American Julian Correa, age 15, took second place in British Talent Cup Race One Saturday at Donington Park, in England. Riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Honda, Correa finished just 0.081 second behind race winner Amanuel Brinton and his Kovara Projects/RS Racing Honda.
Lucas Brown finished third on a SENCAT Talent Team/Mortimer Racing Honda.
American Josh Raymond Jr. finished 14th on his Fibre Tec Honda, and his American teammate Eli Banish got 20th.
BTC R1
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Cameron Petersen won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Petersen put his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 into the lead on lap three and rode flawlessly all the way to the checkered flag, earning the fourth Superbike victory of his career.
Petersen’s teammate Jake Gagne, the three-time and defending Champion, pressured the race leader all the way to the end but had to settle for the runner-up spot, 0.439 second back.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin came out on top of a three-way battle for third to claim his first podium finish of 2024.
Sean Dylan Kelly was third at the start of the final lap, but Herrin was able to get past the Superbike rookie, who held on to finish fourth on his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz crossed the stripe right behind Kelly in fifth in his first race back since breaking his ankle at Road Atlanta three weeks ago.
Xavi Fores came home sixth in his first race filling in for injured Richie Escalante on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW’s JD Beach slipped backward to seventh at the end of the race.
Real Steel Motorsports Honda’s Hayden Gillim (eighth), Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha’s Bobby Fong (ninth), and Fores’ teammate Brandon Paasch (10th) rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Pole-sitter Cameron Beaubier was leading the race by 1.5 seconds and pulling away on lap three when he crashed his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW. Beaubier walked away from the crash but could not continue on his damaged motorcycle.
The MotoAmerica Superbike class will race twice on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Petersen Withstands The Pressure To Take Superbike Victory At Barber
Cameron Petersen Tops His Teammate Jake Gagne In Steel Commander Superbike Action From Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 18, 2024) – Leading 17 laps of a MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race is tough enough. Leading 17 laps with three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne breathing down your neck is flat out daunting. But Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen was able to focus on what was ahead and not what was behind to win Saturday’s first of three Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park.
And in doing so, the South African never put a wheel wrong to top his teammate Gagne by .438 of a second after 20 laps. Since 20 minus 17 is three, who led those opening three laps? That would be Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier on his BMW M 1000 RR, but it didn’t last. Just when it was starting to look like the five-time series champion was going to romp away to victory, it all went horribly wrong on the fourth lap when Beaubier crashed out of the lead.
That left Petersen vs. Gagne with Petersen leading and Gagne giving chase, piling on the pressure to see if Petersen would falter. He didn’t. Instead, he was mostly perfect in earning his fourth MotoAmerica Superbike victory with three of those coming at Barber Motorsports Park.
Gagne ended up second, happy for his teammate while also knowing that he’d extended his championship points lead to 20 points over his title rival Beaubier, 65-45, after the first three races of the season.
Both Petersen and Gagne acknowledged that things would have been different if Beaubier hadn’t crashed.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin came out on top of a three-rider scrap for the final podium spot. After moving past his teammate Loris Baz, Herrin disposed of impressive rookie Sean Dylan Kelly on the final lap to finish third.
TopPro Racing’s Kelly ended up .476-of-a-second behind Herrin and .502-of-a-second ahead of Baz. It was Kelly’s third top-five finish to start his rookie season of Superbike racing.
Spaniard Xavi Forés was sixth in his debut on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, riding in place of the injured Richie Escalante. Forés was well back from Baz and .8 seconds ahead of seventh-placed JD Beach and his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim was eighth with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch rounding out the top 10 finishers.
With three races in the books, Gagne leads Beaubier in the title chase, 65-45, with Petersen jumping up to third in the standings with 42 points. Kelly is fourth with 37 points, three clear of fifth-placed Herrin.
Sunday will be a busy day for the Steel Commander Superbike men with two races on the schedule.
Quotes
Cameron Petersen – Winner
“It feels good. I think this is three wins at this track. Got one in the dry, but honestly it feels so good. I know a lot of people know what I’ve gone through in the off-season and after the surgery. It’s been a tough off-season. The wrist is starting to feel really good on the bike. It just feels so good to get this monkey off my back. It’s been a questioning game, wondering if I did the right thing with the surgery. But it’s starting to pay off. Like Jake said, we had a really tough Friday. We were all kind of scratching our heads, and the boys did an incredible job. We definitely took a step forward today. We had a good race bike. We kind of got gifted that one a little bit. Cam had some incredible pace in the beginning there. He was starting to check out. For the rest of the race, I just tried to hit my marks. I knew if I do that and I was good on the brakes and didn’t make any mistakes, I kind of knew that I would have a good opportunity at it. So, just put my head down and did everything I could. With about five laps to go, I was just like, nobody is taking this thing from me. We’re too close to the end. I’ve led this whole thing. I just wanted it super bad. Congrats to the guys up here next to me. It’s always fun racing against them. Look forward to two races tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Second Place
“It was awesome. Cam (Petersen) rode a great race. He didn’t put a wheel wrong. I was sitting there kind of waiting for a mistake. He was good on the brakes everywhere, so there was not a whole lot I could do unless I really tried to stuff it in there. I was going to see if I could try to make a move somewhere on those last couple laps. Then it started sprinkling, so in the back it was getting dark. I just figured there was nothing I could do unless he made a mistake, and he didn’t. He wanted that one. Congrats to Cam. He earned it. Congrats to the team, to go one-two after our pretty rough day yesterday, actually. So, it was good to see the consistency there. Fun race, riding around with Cam. Obviously, my teammate and one of my great friends. So, congrats to him. But we got some work to do. See if we can improve some things tomorrow. (Cameron) Beaubier was unreal those first couple laps. I didn’t see what happened, but I hope he’s okay. Everybody is going to be going faster tomorrow, so we got to do our job.”
