Bobby Fong won MotoAmerica Mission King Of The Baggers Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Fong took the lead on the first lap and inched away to win the eight-lap sprint by 1.509 seconds on his Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands Design Indian Challenger. It was his second full-length race win of the season.

Hayden Gillim finished second on his Vance & Hines/Mission Foods Harley-Davidson Road Glide, which was enough for him to take over the Championship point lead.

Defending Champion Tyler O’Hara used a late-race pass on Gillim’s teammate James Rispoli to score third place on his Progressive Insurance/Mission Foods Indian.

Rispoli came home fourth, and Kyle Wyman rounded out the top five finishers on his Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson.

PJ Jacobsen broke through to take his career-first MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race win in Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota.

Jacobsen passed two-time and defending Champion Jake Gagne on lap nine of 18 and held on to win by 0.322 second on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.

Gagne said he pushed his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 hard all the way to the end but the best he could do was second, which was enough to add to his Championship point lead significantly.

After a string of bad luck in 2023 that continued with a DNF in Race One, Mathew Scholtz was happy to bring his Westby Racing Yamaha home in third.

Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha’s Bobby Fong was running Scholtz down at a rapid pace in the closing laps but came up 0.1 second short of passing him before the finish. After the race, Fong received a 1.3-second penalty for cutting the chicane, but it didn’t affect his finishing position – fourth.

Brandon Paasch turned a great start into an impressive fifth-place finish on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.

Championship contenders Josh Herrin and Cameron Beaubier did not score any points in Race Two. Herrin retired from Race Two with technical problems on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati, and Beaubier did not start the race due to a concussion he suffered in a crash during Race One.

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Jacobsen Wins The First MotoAmerica Superbike Race Of His Career At Brainerd

PJ Jacobsen Nabs His First Superbike Victory In A Straight Fight Over Jake Gagne In Minnesota

BRAINERD, MN (July 30, 2023) – With a near-perfect performance on Sunday afternoon at Brainerd International Raceway, PJ Jacobsen is no longer the fastest rider in the MotoAmerica paddock to not win a Medallia Superbike race after he added his name to the list of men who have won the premier class in the championship.

With three second-place finishes so far this season and a runner-up finish once in 2022, Jacobsen’s win turned him from bridesmaid to bride and he did it the right way, by besting two-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne in a straight fight. The win also allowed him to step out of the shadow of his five-time Superbike Champion teammate, Cameron Beaubier – the winner of five races thus far in his first season with the Tytlers Cycle Racing team.

After trailing Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s Jake Gagne for all of race one on Saturday, Jacobsen was again behind the championship points leader in race two. Until there were nine laps to go. At that point, Jacobsen made his move on Gagne in turn three, got the job done and even put a bit of a cushion between himself and Gagne. Although Gagne put in a late-race charge, Jacobsen was able to withstand the pressure to take that elusive first win by .322 of a second.

Behind those two, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was also feeling pressure from behind as Bobby Fong was having the ride of his year on the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1 and was giving the South African all he could handle in the final laps. Scholtz crossed the line in third with Fong giving up the chase in the final few turns.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch continues to impress in just his second weekend on the GSX-R1000R with another fifth-place finish. Sixth place went to Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim by a tick over Paasch’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Richie Escalante, who struggled with front-tire woes.

Josh Hayes was up to fourth when an off-track excursion knocked him back to 11th. The four-time AMA Superbike Champion, riding the injured Cameron Petersen’s Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1, charged back through to end up eighth.

Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates was ninth with Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounding out the top 10.

With Beaubier being ruled out of racing on Sunday due to the concussion he suffered in Saturday’s crash, and Josh Herrin’s Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R suffering a mechanical problem that knocked him out of third place, Gagne’s lead in the championship swelled to 68 points over Herrin, 262-194. Beaubier drops to third, 79 points behind Gagne. With his 2-1 weekend tally, Jacobsen jumps past Escalante and into fourth in the title chase, 100 points behind the championship leader.

