The following is from Yamaha…
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne wrapped up a solid weekend at Round 4 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, scoring another third-place finish in Race 2 at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington. Bobby Fong overcame challenges to salvage valuable points with an eighth-place finish.
Riders were met with hotter, slicker track conditions for Sunday’s race. Gagne got another good start from pole position, slotting into third. He put in some fast times and stayed on the heels of the rider in second. Around the halfway mark, he began to lose touch with the front group and rode a smart race to bring it home third—his fifth podium of the season. The three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion leaves The Ridge third in the championship, trailing by 34 points.
Looking to build on his momentum from Saturday’s Race 1, Fong launched from the third row of the grid into the top five, quickly moving into fourth behind his teammate. Unfortunately, he started dropping back down the order and found himself ninth on Lap 11. On the following lap, Fong regained eighth when a rider withdrew and then battled to the end to hold onto the position and score valuable points. The Northern Californian heads into his home round at Laguna Seca, fourth in the championship, 42 points from the leader.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team returns to action in two weeks’ time at the legendary WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, for Round 5 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, July 11–13.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It wasn’t the weekend we’re looking for at The Ridge, but it was great to see Jake back up front. Unfortunately, Bobby lost front grip early and had to back off. We’ll come back at Laguna Seca and look to get back on top.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #32
“Another third-place finish this weekend. On the positive side, we made some good progress with the bike and my riding. The track was hot and slick today, but we learned a lot and are ready to go to Laguna Seca in a couple of weeks.”
Bobby Fong – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #50
“It was a tough weekend for us as a team. I had some good race pace, but unfortunately, I had some bad luck in Race 2. I am looking forward to our home round at Laguna Seca.”
The following is from Real Steel Honda…
Hayden Gillim and JD Beach had a promising weekend at Ridge Motorsports Park on their Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SPs with Hayden having his highest-place qualifying and finishing position in the Superbike class and JD sweeping the weekend topping the Superbike Cup both days.
Friday started off well with Hayden P2 in the first practice and P3 in Q1 on the provisional front row of the grid while JD was the front Superbike competitor in both sessions. After Q2 on Saturday morning Hayden finished P4 heading up the second row of the grid while JD qualified 11th as the first Superbike Cup competitor. Unfortunately, Hayden was involved in an incident entering the first corner off of the start running off track dropping back to 9th place but as he moved forward, he suffered a crash resulting in a DNF. JD finished in 8th place overall as the first place Superbike Cup participant.
On Sunday, with American Honda and HRC personnel on hand supporting the team, Hayden was able to bring home his best Superbike finish ever with a 5th place in Race 2. JD was again the top Superbike Cup entrant and finished 7th overall. In the Superbike points championship Hayden is in 6th place and JD is in 8th with JD leading the Superbike Cup championship with 175 points.
Real Steel Honda Racing is proudly supported by American Honda, HRC, Progressive Insurance, Pro Honda Oils. Southern Honda Powersports, Steel Commander Corp, Idemitsu, Comstock Energy LLC, Vesrah, K-Tech suspension, Orient Express, Dunlop, Akrapovic Exhaust Systems, CRC Body Work, Vortex, Evol Technology and REB Graphics.
Hayden Gillim – Rider #69: “I had a feeling coming into the Ridge that it was going to be a good weekend. It started even better than expected, ending on the provisional front row after Q1 in P3 and ended Q2 in P4. Saturday went a little bit off track, literally, and ended race 1 with a crash. We made some big changes for Sunday warmup that didn’t quite work. We then went back to the race 1 settings and went for it. I had a good race 2 ending up P5. Our best finish of the season, so far, and looking to keep this speed going into Laguna. Thanks to the whole team for all the hard work and to the guys from HRC and American Honda for being here and supporting us this weekend.”
JD Beach – Rider #95: “Going into The Ridge I wasn’t too sure what to expect. Last year was my first time here and it wasn’t the best weekend. I came into it with an open mind and with my Real Steel Honda team we just kept chipping away at it.