Josh Herrin – Third Place
“We kind of just went back to what we had on Friday and tried something small from that. We’ve been here three times now on this bike. We came here for the race last year, a track day earlier in the year, and then now. I’m just stuck at the time that I’m at. I just can’t do anything better. Having Baz here, it helped because for me, mentally knowing that it wasn’t just me, this is just a difficult track for us. The bike feels great, but I just can’t go any faster on it. It’s weird because I feel like I’m going really good, but then those guys are going quicker. So, I’ve just got to keep plugging away here and keep trying to get better, but just know that there’s better days ahead. We got Road America coming up next. It’s a hard pill to swallow, knowing that this is a three-race round. But the most important thing to me, as much as I love the guy, is to beat Baz. So, it was good motivation. I had a good battle with Sean at the end. It was just a really fun race. Huge thanks to my team for just the nonstop effort, trying to get it better. I don’t know if it’s something that we need to improve on the bike or if it’s just me not being comfortable. Historically, this is a good track for me, so it’s hard to understand. But, if you would have asked me yesterday or this morning, if I’d be happy with third, I’d be stoked. Especially after Atlanta. We had arguably the best race of my career, but it just didn’t look like it on paper. But catching those guys as much as I did and feeling as good as I did on the bike, I got a really good on my head shoulders mentally going into the next couple rounds. I’m happy, and just hoping that tomorrow is better or maybe it rains and then maybe it helps us out. I don’t know.”
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.:
Petersen Scores Emotional MotoAmerica Superbike Victory at Barber
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen returns to the top, while Jake Gagne claims MotoAmerica Superbike Championship lead with a runner-up finish in Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park
MARIETTA, Ga. – May 19, 2024 – After a tough off-season making a comeback from injury, Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen celebrated victory yesterday and led a stellar 1-2 finish for the team at Round 2 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park. His teammate Jake Gagne secured second to make championship gains with a 20-point lead after Race 1 of the weekend’s Superbike tripleheader at the 2.38-mile circuit in Leeds, Alabama.
After a tough first day of qualifying, both of the team’s riders had a much better day two, with Petersen improving to fourth in the combined times. From there he got a great start in third behind his teammate and quickly made the pass to the runner-up spot. The South African rode his own race and advanced to the lead after the frontrunner crashed in the opening laps. He continued to hit his marks, kept cool under pressure with Gagne on his heels, and rode his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing R1 to victory. After an uncertain return with a wrist injury, it was a great comeback and emotional victory for Petersen, which also marked his fourth-career Superbike win and third at Barber Motorsports Park.
Gagne qualified third and got a great start from the front row in second, and was passed by his teammate shortly after. The defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion rode a calculated race in third and advanced to the runner-up spot after his title rival crashed on Lap 3. He closed the gap on his teammate a couple of laps before the halfway mark and kept the pressure on. In the final laps, the weather loomed closer and light rain started to fall on parts of the track. Gagne rode on to cross the line second, keeping his podium streak rolling and claiming a 20-point lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team looks forward to an action-packed Sunday with Race 2 and 3 of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader today at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“We came from Atlanta with a particular setup that we have been working on all winter, and it didn’t work here. So the guys were struggling on the first day, but we kept working all the way up to the race, and it showed. (Cameron) Beaubier gave us a little something, but that’s racing. If you pressure the guy in front of you, sometimes mistakes happen. We’re happy with the 1-2 finish and looking to do it again tomorrow.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“This one feels good. It’s been a tough off-season coming back from the surgery I had. I didn’t know if I was going to race a motorcycle again and was questioning whether I did the right thing with the surgery, but it’s paid off. It feels good to get this monkey off my back and get the win. I’m stoked for the team to get that 1-2 after a difficult Friday. We were all kind of scratching our heads, but the guys did a great job, and we definitely took a step forward today. We had some incredible race bikes. I just tried to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. With about five laps to go, I wasn’t letting anyone take it from me. I just wanted to win this thing.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“It was a good day for the team. Congrats to Cam. It was great to see him win one. He rode a great race, didn’t put a wheel wrong, and it would have been tough to get by him. Yesterday was kind of a rough day for us both. The team did a great job making improvements to the setup, and we both felt a little better today. With (Cameron) Beaubier going down, the smart thing to do was to bring it home on the podium. We’re going to be even more confident tomorrow and look to step it up.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars (sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company), Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama. YMUS subsidiaries YMMC, based in Georgia, and YJBM based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine and divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders (Wisconsin) and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. (Indiana), and Skeeter Boats (Texas) with its division G3 Boats (Missouri).
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, U.S.A. (Yamaha Financial Services), an affiliate of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., offers financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide. Yamaha Financial Services provides retail and commercial financing for the diverse line of Yamaha brand motor products based out of Cypress, CA and Marietta, GA.
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Mathew Scholtz won MotoAmerica Supersport Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, Scholtz came back from a poor start to win the first MotoAmerica Supersport race of his career by 0.269 second.
PJ Jacobsen was leading late in the race until Scholtz passed him with less than two laps to go. The New York native had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
Maxi Gerardo, the pole-sitter, led most of the race on his TopPro Racing Suzuki GSX-R750 but slipped back to third in the closing laps.
Tyler Scott was racing for a podium position until he ran off the track mid-race. Scott was able to recover and salvage a fourth-place finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Blake Davis rounded out the top five finishers on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Action Aplenty In MotoAmerica Support Class Racing At Barber
A Day Of First-Time Winners And Veteran Domination At Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 18, 2024) – This is 15-year-old Logan Cunnison’s second year of racing in MotoAmerica, and May 18, 2024, is a date the Arizona-based Junior Cup rider won’t soon forgot. Not only did Cunnison earn his very first MotoAmerica pole position, but he also notched his first career podium and finished on the top step as the winner of Saturday’s Junior Cup race one in a dominant performance.
The rain stayed away on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park. Right up until the point when it didn’t. The rainstorm that was expected in the afternoon finally reared its ugly head prior to the start of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup race, but with a small delay the race started and was completed under cloudy but sunny skies. The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race., however, was delayed until tomorrow morning with the BTR women set to race twice on Sunday.
Stock 1000 – Gillim Gets It Done
The Stock 1000 Championship finally got started with its opening round at Barber Motorsports Park and while many were thinking the race would be a thriller, it wasn’t part of Hayden Gillim’s plan.
Real Steel Motorsports Honda’s Gillim ran away and hid from the 36-rider field to win the opening round in the defense of his 2023 Stock 1000 Championship by some 11 seconds. The win was the 12th of Gillim’s Stock 1000 career, and it moved him into a tie with Andrew Lee and Corey Alexander as the winningest rider in the history of the class.