Superbike Race 2

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

Superbike Quotes
 

PJ Jacobsen – Winner

“It’s just been hard work. Last year being able to even be on the podium was awesome and getting there. Then building steps this year and stuff, and with Cam (Beaubier) coming on as my teammate it was obviously a huge push because he’s a five-time AMA Superbike Champion. When he’s out there winning every weekend, first or second, it’s hard to have that as a teammate. I think just building and building and then learning some stuff from him as well in the data and everything. I knew I would eventually get there. I think I’ve always just been close in the wet races. I don’t really consider that a win, for me anyway. It’s good to finally get a dry win and actually get the job done. It feels pretty good. It was a big moment for me out there. I’ve wanted to do this. When you’re a kid coming up racing, and you’re in the paddock running around there, watching all these guys and then you want to be up here eventually with a win, like Hayes, Zemke, Duhamel, all those guys. So, it’s cool to be up here and to finally get a win in MotoAmerica.”

Jake Gagne – Second Place

“I was just on the edge. I was really pushing, trying to keep with PJ (Jacobsen). Right when he passed me that first lap, two laps, he was just putting tenths on me. I kind of calmed down and figured out a couple little things where he was quicker and tried to ride the bike a little different, be a little smoother, keep it from spinning up quite as much. Then that last lap, we came up on that lapper and I was wondering if I was going to get lucky and see what happened. But it was really fun racing with PJ. The guy has got so much talent. It’s good for him to get his first win. I enjoy being on that side, chasing him down for the win. It was kind of the opposite yesterday where he kind of just got back to my rear tire at the end there and I kind of did the same thing today. It was good. It really sucked to see (Cameron) Beaubier go out with that crash yesterday. I think something happened to (Josh) Herrin today. Good day for points, but more importantly just some good racing today with PJ. Good, clean racing. I didn’t know who was behind me, but we were just kind of inching away there. Everybody was really close this weekend. It was just those first couple laps, like always. I was able to push the pace a little bit. I knew PJ would be there the whole time. Just tried to be smart. Good day. Fun racing with PJ and watching him sideways around the whole track.”

Mathew Scholtz – Third Place

“This season has been pretty sh*t so far, to be honest. So, this is awesome to be back up on the podium here. Yesterday obviously passed PJ in the third corner early on. Ruined the bike. Didn’t get out from that. So, during practice, we didn’t put more than six or seven laps on the tire. So, we went out there today changing gearing settings without really knowing what was going to happen. The first three or four laps I think Jake (Gagne) and PJ (Jacobsen) had a little bit of pace, but maybe it was from lap five onwards I kind of pulled them back slightly. Then I think from the halfway point, the bike just started backing in like crazy. I started losing grip as I would crack the gas. So, the last couple laps was just surviving for me, really. Obviously, in Laguna I had a massive crash. Hadn’t been able to really train coming up to this and I’ve been sitting on the couch. Maybe did two or three cycles just to try to keep my fitness, but I definitely noticed that it hurt me today. My arms were pumping up. Overall, these guys are riding well. Just to kind of finish in the top five now is something special. There’re crazy fast guys. There’s Beemers, Ducatis, Yamahas, Suzukis are now up there too. So just to be up there makes me feel good, considering how bad things have been. So, I think if we can just build on from here. Pittsburgh has been one of my favorite tracks. I’ve been strong there previously, so I’m really thinking we can challenge for the win there. The bike is working better than it has been. We made a couple changes. I think today’s race we can really look at data and carry on pushing forward.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati:

Ducati’s Josh Herrin and Xavi Forés Remain Strong in Point Standings

Sunnyvale, Calif., July 30, 2023 — The Warhorse HSBK Ducati NYC duo of Josh Herrin and Xavi Forés had a few setbacks during round six of the 2023 MotoAmerica Championship at Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) in Minnesota. Herrin achieved another Superbike podium during race one Saturday but suffered a DNF in Sunday’s race two due to mechanical issues. As for Forés, he settled for seventh in race one of the Supersport Championship and fourth in race two.

Herrin aboard the Panigale V4 R during Friday’s qualifying hoped to earn a front-row start for race one. He settled for a seventh-place qualifying position but was able to get up front quickly and continue his podium streak. Herrin finished Saturday’s race one in third, 3.49 seconds behind Yamaha’s Jake Gagne.

