More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Aegerter fastest on the opening day at the Autodrom Most
Dominique Aegerter (77). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Reigning Champion Dominique Aegerter topped both FP1 and FP2 with lap record pace
P1 – Dominique Aegerter (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’37.620s
Aegerter was the only rider to lap in the 1’34s bracket as he posted a 1’34.952s
His lap time around three tenths quicker than the existing lap record set by now Moto2™ rider Manuel Gonzalez in 2021.
“It’s very nice to be back in Czech Republic. I like the track and they made some improvement on the circuit, on the asphalt. The first chicane is very nice with less bumps. In FP1, we were fast and in FP2, we made consistent laps. Today was good and we collected important data for the Superpole and for Race 1. We’ll also see what’s going on with the weather as it seems it look it will rain.”
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was second in the combined results after Free Practice. He just 0.080s behind Aegerter with a best time of 1’35.032s. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) finished Friday in third. He was 0.138s behind Aegerter and 0.058s behind Bulega. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) finished in fourth place, 0.216s down on Aegerter but was one of four riders to lap under the previous lap record of 1’35.213s.
WorldSSP action resumes on Saturday with the Tissot Superpole at 10:25 and Race 1 at 15:15.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Razgatlioglu leads the way in Most
The reigning WorldSBK Champion topped Friday’s practice while Bautista and Rea missed the top three
P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu stormed to a new lap record in FP2 setting a 1’31.506.
Razgatlioglu’s race pace was pretty strong in the afternoon, as he set nine laps in the 1’32 bracket, whilst his final run featured three 1’31s.
“This morning we started well after Donington Park and the bike feels good immediately. In the first session there was some small setting problem, but in the second session we improve the bike, now I am feeling much better and we are ready to race. The lap time is very positive, a very good lap time and also after 25 laps with the rear tyre, I see 32.3 – this is very good for so many laps on this tyre! I am very happy and I set also the lap record with harder tyre! Anyway, we are just focused on the race setup. We use in the race the SC0 tyre, everyone uses the SC0 tyre. We are just focused on working on the bike, and now we are happy, and we are ready. For Superpole, we can use the SCX tyre, but I think this is enough for a good lap time.”
P2 – Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Redding was second with a 1’31.733, 0.227s off Razgatlioglu’s best time.
The BMW rider set 12 laps in the 1’32, half of them in the lower bracket. He dipped into the 1’31s just once.
“I’m happy. Today I started good in the morning, I just used one tyre and we tried to get the feeling, we used the same setting from Donington for me to have at least the connection and the feeling with the bike. This worked really well so I’m happy. And then in the afternoon, we tried to improve a few areas which we did successfully. Temperature came up so it was a bit a different feeling with riding, but the pace was still there which was good. So overall I’m happy and feeling quite comfortable.”
P3 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Rinaldi finished third in the Free Practice combined result 0.314s.
He was the first Ducati rider on Friday finishing just 0.051s ahead of his teammate.
“This morning, I was immediately quite fast. I was a little bit surprised because it was a completely different track. But we were fast so I’m happy. The only issue we had was during FP1 & FP2, I lost a bit of time in the box to wait for a technical reason. This weekend we don’t have the SCX so to adapt in a good way, you need to stay out on track and work even more so I’m not so happy about it. Anyway, I’m third so I don’t want to be too negative because I feel fast. We just need to put every piece together.”
P4 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Bautista stands in fifth place at the end of Friday with a best time of 1’31.871.
He finished 0.365s behind Razgatlioglu for his first day at the Autodrom Most with Ducati.
“Today has been a day to discover the track with this bike. It was my first time with Ducati. In the morning we just made a lot of laps just to get the references and to see the tyre, especially the new compound that Pirelli brought here. I did a lot of laps and the feeling was not too bad, even if the bike was not as perfect as I wanted it to be. In the afternoon, we made some changes on the bike and we found some things better and something worst so we have to analyse the data and see what to use for tomorrow. The tyre selection is not clear. Nothing is clear because we found some positives and some negatives in each tyre. We have to check everything and, together with the bike, the way to go for the rest of the weekend. I think everybody’s in a very similar situation, so it won’t be easy for tomorrow or Sunday. The most important thing is to manage the tyres.”
P5 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Rea was fifth on the opening day of the 2022 Czech Round.
He set his personal best time of 1’31.893 in the morning session, being the only rider inside the top six who didn’t improve in FP2.