Gillim’s start wasn’t a good one and he had to fight his way to second place early before moving into the lead for good on the third lap after getting ahead of GMR/Jones Honda’s Gabriel Da Silva. Once in front, Gillim put his head down and left the others in his wake as he rode his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP to victory to give Honda its first win in the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 class.
Da Silva was a rather lonely runner-up, some four seconds ahead of BPR’s Bryce Prince with the Californian taking a weekend off work to try his hand at the Stock 1000 class. Bryce was in a battle with Benjamin Smith early on, but there was contact between the two with Smith coming out the worst of it as he crashed his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Visit Indiana/Tom Wood Powersports’ Nolan Lamkin finished fourth on his BMW M 1000 RR with Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates fifth, giving Honda three CBRs in the top five.
Gillim leads the championship point standings by five over Da Silva and nine over Prince.
“I knew I could do the laps consistent just from all the practice sessions,” Gillim said. “We actually kind of had some miscues and didn’t get to put any new tires on the bike during the sessions. So really most of the sessions I was just doing race stints. So, I knew I could do the lap times. We had some stuff going on with the front end and made a couple clicker changes and it was pretty well fixed. I was super happy with that. I felt from the first lap of the race that I had a little bit extra from what I had in qualifying. It’s been a good weekend. The start wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. After Road Atlanta, I was getting some really good starts, and all my practice starts, testing and everything have been good. Then that light was a little long. If you go and watch the race, you see me about fall over to the right because I was sitting with my rear foot on the rear brake. As the lights hold, I started falling over and I had to end up taking that foot off right as the light went. It threw me a little bit, but it was a good race. These guys were putting up a good fight at the beginning. I had a couple runs on Gabriel (Da Silva) those first two laps. He was doing a good job of kind of blocking the real passing zones and made me work for it. It was a fun race. I was happy to get out front and get into a good pace and get the win. This is a new team. I’ve got the same crew guys from last year, but new bikes, new trailer, new title sponsors. So, it’s great to get the first win on the Honda. See how tomorrow goes. See how the rest of the season goes.”
Supersport – Scholtz Gets His First
Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen was content to sit on the rear of TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo. Lap after lap after lap. But with four to go, the New Yorker took the lead, and it seemed like it would be smooth sailing to victory for the championship points leader.
Enter Mathew Scholtz and his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
After a horrible start from the inside of row one. Scholtz was able to make some moves to end the lap in a battle for fifth. On the ninth of 18 laps, Scholtz was free and started to move forward. On the 10th lap, he went past Blake Davis to take over fourth, but he didn’t stop there.
Meanwhile, up front, Jacobsen decided to go to the lead with four laps to go. Little did he know there was more racing in store for him as Scholtz was past Gerardo and into second. And the South African wasn’t content to finish there. On the last lap, Scholtz made his move and held it to the flag, winning his first MotoAmerica Supersport race by .269 of a second over Jacobsen with Gerardo just a tick over a second behind.
Scott rode the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to fourth, some eight seconds behind Scholtz and just .5 of a second ahead of Davis and his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R6.
Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini was sixth, less than a second ahead of Wrench Motorcycles’ David Anthony. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa, Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis and Rahal Ducati Moto’s Corey Alexander rounded out the top 10 finishers.
After three races, Jacobson leads the championship by 16 points over Scholtz and 31 ahead of his teammate Alexander.
“When I was with (Stefano) Mesa, (Blake) Davis, a bunch of the guys, I was running like 27.3, 27.4,” Scholtz said. “I felt like I was pushing to my absolute max because I think that I was definitely flowing through a couple corners a little bit quicker, so I wasn’t able to kind of use those spots to pick up the lap time. So, once I kind of got some clear track, I started dropping time. I could see that I was catching them, but I thought that I was going to fall short. I think one lap they got screwed by the lappers into the second corner, which definitely helped me. Then I got up to third right onto Max’s (Gerardo) tail, and I just went for a crazy pass. I nearly crashed. Unfortunately, I think we touched. Then I managed to pass PJ (Jacobsen) on the second-to-last corner again, and then last lap I just put my absolute hardest lap down. I think I did a 26.8, which was one of the fastest laps for me. Overall, I’m just super happy to be sitting up top here.”
Junior Cup – Cunnison’s First
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison became the third first-time winner in the first three Junior Cup races of the season on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park as he topped championship points leader Yandel Medina by two seconds in the 11-lap race.
Medina came out on top of a five-rider pack contesting third, the New York Safety Track Racing-backed New Yorker beating Karns Performance’s Levi Badie by .251 of a second. Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe and BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin rounded out the top five.
“Just excited,” 15-year-old Cunnison said after his first win. “It’s unbelievable. It’s just too exciting.”
The 2024 season marks Cunnison’s second go in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Dreher Reigns In The Rain
Floridian Avery Dreher is racing in two classes this season. He’s defending his 2023 Junior Cup Championship while also competing in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship aboard a TopPro Racing Aprilia. Despite a thoroughly wet track from a cloudburst over Barber Motorsports, Dreher rode a masterful race in the tricky conditions and got his first victory in MotoAmerica’s two-cylinder, middleweight race class.
Second-place went to Cassidy Heiser, the Chiefs Racing Team Yamaha rider recording his first-ever podium finish in MotoAmerica competition. Completing the podium was Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle, whose third-place result was his third podium in the past three races.
Despite a ninth-place finish, Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio continues to lead the championship by 19 points over the tied duo of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers, sixth today, and Doyle.
“I think this is for sure going to boost my confidence to try to get up there in the Twins Cup,” Dreher said. “With the unfortunate mechanical in the Junior Cup race earlier, that kind of bummed me out. But as soon as I saw the clouds start to roll in and the rain start to fall, I got a little bit excited because I’m a pretty good rain rider. I knew I just had to be smooth and finish the race on two wheels. It got a little sketchy out there towards the end. I was starting to hydroplane here and there, but I saw Alessandro go down. I knew he was pushing because I couldn’t hang with him. The rear was sliding all over the place, so I just took it easy and just tried to finish the race.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK: RACE 1
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2024 | QUALIFYING 2 & RACE 1
Today’s Race 1 ran under beautiful sunny skies for 18 laps before the checkered flag was waved on Round 3 of competition. It was PJ Jacobsen who led the Rahal Ducati Moto pack, riding his XPEL Ducati to a podium finish with a second-place finish behind Mathew Scholtz who ultimately won the race after three different lead changes.