During Race 2 Sunday, Herrin started strongly, running at a pace consistent with the leaders. He was in third until he suffered a mechanic issue on lap 8 of 18, forcing a DNF. Although he didn’t finish, he remains second in the championship points race with 194 points, 68 behind Gagne.

After an eight-race winning streak in the Supersport class, the Spaniard Forés struggled at BIR—a track he had never ridden before this weekend. After qualifying fifth aboard his Panigale V2, Forés kept his focus strong among the quicker bikes, finishing seventh, 21.730 seconds behind winner Josh Hayes (Yamaha).

In race two, which was shortened to five laps due to a restart after a horrific crash between Andrew Forsythe (Yamaha) and Justen Behmer (Suzuki), Forés quickly got into third. But he ran wide on the penultimate lap when attempting to pass Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa. Forés finished fourth, 5.381 seconds behind winner Tyler Scott (Suzuki). With three rounds remaining, Forés continues to lead the Supersport Championship with 272 points, 84 ahead of BIR race-one winner Joshua Hayes (Yamaha).

2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings After Round Six

P1 – Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 262

P2 – Josh Herrin (Ducati) 194

P3 – Cameron Beaubier (BMW) 183

P4 – PJ Jacobsen (BMW) 162

P5 – Richie Escalante (Suzuki) 147

2023 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings After Round Four

P1 – Xavi Forés (Ducati) 272

P2 – Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 188

P3 – Tyler Scott (Suzuki) 185

P3 – Stefano Mesa (Kawasaki) 172

P5 – Teagg Hobbs (Suzuki) 118

Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #2)

“Obviously I’m bummed with today’s result (race 2). I felt that we had the bike to win for sure. We were able to catch up to the leaders, and I had all the confidence in the world to pass them at the end of the race and get a win. But we suffered an unfortunate mechanic issue that made it impossible to finish the race. I took a big blow in the championship points but won’t give up. I have a test coming up at COTA (Circuit of the Americas), and I’ll do some further training between these rounds and show up ready for Pittsburg next month.”

Xavi Forés (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – #12)

“ It was a challenging weekend for me. We had a lot of work to do on the bike, and the results don’t exactly show how much work was put into the V2.  At least on today’s race, I minimized the damages and got a good P4. It is hard to deal with when you have to ride against much faster bikes than yours. But no complaints here, and much was learned. We now look forward to Pittsburgh, hoping to return to our winning way.”

The 2023 MotoAmerica Championship now heads to Pennsylvania’s Pittsburgh International Race Complex for round seven of nine August 18-20.

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Gagne Doubles Down with Runner-Up Finish at Brainerd

Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne takes a runner-up finish in Race 2 to double his points lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship 

MARIETTA, Ga. – July 30, 2023 – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne completed a successful weekend at the Brainerd International Raceway with a runner-up finish in today’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2. The return to the podium after yesterday’s victory has the defending champion leaving the sixth round of the championship with an additional 34 points, doubling his lead in the premier-class title fight. Fill-in rider Josh Hayes showed podium pace but ultimately salvaged an eighth-place finish in the tricky conditions.

Once again, riders were met with greasy track conditions at the 2.5-mile track in Brainerd, Minnesota, making for a challenging 18-lap race. Gagne got another great start from the front row and grabbed the holeshot. He threw down some fast times and was holding down the lead but was passed around the halfway mark. The reigning champ continued to ride a smart race and kept the leader in sight in the tricky conditions. He closed the gap and, on the final lap, made an attempt to pass but ultimately came .322 of a second shy of the win. His eighth-consecutive podium and 12th this season helped bolster his title defense, giving him a 68-point lead with seven races remaining.

After battling for the win in the 16-lap Supersport race, Hayes went from the podium to the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing tent for his second race with the team as a fill-in rider for the injured Cameron Petersen. He had another solid start from the third row of the grid in eighth and advanced to fifth on Lap 4 but went off track and rejoined in 11th. Undeterred, the four-time superbike champ put his head down and threw down some consistently fast times to make his way back to sixth. In the final laps, he unfortunately went off track again in the challenging conditions and crossed the line eighth.

The Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing team returns to action in a few weeks for Round 7 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PIRC) in Wampum, Pennsylvania, on August 18-20.