“The track was much better than last year, especially that first sector, first chicane. So, I had much more feedback, you can more ride closer to the limit. Just in the afternoon, we were trying to understand the tyre drop, how the tyre behaves when the tyre is old. I only putted a new tyre in the end. But just with the big changes on the bike … we have new items to check, and it wasn’t possible. We get a lot of information. I don’t think the position reflect our true potential. In an ideal world, if we didn’t have so many testing items, I would’ve tried the SCX tyre because that’s also important for us. It’s not an option for both long races but it is still an option for the 10-lap race. We focused on just the standard SC0 option and then the new prototype SC0, which is a different construction. We’re happy with how the day works. And looking forward to see what happen tomorrow, put all the items together and hopefully we can be competitive.”
P6 – Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW)
The BMW rider displayed a strong pace in the afternoon before clocking in a couple of low 1’32s
“The feeling was good from the first laps of FP1, I just had to find my pace. I’ve been here only once, and it wasn’t with Superbike. I was pretty happy to see that the updates BMW bring in Donington were working here as well. I was happy to see that the bike was behaving in a good way from the first laps. We had a lot of things to do, it seems like it’s going to rain tomorrow so we had try all the tyres and other things today. I wasn’t really fast in FP1, but we managed to improve every laps with the old tyre. We then had a pretty good FP2. We tried the SCX at the end just to see how it was. It wasn’t a perfect lap time but we’re on the good way and we just need to confirm tomorrow.”
To note:
Honda’s Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, who had never visited the track before, finished in 10th and 11th place. A big crash at Turn 6 at the start of FP2, Lecuona didn’t get back out, losing vital track time on his Most debut. The Spaniard will need to get a medical check before FP3 as he suffered lower back contusions.
WorldSBK action resumes on Saturday from 09:00 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole at 11:10 and Race 1 at 14:00.
When The Checkered Flag Falls On Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, The 150th MotoAmerica Superbike Race Will Be In The Books
IRVINE, CA (July 29, 2022) – Sunday’s MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway will mark a milestone for North America’s premier motorcycle road racing championship as it will be the 150th Superbike race held in the MotoAmerica era, which dates to the first-ever MotoAmerica Superbike race on April 11, 2015, at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
The winner that day? Fittingly, it was four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes who ushered in the new series with a victory over his Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier, the man who would carry the MotoAmerica torch as its champion for five out of the next six years. Back then Superstock 1000 bikes ran with the Superbikes with separate results. Thus, it was also fitting that the first Superstock 1000 race gave us a glimpse into the future as it was won by Jake Gagne, the current MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion.
There were just 11 Superbike entries on the grid at COTA in 2015, 15 less than the 26 who were led home to the finish at COTA this year by race winner Danilo Petrucci.
That first season of MotoAmerica racing also featured several wet races, including the “rainey” one that opened the era in Texas with Hayes topping his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate Beaubier by 5.2 seconds and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden rounding out the podium.
The following day, Beaubier won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I have a lot of friends here in Texas and I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Hayes said after winning what was his 49th career Superbike victory on day one. “We’ve had some dodgy weather, we’ve had some good weather, we’ve had a little bit of everything. I feel like we’ve had a good sprinkle of everything. To have a successful race weekend and come out of here with a win, regardless of what happens tomorrow, it’s fantastic. I’m very happy to be up here and get one in for Yamaha and the new R1. My team has done an amazing job. I was prepared, rain or shine. Mentally, I was in a really good state. I was ready to go either way very early in the weekend.”
In race two, Beaubier (who qualified on pole position) won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I saw him coming into the last corner and I was like, ‘No, this is my frickin’ race,’ “ Beaubier said. “It was pretty cool to get it done today. I looked back to make sure he was up and then looked at my leg and there was some rubber there. But it’s a lot of fun racing these guys. I feel like we have respect for each other, but at the same time we can lean on each other pretty hard. I’m looking forward to this year.”
There were nine rounds and 18 MotoAmerica Superbike races held in the first season of MotoAmerica, and Hayes would win 10 of them, including both races in the season-ender at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Although Beaubier would win tw2o fewer races than Hayes, it was the young Californian who claimed the first MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
In taking the 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike crown, Beaubier became the 20th different rider to win an AMA Superbike Championship.
“It’s a dream come true for me to win the championship in my second year on a Superbike and my first year with this brand-new R1. Josh (Hayes) is an awesome teammate and a great Champion. He’s helped me so much.”
Beaubier would successfully defend his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in 2016, but there was a new challenger in the series – a diminutive Spaniard by the name of Toni Elias – who would push Beaubier and the rest to a new level.