Tomorrow hosts another chance to earn hardware as the trio takes on Race 2 of the weekend. Round 4 will go green at 2:10 p.m. CT with coverage available at MotoAmericaLivePlus.com.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 2nd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st // 70 Pts. (no change)
NOTES: Credited with leading Laps 15 and 16 of the 18-lap race
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was really positive after I messed up on Friday and the team worked great to get the bike back to racing condition for Qualifying and Time Attack. I was fighting for the win with two laps to go, and [Mathew] Scholtz came past us. I wish that I was able to get past those [lapped] riders a bit quicker, just before he passed for the lead. We just rode the best that we could today, especially coming off of Friday with that really bad crash. I just can’t thank the team enough. The Rahal Ducati Moto team has been working so well, and everybody who’s on the team has been doing a great job.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 10th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 3rd // 39 Pts. (-1)
NOTES: Ran as high as the eighth position battling for a top-five finish
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was a little bit of a tough day. We didn’t get the results we wanted in qualifying, and starting 12th definitely made it more difficult for us in the race. I felt like I got a good start with good pace for the first 10 or 12 laps, but we’re still missing something with the setup with the bike. We’re going to go back, do some homework on it, and see if we can make the necessary changes. We’ll continue making adjustments and see what happens tomorrow.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 10th
FINISHED: 11th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 13 // 12 Pts. (no change)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Race 1 wasn’t my best showing. We made some changes to the bike that I felt like didn’t really work out for the race, but we can go over the data for an idea of where to improve for tomorrow. We’re going to keep growing. My initial launch was great but I ended up almost colliding with another rider so I had to check up, which resulted in some riders passing me. Aside from that, it wasn’t too bad of a day. We’re going to keep improving, get a better start tomorrow, and work our way through the field.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a good day. PJ [Jacobsen] getting second place, especially after yesterday – it was a good rebound. Kayla [Yaakov] and Corey [Alexander] both had good races. We suffered a bit with Corey at the end of the race. He wasn’t liking how the front of the bike was feeling, which led to him moving backwards, but early on he looked really promising. We’re going to look at the data, try to make some changes, and keep that same pace he had for the whole race. Kayla rode really well also – we just have to make a couple little changes for her and try to get a better start so she can move up a few places tomorrow. All in all it was a good day, and we’ll continue our efforts tomorrow.”
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Logan Cunnison won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Speed Demon Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, Cunnison took the lead mid-race and was able to break away to win the race — the first of the 15-year-old’s career — by 2.028 seconds.
Yandel Medina, the winner of Junior Cup Race Two at Road Atlanta, was able to move up through the pack during the race and secure second place on his New York Safety Track Racing Kawasaki.
Medina led a tight pack across the finish line that included Karns Performance’s Levi Badie (third), Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe (fourth), BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin (fifth), and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez (sixth) with Medina and Fernandez separated by less than 0.5 second at the finish.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Gillim, the defending Champion, didn’t get a good start from pole position and had to come from behind to take the lead, but once he was in first place, Gillim pulled away on his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to win the 14-lap race by over 11 seconds.
Gabriel Da Silva led early, before being passed by Gillim, but the Floridian was able to hold on to finish second on his GMR/Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Former MotoAmerica regular Bryce Prince scored third place, about three second behind Da Silva, on his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Mikayla Moore continued her domination of the MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. field by taking pole position during Qualifying Two Saturday morning at Barber Motorsports Park. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the defending class Champion turned a 1:45.622 to top the field of 12 riders.
Emma Betters was the best of the rest with a 1:49.739, and Camille Conrad claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:49.998.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Alessandro Di Mario took pole position during MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Di Mario’s best lap time, 1:28.269, was set during Friday’s Qualifying One session.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio was second-best with a 1:29.287, and Rocco Landers earned the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:29.423 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R.
Row-two qualifiers included Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (1:30.300), Giaccmoto Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle (1:30.974), and TopPro Racing Aprilia rider Romeo Chiavini (1:32.190).
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Hayden Gillim will start the first MotoAmerica Stock 1000 races of the 2024 season from pole position at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Riding his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on Dunlop control tires, the defending class Champion lapped the 2.3-mile course in 1:24.760 during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday, and that time held up as fastest through Saturday morning’s Qualifying Two (Q2).
Gabriel Da Silva also did his fastest time during Friday’s Q1, a 1:24.949, and will start second on his GMR/Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Bryce Prince claimed the third and final starting spot on the front row with a 1:25.167 on his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Cameron Beaubier will start all three MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike races from pole position this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, the five-time Superbike Champion lapped the 2.3-mile course in 1:22.446 to top the field.
Less than three weeks since breaking his ankle and undergoing surgery, Loris Baz was second-best with a time of 1:22.752 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a lap of 1:22.937 on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen was fourth with a 1:23.024, Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin was fifth at 1:23.180, and Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly got sixth — and the final spot on row two — with a 1:23.260 on his TopPro Racing BMW.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Maximiliano “Maxi” Gerardo earned pole position during MotoAmerica Supersport qualifying Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Gerardo, who is from Uruguay in South America, did a lap time of 1:25.742 on his TopPro Racing Suzuki GSX-R750 during the 10-minute Supersport Time Attack, breaking Tyler Scott’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:26.348 from 2023.
Scott also broke his old lap record with a 1:25.934 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, but 18-year-old Scott will start from second on the grid.
Mathew Scholtz qualified third with a 1:26.404 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
PJ Jacobsen bounced back from a crash on Friday to claim the fourth spot on the starting grid with a 1:26.445 on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
David Anthony rounded out the top five qualifiers with a 1:26.478 on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R750.
Because of the number of entries in Supersport, 48, MotoAmerica added the Time Attack qualifying session. The top 20 riders, based on their performance in Qualifying One on Friday, were allowed to use the additional 10-minute session on Saturday morning to improve their times.
Riders will be gridded based on their fastest lap time whether it came in Qualifying One, Qualifying Two, or the Time Attack.
Will add the final combined Supersport qualifying results to this post when they become available.
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American Julian Correa, age 15, took second place in British Talent Cup Race One Saturday at Donington Park, in England. Riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Honda, Correa finished just 0.081 second behind race winner Amanuel Brinton and his Kovara Projects/RS Racing Honda.
Lucas Brown finished third on a SENCAT Talent Team/Mortimer Racing Honda.
