Beaubier & Herrin share Road America victories

2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Round 3 – Road America

Images by Brian J. Nelson

Superbike Race One

A near off-track excursion in turn three of Road America on the opening lap of the Medallia Superbike race dropped Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier back in the thick of the pack, but it didn’t’ stop him from working his way to the front and ultimately scoring his second race win of the season.

After completing lap one in sixth, pole sitter Josh Herrin and his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R streaked away at the front of the field. Beaubier put his head down and started his charge and on lap two was fourth and a lap later third.

He stayed there for two more laps before passing teammate PJ Jacobsen and chasing down Herrin. Beaubier took the lead on the sixth lap and two laps later the race was red flagged when a blown engine oiled the racing surface. At that point the race was called complete with Beaubier 2.7-seconds clear of Jacobsen, who forced his way past Herrin and into second the lap prior.

Beaubier not only won his 11th career Superbike race at Road America (and 56th of his Superbike career), but he also took over the lead of the 2023 MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship when Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne suffered a mechanical issue that knocked him out of the race and the points lead.

After five races in 2023, Beaubier leads the title chase by four points, 99-95, heading into tomorrow’s second race as Gagne’s weekend went from bad to horrible on Saturday.

Herrin held on for third place after earning pole position with a new lap record in qualifying on Saturday morning.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante finished fourth for the second race in a row, 4.5 seconds ahead of Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen, racing despite an injured right wrist.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias was sixth, well clear of seventh-placed Corey Alexander on the third Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.

Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was eighth after being penalized two positions for passing under a waving yellow flag. Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates and Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10 finishers.

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Superbike Race One Results

Superbike Race Two

Going into the second MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike races at Road America on Sunday, Herrin had won AMA Superbike races on two different makes of motorcycles – Yamaha and Suzuki. As of Sunday afternoon you can add Ducati to that list as the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati rider rode his Panigale V4 R to his first victory of the season and the ninth Superbike win of his career.

Herrin led from the start and then tussled with Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier in the early laps until Beaubier’s BMW M 1000 RR suffered a mechanical failure that put him out of the race. From there Herrin withstood the constant pressure from a second Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW ridden by PJ Jacobsen.

But Herrin was fast, consistent, and mostly mistake-free en route to a 2.01-second win over Jacobsen after 12 laps of the four-mile Road America circuit. The win came in front of a record three-day crowd of 41,000 spectators at “America’s National Park of Speed.”

Jacobsen finished second for the second straight day after crossing the finish line some eight seconds ahead of Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne.

For Gagne the third-place finish was a reprieve from a weekend he and the team would like to forget. Mechanical problems plagued the team for the first two days of the Road America weekend and Gagne failed to finish yesterday’s race, which cost him his championship points lead.

However, with Beaubier’s non-finish combined with Gagne’s third-place finish, Gagne was back atop the championship point standings by 12 points over Beaubier, 111-99. Herrin, meanwhile, jumped to third in the standings with 90 points.

Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen was the ultimate wingman to his teammate Gagne and ended up a shadow fourth despite racing with his injured right wrist.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias was fifth in what was the Spaniard’s final race as he announced his retirement on TV immediately after the race. Elias drafted past Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz at the stripe, beating the South African by just .161 of a second. Those two were well clear of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander, who bested Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante by half a second.

Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates and Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10 finishers.

Josh Herrin – P1

“It was just for the haters, man. It just felt good. It felt right. But it was all in good fun. That felt really good. Like I said on the podium, I think this just motivates me to do more. I know that this is for sure one of our strongest tracks, but we’ve got to figure out how to make tracks like Barber not be such a weakness for us. I think just getting more time on the bike and a little bit more confidence will for sure help with that. I’m so happy that I’m a part of this team. It’s been really like a family these last two years. It’s a bummer that the DeNaples couldn’t be here for this one, because I know that they wish they could. It just feels good. It feels good to be 33 years old winning Superbike races on a bike like I’m riding right now and just having fun. This track has always been one of my favorite tracks, but today it really felt like… I’ve been racing here since 2006. This is my 18th season racing at this track. It felt like ’06 with the crowds that we had today. It was just really special going around the track afterwards and seeing everybody cheering on the fence. It’s really motivating as a racer to be out there and see a crowd like that. So, thank you to everybody for showing up. Thank you to the whole team for everything that they do for me. I’m ready to keep going.”

