8th Rookies Cup win of the year for Piqueras in Spielberg
Angel Piqueras was back to his winning ways on Sunday morning in Spielberg picking up his 10th Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup career win in superb style. The 16-year-old Spaniard stole 1st from Saturday’s victor Álvaro Carpe with Rico Salmela flashing across the line just behind for a double 3rd.
Even more intense than yesterday it was an 8 KTM battle for the lead. Max Quiles ran off track from the lead group early and went for a trip through the gravel that left him battling back from last to 8th.
Cormac Buchanan had his 2nd very competitive ride of the weekend, led briefly but slid off when the front end tucked at the chicane on lap 14.
Piqueras perfect
“I’m happy to equal the wins total, in Misano I will try to be the best,” laughed the Cup winner after his 8th win of the season that matches Bo Bendsneyder’s score from 2015. Piqueras won 2 races last year so has now matched Karel Hanika’s total of 10 from 2012 & 13.
“This race was so fast, Salmela and Carpe were pushing a lot, I had to push hard also. We went for the taller gearing today, that helped when I had the slipstream, I needed that.”
“On the last lap, I pushed, coming to the end I knew I really only had one chance, the last corner is not the place, I went for it the corner before and it worked.”
Carpe leading again
“The race was difficult, more difficult than yesterday,” explained the 16-year-old Spaniard. “All the riders were pushing more and our group at the front was bigger.”
“I am really happy with the podium, the points for 2nd are so important for the championship. I’m the 2nd right now in the Rookies Cup and in a good position to hold that. It’s really important for me, for my mentality and for all my family.”
“The feeling with the bike was good, not quite as good as yesterday, in Race 1 I was more comfortable and I think I was riding better. I like the bike though very much and I know that it meant nothing to change, I look forward to riding it again in Misano.”
“On the last lap I knew that Angel would try to overtake me, he had said he wants to be the best Rookie ever. I thought he would try it at the last corner but he did it a corner before and there was nothing I could do,” he grinned.
Salmela smooth again
“It was a pretty good race, I had a good battle in the front group,” explained the 15-year-old Finn. “I don’t know why but I felt it was still a bit slippery on the rear tyre but I think it was more or less the same for everyone.”
“I tried to push every lap, then with about 4 laps to go I made a small mistake. So then I had to gain a few positions. I was P4 on the last lap, I couldn’t find a way to make any clean overtakes on Ruda so I just decided to try to pass on the straight before the 2nd to last corner but he defended well.”
“So I just had to get a good exit from the corner and I passed him in the last corner.”
“It was a great weekend, pole and two podiums, of course, I’m happy with that even though I wanted the win.”
Marcos Ruda 4th after the 2nd great ride of the weekend
“Yes I’m happy with both races,” enthused the 18-year-old Spaniard. “I felt really good battling at the front, I am sorry that I didn’t make the podium because I really thought it was possible, especially today. The bike was great.”
“Carpe and Piqueras were very fast but I did manage to get in front, even for a short time. On the last lap, I was there, going for the podium but Rico passed me right at the end.”
Ruche Moodley a strong ride to 5th
“It was a really fast race, the pace was very high,” explained the 16-year-old South African. “I was on the limit a lot so even to overtake was hard when the pace was faster than I was really comfortable with.”
“It was a very good race for me though, I was understanding the front group a lot better, I’m starting to be more confident, racing at the front of the Rookies Cup. I’m a little bit disappointed not to be on the podium but I’ll try again in Misano.”
Cormac Buchanan hit the front
“It was great to lead my first Rookies Cup race in the dry,” enthused the 16-year-old New Zealander. “I made probably the best start of my career and that was a big help.”
“It was weird because in the warm-up lap, the bike didn’t feel that great but I knew it was just because everything was cold, my body was cold and as the race went on I just kind of settled into a really fast rhythm and I was getting ready for the last 2 or 3 laps to try and get back to the front which I felt really comfortable doing. But unfortunately, just one mistake meant that I was down.”
Bowmanville, ON – The gap atop the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship shrunk considerably on Saturday, as Ben Young blitzed the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class in race one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The pole-sitter was briefly displaced by rival and championship leader Alex Dumas off the line but needed just one turn to get him back, passing Dumas into turn two and leading the rest of the way in the 20-lap feature.
As Young continued to stretch his early lead, the battle behind him began to take shape as Dumas was quickly hunted down by Sam Guerin and Tomas Casas, igniting a three-rider clash that would continue right to the finish.
Both Guerin and Dumas would take turns in second while Casas – crucially down in horsepower – stayed in tow in fourth, though Dumas seemingly had the final edge with five laps to go.
Instead, Guerin launched a spectacular pass off the long Andretti Straight into turn eight with just three laps remaining, before Casas immediately began to pressure Dumas for third. Dumas would retaliate and attempt a last-corner pass on Guerin, but it proved to be unsuccessful as he was relegated to the final podium spot.
That turned a great day into an even better one for Young and the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW squad, as he trimmed his 36-point championship deficit to 25 with five races to go.
“It wasn’t easy at all out there, but I’ve never seen that kind of gap in a Superbike race at this track,” Young said about the circuit which is notoriously tough to breakaway at. “The team’s working so hard and this BMW is phenomenal, so I feel like we could have done this all year without some of our bad luck.”
The win also moves Young into the top-five for career Superbike class victories, entering a tie with Don Munroe and Michel Mercier for third in history with 12 all-time.
“It feels great. There’s a lot of legends around in our sport, so I’m really happy to be a part of that,” Young added.
Despite his early-season misfortune, Young has clawed himself back into the title mix in part thanks to Guerin’s efforts to disrupt Dumas on Saturday, keeping his EFC Group BMW ahead of both the title leader and Casas at the line.
“That was a crazy one, battling with Alex and Tomas right from the start was so much fun,” Guerin said. “I was trying to fight my way through both of them, but they made it hard on me right to the end!”
The result added insult to injury for Dumas, who admitted on the podium he has been under the weather this week and felt the effects more than he thought he would as he tried to keep his Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki as close to Young as possible.
“I’m fighting a really bad cold, and it was affecting me pretty bad out there,” a frustrated Dumas said. “I still have a good lead in the championship, but hopefully we can be a couple steps higher on the podium tomorrow.”
The BMW one-two finish also came at an inconvenient time for Constructors Championship leaders Suzuki, who watched their title advantage fall from 28 points to just five entering races two and three on Sunday.
As for Casas, the Parts Canada Yamaha rider endured a bittersweet performance, as he looked noticeably faster than Dumas and Guerin in sectors one and three before losing all progress to a lack of straight-line speed down the Andretti straight.
The hometown favourite ultimately turned in a much-needed performance for Yamaha, who negated the LDS Consultants Kawasaki duo of Jordan Szoke and Trevor Dion in fifth and sixth, as Kawasaki tries to hunt down Yamaha for third overall.
That finishing result for Szoke hardly tells the story of his effort, though, as the 14-time champion was knocked off the grid by a mechanical fire on the warmup lap, forcing him to hop onto his secondary ‘B’ bike and start from the pit lane.
The 20-time CTMP winner needed just a trio of laps to work his way back into the top-ten, before gradually working his way into fifth by lap eight – passing his teammate in the process – as Szoke salvaged a spectacular finish amidst the circumstances.
Wildcard entry Eli Daccache impressed aboard his Milwaukee Yamaha machine, briefly running in the fight for second early on before settling into a comfortable sixth behind Dion, ultimately getting shunted back one place by the charging Szoke as he played a crucial role for Yamaha in the Constructors standings.
Jordan Royds would outlast a late-race duel with Phillip Leckie for eighth, putting his IBEW BMW just a quarter-second clear of the SCM/Tanians BMW rider at the line, while rookie John Fraser managed a solid tenth on his RLS Contracting Suzuki machine to take over the lead of the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year battle.
The feature class will now continue on with two more decisive races on Sunday, beginning at roughly 1 pm ET at the circuit just north of Bowmanville, ON.
Full results from Saturday’s races can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Mikayla Moore won MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, 19-year-old Moore fended off a strong challenge from Sonya Lloyd to win the six-lap race by 2.204 seconds.
It was Moore’s sixth win in six starts so far in 2023, allowing her to clinch the 2023 Championship with one race remaining on Sunday.
Lloyd was the runner-up, and defending Champion Kayleigh Buyck finished third.
The MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup Presented by Motul series held three rounds of racing Saturday on the kart track at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Saturday’s race winners included: Nathan Bettencourt (Stock 125 Race Two, Three, and Four), Ryan Clark (Stock 110 Race Four), Jacob Davis (Stock 110 Race Three), Ryder Davis (190 Ohvale Race Four), Nathan Gouker (160 Ohvale Race Two, Three, and Four), Joshua Raymond (190 Ohvale Race Two), Mahdi Salem (190 Ohvale Race Three), Cruise Texter (Stock 50 Race Two, Three, and Four), and Cole Varnes (Stock 110 Race Two).
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Landers took control near the halfway point of the 11-lap race and rode his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 to a 3.444-second margin of victory. It was Landers’ sixth win of the season.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis held off Landers’ teammate Gus Rodio to finish second, which in turn moved Davis into the Championship point lead.
Rodio made a big push to pass Davis on the run to the finish line but came 0.042 second short in third place.
Rodio is now second in the Championship standings, one point behind Davis and nine points ahead of Landers in third.
Two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne won MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1, Gagne won the 17-lap race by 3.698 seconds. The win, Gagne’s seventh of the season, extended his Championship point lead.
Five-time Champion Cameron Beaubier charged forward through the field on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR to score second place.
Mathew Scholtz turned a strong start into a third-place finish, and his sixth podium finish of the season, on his Westby Racing Yamaha.
Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha rider Bobby Fong, the pole-sitter, crossed the finish line third, but he was demoted to fourth by a time penalty for cutting the chicane.
Beaubier’s teammate PJ Jacobsen placed fifth, a fraction of a second behind Fong on the timing screen.
Gagne Wins His Seventh Of The Year At Pittsburgh International Race Complex
Defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Extends His Points Lead With Victory at Pitt Race
Although he was never headed, Jake Gagne (1) was chased in the early goings by Mathew Scholtz (11), Bobby Fong (50), and PJ Jacobsen (99). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Jake Gagne was up to his old tricks on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The two-time defending Medallia Superbike Champion started quickly, let the others hang around for a lap or two and then rode off into the distance for his seventh win of the year and the 36th Superbike victory of his career.
