2024 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Road Atlanta – Saturday
Superbike Race One
In a titanic battle that began with as many as seven riders fighting at the front and ended with three, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier came out on top with a pass on Attack Performance Yamaha’s Jake Gagne with two laps to go in a thrilling Steel Commander Superbike season-opening race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Saturday.
The win was the 60th Superbike victory of Beaubier’s career and it came with the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion biding his time and sitting behind Gagne and Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong for the last third of the race. Beaubier planned to make his move with three laps to go, but instead had to wait until the penultimate lap. He made the move and made it stick, beating three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Gagne to the line by .240 of a second in what was his comeback race from the injuries he suffered last year at Pittsburgh International Race Complex.
For many, Fong was the surprise of the weekend with the Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1-mounted Fong earning pole position in the morning Q2 session, then running at the front for the duration and ending up third and just .332 of a second from race-winner Beaubier.
TopPro Racing Team’s Sean Dylan Kelly was an impressive fourth in his MotoAmerica Superbike debut. The Floridian was quick from the get-go and didn’t put a foot wrong – even as he battled in the heated pack at the front in the first portion of the race. Kelly was just 3.5 seconds behind Beaubier and .7 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin.
Herrin was at the front of the Superbike pack early in the race, battling primarily with Fong for the top spot as the others hooked in behind the lead duo. Fong made a pass on the inside of Herrin early in the race, but it was the second time that he made the same move in the final corner that ended up going horribly wrong for Herrin. With the door open enough for his Yamaha to fit through, Fong made the move in the final corner and the result was Herrin running off the track on the exit.
By the time he rejoined the racetrack, Herrin was well back and forced to do an admirable job of moving forward again with passes on Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.
Herrin ended up fifth with Baz sixth, Beach seventh and Escalante eighth with the top eight separated by under six seconds. Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounded out the top 10.
After crossing the finish line just .6 of a second apart, Baz and Escalante were involved in a big crash together at the end of the front straight after both crossed the finish line.
Two of the series stars had bad days with Brandon Paasch crashing his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki out of the race after just two laps and Attack Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen crashing, remounting, and finishing 15th to at least salvage a championship point. Petersen was running near the front when he was penalized two spots for passing under a waving yellow flag. After doing so, Petersen crashed but was able to remount and finish the race.
Cameron Beaubier – P1
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pretty over motorcycles after Pittsburgh. Sitting at home hurt, but all of us share this passion. Got motorcycles in our blood. A couple months go by and then you start getting hungry. The team posted the date for the first test and then you got something to work towards. Then after that, I was just itching to go racing. We got a couple good tests under our belt. Felt really good at the test. Made some good progress with the bike, with the Tytlers guys. Big hats off to them. They worked their butts off all off-season to elevate our game. Yesterday didn’t necessarily start out great, throwing the bike down the road in the second practice. But today was awesome. We didn’t make it easy, Jake (Gagne) either, on ourselves, starting on the second row of the grid, just with how stacked the field is right now. Like Jake said, it’s pretty awesome to race with all these guys. I was only two or three-tenths off, and I was back in fifth in qualifying. That hasn’t been the case so much in the past years in MotoAmerica Superbike. So, it’s pretty cool. Just happy to be back and happy to feel healthy. Jake was setting a good pace up there in front. I think we were all kind of in management mode. The track was pretty greasy. We were sliding around. I feel like it would have been pretty risky to go any faster. I was just trying to bide my time. Bobby (Fong) was making it really difficult because he was so late on the brakes. I kept catching him on the back straightaway and had to roll out a little bit. I would catch him at the worst spot, going into the kink, and then he would brake super deep down into 10. So, I was kind of stuck there. I was just biding my time until the last few laps. I was able to make a couple good passes. Jake and I went back and forth that last lap and was able to bring it home. It’s a good feeling.”
Jake Gagne – P2
“Yeah, definitely. It was cool. Going into the race, starting second row, having fast guys in front, fast guys behind, it’s a whole different story than last couple years. I keep saying it, but there’s so much speed in this Superbike class now. It’s pretty cool to be a part of. It was one of those days. All I wanted to do was get a clean start, but you never really know what kind of pace guys are going to have, especially that second half. I was actually kind of surprised. I wasn’t sure. Bob (Fong) passed (Josh) Herrin. He went off and then Bob ran a little wide and then I was in the lead. I wasn’t sure who was behind me, honestly. I knew Bobby was there. I figured Cam (Beaubier) was there. But I think it was pretty slick out there. The Dunlops held up well with the heat of the track. This place gets really greasy. I’m happy. The bike was working really, really good. Kind of like last year, I was just struggling with such bad arm pump half the race. I just felt like a sitting duck. Just shows you how good this Yamaha is working. It was a fun race. I knew somebody was going to try to pass me. Second-to-last lap, Cam came up the inside somewhere. We went back and forth a couple of times. It was a good race and a good way to start the year.”
1. Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
2. Jake Gagne (Yamaha) +0.240s
3. Bobby Fong (Yamaha) +0.332s
Superbike Race One Top Ten
- Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha) +0.240s
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha) +0.332s
- Sean Dylan Kelly (Yamaha) +3.548s
- Josh Herrin (Ducati) +4.239s
- Loris Baz (Ducati) +5.375s
- JD Beach (BMW) +5.708s
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki) +5.928s
- Hayden Gillim (Honda) +31.492s
- Max Flinders (Yamaha) +39.105s
Mission King Of The Baggers Race One
S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss continues to impress with the Australian winning his second Mission King Of The Baggers race of the year at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on a sunny Saturday.
Herfoss, who earlier in the day won the three-lap Mission King Of The Baggers Challenge, sat behind Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman for four of the eight laps before making a pass on the championship points leader and taking the victory, albeit by just .615 of a second.
Third place went to RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim with the Kentuckian earning his first podium finish of the season in the fifth Baggers race of the year.
Herfoss’s win over Wyman cut a 10-point lead in half and the pair are now separated by just five points.
Troy Herfoss – P1
“It is a really enjoyable track. Like I keep saying, it’s a lot to learn, but the Indian Challenger has got a great base setting. I can roll out and I don’t have to think about the bike. I can learn the track. It’s just really important to be patient at the moment. The first session I was a little bit frustrated after the P1 session. I just feel like I sort of peaked in the middle of the session and then I was probably a little bit closer than I thought I would be in the first few laps, and then I got out and got excited. As we all know, these bikes are so big, you can’t over-ride them. So, that was a bit frustrating. I just had to reset there. It probably halted progress for us. It’s funny. I’m sitting here with a Challenge win and a race win and I’m criticising myself. It’s such a long year. Kyle (Wyman) just seen me for three laps, and the race continues. These guys are both watching me in the races. I crossed the line first in this one and there’s 13 races to go. They know a bit more about me and I know a bit more about them. It will just be like a chess match all year the way it’s going. When I signed up for this there was a lot of DNFs, and consistency would win it. This year it’s like raw speed and consistency is what you need. It’s an elite championship, and all these guys, especially the guys next to me here are putting in a big effort, and so am I.”
Mission King Of The Baggers Race One Top Ten
- Troy Herfoss – Indian
- Kyle Wyman – HD +0.615s
- Hayden Gillim – HD +1.912s
- Tyler O’Hara – Indian +2.293s
- James Rispoli – HD +14.539s
- Max Flinders – Indian +19.513s
- Cory West – HD +28.523s
- Bobby Fong – Indian +30.273s
- Travis Wyman – HD +34.672s
- Jake Lewis – HD +35.925s
Supersport Race One
With 44 riders entering to race in Supersport at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta and several former Superbike riders joining the class for the 2024 season, we knew the competition level would be at an all-time high. Saturday’s Supersport race one did not disappoint as it was definitely one of the most exciting races of the day.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott looked to have the race in hand, but he unfortunately suffered a big crash in the esses, which took him out of the race. At the front of the pack, N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis got his Yamaha in the lead, but Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen overtook Davis and crossed the finish line just .103 of a second ahead of Davis.
Meanwhile, Mathew Scholtz, who had electrical problems with his Strack Racing Yamaha on Thursday and only managed to qualify 11th, knifed his way through the pack and actually led the race for a short time before bringing his bike home in third place for the final spot on the podium.
“First, I really want to just say thanks to the Rahal Ducati Moto Team, XPEL, and Roller Die,” Jacobsen commented. “Basically, Richie Alexander, everybody in the whole team for just turning things around since Daytona. It’s a brand-new team. Graham has done a great job, and so has Ben (Spies). I just really want to thank them for putting this whole program together and getting things even more on track from Daytona. So, it’s been really good to progress. We had some testing and stuff. The team is super organized. It’s a really good environment over there, so I’m really happy to be a part of what whole program.