PJ Jacobsen – P2

“Josh (Herrin) rode really, really well today. My starts just suck, and they’ve been sucking all year. So, that’s one thing that I need to figure out how to get off the line better. In the race, I feel like we were doing pretty consistent lap times, into the nines and stuff like that. I caught up to him and Cam (Beaubier), and then Cam had the problem. Then I felt like I was catching Josh a little, and then it stayed like that. Then the last few laps it felt like we were going pretty fast. I think I did 2:09.2 with two laps to go. Then there was pretty decent gap. I don’t know if it was a gap enough to go and try to challenge for the win. After turn three or whatever, we were ripping and I was like, I don’t know if I should really throw this thing away trying to go faster than that lap time we just did, because it was fast enough. I was trying really hard. Josh rode a really good race. So, it was a bummer. I felt really good in morning warmup and breaking the track record this morning. It was kind of a bummer not to get the win today, but I felt like I rode pretty good, and my team did a great job all weekend. The bikes were super, super fast all weekend. So, it was really good. I’m pretty happy with the whole weekend.”

Jake Gagne – P3

“That was about all I could expect, I think, coming from the last couple days. Josh (Herrin) and PJ (Jacobsen) and Cam (Beaubier), those guys were really flying. They had pace. I know what it feels like now. They had pace that I just couldn’t run, no matter what. They took off right away. I wanted to get a good start and at least try to clear some of the other guys. My teammate, Cam (Petersen), was on me the whole race long. I could hear him breathing down on me. Again, the team went through a lot of crap this weekend and had some real bad luck. It was just one of those weekends. So, I’m happy that we at least put it up on the box today. With Beaubier having a DNF, I got some luck on my side too, which isn’t how you want it, but we’re up here and I’m ready to get out of this state.”

Superbike Race Two Results

MotoAmerica Superbike Standings

Stock 1000 Race One

MotoAmerica’s litre-bike riders love racing at Road America because the track favours horsepower, and the Steel Commander Stock 1000 class delivers it in spades.

In race one, Orange Cat Racing’s Ezra Beaubier exploited the impressive power of his BMW M 1000 RR and won his third race of the year. Second place, and also riding a BMW M 1000 RR, went to Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman.

The surprise of the race was Wyman’s younger brother Cody, who was pressed into action as a last-minute fill-in rider for the injured Brandon Paasch on the Altus Motorsports Suzuki.

Cody Wyman, who had never before raced in the Steel Commander Stock 1000 class or aboard a Suzuki GSX-R1000R, rounded out the podium in third.

Stock 1000 Race One Results

Stock 1000 Race Two

According to Travis Wyman, he struggled with the setup of his Travis Wyman Racing BMW throughout most of the Road America weekend. This was despite the fact that he qualified in the pole position for the weekend’s two Steel Commander Stock 1000 races and finished second in Saturday’s race two.

On Sunday, Wyman won the race over Orange Cat Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel, who was also aboard a BMW and just a little over two seconds behind Wyman. Third place went to Disrupt Racing Suzuki rider Hayden Gillim, the Kentucky rider happy to get a podium result at a track where he felt he would struggle due to the power and speed of the BMWs.

Gillim was some 16 seconds behind De Keyrel at the checkered flag, and he was also able to take advantage of the fact that points leader Ezra Beaubier ran off the track and finished fourth.

Travis Wyman

“It’s definitely where I wanted to be yesterday,” Wyman said, “But I think we were still missing a little bit of something. So, the guys put a great package underneath me today. I think just the little bit cooler temperatures gave me more confidence to just get out and push, because in Q2 yesterday morning it was about similar temperatures, a little overcast, and the bike felt its best. Yesterday in the race when the sun was beating down, I didn’t have the confidence in the grip level. I knew if I got a holeshot, I could put my head down and go to work. I saw the gap getting bigger and bigger, and then all of a sudden it was back down to the plus zero again. Honestly, I thought it was Ezra behind me the entire time, and I just kept my head down for a couple more laps and I looked up and I saw on the monitor going into three and it was Kaleb. Kaleb has been strong at the end of the races, so I had to keep going. Just really never looked back. The bike was phenomenal. It was a huge step up from yesterday. It felt like it did in Q2. I got to give it all to my team. It’s been a long time coming. It’s been since Laguna 2021 when I won a Stock 1000 race.”

Stock 1000 Race Two Results

Stock 1000 Standings

Supersport Race One

At this still-early point in the season, it’s safe to say that Spaniard Xavi Fores loves racing in MotoAmerica. The Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati rider is undefeated so far this season, and he notched his fourth consecutive Supersport victory in race one at Road America.

Incidentally, Fores has begun his first MotoAmerica season with more consecutive race victories than any other first-year rider in the history of the series.