The win also extended his championship lead to 83 points heading into tomorrow’s two Medallia Superbike races in the MotoAmerica Superbikes At Pittsburgh, Presented By Steel Commander triple-header.
Gagne didn’t put a wheel wrong in earning his seventh win of the year. He had Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz on his back wheel for the opening laps, but then was able to pull away and let those behind him battle for second place as he managed his tires to the best of his ability.
Second ended up going to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, the five-time AMA Superbike Champion bouncing back from his big crash at Brainerd International Raceway a few weeks ago. Beaubier admitted that he was struggling with confidence after the race-one crash that forced him out of race two in Minnesota.
Beaubier started slowly in the race (after qualifying sixth) before eventually fighting his way through the pack to third. He then worked around Scholtz and kept him at bay to the finish. Beaubier was 3.6 seconds behind Gagne at the end of the 17-lap race and 1.8 seconds in front of third-placed Scholtz.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong ended up fourth in his best Superbike race of the year. Fong, riding David Anthony’s Yamaha YZF-R1, put in a solid ride after starting from his first career Superbike pole position. Fong saved what would have been a ferocious highside midway through the race, was later penalized for cutting the chicane, and still managed to narrowly beat Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen by .4 of a second with the penalty.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin was also penalized for a chicane violation and he barely beat JD Beach, who was riding the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha in place of the injured Cameron Petersen, for sixth place.
Beach, in his first Superbike race since 2021, was seventh and some four seconds ahead of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante. Escalante, in turn, bested his teammate Brandon Paasch by a tick over five seconds.
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
Gagne now leads Herrin, 287-204, heading into tomorrow’s two races at Pitt Race with Beaubier just a point behind Herrin. Jacobsen is fourth in the title chase with 173 points, 18 more than fifth-placed Escalante.
Superbike Race One
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
JD Beach (Yamaha)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
Quotes
Jake Gagne – Winner
“Mat (Scholtz) got a great start. He kind of got the launch on me. I was expecting him to come up the inside in one. This turn one is kind of tricky. You don’t really know where to brake. It’s blind going in and you don’t want to blow it. I was plus zero on the pit board for a couple laps, or plus 0.2. Almost nothing. I could kind of hear, in the slow turns, that it sounded like a Yamaha. You can tell the difference with the way the thing sounds. Just with it being so much hotter than it had been all weekend, the track was pretty greasy the first couple laps. Then the tires dropped off a little bit more than I expected, just because of the heat. I think there was a lot of heat in the tires. Just tried to be consistent. Would have a second, two seconds, and at that point just tried to ride smooth. Even if those guys started reeling me in, I just wanted to kind of click off the laps that I could and if they came back, then that’s what happened. We made a lot of progress really with the bike from yesterday to today. Weird start yesterday. We only missed a couple laps in the first session, but still making some changes that we’ve kind of wanted to try and got a better feeling in a couple areas with the bike, so I’m pretty happy with that. But tomorrow is going to be hot, two races. I think it will be probably another 10 degrees hotter, so it will be an interesting tough couple races tomorrow, so just try to be smart and learn what we can overnight. It’ll tighten up tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Cameron Beaubier – Second Place
“You’re right. This weekend has just been kind of a slow start for me. Yesterday I wasn’t trusting the bike. I wasn’t trusting the TC. I wasn’t really throwing the thing around and riding the thing like I know how to ride. I just wasn’t riding like myself. The guys have gotten me a lot more comfortable on the bike though and just kind of rebuilding the confidence a little bit. To be honest, I’ve been doing this long enough now that I’m able to bounce back pretty quick after a crash, but that one rattled me a little bit. I felt better this morning, even though the times weren’t there. I was feeling more confident on the bike with my riding and stuff. We made a good step with the bike going into the race. I just kind of slowly worked myself into a rhythm. I was able to pick the guys off and put my head down. I had pretty good pace up until about seven to go. I thought I was going to be able to ride it home in second. Jake (Gagne) was gone. He was riding incredible. But then my gap on my pit board started coming down and coming down. I even looked over my shoulder to see who it was, and it was Matty (Scholtz) who was charging. I had to really give it a good push those last five laps to hold onto second comfortably. But we’ll definitely take this after the struggle we had yesterday and roll it into tomorrow. See how it goes.”
Mathew Scholtz – Third Place
“I think it’s one of those tracks that when you’re following somebody it’s pretty easy to kind of flow and find the corners a little bit better. Then once I lost tow on Jake (Gagne), I kind of struggled a little bit. I dropped down into the 44s quickly, which was surprising. I kind of thought I’d be able to stay in the low 43s. The track definitely seems to have lost a little bit of grip on the edge. Once Cameron Beaubier passed me, I looked back and I think there was (Bobby) Fong and Josh Herrin or PJ Jacobsen, one of them. I thought, I have to try to find something now or I’m going to finish fifth. So, I just managed to kind of start to flow slight better, pick-up speed through the middle of the corner and not worry about driving out really hard. Dropped the times to the mid-43s. Then the last lap I kind of knew Bobby Fong was there. I knew he was going to try to pass me somewhere. He passed me through the fast left coming up to the chicane. He didn’t set up wide for up, but I dived up the inside of him then and kind of pushed him over the extra bit of curb, so I knew that he would get penalized. Crossed the line fourth, but I kind of got pointed towards the parc fermé and ended up third. So, I’m pretty happy with that.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Chalk Up Another Superbike Podium Finish For Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz At Pitt Race
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads Bobby Fong (50) and PJ Jacobsen (99) in Pennsylvania. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Wampum, PA – August 19, 2023 – In Saturday’s MotoAmerica Superbike race one at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (Pitt Race), Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz added another podium finish to his impressive “resumé of results,” making it 7 podiums in the 13 races he’s competed in at the Western Pennsylvania racetrack.
Starting from the outside of the front row on the grid, Mathew got off to one of his best starts ever as a MotoAmerica Superbike rider. He was immediately in a battle for the lead with Jake Gagne. He maintained his position in second behind Gagne until lap 7 of the 17-lap race when Cameron Beaubier overtook him. Bobby Fong, who was in fourth place, hounded Mathew for the rest of the race, but Fong made a mistake in the chicane, and the resulting time penalty on Fong ensured Mathew of a third-place result when the checkered flag flew.
“Pitt Race is one of those tracks that, when you’re following somebody, it’s pretty easy to kind of flow and find the corners a little bit better,” Mathew said. “When I lost the tow on Jake (Gagne), I kind of struggled a little bit. I dropped down into the 44’s quickly, which was surprising. I kind of thought I’d be able to stay in the low 43’s. The track definitely seems to have lost a little bit of grip on the edge. Once Cameron Beaubier passed me, I looked back, and I think there was Fong and Josh Herrin or PJ Jacobsen…one of them. I thought, ‘I have to try to find something now or I’m going to finish fifth.’ So, I just managed to flow slightly better, pick up speed through the middle of the corners and not worry about driving out really hard. I dropped my lap times into the mid-43’s. Then, on the last lap, I knew Bobby Fong was there. I knew he was going to try to pass me somewhere. He passed me through the fast left coming up to the chicane. He didn’t set up wide, but I dived up the inside of him and kind of pushed him over the extra bit of curb, so I knew that he would get penalized. I crossed the finish line in fourth, but I ended up third. So, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Superbike race two is on Sunday at Noon ET, and the weekend-concluding Superbike race three will start at 3 p.m. ET. Both races will be shown live on MotoAmerica’s YouTube Channel.
For all the action from Pitt Race, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11 to 11:40 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at Pitt Race. 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
Eazi-Grip Racing Products Ltd. and MWR Racing Air Filters 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 Fires First Shot with Superbike Race 1 Victory at PIRC
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne continues to make championship gains with seventh MotoAmerica Superbike victory in 2023
MARIETTA, Ga. – August 19, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne put on another masterclass performance in today’s opening race of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The defending champ led from start to finish to further extend his points lead with his seventh victory of the season. Making his return as a fill-in rider for the team was JD Beach, who navigated the tricky, greasy conditions in his first Superbike race in two years to finish seventh.
It was another trademark Gagne Superbike victory, with the reigning back-to-back champ grabbing the holeshot from the second spot on the front row of the grid. He then threw down some fast times to bring the heat on a hot day at the 2.78-mile track in Wampum, Pennsylvania, and built a comfortable gap up front. Gagne remained unchallenged in the 17-lap race, scoring his 36th-career Superbike victory and seventh of the season to expand his lead in the championship to 83 points.
With a weekend off from his full-time duties as an American Flat Track racer, Beach had a solid first race back since his last fill-in ride with the team at Brainerd International Raceway in 2021. Qualifying 10th, he had a good start from the fourth row of the grid into ninth and made his way to seventh around the halfway mark, where he would finish.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team returns tomorrow for twice the MotoAmerica Superbike action with Race 2 and 3 of the weekend at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Another mission accomplished – a front-row sweep of Yamaha R1s as well as a decisive victory for Jake. JD also found a good rhythm in the race, and the result did not show his potential. We will work hard to repeat the winning performance on Sunday, as well as help JD get closer to the podium. It should be fun.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was a great Race 1 today. A good start always makes life easier. I put my head down and just kind of inched away from those guys. This was the hottest track that we’ve had so far this weekend. So it was a little greasier than expected, but the R1 loves this track. We made steady improvements all weekend, and we are looking to make more progress for tomorrow’s double header!”
JD Beach – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“My goal for Race 1 was just to get a good start and move forward from where I started. I wanted to stay calm and finish the race, to do every lap, see the checkered flag, and get my feet under me. We did that. Now I’m feeling really good for the next two races!”
Carpe’s first Rookies Cup win is a classic in Spielberg
Álvaro Carpe was all but perfect from lights to flag and the 16-year-old Spaniard scored his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory in Spielberg. Cup winner and victory demon Angel Piqueras was denied another win but grabbed 2nd from pole man Rico Salmela in a great last-lap battle that could have gone either way.
