Two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne won restarted MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW’s PJ Jacobsen pushed Gagne from start to finish, but Gagne was able to hold on and win on his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha by 0.195 second, taking his sixth win of the season and extending his Championship point lead.

Jacobsen tied his career-best finish with second place.

Josh Herrin came in third on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, extending his Superbike podium streak to eight.

Four-time Superbike Champion Josh Hayes, riding in place of injured Cameron Petersen on the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha, had to avoid a crash and turn some of the fastest laps of the race in the closing stages to secure fourth place.

Richie Escalante got fifth on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.

Jacobsen’s teammate Cameron Beaubier suffered a big highside crash while running third on lap three of the race and Did Not Finish (DNF).

The original start of the race was halted on the opening lap when fluid was leaked onto the track. The fluid came from the Westby Racing Yamaha of Mathew Scholtz, who rear-ended Jacobsen in a chain reaction incident in Turn Three that was set off by Beaubier overshooting the corner.

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Gagne Wins Race One At Brainerd International Raceway To Extend Points Lead

Gagne Victorious, Beaubier Crashes Out And Gagne Now Leads Herrin In Title Chase

BRAINERD, MN (July 29, 2023) – The MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship pendulum took a big swing towards two-time defending champion Jake Gagne on Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway with Cameron Beaubier, his main rival for the title coming into the Minnesota round, crashing out of the race early.

And just like that, Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Gagne is close to having a two-race points lead on new second-place man, Josh Herrin. Gagne leads the title chase by 48 points, 242-194, over Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing’s Herrin.

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Beaubier slips to third in the standings, 59 points behind Gagne.

Despite not having Beaubier to deal with, Gagne still didn’t have it easy as Beaubier’s teammate PJ Jacobsen flew the team’s flag and hounded the Yamaha man to the finish, ending up with a gap of just .195 of a second in the race that saw a complete restart after a melee on the opening lap.

Third place went to Herrin, 3.48 seconds behind Gagne and 1.2 seconds ahead of four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes, who was competing in his first Superbike race since 2017 (a span of 108 Superbike races). Hayes, who was riding in place of the injured Cameron Petersen on the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1, got faster as the race wore on – apparently not overly fatigued even though he had raced to victory in the Supersport race 20 minutes earlier. Not to mention the emotions of a man who with that Supersport win became the all-time leader in AMA victories across all classes with his 87th win.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante was fifth, 1.2 seconds behind Hayes and some six seconds clear of Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong, who had his best finish since returning to the class.

Seventh place went to Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim, who was doing triple duty on the day with races in Superbike, Mission King Of The Baggers (he won) and Steel Commander Stock 1000 (he also won that).

Escalante’s new teammate Brandon Paasch started fast but faded, eventually finishing eighth in his third race on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000 R.

Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounded out the top 10.

The first attempt at a race was stopped after the opening lap when Beaubier clipped the back of Gagne’s Yamaha in turn two and then veered off track, taking Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz with him. With the race featuring a complete restart, Beaubier was able to take his spot on pole for the second go. Scholtz wasn’t as lucky as his radiator was torn open in the melee, causing the motor to expire.

Superbike Race 1

1. Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
2. PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
3. Josh Herrin (Ducati)
4. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
5. Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
6. Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
7. Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
8. Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
9. Ashton Yates (BMW)
10. Max Flinders (Yamaha)

Quotes
 

Jake Gagne – Winner

“After a couple of laps, I could see PJ’s (Jacobsen) pit board come out. Then there was one point after maybe five or six laps, I saw a Beemer on the side of the track, and I think I saw Cameron (Beaubier). I recognized the helmet. I didn’t know what happened. It was tough. It was really greasier and slicker than I think most of us expected, so right from the get-go I was just trying to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. It seemed like it would have been really easy to throw it away today. PJ was there. I knew Josh (Herrin) was in third. There were a couple laps I could see PJ’s pit board and I could see that Josh was maybe getting a couple tenths back. So, hats off to the team. I think we’re lucky. We got a little lucky today. It sucks to see Beaubier go down that big. I just saw it on the camera. I hope that he’s all good. I think he was kind of the guy setting the pace this weekend. So, I think we’re in for a good show tomorrow. We’ll go back and see if we can improve a couple little things. Just hats off to the team. Always helping me and trying to make me a better rider and understand what we need to go forward. I miss Cam P (Petersen), but it’s been good having (Josh) Hayes out here helping us out and having his input, because the guy has been around a long time and he’s super wise. So hopefully we can put our heads together later, get a little better, a little faster. He’s the all-time American-winning machine now.”