Beaubier again won eight of the 18 races in 2016, but Elias and his Yoshimura Suzuki won six – including his two debut races at COTA. Hayes would win a pair of races and Hayden would also win two.
The 2017 season was expanded to 10 rounds and 20 races for the first time, and it would again feature Beaubier/Elias battles with Elias taking the crown with 10 race wins to Beaubier’s five, though Beaubier’s season ended four rounds early after the Yamaha man suffered a shoulder injury at Pitt Race that required surgery. Hayden, meanwhile, won three more races in 2017, the last three wins of his career, and he ended up second to his teammate in the final point standings.
South African Mathew Scholtz won his first MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2017 on his Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and he did so in the rain in the season finale at Barber Motorsport Park. Scholtz’s victory was also noteworthy in that it was the first time a MotoAmerica Superbike race was won by a rider on a Superstock 1000-spec motorcycle.
The 2018 season was again a Beaubier vs. Elias battle that went the way of Beaubier, even though Elias won more races (nine to eight). Beaubier’s season was more consistent, and he was crowned MotoAmerica Superbike Champion for the third time.
Other winners on the year were Attack Performance Yamaha’s Josh Herrin (two wins) and Westby Racing’s Scholtz (one win at COTA, again in the rain).
The 2018 season was also the first without Hayes on a Superbike, the four-time champ replaced on the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing team by two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Garrett Gerloff.
Elias again won the most races in 2019 (seven to Beaubier’s six) and again he was beaten to the championship by Beaubier, who won the last three races while Elias faltered to take the title by just five points. Beaubier’s two victories in the season finale in Alabama were the 37th and 38th of his career, and the result of those wins was his fourth AMA Superbike title.
The 2019 season was also a breakout year for Gerloff with the Texan winning four races and turning heads in the process. At the end of the year, Gerloff signed a deal that would see him move to the World Superbike Championship for the 2020 season.
Beaubier’s final season of MotoAmerica racing in 2020 put an exclamation mark on his stateside racing career as he won a record-setting 16 races while earning his fifth MotoAmerica Superbike title. He also ended the year with 54 career Superbike wins, a mark that puts him third on the all-time AMA Superbike win list. With a fifth title in his pocket, it was time to move on and Beaubier jumped to the Moto2 World Championship in 2021.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong won three races in 2020 with HSBK Racing Ducati’s Lorenzo Zanetti also winning a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As it turns out, Beaubier’s record-setting 16-win season in 2020 didn’t last long as his teammate Jake Gagne took over the lead role in the Fresh N Lean Attack Performance Yamaha team and did so with a season to remember. Gagne ended up winning a record 17 races on the year.
The other race winners in 2021 were Scholtz with two victories and Cameron Petersen with one.
With 12 races complete in 2022 heading into the 149th and 150th MotoAmerica races, Gagne has seven wins and leads the championship by just three points over Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci and his three victories.
Petersen and Scholtz are the other two riders with wins in 2022.
With MotoAmerica celebrating its 150th Superbike race this weekend, the staff of MotoAmerica, its racers, teams and sponsors all remember the two men who lost their lives on July 19, 2015, in an accident on the opening lap of the second Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Spaniards Bernat Martinez and Daniel Rivas. They are not forgotten.
Featured In the July 2022 issue of Roadracing World:
Aki Ajo is the most successful team boss in the MotoGP paddock—over the past decade or so he’s guided Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta and others to World Championships. What’s his secret?
“That was the time I called my university!” grins Ajo, recalling his start. “Because I learned technical things, I learned riding and I also learned business…”
—MotoGP Interview: Kingmaker Aki Ajo, by Mat Oxley
It has been a long journey for the 58-year-old Aki Ajo, one that started when he was 11-years-old, rebuilding mopeds as a way to buy a motocross bike. Since then, he has prospered, in large part because he’s always remembered that simplicity is the route to success. Read about one of the pillars of the MotoGP paddock in the latest issue of Roadracing World!
Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology is THE definitive source for motorcycle racing, riding, and tech information.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Aegerter fastest on the opening day at the Autodrom Most
Dominique Aegerter (77). Photo courtesy Dorna.
Reigning Champion Dominique Aegerter topped both FP1 and FP2 with lap record pace
P1 – Dominique Aegerter (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’37.620s
Aegerter was the only rider to lap in the 1’34s bracket as he posted a 1’34.952s
His lap time around three tenths quicker than the existing lap record set by now Moto2™ rider Manuel Gonzalez in 2021.