Richard Stanboli – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“The weekend went almost as planned, and we came up just shy of a double win. Overall it was a success. Jake extended his championship lead and now has a pretty comfortable cushion. It was also good to have Josh back on board. His feedback, great speed, and professionalism were a plus for the team. We thank him for his efforts and wish him success at PIRC with his Supersport effort. We look forward to our COTA test and then the next round at PIRC, which is a track that is typically good for our Yamaha R1s.”

Jake Gagne – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing

“Race 2 was another good start, and I got to lead the first half of the race. PJ (Jacobsen) passed me, and I was able to stay there with him, but I couldn’t make a pass back. All in all, it was a great weekend and great for the points!”

Josh Hayes – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing

“I really had a fun and successful weekend, I feel, even though the Superbike results didn’t showcase our potential. I did my very best to represent the team and Yamaha at my highest level, showed great speed, and hopefully passed along valuable feedback for the team’s future. Thanks to all of them for making me feel like family, and to Squid Hunter Racing for letting me take on another challenge!”

About Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, WaveRunner Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars, Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.

YMUS has a corporate office in California, two corporate offices in Georgia, facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama, and factory operations in Tennessee and Georgia. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company (YMSC) with divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Kracor Systems (Wisconsin) and Siren Marine, Inc. (Rhode Island), Skeeter Boats (Texas), with division G3 Boats (Missouri), and Yamaha Precision Propeller (Indiana)

Tyler Scott won restarted MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. It was Scott’s first win of 2023.

Scott, riding his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, got the holeshot in the five-lap restart and led all the way to the checkered flag.

Josh Hayes led the seven-lap original start but was second behind Scott for most of the restart. Hayes tried to make a move on Scott in Turn 12 on the last lap, but he ran wide and had to settle for the runner-up spot on his Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha. The finish also elevated Hayes into second in the Championship point standings.

Rocco Landers got gifted third on the final lap when Xavi Fores tried to pass Stefano Mesa in Turn 12 and both Fores and Mesa ran wide, opening the door for Landers and his Landers Racing Yamaha to come through.

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Gillim’s Big Weekend At Brainerd Puts Him In Title Contention

Hayden Gillim Wins Both Stock 1000 Races And Goes One-Two In Mission King Of The Baggers
 

BRAINERD, MN (July 30, 2023) – Hayden Gillim wore a path in the grass from the podium to the media center this weekend at Brainerd International Raceway with the Kentuckian making the trip four times in two days. First came the celebrations on the podium with his young son, Stone, on his shoulders, then the walk to the media center for interviews.

He didn’t mind the walks.

With two wins in the Steel Commander Stock 1000 class and a first and a second in Mission King Of The Baggers, Gillim had the most successful weekend of his career in Minnesota. Oh, and he also finished seventh and sixth in the two Medallia Superbike races.

Mission King Of The Baggers – Fong Untouchable

There’s something about Brainerd International Raceway that suits Bobby Fong. Mere minutes after he rode to a fighting fourth-place finish in the Medallia Superbike race on Sunday, Fong was out front of the Mission King Of The Baggers race.

And he was there to stay, riding his Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian to a 1.5-second victory over Saturday’s race winner Hayden Gillim on the Vance & Hines/Mission/Harley-Davidson.

A day after a mechanical failure knocked him out of race one, Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’ Tyler O’Hara caught and passed Gillim’s teammate James Rispoli in the closing laps to take the final podium spot. Rispoli and H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Kyle Wyman completed what for him was a lackluster weekend in fifth place.

With his win and runner-up finish in the two races, Gillim takes over the championship lead from Wyman and Rispoli, 175-173, with those two tied for second. Fong moves to fourth in the title chase, 45 points behind Gillim.

“No, trust me. I’d rather not do a back-to-back deal like that again,” Fong said. “It was definitely tough. But it was a good weekend for us. All of us got some wins this weekend. Tyler (O’Hara) got the win in the dash. I rate these two guys (O’Hara and Hayden Gillim) really high in my book. Like Tyler said earlier, the competition is stacked. We’ve all been working hard. These guys are smart. Racing with these guys, they think a lot and I can tell riding with these guys. They’re always thinking. They’re always trying different things. Like I said, the competition is stacked. We’ve just got to keep working and see what we can do at COTA in a month or two. I’m happy to be up here. Good pay day for us, as well. Looking forward to spending at the wedding in a year or so.”

