Recapping all the MotoAmerica action from Road America (2024)

2024 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Road America

Race reports, results and points for King of the Baggers can be found at this link.

Superbike Race One

Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing team-mates Cameron Petersen and Jake Gagne battled to the bitter end of the Steel Commander Superbike race on Saturday, with Petersen winning the battle of Yamaha YZF-R1s by just .004 of a second in horrendous conditions at Road America.

Steel Commander Superbike race one was held in a rainstorm, and riders faced conditions many of them claimed were the worst they’d ever raced in. While the Road America surface had good grip despite the rain, puddles in bad places caused the most concern, with some riders crashing without any lean angle.

When all was said and done, it was Petersen winning his second race of the young season and the fifth of his MotoAmerica Superbike career. Petersen led early, lost the lead to TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly, got it back and then spent the majority of the remaining laps looking at Gagne’s rear wheel. Until the final lap. The pair went into the last turn side by side and came out of it side by side. With both Yamahas spinning their way up the hill, it was Petersen who got his hooked up better and nipped Gagne at the line.

Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz was with the two Yamahas for most of the race, and his one error came with two laps to go when he tried to make a pass on Petersen in turn five. The out-braking move didn’t work, with Baz getting in too hot and losing touch with the two Yamahas. Still, it was an impressive third-place finish that left the Frenchman smiling.

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach was a somewhat lonely fourth after inheriting the spot from his teammate Cameron Beaubier. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion had led the race early before running off track in turn five. He rejoined and started to charge forward. However, soon after getting past Beach for fourth and starting to make inroads into the lead trio, he crashed his BMW M 1000 RR. The crash left Beaubier limping away before ultimately getting helped to the ambulance. He was transported to undergo X-rays on his heel.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch ended up fifth, less than a second ahead of Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis. Those two were well clear of FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith. Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong; Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin, who led early before running off track in turn five; and Jarritos Racing/Team GMR’s Gabriel Da Silva rounded out the top 10.

Beaubier wasn’t the only one to crash out in the difficult conditions as Kelly crashed out of the lead early on and Xavi Forés crashed his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki while battling for fourth place.

Superbike Race One Top Ten Results

1. Cameron Petersen – Yamaha
2. Jake Gagne – Yamaha +0.004s
3. Loris Baz – Ducati +4.433s
4. JD Beach – BMW +17.969s
5. Brandon Paasch – Suzuki +28.199s
6. Danilo Lewis – BMW +28.884s
7. Benjamin Smith – Yamaha +54.828s
8. Bobby Fong – Yamaha +75.366s
9. Josh Herrin – Ducati +75.951s
10. Gabriel Da Silva – Honda +99.462s

Superbike Race Two

It may not have been a walk in the park, but it was definitely a high-speed stroll through the track known as America’s National Park of Speed for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin on Sunday at Road America.

Herrin stormed away at the start of the 12-lap race and was never threatened. The chasing pack kept the gap in the two-second range for a few laps, but then the margin just steadily grew exponentially until it got to the 10-second mark. The Ducati Panigale V4 R was in its element on the high-speed track and Herrin was enjoying every minute of it.

At the completion of the 12 laps, Herrin was a tick over nine seconds clear of the chasing pack. It was his first win of what has been a difficult season thus far for the 2013 Superbike Champion. It was also the 11^thSuperbike win of his career, which ties him for 18^thon the all-time Superbike win list with Anthony Gobert.

The chasing pack was hectic and consisted of four – Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach, TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz.

Kelly did most of the leading in second place, but Fong was on a mission and riding hard to make up for an obvious speed disadvantage with his Yamaha YZF-R1 against the BMW M 1000 RRs of Kelly and Beach. Baz, meanwhile, also had a fast bike but couldn’t go farther forward until the last lap.

It was on the last lap and the run to the final corner and the dash up the hill that the pack lost Kelly, with his BMW faltering as it was stuck in fifth gear. He would finish but it would be in sixth and not the second place he was fighting for. Fong ended up a well-deserved second with Beach third, less than half a second behind the Yamaha on the run to the flag. Then came Baz just a few 10ths behind.

Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne passed Kelly for fifth with the Floridian nursing the bike up the hill to sixth. Gagne’s ride had been mostly lonely.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was seventh after beating his fill-in teammate Xavi Forés by just .013 of a second. FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith and Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.

After three rounds and seven races in the Steel Commander Superbike Championship, Gagne leads the injured Cameron Beaubier by 18 points, 113-95, with the five-time Superbike Championship expected to miss at least the next round with the broken heel he suffered in Saturday’s crash at Road America.

Fong jumps to third in the title chase, 25 points behind Gagne and just seven behind Beaubier. Saturday’s race winner Cameron Petersen is fourth in the championship after his Yamaha YZF-R1 suffered a terminal illness that took the South African out of race two after just six laps.

Kelly is tied with Petersen for fourth and fortunate he could nurse the BMW to the finish line. The pair are 30 points behind Gagne and four points ahead of Herrin, who obviously gained tons of ground with his first victory of the year.

Superbike Race Two Top Ten Results

1. Josh Herrin – Ducati
2. Bobby Fong – Yamaha +9.058s
3. JD Beach – BMW +9.384s
4. Loris Baz – Ducati +9.818s
5. Jake Gagne – Yamaha +14.854s
6. Sean Dylan Kelly – BMW +15.048s
7. Brandon Paasch – Suzuki +18.811s
8. Xavi Fores – Suzuki +18.824s
9. Benjamin Smith – Yamaha +46.209s
10. Danilo Lewis – BMW +52.343s

Superbike Quotes

Josh Herrin – Winner

“Obviously, no Superbike win is ever easy. The guys gave me a great bike today. I had a great bike yesterday, but I’m just terrible in the rain on it. This one feels extra special, but the laps just kept clicking. I just felt super good. I was in a rhythm. I didn’t think about anybody behind me once, until three laps to go and I saw plus nine. I just couldn’t believe it. It was just a magical moment, for sure. It was one of those ones that you can’t explain, and you don’t really know why it happened. I mean, I know I had a great bike and I felt great, and I’ve been putting in the work, but it never comes that easy. I just want to thank the entire Warhorse HSBK Racing team for all the hard work that they do. I’m happy because the last race in New Jersey last year was really tough, and then we went to Road Atlanta, and I was leading and got ran off the track. Then I had a rain race that I sucked in again. Barber was terrible. Yesterday was terrible. So, it’s been a really hard six, seven, eight months, somewhere around there. I’m happy to be back up here. I told the guys, if we have two years on this bike it will make a huge difference. We were showing that in Atlanta, just with the way that we’re able to start Friday and be there right away. It just helps a lot with your confidence. This weekend told the same story. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and just really happy to be with the same team for three years in a row. I have a lot of fun with these guys. It’s really rare. I’ve been doing this for 19 years and this is the third time that I’ve felt like this in 19 years. One was with Graves. One was with Richard (Stanboli) in ’18, and now this team. It doesn’t happen very often that you get the full package, and right now we have it. I’m super happy. I’m bummed that Cam (Beaubier) wasn’t out there. I’m hoping that he has a speedy recovery because I know he for sure would have been there. I’m sure he’ll be back soon and fast. Brainerd is going to be tough, for sure. I’m ready and excited and just grateful for this.”

Bobby Fong – Second Place

“It was a hard-fought race. It was me and Dylan (Sean Dylan Kelly) putting in our licks. I had to be smart. They had a little bit of horsepower, and I had to get a run on him on each straightaway. I would back up a little bit going into the turns and try to come out with him just to stay as close as I could in the draft. I saw JD (Beach) pass me and I thought maybe (Loris) Baz was going to get in there and make some moves. I had to counter and counter fast just to keep my position. Now we’ve moved up in third in the championship and a little bit closer to (Jake) Gagne. Our goal is to be top Yamaha. It’s a bummer that (Cameron) Beaubier was out. Obviously, he was pretty dominant all weekend. Hopefully, he’s back soon because he was the standard all weekend.”