“It’s very nice to be back in Czech Republic. I like the track and they made some improvement on the circuit, on the asphalt. The first chicane is very nice with less bumps. In FP1, we were fast and in FP2, we made consistent laps. Today was good and we collected important data for the Superpole and for Race 1. We’ll also see what’s going on with the weather as it seems it look it will rain.”
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) was second in the combined results after Free Practice. He just 0.080s behind Aegerter with a best time of 1’35.032s. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) finished Friday in third. He was 0.138s behind Aegerter and 0.058s behind Bulega. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) finished in fourth place, 0.216s down on Aegerter but was one of four riders to lap under the previous lap record of 1’35.213s.
WorldSSP action resumes on Saturday with the Tissot Superpole at 10:25 and Race 1 at 15:15.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna WorldSBK Press Office:
Razgatlioglu leads the way in Most
The reigning WorldSBK Champion topped Friday’s practice while Bautista and Rea missed the top three
P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
Razgatlioglu stormed to a new lap record in FP2 setting a 1’31.506.
Razgatlioglu’s race pace was pretty strong in the afternoon, as he set nine laps in the 1’32 bracket, whilst his final run featured three 1’31s.
“This morning we started well after Donington Park and the bike feels good immediately. In the first session there was some small setting problem, but in the second session we improve the bike, now I am feeling much better and we are ready to race. The lap time is very positive, a very good lap time and also after 25 laps with the rear tyre, I see 32.3 – this is very good for so many laps on this tyre! I am very happy and I set also the lap record with harder tyre! Anyway, we are just focused on the race setup. We use in the race the SC0 tyre, everyone uses the SC0 tyre. We are just focused on working on the bike, and now we are happy, and we are ready. For Superpole, we can use the SCX tyre, but I think this is enough for a good lap time.”
P2 – Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
Redding was second with a 1’31.733, 0.227s off Razgatlioglu’s best time.
The BMW rider set 12 laps in the 1’32, half of them in the lower bracket. He dipped into the 1’31s just once.
“I’m happy. Today I started good in the morning, I just used one tyre and we tried to get the feeling, we used the same setting from Donington for me to have at least the connection and the feeling with the bike. This worked really well so I’m happy. And then in the afternoon, we tried to improve a few areas which we did successfully. Temperature came up so it was a bit a different feeling with riding, but the pace was still there which was good. So overall I’m happy and feeling quite comfortable.”
P3 – Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Rinaldi finished third in the Free Practice combined result 0.314s.
He was the first Ducati rider on Friday finishing just 0.051s ahead of his teammate.
“This morning, I was immediately quite fast. I was a little bit surprised because it was a completely different track. But we were fast so I’m happy. The only issue we had was during FP1 & FP2, I lost a bit of time in the box to wait for a technical reason. This weekend we don’t have the SCX so to adapt in a good way, you need to stay out on track and work even more so I’m not so happy about it. Anyway, I’m third so I don’t want to be too negative because I feel fast. We just need to put every piece together.”
P4 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
Bautista stands in fifth place at the end of Friday with a best time of 1’31.871.
He finished 0.365s behind Razgatlioglu for his first day at the Autodrom Most with Ducati.
“Today has been a day to discover the track with this bike. It was my first time with Ducati. In the morning we just made a lot of laps just to get the references and to see the tyre, especially the new compound that Pirelli brought here. I did a lot of laps and the feeling was not too bad, even if the bike was not as perfect as I wanted it to be. In the afternoon, we made some changes on the bike and we found some things better and something worst so we have to analyse the data and see what to use for tomorrow. The tyre selection is not clear. Nothing is clear because we found some positives and some negatives in each tyre. We have to check everything and, together with the bike, the way to go for the rest of the weekend. I think everybody’s in a very similar situation, so it won’t be easy for tomorrow or Sunday. The most important thing is to manage the tyres.”
P5 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
Rea was fifth on the opening day of the 2022 Czech Round.
He set his personal best time of 1’31.893 in the morning session, being the only rider inside the top six who didn’t improve in FP2.
“The track was much better than last year, especially that first sector, first chicane. So, I had much more feedback, you can more ride closer to the limit. Just in the afternoon, we were trying to understand the tyre drop, how the tyre behaves when the tyre is old. I only putted a new tyre in the end. But just with the big changes on the bike … we have new items to check, and it wasn’t possible. We get a lot of information. I don’t think the position reflect our true potential. In an ideal world, if we didn’t have so many testing items, I would’ve tried the SCX tyre because that’s also important for us. It’s not an option for both long races but it is still an option for the 10-lap race. We focused on just the standard SC0 option and then the new prototype SC0, which is a different construction. We’re happy with how the day works. And looking forward to see what happen tomorrow, put all the items together and hopefully we can be competitive.”