American Josh Raymond Jr. finished 14th on his Fibre Tec Honda, and his American teammate Eli Banish got 20th.
BTC R1
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Cameron Petersen won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Petersen put his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 into the lead on lap three and rode flawlessly all the way to the checkered flag, earning the fourth Superbike victory of his career.
Petersen’s teammate Jake Gagne, the three-time and defending Champion, pressured the race leader all the way to the end but had to settle for the runner-up spot, 0.439 second back.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin came out on top of a three-way battle for third to claim his first podium finish of 2024.
Sean Dylan Kelly was third at the start of the final lap, but Herrin was able to get past the Superbike rookie, who held on to finish fourth on his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz crossed the stripe right behind Kelly in fifth in his first race back since breaking his ankle at Road Atlanta three weeks ago.
Xavi Fores came home sixth in his first race filling in for injured Richie Escalante on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW’s JD Beach slipped backward to seventh at the end of the race.
Real Steel Motorsports Honda’s Hayden Gillim (eighth), Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha’s Bobby Fong (ninth), and Fores’ teammate Brandon Paasch (10th) rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Pole-sitter Cameron Beaubier was leading the race by 1.5 seconds and pulling away on lap three when he crashed his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW. Beaubier walked away from the crash but could not continue on his damaged motorcycle.
The MotoAmerica Superbike class will race twice on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Petersen Withstands The Pressure To Take Superbike Victory At Barber
Cameron Petersen Tops His Teammate Jake Gagne In Steel Commander Superbike Action From Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 18, 2024) – Leading 17 laps of a MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race is tough enough. Leading 17 laps with three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne breathing down your neck is flat out daunting. But Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen was able to focus on what was ahead and not what was behind to win Saturday’s first of three Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park.
And in doing so, the South African never put a wheel wrong to top his teammate Gagne by .438 of a second after 20 laps. Since 20 minus 17 is three, who led those opening three laps? That would be Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier on his BMW M 1000 RR, but it didn’t last. Just when it was starting to look like the five-time series champion was going to romp away to victory, it all went horribly wrong on the fourth lap when Beaubier crashed out of the lead.
That left Petersen vs. Gagne with Petersen leading and Gagne giving chase, piling on the pressure to see if Petersen would falter. He didn’t. Instead, he was mostly perfect in earning his fourth MotoAmerica Superbike victory with three of those coming at Barber Motorsports Park.
Gagne ended up second, happy for his teammate while also knowing that he’d extended his championship points lead to 20 points over his title rival Beaubier, 65-45, after the first three races of the season.
Both Petersen and Gagne acknowledged that things would have been different if Beaubier hadn’t crashed.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin came out on top of a three-rider scrap for the final podium spot. After moving past his teammate Loris Baz, Herrin disposed of impressive rookie Sean Dylan Kelly on the final lap to finish third.
TopPro Racing’s Kelly ended up .476-of-a-second behind Herrin and .502-of-a-second ahead of Baz. It was Kelly’s third top-five finish to start his rookie season of Superbike racing.
Spaniard Xavi Forés was sixth in his debut on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, riding in place of the injured Richie Escalante. Forés was well back from Baz and .8 seconds ahead of seventh-placed JD Beach and his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim was eighth with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch rounding out the top 10 finishers.
With three races in the books, Gagne leads Beaubier in the title chase, 65-45, with Petersen jumping up to third in the standings with 42 points. Kelly is fourth with 37 points, three clear of fifth-placed Herrin.
Sunday will be a busy day for the Steel Commander Superbike men with two races on the schedule.
Quotes
Cameron Petersen – Winner
“It feels good. I think this is three wins at this track. Got one in the dry, but honestly it feels so good. I know a lot of people know what I’ve gone through in the off-season and after the surgery. It’s been a tough off-season. The wrist is starting to feel really good on the bike. It just feels so good to get this monkey off my back. It’s been a questioning game, wondering if I did the right thing with the surgery. But it’s starting to pay off. Like Jake said, we had a really tough Friday. We were all kind of scratching our heads, and the boys did an incredible job. We definitely took a step forward today. We had a good race bike. We kind of got gifted that one a little bit. Cam had some incredible pace in the beginning there. He was starting to check out. For the rest of the race, I just tried to hit my marks. I knew if I do that and I was good on the brakes and didn’t make any mistakes, I kind of knew that I would have a good opportunity at it. So, just put my head down and did everything I could. With about five laps to go, I was just like, nobody is taking this thing from me. We’re too close to the end. I’ve led this whole thing. I just wanted it super bad. Congrats to the guys up here next to me. It’s always fun racing against them. Look forward to two races tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Second Place
“It was awesome. Cam (Petersen) rode a great race. He didn’t put a wheel wrong. I was sitting there kind of waiting for a mistake. He was good on the brakes everywhere, so there was not a whole lot I could do unless I really tried to stuff it in there. I was going to see if I could try to make a move somewhere on those last couple laps. Then it started sprinkling, so in the back it was getting dark. I just figured there was nothing I could do unless he made a mistake, and he didn’t. He wanted that one. Congrats to Cam. He earned it. Congrats to the team, to go one-two after our pretty rough day yesterday, actually. So, it was good to see the consistency there. Fun race, riding around with Cam. Obviously, my teammate and one of my great friends. So, congrats to him. But we got some work to do. See if we can improve some things tomorrow. (Cameron) Beaubier was unreal those first couple laps. I didn’t see what happened, but I hope he’s okay. Everybody is going to be going faster tomorrow, so we got to do our job.”
Josh Herrin – Third Place
“We kind of just went back to what we had on Friday and tried something small from that. We’ve been here three times now on this bike. We came here for the race last year, a track day earlier in the year, and then now. I’m just stuck at the time that I’m at. I just can’t do anything better. Having Baz here, it helped because for me, mentally knowing that it wasn’t just me, this is just a difficult track for us. The bike feels great, but I just can’t go any faster on it. It’s weird because I feel like I’m going really good, but then those guys are going quicker. So, I’ve just got to keep plugging away here and keep trying to get better, but just know that there’s better days ahead. We got Road America coming up next. It’s a hard pill to swallow, knowing that this is a three-race round. But the most important thing to me, as much as I love the guy, is to beat Baz. So, it was good motivation. I had a good battle with Sean at the end. It was just a really fun race. Huge thanks to my team for just the nonstop effort, trying to get it better. I don’t know if it’s something that we need to improve on the bike or if it’s just me not being comfortable. Historically, this is a good track for me, so it’s hard to understand. But, if you would have asked me yesterday or this morning, if I’d be happy with third, I’d be stoked. Especially after Atlanta. We had arguably the best race of my career, but it just didn’t look like it on paper. But catching those guys as much as I did and feeling as good as I did on the bike, I got a really good on my head shoulders mentally going into the next couple rounds. I’m happy, and just hoping that tomorrow is better or maybe it rains and then maybe it helps us out. I don’t know.”
