Julian Correa, a 14-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, finished fourth in R&G British Talent Cup Race Two Sunday at Donington Park, in England.
Harrison Dessoy won the 14-lap race on his Microlise Cresswell Racing/Eastern Garage Honda. Harley McCabe was a close second on his McCabe Racing Honda. City Lifting/RS Racing’s Evan Belford took the last spot podium, and Correa, riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Honda finished fourth, 0.574 second behind Belford.
Correa is currently fifth in the British Talent Cup Championship point standings after four of 18 races.
Eli Banish, another 14-year-old American, bounced back from an illness that caused him to miss all of Saturday’s action, including Race One, to finish 21st in Race Two. Banish has not scored any Championship points yet in the young season.
Australian Jason O’Halloran won Bennetts British Superbike Race Two Sunday at Donington Park, in England. Riding his McAMS Yamaha YZF-R1, O’Halloran won the 20-lap race by just 0.347 second over runner-up Ryan Vickers and his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha. Josh Brookes finished third on his FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup by Motul race results from the Proving Ground at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
There are two PDFs below. The first contains the Race One results for each of the five Mini Cup classes, and the second contains the Race Two results for each of the five Mini Cup classes. Use the scroll and zoom tools in the PDF viewer to better see all of the results.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Xavi Fores won the MotoAmerica “extended” Supersport race Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. The World Endurance veteran won the double-points race by 9.815 seconds on his Panigale V2.
Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa was the runner-up, and Anthony Mazziotto finished alone in third on his North East Cycle Outlet Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
The race was originally scheduled to run 37 laps with one mandatory pit stop taking no less than 55 seconds total time on pit lane. Two red flags, however, broke the race into a rain-affected six-lap opening segment and a dry 22-lap final stint that included all of the riders’ pit stops.
Gillim, Dreyer And Landers Join Spaniard In Winning At Barber Motorsports Park
Xavi Fores (12) leads Stefano Mesa (37) during the “extended” MotoAmerica Supersport race at Barber. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 20, 2023) – Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Xavi Fores won his third Supersport race in succession on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park and it was a good one to win as the first-ever MotoAmerica “Extended” Supersport r acepaid double points. For many, however, it probably felt like two races as changing weather conditions prolonged the proceedings despite the race ultimately being shortened from 37 to 28 laps.
Fores completed the 28 laps in 44 minutes, 43.653 seconds to beat Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa by 9.8 seconds with the pair battling until the mandatory pit stop left Mesa at a disadvantage that he couldn’t recover from.
Xavi Fores (12) had no problems in the pits during the “extended” MotoAmerica Supersport race at Barber. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Third place went to North East Cycle Outlet Racing’s Anthony Mazziotto with the New Jerseyan keeping his nose clean to earn his second career podium in the Supersport class.
Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert was fourth, some eight seconds behind Mazziotto, with Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes fifth after starting the final portion of the race on rain tires – a mistake that forced him to pit quickly after the restart to change to slicks.
“It was more stressful inside the pits trying to understand which tires to use, which tires to put on the bike, after the couple of red flags. After the first red flag, I didn’t know it was a huge crash and they red-flagged the race. Because I was pulling meters away. I see some drops coming initially, but I was still quite on my pace. I was pulling me and Josh (Hayes) pulling meters away. When I saw the red flag, I was a bit disappointed because I was waiting, waiting, waiting to come in when the proper rain was coming to put the rain tires. But, anyway, we came out again with the rains and was okay. I was still leading and fighting with Josh (Hayes) for one and a half laps. Then the red flag came again. I thought that it’s going to be challenging. So, I stayed inside the pits until the very last minute before to rejoin the grid. At the very last minute, we decided to put the slicks because the sun was coming out and I had some experience on endurance that you can run the slick tires even if it’s slightly wet. So, when the race restarted, I saw Stefano (Mesa) was with me all the time. I was trying to manage a little bit the tires. I put a medium compound in the rear, and it was not feeling so good. But I was so convinced on our pit stop, we did a good job there in the garage. Then I put the soft tire and I was trying to stay on the 27s (1:27 lap times). That was pretty much our race. It was a little bit crazy because two red flags in less than 20 minutes is not usual. When it’s raining coming, everything is quite challenging, but we did well. We got 50 points back home. So, I put my experience from the world endurance in this race and I think it was worth it. Thanks to all the team. They did a massive job inside the garage on the pit change. And all the sponsors. KYT, Alpinestars, Parts Unlimited, everyone who has been involved. They have supported me quite a lot. It has not been easy to arrive here, learn the tracks, being fast, try to learn the races. These guys are fast. They have a lot of experience here. I try to learn as much as I can in a short time.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Landers Takes His Second
The changeable weather conditions on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park had an effect on some of the day’s races, and REV’IT! Twins Cup race one was one of those. The first feature race of the day, the Twins Cup battle was red-flagged and restarted because of a quick shower that unfortunately led to a couple of crashes.
Rocco Landers (97). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers had his Aprilia in the lead when raindrops fell. Landers signaled that it was raining, and he dropped back in the pack until the race was stopped. On the restart, Landers made his way back to the front to notch his second race win in a row. Landers bested The WagBar MP13 Racing Yamaha’s Kayla Yaakov, the 15-year-old finishing as runner-up in her REV’IT! Twins Cup debut. Rounding out the podium was Team Iso Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle.
“That’s how you want races to go,” Landers said. “The second half, for sure. The first half was a little bit gnarly. But Kayla (Yaakov) is riding amazing. I did not expect this. I don’t think anyone on the grid expected her to come back this strong. So many good races with Dom (Doyle). So many good races. Been on the podium with him so many times. It’s an incredible feeling to share the podium with these two people. It’s awesome.”
Landers’s victory was the 11th REV’IT! Twins class win, which moved him to the top on the all-time win list for the class.
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim had a “terrible” opening round to his Steel Commander Stock 1000 series campaign, but that was then, and this is now and Gillim put his Road Atlanta hiccup behind him to win the first of two Stock 1000 races at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday.
Hayden Gillim (69) dominated Stock 1000 Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Gillim bested championship points leader Ezra Beaubier with Beaubier’s Orange Cat Racing teammate Kaleb De Keyrel finishing third for his first career podium in the class in just his third race on the BMW M 1000 RR.
Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman lost out on his battle with De Keyrel for third, but the Las Vegas resident held on for fourth with Tom Wood Powersports’ Nolan Lamkin rounding out the top five.
Beaubier leads the title chase by 24 points over Wyman, 70-46 with De Keyrel third on 40 points. Gillim trails Beaubier by 35 points.
“Road Atlanta was terrible. I felt like I could do a little bit more at Road Atlanta than I did. Road Atlanta was just everything that I didn’t need to start the season. So, I’m happy to bounce back from a DNF and a 6th or 7th or something and get this win. I knew this weekend was going to be good for me. I needed to capitalize on this track because Road America is going to be freaking hard. It’s going to be another kind of Road Atlanta situation. So, I needed to capitalize on this track. These guys need to slow it up a little bit and let a couple guys get in front of them in order for me to get back in this thing. But it was a good race. I’m happy for the team, myself. I’ve gotten a little bit slower than I did last year, which I’m not happy about. Me and the bike this year just aren’t clicking quite like I did last year. So, I’ve got some stuff I still have to work on. I’m happy. My kid was happy on the podium, so that’s all that matters to me right now.”
Junior Cup – Dreher. Again.
His team may be called “Bad Boys Racing,” but 16-year-old Avery Dreher is anything but a bad boy when it comes to motorcycle road racing. The Floridian is so far undefeated in the 2023 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship.
Avery Dreher (99) won Junior Cup Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Dreher followed up his double win at Road Atlanta last month with another victory in Saturday’s race one at Barber Motorsports Park. Riding a Kawasaki Ninja 400, Dreher took the victory by just a little more than half a second over SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van. Third place went to New Yorker Yandel Medina who celebrated his first career MotoAmerica podium.
“Based on qualifying, I definitely felt like I had the pace to break away a little,” commented Dreher. “In the beginning, though, Alessandro (Di Mario) and I think one or two other riders got by me, and I just stuck behind them out there a little bit. Made the pass. Just put my head down. The bike felt amazing. A few weeks ago, we came here to do a test and we got the suspension dialed in. I feel great. Let’s keep this momentum going. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Friday
Nathan Gouker Racing’s Nathan Gouker and Historic GP’s Mahdi Salem split wins in Friday’s FIM Mini Cup Ohvale 160 classes on the mini track at Barber Motorsports Park with Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis sweeping to victories in both of the FIM Mini Cup 190 Ohvale classes.
