden), Hayden Gillim, James Rispoli, and Travis Wyman. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Saturday’s Daytona Bike Week-concluding Mission King Of The Baggers race two was, in many ways, a carbon copy of Friday’s KOTB race one. The podium for both races was exactly the same, with Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman getting the double win on the high banks. For Wyman, it was his 13thand 14th wins in the class and the 19th and 20th victories of his AMA/MotoAmerica racing career.
Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss, the three-time Australian Superbike rider making his debut in MotoAmerica and at Daytona, once again looked like he was headed for the win just like on Friday, but a slight mistake by him enabled Wyman to close the gap and take the checkered flag by .137 of a second.
With Herfoss finishing second for the second day in a row, Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli made it onto the podium in third just like he did on Friday.
In the post-race press conference, Wyman didn’t really think Saturday’s race two was a carbon copy of race one even though the podiums were the same.
Kyle Wyman won the Baggers race for the second straight day on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
“It was definitely a different scenario than yesterday.” Wyman said. “Actually, now that I play it back in my mind, I do see that he got in there way deep and you had to take all of that second curb. So, yeah. That makes a lot more sense to me of why. It felt the same as yesterday to me, except I was way further back approaching it at Mach whatever, because I was just trying to make sure I could sniff the draft. I had a problem in the second-to-last lap. I lost a quick shifter, so I was scrambling trying to shift the thing. It’s not an easy bike to shift, even with a quick shifter, so I had to gather it up and that’s the exact time that Troy put his head down. So, he built, like, a second-and-a-half gap, maybe more. On the last lap, I think I was taking chunks out of that in the infield. I think I ran a pretty good infield split, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to get there, even to have a sniff of the draft. Then the next thing I know, I’m going through the dirt again in the same spot as we did yesterday. Just hoping and praying again I’m going to get to the line first. Threw a little juke off NASCAR 4 and tried to shake him off, and he held on.”
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Rodio, Again
Gus Rodio swept the two BellissiMoto Twins Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
It seems pretty safe to say that Gus Rodio knows how to win races at Daytona International Speedway. After taking the victory in Twins Cup race one last year, the Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia rider went one better and did the double this year, winning Friday’s BellissiMoto Twins Cup race one and finishing out his Daytona event with a win in Saturday’s race two.
Rodio won each of the two races by more than 11 seconds. On Saturday, second place went to Rocco Landers aboard the brand-new RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R and the third-place finisher was Rodio’s teammate Alessandro Di Mario, the 15-year-old rider recording the second MotoAmerica podium result of his young career.
“I did go, I think, three-tenths faster today than the race yesterday,” Rodio said, “Dom (Doyle) got me off the line and led the first full lap. So, I knew I really had to put my head down for that following lap, just because I needed to do double the work now to get myself in front and then to pull at least. I think I needed to pull six-tenths on him to break the draft, around five or six tenths. So, I got that done in the infield and then from there on, it was just stack time, stack time every single lap and hit all your marks. I was just having fun. That’s really it.
“That was a perfect weekend. Led every session and I think led every session by at least four tenths. So, we came in here with our head down and we knew what we had to do. I did re-break my track record in warmup this morning on the race tires from yesterday. So, I was super happy with that. I like Daytona. It’s really cool here. We’ll see what happens next year.”
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – West Gets It Done
(From left) Jake Lewis, Cory West, and Cody Wyman celebrate their podium finishes in the second Mission Super Hooligan National Championship race at Daytona. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Cory West came close to getting revenge yesterday for his DQ from last year’s Mission Super Hooligan National Championship with his third-place finish in race one. Today, he got full revenge, giving the Harley-Davidson Pan America its first-ever victory while leading a Harley sweep of the podium.
It was not only his first Super Hooligan win but his first win of any kind in the MotoAmerica Championship.
West came out the best of a six-rider scrap at the front and it came down to the usual Daytona drafting war. That war went to West by a scant .020 of a second over his Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson teammate Jake Lewis and .060 of a second ahead of Kyle Wyman Racing Harley-Davidson’s Cody Wyman.
Then came the two S&S/Indian Motorcycle FTR1200 who finished first and second in Friday’s race one – Tyler O’Hara and Troy Herfoss – with the third Saddlemen Harley right behind. The top six crossed the finish line separated by just .155 of a second.
Those six were in a class by themselves with Roland Sands Design’s Hawk Mazzotta the best of the rest and 16.4 seconds behind.
“Yesterday was such a scramble that today I kind of got to just play the game,” West said. “Started decent, but just kind of got swamped at the beginning and found myself back in fifth or sixth or something. I just knew I needed to just hold the draft and hang out for a little bit, let a few laps wind down. I think the board was saying three laps to go when I finally got a really good draft, and I came around the outside of everybody going into turn one. It’s a move that I’ve done a long time ago in the 200 on 600s, and it still works. It got me up to the front and then I was just kind of trying to chill in the infield. If I was ahead of the Indians, I knew that it would be good to just kind of slow the pace down in the infield because they were good there. A couple guys drafted me as the race went on, but Cody (Wyman) was just making a push at the front. I knew that we kind of had to keep tabs on him, because he just looked like he wanted to go. So, coming into the last lap, he was leading. I was running second. I followed him through the infield, but I wanted to try to keep a gap between me and him so that I could get that run if I got the draft. If I was too close, I’d pull up beside him and then we would just do this drag race, side by side, looking at each other like, ‘Well, didn’t plan that out very good.’ So, that last lap, drafting him down into the chicane, I knew I didn’t want to lead it. I’ve done that too many times. His brother, Travis (Wyman), he came by me on the brakes. I’m like, ‘well, if one draft is good, maybe two drafts is even better.’ So, I just really tried to hit the brakes and square the chicane up and get a really good drive out of there. Made sure I hit all my shifts perfect and got a good draft off of Travis. As Cody started dropping down the bank, I was getting a little side draft off of Travis. I was like, “Man, I don’t know if this is going to work.’ Then just perfect timing. Cody kind of started drifting up. It just left Travis with no draft, and it gave me the perfect draft. I was just, ‘Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Come on, baby. Bring it to the stripe.’ “
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