We had good pace all weekend on new tires but for some reason we really struggled to get the rear to last full race distance. Luckily the CBR1000 RR-R SP would take full advantage of the new tire and would put me in a god position to manage the second half of the race and get a good finish. Getting two more Top 10’s in the Superbike class on the Stock bike is great for us. We picked up two more wins in Superbike Cup and looking forward to Laguna.”
Mark Junge – Technical Director: “The team and I really appreciate American Honda and HRC being at the track this weekend supporting us and helping advance our understanding of the Honda CBR 1000 RR-R SP and the HRC components and electronics.”
The following is from Suzuki…
Suzuki Motor USA secured a podium finish and several other strong results despite having more pace than luck on the weekend as the 2025 MotoAmerica season continued at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante continued his strong midseason form at Ridge Motorsports Park, notching up top fives across the board in qualifying and both races. That made it four straight Superbike finishes of fifth or better for the Mexican racer, who finished fifth on Saturday and then fourth on Sunday. Arguably even more encouraging than the actual results was his race pace, as Escalante was within sight of the podium both times out.
“We finished on the podium at Road America, but I was more happy with our lap times and race pace this weekend,” Escalante said. “The track suits my style more, and the crew did a great job preparing the bike. We worked in the right direction all weekend. To get fifth and fourth and be close to the front was very positive. I liked our pace on used tires. I still need to push harder in the first two or three laps and lost a little bit of time to the leaders on Sunday making a pass. I am confident and happy. I’m really looking forward to Laguna Seca.”
Like at Road America, Sean Dylan Kelly was full of speed but lacking good fortune. Kelly qualified and finished one position behind his teammate on Saturday, lining up and finishing sixth on the Vision Wheel M4 ESCSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R. SDK hoped to improve on Sunday, and even ran in the top five for a time on Sunday. Unfortunately, he was forced to pull in four laps from the finish due to a mechanical issue.
Kelly said, “It was a much tougher weekend than I was expecting. I was hoping for a more positive one after Road America. We were fighting the bike all weekend but made a change for Sunday. We were P3 in the warm-up and going in the right direction. I felt more competitive in the race, but we had an issue, and I had to pit. We will get it all figured out, and we will keep our heads up. I love Laguna Seca and we will try to turn it around there.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s lead Supersport pilot Tyler Scott showcased his trademark blistering lap times aboard the team’s GSX-R750 with another front-row qualifying performance and by challenging up front in both races. Unfortunately, luck was not on his side this weekend either, as he crashed out of a close second with just three laps remaining on Saturday, suffered a high-speed crash in Sunday’s warm-up, and then ran off course in Sunday’s contest. However, the determined Scott managed to pick up his bike on Saturday to carry on to sixth, and then pulled a similar trick on Sunday, racing back up through the field to grab another sixth.
Scott said, “The weekend was rough with the results but, in some ways, it was the best weekend we ever had as far as chassis development. I got hit by another rider in the first session, so that was a wash. We were still having an issue with the bike in the first qualifying, but in the second qualifying we were able to take advantage of the development the crew has done. Race 1 was going well; we were running up front and set the fastest race lap record before I tucked the front at the end of the race. That was my fault.
“In the Sunday warm-up, we had a 120 mile-per-hour crash. The team did a great job even getting a bike under me for the race. They were still working on it right before the start. In the race, we had a couple of issues, but I was able to get a decent result. I can’t wait until Laguna. I have a lot of confidence in the team and the crew chief and am looking forward to using what we learned.”
Scott’s promising young teammate, Max VanDenBrouck, gained valuable experience throughout the round. Max Van finished 16th in Saturday’s Supersport race after qualifying in that same position, and then applied the lessons learned to improve to 11th on Sunday.
“It wasn’t the best weekend to be honest,” VanDenBrouck said. “I have always struggled at this track, and we never fully gelled here. I qualified 16th, but I was able to move up to 11th to finish Sunday’s race, which was an improvement at least. The pace we are wanting wasn’t there, but we are looking forward to giving it another shot at Laguna Seca.”