The support classes on Friday afternoon featured names at the top that also were at the top at Carolina Motorsports Park two weeks ago.
Peterman Racing’s Cole Peterman had another great afternoon of racing with three wins after a sweep of the Stock 50 class and a win in race two of the Stock 110 class. Ryan Clark won the stock race that Peterman didn’t win with his victory in the first of two Stock 110 races. Both of Friday’s Stock 125 races were won by Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt.
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Saturday
Nathan Gouker (1) had a successful weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Saturday’s Mission Mini Cup By Motul produced identical podiums in both races in the two Ohvale classes with Nathan Gouker Racing’s Nathan Gouker beating Macc Racing’s Mac MacClugage and Reese Frankenfield Racing’s Reese Frankenfield in the 160 Ohvale class and Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis topping Historic GP’s Mahdi Salem and Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt’s Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt in the 190 Ohvale class.
Bettencourt had more success in the support classes with victories in both Stock 125 races.
The Stock 50 class featured two different winners on Saturday with Cory Texter Racing/Roof Systems-backed Cruise Texter taking his first victory in race one before SWG Motorsports’ Weston Fager won race two.
Ryan Clark Racing’s Ryan Clark made it a perfect Saturday with a clean sweep of the two Stock 110 classes.
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki motor USA, LLC:
SCOTT TAKES POLE POSITION AND A TOP TEN IN RACE #1 AT BARBER
Suzuki GSX-R750s a Force in the Supersport Class
BREA, CA – May 20, 2023 – Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer returned to the 2023 MotoAmerica competition on Saturday at Barber Motorsport Park. The team faced a challenging day in both Superbike and the special extended Supersport race. Tyler Scott earned sixth in Supersport while Richie Escalante was a very competitive seventh in his Superbike contest.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott won pole with an all-time track record but was caught out by tire strategy in the wet-dry race and eventually earned sixth.
Teagg Hobbs followed his teammate closely securing seventh place.
Superbike
Richie Escalante held strong during a race-long battle for sixth, coming up just short to earn seventh.
Toni Elias earned 12th in just his second race weekend after returning to active competition.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott started from pole position for a unique MotoAmerica Supersport race at Barber Motorsport Park. The 37-lap extended race paid double points with one mandatory pit stop and was the first of two planned extended races this season. The 17-year-old Scott described the event as “a short endurance race”, longer than a normal sprint event but shorter than the Daytona 200 he raced in March.
Scott earned the holeshot but settled into fourth just ahead of his teammate Teagg Hobbs as the rain began to fall. After one restart due to an accident on the track, more crashes resulted in a second red flag and a shortening of the race to 28 laps.
Tyler Scott (70) captures another pole position aboard his GSX-R750 and looks forward to Race Two. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 pilots chose to start again on wet tires. Unfortunately, other rivals had chosen dry tires for the second restart, and both Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki riders quickly pitted to switch to dry Dunlops as the track dried rapidly, with Scott and Hobbs coming in on successive laps. Despite fast stops, Scott and Hobbs were left far behind the lead group. They fought to collect the double points for sixth and seventh in the weekend’s only Supersport race.
“We made a mistake by going with rain tires in the last red flag”, said Scott. “We would have been fine and contended otherwise. We shredded the tire pretty well in the race so that last stint was not easy, and we couldn’t make up the gap. Still, we gave it our best effort and set the track record in qualifying.”
With unusual track conditions, Teagg Hobbs (79) secured a top 10 in Race One. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Teagg Hobbs was seventh, just behind Scott on the circuit. Twenty-year-old Hobbs qualified on the second row, and had a strong start to the race but found himself in the same position as Scott.
“The race was tough. They introduced the extended race, and the weather played more of a factor than we hoped.” Hobbs said. “After the second restart, Ty came in the first time around and I had to do another lap in the dry on wet tires before I could come in. We lost a lot of ground and weren’t in good shape. But qualifying went well and we’ll look to get a better result in Wisconsin.”
After a strong qualifying Richie Escalante (54) is looking to bounce back in Race Two. Photo courtesy Suzuki motor USA, LLC.
Richie Escalante backed up his strong performance during qualifying in the first Superbike race of the weekend. Starting fourth, Escalante battled for third in the first portions of the 16-lap contest, eventually settling into a battle for sixth position on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. That fight for position turned out to be the most hotly-contested battle in the race, with Escalante appearing to have the quicker pace but was unable to make a pass stick over his rival due to the tight confines of Barber Motorsports Park. Escalante came up short in his bid to take the spot but once again showed his development as a Superbike pilot.
“I have been super happy with how things are going so far. I did well here last year, and I like the track, so I felt fine about the weekend,” said Escalante. “We made small changes only and they were in the right direction. I had qualified well and finished P4, so I was happy about that. With the rainy and cold conditions this weekend the tires have not been working as well as normal. It was a last-minute decision for us, and we chose a different tire than most of the others in the top ten. In the race, this choice made it harder for us to maintain a good pace. It was a good race, though, and I believe we have a little bit more. I need to be more aggressive off the start and pass more aggressively. The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team is working great, and I feel we are making progress.”
Toni Elias (24) is motivated to get his GSX-R1000R back to the front of the pack. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Former MotoAmerica Superbike champion Toni Elias began his second weekend in his return to racing by qualifying tenth. Elias finished the race in 12th but gained more valuable track time. The Spaniard is now eighth in points.
“It was one of the toughest days in my racing career, both with the result and the feeling from the bike in this race,” said Elias. “It is what it is, and we expect more. We tried really hard on both days, but it just wasn’t there. Tomorrow is another day. We are motivated to work hard and fight and I want to thank the team for working hard with me.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will return to action at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama tomorrow.
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 346 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.
Alex Dumas, riding his Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki GSX-R1000R, won GP Bikes Canadian Pro Superbike Race One Saturday at Shannonville Motorsport Park, in Shannonville, Ontario, Canada.
The 20-year-old won the 18-lap race by 3.0 seconds over defending Champion Ben Young, who rode his Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW M 1000 RR.
Thomas Casas finished a lonely third on his Yamaha YZF-R1.
Dumas wins rain-soaked race one after Guerin crashes out of the lead at SMP
Superbike Race One winner Alex Dumas (23) leads Samuel Guerin (2) at Shannonville. Photo by Rob O’Brien, courtesy CSBK.
Shannonville, ON – The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season began with a familiar face on the top of the box, but in hardly the way many fans would have expected.
Alex Dumas won race one of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike campaign at Shannonville Motorsport Park, inheriting the rain-soaked victory after surprise leader Sam Guerin crashed out late in the race on Saturday.
Guerin stormed away with the initial holeshot, though it didn’t last long as a massive high-side crash for Trevor Daley brought out a red flag on lap one, forcing an 18-lap restart. That second attempt was less kind to Guerin, as Dumas jumped out to the lead with the EFC Group BMW rider close behind.
Dumas would cede position to Guerin later on the first lap, only to then blow past him on the back straightaway aboard his Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki. That order stayed the same for a number of laps until Guerin fought his way back to the front, chasing his first career pro national victory.
It looked as though that victory would come his way as he began to distance himself from Dumas, only to then have the win slip away in heartbreaking fashion as he crashed out in the hairpin, handing the chequered flag to 2021 champion Dumas.
“I didn’t get the first start I wanted, so the red flag worked out well for us. I got a much better second start, but Sam still pulled a bit of a gap on me, so I started to just settle into second,” Dumas explained. “When he crashed, I was able to just bring it home the rest of the way. It sucks for Sam, I’m glad to see he’s okay.”
The misfortune of one BMW rider proved to be the benefit of another, as defending champion Ben Young was promoted to second – a surprisingly distant second – as he managed to escape with 20 points for the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW program.
“After finishing fifth in morning practice, I would have been pretty happy with this,” the reigning champ joked. “These guys were out of their mind, the pace was so fast. I’m quite happy with second. It’s a long season, so I just wanted to keep it smart and bring home points for the team.”
Completing the podium for just the second time in his career was Tomas Casas, who has become a wet-weather specialist after he scored his debut podium in the rain at Atlantic Motorsport Park four years ago.
The Parts Canada Yamaha rider didn’t know he was in a battle for the final podium spot with Daley, but was excited to learn he and his brand would be returning to the box after a difficult 2022 campaign.
