More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Petrucci Stays Perfect In MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike With Race-One Win In Georgia

The Italian Ace Wins His Third In A Row And First At Road Atlanta In His Debut
 

BRASELTON, GA (April 23, 2022) – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne looked to be having the same sort of race that he had 17 times last year in the first of two MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday. He’d started from pole position after breaking the track record in qualifying, he led into turn one, and he looked to be settling into the sort of pace no one else was going to match. Everything was going to plan. Right up until the point that it wasn’t. Gagne crashed his Yamaha YZF-R1 out of the lead on the sixth lap in turn five, handing a third-successive victory to Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci.

Petrucci, though, didn’t have it easy as Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz piled race-long pressure on the Italian former MotoGP winner. Once he passed South African countryman Cameron Petersen, Scholtz was able to put a dent in Petrucci’s lead and even whittled it down to within a second. But he couldn’t quite get close enough to strike and championship points leader Petrucci was able to close it out with another near flawless performance.

Petersen, meanwhile, added to the Yamaha team’s Saturday misery in Georgia when he crashed out of third place just two laps after Gagne’s miscue.

Scholtz knows Petrucci has a bit of an edge at this point and he’s hoping a few tweaks to his Yamaha YZF-R1 overnight will get him closer to the front on Sunday. Still, he’s off to a good start to the season with three second-place finishes.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis made a return to the Superbike podium after a four-year hiatus, the non-defending MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Champion keeping his nose clean and holding Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW’s Hector Barbera at bay by 1.2 seconds. Road Atlanta was also the site of Lewis’ first career MotoAmerica Superbike podium when he finished third in 2015 on a Yoshimura Suzuki.

With Barbera fourth, fifth went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante with the former Supersport Champion fighting back after an off-track excursion on the opening lap.

Kyle Wyman found out on Friday that he would be replacing PJ Jacobsen on the second Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW when Jacobsen was forced out of the weekend after testing positive for COVID-19. Wyman made the most of the opportunity and finished sixth, barely besting pseudo-teammate Corey Alexander on another Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing BMW.

Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim was eighth with Aftercare Hayes Scheibe Racing BMW’s Ashton Yates and Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Travis Wyman rounding out the top 10.

With his third-straight victory, Petrucci now leads Scholtz by 15 points going into Sunday’s race two. Lewis is third in the title chase with 36 points, three better than Barbera’s 33. Escalante rounds out the top five with 31 points. Gagne, the defending series champion, is now 59 points in arrears of Petrucci after three races.

The top four in the first of two Medallia Superbike races at Road Atlanta were mounted on four different makes of motorcycle: Ducati, Yamaha, Suzuki, and BMW.

Danilo Petrucci – First Place

“I studied a bit of video on YouTube on the onboard video. I watched some races. But I thought it was easier. The track is really not for boys but for men, because it’s a really different compared to our European standards. There are plenty of bumps and even high curbs. The walls are so close here, but the track is so good. The first corners for me is really, really difficult to approach. I lost a lot of time. Let’s say I’m struggling a lot with the traction. I don’t go out of the corners with so much speed. I need to gain everything on braking, but today the heat was really, really high. I was struggling. Then I thought it was easier, but a lapped rider was stuck in the middle. Mathew (Scholtz) gained a lot of time there. Then I pushed as hell for finish the race. Was very, very difficult. We need to do something with the lapped riders because we respect them. They need to respect us because we are racing, and we are fighting for the top position. I don’t think it’s fair to do like this, stuck in the middle. But it’s racing. Tomorrow will be tough. I tried to stay with Jake (Gagne) as much as possible, but I was a little bit faster on some braking areas. He was definitely faster in the first sector. But I tried to stay there and tried to hold him but unfortunately, he crashed out. We need to fix a bit the bike. We have some solution for tomorrow. I hope it works.”