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.:
Petersen Scores Emotional MotoAmerica Superbike Victory at Barber
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen returns to the top, while Jake Gagne claims MotoAmerica Superbike Championship lead with a runner-up finish in Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park
MARIETTA, Ga. – May 19, 2024 – After a tough off-season making a comeback from injury, Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen celebrated victory yesterday and led a stellar 1-2 finish for the team at Round 2 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park. His teammate Jake Gagne secured second to make championship gains with a 20-point lead after Race 1 of the weekend’s Superbike tripleheader at the 2.38-mile circuit in Leeds, Alabama.
After a tough first day of qualifying, both of the team’s riders had a much better day two, with Petersen improving to fourth in the combined times. From there he got a great start in third behind his teammate and quickly made the pass to the runner-up spot. The South African rode his own race and advanced to the lead after the frontrunner crashed in the opening laps. He continued to hit his marks, kept cool under pressure with Gagne on his heels, and rode his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing R1 to victory. After an uncertain return with a wrist injury, it was a great comeback and emotional victory for Petersen, which also marked his fourth-career Superbike win and third at Barber Motorsports Park.
Gagne qualified third and got a great start from the front row in second, and was passed by his teammate shortly after. The defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion rode a calculated race in third and advanced to the runner-up spot after his title rival crashed on Lap 3. He closed the gap on his teammate a couple of laps before the halfway mark and kept the pressure on. In the final laps, the weather loomed closer and light rain started to fall on parts of the track. Gagne rode on to cross the line second, keeping his podium streak rolling and claiming a 20-point lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team looks forward to an action-packed Sunday with Race 2 and 3 of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader today at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“We came from Atlanta with a particular setup that we have been working on all winter, and it didn’t work here. So the guys were struggling on the first day, but we kept working all the way up to the race, and it showed. (Cameron) Beaubier gave us a little something, but that’s racing. If you pressure the guy in front of you, sometimes mistakes happen. We’re happy with the 1-2 finish and looking to do it again tomorrow.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“This one feels good. It’s been a tough off-season coming back from the surgery I had. I didn’t know if I was going to race a motorcycle again and was questioning whether I did the right thing with the surgery, but it’s paid off. It feels good to get this monkey off my back and get the win. I’m stoked for the team to get that 1-2 after a difficult Friday. We were all kind of scratching our heads, but the guys did a great job, and we definitely took a step forward today. We had some incredible race bikes. I just tried to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. With about five laps to go, I wasn’t letting anyone take it from me. I just wanted to win this thing.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“It was a good day for the team. Congrats to Cam. It was great to see him win one. He rode a great race, didn’t put a wheel wrong, and it would have been tough to get by him. Yesterday was kind of a rough day for us both. The team did a great job making improvements to the setup, and we both felt a little better today. With (Cameron) Beaubier going down, the smart thing to do was to bring it home on the podium. We’re going to be even more confident tomorrow and look to step it up.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars (sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company), Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama. YMUS subsidiaries YMMC, based in Georgia, and YJBM based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine and divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders (Wisconsin) and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. (Indiana), and Skeeter Boats (Texas) with its division G3 Boats (Missouri).
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, U.S.A. (Yamaha Financial Services), an affiliate of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., offers financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide. Yamaha Financial Services provides retail and commercial financing for the diverse line of Yamaha brand motor products based out of Cypress, CA and Marietta, GA.
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Mathew Scholtz won MotoAmerica Supersport Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, Scholtz came back from a poor start to win the first MotoAmerica Supersport race of his career by 0.269 second.
PJ Jacobsen was leading late in the race until Scholtz passed him with less than two laps to go. The New York native had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
Maxi Gerardo, the pole-sitter, led most of the race on his TopPro Racing Suzuki GSX-R750 but slipped back to third in the closing laps.
Tyler Scott was racing for a podium position until he ran off the track mid-race. Scott was able to recover and salvage a fourth-place finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Blake Davis rounded out the top five finishers on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha.
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More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Action Aplenty In MotoAmerica Support Class Racing At Barber
A Day Of First-Time Winners And Veteran Domination At Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 18, 2024) – This is 15-year-old Logan Cunnison’s second year of racing in MotoAmerica, and May 18, 2024, is a date the Arizona-based Junior Cup rider won’t soon forgot. Not only did Cunnison earn his very first MotoAmerica pole position, but he also notched his first career podium and finished on the top step as the winner of Saturday’s Junior Cup race one in a dominant performance.
The rain stayed away on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park. Right up until the point when it didn’t. The rainstorm that was expected in the afternoon finally reared its ugly head prior to the start of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup race, but with a small delay the race started and was completed under cloudy but sunny skies. The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race., however, was delayed until tomorrow morning with the BTR women set to race twice on Sunday.
Stock 1000 – Gillim Gets It Done
The Stock 1000 Championship finally got started with its opening round at Barber Motorsports Park and while many were thinking the race would be a thriller, it wasn’t part of Hayden Gillim’s plan.
Real Steel Motorsports Honda’s Gillim ran away and hid from the 36-rider field to win the opening round in the defense of his 2023 Stock 1000 Championship by some 11 seconds. The win was the 12th of Gillim’s Stock 1000 career, and it moved him into a tie with Andrew Lee and Corey Alexander as the winningest rider in the history of the class.
Gillim’s start wasn’t a good one and he had to fight his way to second place early before moving into the lead for good on the third lap after getting ahead of GMR/Jones Honda’s Gabriel Da Silva. Once in front, Gillim put his head down and left the others in his wake as he rode his Honda CBR1000RR-R SP to victory to give Honda its first win in the MotoAmerica Stock 1000 class.