“It’s been a tough year, so I’m really glad to be back here – it’s been a while,” Casas said. “The Bridgestone tires were great, and Daley kept me honest out there, so it was pretty fun. I owe a huge thanks to the team for this one.”
The first Superbike podium of the Bridgestone era featured winner Alex Dumas (center) for Suzuki, runner-up Ben Young (left) for BMW, and third-place finisher Tomas Casas (right) for Yamaha. Photo by Rob O’Brien, courtesy CSBK.
While he just fell short of another podium, Daley and his OneSpeed Suzuki team put together a heroic effort just to take the restart after his huge crash in turn one. Daley thankfully escaped any major injury, though his bike wasn’t as lucky, giving his team just five minutes to try and piece the machine back together.
They would manage to do so with just under a minute to spare, and it proved to be worth the energy as Daley fought his way to fourth and nearly third on the wounded Suzuki, putting them tops in the Constructors Standings as he and Dumas escaped race one with 38 of a possible 45 points.
His effort also earned the team some extra money to refine his bike for race two on Sunday, winning the FAST Riding School Hard Charger Award and $500 to go with it.
Notably absent from the finishing order was 14-time champion Jordan Szoke, who crashed out of third in his return aboard the LDS Consultants Kawasaki machine.
Szoke was fortunately uninjured in what’s been a disastrous weekend for the team thus far, crashing out of a race for just the second time since 2010.
Rounding out the top-five in his debut was another Suzuki in the form of rookie John Fraser, who deserved to be the star of the race if not for the chaos in front of him.
The Nova Scotia teenager and youngest rider in the class excelled in the rain aboard his RLS Contracting machine, finishing as the top rookie and taking the early advantage in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year fight.
Just behind him was a dramatic battle for sixth between Jordan Royds and Paul Macdonnell, the latter making his first appearance in the feature class for ACME Motorsports Yamaha, though his debut effort fell just short as the more experienced Royds held on to sixth for IBEW BMW.
That proved to be an important battle in the Constructors Championship, as defending champs BMW will hold on to second with 30 points (eight behind Suzuki) while Yamaha starts the year in third with 25 points.
Full results from race one can be found on the series’ official website.
Ryde returns to winning ways at Donington Park home round
Kyle Ryde celebrated his second victory of the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship in the BikeSocial Sprint Race for the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha Team, delivering a masterful performance to keep title rivals Tommy Bridewell and Leon Haslam behind him.
Ryde had hit the front of the pack after a rapid start from the Omologato pole position and he continued to set a pace that would give him the edge of 1.086s at the chequered flag, but behind Bridewell and Haslam were dueling for second place.
Haslam pushed for a last lap attack on Bridewell, making a move only for an instant fightback as the BeerMonster Ducati rider regained the position with just 0.319s between them at the chequered flag. The second place means Bridewell now has moved to the top of the championship standings by just a single point from his teammate Glenn Irwin who finished fifth.
Lee Jackson had managed to make a move on Irwin on the penultimate lap for fourth place whilst Josh Brookes battled his way up the order and into sixth place for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team.
Ryan Vickers had his best result of the season so far in seventh place for the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha team ahead of Danny Kent and Storm Stacey who scored a top ten finish for Starline Racing Kawasaki. Charlie Nesbitt completed the top ten riders, just ahead of Max Cook who was eleventh to celebrate his best result so far in his rookie campaign.
It was disappointment for Andrew Irwin and Christian Iddon when the pair crashed out at Melbourne Hairpin. The incident was reviewed by the Race Direction following the race in the presence of the two riders involved and their team representatives.
Following analysis of multiple video sources including onboard cameras, and after hearing the accounts of both riders, the Race Direction concluded that neither rider acted in a careless, reckless or dangerous manner and no further action was required.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, BikeSocial Sprint Race result:
Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha)
Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) +1.086s
Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +1.405s
Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +9.795s
Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +12.145s
Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +12.227s
Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +13.090s
Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) +14.981s
Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +17.013s
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing) + 19.630s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 103
Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 102
Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 97
Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 91
Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 90
Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 49
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 44
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 43
Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) 40
Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 40
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Kyle Ryde
LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha
“It has been a perfect day with the pole position and following that up with a win. It was actually a very difficult race this afternoon. I knew the pace that I could do and it was good that I did exactly what I thought I could.
“The bike worked great and I did the lap times consistently and my pit board was saying +0.3 and then +0.4, so fair play to everyone else as I think they made a big step. On paper I felt like I was a little bit quicker and they obviously matched it in that race.
“I have put so much pressure on myself all weekend as it’s always like that when you are fast, you expect big things. I’m just glad that I took all the pressure in Superpole and then backed it up in the race with a win in front of all my family. It’s a great achievement for me and the whole team.
“Tomorrow will be strategic in the longer races, but we’ll see where we end up – but I am sure we will be alright!”
Two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne won MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Gagne got the holeshot on his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 and held a modest lead for all 16 laps of the race to take his second victory of the season.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen kept the leader honest and closed the gap slightly in the closing stages, but the South African had to settle for the runner-up spot today.
Mathew Scholtz recovered from a bad start and moved up into third place by lap three, but the Westby Racing rider could not gain any ground on the factory Yamaha duo and had to settle for third and completing a Yamaha sweep of the podium.
Race One was shortened from its original length of 20 laps to 16 laps as a precaution due to excessive wear found so far with Dunlop’s new Superbike slicks. The length of Race Two is still To Be Determined (TBD).
Gagne Wins Medallia Superbike Race One At Barber Motorsports Park
Defending Champion Gagne Wins The First Of Two Races In Alabama, Takes Points Lead
Jake Gagne (1) and Cameron Petersen (45) lead the start of Superbike Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 20, 2023) – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne won his second race of the young season at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, and he did so in the same fashion in which he won 29 races over the course of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He started from pole, put his head down, quickly opened up a two-second-plus lead and maintained that lead to the finish of the shortened 16-lap race.
The win, which was the 31st of Gagne’s Superbike career, moved him out of a tie with Cameron Beaubier in the MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship and into the lead by himself. He now leads Beaubier by 12 points, 70-58. Beaubier finished fourth on Saturday on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
The man who was closest to Gagne at the finish was his teammate Cameron Petersen, the South African keeping Gagne honest from start to finish and crossing the finish line 1.8 seconds behind the defending two-time Medallia Superbike Champion.
Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Third place went to Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, giving Yamaha a one-two-three finish at Barber. Scholtz didn’t get a good start and by the time he got through to third, the two Attack riders had distanced themselves from the rest. Scholtz ended up 6.1 seconds behind Gagne and 2.8 seconds ahead of Beaubier.
Beaubier, meanwhile, had rid himself of the battle he found himself in early with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen.
It was Jacobsen who worked his way through that pack to finish fifth, some eight seconds ahead of the Herrin/Escalante battle that went the distance with Herrin beating Escalante by just .289 of a second to take sixth.
Josh Herrin (left) held off Richie Escalante (right) to finish sixth. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates got the better of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander by just .299 of a second for eighth with Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounding out the top 10 finishers.
Saturday’s race was shortened from 20 laps to 16 due to excessive tire wear and the lap count for Sunday’s race two will be announced after evaluation of the tires following today’s race.
After three races of the 2023 championship, Gagne leads Beaubier, 70-58, with Scholtz third with 43 points.
Race two at Barber Motorsports Park will begin Sunday at 3:10 p.m.
Superbike Race 1
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Ashton Yates (BMW)
Corey Alexander (BMW)
Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
Superbike Quotes
Jake Gagne – Winner
“I think that the heat this afternoon really made a difference (to tire wear). It definitely helped. I know we were suffering when the temperatures were cooler, just getting some tearing. If you saw the tires in the podium, they looked pretty dang good. Of course, they’re going to wear, especially at a track like this. The track is so hot. They (the tires) get hot. They get greasy. But that being said, temperatures like this, I think the full race distance wouldn’t have been a problem. These guys know what they’re doing and have a good feel for what’s underneath them. Dunlop always does a good job and makes the right call. But it was a fun race. Like Cam (Petersen) said, those first couple laps I was able to put my head down and kind of get that little bit of a gap. It’s a tricky spot. It was right around two seconds or so, and then that second half he was clawing back a couple tenths a lap. I think it was down to 1.5 at some point. But like we were talking about, it’s tricky. You miss your mark here just a little bit, and you’re in the marbles out there and you could push the front. Anything can happen. I just tried to play it smart. But Cam kept me honest. Like Mat (Scholtz) said, I know he had the pace and he got caught up with those guys in the beginning so I’m sure we’re in for a dogfight tomorrow.”