Fores and his Ducati Panigale V2 crossed the finish line just under 3/10ths of a second ahead of Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa. For Mesa, it was his third podium of the year.

Also recording his third podium result of the season was Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes, who was third aboard his Yamaha.

Supersport Race One Results

Supersport Race Two

Forest battled throughout the race with Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa with the Floridian coming up just .399 of a second short after the run up the hill to the finish line.

Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott with the youngster topping Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes by a tick over a second. Michael Gilbert Racing’s Michael Gilbert rounded out the top five.

Xavi Fores

“I realized already this morning in warmup I was not able to pass him on the draft,” Fores said. “He is lighter than me and the bike is fast, but I wanted to see how was his pace. I ran wide in the chicane. I lost the front a little bit, so I said, okay. I looked back and no one was coming close to us. I said, “okay, I’m going to let him pass and try to understand his pace.’ So after that, on the first split, I was a little bit faster than him and I was solid braking into turn five, so I passed again. I was quite okay doing 16 on my pace. I was pushing so hard. I was looking back all the time and he was there. The bike was working quite well, despite some issues I still have on the front. I never felt the front on my side from the first race of this year. But we are working a little bit. We are improving the bike a little bit, but it is still not enough. I lose the front sometimes when I am deep on the brakes. But I’m enjoying my riding. I’m enjoying fighting with them, discovering new tracks. If it’s winning races like that, it’s always welcome.”

Supersport Race Two Results

Supersport Standings

Junior Cup Race One

MotoAmerica’s Junior Cup riders started the day at Road America, and the series’ entry-level riders, who are known to race close together in packs, take advantage of Road America’s four-mile race course and long straightaways to make draft passes at carefully timed moments.

The result in race one was a photo finish with the podium decided after carefully studying the still photo captured at the finish line.

Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki’s Avery Dreher very solidly won the race, while the second- and third-place finishers ended up being Fairium NGRT- Gray Area Racing Aprilia rider Rossi Moor, the former Mini Cup rider earning his first “big-bike” podium, and Belgian rider Levi Badie, who won race two at Barber Motorsports Park and notched his second-consecutive podium finish aboard his Badie Racing Kawasaki.

Junior Cup Race One Results

Junior Cup Race Two

It was a big day for Fairium NGRT- Gray Area Racing KTM rider Rossi Moor on Sunday. The fifteen-year-old former Mini Cup rider, who podiumed in Saturday’s Junior Cup race one, notched his first career MotoAmerica race on Sunday at Road America in Junior Cup race two.

It was another “pack mentality” race for MotoAmerica’s entry-level riders where you didn’t know who’d win till they actually took the checkered flag.

Moor prevailed over SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki rider Max Van, who came from back in the pack to take the runner-up position over third-place rider Avery Dreher aboard his Bad Boys Racing Kawasaki.

Rossi Moor

“Yesterday, I wanted to try and stay in second place and try to not lead the race because I remember when Avery was saying that on this track you really don’t want to lead, especially on the last laps since the draft is so important here,” Moor said. “But I was analyzing the race yesterday and I thought that I had the pace to be able to break away. I just have to put my head down and sometimes you need a little bit of luck, like somebody making a mistake, to have that little breakaway. So, it was a really good race for me, after the bad luck I’ve had this season with two DNF’s. But finally, I got the win and I’m super excited.”

Junior Cup Race Two Results

Junior Cup Standings

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. One

19-year-old Mikayla Moore dominated Saturday’s opening round of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. series with a 17.206-second victory over last year’s championship runner-up Crystal Martinez at Road America.

Defending series champion Kayleigh Buyck had a mechanical problem that dropped her out of second place early in the race.

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. One Results

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Two

The 12 ladies of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. program kicked off Sunday’s racing at Road America for their second feature event of the weekend.

Mikayla Moore, was victorious again on Sunday but this time, Kayleigh Buyck, who suffered a mechanical in race one and was unable to finish, came back on Sunday to finish second and a little under 12 seconds behind Moore.

Completing the podium was Aubrey Credaroli, who was another 9 seconds behind Buyck.

The BTR series will race again at MotoAmerica’s next round, which is Ridge Motorsports Park, June 24-26.

Mikayla Moore

“I have a lap-timer on my bike, and surprisingly, my fastest time all weekend was in qualifying 2. I did a 2:53.8,” Moore said. “This time I think I was a second off. I’m still finding a little bit of bike setup during the race, but other than that, I just kept consistent. Made sure I hit all my lines, hit all my marks, and I’m glad these ladies are up here with me. Not going to lie, going onto the straightaway I could see the big screen, and I was watching. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a battle going on back there.’”

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Two Results

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Standings