PJ Jacobsen – Second Place

“It was a pretty crazy race, especially everything that happened at the start of the race with Cam (Beaubier) and then I moved over a little bit to avoid him because I was going to get cleaned out. And then (Mathew) Scholtz really smashed into the back of me. I think I got a whole bunch of oil all over my tire because I went into the next corner and I almost highsided, and the same with the right. So, it was kind of freaking me out. I thought I bent my swingarm or something happened, or the tire spun or something. So, I was yelling to Scotty (his crew chief, Jensen) when we got in there like, ‘what are we going to do?’ Because something’s wrong. We were going over it with Dunlop and stuff, but I just went back out there with the same tire I guess oiled up or whatever and tried to clean it off. It was a pretty crazy race. Then I was mad because they were going to put me back on row seven or something for no reason. I was like flipping out, cursing in my helmet. I had a whole bunch of adrenaline going. I was bummed that I got a great start the first time, so I just wanted to kind of do that again the second time. I just felt like I could have made a pass on Jake (Gagne) in the beginning of the race when I had more grip and stuff. I was seeing some spots, but I just didn’t go for it. I was sitting there behind him. Then he pulled a small bit of a gap, and it seemed like it stayed the same. I’d catch him in some spots, and he’d pull away in others. I tried to do what he was doing. I was picking the bike up as much as I could and it seemed like it was helping, but obviously it just wouldn’t bring me closer to him. But it was a good race. It was really greasy and hot. The lap times, I thought, were not really that great, to be honest. I think it was just the lack of grip that we had out there today. So, it kind of set us back a little bit and staying in the 31s. But it was a good race. Good job. I saw on the pit board with plus 1.9 or 2 or whatever to Josh (Herrin), so I was trying to maintain that as well because you know he’ll be coming on as well in that race. It was a hard race. I tried to get the win, but I just didn’t have enough there at the end. So, congrats to Josh and Jake on being on the podium. We’ll try to figure out some things tonight to improve and try to move one more spot forward, but it’s hard with the talent out there.”

Josh Herrin – Third Place

“I just wasn’t feeling myself this weekend. I came into here maybe trying to be too confident because I don’t like this track layout. I love the facility. I love the event, but the track layout I’m just not good at. So naturally whatever tracks we don’t do good at, we don’t like them. It’s not because it’s a bad layout, but if I don’t do good here, I’m not a big fan. So, I came into it trying to think of it the opposite way, think we’re going to have a great weekend. Then I think when I didn’t start really good it made it even worse in my head. I’ve just been struggling. We got a good setup at the very end of the day yesterday. Threw down a good time but everybody is so close that it didn’t look that good. But we were within six or seven tenths. Then tried a big change this morning thinking it would help us even more, but it was worse. So, then we really only got two laps at the end to feel comfortable. So, I knew that we could be battling. I figured we might be battling for second or third, but the race actually ended up I felt a lot better than I thought I was going to. I think just with the restart, I’m not sure but the front was just really greasy. When Cam (Beaubier) went down I lost maybe two seconds or something and I kind of clawed back up, but I didn’t feel like with me gaining as many points as I was going to gain on Cam, I didn’t push that extra two percent that I needed to do try to catch him. I don’t know if it would have been possible, but I had a chance. I clawed them back a little bit and then when the front started moving around a little bit, I just wanted to make sure that I was playing it safe and getting another podium finish here this weekend and leave here today honestly pumped, because qualifying seventh is not fun. To come away from here with a third and be second in points is good. But now we’ve got fifty points to make up on Jake, so that’s going to be really hard. Hats off to my guys. Like I said on the podium, I’m bummed Eraldo (Ferracci) isn’t here because this helmet was extra special. We’ve been planning it all year. So, I’m bummed that he didn’t make it, but this will be going in his house whenever we’re done with this weekend. So, hopefully, tomorrow we can be closer to the front for him. Congrats to Josh Hayes on his all-time win record today. I know that’s a huge deal for him. Being teammates with him for a long time and looking up to him since I started racing when I was 16, 18 years ago, I know it’s a huge deal. It’s cool to see him. I’m still looking up to him and hoping that when I’m 48 years old that I can be that fast. So, hats off to him and I’m sure there’s going to be more to come.”