The trio were clearly the strongest and Max Quiles could do no better than hang on to them as they pulled away from the rest of the pack.
Carpe has time on old tyres pay off
“I think it was the best race of my life. I am really happy, I pushed on every lap and was leading all the way.”
“In the Qualifying I was riding alone and I knew that I did not need to follow anyone. The bike was great all through Friday and I was very confident going into the race. It was great fun to ride.”
“In my training, I ride so much with the old tyres so even though with the higher temperatures today the bike was sliding a bit that did not worry me at all. I am used to push hard when the bike is sliding and I think that this is the result.”
“Coming to the last lap I just pushed even harder, I thought the riders behind would try and pass so I just went harder than ever in the last lap.”
Piqueras denied another win but has plans for Sunday
“I really couldn’t make a plan to win because Carpe was riding so fast,” admitted the 16-year-old Spaniard. “I didn’t have a strategy, I just did what I could.”
“Starting the last lap I thought I could win, I pushed but Rico and I had a battle and it wasn’t possible to get Carpe.”
“I hope tomorrow will be different, I think we should be able to improve the bike quite a bit, the suspension and the gearing. I’m not sure just what we want from the gearing, we will have to think about it.”
Salmela went for it but missed
“I was struggling a bit but it was still a good race,” accepted the 15-year-old Finn. “I think everyone was struggling a bit. The track is more slippery when it is hot but it is the same for everyone.”
“In the race, I saw that Carpe had very good pace so I decided to follow him. I had a plan for the last lap, I tried to pass him in Turn 4 but he kept to the inside, I tried the outside but it didn’t work and I went a bit wide and Piqueras passed.”
“I passed Piqueras in the second to last corner but he Carpe braked a bit earlier than I expected and I had to slow, letting Piqueras take 2nd.”
Quiles took 4th rather than a fall
“I was struggling a lot with the bike,” explained the 15-year-old Spaniard. “When I turned into the fast corners I had the front bouncing and the front tyre was sliding. I was on the limit all the time, at every corner.”
“The best thing that I could do was stay with the group. I didn’t want to push too much and have another crash, I was on the limit.”
“We will see if we can improve it for tomorrow. I don’t know, when I saw the other guys ahead of me they seemed to be a bit more comfortable so I don’t think it was just the track temperature.”
Cormac Buchanan 6th even with a track limits penalty
“It was a good race,” enthused the 16-year-old New Zealander. “The most important thing for me was just to get a good start, try and make as many places up as early as I could. It was quite nice because I knew I had the pace to be up the field, me and Marcus Ruda were working together and we closed in but in the last laps when the rear tyre started to drop off I lacked a little bit.”
“I think tomorrow in cooler conditions in the morning it should be a bit better and it is great to be back in the pointy end of the race. It makes a big difference to get a good result on merit.”
“I didn’t know I had a long lap penalty until I saw it on my dash on the last lap so I just kept pushing, hoping I had enough of a gap to those behind. When Marcos (Ruda) came past me it was really important to stay with him and I was able to do that.”
Danial Shahril an excellent 7th
“I am very happy with that, my best result this year in Rookies Cup,” grinned the 20-year-old Malaysian. “Super happy to be fighting in the top group and finish in the top 10.”
“After 10 laps I made a mistake in the chicane, I caught neutral in the gearbox and I lost the group. It was then difficult to catch the group and fight for the podium.”
“I think tomorrow can be better, I was hitting the limit on the straight so I think the taller gearing could help tomorrow.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:50 CEST, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
Race 1: Casadei grabs the glory as Ferrari crashes on the last lap
Last year the late drama came from Casadei, this time around the Italian wins from Granado and Zannoni as Ferrari slides out the lead
Mattia Casadei (40) was gifted the win in Race One when Matteo Ferrari (behind Casadei) crashed out of the lead on the last lap. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) has taken victory in MotoE™ Race 1 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as title-chasing Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) crashed out of the lead on the final lap. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) and Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) completed the first podium of the day in Austria.
Zannoni got the perfect launch from pole and Granado quickly gained a place into P2 at Turn 2A, with Casadei slipping to P3. That soon changed to P2 though for the latter as the Italian carved his way up the inside of Granado at Turn 1 on Lap 2, with Zannoni’s early 0.5s advantage vanishing on the second lap.
The lead changed for the first time at the end of Lap 3 as Casadei shoved his way up to P1 past Zannoni, and the polesitter went P1 to P4 in the blink of an eye as Granado and Ferrari came charging past too. Ferrari then grabbed the lead after Casadei had a rear-end moment on the exit of Turn 8 a lap later.
With two laps to go, Ferrari boasted a 0.6s lead over Casadei with Granado a further six tenths down in P3. The Brazilian was holding Zannoni at bay, while Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) fancied a bit of the podium action in P5.
0.6s was Ferrari’s lead heading onto the final lap, Casadei’s gap to P3 had grown to 0.8s, as a fierce three-way fight for P3 unravelled. Then, at Turn 7, drama unfolded. Ferrari was down and out on the final lap while leading, which in turn handed Casadei a somewhat unexpected victory. Granado held off Zannoni and Garzo for second, as the latter misses out on a rostrum by just 0.084s.
Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) will be counting his lucky stars as a P5 sees his Championship lead extend to 26 points over Ferrari, as Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) claims P6 despite having a Long Lap penalty to serve from Silverstone. Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing), Mika Perez (RNF MotoE™ Team), Kevin Manfredi (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) and Tito Rabat (Prettl Pramac MotoE™) rounded out the top 10.
Race 2: Casadei holds off charging Ferrari to double down in Austria
Another stunner saw the number 40 do the double and move up to second overall as Ferrari shadowed him home
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) both doubled down in Race 2 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich AND made it three wins in a row, fending off Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) on the final lap to take over in second overall by a single point. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) took his second podium of the day at the Red Bull Ring as he rounded out the Race 2 rostrum, completing an impressive round including a first pole too.
Mattia Casadei (40) leads Matteo Ferrari (11) and Kevin Zannoni (21) in Race Two. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Zannoni took the holeshot, and immediately had Casadei and Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) for company. Before the end of Lap 1 though, Casadei decided it was time push his way past into the lead. A group of eight riders formed at the front in the early stages with Championship leader Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) making moves at the back of the group. The Spaniard was unable to cling onto the riders ahead, however, and Casadei began to stretch out the field with five laps to go as Ferrari got the better of Granado to put himself inside the top three, too.
Disaster then struck for Granado with two laps to go as the Brazilian asked a little bit too much of his front tyre and hit the deck, rider ok but leaving a three-rider and all-Italian fight at the front.
By the last lap, Casadei led Zannoni led Ferrari, but Ferrari parked it perfectly up the inside to take over in second as they barreled towards the final sector. There was one move between the number 11 and a redemptive win, but into the iconic final corner, the Gresini rider didn’t make a lunge for it. Casadei held him off and crossed the line to complete an awesome weekend worth 50 points, but Ferrari did take that 20-point payday for second as Torres came home in sixth.
Zannoni made it two podiums with another P3, with Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) beating Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) to fourth ahead of Torres in sixth.
With that, it’s now Casadei second overall, 15 points off the top, and Ferrari in third with a deficit of 16 to Torres. Next up for MotoE™ will be the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. With the Championship picture hotting up between the leading trio, you’re not going to want to miss it!
Stefano Mesa gave himself a special 29th birthday present Saturday by winning MotoAmerica Supersport Race One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace) in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Mesa won the red-flag-interrupted-and-restarted race by 0.180 second.
Xavi Fores finished a close second on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2, but the Spaniard actually extended his Championship point lead.
Tyler Scott was a very close third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Mesa Gets His First Supersport Win Of The Year At Pitt Race
Mesa, Landers, Dreher Win, Moore Crowned In Pennsylvania
Stefano Mesa (37) leads Xavi Forés (12) and Tyler Scott (70) en route to winning Saturday’s Supersport race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Two MotoAmerica rounds ago, the winner of the 2023 Supersport Championship seemed to be a fait accompli.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Xavi Forés had reeled off eight consecutive wins, and it looked like he was head for a perfect season. But things changed for the Spaniard in Minnesota and the bumpy Brainerd International Raceway wreaked havoc on the handling of his Ducati Panigale V2, as well as on his win streak. He left the Land of 10,000 Lakes without a win, and it continued in Supersport race one at Pittsburgh.
The story of the race, though, was not who didn’t win, but who did.
Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki rider Stefano Mesa notched his first Supersport victory of the season and the second of his career. Mesa also earned the pole position for both of the weekend’s races, so clearly, Pitt Race is a very good track for the Colombian. It was also Mesa’s 29th birthday.
Second place went to Forés, who commented in the post-race press conference that he is doing everything he can to keep up with the other bikes. The only Ducati rider in the field, Forés thinks the balancing measures mandated for his bike are too extreme.
Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott, which was his seventh podium result of the season.
“The whole weekend, we’ve been very fast off the get-go,” Mesa said. “I think, after race two in Brainerd, we found a little something on the bike. We’ve been dealing with a lot of chassis issues with the new B bike, what we call the B bike, since I broke the (A bike at) Ridge. I broke it in half. Been battling a lot of chassis setup. But I think we finally hit the nail where it was. I think we’re in the window for the bike. My hats off to the team. They gave me a great bike since we rolled it out of the truck. We’ve been fast all weekend. The race was great. My hats off to these guys. This is great battling with them. It’s great trying to pass Xavi (Forés) on the brakes. I think first clean race I got to actually battle with Xavi and try and go for the win. I think I had the pace. Tomorrow we’re going to try and find a little bit more and see if we can get the win again.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – The Title Chase Tightens
Rocco Landers (97) celebrates his victory in the REV’IT! Twins Cup race on Saturday at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The battle for the 2023 REV’IT! Twins Cup Championship can’t get much closer than it already is, but Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers is hoping that it gets even closer after tomorrow’s second race at Pitt Race.
Landers won his sixth REV’IT! race of the year after an early battle with championship rivals Blake Davis and Gus Rodio and the win moves him to within 10 points of the lead in the title chase.
The battle for second in Saturday’s race was also the battle for the championship lead and it went to N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Davis by just .042 of a second over Landers’ teammate Rodio.