Da Silva was a rather lonely runner-up, some four seconds ahead of BPR’s Bryce Prince with the Californian taking a weekend off work to try his hand at the Stock 1000 class. Bryce was in a battle with Benjamin Smith early on, but there was contact between the two with Smith coming out the worst of it as he crashed his FLO4LAW Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Visit Indiana/Tom Wood Powersports’ Nolan Lamkin finished fourth on his BMW M 1000 RR with Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates fifth, giving Honda three CBRs in the top five.
Gillim leads the championship point standings by five over Da Silva and nine over Prince.
“I knew I could do the laps consistent just from all the practice sessions,” Gillim said. “We actually kind of had some miscues and didn’t get to put any new tires on the bike during the sessions. So really most of the sessions I was just doing race stints. So, I knew I could do the lap times. We had some stuff going on with the front end and made a couple clicker changes and it was pretty well fixed. I was super happy with that. I felt from the first lap of the race that I had a little bit extra from what I had in qualifying. It’s been a good weekend. The start wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. After Road Atlanta, I was getting some really good starts, and all my practice starts, testing and everything have been good. Then that light was a little long. If you go and watch the race, you see me about fall over to the right because I was sitting with my rear foot on the rear brake. As the lights hold, I started falling over and I had to end up taking that foot off right as the light went. It threw me a little bit, but it was a good race. These guys were putting up a good fight at the beginning. I had a couple runs on Gabriel (Da Silva) those first two laps. He was doing a good job of kind of blocking the real passing zones and made me work for it. It was a fun race. I was happy to get out front and get into a good pace and get the win. This is a new team. I’ve got the same crew guys from last year, but new bikes, new trailer, new title sponsors. So, it’s great to get the first win on the Honda. See how tomorrow goes. See how the rest of the season goes.”
Supersport – Scholtz Gets His First
Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen was content to sit on the rear of TopPro Racing’s Maxi Gerardo. Lap after lap after lap. But with four to go, the New Yorker took the lead, and it seemed like it would be smooth sailing to victory for the championship points leader.
Enter Mathew Scholtz and his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
After a horrible start from the inside of row one. Scholtz was able to make some moves to end the lap in a battle for fifth. On the ninth of 18 laps, Scholtz was free and started to move forward. On the 10th lap, he went past Blake Davis to take over fourth, but he didn’t stop there.
Meanwhile, up front, Jacobsen decided to go to the lead with four laps to go. Little did he know there was more racing in store for him as Scholtz was past Gerardo and into second. And the South African wasn’t content to finish there. On the last lap, Scholtz made his move and held it to the flag, winning his first MotoAmerica Supersport race by .269 of a second over Jacobsen with Gerardo just a tick over a second behind.
Scott rode the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to fourth, some eight seconds behind Scholtz and just .5 of a second ahead of Davis and his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R6.
Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini was sixth, less than a second ahead of Wrench Motorcycles’ David Anthony. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa, Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis and Rahal Ducati Moto’s Corey Alexander rounded out the top 10 finishers.
After three races, Jacobson leads the championship by 16 points over Scholtz and 31 ahead of his teammate Alexander.
“When I was with (Stefano) Mesa, (Blake) Davis, a bunch of the guys, I was running like 27.3, 27.4,” Scholtz said. “I felt like I was pushing to my absolute max because I think that I was definitely flowing through a couple corners a little bit quicker, so I wasn’t able to kind of use those spots to pick up the lap time. So, once I kind of got some clear track, I started dropping time. I could see that I was catching them, but I thought that I was going to fall short. I think one lap they got screwed by the lappers into the second corner, which definitely helped me. Then I got up to third right onto Max’s (Gerardo) tail, and I just went for a crazy pass. I nearly crashed. Unfortunately, I think we touched. Then I managed to pass PJ (Jacobsen) on the second-to-last corner again, and then last lap I just put my absolute hardest lap down. I think I did a 26.8, which was one of the fastest laps for me. Overall, I’m just super happy to be sitting up top here.”
Junior Cup – Cunnison’s First
Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison became the third first-time winner in the first three Junior Cup races of the season on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park as he topped championship points leader Yandel Medina by two seconds in the 11-lap race.
Medina came out on top of a five-rider pack contesting third, the New York Safety Track Racing-backed New Yorker beating Karns Performance’s Levi Badie by .251 of a second. Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe and BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin rounded out the top five.
“Just excited,” 15-year-old Cunnison said after his first win. “It’s unbelievable. It’s just too exciting.”
The 2024 season marks Cunnison’s second go in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Dreher Reigns In The Rain
Floridian Avery Dreher is racing in two classes this season. He’s defending his 2023 Junior Cup Championship while also competing in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship aboard a TopPro Racing Aprilia. Despite a thoroughly wet track from a cloudburst over Barber Motorsports, Dreher rode a masterful race in the tricky conditions and got his first victory in MotoAmerica’s two-cylinder, middleweight race class.
Second-place went to Cassidy Heiser, the Chiefs Racing Team Yamaha rider recording his first-ever podium finish in MotoAmerica competition. Completing the podium was Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle, whose third-place result was his third podium in the past three races.
Despite a ninth-place finish, Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio continues to lead the championship by 19 points over the tied duo of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers, sixth today, and Doyle.
“I think this is for sure going to boost my confidence to try to get up there in the Twins Cup,” Dreher said. “With the unfortunate mechanical in the Junior Cup race earlier, that kind of bummed me out. But as soon as I saw the clouds start to roll in and the rain start to fall, I got a little bit excited because I’m a pretty good rain rider. I knew I just had to be smooth and finish the race on two wheels. It got a little sketchy out there towards the end. I was starting to hydroplane here and there, but I saw Alessandro go down. I knew he was pushing because I couldn’t hang with him. The rear was sliding all over the place, so I just took it easy and just tried to finish the race.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
BARBER MOTORSPORTS PARK: RACE 1
SATURDAY, MAY 18, 2024 | QUALIFYING 2 & RACE 1
Today’s Race 1 ran under beautiful sunny skies for 18 laps before the checkered flag was waved on Round 3 of competition. It was PJ Jacobsen who led the Rahal Ducati Moto pack, riding his XPEL Ducati to a podium finish with a second-place finish behind Mathew Scholtz who ultimately won the race after three different lead changes.