P6 – Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW)
The BMW rider displayed a strong pace in the afternoon before clocking in a couple of low 1’32s
“The feeling was good from the first laps of FP1, I just had to find my pace. I’ve been here only once, and it wasn’t with Superbike. I was pretty happy to see that the updates BMW bring in Donington were working here as well. I was happy to see that the bike was behaving in a good way from the first laps. We had a lot of things to do, it seems like it’s going to rain tomorrow so we had try all the tyres and other things today. I wasn’t really fast in FP1, but we managed to improve every laps with the old tyre. We then had a pretty good FP2. We tried the SCX at the end just to see how it was. It wasn’t a perfect lap time but we’re on the good way and we just need to confirm tomorrow.”
To note:
Honda’s Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona, who had never visited the track before, finished in 10th and 11th place. A big crash at Turn 6 at the start of FP2, Lecuona didn’t get back out, losing vital track time on his Most debut. The Spaniard will need to get a medical check before FP3 as he suffered lower back contusions.
WorldSBK action resumes on Saturday from 09:00 (Local Time), followed by Tissot Superpole at 11:10 and Race 1 at 14:00.
The start of the first-ever MotoAmerica Superbike race at COTA in 2015. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
MotoAmerica’s 150th Superbike Race Set For BIR
When The Checkered Flag Falls On Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway, The 150th MotoAmerica Superbike Race Will Be In The Books
IRVINE, CA (July 29, 2022) – Sunday’s MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race at Brainerd International Raceway will mark a milestone for North America’s premier motorcycle road racing championship as it will be the 150th Superbike race held in the MotoAmerica era, which dates to the first-ever MotoAmerica Superbike race on April 11, 2015, at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
The winner that day? Fittingly, it was four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes who ushered in the new series with a victory over his Yamaha teammate Cameron Beaubier, the man who would carry the MotoAmerica torch as its champion for five out of the next six years. Back then Superstock 1000 bikes ran with the Superbikes with separate results. Thus, it was also fitting that the first Superstock 1000 race gave us a glimpse into the future as it was won by Jake Gagne, the current MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion.
There were just 11 Superbike entries on the grid at COTA in 2015, 15 less than the 26 who were led home to the finish at COTA this year by race winner Danilo Petrucci.
That first season of MotoAmerica racing also featured several wet races, including the “rainey” one that opened the era in Texas with Hayes topping his Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammate Beaubier by 5.2 seconds and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden rounding out the podium.
The following day, Beaubier won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I have a lot of friends here in Texas and I’m a bit overwhelmed,” Hayes said after winning what was his 49th career Superbike victory on day one. “We’ve had some dodgy weather, we’ve had some good weather, we’ve had a little bit of everything. I feel like we’ve had a good sprinkle of everything. To have a successful race weekend and come out of here with a win, regardless of what happens tomorrow, it’s fantastic. I’m very happy to be up here and get one in for Yamaha and the new R1. My team has done an amazing job. I was prepared, rain or shine. Mentally, I was in a really good state. I was ready to go either way very early in the weekend.”
In race two, Beaubier (who qualified on pole position) won his first career MotoAmerica Superbike race in a thriller over Hayes by less than half a second.
“I saw him coming into the last corner and I was like, ‘No, this is my frickin’ race,’ “ Beaubier said. “It was pretty cool to get it done today. I looked back to make sure he was up and then looked at my leg and there was some rubber there. But it’s a lot of fun racing these guys. I feel like we have respect for each other, but at the same time we can lean on each other pretty hard. I’m looking forward to this year.”
There were nine rounds and 18 MotoAmerica Superbike races held in the first season of MotoAmerica, and Hayes would win 10 of them, including both races in the season-ender at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Although Beaubier would win tw2o fewer races than Hayes, it was the young Californian who claimed the first MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
In taking the 2015 MotoAmerica Superbike crown, Beaubier became the 20th different rider to win an AMA Superbike Championship.
“It’s a dream come true for me to win the championship in my second year on a Superbike and my first year with this brand-new R1. Josh (Hayes) is an awesome teammate and a great Champion. He’s helped me so much.”
