Binder Wins Again In Supersport,  Extends Lead As Herrin Suffers Mechanical

Feature classes completed day two of MotoAmerica Superbikes at Texas action at Circuit of The Americas, with four Race 1 battles unfolding in brutal conditions as track temperatures peaked at 114 degrees Fahrenheit and ambient temps neared triple digits for the second straight day.

Saturday brought a stunning series debut in Supersport, a demolition-derby Bagger race that fast-tracked a now possible Sunday Champion, a Talent Cup mechanical nightmare that flipped the series lead, and a Hooligan result that sets up a winner-take-all finale on Sunday. Here’s how the day unfolded, class by class.

Supersport

Darryn Binder (Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse) topped Q2 with a lap of 2:12.954 to claim pole position. Kayla Yaakov (Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight) qualified second, 0.215 seconds back, with Josh Herrin (Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila) completing the front row. Making his series debut, 2026 Australian Superbike Champion Harrison Voight (Liberty St. Yamaha) qualified fourth.

Voight wasn’t the only newcomer to make an immediate impact. 16 year-old Texas native Mikey Lou Sanchez (Celtic/V1 Moto/Warhorse) also made his series debut aboard machinery he had limited experience on — by the closing laps, both rookies were factoring directly into the fight up front.

Off the start, Yaakov powered through Turn 1 to lead the opening exchanges, with Binder in tow and Voight up to third ahead of Herrin. Binder reclaimed the point before the completion of Lap 1, and Voight worked past Herrin for third soon after, dropping the points leader to fourth. Binder, Yaakov and Voight began to break clear of the field, building a gap over a chase group that included Josh Hayes (BPR Racing Yamaha) and a fast-charging Sanchez, who worked his way up from further back into the top six.

With the laps winding down, Binder and Herrin,who had rejoined the lead battle, traded blocking passes as they fought for position. But Herrin’s race unraveled exiting Turn 11, when the pivot bolt on his shift lever came loose, sticking him in gear until he could pit and have it reinstalled. He rejoined but finished 20th, scoring no points — a result that promoted Sanchez to third in just his first series start.

On the final lap, it appeared the podium was set with Binder leading Voight, the pair still fighting for the position until Voight lowsided the Liberty St. Yamaha YZF-R9 in the esses and was unable to continue. That handed Sanchez his second promotion of the race, to second, while Yaakov held on for third ahead of Hayes. Aiden Sneed (3D Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R750) rounded out the top five.

The following quote is from Supersport Race 1 Winner, Darryn Binder:

“Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, the race was a bit slower than what I expected. I thought I would have had a bit more pace, but it was a super good battle. From the beginning, we were going back and forth. And then for a while, I knew it was just Harrison (Voight), and the board showed me that he was much better in the back, so I just kept my head down, and I thought Harrison would try something on the last lap, so I pushed as hard as I could, and unfortunately, I think he ended up going down, so… Yeah, just so stoked to walk away with another 25 points, and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Mission King Of The Baggers

Hayden Gillim (J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian) topped Q2 with a lap of 2:12.560 to claim the Bagger pole. Bradley Smith (Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing) qualified second, 0.517 seconds back, with Gillim’s teammate Troy Herfoss completing the front row. Two-time and defending Bagger champion Kyle Wyman (Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Racing) qualified fourth.

In the Bagger Challenge, a three-lap sprint for $5,000 courtesy of series sponsor Mission Foods, Smith turned the tables on his qualifying result to take the win, with Herfoss second and Gillim third. Wyman, Rocco Landers and James Rispoli completed the results.

Race 1 was chaos from the drop. Herfoss grabbed the early lead with Wyman second and Smith third, while points leader Gillim slipped to sixth after a poor start. Smith’s Harley-Davidson Road Glide shook violently down the front straight on Lap 1 as grip issues took hold in the heat, and Gillim used the moment to begin his charge forward, working up to fourth and then third by Lap 2 as Herfoss led Wyman.

Gillim muscled past Wyman the following lap, the two making contact in the esses and dropping Wyman to fourth — a position he wouldn’t hold for long. One lap later, Wyman lost the front and lowsided out of contention. Gillim then dispatched Smith for second and set his sights on teammate Herfoss at the front. Herfoss’s bid ended when he lowsided in Turn 11, handing the lead — and eventually the win — to Gillim, who brought it home roughly a second clear.