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki’s Matthew Chapin parlayed his second-row grid position into a Twins Cup podium finish on Saturday aboard the squad’s Suzuki GSX-8R race bike. The third-place result was Chapin’s fourth podium result of the ‘25 season. However, the reigning Junior Cup Champion was robbed of a chance to repeat or improve upon it when he got caught up in a multi-rider incident on the opening lap of Sunday’s rematch.
Chapin said, “I did all I could but that’s racing. I’m super happy with how (Saturday’s race) went. I have to give a huge thanks to my whole RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki team for all the hard work they’ve put in. We really struggled finding a proper set-up, but we finally found something that allowed us to be consistent.”
The 2025 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship will resume at the fabled WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on July 11-13.
The following is from Rahal Ducati Moto…
Rahal Ducati Moto wrapped up Race 2 at Ridge Motorsports Park with another podium finish and valuable championship points in hand, closing out Round 4 of the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship under clear skies and steady track conditions.
PJ Jacobsen secured his second P2 finish of the weekend aboard the No. 15 XPEL Ducati, now with a 10-point lead in the championship. After another tight battle at the front, Jacobsen continues to set the tone with consistent, race-winning pace.
Corey Alexander brought home a strong fifth-place finish on the No. 23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati. Balancing two race programs and a weekend of key setup adjustments, Alexander delivered his best results of the season.
Kayla Yaakov was sidelined early in Race 2 due to a technical issue after completing the opening lap. Following a mechanical problem during morning warm-up, the team made a last-minute decision to switch her to a backup bike. Unfortunately, that machine encountered its own technical issue during the race, preventing Yaakov from showcasing the promising pace she demonstrated all weekend aboard the No. 19 XPEL Ducati.
With strong results and clear areas of focus, the team now turns its attention to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the crew’s favorite tracks on the calendar.
Keep up with all things Rahal Ducati Moto by visiting RahalDucatiMoto.com and following our social media @rahalducatimoto.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: P2
FINISHED: P2
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st // 166 Points
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today’s race was a lot better than yesterdays. The front end of my bike felt great, but we lacked a bit of grip in the race. It felt like a constant yo-yo between [Mathew] Scholtz and I, where I would get close, but it was difficult for me to make a lunge for the win. We are coming home with another 20 points on the board. Last year, I got two wins at Laguna, so I’m looking forward to putting the hammer down there. Thank you to the entire Rahal Ducati Moto team for supporting me and thank you to the XPEL crew that made the trip out West this weekend.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: P9
FINISHED: P5
CHAMPIONSHIP: 13th // 30 Points
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Sunday was a positive result for us, finishing in the top five. We made some progress with the bike, and I felt good during the race. The pace was really consistent, but the guys in front of me were also right around the same speed. Once the gap opened up, it was really hard to close. I’m super happy to get someone momentum going into Laguna Seca. The Rahal Ducati Moto crew worked really hard all weekend, and so it was a good way to finish it off. I’m thankful for them and the whole Roller Die + Forming crew, as well as all our other sponsors, for sticking with us. We’ll have some better results sooner than later.
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: P4
FINISHED: DNF
CHAMPIONSHIP: 7th // 71 Pts.
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Today was a bit of a rough one here at the Ridge. We made a big change after morning warm-up to try and fix a lot of our issues that we ran into during Race 1, but my session was cut short. We made a lot of progress but then found a big problem with the motor. With only an hour before the race, everyone hustled to get our spare bike ready for me to race. I can’t thank any of them enough for working as hard as they did to get me out there. It would have been a bit of a different setup than what we were going for, but I felt pretty confident that I was going to be able to ride through it. Unfortunately, a lap or two into the race, I had another problem with the bike where it completely shut off and ended my race. It was definitely a bummer, because I really felt like this weekend, we had a lot of podium potential and just got caught out a little bit. But it’s racing, and the team is doing everything they can to give me the best bike. We’ll regroup for Laguna and hopefully I can get a little bit of redemption there.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “We were able to make the bike better overnight and PJ got closer to Scholtz during Race 2 but couldn’t get the win. Unfortunately, Kayla had a mechanical issue, and we’re upset for her. I believe she could have been third place with the way the race looked today, but that’s how racing goes sometimes. Corey rode really well—he got boxed up a little bit in the beginning of the race but was able to find good pace at the end. We’re happy to see that. We’re going to try to carry this momentum to Laguna and pull off some wins there.”