Beaubier would successfully defend his MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in 2016, but there was a new challenger in the series – a diminutive Spaniard by the name of Toni Elias – who would push Beaubier and the rest to a new level.
Beaubier again won eight of the 18 races in 2016, but Elias and his Yoshimura Suzuki won six – including his two debut races at COTA. Hayes would win a pair of races and Hayden would also win two.
The 2017 season was expanded to 10 rounds and 20 races for the first time, and it would again feature Beaubier/Elias battles with Elias taking the crown with 10 race wins to Beaubier’s five, though Beaubier’s season ended four rounds early after the Yamaha man suffered a shoulder injury at Pitt Race that required surgery. Hayden, meanwhile, won three more races in 2017, the last three wins of his career, and he ended up second to his teammate in the final point standings.
South African Mathew Scholtz won his first MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2017 on his Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, and he did so in the rain in the season finale at Barber Motorsport Park. Scholtz’s victory was also noteworthy in that it was the first time a MotoAmerica Superbike race was won by a rider on a Superstock 1000-spec motorcycle.
The 2018 season was again a Beaubier vs. Elias battle that went the way of Beaubier, even though Elias won more races (nine to eight). Beaubier’s season was more consistent, and he was crowned MotoAmerica Superbike Champion for the third time.
Other winners on the year were Attack Performance Yamaha’s Josh Herrin (two wins) and Westby Racing’s Scholtz (one win at COTA, again in the rain).
The 2018 season was also the first without Hayes on a Superbike, the four-time champ replaced on the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing team by two-time MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Garrett Gerloff.
Elias again won the most races in 2019 (seven to Beaubier’s six) and again he was beaten to the championship by Beaubier, who won the last three races while Elias faltered to take the title by just five points. Beaubier’s two victories in the season finale in Alabama were the 37th and 38th of his career, and the result of those wins was his fourth AMA Superbike title.
The 2019 season was also a breakout year for Gerloff with the Texan winning four races and turning heads in the process. At the end of the year, Gerloff signed a deal that would see him move to the World Superbike Championship for the 2020 season.
Beaubier’s final season of MotoAmerica racing in 2020 put an exclamation mark on his stateside racing career as he won a record-setting 16 races while earning his fifth MotoAmerica Superbike title. He also ended the year with 54 career Superbike wins, a mark that puts him third on the all-time AMA Superbike win list. With a fifth title in his pocket, it was time to move on and Beaubier jumped to the Moto2 World Championship in 2021.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong won three races in 2020 with HSBK Racing Ducati’s Lorenzo Zanetti also winning a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As it turns out, Beaubier’s record-setting 16-win season in 2020 didn’t last long as his teammate Jake Gagne took over the lead role in the Fresh N Lean Attack Performance Yamaha team and did so with a season to remember. Gagne ended up winning a record 17 races on the year.
The other race winners in 2021 were Scholtz with two victories and Cameron Petersen with one.
With 12 races complete in 2022 heading into the 149th and 150th MotoAmerica races, Gagne has seven wins and leads the championship by just three points over Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci and his three victories.
Petersen and Scholtz are the other two riders with wins in 2022.
With MotoAmerica celebrating its 150th Superbike race this weekend, the staff of MotoAmerica, its racers, teams and sponsors all remember the two men who lost their lives on July 19, 2015, in an accident on the opening lap of the second Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Spaniards Bernat Martinez and Daniel Rivas. They are not forgotten.
Remy Gardner (87) leads Joe Roberts (16), Xavi Vierge (97), Raul Fernandez (25) and Augusto Fernandez (37) at Portimao, en route to the 2021 Moto2 World Championship with Aki Ajo's team. Photo by Gigi Soldana/DPPI Media.
Featured In the July 2022 issue of Roadracing World:
Aki Ajo is the most successful team boss in the MotoGP paddock—over the past decade or so he’s guided Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta and others to World Championships. What’s his secret?
“That was the time I called my university!” grins Ajo, recalling his start. “Because I learned technical things, I learned riding and I also learned business…”
—MotoGP Interview: Kingmaker Aki Ajo, by Mat Oxley
It has been a long journey for the 58-year-old Aki Ajo, one that started when he was 11-years-old, rebuilding mopeds as a way to buy a motocross bike. Since then, he has prospered, in large part because he’s always remembered that simplicity is the route to success. Read about one of the pillars of the MotoGP paddock in the latest issue of Roadracing World!
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www.roadracingworld.com
April 19, 2026
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Disability profiles supported in our website
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Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
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Notes, comments, and feedback
Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs. There may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to