Cameron Petersen – Second Place
“It’s tough. Honestly, I think the difference is it’s just those first few laps. I kind of always settle down into a pretty good pace, it’s just those first few laps that Jake’s (Gagne) just so good at hanging it out and riding the bike to its full potential, where it kind of takes me a little bit. Definitely tough towards the end there. I could see there was one or two laps where I kind of maybe gained just a little bit of time on him. I was like, ‘all right, man, maybe if you push that 10 percent harder you might be able to catch him.’ But I definitely had (Road) Atlanta in the back of my mind. I wanted this podium desperately. I started off the season very horribly, so for sure just when I saw three laps to go, the gap to Matty (Scholtz) kind of stayed the same. I just kind of knew, bring the bike home in second and we can build off of this. Just again congrats to these guys. Pretty cool to share the podium with some of my best friends. Good day for Yamaha.
Mathew Scholtz – Third Place
“My start was terrible. I was back in fifth or sixth place. Battled Richie (Escalante) for one or two laps. Then Josh (Herrin) was really fighting me hard. But I managed to get past him and then put in a couple decent laps. It’s not that I caught Cam (Petersen) and Jake (Gagne). I just kind of felt that if I was there, I could have actually been a part of the battle and hung onto them. So, I know tomorrow we just have to kind of clean up a few spots on the track where we were losing some serious time. Otherwise, I feel like I can be battling these boys up here next to me.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Mathew Scholtz Notches Another Podium Result In Superbike Race One At Barber Motorsports Park
Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Birmingham, AL – May 20, 2023 – It’s almost an understatement that Barber Motorsports Park is a magical race course for Mathew Scholtz and the Westby Racing team. In 14 Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park over the past six years, Mathew has finished on the podium 11 times. That means that The Scholtz Kid has finished on the MotoAmerica Superbike podium 78.57% of the time during his career.
It’s a rather gaudy record of success, but Mathew will be the first to tell you that he’d rather those podium finishes be race victories. Such is the mentality of a professional motorcycle racer who always sees room for improvement.
On Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, Mathew started from the outside of the front row in third, and that’s the position he was in when he crossed the finish line. He didn’t get the start he hoped for, and that immediately made it even tougher for him to catch fellow Yamaha riders Cameron Petersen and Jake Gagne. He slipped back in the pack a bit during the first few laps, but he ultimately fought his way back up to his original starting position.
All in all, a Yamaha podium sweep is clearly something that Mathew and the entire team should be proud of.
“My start was terrible,” Mathew said. “I was back in fifth or sixth place. Battled Richie (Escalante) for one or two laps. Then, Josh (Herrin) was really fighting me hard. But, I managed to get past him, and then, I put in a couple of decent laps. It’s not that I caught Cam (Petersen) and Jake (Gagne). I just kind of felt that if I was there, I could have actually been a part of the battle and hung onto them. So, I know tomorrow, we just have to kind of clean up a few spots on the track where we were losing some serious time. Otherwise, I feel like I can be battling these boys up here next to me.”
For all the action from Barber Motorsports Park, 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 11:15 a.m. to Noon Sunday on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park. 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
Attack Performance, Puig USA Inc, and Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., 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 Claims Championship Lead with Back-to-Back Superbike Victories
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing score a stellar 1-2 finish in MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park
MARIETTA, Ga. – May 20, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne rode superbly, scoring his second-consecutive MotoAmerica Superbike win of the season in today’s Race 1 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. The victory also strengthened the reigning champ’s title defense, giving him a 12-point lead over his rival. Teammate Cameron Petersen finished comfortably in second to give the team a decisive 1-2 finish.
Gagne showed strength straight away, topping all three sessions and earning his second pole position of the season. When the lights went out, he got a flying start to take the holeshot and threw down some fast laps early to build a gap up front and remain unchallenged. His 31st-career Superbike victory brought in a valuable points haul, giving him a 12-point lead after starting the weekend tied in points.
Petersen also got a great start from the number-two spot on the grid and was right on the heels of his teammate. Although Gagne was able to put some distance on him, the South African ate away at the gap in the final laps. In the end, Petersen crossed the line in the runner-up spot, four seconds clear of his countryman Matthew Scholtz on the Westby Racing Yamaha R1.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team is looking for a repeat in tomorrow’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 on Sunday, May 21, at the Barber Motorsports Park.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Today went exactly as planned. The cooler weather made the tire choice a bit challenging, but the decision became very easy when the sun came out, and the track surface reached 40º C (104º F). Jake and Cam, of course, rode a perfect race to finish 1-2, and Mat Scholtz did a good job to finish third, making it a Yamaha R1 sweep. We will work tonight to make another step forward and look to do more of the same tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne (1). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Yamaha.
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was kind of a crazy day. This morning I think everybody expected it to be a wet race, but the weather cooperated. It warmed up a lot right before the race, so it was a last-minute decision on the tires, but I got off to a great start, put in some good laps, and brought it home. Cam rode awesome and kept me honest the whole race. I know both he and Scholtz will step it up, but hopefully, we’ll get another one tomorrow. It was a great day for the team with a 1-2 finish and a good day for Yamaha with a podium sweep.”
Cameron Petersen (45). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Yamaha.
Cam Petersen – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was a great day for Yamaha and the team. For myself, it was just really nice to bounce back from Atlanta, finish on the podium, and get second place. Obviously, I want to be in this championship, and Jake’s leading it right now. So he got some more points on me, but again, it’s just really nice to get some confidence back and get the season rolling and started the way we wanted to. We’re just going to build on this momentum and keep the ball rolling.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA
Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA (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, WaveRunner Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars, 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, two corporate offices in Georgia, facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama, and factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company (YMSC) with divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Kracor Systems (Wisconsin) and Siren Marine, Inc. (Rhode Island), Skeeter Boats (Texas), with division G3 Boats (Missouri), and Yamaha Precision Propeller (Indiana).
Avery Dreher came out on top of a tough fight to win MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, Dreher won the 11-lap race by 0.506 second. It was his third win of the young season.
SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van made a pass on the run from the final corner to the checkered flag to claim the runner-up spot.
Medina Racing’s Yandel Medina tried to make a pass on Dreher in the final corners, came up short, lost his drive, and was demoted to third by Van.
Hayden Gillim rode his Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000R to victory in MotoAmerica Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Gillim took the lead into Turn One and held it until the race was stopped on lap 13 of 14 by a red flag. Gillim was leading by more than four seconds at the time.
Road Atlanta double race winner Ezra Beaubier finished a lonely second on his Orange Cat Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Beaubier’s teammate Kaleb De Keyrel took third, his first podium finish in the Stock 1000 class.
Rocco Landers rode his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 to victory in MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.
Kayla Yaakov took a close second place on her The Wagbar MP13 Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 in her return from a broken leg.
Dominic Doyle used a move on the last lap to score third on his Team Iso Yamaha YZF-R7.
The race was stopped on lap seven of 14 when it started raining and several riders, including race leader Gus Rodio, crashed.
Rodio, the Championship point leader coming into the race, was not allowed to make the five-lap restart. Exactly why Rodio was not allowed to restart was not immediately known.
It stopped raining shortly after the race was stopped, and the remainder of the race was run in the dry.
Julian Correa (40) in action at Donington Park. Photo courtesy Julian Correa.
Julian Correa, a 14-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, finished fourth in R&G British Talent Cup Race Two Sunday at Donington Park, in England.
Harrison Dessoy won the 14-lap race on his Microlise Cresswell Racing/Eastern Garage Honda. Harley McCabe was a close second on his McCabe Racing Honda. City Lifting/RS Racing’s Evan Belford took the last spot podium, and Correa, riding his Microlise Cresswell Racing Honda finished fourth, 0.574 second behind Belford.
Correa is currently fifth in the British Talent Cup Championship point standings after four of 18 races.
Eli Banish, another 14-year-old American, bounced back from an illness that caused him to miss all of Saturday’s action, including Race One, to finish 21st in Race Two. Banish has not scored any Championship points yet in the young season.