How’s this for close? Davis now leads Rodio by a single point with Landers 10 points behind Davis and nine behind Rodio.
Team Iso’s Dominic Doyle had a relatively lonely ride to fourth with TrackDay Winner/Blackmon Racing’s Jackson Blackmon rounding out the top five.
“I have not had the best past month, after what I did at Laguna,” Landers said. “But I knew this was a good track for me. It’s a good track for the bike. It’s a good track for the team. The Aprilia is handling absolutely amazing. The start I kind of got shuffled back there a little bit. I just tried to basically pick up the pieces after the first lap and do what I could to get back past these guys. They were riding amazing, obviously killing it. I knew if I could lead a few laps at least through the esses, I could maybe start to stretch out a gap and then hold it there. So, that’s what I did. It went to plan today. Doesn’t always go to plan, but today it did. We’re hoping to do at least that or even better tomorrow.”
Junior Cup – Dreher Bounces Back
The Junior Cup pack fires off into Turn One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
After winning four out of the first five Junior Cup races of the season, it came as quite a surprise that Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki rider Avery Dreher hit a dry spell where he didn’t get another victory for three straight races. But, on Saturday at Pitt Race, Dreher returned to his winning ways.
Starting from pole position, the Florida-based rider battled throughout the 10-lap race with Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM’s Rossi Moor, Hayden Bicknese Racing Kawasaki rider Hayden Bicknese, and Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Alessandro Di Mario. At the checkers, it was Dreher who notched the win by .036 of a second over Moor, with Di Mario just .136 of a second back from Dreher.
With three more races left in the Junior Cup Championship, Dreher has a 39-point lead over Moor.
“I honestly didn’t really lead that much,” Dreher said. “I went into the race, and I wanted to be as aggressive as I can. I’m usually not the most aggressive rider, but I had to change that. So, I wanted to be able to lead the whole race, just not fall outside the top two. We went back and forth a couple times. I had a couple moments. I was battling with some little grip issues here and there. But I got to say, the bike honestly felt amazing. Thanks to the team. We figured out our issues from Friday. That last lap was just figuring out if I wanted to be in third or second going onto the front straightaway. Just kind of was in a perfect spot to get that draft. I’m just super happy to extend my points lead and get another win.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore Crowned!
Mikayla Moore wrapped up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Championship at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Mikayla Moore kept her perfect season intact with her sixth win in six starts and it all resulted in her wrapping up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. championship. Moore will attempt to close out a perfect season with another victory tomorrow at Pitt Race.
Sonya Lloyd earned her fifth podium of the year with her second-place finish and that virtually assures her of second in the championship after tomorrow’s finale. Lloyd battled with Moore early and finished 2.2 seconds behind the Marylander – the closest anyone has been to the newly crowned champion all season.
Defending series champion Kayleigh Buyck was third in the race and happy to be back on the podium after a rough season for the New Yorker.
“I was going into turn one and I’m like, holy crap, someone was like right next to me,” Moore said. “I just tried to do my best and hit my marks. Luckily, this round, I had my lap timer, so I ended up doing a 2:07. I told my parents. They were like, ‘What time do you think you’re going to run?’ I was like, ‘I think I’ll do a 2:08.’ But every time I get some fresh Dunlop tires, I end up going faster and meet my goals every time.
“If I can be honest, going into this program I thought I would struggle a little bit because in the beginning… I’m not able to adapt quick to bikes, so I’m really actually surprised. After the first round I was able to get quickly adapted to it and things like that. Then also we have a great team, so everyone kept each other positive. I just tried to at the Road America after the first round keep the streak going. So far, I had a perfect season. Just have to complete it tomorrow.”
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Gouker Dominates
Nathan Gouker (1) won the Ohvale 160 class during Mission Mini Cup By Motul action on Friday at PittRace. Photo By Klingsporn Media.
Stadler America’s Nathan Gouker picked up where he left off with a resounding Ohvale 160 class victory in the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup By Motul round on Friday afternoon at Pitt Race.
Gouker was dominant in taking a 17-second victory over Madd Will Racing’s Kruz Maddison, who barely beat American Racing’s Connor Raymond by a scant .198 of a second.
American Racing’s Joshua Raymond scored the win in the Ohvale 190 class, beating Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis by 4.8 seconds with HistoricGP’s Mahdi Salem finishing a distant third.
Stock class racing on Friday saw Cory Texter Racing/Roof Systems’ Cruise Texter winning the Stock 50 class; Varnes Racing’s Cole Varnes doing likewise in Stock 110 with Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt winning the Stock 125 final.
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:
VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S TY SCOTT EARNS FIFTH STRAIGHT PODIUM AT PITTSBURGH
Suzuki Dominates the Supersport Top Ten Results
BREA, CA — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued to stack up trophy-winning weekends with another podium performance in the MotoAmerica Supersport race on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott scored his fifth-consecutive podium with a competitive third-place finish.
Teagg Hobbs closed on the leaders late to earn a hard-charging fifth.
Superbike
Richie Escalante qualified fourth before collecting an eighth-place result.
Brandon Paasch showed impressive speed in the opening half of the race and ended up in ninth.
Superbike
Brandon Paasch broke into the top five for the first time in his short stint with the team.
Richie Escalante collected seventh, ending his run of six straight top fives.
Tyler Scott (70) earned a hard-fought third place and fifth consecutive podium at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott continued his recent tear aboard the team’s next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750, again challenging for victory en route to an eventual third-place result in the day’s Supersport contest. Despite starting from the outside of Row 2, Scott launched into third at the start. After going back and forth with teammate Teagg Hobbs, Scott consolidated third and then tracked down the leaders to make it a three-way fight for the win.
A red flag put a temporary halt to that battle, which resumed with an even more intense four-way fight for glory, with Scott again running in third. The rising star harried the leaders relentlessly but could not find a way through. Scott ultimately crossed the line in third, less than a half-second off the win, securing his fifth consecutive podium finish in 2023.
“It was a tight race and a good one,” Scott said, “but it was very hard. My competitors were very good on the brakes, and it was hard to get beside them to make a move. I was happy with the bike and the team’s performance, and I thought everything was positive. We may adjust some things in the Sunday morning warm-up to see if we can improve, but we are in good shape for the next race.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) qualified strong, battling for fifth in Supersport race one. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
After qualifying second fastest aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, Teagg Hobbs was in a race-long melee himself. With a race chocked full of runs and momentum shifts, Hobbs was as high as third and as low as sixth. Hobbs managed to claw his way back up to fifth late in the contest, where he charged on the leaders before finally taking the checkered flag in fifth. Team Hammer’s results led the charge once more, as Suzuki GSX-Rs continued to dominate the Supersport results, earning 50% of the top ten results in Pittsburgh.
Hobbs said, “I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the race, and we made some changes to the setup during the red flag that made things better. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. The goal is to stay in the top five – and we did that again – but I am trying to get closer to the leaders. The main thing for tomorrow is to clean things up and change my approach a little.”
Richie Escalante (54) earned eighth place at Pittsburgh’s Saturday Superbike contest. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante reminded the Superbike field of his front-running speed aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R with an impressive fourth-place showing in qualifying. Unfortunately, Escalante was unable to capitalize on that strong start in hopes of notching his tenth top-five race finish of the year. Escalante was shuffled down to ninth on the opening lap, and then struggled to find a way back up through the field, finally coming home with an eighth-place result.
“It has been a difficult weekend, honestly,” Escalante said. “I’ve been working hard with the crew to feel more comfortable on the bike, especially on the exits. We made progress and got P4 in qualifying, but it was a very difficult race. I found my position at the start and thought it was time to start moving forward, but in the different temperature conditions, we needed more grip. I kept pushing and got points, but we are looking forward to getting two more chances tomorrow.”
Brandon Paasch (96) continues his Superbike comeback, carding ninth at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Coming off another top-five outing with the team in the premier class, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch flashed the speed to repeat that feat early in the Superbike race. After starting on the outside of Row 3, Paasch slotted into seventh early and then applied heavy pressure on sixth place until approximately half-distance. Paasch – who is both adapting to the Superbike class and working back to full fitness – lost ground over the second half of the race before collecting ninth at the checkered flag.
“I’m happy with what we were able to accomplish in the race,” said Paasch. “I had a good start and moved up. We’re surely making progress, but I made a mistake and ran off track in Turn 1. Then, trying to catch up, I ran off again in the chicane. By then, I had killed my tire and I struggled the last few laps. I’m fired up for tomorrow. The competition is tough, but we got 17 more race laps in as I am trying to learn and improve.”
The team will have an opportunity on Sunday to turn podiums into wins and top tens into top fives when the MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex concludes with another Supersport race and two more Superbike races.
Avery Dreher rode his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to victory in MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Dreher overtook Rossi Moor on the run from the final corner to the finish line to win his fifth race of the season by just 0.036 second and extend his Championship point lead.
Moor led most of the race but had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390 R.
Alessandro Di Mario finished third on his Altus Motorsports Kawasaki, taking his first podium finish in Junior Cup.
Hayden Bicknese was a close fourth on his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki, Yandel Medina took fifth on his Yandel Racing Kawasaki, and Max Van was a close sixth, just 0.8 second behind Dreher, on his SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki Ninja 400.
8th Rookies Cup win of the year for Piqueras in Spielberg
Angel Piqueras was back to his winning ways on Sunday morning in Spielberg picking up his 10th Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup career win in superb style. The 16-year-old Spaniard stole 1st from Saturday’s victor Álvaro Carpe with Rico Salmela flashing across the line just behind for a double 3rd.
Even more intense than yesterday it was an 8 KTM battle for the lead. Max Quiles ran off track from the lead group early and went for a trip through the gravel that left him battling back from last to 8th.
Cormac Buchanan had his 2nd very competitive ride of the weekend, led briefly but slid off when the front end tucked at the chicane on lap 14.
Piqueras perfect
“I’m happy to equal the wins total, in Misano I will try to be the best,” laughed the Cup winner after his 8th win of the season that matches Bo Bendsneyder’s score from 2015. Piqueras won 2 races last year so has now matched Karel Hanika’s total of 10 from 2012 & 13.