The following is from Strack Racing…
Strack Racing left Washington State with a statement-making weekend, as reigning champion Mathew Scholtz swept both Motovation Supersport races, and teammate Blake Davis added a podium, slashing the championship deficit in half on their evolving Yamaha YZF-R9 package.
Mathew Scholtz
#1 Yamaha YZF-R9
STARTED: P1 (both races) | FINISHED: P1 • P1
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd // 156 Pts. (-10)
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“Qualifying 2 ended in the gravel after I tucked the front, so the crew built me a fresh R9 with minutes to spare. Race 1 I felt mega from Lap 1 and could ride at my own pace. Race 2 was trickier—the wind was shoving the bike around and the track temp was climbing—so I managed the gap and didn’t show everything we had. Leaving here with a double and the points gap down to ten is exactly what we targeted.”
Blake Davis
#22 Yamaha YZF-R9
STARTED: P5 • P5 | FINISHED: P4 • P3
CHAMPIONSHIP: 3rd // 107 Pts.
WHAT HE’S SAYING:
“I’ve been chasing front-end feel all weekend, so bagging a fourth and then nipping third at the flag on Sunday feels like a win. We’ve got good data now, and Laguna Seca is a track I absolutely love—expect us in the fight.”
Peter Strack – Team Owner
“Mathew is in a great spot because every circuit left on the calendar favors the Yamaha. Last year the R6 struggled up the hill at Laguna, but the new R9 has the grunt we need, and both riders are strong there. Blake’s mindset impresses me —he genuinely believes he should win every race, and that fires up the whole garage. We left The Ridge and went straight to work; we’re only scratching the surface of what this bike can do.”
INSIDE THE GARAGE
Rapid Rebuild:
After Scholtz’s tumble in Q2, the mechanics rebuilt the #1 R9 in under 90 minutes and successfully completed the final check on the grid.
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The following is from Harley-Davidson…
Saddlemen Race Development riders Jake Lewis and Cory West each won a race in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship Powered By Harley-Davidson® double-header weekend at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington. KWR Harley-Davidson rider James Rispoli placed second in both races as Harley-Davidson racers claimed five of six podium positions aboard race-prepared Harley-Davidson® Pan America® 1250 ST motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson riders continue to dominate the class after a mid-season rules change that raised the minimum weight for Pan America® bikes from 377 pounds to 450 pounds. Lewis leads the series by 24 points over defending series champion West.
Jake Lewis and Cory West Trade Wins in Mission Super Hooligan
The tight 2.47-mile, 16-turn Ridge Motorsports Park road course put a premium on handling and race craft. In the eight-lap race on Saturday, Lewis used an outstanding start from his front-row position to open an immediate lead over West and polesitter Andy DiBrino on the Competition Werkes Racing Triumph. Lewis pulled away, opening a 1.5-second lead after two laps, as West and DiBrino waged a fierce battle for second place. On Lap 3, West ran off the track which let DiBrino past. West recovered and rejoined the race in sixth position. KWR Harley-Davidson rider James Rispoli closed in on DiBrino and passed for second place on Lap 7. Lewis led Rispoli at the finish by 1.940 seconds to take his fourth consecutive victory in the class. DiBrino finished third, 1.074 seconds behind Rispoli. West got past KWR Harley-Davidson rider Hayden Schultz and ARCH Racing rider Corey Alexander in the closing laps to finish in fourth place.
“Someone said they were going to show us who’s boss, but when the lights went out I just took off and showed them who’s boss today,” said Lewis following the Saturday race. “It’s nice to put it in the number one spot. Hats off to the Saddlemen team, who worked all winter to make these bikes light. They were down in the dumps [after the rules change], but I told the team I was going to show up and kick some ass this weekend. They can keep trying to slow us down and we’ll keep coming.”