“But getting into the race now, I was kind of nervous. First race of the year, and stuff like that. Everybody is super close here in pace. But I was trying to manage being in front for a while there, and then Tyler passed me, Blake passed me. Then I was going to sit behind them and see them do some work and see what they had. But, unfortunately, Tyler (Scott) crashed, and I was really nervous because he crashed, and he was kind of tumbling through, and I didn’t want to hit him. So, I had my hands up. I thought a red flag was going to come out, but unfortunately it didn’t. It was because the bike was in the middle of the track. So, it was kind of scary for everybody behind me, because I was the first one to approach that after Blake (Davis). I was just really worried about Tyler and his body kind of being right there. It was kind of sketchy. Hopefully he’s all right and everything. Tyler is a great kid. We’ve been trying the whole race and stuff. Bike was riding great. My teammate, Corey, was riding super, super great. Then (Mathew) Scholtz came past with two laps to go. I was like, ‘Man, this guy! What is he doing?’ I was like, ‘Okay, I got to turn it up again.’ I’m just trying to hang onto Blake here and now I’ve got Scholtz. So, it was good. I kind of knew some spots where Blake was struggling a little bit, and I knew if I didn’t get the draft like someone did on the inside of me on that last lap there that I would have had a go at Blake, and I knew kind of where to get him. So, when he passed me in 10A, I kind of knew that I could have had a really good go in the last corner in 12. I was going for it at that point. I was eyeing it up for a few laps in the middle of the race. It was a really good race, and everybody has been riding super good. I think Supersport is going to be pretty interesting this year. There’s a lot of fast talent in that class.”
Supersport Race One Top Ten
- PJ Jacobsen – Ducati
- Blake Davis – Yamaha +0.103s
- Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha +0.407s
- Corey Alexander – Ducati +1.668s
- Maximiliano Gerardo – Suzuki +4.313s
- Jake Lewis – Suzuki +8.607s
- Roberto Tamburini – MV +12.345s
- Stefano Mesa – Kawasaki +15.832s
- Kayla Yaakov – Ducati +18.521s
- Teagg Hobbs – Suzuki +24.646s
Junior Cup Race One
Saturday’s racing started off with MotoAmerica’s entry-level riders, who always put on a great show in the Junior Cup Championship. There are a lot of new faces in Junior Cup this year as several riders have moved up to other race classes. However, Bad Boys Racing’s Avery Dreher, who is also racing in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship, is defending his 2023 Junior Cup Championship. And, for a while, it looked like the rider of the number-one Kawasaki was going to win the race. Unfortunately, after extending his lead to a comfortable distance, he made a mistake and crashed out. That left a gaggle of riders to fight for the win, and fight, they did.
BARTCON Racing’s rookie rider Matthew Chapin prevailed with the first win of his young career by .072 of a second over polesitter Ryan Wolfe, who notched his first career podium aboard his Wolfe Racing Kawasaki. Third place went to New York Safety Track Racing’s Yandel Medina for the second podium of his career.
“I was stuck in the back of the pack the whole time,” Chapin said. “People were just dive-bombing me. I couldn’t really get anything done. But I knew if I was patient, I could get the draft because I’m a lot smaller than everybody else. I don’t weigh lot, so I knew I could draft into the line. I passed Ryan up the inside at the end. He came back on the outside, and I think it was in turn 11, I passed him back up the inside for the win. I’m so pumped right now. Words can’t even express it. I’m so pumped.”
Junior Cup Race One Top Ten
- Matthew Chapin
- Ryan Wolfe +0.072s
- Yandel Medina +0.263s
- Logan Cunnison +0.319s
- Isaac Woodworth +0.558s
- Eli Block +0.940s
- Trenton Keesee +1.197s
- Jayden Fernandez +9.557s
- Carson King +31.992s
- Solly Mervis +19.803s
BellissiMoto Twins Cup
The Suzuki GSX-8R has joined the fray in the highly competitive BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship, and in race one, RevZilla/Motul Vance & Hines Suzuki rider Rocco Landers brought home the bike’s first MotoAmerica win by .769 of a second over Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering Aprilia rider Gus Rodio. Rodio was followed across the finish line by his teammate and third-place finisher Alessandro Di Mario.
“I knew I was decent in the first sector because the (Suzuki) just brakes and turns like a total dream,” Landers said. “I just tried to sit there and try to get by them and see if I could lead through the first sector and see what happened. Eventually I was able to. I wasn’t really looking back, but based off the fact that I didn’t have anyone come flying by me down the back straight, I figured it somewhat worked out. The bike is fast as heck as soon as you get it into sixth gear, but I knew I had to really work for it. Up until there, we’re working towards making that power happen. It’s sick to get a win in the third race on this thing, second weekend. The team works so hard, my whole crew. We haven’t started a session with the same setup we had the session before since we got on the thing. The progress that we’ve made is amazing. The thing is so much different than it was when we rolled it out of the truck at Daytona. But it’s going to be quite a season with these guys with how good they’re riding. We’ll see where it goes.”
BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race One Top Ten
- Rocco Landers – Suzuki
- Gus Rodio – Aprilia +0.769s
- Alessandro Di Mario – Aprilia +0.876s
- Dominic Doyle – Yamaha +1.091s
- Jack Roach – Yamaha +12.409s
- Sean Ungvarsky – Yamaha +28.663s
- Giacomo Manera – Aprilia +31.512s
- Avery Dreher – Aprilia +38.126s
- Romeo Chiavini – Aprilia +38.126s
- Tyler Duffy – Aprilia +41.414s