JD Beach – Third Place

“It’s hard. I want to be pumped about this, but I feel like we’re still so far off right now. It’s not from a lack of trying from the team or myself. We’re just missing something, and I know once we get it, we’ll be right there. I guess it’s nice that I’m not pumped about a third, but in all honesty, it is great to be up here and to be third. I want to be fighting with Josh (Herrin) and Cameron (Beaubier) and the guys at the front. I’m glad we took a big step forward from Barber. That was a hard weekend. We’ll just keep fighting and we’ll keep working. We’ve still got a lot of races to go. There’s no quitting, so we’ll just keep going.”

Superbike Championship Points

1. Jake Gagne 113
2. Cameron Beaubier 95
3. Bobby Fong 88
4. Cameron Petersen 83
5. Sean Dylan Kelly 83
6. Josh Herrin 79
7. Loris Baz 72
8. JD Beach 60
9. Hayden Gillim 45
10. Brandon Paasch 44

Supersport Race One

Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen sat behind Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz for most of the six-lap Supersport race at Road America on Saturday. But he struck at the end and drafted past the South African at the finish line to win by .040 of a second.

The win was Jacobsen’s third of the young season and it gave him a 16-point lead over Scholtz in the championship.

Scholtz was an ever so close second with the lead duo well clear of Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis, who backed off late in the race after realizing the risk wasn’t going to get him the reward he wanted.

Vision Wheel M4 Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was fourth with Jacobsen’s Rahal Ducati Moto’s Kayla Yaakov rounded out the top five.

Supersport Race One Top Ten

1. PJ Jacobsen – Ducati
2. Mathew Scholz – Yamaha +0.040s
3. Jake Lewis – Suzuki +8.282s
4. Tyler Scott – Suzuki +21.656s
5. Kayla Yaakov – Ducati +22.931s
6. Blake Davis – Yamaha +25.943s
7. Torin Collins – Suzuki +31.786s
8. Stefano Mesa – Kawasaki +35.314s
9. Teagg Hobbs – Suzuki +35.342s
10. Carl Soltisz – Suzuki +37.243s

Supersport Race Two

Sunday’s weather was ideal compared with Saturday’s rain-sodden conditions, and MotoAmerica’s Supersport class put on an incredible show. “Supersport Next Generation” is the name of the game, which means that motorcycles with engine displacements ranging from the 599cc Yamaha YZF-R6 to the 749cc Suzuki GSX-R750 to the 955cc Ducati Panigale V2 all race in Supersport, with balancing measures taken to level the competition.

So, how level is the competition in Supersport? At the finish line, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott barely nipped Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz in a photo finish, with Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen finishing third and just one one-hundredth of a second behind Scholtz.

Supersport Race Two Top Ten

1. Tyler Scott – Suzuki
2. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha +0.001s
3. PJ Jacobsen – Ducati +0.010s
4. Maxi Gerardo – Suzuki +0.364s
5. Stefano Mesa – Kawsaki +1.882s
6. Roberto Tamburini – MV +7.619s
7. Blake Davis – Yamaha +7.651s
8. Teagg Hobbs – Suzuki +7.872s
9. David Anthony – Suzuki +8.114s
10. Jake Lewis – Suzuki +13.298s

Supersport Championship Points

1. PJ Jacobsen 131
2. Mathew Scholtz 119
3. Blake Davis 66
4. Jake Lewis 64
5. Maxi Gerardo 62
6. Tyler Scott 61
7. Stefano Mesa 45
8. Roberto Tamburini 45
9. Corey Alexander 39
10. Teagg Hobbs 36

BellissiMoto Twins Cup

Saturday’s BellissiMoto Twins Cup race one at Road America was a pivotal one for the season championship. Previous points leader Gus Rodio suffered a mechanical issue with his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia, and he was unable to finish the race. That created a golden opportunity for the other riders trailing Rodio in the standings.

Giaccmoto Racing Yamaha’s Dominic Doyle rode a flawless race at the front and took the checkered flag over second-place finisher, Rodio’s teammate Alessandro Di Mario. Earlier in the day, Di Mario set a new track record with his pole-sitting performance in the morning’s final qualifying session.

Finishing third was RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki rider Rocco Landers, who was able to move up from second to first in the standings with his result.

BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race One Top Ten

1. Dominic Doyle – Yamaha
2. Alessandro Di Mario – Aprilia +10.443s
3. Rocco Landers – Suzuki +12.273s
4. Rossi Moor – Suzuki +12.430s
5. Sean Ungarvsky – Yamaha +27.298s
6. Cassidy Heiser – Yamaha +29.208s
7. Jack Roach – Yamaha +29.217s
8. Chris Parrish – Aprilia +44.937s
9. Sonya Lloyd – Yamaha +57.726s
10. Jeff Bean – Yamaha +64.114s

BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two

RevZilla/Motul/ Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Rocco Landers couldn’t match the pace of Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Alessandro Di Mario early in Sunday’s race, but he stuck around, bided his time, and took full advantage of the lack of grip on Di Mario’s Aprilia to make a pass on the last lap and notch victory, his second of the season.

Di Mario had a solid weekend at Road America, following up his second-place finish in the rain on Saturday with another runner-up finish on Sunday. His teammate Gus Rodio, meanwhile, had a weekend to forget with two non-finishes, which has given Landers and Di Mario sizeable leads in the championship.

Landers led the title chase going into Sunday’s race after finishing third yesterday, and he added to that lead with a victory on Sunday. Following his 50th career win across all classes, Landers is nine points clear of Di Mario, 135-126, with Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing’s Dominic Doyle third on 110 points – one point better than Rodio, who slips down to fourth in the championship.

The battle for third was a good one with Doyle vs. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor for the majority of the race. Doyle, however, had a miscue on the last lap while chasing Moor, allowing the Oregonian to secure third and his first Twins Cup podium.

TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher came out of it all in fourth with Doyle recovering for fifth.

BellissiMoto Twins Cup Race Two Top Ten

1. Rocco Landers – Suzuki
2. Alessandro Di Mario – Aprilia +0.154s
3. Rossi Moor – Suzuki +8.368s
4. Avery Dreher – Aprilia +18.267s
5. Dominic Doyle – Yamaha +40.384s
6. Jack Roach – Yamaha +44.334s
7. Sean Ungarvsky – Yamaha +58.152s
8. Chris Parrish – Aprilia +64.105s
9. Mikayla Moore – Aprilia +74.757s
10. Josef Bittner – Aprilia +81.411s

BellissiMoto Twins Cup Points

1. Rocco Landers 135
2. Alessandro Di Mario 126
3. Dominic Doyle 110
4. Gus Rodio 109
5. Rossi Moor 84
6. Avery Dreher 82
7. Jack Roach 74
8. Sean Ungvarsky 63
9. Romeo Chiavini 41
10. Cassidy Heiser 40

Junior Cup

Junior Cup race one started off Saturday’s racing at Road America, and a steady rain fell throughout most of the afternoon. MotoAmerica’s entry-level riders handled the conditions pretty well, but surprisingly, defending class champion Avery Dreher crashed out of third place towards the end of the final lap, and he also knocked Isaac Woodworth out of second place in the process. Woodworth was able to rejoin the race and finish fifth, while Dreher was out of the race.

BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin avoided the melee, and he took the checkered flag with his teammate Eli Block finishing second. Ironically, the rider who benefitted the most from Dreher’s incident was his sister Ella Dreher. The 14-year-old Bad Boys Racing rider notched the first podium result of her career.

“I’ve had a little bit of rain practice since Atlanta, so my confidence going into the race was definitely up,” Chapin said. “Also, my qualifying position being P3, I could see straight to turn one. I’ve never had that before. My best qualifying before this was seventh, I think. So, I think that was all a big part of it.”

Commenting on Avery Dreher’s crash, Chapin said, “I was on the inside of the corner, and then Avery was trying to out-brake me on the left side. He tucked the front really early, and then his body hit Isaac’s back tyre and took him out. So, it was pretty close, but I didn’t really think I was going to get involved in it.”

Junior Cup Top Race One Top Ten Results

1. Matthew Chapin
2. Eli Block +12.590s
3. Ella Dreher +18.764s
4. Logan Cunnison +20.865s
5. Isaac Woodworth +28.105s
6. Jayden Fernandez +32.936s
7. Ryan Barbour +33.225s
8. Marques Williams +33.407s
9. Jonathan James +35.699s
10. Yandel Medina +41.196s

Junior Cup Top Race Two

Junior Cup normalcy returned under the sunny skies of Elkhart Lake on Sunday with some 10-12 riders in the lead pack for most of the race after Saturday’s horrible weather didn’t make for the best racing.