On Sunday, Cory West was determined to regain the momentum that carried him to the 2024 Super Hooligans title. West got a jump on Lewis and Rispoli at the start and led a pack of riders that also included Alexander, DiBrino, and Yamaha racer Dominic Doyle. By the third lap West, Lewis, and Rispoli opened a 1.8-second lead on the field, and the trio of Harley racers battled wheel to wheel, with Lewis attacking West but failing to pass for the lead. West led by 0.310 seconds on Lap 7 when Rispoli got past Lewis to claim second place. The last lap saw a tremendous fight between West and Rispoli, with both riders on the limit. West successfully defended his position at the front and crossed the finish line 0.027 seconds clear of Rispoli. Lewis faded with handling issues and finished third, 2.063 seconds behind West.
“Carrying that number one plate has a lot of pressure behind it,” said West. “I’ve had some rough races the last two rounds and it’s just good to get back to where we need to be. It’s good to lead every lap and win this one just for my confidence. We are not far out of the championship. We just need to keep this going. Now we’ll go to Laguna where I usually go really good. I’ve got an awesome teammate who’s hard to beat, but we got the Harley sweep so we are back where we should be.”
Rispoli posted his best Super Hooligan results of the season at The Ridge, bouncing back after failing to finish the two previous races in Atlanta.
“Me and Westy got pretty close two times out there but we didn’t touch,” said Rispoli. “The old man was wily today. He had my number and got it done. The KWR team has been turning this Pan America motorcycle upside down and I had the pace to win today but didn’t get it done. But deuce-deuce? We’ll take it, baby.”
After six of 10 races in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship, Lewis leads the series with 123 points. West moves into second place with 99 points, followed by Travis Wyman with 86 points, Cody Wyman with 80 points and Rispoli with 67 points. The Mission Super Hooligan championship resumes July 11-13 at the MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest presented by Law Tigers at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, Calif.
The following is from Robem Engineering…
It turned out to be a stellar weekend for both Robem Engineering riders at Ridge Motorsports Park. The reigning MotoAmerica Twins Cup Champion Alessandro Di Mario’s pace was untouchable from the start of the weekend, and he extended his 2025 Twins Cup points lead by recording victories on Saturday and Sunday by wide margins – as well as getting pole position and resetting the Twins Cup lap record for Ridge.
Di Mario was joined under the Robem Engineering canopy for The Ridge round by Hank Vossberg in his Twins Cup debut. Vossberg’s talent showed through as the weekend progressed. He qualified seventh, finished his first Twins Cup race in fourth place and ended the June 27-29 round with a runner-up finish behind his teammate.
Di Mario’s fast pace was on display from the first on-track session of the round. He finished Friday practice at the top of the time sheets with a lap time 0.615 seconds faster than the next-fastest rider. Vossberg finished his first Twins Cup session as the 12th-fastest rider. Later Friday in Qualifying 1, Di Mario claimed provisional pole while increasing his one-lap pace over the rest of the field to 1.886 seconds. Vossberg finished the session 15th fastest.
Saturday morning in Qualifying 2, Di Mario cemented his grip on pole by putting in a 1:46.108 lap that reset the Twins Cup lap record at The Ridge and scored his third pole position of the 2025 season. Vossberg’s pace greatly improved in the second and final qualifying session, and he was able to secure seventh place on the starting grid for the round’s two Twins Cup races.
Race 1 on Saturday afternoon saw a masterclass performance by Di Mario. He got the holeshot, led every lap and won by a margin of more than 12 seconds. Vossberg had a very good outing for his first Twins Cup race, as he moved up three positions from where he qualified to finish in fourth place.
Sunday’s Race 2 featured a 1-2 finish for the Robem Engineering duo. Di Mario’s pace was even more unrelenting on Sunday, as he reset the Twins Cup lap record again on Lap 2 and went on to win the race by a margin of 20.610 seconds. Vossberg quickly moved up the running order in the opening laps and was running in third by the end of Lap 3. He made the move up to second place on Lap 7 and came out on top in a hard-fought battle to finish second in his second-career Twins Cup race.
Di Mario left The Ridge round with a 53-point lead in the points standings. And Vossberg – despite having competed in only two races – is now 10th in the Twins Cup standings with six races remaining.