Australian Jason O’Halloran won Bennetts British Superbike Race Two Sunday at Donington Park, in England. Riding his McAMS Yamaha YZF-R1, O’Halloran won the 20-lap race by just 0.347 second over runner-up Ryan Vickers and his LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha. Josh Brookes finished third on his FHO Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Defending Mini Cup 160 Ohvale Champion Nathan Gouker (1) in action Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by Klingsporn Media, courtesy MotoAmerica.
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup by Motul race results from the Proving Ground at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
There are two PDFs below. The first contains the Race One results for each of the five Mini Cup classes, and the second contains the Race Two results for each of the five Mini Cup classes. Use the scroll and zoom tools in the PDF viewer to better see all of the results.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Xavi Fores won the MotoAmerica “extended” Supersport race Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. The World Endurance veteran won the double-points race by 9.815 seconds on his Panigale V2.
Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa was the runner-up, and Anthony Mazziotto finished alone in third on his North East Cycle Outlet Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
The race was originally scheduled to run 37 laps with one mandatory pit stop taking no less than 55 seconds total time on pit lane. Two red flags, however, broke the race into a rain-affected six-lap opening segment and a dry 22-lap final stint that included all of the riders’ pit stops.
Gillim, Dreyer And Landers Join Spaniard In Winning At Barber Motorsports Park
Xavi Fores (12) leads Stefano Mesa (37) during the “extended” MotoAmerica Supersport race at Barber. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 20, 2023) – Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Xavi Fores won his third Supersport race in succession on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park and it was a good one to win as the first-ever MotoAmerica “Extended” Supersport r acepaid double points. For many, however, it probably felt like two races as changing weather conditions prolonged the proceedings despite the race ultimately being shortened from 37 to 28 laps.
Fores completed the 28 laps in 44 minutes, 43.653 seconds to beat Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa by 9.8 seconds with the pair battling until the mandatory pit stop left Mesa at a disadvantage that he couldn’t recover from.
Xavi Fores (12) had no problems in the pits during the “extended” MotoAmerica Supersport race at Barber. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Third place went to North East Cycle Outlet Racing’s Anthony Mazziotto with the New Jerseyan keeping his nose clean to earn his second career podium in the Supersport class.
Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert was fourth, some eight seconds behind Mazziotto, with Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes fifth after starting the final portion of the race on rain tires – a mistake that forced him to pit quickly after the restart to change to slicks.
“It was more stressful inside the pits trying to understand which tires to use, which tires to put on the bike, after the couple of red flags. After the first red flag, I didn’t know it was a huge crash and they red-flagged the race. Because I was pulling meters away. I see some drops coming initially, but I was still quite on my pace. I was pulling me and Josh (Hayes) pulling meters away. When I saw the red flag, I was a bit disappointed because I was waiting, waiting, waiting to come in when the proper rain was coming to put the rain tires. But, anyway, we came out again with the rains and was okay. I was still leading and fighting with Josh (Hayes) for one and a half laps. Then the red flag came again. I thought that it’s going to be challenging. So, I stayed inside the pits until the very last minute before to rejoin the grid. At the very last minute, we decided to put the slicks because the sun was coming out and I had some experience on endurance that you can run the slick tires even if it’s slightly wet. So, when the race restarted, I saw Stefano (Mesa) was with me all the time. I was trying to manage a little bit the tires. I put a medium compound in the rear, and it was not feeling so good. But I was so convinced on our pit stop, we did a good job there in the garage. Then I put the soft tire and I was trying to stay on the 27s (1:27 lap times). That was pretty much our race. It was a little bit crazy because two red flags in less than 20 minutes is not usual. When it’s raining coming, everything is quite challenging, but we did well. We got 50 points back home. So, I put my experience from the world endurance in this race and I think it was worth it. Thanks to all the team. They did a massive job inside the garage on the pit change. And all the sponsors. KYT, Alpinestars, Parts Unlimited, everyone who has been involved. They have supported me quite a lot. It has not been easy to arrive here, learn the tracks, being fast, try to learn the races. These guys are fast. They have a lot of experience here. I try to learn as much as I can in a short time.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – Landers Takes His Second
The changeable weather conditions on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park had an effect on some of the day’s races, and REV’IT! Twins Cup race one was one of those. The first feature race of the day, the Twins Cup battle was red-flagged and restarted because of a quick shower that unfortunately led to a couple of crashes.
Rocco Landers (97). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers had his Aprilia in the lead when raindrops fell. Landers signaled that it was raining, and he dropped back in the pack until the race was stopped. On the restart, Landers made his way back to the front to notch his second race win in a row. Landers bested The WagBar MP13 Racing Yamaha’s Kayla Yaakov, the 15-year-old finishing as runner-up in her REV’IT! Twins Cup debut. Rounding out the podium was Team Iso Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle.
“That’s how you want races to go,” Landers said. “The second half, for sure. The first half was a little bit gnarly. But Kayla (Yaakov) is riding amazing. I did not expect this. I don’t think anyone on the grid expected her to come back this strong. So many good races with Dom (Doyle). So many good races. Been on the podium with him so many times. It’s an incredible feeling to share the podium with these two people. It’s awesome.”
Landers’s victory was the 11th REV’IT! Twins class win, which moved him to the top on the all-time win list for the class.
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim had a “terrible” opening round to his Steel Commander Stock 1000 series campaign, but that was then, and this is now and Gillim put his Road Atlanta hiccup behind him to win the first of two Stock 1000 races at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday.
Hayden Gillim (69) dominated Stock 1000 Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Gillim bested championship points leader Ezra Beaubier with Beaubier’s Orange Cat Racing teammate Kaleb De Keyrel finishing third for his first career podium in the class in just his third race on the BMW M 1000 RR.
Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman lost out on his battle with De Keyrel for third, but the Las Vegas resident held on for fourth with Tom Wood Powersports’ Nolan Lamkin rounding out the top five.
Beaubier leads the title chase by 24 points over Wyman, 70-46 with De Keyrel third on 40 points. Gillim trails Beaubier by 35 points.
“Road Atlanta was terrible. I felt like I could do a little bit more at Road Atlanta than I did. Road Atlanta was just everything that I didn’t need to start the season. So, I’m happy to bounce back from a DNF and a 6th or 7th or something and get this win. I knew this weekend was going to be good for me. I needed to capitalize on this track because Road America is going to be freaking hard. It’s going to be another kind of Road Atlanta situation. So, I needed to capitalize on this track. These guys need to slow it up a little bit and let a couple guys get in front of them in order for me to get back in this thing. But it was a good race. I’m happy for the team, myself. I’ve gotten a little bit slower than I did last year, which I’m not happy about. Me and the bike this year just aren’t clicking quite like I did last year. So, I’ve got some stuff I still have to work on. I’m happy. My kid was happy on the podium, so that’s all that matters to me right now.”
Junior Cup – Dreher. Again.
His team may be called “Bad Boys Racing,” but 16-year-old Avery Dreher is anything but a bad boy when it comes to motorcycle road racing. The Floridian is so far undefeated in the 2023 MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship.
Avery Dreher (99) won Junior Cup Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Dreher followed up his double win at Road Atlanta last month with another victory in Saturday’s race one at Barber Motorsports Park. Riding a Kawasaki Ninja 400, Dreher took the victory by just a little more than half a second over SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van. Third place went to New Yorker Yandel Medina who celebrated his first career MotoAmerica podium.
“Based on qualifying, I definitely felt like I had the pace to break away a little,” commented Dreher. “In the beginning, though, Alessandro (Di Mario) and I think one or two other riders got by me, and I just stuck behind them out there a little bit. Made the pass. Just put my head down. The bike felt amazing. A few weeks ago, we came here to do a test and we got the suspension dialed in. I feel great. Let’s keep this momentum going. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Friday
Nathan Gouker Racing’s Nathan Gouker and Historic GP’s Mahdi Salem split wins in Friday’s FIM Mini Cup Ohvale 160 classes on the mini track at Barber Motorsports Park with Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis sweeping to victories in both of the FIM Mini Cup 190 Ohvale classes.
The support classes on Friday afternoon featured names at the top that also were at the top at Carolina Motorsports Park two weeks ago.
Peterman Racing’s Cole Peterman had another great afternoon of racing with three wins after a sweep of the Stock 50 class and a win in race two of the Stock 110 class. Ryan Clark won the stock race that Peterman didn’t win with his victory in the first of two Stock 110 races. Both of Friday’s Stock 125 races were won by Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt.