“This race was so fast, Salmela and Carpe were pushing a lot, I had to push hard also. We went for the taller gearing today, that helped when I had the slipstream, I needed that.”
“On the last lap, I pushed, coming to the end I knew I really only had one chance, the last corner is not the place, I went for it the corner before and it worked.”
Carpe leading again
“The race was difficult, more difficult than yesterday,” explained the 16-year-old Spaniard. “All the riders were pushing more and our group at the front was bigger.”
“I am really happy with the podium, the points for 2nd are so important for the championship. I’m the 2nd right now in the Rookies Cup and in a good position to hold that. It’s really important for me, for my mentality and for all my family.”
“The feeling with the bike was good, not quite as good as yesterday, in Race 1 I was more comfortable and I think I was riding better. I like the bike though very much and I know that it meant nothing to change, I look forward to riding it again in Misano.”
“On the last lap I knew that Angel would try to overtake me, he had said he wants to be the best Rookie ever. I thought he would try it at the last corner but he did it a corner before and there was nothing I could do,” he grinned.
Salmela smooth again
“It was a pretty good race, I had a good battle in the front group,” explained the 15-year-old Finn. “I don’t know why but I felt it was still a bit slippery on the rear tyre but I think it was more or less the same for everyone.”
“I tried to push every lap, then with about 4 laps to go I made a small mistake. So then I had to gain a few positions. I was P4 on the last lap, I couldn’t find a way to make any clean overtakes on Ruda so I just decided to try to pass on the straight before the 2nd to last corner but he defended well.”
“So I just had to get a good exit from the corner and I passed him in the last corner.”
“It was a great weekend, pole and two podiums, of course, I’m happy with that even though I wanted the win.”
Marcos Ruda 4th after the 2nd great ride of the weekend
“Yes I’m happy with both races,” enthused the 18-year-old Spaniard. “I felt really good battling at the front, I am sorry that I didn’t make the podium because I really thought it was possible, especially today. The bike was great.”
“Carpe and Piqueras were very fast but I did manage to get in front, even for a short time. On the last lap, I was there, going for the podium but Rico passed me right at the end.”
Ruche Moodley a strong ride to 5th
“It was a really fast race, the pace was very high,” explained the 16-year-old South African. “I was on the limit a lot so even to overtake was hard when the pace was faster than I was really comfortable with.”
“It was a very good race for me though, I was understanding the front group a lot better, I’m starting to be more confident, racing at the front of the Rookies Cup. I’m a little bit disappointed not to be on the podium but I’ll try again in Misano.”
Cormac Buchanan hit the front
“It was great to lead my first Rookies Cup race in the dry,” enthused the 16-year-old New Zealander. “I made probably the best start of my career and that was a big help.”
“It was weird because in the warm-up lap, the bike didn’t feel that great but I knew it was just because everything was cold, my body was cold and as the race went on I just kind of settled into a really fast rhythm and I was getting ready for the last 2 or 3 laps to try and get back to the front which I felt really comfortable doing. But unfortunately, just one mistake meant that I was down.”
Ben Young (1) leads Saturday's Superbike race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with Sam Guerin (2), Alex Dumas (23), and Tomas Casas (18) in pursuit.
Photo by Rob O'Brien, courtesy CSBK.
Bowmanville, ON – The gap atop the Bridgestone Canadian Superbike Championship shrunk considerably on Saturday, as Ben Young blitzed the GP Bikes Pro Superbike class in race one at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The pole-sitter was briefly displaced by rival and championship leader Alex Dumas off the line but needed just one turn to get him back, passing Dumas into turn two and leading the rest of the way in the 20-lap feature.
As Young continued to stretch his early lead, the battle behind him began to take shape as Dumas was quickly hunted down by Sam Guerin and Tomas Casas, igniting a three-rider clash that would continue right to the finish.
Both Guerin and Dumas would take turns in second while Casas – crucially down in horsepower – stayed in tow in fourth, though Dumas seemingly had the final edge with five laps to go.
Instead, Guerin launched a spectacular pass off the long Andretti Straight into turn eight with just three laps remaining, before Casas immediately began to pressure Dumas for third. Dumas would retaliate and attempt a last-corner pass on Guerin, but it proved to be unsuccessful as he was relegated to the final podium spot.
That turned a great day into an even better one for Young and the Van Dolder’s Home Team BMW squad, as he trimmed his 36-point championship deficit to 25 with five races to go.
“It wasn’t easy at all out there, but I’ve never seen that kind of gap in a Superbike race at this track,” Young said about the circuit which is notoriously tough to breakaway at. “The team’s working so hard and this BMW is phenomenal, so I feel like we could have done this all year without some of our bad luck.”
The win also moves Young into the top-five for career Superbike class victories, entering a tie with Don Munroe and Michel Mercier for third in history with 12 all-time.
“It feels great. There’s a lot of legends around in our sport, so I’m really happy to be a part of that,” Young added.
Despite his early-season misfortune, Young has clawed himself back into the title mix in part thanks to Guerin’s efforts to disrupt Dumas on Saturday, keeping his EFC Group BMW ahead of both the title leader and Casas at the line.
“That was a crazy one, battling with Alex and Tomas right from the start was so much fun,” Guerin said. “I was trying to fight my way through both of them, but they made it hard on me right to the end!”
The result added insult to injury for Dumas, who admitted on the podium he has been under the weather this week and felt the effects more than he thought he would as he tried to keep his Purple Skull Brewing/Liqui Moly Suzuki as close to Young as possible.
“I’m fighting a really bad cold, and it was affecting me pretty bad out there,” a frustrated Dumas said. “I still have a good lead in the championship, but hopefully we can be a couple steps higher on the podium tomorrow.”
The BMW one-two finish also came at an inconvenient time for Constructors Championship leaders Suzuki, who watched their title advantage fall from 28 points to just five entering races two and three on Sunday.
As for Casas, the Parts Canada Yamaha rider endured a bittersweet performance, as he looked noticeably faster than Dumas and Guerin in sectors one and three before losing all progress to a lack of straight-line speed down the Andretti straight.
The hometown favourite ultimately turned in a much-needed performance for Yamaha, who negated the LDS Consultants Kawasaki duo of Jordan Szoke and Trevor Dion in fifth and sixth, as Kawasaki tries to hunt down Yamaha for third overall.
That finishing result for Szoke hardly tells the story of his effort, though, as the 14-time champion was knocked off the grid by a mechanical fire on the warmup lap, forcing him to hop onto his secondary ‘B’ bike and start from the pit lane.
The 20-time CTMP winner needed just a trio of laps to work his way back into the top-ten, before gradually working his way into fifth by lap eight – passing his teammate in the process – as Szoke salvaged a spectacular finish amidst the circumstances.
Wildcard entry Eli Daccache impressed aboard his Milwaukee Yamaha machine, briefly running in the fight for second early on before settling into a comfortable sixth behind Dion, ultimately getting shunted back one place by the charging Szoke as he played a crucial role for Yamaha in the Constructors standings.
Jordan Royds would outlast a late-race duel with Phillip Leckie for eighth, putting his IBEW BMW just a quarter-second clear of the SCM/Tanians BMW rider at the line, while rookie John Fraser managed a solid tenth on his RLS Contracting Suzuki machine to take over the lead of the Brooklin Cycle Racing Pro Rookie of the Year battle.
The feature class will now continue on with two more decisive races on Sunday, beginning at roughly 1 pm ET at the circuit just north of Bowmanville, ON.
Full results from Saturday’s races can be found on the series’ official website at CSBK.ca.
Mikayla Moore won MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, 19-year-old Moore fended off a strong challenge from Sonya Lloyd to win the six-lap race by 2.204 seconds.
It was Moore’s sixth win in six starts so far in 2023, allowing her to clinch the 2023 Championship with one race remaining on Sunday.
Lloyd was the runner-up, and defending Champion Kayleigh Buyck finished third.
Jacob Davis (46), Blake Sorrentino (111), Cole Varnes (24), and Joel Laub (89) prepare to start a Stock 110 race at Pittsburgh International Race Complex's kart track. Photo courtesy MotoAmerica.
KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
The MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup Presented by Motul series held three rounds of racing Saturday on the kart track at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Saturday’s race winners included: Nathan Bettencourt (Stock 125 Race Two, Three, and Four), Ryan Clark (Stock 110 Race Four), Jacob Davis (Stock 110 Race Three), Ryder Davis (190 Ohvale Race Four), Nathan Gouker (160 Ohvale Race Two, Three, and Four), Joshua Raymond (190 Ohvale Race Two), Mahdi Salem (190 Ohvale Race Three), Cruise Texter (Stock 50 Race Two, Three, and Four), and Cole Varnes (Stock 110 Race Two).
Rocco Landers won MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Landers took control near the halfway point of the 11-lap race and rode his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 to a 3.444-second margin of victory. It was Landers’ sixth win of the season.
N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis held off Landers’ teammate Gus Rodio to finish second, which in turn moved Davis into the Championship point lead.
Rodio made a big push to pass Davis on the run to the finish line but came 0.042 second short in third place.
Rodio is now second in the Championship standings, one point behind Davis and nine points ahead of Landers in third.
Two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne won MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1, Gagne won the 17-lap race by 3.698 seconds. The win, Gagne’s seventh of the season, extended his Championship point lead.
Five-time Champion Cameron Beaubier charged forward through the field on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR to score second place.
Mathew Scholtz turned a strong start into a third-place finish, and his sixth podium finish of the season, on his Westby Racing Yamaha.
Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha rider Bobby Fong, the pole-sitter, crossed the finish line third, but he was demoted to fourth by a time penalty for cutting the chicane.
Beaubier’s teammate PJ Jacobsen placed fifth, a fraction of a second behind Fong on the timing screen.
Gagne Wins His Seventh Of The Year At Pittsburgh International Race Complex
Defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Extends His Points Lead With Victory at Pitt Race
Although he was never headed, Jake Gagne (1) was chased in the early goings by Mathew Scholtz (11), Bobby Fong (50), and PJ Jacobsen (99). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy MotoAmerica.
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Jake Gagne was up to his old tricks on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The two-time defending Medallia Superbike Champion started quickly, let the others hang around for a lap or two and then rode off into the distance for his seventh win of the year and the 36th Superbike victory of his career.