The next MotoAmerica Twins Cup round takes place July 11-13 at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.
Alessandro Di Mario / No. 1
“I want to thank the team. They put a bike together in like two hours yesterday after my crash, so I am really happy I got them these two wins, so hopefully they’re happy. I also want to congratulate Hank, he’s my teammate. He just turned 15 like a couple weeks ago, and he’s here on the podium. He’s really fast. I just want to congratulate him and thank all my sponsors, Dainese, KYT, Fast Line, Sara [Chappell], Ferracci, Moto Liberty, Dunlop, and everyone that has helped me out, thank you so much.”
Hank Vossberg / No. 131
“I saw that Avery was like just under a second behind me. I tried to go a little slow, thinking he would pass me, because I knew maybe I could make a move into the waterfall, but he was right on me. But yeah, stayed ahead and was consistent, the tire fell off at the end, had a couple moments, but we kept it good. The whole Robem team made an amazing bike, I can’t give it up to them enough driving all the way out here, 26 hours. It was amazing. Gotta thank Accossato for the brand-new master cylinder and the rear brake. Worked amazing. NGK spark plugs, Millenium Technologies, Dainese for the new suit, fits amazing. HJC Helmets, love this helmet, and everyone else that made this happen.”
The following is from Ducati…
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati) continued his domination aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R during round four of the 2025 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, scoring a double victory at Ridge Motorsports Park.
With his sweep at Road America four weeks ago, the 34-year-old Glendale, Calif., native now has four straight wins, a career first for Herrin. He also took the overall point lead after four of nine rounds.
During qualifying Friday at the 2.47-mile track, Herrin secured a front-row start after laying down a 1:40.081—just 0.084 of a second behind pole-sitter Jake Gagne and 0.094 ahead of Hayden Gillim. That tight margin set the tone for what would become one of the most thrilling weekends of the season.
Saturday’s Race 1 was a showcase of determination and strategy as Herrin battled closely with five-time champion Cameron Beaubier and Gagne in the early stages. By mid-race, Herrin had created a 1.5-second gap over Beaubier, but he clawed back the lead on lap 12 of 16. Unfazed, Herrin regrouped and retook the lead on lap 15, holding off Beaubier in a tense final lap to win by just 0.194 seconds. The victory marked Herrin’s third-straight Superbike win and put him into the championship lead by three points.
Sunday’s Race 2 saw Herrin in complete control. After taking the holeshot from the front row, he led every lap of the 16-lap race and crossed the line 5.197 seconds ahead of second place. The result marked Herrin’s fourth consecutive win of the season and 20th career MotoAmerica Superbike victory, placing him ninth on the all-time AMA Superbike win list.
With momentum clearly on his side, Herrin is now eight points ahead of Beaubier in what has become one of the tightest Superbike title fights in recent memory.
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati – #1)
“It was a weird Saturday. I don’t know what was going on after that win. I lost focus and slowed down too much. I thought I had a good cushion, and over-slowed, and Cam (Beaubier) caught up. It was weird. I was obviously happy for the win, but that race was not anything like today (Sunday).
“The team did a lot of work Saturday night to help me feel more comfortable on the brakes, because Cam obviously was catching me a lot on the brakes. And we got it again. I’m stoked. Four wins in a row is huge. Now I’m going into Laguna with more momentum than I’ve ever had on a Superbike and more confidence than I’ve ever had. I’m happy to go to Laguna and happy to get home and see my kiddos—that’s for sure.”
Round five of the 2025 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will take place July 11–13 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
The following is from FLO4LAW SBU…
The FLO4LAW SBU team leave Ridge Motorsports Park, the venue for the latest round of the 2025 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship empty hand despite showing strong pace throughout the event.
Seventh in Free Practice, Ben ended the opening day eighth on the provisional grid. He improved his lap time on Saturday morning to ensure a fourth row of the grid start in tenth. Unfortunately, just prior to the race the team suffered a major technical issue which forced their retirement.