More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:

Chain Reaction Takes Mathew Scholtz And His Westby Racing Yamaha Out Of Superbike Race One At Brainerd

Brainerd, MN – July 29, 2023 – Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz made an evasive maneuver in Saturday’s Superbike race one at Brainerd International Raceway, but he still got the worst of a “chain reaction” that unfortunately took him out of the race.

Starting from the middle of the second row on the grid, Mathew got off to a good start, but on the opening lap, Cameron Beaubier’s motorcycle clipped the back end of Jake Gagne’s motorcycle, which caused PJ Jacobsen to stop quickly in order to avoid a collision. Mathew had to swerve to avoid hitting Jacobsen, but unfortunately, the radiator on Mathew’s Westby Racing YZF-R1 Superbike contacted the drive chain and rear sprocket on Jacobsen’s motorcycle, which tore a hole in the radiator. Mathew also went off-track momentarily, but he kept the bike upright, and attempted to re-join the race. His R1’s engine was also leaking oil, however, and it unfortunately expired. The race was red-flagged, but Mathew was unable to make the restart due to the damage to his bike.

“It was a shame what happened,” commented Mathew. “I felt like I had good pace, but I never got to show it. I tried to avoid getting caught up in the incident, but there was nothing I could do. I know the Westby boys will have the bike ready to go for morning warm up, and I’m looking forward to the second race. We were just unlucky today, so tomorrow, I’m expecting to be racing with the front group.”

Superbike race two will go green Sunday afternoon at 3:10 CT, and the race will be broadcast live on MotoAmerica’s YouTube Channel. For all the action from Brainerd International Raceway, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.

Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More

Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at BIR. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don’t miss it.

Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase

RK Excel America, NGK Spark Plugs, and Motorex USA are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.

For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit www.WestbyRacing.com

Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Gagne Expands Championship Lead with Brainerd Victory 

Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne scores 35th MotoAmerica Superbike victory in Race 1 at Brainerd International Raceway 

MARIETTA, Ga. – July 30, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne put in a superb ride and returned to the top in MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at the Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota. The reigning champ led from start to finish despite being under pressure to score his sixth win of the season and expand his championship lead to 48 points. Filling in for the injured Cameron Petersen, Josh Hayes also showed strength in his first race aboard the Attack Performance prepped Yamaha R1, setting some fast times towards the end of the race to come back to a fourth-place finish.

Gagne hit the ground running and topped both sessions on Friday but ultimately qualified third to have a good position on the front row. The Colorado rider got a great start in a drama-filled beginning to Race 1, grabbing both holeshots in the twice-restarted race. He threw down the fastest lap of the race on Lap 2, but the competition was hot on his heels, and stayed in the fight the entire race. Gagne kept cool under pressure in the greasy track conditions to lead every lap and score his 35th-career win in the premier class. His sixth win of the season also made championship gains, expanding his lead to 48 points.

Hayes also had a good start to the weekend and was third in Friday’s first Superbike qualifying session. Unfortunately, he had a crash late in the second qualifying session and ended up eighth in combined times but was unhurt. Fresh off of his Supersport win, which marked a record-breaking 87th-career victory to become the winningest AMA rider across all classes, Hayes switched gears to go Superbike racing. He had a decent start from the third row of the grid aboard the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing R1 and quickly made his way to sixth after the restart. Hayes lost a little time and a position after having to avoid a downed rider and the bike on Lap 3, but he put his head down and made the pass for fifth three laps later. The four-time Superbike Champion picked up the pace, setting his fastest lap of the race at the halfway mark and running some consistently fast times to make an impressive charge in the latter half of the race. Hayes closed the gap and advanced to fourth with five laps to go, and was closing the gap to third, but ultimately ran out of time and rode on to secure a solid fourth-place finish.

The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team looks to keep the momentum rolling in MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at the Brainerd International Raceway.

Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“The team did a great job. Like the champion that he is, Jake rode a precise, error-free race leading every lap. Josh surprised us all with his early speed on Friday and his late-race speed in Race 1. He showed real podium potential. It’s a lot of fun having him on our bike after his first ride with us 20 years ago. We look forward to Race 2.”

Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing

“Today’s Race 1 was the toughest feeling yet, and it was hard to run good lap times. It was hot and greasy and slick, but I just tried to keep a clean, smart race, and I’m happy we brought home a win. We learned a lot for tomorrow.”

Josh Hayes – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing

“Today was a pretty special day with my 87th career win on my Squid Hunter R6, followed up with my first Superbike start since 2017!

“My reunion with Attack Performance, 20 years after winning my first pro championship with the team, has gone really well. Friday was a pleasant surprise to be so close in pace with Jake, but my mistake in Q2 set me up for an uphill battle from the third row. I was a little tentative at the start and in the early laps while learning the ropes again, but I am proud to have a strong late-race pace after such a long day. Fourth will have to do, but I believe that we have the pace to challenge for the podium tomorrow with any luck.”

Josh Hayes, age 48, rode his Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 to victory in MotoAmerica Supersport Race One Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. The victory was significant as it was Hayes’ 87th career MotoAmerica/AMA race win, giving him sole possession of the all-time record. It was also Hayes’ first win of the season, breaking Xavi Fores’ eight-race win streak.

Wild card entry Rocco Landers came back from a poor start to get second on his Landers Racing Yamaha, and Tyler Scott finished third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.

Scott got third by just 0.4 second ahead of his teammate Teagg Hobbs, who caught up to and pressured Scott at the end of the race. Stefano Mesa finished fifth on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, just ahead of Jake Lewis on the Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R750.

Championship point leader Fores struggled from the start and finished a season-worst seventh on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2.

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Hayes Makes History With Supersport Victory At Brainerd International Raceway

Josh Hayes Is Now The Winningest Rider In AMA Road Racing History

BRAINERD, MN (July 29, 2023) – When Josh Hayes shocked the AMA road racing establishment with his first career victory in the 750cc Supersport race at Daytona International Speedway in 1999, who could have known that 24 years later he would become the winningest racer in AMA road racing history.

And that he is.

Hayes made history on Saturday in Minnesota, the 48-year-old from Mississippi, who now calls Oceanside, California, home, winning the 87th AMA road race of his career when he raced off into the distance to win the Supersport race on his Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, moving him out of a tie with the legendary Miguel Duhamel.

Supersport – Call Him Mr. All-Timer

History was made in Saturday’s Supersport race at Brainerd International Raceway when 48-year-old rider and four-time Superbike champion Josh Hayes got the win, which broke a tie with AMA Hall of Famer Miguel Duhamel for the most all-time wins in AMA history.

Hayes’s 87th career victory was a bit surprising given that Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati rider Xavi Forés had won all eight Supersport races thus far this season. But the technical Brainerd road course threw him a curve in more ways than one, and he only managed to finish seventh on Saturday.

Landers Racing’s Rocco Landers started from the pole, but he didn’t get the start that he hoped for, and he had to claw his way back towards the front. Landers was in second place by the time the checkered flag flew, but Hayes had a gap of more than three seconds at the finish line. Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott.

“Pretty good weekend so far,” Hayes said. “I was really glad the (Supersport) race was first. That’s still my primary goal is to win on that bike. I was doing like I have all year – try to be super aggressive in the first laps and get myself to the front. Fortunately, I was able to open up a little bit of a gap and I was able to manage it. The managing was coming pretty easy. I was doing low 34’s without much drama. Just really happy. The hardest part was staying focused in the last few laps, just because I was happy and super excited. Probably the hardest part was when I rolled into victory circle and Melissa was standing there with my kids. There’s a reason my helmet didn’t come up too quick. But for the Squid Hunter team and I, we’ve been working for this hard for a year. I really enjoyed every race we’ve been in this year. Been in the fight a lot. It’s more relief than anything to get that done, out of the way. We don’t have to talk about it anymore. Let’s just go have some fun and race now.”