Mathew Scholtz – Second

“Once I got past Cam (Petersen), they had about a second or two-second gap. I just tried to push harder to try to catch up. I was over-charging corners, pushing the front everywhere. Our morning practice it was probably about 68 degrees Fahrenheit and we’re racing in like 85 something now. So, the setup just kind of seemed a little bit off. The front end was pushing everywhere. I didn’t see how Cam crashed, but exactly where (Jake) Gagne crashed, I had a lot of front-end moments there too. I think it was just with the heat and the softer-compound front tire, it just wasn’t working well. I could kind of see that I was catching Danilo (Petrucci) slightly, but then I would run wide in one or two corners. He might have done something wrong, and I’d catch him. I don’t think I would have caught him before the end. Maybe with four laps to go, one of the back markers kind of held him up going into corner five, which I kind of thought, ‘Maybe I can do something here.’ But then, unfortunately, going into corner six, I had a massive front-end moment and I kind of ran out wide there. So, just had to settle for second place. I feel like the mid-race pace is pretty good. Just need to maybe sort out the first couple laps and see if we can be a little bit closer to the front guys there so I don’t have to work so hard and maybe over-push trying to catch up. Otherwise, I’m pretty happy to be up here in second place. Our pace was a hell of a lot better than it was last year here. We seem to be making steps forward. Closed the gap a little bit. Kind of sucks being second place for the third race straight, so hopefully tomorrow try to go one better. But Danilo is riding awesome. The bike definitely seems to have legs on us. So, we might have to look at trying to get out of the corners better. Just looking forward to going back to the pits now and working on setup and just trying to figure out how to come off corner seven and the final corner better so we’re not losing so many bike lengths. Well-done to these two guys. It was a long 19 laps out there. Hopefully, tomorrow goes a little bit better for us.”

Jake Lewis – Third

“It’s nice to be up on the box instead of in the gravel. It’s better for the team and better for the points. Like you said, it’s definitely frustrating. It sucks getting smoked that bad. Even the first few laps, I didn’t get the best of starts and was back in seventh. It was poor qualifying and then a poor start. I didn’t really even get a chance to try to go with those guys, which I was planning to do. I was in fifth there for a while until Jake (Gagne) crashed, and then a few laps later I saw Cam (Petersen) down. I knew I was in that third position and Hector (Barbera) was behind me the whole race. I just kept seeing plus zero, plus zero. I kept plugging away. Obviously, my pace needed to be a little bit faster and definitely still need to find some time to get to these guys. I was trying to ride with them this morning, follow Danilo (Petrucci) and follow Mathew (Scholtz) and just pick up on a few things where they were better at and where I need to improve. I feel more comfortable and confident than I did at COTA. Just keep plugging away and try to get closer to these guys.”

More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:

Scholtz Notches His Third Runner-Up Result In A Row With A Second-Place Finish In MotoAmerica Superbike Race One At Road Atlanta

Braselton, GA – April 23, 2022 – South African rider Mathew Scholtz, who now makes his home in Acworth, Georgia, capitalized on his opportunity to race in front of friends at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. The Westby Racing Yamaha Superbike rider recorded his third runner-up finish in a row and showed poise, patience, and talent as he closed the gap on the race leader but made sure that he didn’t jeopardize his position or the ultimate result.

Starting from the inside of row two in fourth, Mathew moved up to third on lap five, and then second place on lap six where he held tenaciously to the runner-up spot and even made a strong run at the race leader. He couldn’t quite get himself into position to take the lead, however, so he brought himself and his Yamaha YZF-R1 home safely in second place.

“Once I got past Cam (Petersen), they had about a second or two-second gap. I just tried to push harder to try to catch up. I was over-charging corners, pushing the front everywhere. In our morning practice, it was probably about 68 degrees, and we’re racing in like 85 degrees now. So, the setup just kind of seemed a little bit off. The front end was pushing everywhere. I didn’t see how Cam crashed, but exactly where (Jake) Gagne crashed, I had a lot of front-end moments there, too. I think it was just with the heat and the softer-compound front tire, it just wasn’t working well.

“I could kind of see that I was catching Danilo (Petrucci) slightly, but then I would run wide in one or two corners. He might have done something wrong, and I’d catch him. I don’t think I would have caught him before the end. Maybe with four laps to go, one of the back markers kind of held him up going into corner five, which I kind of thought, ‘Maybe I can do something here.’ But then, unfortunately, going into corner six, I had a massive front-end moment, and I kind of ran out wide there. So, I just had to settle for second place. I feel like the mid-race pace is pretty good. Just need to maybe sort out the first couple of laps and see if we can be a little bit closer to the front guys there, so I don’t have to work so hard and maybe over-push trying to catch up.