Steel Commander Stock 1000 – Gillim Goes Hunting

Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim was asked on Sunday afternoon if this weekend was the best racing weekend of his career. Gillim pondered the question briefly before saying, “Yes.”

Gillim won his second Steel Commander Stock 1000 race of the weekend on Sunday at BIR, the Kentuckian not only winning the race but moving to within eight points of championship points leader Ezra Beaubier after scoring a perfect 50 points in the two races.

Gillim’s effort on Sunday was a carbon copy of his race on Saturday. He jumped off the line and led by the time the pack got to turn three. From there he never looked back and ultimately won by 8.9 seconds over Orange Cat Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel with the Minnesota native finishing second for the second straight day.

Benjamin Smith Racing’s Benjamin Smith was third in his first weekend in the class and his first weekend on his Yamaha YZF-R1. Tom Wood Powersports’ Nolan Lamkin was fourth with Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman rounding out the top five.

Ezra Beaubier was sixth on his Orange Cat Racing BMW, despite getting a five-second penalty for jumping the start.

“Honestly, before this weekend I was ready to kind of call it quits on the Stock 1000 class for myself,” Gillim said. “So, this has definitely rejuvenated me a little bit and given me some more confidence going into COTA (the final round of the Steel Commander Stock 1000 series). That’s the only bad thing. That first weekend at Road Atlanta really had me down and out, and I was down a lot. With only five rounds this year for Stock 1000, I was a little nervous because I knew Road America was going to be tough. I expected Road Atlanta to be a little bit better than it was. I don’t know about COTA. We’ll see. I ran pretty quick there last year, so we’ll see. It will be interesting. I know these guys will be running for it. It’s a tight race at the top right now, so it’s coming down to the wire. unfortunately, I’ve been in a lot of these situations where it’s come down to the wire and almost every time, I’ve come out the loser. I’m hoping to do a little bit better than last year (when I) tied for the championship at the end of it but getting second place because he (Corey Alexander) had more race wins. So, trying to get those race wins right now just in case. But this was a really good weekend to do it. I knew coming in that this one and Barber I knew for sure were going to be the ones where I had to do the job and get it done.”

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore Again

The ladies of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. program had one featured race at Brainerd International Raceway, and after their Sunday morning final qualifying session, it looked like the outcome of the afternoon’s race might be different than the previous four races this season had been. Instead of Mikayla Moore starting from the pole as she’d done in all four races thus far, it was Sonya Lloyd who got the start from the pole with Moore right next to her on the front row of the starting grid.

The difference hardly mattered because Moore promptly went to the head of the pack on the opening lap, and she maintained that position all the way to the checkered flag. Lloyd only gave up the one position to Moore, and she maintained second place throughout the eight-lap race. Crystal Martinez finished third after overtaking Aubrey Credaroli on the opening lap.

“With the big gap (in the schedule)—Ridge Motorsports Park was last month – I spent time training on a (Kawasaki) ZX-6 and a Ninja 400,” Moore said. “But I knew going into this weekend it was going to be a new track for me and based off of P1 time, I knew I had a lot to figure out and to adjust. Going into race one I felt a lot better with the adjustments that Megan helped me with, with Öhlins and some gearing changes that I made.”

Junior Cup – Badie Has A Goodie

As is always the case with the MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship’s races, Sunday’s race two at BIR came right down to the final lap and the final run to the checkered flag before the contest was decided. Belgian-based rider Levi Badie got the victory aboard his Badie Racing Kawasaki after coming from back in the field and then prevailing in a skirmish with pole sitter Rossi Moor, who was the winner of Saturday’s race one.

Moor led seven of the 11 laps in the race, including the penultimate lap, but Badie and his Kawasaki overtook Moor and his KTM, the final lap, but Moor was unable to strike back before the finish line. Jayden Fernandez had a battle of his own going on, but he would not be deterred from getting his first MotoAmerica podium in his rookie season, and he finished third.