Steel Commander Stock 1000 – Gillim On The Prowl

Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim knows that to get back into title contention in the Steel Commander Stock 1000 Championship he must win races. He did just that on Saturday at BIR as he dominated the race, winning by 7.4 seconds.

With season-long championship points leader Ezra Beaubier finishing fifth, Gillim was able to gain valuable points and he now trails Beaubier by 23 points. When the race started, Gillim trailed Beaubier by 37 points.

Orange Cat Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel, who started the race from pole position, couldn’t match Gillim’s pace and he settled into a comfortable second – until the closing stages when he found himself in a last-lap battle for the spot with Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman. At the finish, it was De Keyrel taking the spot by just a 10th of a second over Wyman.

De Keyrel remains in second in the title chase but he’s just a point ahead of Gillim and 22 points behind his teammate Beaubier.

Benjamin Smith Racing’s Benjamin Smith had a solid first outing in the class, riding his just-built Yamaha YZF-R1 to fourth place ahead of Beaubier.

“After Atlanta, I was kind of in a pretty deep hole, mentally and points-wise. Barber was a good weekend, and I knew it was going to be good. I thought Atlanta would be better than what it was, and it ended up just being a terrible, terrible weekend. Road America, I knew was going to be difficult with all these guys on their bikes and my size and everything. I knew it was going to be tough. In the Stock (1000) race last year, this was kind of how the race was going and then we had a red flag and some stuff happened during the red flag and I ended up not having the greatest last lap in the race. So, we had a lot left on the plate from last year. I needed this. I needed this points haul. To be able to kind of just go out and do what I needed to do today. Riding three classes this weekend is actually helping a little bit because I had just come off of the Bagger and hopped on to that thing and was ready to go that first lap. That was ultimately why I pushed as hard as I could right off the bat. I knew with how different the track was this morning to this afternoon it was going to be a little bit difficult, especially for Kaleb (De Keyrel) since he hasn’t been out there since this morning. I figured it would be a little tough because I could already tell it was a little greasier than this morning. I knew right off the bat I needed to just go. Luckily the guys gave me a great bike and I’m feeling good right now. So, it’s going to be a long day. We’ve got Superbike coming up here in a minute, and then we’ll be back at it on Baggers later this afternoon. So, just got to keep our head on straight.”

Mission King Of The Baggers – Hayden Doubles Down

To say that Hayden Gillim had a good day at Brainerd International Raceway would be an understatement. Gillim had a glorious day.

A few hours after dominating the Steel Commander Stock 1000 race, Gillim finished seventh in the Medallia Superbike race. Not long after that he went out and won the Mission King Of The Baggers race on his Vance & Hines/Mission/Harley-Davidson Road Glide, beating Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian’s Bobby Fong by 2.5 seconds and his teammate James Rispoli by eight seconds.

To make a great day even better, Gillim made a big step in the championship as he now sits third, four points behind his teammate Rispoli and six points behind championship leader Kyle Wyman. Wyman was fourth today at BIR with Team Saddlemen’s Cory West rounding out the top five.

Gillim had his hands full early on with Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’s Tyler O’Hara, who was leading when he had a mechanical problem that forced him off track and out of the race.

“It is a real good day. I was chasing him (Bobby Fong) in the Superbike race, but he had a little bit of speed on me there and got it back. Pulled a little James Bond move. Gave him the smoke. Tried to keep him off of me. It’s been a really good day. I knew this track was going to be good for me. I just feel good here. Last year was really good on the 1000. I didn’t really know what to expect with the Harley coming here. It’s pretty crazy seeing how half the track Bobby (Fong) and Tyler (O’Hara) have a little bit of speed, and then the other half I can kind of pull a little bit back. At least I know for sure on Tyler I got to see him for a second Bagger Challenge. It’s been a really good day. To have another podium with James (Rispoli), another double podium for Vance & Hines, that’s what we’re here for. So, good job for the team and good job for me and my family. Never had two wins in one day, so this is pretty cool.”

Junior Cup – More Moor

It’s been eight weeks since MotoAmerica’s Junior Cup riders last raced, and despite the hiatus, Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM rider Rossi Moor picked up right where he left off after race two at Road America in early June.