“Otherwise, I’m pretty happy to be up here in second place. Our pace was a hell of a lot better than it was last year here. We seem to be making steps forward. Closed the gap a little bit. Kind of sucks being second place for the third race straight, so hopefully tomorrow, try to go one better. But Danilo is riding awesome. The bike definitely seems to have legs on us. So, we might have to look at trying to get out of the corners better. Just looking forward to going back to the pits now and working on setup and just trying to figure out how to come off corner seven and the final corner better so we’re not losing so many bike lengths. Well-done to these two guys. It was a long 19 laps out there. Hopefully, tomorrow goes a little bit better for us.”

Mathew and the team have a solid plan to adjust the setup for Sunday’s weekend-concluding Superbike race two, which starts at 3:10 p.m. ET. The race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. ET.

For all the action from Road Atlanta, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.

Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase

iOneMoto-Sharkskinz, Superbike Unlimited, and Suter Racing Products 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 http://www.WestbyRacing.com

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

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Ultra-Close Racing Headlines MotoAmerica Day One At Road Atlanta

Josh Herrin Wins Supersport, Alexander Wins Photo Finish In Yuasa Stock 1000
 

BRASELTON, GA (April 23, 2022) – There are close finishes. And then there are close finishes. On Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Cory Alexander and his good friend Michael Gilbert almost finished in a dead tie for victory in the Yuasa Stock 1000 class. After the result was decided by photo finish, the margin of victory was a miniscule .001 of a second with the decision going to Tytlers Racing/RideHVMC Racing’s Alexander over Cycle World/Octane/Chuckwalla Raceway’s Gilbert.

And that was just one of the five races held at Road Atlanta on Saturday as the MotoAmerica Championship kicked off in earnest with all classes featured and all producing good racing. How’s this for good racing? The average margin of victory for the five races was just 1.07 seconds.

Yuasa Stock 1000 – Alexander, Barely

Saturday’s feature races got off to a rousing start with Corey Alexander winning from the pole in the weekend’s only Yuasa Stock 1000 race, but it certainly wasn’t easy. The Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing Kawasaki rider had his hands full from start to finish, first with veteran rider Geoff May, who crashed out, and then with Cycle World/Octane/Chuckwalla Racing’s Michael Gilbert. Alexander and Gilbert battled it out, particularly in the closing laps, and the pace increased, which made the final lap a barn burner. Looking for a way around Alexander and into the lead, Gilbert made a brave inside pass in the final turn and almost held on to take the checkers. Instead, Alexander prevailed in a photo finish and took the victory by .001 of a second.

“The pace, for sure, went up quite a bit,” Alexander said. “The track temp was high, and the track was a little bit greasy. We had tried a couple things going into the race trying to go faster than we did in qualifying. But, grip-wise, I was struggling. I was over-riding, honestly. The lines were a lot harder than they were this morning. I saw plus zero, plus zero, plus zero. Mikey never drafted me. I kind of knew that we probably had a pretty good bike on the back straightaway. So, basically, I got to a point like, I might as well see what he’s got. So, I let him by and kind of followed him for a lap just to see what was going on, where I was better, where he was better. Ultimately, on the the back straightaway, I just had to go around him, otherwise I would have hit him. I knew I could probably drop back down to point six if I had clear track, and I was trying to, but the lap traffic and the track was so one-lined. Just got into lapped traffic, and a couple sketchy little things happened. I think being able to push that lap to the end, if I didn’t break away at the end my plan was to try to break away with four laps to go or so. Either way, super, super happy. Every time I get on the podium, I’ve got to thank so many people, and I always forget. So, thanks to all my team. All the guys that are supporting us. I was lying in bed thinking, ‘I don’t know if I can keep racing.’ So, to be back up here is really exciting.”

Supersport – Herrin’s Home Win

Former Georgia resident Josh Herrin had the best kind of reunion with the Peach State on Saturday at Road Atlanta. The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider, who returned to the Supersport class after several years racing in Superbike, got his first win in the middleweight class since 2015. The polesitter got the holeshot in the 18-lap race and led from start to finish to notch the world’s first professional road racing win for the Panigale V2. Meanwhile, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sam Lochoff, who is the first professional road racer to compete aboard the GSX-R750 under the FIM’s and MotoAmerica’s “Supersport Next Generation” rules, finished second. North East Cycle Outlet Racing Benjamin Smith completed the podium in third.