The win also extended his championship lead to 83 points heading into tomorrow’s two Medallia Superbike races in the MotoAmerica Superbikes At Pittsburgh, Presented By Steel Commander triple-header.
Gagne didn’t put a wheel wrong in earning his seventh win of the year. He had Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz on his back wheel for the opening laps, but then was able to pull away and let those behind him battle for second place as he managed his tires to the best of his ability.
Second ended up going to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier, the five-time AMA Superbike Champion bouncing back from his big crash at Brainerd International Raceway a few weeks ago. Beaubier admitted that he was struggling with confidence after the race-one crash that forced him out of race two in Minnesota.
Beaubier started slowly in the race (after qualifying sixth) before eventually fighting his way through the pack to third. He then worked around Scholtz and kept him at bay to the finish. Beaubier was 3.6 seconds behind Gagne at the end of the 17-lap race and 1.8 seconds in front of third-placed Scholtz.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong ended up fourth in his best Superbike race of the year. Fong, riding David Anthony’s Yamaha YZF-R1, put in a solid ride after starting from his first career Superbike pole position. Fong saved what would have been a ferocious highside midway through the race, was later penalized for cutting the chicane, and still managed to narrowly beat Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen by .4 of a second with the penalty.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin was also penalized for a chicane violation and he barely beat JD Beach, who was riding the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha in place of the injured Cameron Petersen, for sixth place.
Beach, in his first Superbike race since 2021, was seventh and some four seconds ahead of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante. Escalante, in turn, bested his teammate Brandon Paasch by a tick over five seconds.
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
Gagne now leads Herrin, 287-204, heading into tomorrow’s two races at Pitt Race with Beaubier just a point behind Herrin. Jacobsen is fourth in the title chase with 173 points, 18 more than fifth-placed Escalante.
Superbike Race One
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
Josh Herrin (Ducati)
JD Beach (Yamaha)
Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
Quotes
Jake Gagne – Winner
“Mat (Scholtz) got a great start. He kind of got the launch on me. I was expecting him to come up the inside in one. This turn one is kind of tricky. You don’t really know where to brake. It’s blind going in and you don’t want to blow it. I was plus zero on the pit board for a couple laps, or plus 0.2. Almost nothing. I could kind of hear, in the slow turns, that it sounded like a Yamaha. You can tell the difference with the way the thing sounds. Just with it being so much hotter than it had been all weekend, the track was pretty greasy the first couple laps. Then the tires dropped off a little bit more than I expected, just because of the heat. I think there was a lot of heat in the tires. Just tried to be consistent. Would have a second, two seconds, and at that point just tried to ride smooth. Even if those guys started reeling me in, I just wanted to kind of click off the laps that I could and if they came back, then that’s what happened. We made a lot of progress really with the bike from yesterday to today. Weird start yesterday. We only missed a couple laps in the first session, but still making some changes that we’ve kind of wanted to try and got a better feeling in a couple areas with the bike, so I’m pretty happy with that. But tomorrow is going to be hot, two races. I think it will be probably another 10 degrees hotter, so it will be an interesting tough couple races tomorrow, so just try to be smart and learn what we can overnight. It’ll tighten up tomorrow, I’m sure.”
Cameron Beaubier – Second Place
“You’re right. This weekend has just been kind of a slow start for me. Yesterday I wasn’t trusting the bike. I wasn’t trusting the TC. I wasn’t really throwing the thing around and riding the thing like I know how to ride. I just wasn’t riding like myself. The guys have gotten me a lot more comfortable on the bike though and just kind of rebuilding the confidence a little bit. To be honest, I’ve been doing this long enough now that I’m able to bounce back pretty quick after a crash, but that one rattled me a little bit. I felt better this morning, even though the times weren’t there. I was feeling more confident on the bike with my riding and stuff. We made a good step with the bike going into the race. I just kind of slowly worked myself into a rhythm. I was able to pick the guys off and put my head down. I had pretty good pace up until about seven to go. I thought I was going to be able to ride it home in second. Jake (Gagne) was gone. He was riding incredible. But then my gap on my pit board started coming down and coming down. I even looked over my shoulder to see who it was, and it was Matty (Scholtz) who was charging. I had to really give it a good push those last five laps to hold onto second comfortably. But we’ll definitely take this after the struggle we had yesterday and roll it into tomorrow. See how it goes.”
Mathew Scholtz – Third Place
“I think it’s one of those tracks that when you’re following somebody it’s pretty easy to kind of flow and find the corners a little bit better. Then once I lost tow on Jake (Gagne), I kind of struggled a little bit. I dropped down into the 44s quickly, which was surprising. I kind of thought I’d be able to stay in the low 43s. The track definitely seems to have lost a little bit of grip on the edge. Once Cameron Beaubier passed me, I looked back and I think there was (Bobby) Fong and Josh Herrin or PJ Jacobsen, one of them. I thought, I have to try to find something now or I’m going to finish fifth. So, I just managed to kind of start to flow slight better, pick-up speed through the middle of the corner and not worry about driving out really hard. Dropped the times to the mid-43s. Then the last lap I kind of knew Bobby Fong was there. I knew he was going to try to pass me somewhere. He passed me through the fast left coming up to the chicane. He didn’t set up wide for up, but I dived up the inside of him then and kind of pushed him over the extra bit of curb, so I knew that he would get penalized. Crossed the line fourth, but I kind of got pointed towards the parc fermé and ended up third. So, I’m pretty happy with that.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Chalk Up Another Superbike Podium Finish For Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz At Pitt Race
Mathew Scholtz (11) leads Bobby Fong (50) and PJ Jacobsen (99) in Pennsylvania. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Westby Racing.
Wampum, PA – August 19, 2023 – In Saturday’s MotoAmerica Superbike race one at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (Pitt Race), Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz added another podium finish to his impressive “resumé of results,” making it 7 podiums in the 13 races he’s competed in at the Western Pennsylvania racetrack.
Starting from the outside of the front row on the grid, Mathew got off to one of his best starts ever as a MotoAmerica Superbike rider. He was immediately in a battle for the lead with Jake Gagne. He maintained his position in second behind Gagne until lap 7 of the 17-lap race when Cameron Beaubier overtook him. Bobby Fong, who was in fourth place, hounded Mathew for the rest of the race, but Fong made a mistake in the chicane, and the resulting time penalty on Fong ensured Mathew of a third-place result when the checkered flag flew.
“Pitt Race is one of those tracks that, when you’re following somebody, it’s pretty easy to kind of flow and find the corners a little bit better,” Mathew said. “When I lost the tow on Jake (Gagne), I kind of struggled a little bit. I dropped down into the 44’s quickly, which was surprising. I kind of thought I’d be able to stay in the low 43’s. The track definitely seems to have lost a little bit of grip on the edge. Once Cameron Beaubier passed me, I looked back, and I think there was Fong and Josh Herrin or PJ Jacobsen…one of them. I thought, ‘I have to try to find something now or I’m going to finish fifth.’ So, I just managed to flow slightly better, pick up speed through the middle of the corners and not worry about driving out really hard. I dropped my lap times into the mid-43’s. Then, on the last lap, I knew Bobby Fong was there. I knew he was going to try to pass me somewhere. He passed me through the fast left coming up to the chicane. He didn’t set up wide, but I dived up the inside of him and kind of pushed him over the extra bit of curb, so I knew that he would get penalized. I crossed the finish line in fourth, but I ended up third. So, I’m pretty happy with that.”
Superbike race two is on Sunday at Noon ET, and the weekend-concluding Superbike race three will start at 3 p.m. ET. Both races will be shown live on MotoAmerica’s YouTube Channel.
For all the action from Pitt Race, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11 to 11:40 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at Pitt Race. 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
Eazi-Grip Racing Products Ltd. and MWR Racing Air Filters 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 Fires First Shot with Superbike Race 1 Victory at PIRC
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne continues to make championship gains with seventh MotoAmerica Superbike victory in 2023
MARIETTA, Ga. – August 19, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne put on another masterclass performance in today’s opening race of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex. The defending champ led from start to finish to further extend his points lead with his seventh victory of the season. Making his return as a fill-in rider for the team was JD Beach, who navigated the tricky, greasy conditions in his first Superbike race in two years to finish seventh.
It was another trademark Gagne Superbike victory, with the reigning back-to-back champ grabbing the holeshot from the second spot on the front row of the grid. He then threw down some fast times to bring the heat on a hot day at the 2.78-mile track in Wampum, Pennsylvania, and built a comfortable gap up front. Gagne remained unchallenged in the 17-lap race, scoring his 36th-career Superbike victory and seventh of the season to expand his lead in the championship to 83 points.
With a weekend off from his full-time duties as an American Flat Track racer, Beach had a solid first race back since his last fill-in ride with the team at Brainerd International Raceway in 2021. Qualifying 10th, he had a good start from the fourth row of the grid into ninth and made his way to seventh around the halfway mark, where he would finish.
The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team returns tomorrow for twice the MotoAmerica Superbike action with Race 2 and 3 of the weekend at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Another mission accomplished – a front-row sweep of Yamaha R1s as well as a decisive victory for Jake. JD also found a good rhythm in the race, and the result did not show his potential. We will work hard to repeat the winning performance on Sunday, as well as help JD get closer to the podium. It should be fun.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“It was a great Race 1 today. A good start always makes life easier. I put my head down and just kind of inched away from those guys. This was the hottest track that we’ve had so far this weekend. So it was a little greasier than expected, but the R1 loves this track. We made steady improvements all weekend, and we are looking to make more progress for tomorrow’s double header!”
JD Beach – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing
“My goal for Race 1 was just to get a good start and move forward from where I started. I wanted to stay calm and finish the race, to do every lap, see the checkered flag, and get my feet under me. We did that. Now I’m feeling really good for the next two races!”
Rico Salmela (27), Alvaro Carpe (83), Ruche Moodley (11), and Angel Piqueras (18) lead the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup field at Red Bull Ring in 2023. Photo courtesy Red Bull.
Carpe’s first Rookies Cup win is a classic in Spielberg
Álvaro Carpe was all but perfect from lights to flag and the 16-year-old Spaniard scored his first Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup victory in Spielberg. Cup winner and victory demon Angel Piqueras was denied another win but grabbed 2nd from pole man Rico Salmela in a great last-lap battle that could have gone either way.