Moor notched his second straight win in MotoAmerica’s entry level class, and his victory on Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway was by a margin of more than seven seconds. The other two podium finishers were a lot closer together with second-place Hayden Bicknese prevailing aboard his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki by just .138 of a second over SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van, who finished third on his Kawasaki. Rossi led all but one of the 11 laps in the race.

“From practice and from qualifying, I think I had the pace to do it,” Moor said. “It didn’t show on paper since I wasn’t able to put a bunch of good laps together, but deep-down, I knew that, if I’m able to get to the front, I was able to pull away. But, with Jayden being there and Max and Hayden and all these guys I knew it was going to be pretty hard because I’m slightly down on power. I just wasn’t able to draft a lot of people. But as soon as I was able to get past, I just put my head down and tried to get enough gap by the turns where they couldn’t draft me by turn three.”

More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:

STRONG RESULTS FOR M4 VISION WHEEL ECSTAR SUZUKI AT BRAINERD RACE 1

Tyler Scott Captures Fifth Podium of Season

BREA, CA – Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer were back on the box as the 2023 MotoAmerica title fights resumed at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday.

Race Highlights:

•  Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
  • Supersport
    • Tyler Scott notched up his fifth podium of the season.
    • Teagg Hobbs battled his way forward and pushed teammate Scott to the checkered flag in fourth.
  • Superbike
    • Richie Escalante scored another top-five finish in the premier-class.
    • Brandon Paasch qualified fifth fastest before collecting an eighth-place result.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott shot to the front from his second-row starting slot and ran in the podium positions throughout Saturday’s MotoAmerica Supersport race. Scott settled into second on the opening lap and held that position deep into the contest before finally being displaced to third. Scott protected the podium ride aboard his next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750 from there, throwing down his fastest time on the race’s final lap to capture third.

“My Suzuki felt great during the whole race, and right there at the end, I felt even more comfortable,” Scott said. “I was able to keep chipping away and found some pace at the end. I think we can make some improvements overnight and be in the running for the race win tomorrow. Big thanks to the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for all the hard work they’ve put in. We’ve come a long way so far this weekend, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.” Suzuki GSX-Rs remained the bike of choice at Brainerd making up half of the Supersport top ten Saturday results.

Scott’s place on the podium was challenged by his on-form teammate, Teagg Hobbs. Starting from Row 1, Hobbs was shuffled back to sixth in the race’s early stages. Undeterred, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki ace demonstrated remarkable pace and style as he overhauled the riders who lined up for the race ranked 1st and 2nd in the championship. Once through, he then closed down on the championship’s 3rd-ranked rider – teammate Scott. Like Scott, Hobbs threw down his fastest time of the race in his last-lap pursuit before finally collecting an impressive fourth-place finish just 0.422 back of third.

“I made a few mistakes at the start and lost some ground,” Hobbs said. “I am still working on my aggressiveness at the start of races. My teammate and I rode well and were both going for the podium. In the end, we were running at the same pace as the riders at the front. I used up a lot of my tire getting there and Tyler was riding great at the end. I knew what I wanted to do to make a move, but the stars didn’t align. Tomorrow, we’ll look for a little different result.”

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante was a factor near the front yet again, collecting his sixth-consecutive top five. Escalante pushed hard for third over the race’s opening half before finally finding his level in fifth aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike. The result was his ninth finish of fifth or better this season. With each successive race, Escalante continues to establish himself as one of the finest Superbike racers in the nation while knocking on the door of a maiden premier-class podium finish.

Escalante said, “I was happy with our gap to the front, and I thought I rode the bike well. We had a decent pace in qualifying and I was expecting to stay with the leaders, but I lost time after there was a crash in front of me. I felt strong in the race and was pleased with my pace and the final gap to the front. We need a little more for Sunday, so we have been working hard as a team to improve the bike even more. We are looking for more grip from the rear for Race 2 and we will do our best to keep improving.”

Brandon Paasch raised eyebrows during qualifying by posting the fifth fastest lap aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R in just his second outing with the team while still working his way back to full fitness after breaking his back earlier this year. Paasch took advantage of his prime startling slot to fight inside the top five early before gradually fading back to an eighth-place finishing position.