“It’s been 17 years now that I’ve been racing,” said Herrin. “So, after a while, no matter what anybody says or does, it turns into a job unless you really try to have fun. Not even try, unless there’s things around you that make you have fun. I wanted to race Supersport, but I didn’t know if there were any rides available. Bobby (Shek, team owner) said that they were going to be racing the V2 this year. I didn’t even ask any questions. I just said, ‘Yeah, I’ll take it. I just want to do it.’ I’m stoked that I did it. Like you said, the team’s first win on this bike. I’m super-happy about that. The team is happy. They’ve been putting in a lot of work. There’s so much that goes into that program. It’s unbelievable. It feels really good to get a win for them. I’m having a lot of fun. I’m happy to be here. I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow. I feel like, fitness-wise, I’m feeling really well. The race was shortened today, so that’s what I was counting on, feeling good at the end of the race, just because coming down from the Superbike, it’s a lot harder bike to ride. I feel like that’s something I have in my back pocket. I hope tomorrow we have a full race, and it plays out the way I hope it does. Big shout-out to the HSBK Warhorse Racing team and everybody who supports us. Thank you to all my crew. We put a lot of work in. I’m really happy to be up here. We go home tonight and celebrate.”

SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Wyman!

In Saturday’s SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race one, Belgian rider Levi Badie, who is a rookie in the class, started on the pole in his very first MotoAmerica race. The BARTCON Racing rider didn’t get off to a good start and had to settle into third on the opening lap. Max Van got the holeshot and was in the lead, but Badie overtook him on the first lap, but then he crashed out on lap two. After that, the battle was on for who was going to take the win. The lead swapped hands several times during the 11-lap event, and Alpha Omega Kawasaki rider Cody Wyman emerged victorious, notching his second Junior Cup win in as many years. SportbikeTrackGear.com rider Van finished, while his teammate Joseph LiMandri Jr. rounded out the podium.

“I saw (brother) Kyle run across pit lane and give me a big gap (motioning with his hands),” said the youngest of the three Wyman brothers. “So, I knew I could try to put my head down and try to get away. I broke my hip in a couple spots and sustained a small fracture in my arm last August. Didn’t walk for 10 weeks. So, really, working this off-season to build this program to get strength back in my core. Really couldn’t ask for anything better to start for Saturday for round one.”

Roland Sands Design Super Hooligans – West Over DiBrino

Saddlemen/Lloyd’z Garage’s Cory West turned the tables on JLC Concrete/KTM/DiBrino Racing’s Andy DiBrino on Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with the Indian-mounted West besting DiBrino after the KTM-mounted Oregonian had come out on top of a similar battle at Daytona.

Third place went to Roland Sands Design’s Tyler O’Hara, who was forced to start from  the back row, with the Californian topping his Ulsterman Jeremy McWilliams.

“Yeah, it was a killer battle,” West said. “I got a good start. Andy (DiBrino) was showing me what he had for the first time. So, I kind of went to school on him there for a little while and got to see where the KTM was strong. There’s definitely some places that I get around this place pretty well. I’ve been running up front around this racetrack for years and years. So, I knew if I could just hang with him there it was going to be a good battle to the end. Luckily, that Indian FTR 1200 has got some legs on it. The Lloyd’s Garage guys build a hell of a tune. The thing was running really good down the back straight. Had to stop that heavy beast down into 10A a couple times. Andy definitely had some brakes on me there. It all worked out pretty good there at the end. I squared him up coming out of 10B and got a good run down into the last corner there with two to go. Put my head down, charged through the first segment, gave him a good, long lookback coming down the back straightaway to see what kind of gap I made the first segment, and it was not too shabby. So, I figured if I could do that one more time, I might be able to hold him off to the braking zone down in 10A. The plan worked out. We caught a couple little lappers there right in the last couple corners. Luckily, there was no drama there. Brought home the win for the team. Just super stoked. I’ve been finishing second for years and years, and it’s just nice to finally win one. Big shout out to Saddleman, Lloyd’s Garage in Charlotte, Mission foods for helping out the program so much, and Motul. Those guys are awesome.”

Editorial Note: The finishing order of the Mission King Of The Baggers Challenge dash-for-cash race sets the first six grid spots for the point-paying King Of The Baggers main event race.