The trio were clearly the strongest and Max Quiles could do no better than hang on to them as they pulled away from the rest of the pack.
Carpe has time on old tyres pay off
“I think it was the best race of my life. I am really happy, I pushed on every lap and was leading all the way.”
“In the Qualifying I was riding alone and I knew that I did not need to follow anyone. The bike was great all through Friday and I was very confident going into the race. It was great fun to ride.”
“In my training, I ride so much with the old tyres so even though with the higher temperatures today the bike was sliding a bit that did not worry me at all. I am used to push hard when the bike is sliding and I think that this is the result.”
“Coming to the last lap I just pushed even harder, I thought the riders behind would try and pass so I just went harder than ever in the last lap.”
Piqueras denied another win but has plans for Sunday
“I really couldn’t make a plan to win because Carpe was riding so fast,” admitted the 16-year-old Spaniard. “I didn’t have a strategy, I just did what I could.”
“Starting the last lap I thought I could win, I pushed but Rico and I had a battle and it wasn’t possible to get Carpe.”
“I hope tomorrow will be different, I think we should be able to improve the bike quite a bit, the suspension and the gearing. I’m not sure just what we want from the gearing, we will have to think about it.”
Salmela went for it but missed
“I was struggling a bit but it was still a good race,” accepted the 15-year-old Finn. “I think everyone was struggling a bit. The track is more slippery when it is hot but it is the same for everyone.”
“In the race, I saw that Carpe had very good pace so I decided to follow him. I had a plan for the last lap, I tried to pass him in Turn 4 but he kept to the inside, I tried the outside but it didn’t work and I went a bit wide and Piqueras passed.”
“I passed Piqueras in the second to last corner but he Carpe braked a bit earlier than I expected and I had to slow, letting Piqueras take 2nd.”
Quiles took 4th rather than a fall
“I was struggling a lot with the bike,” explained the 15-year-old Spaniard. “When I turned into the fast corners I had the front bouncing and the front tyre was sliding. I was on the limit all the time, at every corner.”
“The best thing that I could do was stay with the group. I didn’t want to push too much and have another crash, I was on the limit.”
“We will see if we can improve it for tomorrow. I don’t know, when I saw the other guys ahead of me they seemed to be a bit more comfortable so I don’t think it was just the track temperature.”
Cormac Buchanan 6th even with a track limits penalty
“It was a good race,” enthused the 16-year-old New Zealander. “The most important thing for me was just to get a good start, try and make as many places up as early as I could. It was quite nice because I knew I had the pace to be up the field, me and Marcus Ruda were working together and we closed in but in the last laps when the rear tyre started to drop off I lacked a little bit.”
“I think tomorrow in cooler conditions in the morning it should be a bit better and it is great to be back in the pointy end of the race. It makes a big difference to get a good result on merit.”
“I didn’t know I had a long lap penalty until I saw it on my dash on the last lap so I just kept pushing, hoping I had enough of a gap to those behind. When Marcos (Ruda) came past me it was really important to stay with him and I was able to do that.”
Danial Shahril an excellent 7th
“I am very happy with that, my best result this year in Rookies Cup,” grinned the 20-year-old Malaysian. “Super happy to be fighting in the top group and finish in the top 10.”
“After 10 laps I made a mistake in the chicane, I caught neutral in the gearbox and I lost the group. It was then difficult to catch the group and fight for the podium.”
“I think tomorrow can be better, I was hitting the limit on the straight so I think the taller gearing could help tomorrow.”
Broadcast
This weekend’s Rookies Cup races can be seen live on www.redbull.tv and on TV stations around the world.
Race 2 is on Sunday at 08:50 CEST, the show starts 10 minutes before the race.
Race 1: Casadei grabs the glory as Ferrari crashes on the last lap
Last year the late drama came from Casadei, this time around the Italian wins from Granado and Zannoni as Ferrari slides out the lead
Mattia Casadei (40) was gifted the win in Race One when Matteo Ferrari (behind Casadei) crashed out of the lead on the last lap. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Saturday, 19 August 2023
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) has taken victory in MotoE™ Race 1 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich as title-chasing Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) crashed out of the lead on the final lap. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) and Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) completed the first podium of the day in Austria.
Zannoni got the perfect launch from pole and Granado quickly gained a place into P2 at Turn 2A, with Casadei slipping to P3. That soon changed to P2 though for the latter as the Italian carved his way up the inside of Granado at Turn 1 on Lap 2, with Zannoni’s early 0.5s advantage vanishing on the second lap.
The lead changed for the first time at the end of Lap 3 as Casadei shoved his way up to P1 past Zannoni, and the polesitter went P1 to P4 in the blink of an eye as Granado and Ferrari came charging past too. Ferrari then grabbed the lead after Casadei had a rear-end moment on the exit of Turn 8 a lap later.
With two laps to go, Ferrari boasted a 0.6s lead over Casadei with Granado a further six tenths down in P3. The Brazilian was holding Zannoni at bay, while Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) fancied a bit of the podium action in P5.
0.6s was Ferrari’s lead heading onto the final lap, Casadei’s gap to P3 had grown to 0.8s, as a fierce three-way fight for P3 unravelled. Then, at Turn 7, drama unfolded. Ferrari was down and out on the final lap while leading, which in turn handed Casadei a somewhat unexpected victory. Granado held off Zannoni and Garzo for second, as the latter misses out on a rostrum by just 0.084s.
Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) will be counting his lucky stars as a P5 sees his Championship lead extend to 26 points over Ferrari, as Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) claims P6 despite having a Long Lap penalty to serve from Silverstone. Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing), Mika Perez (RNF MotoE™ Team), Kevin Manfredi (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) and Tito Rabat (Prettl Pramac MotoE™) rounded out the top 10.
Race 2: Casadei holds off charging Ferrari to double down in Austria
Another stunner saw the number 40 do the double and move up to second overall as Ferrari shadowed him home
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40) both doubled down in Race 2 at the CryptoDATA Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich AND made it three wins in a row, fending off Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) on the final lap to take over in second overall by a single point. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) took his second podium of the day at the Red Bull Ring as he rounded out the Race 2 rostrum, completing an impressive round including a first pole too.
Mattia Casadei (40) leads Matteo Ferrari (11) and Kevin Zannoni (21) in Race Two. Photo courtesy Dorna.
Zannoni took the holeshot, and immediately had Casadei and Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) for company. Before the end of Lap 1 though, Casadei decided it was time push his way past into the lead. A group of eight riders formed at the front in the early stages with Championship leader Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) making moves at the back of the group. The Spaniard was unable to cling onto the riders ahead, however, and Casadei began to stretch out the field with five laps to go as Ferrari got the better of Granado to put himself inside the top three, too.
Disaster then struck for Granado with two laps to go as the Brazilian asked a little bit too much of his front tyre and hit the deck, rider ok but leaving a three-rider and all-Italian fight at the front.
By the last lap, Casadei led Zannoni led Ferrari, but Ferrari parked it perfectly up the inside to take over in second as they barreled towards the final sector. There was one move between the number 11 and a redemptive win, but into the iconic final corner, the Gresini rider didn’t make a lunge for it. Casadei held him off and crossed the line to complete an awesome weekend worth 50 points, but Ferrari did take that 20-point payday for second as Torres came home in sixth.
Zannoni made it two podiums with another P3, with Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) beating Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) to fourth ahead of Torres in sixth.
With that, it’s now Casadei second overall, 15 points off the top, and Ferrari in third with a deficit of 16 to Torres. Next up for MotoE™ will be the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya. With the Championship picture hotting up between the leading trio, you’re not going to want to miss it!
Stefano Mesa gave himself a special 29th birthday present Saturday by winning MotoAmerica Supersport Race One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace) in Wampum, Pennsylvania. Riding his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, Mesa won the red-flag-interrupted-and-restarted race by 0.180 second.
Xavi Fores finished a close second on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2, but the Spaniard actually extended his Championship point lead.
Tyler Scott was a very close third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Mesa Gets His First Supersport Win Of The Year At Pitt Race
Mesa, Landers, Dreher Win, Moore Crowned In Pennsylvania
Stefano Mesa (37) leads Xavi Forés (12) and Tyler Scott (70) en route to winning Saturday’s Supersport race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
WAMPUM, PA (August 19, 2023) – Two MotoAmerica rounds ago, the winner of the 2023 Supersport Championship seemed to be a fait accompli.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Xavi Forés had reeled off eight consecutive wins, and it looked like he was head for a perfect season. But things changed for the Spaniard in Minnesota and the bumpy Brainerd International Raceway wreaked havoc on the handling of his Ducati Panigale V2, as well as on his win streak. He left the Land of 10,000 Lakes without a win, and it continued in Supersport race one at Pittsburgh.
The story of the race, though, was not who didn’t win, but who did.
Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki rider Stefano Mesa notched his first Supersport victory of the season and the second of his career. Mesa also earned the pole position for both of the weekend’s races, so clearly, Pitt Race is a very good track for the Colombian. It was also Mesa’s 29th birthday.
Second place went to Forés, who commented in the post-race press conference that he is doing everything he can to keep up with the other bikes. The only Ducati rider in the field, Forés thinks the balancing measures mandated for his bike are too extreme.
Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott, which was his seventh podium result of the season.
“The whole weekend, we’ve been very fast off the get-go,” Mesa said. “I think, after race two in Brainerd, we found a little something on the bike. We’ve been dealing with a lot of chassis issues with the new B bike, what we call the B bike, since I broke the (A bike at) Ridge. I broke it in half. Been battling a lot of chassis setup. But I think we finally hit the nail where it was. I think we’re in the window for the bike. My hats off to the team. They gave me a great bike since we rolled it out of the truck. We’ve been fast all weekend. The race was great. My hats off to these guys. This is great battling with them. It’s great trying to pass Xavi (Forés) on the brakes. I think first clean race I got to actually battle with Xavi and try and go for the win. I think I had the pace. Tomorrow we’re going to try and find a little bit more and see if we can get the win again.”