When all was said and done, however, the lead pack dwindled to nine and it was game on with yesterday’s winner in the rainstorm, Matthew Chapin, doing most of the leading and using his diminutive size and a fast motorcycle to somehow make it to the stripe first nearly every time.

Including the one that mattered most – the last one.

The win was BARTCON Racing-backed Chapin’s third and that, combined with Yandel Medina finishing ninth, gave him the championship points lead.

Second place today, and just .346 of a second behind Chapin, was Barber’s doubleheader winner Logan Cunnison on his Speed Demon Racing-backed Kawasaki Ninja 400 with Fernandez Racing’s Jayden Fernandez taking the final podium spot.

Six riders crossed the line in quick succession with Karns Performance’s Levi Badie fourth, Bad Boys Racing’s Avery Dreher fifth and BPM’s Issac Woodworth sixth.

Junior Cup Points

1. Matthew Chapin 105
2. Logan Cunnison 96
3. Yandel Medina 90
4. Eli Block 64
5. Isaac Woodworth 60
6. Ryan Wolfe 53
7. Jayden Fernandez 52
8. Levi Badie 49
9. Ella Dreher 40
10. Avery Dreher 28

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race

Coming into Road America, defending Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Champion Mikayla Moore was on a nine-race winning streak extending back to the beginning of last year. Unfortunately, Moore crashed during final qualifying for her debut in the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship, and she was unable to start Saturday’s BTR race one.

Taking advantage of the situation, while also avoiding the treacherous track conditions, Cassie Creer got her first win, while Emma Betters extended her podium streak to three races with her runner-up result. Camille Conrad joined Betters in keeping her own podium streak going as she crossed the finish line third.

When asked about her racing experience in the rain, Creer said, “I’ve never ridden on rain tyres before. No rain experience. It was terrifying.” Despite her complete lack of experience in racing in the rain, Creer led all four laps of the rain-soaked race.

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race One Top Ten

1. Cassie Creer
2. Emma Betters +0.225s
3. Camille Conrad +14.367s
4. Kira Knebel +28.501s
5. Aubrey Credaroll +52.494s
6. Shea MacGregor +77.355s
7. Kate West +77.963s

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race Two

The mice got their chance to play in yesterday’s first of two Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. battles as defending series champion Mikayla Moore sat it out with a thigh injury. Today, the cat returned, and she was at the top as always with Moore taking her third win of the year by a whopping 23.937 seconds.

Behind her came a battle for second between Aubrey Credaroli and yesterday’s winner Cassie Creer with Credaroli getting the spot at the line by just .243 of a second. Creer was third, a day after earning her first-career MotoAmerica podium and victory.

Camille Conrad backed up her podium finish yesterday on a soaking wet racetrack with fourth today under bright sunshine. Kira Knebel rounded out the top-five finishers.

Fortunately for Moore, she was able to swap helmets prior to the race after realizing she couldn’t see out of her faceshield.

Mikayla Moore

“I went over to the Arai tent, and I told them I needed my helmet and make sure it’s good, since it was the same helmet that I crashed in. He said it was all checked out, but at the last minute I went to go put it on and I put the visor down and I could not see no one in front of me. It was super blurry. I had Kendall with K Tech come over and I was like, ‘I need that other helmet ASAP, because I’m blind right now. I can’t see nobody.’”

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race Two Top Ten

1. Mikayla Moore
2. Aubrey Credaroll +23.937s
3. Cassier Creer +24.180s
4. Camille Conrad +24.490s
5. Kira Knebel +27.001s
6. Mirandi Cain +32.483s
7. Emma Betters +32.523s
8. Holly Varey +35.951s
9. Lauren Prince +54.537s
10. Shea MacGregor +54.620s

Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race Points

1. Mikayla Moore 75
2. Emma Betters 65
3. Camille Conrad 65
4. Cassie Creer 63
5. Aubrey Credaroli 39