“I came from eighth, so it was a little struggle to get back (to the front),” Badie said. “I was there the whole time, just struggling to pass a lot of guys because it’s a difficult track to pass. The competitors are very strong. Once I came in first, I kind of missed my braking mark a little bit. Then going into the corner, I was like in dirt, like flat tracking. I kept it open. I came out and I saw that they weren’t too far away, so just head down and tried to catch them because they were fighting. So, I knew when they’re fighting, they’re not going their top speed, so I just did everything I could, and I caught them. That was like two laps more. I was like, just go for it and try to pass every corner, try to pass someone. It worked. Last lap I just took the chance, tried to pass Rossi and it worked and just go. I’m very happy for first place.”

Supersport – Scott Gets It Done

Prior to today, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott had finished on the podium four times this season, but he hadn’t won a race since Road America last year. Well, that all changed with Sunday’s Supersport race two at Brainerd when he came away with the victory in the red-flag-shortened event. The 17-year-old was hounded throughout the race by Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha’s 48-year-old Josh Hayes, who was looking for his 88th all-time race win to extend the new record he set on Saturday by one more victory. Scott took the checkered flag by a little more than one-and-half seconds over Hayes. Third place went to Landers Racing Yamaha’s Rocco Landers, who passed both Xavi Forés and Stefano Mesa on the final lap to notch his second podium of the weekend.

“I got a good start in this race,” Scott said. “I led for the first lap a little bit. He got in front of me, and the goal was just kind of to stay behind him and learn a little bit from him. I struggled all weekend in sector one. When we came in for the red flag, I looked at my sector one times, and they were right on par with Rocco and Teagg (Hobbs), so that was a good improvement. But the race was just kind of pacing myself, getting a little closer to Hayes, then making a small mistake. Kind of playing with whatever gap was there, a second or half a second. Then the red flag came out and we came into the box. We changed our engine braking strategy a little bit to pull us closer to the apex in some corners. I was running wide, making some mistakes. But I felt great on the restart. Got the holeshot and never looked back. I made one mistake in turn four that kind of scared me. I ran decently wide, but I was able to pull it back on the racing line and get the win in the end.”

Levi Badie won MotoAmerica Junior Cup Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Badie Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, the Belgian rider came back from an off-track excursion and made a last-lap pass to claim the victory.

Rossi Moor also ran off the track during the race, but he was able to regain the lead and hold it until the final lap. That’s when downshifting issues that Moor had been experiencing throughout the race opened the door for Badie to make his move into the chicane. Moor ended up coming home second, 0.087 second behind Badie, on his Fairium NGRT – Gray Area KTM RC 390 R.

Jayden Fernandez finished third on his Fernandez Racing Kawasaki Ninja 400, earning his first podium finish in the class.

Hayden Gillim won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race Two Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding his Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R1000R, Gillim took the lead early and pulled away to win the 12-lap race by 8.906 seconds. It was Gillim’s fourth win of the season.

Orange Cat Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel made a late-race pass on Benjamin Smith to score second place and his fifth podium finish of 2023.

Smith, meanwhile, was very happy to take third in just his second Stock 1000 race of the season on his North East Cycle Outlet Racing- and Westby Racing-supported Yamaha YZF-R1.

Ezra Beaubier, the Championship point leader, crossed the finish line in fourth, but he was given a five-second penalty for jumping the start, which pushed him back to sixth.

With just one round and two races remaining in the Championship, Beaubier leads by eight points over Gillim and by 12 points over De Keyrel.

Mikayla Moore won the MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) race Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. It was 19-year-old Moore’s fifth win in five races so far in 2023.

Sonya Lloyd earned pole position in qualifying but didn’t have the speed to run with Moore in the race and finished in second place, 11.869 seconds back, for her fourth podium finish of the season.

Crystal Martinez claimed the third and final spot on the podium, her second visit to the podium in 2023.

Defending Champion Kayleigh Buyck sat out practice on Friday due to health issues, qualified third on Sunday morning, and then decided to sit out the race due to the same ongoing health issues.

Sonya Lloyd earned pole position during MotoAmerica Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. (BTR) Qualifying Two Sunday morning at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. Riding her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Lloyd lapped the 2.5-mile course in 1:56.756 to lead the field of 12 female riders.