“The race was good for my second weekend on the bike,” said Paasch. “We had a good qualifying result but, in the race, I didn’t have the same connection with the bike. I struggled out there as the race went on and, as the tire went off, I went backwards on the leaderboard. Still, we were in the top 10. We hadn’t changed anything with the bike, so it isn’t easy to say why it didn’t click, but we are working hard to prepare for the second race.”

Team Hammer will be ready for their rematches tomorrow as the weekend at Brainerd International Raceway concludes on Sunday.

For more racing news, results, and special team content please visit https://suzukicycles.com/racing/road-racing.

ABOUT SUZUKI

Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.

ABOUT TEAM HAMMER

The 2023 season marks Team Hammer’s 43rd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Race bikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 129 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 352 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.

Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000R, Gillim led from the second corner of the race to the checkered flag and won the 12-lap race by 7.488 seconds.

Pole-sitter Kaleb De Keyrel ran second from the first lap and held on to be the runner-up on his Orange Cat Racing BMW M 1000 RR.

Travis Wyman was fifth after one lap and worked his way forward to score third (and very nearly second) on his Travis Wyman Racing BMW M 1000 RR.

Defending Champion Tyler O’Hara won the MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Challenge dash-for-cash Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Progressive Insurance/Mission Foods Indian Challenger, O’Hara won the three-lap race by 0.178 second.

Pole-sitter Bobby Fong was the runner-up on his Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands Design Indian, and Hayden Gillim finished a close third on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Harley-Davidson Road Glide.

Bobby Fong earned pole position during MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Qualifying Two Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands Design Indian Challenger, Fong lapped the 2.5-mile circuit in 1:36.263 to top the 16-rider field.

Hayden Gillim was the best of the rest with a 1:36.303 on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Harley-Davidson Road Glide, and defending Champion Tyler O’Hara claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:36.592 on his Progressive Insurance/Mission Foods Indian Challenger.

Q2 was interrupted by a red flag when Gillim’s teammate James Rispoli’s Harley-Davidson leaked fluid onto the track, causing Kyle Ohnsorg and Patricia Fernandez to crash. Neither rider was injured, but the incident resulted in an extensive clean-up period.

Rocco Landers, age 18, will start the MotoAmerica Supersport races from pole position this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Landers, riding his Landers Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 as a wild card entry, was fastest during Qualifying One (Q1) on Friday with a lap time of 1:33.254, and that time held up during Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday, earning him pole position.

Veteran Josh Hayes led Q2 with a time of 1:33.486 on his Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, but Hayes will start from second on the grid based on the 1:33.315 he did in Q1 on Friday.

Unlike Landers and Hayes, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Teagg Hobbs did go faster in Q2, improving from 1:34.289 on Friday to 1:33.802 on Saturday, securing the third and final spot on the front row of the grid.

Five-time Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier bagged pole position during MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR, Beaubier lapped the 2.5-mile course in 1:30.688.

“This place is definitely pretty tricky, pretty technical,” said Beaubier. “I’m getting more comfortable with it. It’s going to be a tough race.”

Beaubier’s teammate PJ Jacobsen earned the second spot on the grid with a 1:31.094, and two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne earned the third and final spot on the front row with a time of 1:31.154 on his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1.

Matthew Scholtz made a huge improvement, jumping up from P10 and 1:32.512 in Q1 on Friday to P4 with a 1:31.424 in Q2 on his Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch backed up his strong performance on Friday and held onto fifth place on the grid with a 1:31.436 in Q2. Paasch’s teammate Richie Escalante will start next to him on the second row courtesy of his 1:31.457.

Josh Herrin was seventh with a 1:31.466 on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R. Four-time Josh Hayes, riding in place of injured Cameron Petersen, crashed his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha while on his final qualifying lap and will start his first Superbike race in six years from eighth based on the 1:31.518 he did in Q1 on Friday. Bobby Fong qualified ninth with a 1:31.532 on the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1.

The top nine Superbike qualifiers were separated by just 0.844 second.

Minnesota native Kaleb De Keyrel earned pole position in MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Qualifying Two (Q2) Saturday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Orange Cat Racing BMW M 1000 RR, De Keyrel covered the 2.5-mile track in 1:32.926.

Hayden Gillim qualified second with a time of 1:33.126 on his Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000R, and Benjamin Smith earned the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:33.778 on the Benjamin Smith Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 he put together in the days just before the race.