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Saturday
Nathan Gouker (1) had a successful weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Saturday’s Mission Mini Cup By Motul produced identical podiums in both races in the two Ohvale classes with Nathan Gouker Racing’s Nathan Gouker beating Macc Racing’s Mac MacClugage and Reese Frankenfield Racing’s Reese Frankenfield in the 160 Ohvale class and Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis topping Historic GP’s Mahdi Salem and Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt’s Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt in the 190 Ohvale class.
Bettencourt had more success in the support classes with victories in both Stock 125 races.
The Stock 50 class featured two different winners on Saturday with Cory Texter Racing/Roof Systems-backed Cruise Texter taking his first victory in race one before SWG Motorsports’ Weston Fager won race two.
Ryan Clark Racing’s Ryan Clark made it a perfect Saturday with a clean sweep of the two Stock 110 classes.
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki motor USA, LLC:
SCOTT TAKES POLE POSITION AND A TOP TEN IN RACE #1 AT BARBER
Suzuki GSX-R750s a Force in the Supersport Class
BREA, CA – May 20, 2023 – Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer returned to the 2023 MotoAmerica competition on Saturday at Barber Motorsport Park. The team faced a challenging day in both Superbike and the special extended Supersport race. Tyler Scott earned sixth in Supersport while Richie Escalante was a very competitive seventh in his Superbike contest.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott won pole with an all-time track record but was caught out by tire strategy in the wet-dry race and eventually earned sixth.
Teagg Hobbs followed his teammate closely securing seventh place.
Superbike
Richie Escalante held strong during a race-long battle for sixth, coming up just short to earn seventh.
Toni Elias earned 12th in just his second race weekend after returning to active competition.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott started from pole position for a unique MotoAmerica Supersport race at Barber Motorsport Park. The 37-lap extended race paid double points with one mandatory pit stop and was the first of two planned extended races this season. The 17-year-old Scott described the event as “a short endurance race”, longer than a normal sprint event but shorter than the Daytona 200 he raced in March.
Scott earned the holeshot but settled into fourth just ahead of his teammate Teagg Hobbs as the rain began to fall. After one restart due to an accident on the track, more crashes resulted in a second red flag and a shortening of the race to 28 laps.
Tyler Scott (70) captures another pole position aboard his GSX-R750 and looks forward to Race Two. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 pilots chose to start again on wet tires. Unfortunately, other rivals had chosen dry tires for the second restart, and both Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki riders quickly pitted to switch to dry Dunlops as the track dried rapidly, with Scott and Hobbs coming in on successive laps. Despite fast stops, Scott and Hobbs were left far behind the lead group. They fought to collect the double points for sixth and seventh in the weekend’s only Supersport race.
“We made a mistake by going with rain tires in the last red flag”, said Scott. “We would have been fine and contended otherwise. We shredded the tire pretty well in the race so that last stint was not easy, and we couldn’t make up the gap. Still, we gave it our best effort and set the track record in qualifying.”
With unusual track conditions, Teagg Hobbs (79) secured a top 10 in Race One. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Teagg Hobbs was seventh, just behind Scott on the circuit. Twenty-year-old Hobbs qualified on the second row, and had a strong start to the race but found himself in the same position as Scott.
“The race was tough. They introduced the extended race, and the weather played more of a factor than we hoped.” Hobbs said. “After the second restart, Ty came in the first time around and I had to do another lap in the dry on wet tires before I could come in. We lost a lot of ground and weren’t in good shape. But qualifying went well and we’ll look to get a better result in Wisconsin.”
After a strong qualifying Richie Escalante (54) is looking to bounce back in Race Two. Photo courtesy Suzuki motor USA, LLC.
Richie Escalante backed up his strong performance during qualifying in the first Superbike race of the weekend. Starting fourth, Escalante battled for third in the first portions of the 16-lap contest, eventually settling into a battle for sixth position on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. That fight for position turned out to be the most hotly-contested battle in the race, with Escalante appearing to have the quicker pace but was unable to make a pass stick over his rival due to the tight confines of Barber Motorsports Park. Escalante came up short in his bid to take the spot but once again showed his development as a Superbike pilot.
“I have been super happy with how things are going so far. I did well here last year, and I like the track, so I felt fine about the weekend,” said Escalante. “We made small changes only and they were in the right direction. I had qualified well and finished P4, so I was happy about that. With the rainy and cold conditions this weekend the tires have not been working as well as normal. It was a last-minute decision for us, and we chose a different tire than most of the others in the top ten. In the race, this choice made it harder for us to maintain a good pace. It was a good race, though, and I believe we have a little bit more. I need to be more aggressive off the start and pass more aggressively. The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team is working great, and I feel we are making progress.”
Toni Elias (24) is motivated to get his GSX-R1000R back to the front of the pack. Photo courtesy Suzuki Motor USA, LLC.
Former MotoAmerica Superbike champion Toni Elias began his second weekend in his return to racing by qualifying tenth. Elias finished the race in 12th but gained more valuable track time. The Spaniard is now eighth in points.
“It was one of the toughest days in my racing career, both with the result and the feeling from the bike in this race,” said Elias. “It is what it is, and we expect more. We tried really hard on both days, but it just wasn’t there. Tomorrow is another day. We are motivated to work hard and fight and I want to thank the team for working hard with me.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki will return to action at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama tomorrow.
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 346 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.
Shannonville Motorsport Park. Photo by Kira McWilliams, courtesy CSBK.
Alex Dumas, riding his Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki GSX-R1000R, won GP Bikes Canadian Pro Superbike Race One Saturday at Shannonville Motorsport Park, in Shannonville, Ontario, Canada.
The 20-year-old won the 18-lap race by 3.0 seconds over defending Champion Ben Young, who rode his Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW M 1000 RR.
Thomas Casas finished a lonely third on his Yamaha YZF-R1.
Dumas wins rain-soaked race one after Guerin crashes out of the lead at SMP
Superbike Race One winner Alex Dumas (23) leads Samuel Guerin (2) at Shannonville. Photo by Rob O’Brien, courtesy CSBK.
Shannonville, ON – The Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship season began with a familiar face on the top of the box, but in hardly the way many fans would have expected.
Alex Dumas won race one of the GP Bikes Pro Superbike campaign at Shannonville Motorsport Park, inheriting the rain-soaked victory after surprise leader Sam Guerin crashed out late in the race on Saturday.
Guerin stormed away with the initial holeshot, though it didn’t last long as a massive high-side crash for Trevor Daley brought out a red flag on lap one, forcing an 18-lap restart. That second attempt was less kind to Guerin, as Dumas jumped out to the lead with the EFC Group BMW rider close behind.
Dumas would cede position to Guerin later on the first lap, only to then blow past him on the back straightaway aboard his Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki. That order stayed the same for a number of laps until Guerin fought his way back to the front, chasing his first career pro national victory.
It looked as though that victory would come his way as he began to distance himself from Dumas, only to then have the win slip away in heartbreaking fashion as he crashed out in the hairpin, handing the chequered flag to 2021 champion Dumas.
“I didn’t get the first start I wanted, so the red flag worked out well for us. I got a much better second start, but Sam still pulled a bit of a gap on me, so I started to just settle into second,” Dumas explained. “When he crashed, I was able to just bring it home the rest of the way. It sucks for Sam, I’m glad to see he’s okay.”
The misfortune of one BMW rider proved to be the benefit of another, as defending champion Ben Young was promoted to second – a surprisingly distant second – as he managed to escape with 20 points for the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW program.
“After finishing fifth in morning practice, I would have been pretty happy with this,” the reigning champ joked. “These guys were out of their mind, the pace was so fast. I’m quite happy with second. It’s a long season, so I just wanted to keep it smart and bring home points for the team.”
Completing the podium for just the second time in his career was Tomas Casas, who has become a wet-weather specialist after he scored his debut podium in the rain at Atlantic Motorsport Park four years ago.
The Parts Canada Yamaha rider didn’t know he was in a battle for the final podium spot with Daley, but was excited to learn he and his brand would be returning to the box after a difficult 2022 campaign.
“It’s been a tough year, so I’m really glad to be back here – it’s been a while,” Casas said. “The Bridgestone tires were great, and Daley kept me honest out there, so it was pretty fun. I owe a huge thanks to the team for this one.”
The first Superbike podium of the Bridgestone era featured winner Alex Dumas (center) for Suzuki, runner-up Ben Young (left) for BMW, and third-place finisher Tomas Casas (right) for Yamaha. Photo by Rob O’Brien, courtesy CSBK.