Tomorrow hosts another chance to earn hardware as the trio takes on Race 2 of the weekend. Round 4 will go green at 2:10 p.m. CT with coverage available at MotoAmericaLivePlus.com.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 2nd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st // 70 Pts. (no change)
NOTES: Credited with leading Laps 15 and 16 of the 18-lap race
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was really positive after I messed up on Friday and the team worked great to get the bike back to racing condition for Qualifying and Time Attack. I was fighting for the win with two laps to go, and [Mathew] Scholtz came past us. I wish that I was able to get past those [lapped] riders a bit quicker, just before he passed for the lead. We just rode the best that we could today, especially coming off of Friday with that really bad crash. I just can’t thank the team enough. The Rahal Ducati Moto team has been working so well, and everybody who’s on the team has been doing a great job.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 12th
FINISHED: 10th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 3rd // 39 Pts. (-1)
NOTES: Ran as high as the eighth position battling for a top-five finish
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was a little bit of a tough day. We didn’t get the results we wanted in qualifying, and starting 12th definitely made it more difficult for us in the race. I felt like I got a good start with good pace for the first 10 or 12 laps, but we’re still missing something with the setup with the bike. We’re going to go back, do some homework on it, and see if we can make the necessary changes. We’ll continue making adjustments and see what happens tomorrow.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 10th
FINISHED: 11th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 13 // 12 Pts. (no change)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Race 1 wasn’t my best showing. We made some changes to the bike that I felt like didn’t really work out for the race, but we can go over the data for an idea of where to improve for tomorrow. We’re going to keep growing. My initial launch was great but I ended up almost colliding with another rider so I had to check up, which resulted in some riders passing me. Aside from that, it wasn’t too bad of a day. We’re going to keep improving, get a better start tomorrow, and work our way through the field.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a good day. PJ [Jacobsen] getting second place, especially after yesterday – it was a good rebound. Kayla [Yaakov] and Corey [Alexander] both had good races. We suffered a bit with Corey at the end of the race. He wasn’t liking how the front of the bike was feeling, which led to him moving backwards, but early on he looked really promising. We’re going to look at the data, try to make some changes, and keep that same pace he had for the whole race. Kayla rode really well also – we just have to make a couple little changes for her and try to get a better start so she can move up a few places tomorrow. All in all it was a good day, and we’ll continue our efforts tomorrow.”
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Logan Cunnison won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Speed Demon Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, Cunnison took the lead mid-race and was able to break away to win the race — the first of the 15-year-old’s career — by 2.028 seconds.
Yandel Medina, the winner of Junior Cup Race Two at Road Atlanta, was able to move up through the pack during the race and secure second place on his New York Safety Track Racing Kawasaki.
Medina led a tight pack across the finish line that included Karns Performance’s Levi Badie (third), Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe (fourth), BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin (fifth), and Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez (sixth) with Medina and Fernandez separated by less than 0.5 second at the finish.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Gillim, the defending Champion, didn’t get a good start from pole position and had to come from behind to take the lead, but once he was in first place, Gillim pulled away on his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to win the 14-lap race by over 11 seconds.
Gabriel Da Silva led early, before being passed by Gillim, but the Floridian was able to hold on to finish second on his GMR/Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Former MotoAmerica regular Bryce Prince scored third place, about three second behind Da Silva, on his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Mikayla Moore continued her domination of the MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. field by taking pole position during Qualifying Two Saturday morning at Barber Motorsports Park. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 on Dunlop control tires, the defending class Champion turned a 1:45.622 to top the field of 12 riders.
Emma Betters was the best of the rest with a 1:49.739, and Camille Conrad claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:49.998.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia’s Alessandro Di Mario took pole position during MotoAmerica BellissiMoto Twins Cup qualifying at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Di Mario’s best lap time, 1:28.269, was set during Friday’s Qualifying One session.
Di Mario’s teammate Gus Rodio was second-best with a 1:29.287, and Rocco Landers earned the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:29.423 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki GSX-8R.
Row-two qualifiers included Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (1:30.300), Giaccmoto Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle (1:30.974), and TopPro Racing Aprilia rider Romeo Chiavini (1:32.190).
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Hayden Gillim will start the first MotoAmerica Stock 1000 races of the 2024 season from pole position at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Riding his Real Steel Motorsports Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP on Dunlop control tires, the defending class Champion lapped the 2.3-mile course in 1:24.760 during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday, and that time held up as fastest through Saturday morning’s Qualifying Two (Q2).
Gabriel Da Silva also did his fastest time during Friday’s Q1, a 1:24.949, and will start second on his GMR/Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Bryce Prince claimed the third and final starting spot on the front row with a 1:25.167 on his BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Cameron Beaubier will start all three MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike races from pole position this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR on Dunlop Sportmax Slick control tires, the five-time Superbike Champion lapped the 2.3-mile course in 1:22.446 to top the field.
Less than three weeks since breaking his ankle and undergoing surgery, Loris Baz was second-best with a time of 1:22.752 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4.
Three-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a lap of 1:22.937 on his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen was fourth with a 1:23.024, Baz’s teammate Josh Herrin was fifth at 1:23.180, and Superbike rookie Sean Dylan Kelly got sixth — and the final spot on row two — with a 1:23.260 on his TopPro Racing BMW.
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KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Maximiliano “Maxi” Gerardo earned pole position during MotoAmerica Supersport qualifying Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Gerardo, who is from Uruguay in South America, did a lap time of 1:25.742 on his TopPro Racing Suzuki GSX-R750 during the 10-minute Supersport Time Attack, breaking Tyler Scott’s All-Time Lap Record of 1:26.348 from 2023.
Scott also broke his old lap record with a 1:25.934 on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, but 18-year-old Scott will start from second on the grid.
Mathew Scholtz qualified third with a 1:26.404 on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
PJ Jacobsen bounced back from a crash on Friday to claim the fourth spot on the starting grid with a 1:26.445 on his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2.
David Anthony rounded out the top five qualifiers with a 1:26.478 on his Wrench Motorcycles Suzuki GSX-R750.
Because of the number of entries in Supersport, 48, MotoAmerica added the Time Attack qualifying session. The top 20 riders, based on their performance in Qualifying One on Friday, were allowed to use the additional 10-minute session on Saturday morning to improve their times.
Riders will be gridded based on their fastest lap time whether it came in Qualifying One, Qualifying Two, or the Time Attack.
Will add the final combined Supersport qualifying results to this post when they become available.
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