With the bike fixed the team were ready to roll again on Sunday and after warm up, were back on the grid for Race Two. A strong start saw the #77 making positions immediately. Running confidently in eighth, and in contention for the top six Ben took a tumble at Turn One.
Obviously, the team are disappointed not to add points to their already impressive tally so far in 2025, but they move on with optimism to Laguna Seca in a fortnight.
Prior to the weekend getting underway Ben took part in the MotoAmerica Live+ Preview Show. He discussed his career to date, the season so far before engaging in some lighthearted banter with host Michael Hill. You can watch it on demand here: http://motoamericaliveplus.com
Benjamin Smith: “I definitely had high hopes coming into the weekend coming of fourth place at Road America. We made some progress but unfortunately the results on paper won’t show that which is the nature of our sport. We got both sessions in on Friday. They were solid and I felt like we had a good direction. Saturday morning in Q2 I thought I would be able to put down a slightly more competitive time but I was working through some stuff with myself and some things on the bike and whilst I would have liked to have been a bit closer to the front we still qualified inside the top ten. I noticed pulling to the grid that the dash looked a bit different, but we started the race. I made a good start and was up to fifth or sixth and in touch but then we had a mechanical. We thought the issue was resolved but we had to retire. Later in the day the crew identified the issue, and we had a decent warm up on used tyres. I made another great start and was running up front again. I tried to find my rhythm and latch on to the battle for the top four and I felt comfortable running behind the factory Yamaha. I tucked the front going into Turn One which was a bummer. It’s part of racing and it’s a learning process for me. The bike was great, and I made a mistake. We made some positive steps, and we are going in the right direction, and I am honestly now more confident than I was before. Let’s go again at Laguna.”
Freddy Carswell – Team Principal: “Rolling into The Ridge, expectations were high and unfortunately, we have missed the mark for this round. We had a sensor issue that resulted in a DNF for Race 1 and of course we had a crash in Race 2. That said, we made a real breakthrough with both Ben and the motorcycle for Race 2 and our pace was on-target. While it is never an ideal outcome to leave an event in these circumstances, we are happy with the progress we have made, and we’ll arrive at Laguna ready for a fight. Special thanks to our supporters and partners!”
The following is from Karns Performance…
Round 3 of the MotoAmerica Twins Cup at Ridge Motorsports Park delivered a weekend of progress, resilience, and hard-fought battles for Karns Performance Racing. The team was eager to get back to racing as Twins Cup competitors hadn’t faced off since Barber Motorsports Park in April.
Levi Badie delivered another front-running performance, Qualifying P2 and finishing a strong second place in Saturday’s race after a race-long battle. Sunday brought misfortune, as a serious incident occurred in the opening lap in the chicane leading into T1. Levi, assuming a red flag was coming, put his hand up, slowed and was shuffled back to 9th. Pushing hard to regain contact with the leading group, he crashed in Turn 13 and was unable to continue due to bike damage.
Isaac Woodworth qualified a solid P9 and got off to a good start but unfortunately had a mechanical issue early in the race that ended his Saturday prematurely. Determined to put this behind him, Isaac rebounded with determination to secure a P7 finish on Sunday, despite a minor crash towards the end of the race. His perseverance under pressure reflects the grit and growth mindset.
Elisa Gendron Belen showcased tremendous growth on one of the most technical tracks on the calendar, dropping an impressive three seconds per session across the weekend. Ultimately, she finished just outside the bubble, for the first time in three seasons in MotoAmerica, in part driven by the pole setter’s record setting lap. Elisa is determined to shake this off as the class makes its way South to Laguna Seca. Her consistent progress signals exciting momentum heading into the next round.
Team Owner Jason Karns shared, “The Ridge tested everyone, riders and crew alike, mentally, physically, and mechanically. While the results don’t tell the full story, the growth we saw in our riders, especially Elisa’s continued development and Levi’s and Isaac’s fight through adversity, make us proud. We’ll carry these lessons forward and come back stronger.”
The Karns Performance/ TST Industries Racing Team now looks ahead to Twins Cup Round 4 with confidence and renewed focus. Stay tuned as the team continues to chase podiums and progress throughout the 2025 MotoAmerica season.