While he just fell short of another podium, Daley and his OneSpeed Suzuki team put together a heroic effort just to take the restart after his huge crash in turn one. Daley thankfully escaped any major injury, though his bike wasn’t as lucky, giving his team just five minutes to try and piece the machine back together.
They would manage to do so with just under a minute to spare, and it proved to be worth the energy as Daley fought his way to fourth and nearly third on the wounded Suzuki, putting them tops in the Constructors Standings as he and Dumas escaped race one with 38 of a possible 45 points.
His effort also earned the team some extra money to refine his bike for race two on Sunday, winning the FAST Riding School Hard Charger Award and $500 to go with it.
Notably absent from the finishing order was 14-time champion Jordan Szoke, who crashed out of third in his return aboard the LDS Consultants Kawasaki machine.
Szoke was fortunately uninjured in what’s been a disastrous weekend for the team thus far, crashing out of a race for just the second time since 2010.
Rounding out the top-five in his debut was another Suzuki in the form of rookie John Fraser, who deserved to be the star of the race if not for the chaos in front of him.
The Nova Scotia teenager and youngest rider in the class excelled in the rain aboard his RLS Contracting machine, finishing as the top rookie and taking the early advantage in the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year fight.
Just behind him was a dramatic battle for sixth between Jordan Royds and Paul Macdonnell, the latter making his first appearance in the feature class for ACME Motorsports Yamaha, though his debut effort fell just short as the more experienced Royds held on to sixth for IBEW BMW.
That proved to be an important battle in the Constructors Championship, as defending champs BMW will hold on to second with 30 points (eight behind Suzuki) while Yamaha starts the year in third with 25 points.
Full results from race one can be found on the series’ official website.
Kyle Ryde (77) leads the British Superbike field into Turn One at Donington Park. Photo courtesy MSVR.
Ryde returns to winning ways at Donington Park home round
Kyle Ryde celebrated his second victory of the 2023 Bennetts British Superbike Championship in the BikeSocial Sprint Race for the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha Team, delivering a masterful performance to keep title rivals Tommy Bridewell and Leon Haslam behind him.
Ryde had hit the front of the pack after a rapid start from the Omologato pole position and he continued to set a pace that would give him the edge of 1.086s at the chequered flag, but behind Bridewell and Haslam were dueling for second place.
Haslam pushed for a last lap attack on Bridewell, making a move only for an instant fightback as the BeerMonster Ducati rider regained the position with just 0.319s between them at the chequered flag. The second place means Bridewell now has moved to the top of the championship standings by just a single point from his teammate Glenn Irwin who finished fifth.
Lee Jackson had managed to make a move on Irwin on the penultimate lap for fourth place whilst Josh Brookes battled his way up the order and into sixth place for the FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team.
Ryan Vickers had his best result of the season so far in seventh place for the LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha team ahead of Danny Kent and Storm Stacey who scored a top ten finish for Starline Racing Kawasaki. Charlie Nesbitt completed the top ten riders, just ahead of Max Cook who was eleventh to celebrate his best result so far in his rookie campaign.
It was disappointment for Andrew Irwin and Christian Iddon when the pair crashed out at Melbourne Hairpin. The incident was reviewed by the Race Direction following the race in the presence of the two riders involved and their team representatives.
Following analysis of multiple video sources including onboard cameras, and after hearing the accounts of both riders, the Race Direction concluded that neither rider acted in a careless, reckless or dangerous manner and no further action was required.
Bennetts British Superbike Championship, Donington Park, BikeSocial Sprint Race result:
Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha)
Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) +1.086s
Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) +1.405s
Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) +9.795s
Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) +12.145s
Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) +12.227s
Ryan Vickers (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) +13.090s
Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) +14.981s
Storm Stacey (Starline Racing Kawasaki) +17.013s
Charlie Nesbitt (MasterMac Honda by Hawk Racing) + 19.630s
Bennetts British Superbike Championship standings:
Tommy Bridewell (BeerMonster Ducati) 103
Glenn Irwin (BeerMonster Ducati) 102
Josh Brookes (FHO Racing BMW Motorrad Team) 97
Kyle Ryde (LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha) 91
Leon Haslam (ROKiT BMW Motorrad) 90
Lee Jackson (Cheshire Mouldings Kawasaki) 49
Andrew Irwin (Honda Racing UK) 44
Jason O’Halloran (McAMS Yamaha) 43
Danny Kent (Lovell Kent Racing Honda) 40
Jack Kennedy (Mar-Train Racing Yamaha) 40
For more information on the Bennetts British Superbike Championship visit www.britishsuperbike.com
Kyle Ryde
LAMI OMG Racing Yamaha
“It has been a perfect day with the pole position and following that up with a win. It was actually a very difficult race this afternoon. I knew the pace that I could do and it was good that I did exactly what I thought I could.
“The bike worked great and I did the lap times consistently and my pit board was saying +0.3 and then +0.4, so fair play to everyone else as I think they made a big step. On paper I felt like I was a little bit quicker and they obviously matched it in that race.
“I have put so much pressure on myself all weekend as it’s always like that when you are fast, you expect big things. I’m just glad that I took all the pressure in Superpole and then backed it up in the race with a win in front of all my family. It’s a great achievement for me and the whole team.
“Tomorrow will be strategic in the longer races, but we’ll see where we end up – but I am sure we will be alright!”
Two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne won MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Gagne got the holeshot on his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 and held a modest lead for all 16 laps of the race to take his second victory of the season.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen kept the leader honest and closed the gap slightly in the closing stages, but the South African had to settle for the runner-up spot today.
Mathew Scholtz recovered from a bad start and moved up into third place by lap three, but the Westby Racing rider could not gain any ground on the factory Yamaha duo and had to settle for third and completing a Yamaha sweep of the podium.
Race One was shortened from its original length of 20 laps to 16 laps as a precaution due to excessive wear found so far with Dunlop’s new Superbike slicks. The length of Race Two is still To Be Determined (TBD).
Gagne Wins Medallia Superbike Race One At Barber Motorsports Park
Defending Champion Gagne Wins The First Of Two Races In Alabama, Takes Points Lead
Jake Gagne (1) and Cameron Petersen (45) lead the start of Superbike Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 20, 2023) – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne won his second race of the young season at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, and he did so in the same fashion in which he won 29 races over the course of the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He started from pole, put his head down, quickly opened up a two-second-plus lead and maintained that lead to the finish of the shortened 16-lap race.
The win, which was the 31st of Gagne’s Superbike career, moved him out of a tie with Cameron Beaubier in the MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship and into the lead by himself. He now leads Beaubier by 12 points, 70-58. Beaubier finished fourth on Saturday on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
The man who was closest to Gagne at the finish was his teammate Cameron Petersen, the South African keeping Gagne honest from start to finish and crossing the finish line 1.8 seconds behind the defending two-time Medallia Superbike Champion.
Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Third place went to Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, giving Yamaha a one-two-three finish at Barber. Scholtz didn’t get a good start and by the time he got through to third, the two Attack riders had distanced themselves from the rest. Scholtz ended up 6.1 seconds behind Gagne and 2.8 seconds ahead of Beaubier.
Beaubier, meanwhile, had rid himself of the battle he found himself in early with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen.
It was Jacobsen who worked his way through that pack to finish fifth, some eight seconds ahead of the Herrin/Escalante battle that went the distance with Herrin beating Escalante by just .289 of a second to take sixth.
Josh Herrin (left) held off Richie Escalante (right) to finish sixth. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates got the better of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander by just .299 of a second for eighth with Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounding out the top 10 finishers.
Saturday’s race was shortened from 20 laps to 16 due to excessive tire wear and the lap count for Sunday’s race two will be announced after evaluation of the tires following today’s race.
After three races of the 2023 championship, Gagne leads Beaubier, 70-58, with Scholtz third with 43 points.
Race two at Barber Motorsports Park will begin Sunday at 3:10 p.m.