REV’IT! Twins Cup – The Title Chase Tightens
Rocco Landers (97) celebrates his victory in the REV’IT! Twins Cup race on Saturday at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
The battle for the 2023 REV’IT! Twins Cup Championship can’t get much closer than it already is, but Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers is hoping that it gets even closer after tomorrow’s second race at Pitt Race.
Landers won his sixth REV’IT! race of the year after an early battle with championship rivals Blake Davis and Gus Rodio and the win moves him to within 10 points of the lead in the title chase.
The battle for second in Saturday’s race was also the battle for the championship lead and it went to N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Davis by just .042 of a second over Landers’ teammate Rodio.
How’s this for close? Davis now leads Rodio by a single point with Landers 10 points behind Davis and nine behind Rodio.
Team Iso’s Dominic Doyle had a relatively lonely ride to fourth with TrackDay Winner/Blackmon Racing’s Jackson Blackmon rounding out the top five.
“I have not had the best past month, after what I did at Laguna,” Landers said. “But I knew this was a good track for me. It’s a good track for the bike. It’s a good track for the team. The Aprilia is handling absolutely amazing. The start I kind of got shuffled back there a little bit. I just tried to basically pick up the pieces after the first lap and do what I could to get back past these guys. They were riding amazing, obviously killing it. I knew if I could lead a few laps at least through the esses, I could maybe start to stretch out a gap and then hold it there. So, that’s what I did. It went to plan today. Doesn’t always go to plan, but today it did. We’re hoping to do at least that or even better tomorrow.”
Junior Cup – Dreher Bounces Back
The Junior Cup pack fires off into Turn One at Pittsburgh International Race Complex on Saturday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
After winning four out of the first five Junior Cup races of the season, it came as quite a surprise that Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki rider Avery Dreher hit a dry spell where he didn’t get another victory for three straight races. But, on Saturday at Pitt Race, Dreher returned to his winning ways.
Starting from pole position, the Florida-based rider battled throughout the 10-lap race with Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM’s Rossi Moor, Hayden Bicknese Racing Kawasaki rider Hayden Bicknese, and Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Alessandro Di Mario. At the checkers, it was Dreher who notched the win by .036 of a second over Moor, with Di Mario just .136 of a second back from Dreher.
With three more races left in the Junior Cup Championship, Dreher has a 39-point lead over Moor.
“I honestly didn’t really lead that much,” Dreher said. “I went into the race, and I wanted to be as aggressive as I can. I’m usually not the most aggressive rider, but I had to change that. So, I wanted to be able to lead the whole race, just not fall outside the top two. We went back and forth a couple times. I had a couple moments. I was battling with some little grip issues here and there. But I got to say, the bike honestly felt amazing. Thanks to the team. We figured out our issues from Friday. That last lap was just figuring out if I wanted to be in third or second going onto the front straightaway. Just kind of was in a perfect spot to get that draft. I’m just super happy to extend my points lead and get another win.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore Crowned!
Mikayla Moore wrapped up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Championship at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
On a sunny Saturday afternoon, Mikayla Moore kept her perfect season intact with her sixth win in six starts and it all resulted in her wrapping up the 2023 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. championship. Moore will attempt to close out a perfect season with another victory tomorrow at Pitt Race.
Sonya Lloyd earned her fifth podium of the year with her second-place finish and that virtually assures her of second in the championship after tomorrow’s finale. Lloyd battled with Moore early and finished 2.2 seconds behind the Marylander – the closest anyone has been to the newly crowned champion all season.
Defending series champion Kayleigh Buyck was third in the race and happy to be back on the podium after a rough season for the New Yorker.
“I was going into turn one and I’m like, holy crap, someone was like right next to me,” Moore said. “I just tried to do my best and hit my marks. Luckily, this round, I had my lap timer, so I ended up doing a 2:07. I told my parents. They were like, ‘What time do you think you’re going to run?’ I was like, ‘I think I’ll do a 2:08.’ But every time I get some fresh Dunlop tires, I end up going faster and meet my goals every time.
“If I can be honest, going into this program I thought I would struggle a little bit because in the beginning… I’m not able to adapt quick to bikes, so I’m really actually surprised. After the first round I was able to get quickly adapted to it and things like that. Then also we have a great team, so everyone kept each other positive. I just tried to at the Road America after the first round keep the streak going. So far, I had a perfect season. Just have to complete it tomorrow.”
Mission Mini Cup By Motul – Gouker Dominates
Nathan Gouker (1) won the Ohvale 160 class during Mission Mini Cup By Motul action on Friday at PittRace. Photo By Klingsporn Media.
Stadler America’s Nathan Gouker picked up where he left off with a resounding Ohvale 160 class victory in the MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup By Motul round on Friday afternoon at Pitt Race.
Gouker was dominant in taking a 17-second victory over Madd Will Racing’s Kruz Maddison, who barely beat American Racing’s Connor Raymond by a scant .198 of a second.
American Racing’s Joshua Raymond scored the win in the Ohvale 190 class, beating Alpha Omega’s Ryder Davis by 4.8 seconds with HistoricGP’s Mahdi Salem finishing a distant third.
Stock class racing on Friday saw Cory Texter Racing/Roof Systems’ Cruise Texter winning the Stock 50 class; Varnes Racing’s Cole Varnes doing likewise in Stock 110 with Jacobsen Motorcycle Training/Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt winning the Stock 125 final.
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:
VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI’S TY SCOTT EARNS FIFTH STRAIGHT PODIUM AT PITTSBURGH
Suzuki Dominates the Supersport Top Ten Results
BREA, CA — Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer continued to stack up trophy-winning weekends with another podium performance in the MotoAmerica Supersport race on Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Race Highlights:
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
Supersport
Tyler Scott scored his fifth-consecutive podium with a competitive third-place finish.
Teagg Hobbs closed on the leaders late to earn a hard-charging fifth.
Superbike
Richie Escalante qualified fourth before collecting an eighth-place result.
Brandon Paasch showed impressive speed in the opening half of the race and ended up in ninth.
Superbike
Brandon Paasch broke into the top five for the first time in his short stint with the team.
Richie Escalante collected seventh, ending his run of six straight top fives.
Tyler Scott (70) earned a hard-fought third place and fifth consecutive podium at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott continued his recent tear aboard the team’s next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750, again challenging for victory en route to an eventual third-place result in the day’s Supersport contest. Despite starting from the outside of Row 2, Scott launched into third at the start. After going back and forth with teammate Teagg Hobbs, Scott consolidated third and then tracked down the leaders to make it a three-way fight for the win.
A red flag put a temporary halt to that battle, which resumed with an even more intense four-way fight for glory, with Scott again running in third. The rising star harried the leaders relentlessly but could not find a way through. Scott ultimately crossed the line in third, less than a half-second off the win, securing his fifth consecutive podium finish in 2023.
“It was a tight race and a good one,” Scott said, “but it was very hard. My competitors were very good on the brakes, and it was hard to get beside them to make a move. I was happy with the bike and the team’s performance, and I thought everything was positive. We may adjust some things in the Sunday morning warm-up to see if we can improve, but we are in good shape for the next race.”
Teagg Hobbs (79) qualified strong, battling for fifth in Supersport race one. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
After qualifying second fastest aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, Teagg Hobbs was in a race-long melee himself. With a race chocked full of runs and momentum shifts, Hobbs was as high as third and as low as sixth. Hobbs managed to claw his way back up to fifth late in the contest, where he charged on the leaders before finally taking the checkered flag in fifth. Team Hammer’s results led the charge once more, as Suzuki GSX-Rs continued to dominate the Supersport results, earning 50% of the top ten results in Pittsburgh.
Hobbs said, “I made a few mistakes at the beginning of the race, and we made some changes to the setup during the red flag that made things better. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race. The goal is to stay in the top five – and we did that again – but I am trying to get closer to the leaders. The main thing for tomorrow is to clean things up and change my approach a little.”
Richie Escalante (54) earned eighth place at Pittsburgh’s Saturday Superbike contest. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante reminded the Superbike field of his front-running speed aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-R1000R with an impressive fourth-place showing in qualifying. Unfortunately, Escalante was unable to capitalize on that strong start in hopes of notching his tenth top-five race finish of the year. Escalante was shuffled down to ninth on the opening lap, and then struggled to find a way back up through the field, finally coming home with an eighth-place result.
“It has been a difficult weekend, honestly,” Escalante said. “I’ve been working hard with the crew to feel more comfortable on the bike, especially on the exits. We made progress and got P4 in qualifying, but it was a very difficult race. I found my position at the start and thought it was time to start moving forward, but in the different temperature conditions, we needed more grip. I kept pushing and got points, but we are looking forward to getting two more chances tomorrow.”
Brandon Paasch (96) continues his Superbike comeback, carding ninth at Pittsburgh. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA.
Coming off another top-five outing with the team in the premier class, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch flashed the speed to repeat that feat early in the Superbike race. After starting on the outside of Row 3, Paasch slotted into seventh early and then applied heavy pressure on sixth place until approximately half-distance. Paasch – who is both adapting to the Superbike class and working back to full fitness – lost ground over the second half of the race before collecting ninth at the checkered flag.
“I’m happy with what we were able to accomplish in the race,” said Paasch. “I had a good start and moved up. We’re surely making progress, but I made a mistake and ran off track in Turn 1. Then, trying to catch up, I ran off again in the chicane. By then, I had killed my tire and I struggled the last few laps. I’m fired up for tomorrow. The competition is tough, but we got 17 more race laps in as I am trying to learn and improve.”
The team will have an opportunity on Sunday to turn podiums into wins and top tens into top fives when the MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex concludes with another Supersport race and two more Superbike races.
Avery Dreher rode his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400 to victory in MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race One Saturday at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (a.k.a. PittRace), in Wampum, Pennsylvania.
Dreher overtook Rossi Moor on the run from the final corner to the finish line to win his fifth race of the season by just 0.036 second and extend his Championship point lead.
Moor led most of the race but had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM RC 390 R.
Alessandro Di Mario finished third on his Altus Motorsports Kawasaki, taking his first podium finish in Junior Cup.
Hayden Bicknese was a close fourth on his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki, Yandel Medina took fifth on his Yandel Racing Kawasaki, and Max Van was a close sixth, just 0.8 second behind Dreher, on his SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki Ninja 400.
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