Superbike Race 1
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Ashton Yates (BMW)
Corey Alexander (BMW)
Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
Superbike Quotes
Jake Gagne – Winner
“I think that the heat this afternoon really made a difference (to tire wear). It definitely helped. I know we were suffering when the temperatures were cooler, just getting some tearing. If you saw the tires in the podium, they looked pretty dang good. Of course, they’re going to wear, especially at a track like this. The track is so hot. They (the tires) get hot. They get greasy. But that being said, temperatures like this, I think the full race distance wouldn’t have been a problem. These guys know what they’re doing and have a good feel for what’s underneath them. Dunlop always does a good job and makes the right call. But it was a fun race. Like Cam (Petersen) said, those first couple laps I was able to put my head down and kind of get that little bit of a gap. It’s a tricky spot. It was right around two seconds or so, and then that second half he was clawing back a couple tenths a lap. I think it was down to 1.5 at some point. But like we were talking about, it’s tricky. You miss your mark here just a little bit, and you’re in the marbles out there and you could push the front. Anything can happen. I just tried to play it smart. But Cam kept me honest. Like Mat (Scholtz) said, I know he had the pace and he got caught up with those guys in the beginning so I’m sure we’re in for a dogfight tomorrow.”
Cameron Petersen – Second Place
“It’s tough. Honestly, I think the difference is it’s just those first few laps. I kind of always settle down into a pretty good pace, it’s just those first few laps that Jake’s (Gagne) just so good at hanging it out and riding the bike to its full potential, where it kind of takes me a little bit. Definitely tough towards the end there. I could see there was one or two laps where I kind of maybe gained just a little bit of time on him. I was like, ‘all right, man, maybe if you push that 10 percent harder you might be able to catch him.’ But I definitely had (Road) Atlanta in the back of my mind. I wanted this podium desperately. I started off the season very horribly, so for sure just when I saw three laps to go, the gap to Matty (Scholtz) kind of stayed the same. I just kind of knew, bring the bike home in second and we can build off of this. Just again congrats to these guys. Pretty cool to share the podium with some of my best friends. Good day for Yamaha.
Mathew Scholtz – Third Place
“My start was terrible. I was back in fifth or sixth place. Battled Richie (Escalante) for one or two laps. Then Josh (Herrin) was really fighting me hard. But I managed to get past him and then put in a couple decent laps. It’s not that I caught Cam (Petersen) and Jake (Gagne). I just kind of felt that if I was there, I could have actually been a part of the battle and hung onto them. So, I know tomorrow we just have to kind of clean up a few spots on the track where we were losing some serious time. Otherwise, I feel like I can be battling these boys up here next to me.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Mathew Scholtz Notches Another Podium Result In Superbike Race One At Barber Motorsports Park
Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Birmingham, AL – May 20, 2023 – It’s almost an understatement that Barber Motorsports Park is a magical race course for Mathew Scholtz and the Westby Racing team. In 14 Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park over the past six years, Mathew has finished on the podium 11 times. That means that The Scholtz Kid has finished on the MotoAmerica Superbike podium 78.57% of the time during his career.
It’s a rather gaudy record of success, but Mathew will be the first to tell you that he’d rather those podium finishes be race victories. Such is the mentality of a professional motorcycle racer who always sees room for improvement.
On Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, Mathew started from the outside of the front row in third, and that’s the position he was in when he crossed the finish line. He didn’t get the start he hoped for, and that immediately made it even tougher for him to catch fellow Yamaha riders Cameron Petersen and Jake Gagne. He slipped back in the pack a bit during the first few laps, but he ultimately fought his way back up to his original starting position.
All in all, a Yamaha podium sweep is clearly something that Mathew and the entire team should be proud of.
“My start was terrible,” Mathew said. “I was back in fifth or sixth place. Battled Richie (Escalante) for one or two laps. Then, Josh (Herrin) was really fighting me hard. But, I managed to get past him, and then, I put in a couple of decent laps. It’s not that I caught Cam (Petersen) and Jake (Gagne). I just kind of felt that if I was there, I could have actually been a part of the battle and hung onto them. So, I know tomorrow, we just have to kind of clean up a few spots on the track where we were losing some serious time. Otherwise, I feel like I can be battling these boys up here next to me.”
For all the action from Barber Motorsports Park, 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 11:15 a.m. to Noon Sunday on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park. 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
Attack Performance, Puig USA Inc, and Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., 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 Claims Championship Lead with Back-to-Back Superbike Victories
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing score a stellar 1-2 finish in MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park
MARIETTA, Ga. – May 20, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne rode superbly, scoring his second-consecutive MotoAmerica Superbike win of the season in today’s Race 1 at the Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. The victory also strengthened the reigning champ’s title defense, giving him a 12-point lead over his rival. Teammate Cameron Petersen finished comfortably in second to give the team a decisive 1-2 finish.
Gagne showed strength straight away, topping all three sessions and earning his second pole position of the season. When the lights went out, he got a flying start to take the holeshot and threw down some fast laps early to build a gap up front and remain unchallenged. His 31st-career Superbike victory brought in a valuable points haul, giving him a 12-point lead after starting the weekend tied in points.
Petersen also got a great start from the number-two spot on the grid and was right on the heels of his teammate. Although Gagne was able to put some distance on him, the South African ate away at the gap in the final laps. In the end, Petersen crossed the line in the runner-up spot, four seconds clear of his countryman Matthew Scholtz on the Westby Racing Yamaha R1.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team is looking for a repeat in tomorrow’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 on Sunday, May 21, at the Barber Motorsports Park.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Today went exactly as planned. The cooler weather made the tire choice a bit challenging, but the decision became very easy when the sun came out, and the track surface reached 40º C (104º F). Jake and Cam, of course, rode a perfect race to finish 1-2, and Mat Scholtz did a good job to finish third, making it a Yamaha R1 sweep. We will work tonight to make another step forward and look to do more of the same tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne (1). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Yamaha.
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was kind of a crazy day. This morning I think everybody expected it to be a wet race, but the weather cooperated. It warmed up a lot right before the race, so it was a last-minute decision on the tires, but I got off to a great start, put in some good laps, and brought it home. Cam rode awesome and kept me honest the whole race. I know both he and Scholtz will step it up, but hopefully, we’ll get another one tomorrow. It was a great day for the team with a 1-2 finish and a good day for Yamaha with a podium sweep.”
Cameron Petersen (45). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Yamaha.
Cam Petersen – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was a great day for Yamaha and the team. For myself, it was just really nice to bounce back from Atlanta, finish on the podium, and get second place. Obviously, I want to be in this championship, and Jake’s leading it right now. So he got some more points on me, but again, it’s just really nice to get some confidence back and get the season rolling and started the way we wanted to. We’re just going to build on this momentum and keep the ball rolling.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA
Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA (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, WaveRunner Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars, 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, two corporate offices in Georgia, facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama, and factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company (YMSC) with divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Kracor Systems (Wisconsin) and Siren Marine, Inc. (Rhode Island), Skeeter Boats (Texas), with division G3 Boats (Missouri), and Yamaha Precision Propeller (Indiana).
Avery Dreher came out on top of a tough fight to win MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Riding his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, Dreher won the 11-lap race by 0.506 second. It was his third win of the young season.
SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van made a pass on the run from the final corner to the checkered flag to claim the runner-up spot.
Medina Racing’s Yandel Medina tried to make a pass on Dreher in the final corners, came up short, lost his drive, and was demoted to third by Van.
Hayden Gillim rode his Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000R to victory in MotoAmerica Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama.
Gillim took the lead into Turn One and held it until the race was stopped on lap 13 of 14 by a red flag. Gillim was leading by more than four seconds at the time.
Road Atlanta double race winner Ezra Beaubier finished a lonely second on his Orange Cat Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Beaubier’s teammate Kaleb De Keyrel took third, his first podium finish in the Stock 1000 class.
Rocco Landers rode his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 to victory in MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.
Kayla Yaakov took a close second place on her The Wagbar MP13 Racing Yamaha YZF-R7 in her return from a broken leg.
Dominic Doyle used a move on the last lap to score third on his Team Iso Yamaha YZF-R7.
The race was stopped on lap seven of 14 when it started raining and several riders, including race leader Gus Rodio, crashed.
Rodio, the Championship point leader coming into the race, was not allowed to make the five-lap restart. Exactly why Rodio was not allowed to restart was not immediately known.
It stopped raining shortly after the race was stopped, and the remainder of the race was run in the dry.
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Screen-reader and keyboard navigation
Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with
screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive
a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements,
alongside console screenshots of code examples:
Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website.
In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels;
descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups),
and others. Additionally, the background process scans all the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag
for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology.
To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on
as soon as they enter the website.
These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.
Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside it.
Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Disability profiles supported in our website
Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.
Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments
Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over seven different coloring options.
Animations – person with epilepsy can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.
Browser and assistive technology compatibility
We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers).
Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