Smith recovered from his early moment to finish second. Behind him, Rocco Landers (J&P Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines Factory Indian) worked past SDI Racing’s Tyler O’Hara with four laps remaining and held on for third, his third podium of the season, with O’Hara fourth.

Gillim’s win extends his championship lead over Herfoss to 48 points, putting the points leader in position to clinch the 2026 Mission King Of The Baggers title on Sunday if he finishes two points ahead of his teammate.

The following quote is from Mission King Of The Baggers Race 1 Winner, Hayden Gillim:

“We went to the shop and burned up a couple of clutches the other week and got the starts dialed in pretty good, but on the start I was creeping a bit. The thing just died right when we took off. So I had to fight a little too hard and was able to make some passes. Unfortunately, I feel bad for hitting Kyle like I did. These things are so big. I thought I had got by and then all of a sudden I sit up and I see him. I didn’t see him so hopefully he finished but I saw Troy go down and a lot of stuff went through my head at that point so just really think the whole team the whole JP Cycles/Motul/Vance & Hines crew and my wife is on the way down here from the airport so yeah and Rocco‘s back up here on the podium and Bradley ran a really good race. He’s been running really good here lately and it’s not getting any easier that’s for sure.”

Talent Cup

Nathan Gouker (Quarterley Racing) topped the combined Q2 session with a lap of 2:25.627 to claim pole. Sam Drane (Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing) qualified second, with Jake Paige (Team Hammer) completing the front row. Derek Sanchez (Real Steel Honda) qualified fourth, with points leader Kensei Matsudaira (Team Roberts) fifth.

Matsudaira’s day fell apart before the race even started. On the pre-race warmup lap, the entire left rear-set assembly on his machine — footpeg and shift lever included — came loose, and Matsudaira ripped the dangling assembly free entering the front straight and tossed it clear of the track. He dropped to last at the start and ran the entire race locked in whatever gear he was stuck in when the failure occurred, salvaging six points with a 10th-place finish.

At the front, Gouker led a group of three that included Paige and Drane, with Derek Sanchez chasing in fourth but unable to stay connected — the leaders had opened a gap of more than two seconds by Lap 2. From there, the trio swapped the lead multiple times per lap in a race that stayed unsettled until the final two laps. Gouker held the point as Paige and Drane both made a run at Turn 12, at the end of the back straight, but the polesitter held them off for his eighth win of the season.

The result vaulted Gouker into the Talent Cup points lead, 14 points ahead of Matsudaira heading into Sunday’s Race 2.

The following quote is from Talent Cup Race 1 Winner, Nathan Gouker:

“Yeah it was definitely way closer than I thought it would be. I thought the track was definitely slower than it was in qualifying too. I mean the Quarterley Racing Powered by Warhorse supported by Wrench crew, they had the bike feeling substantially well and yeah I mean there was some pretty deep dive bombs that happened and yeah, I mean I looked back coming out of like nine or whatever that is and I saw I had a little bit of a gap and I was like I don’t know if I want to be leading onto the back straight away but yeah, I mean I just tried to brake as deep as I could in Turn 12 and defend as best as I could go across the line and yeah”

Mission Super Hooligan National Championship

Andy DiBrino (BPR Racing Yamaha) bested teammate Bryce Kornbau by 0.452 seconds to claim the Hooligan pole, with Gus Rodio (Rodio Racing) completing the front row.

DiBrino jumped into the early lead with ARCH Racing’s Jeremy McWilliams — up from seventh on the grid to second — and Kornbau third. Kornbau wasted little time working past McWilliams, while the two Saddlemen Race Development riders, James Rispoli and Jake Lewis, ran fourth and fifth. DiBrino and Kornbau soon checked out at the front, building a gap of more than four seconds over the rest of the field.

Kornbau reeled in his teammate and took the win, with DiBrino second — a result that ties the two BPR riders atop the points standings and sets up a winner-take-all Mission Super Hooligan National Championship finale on Sunday. 

Rispoli charged from fifth to capture the final podium spot ahead of his teammate Lewis in fourth, who was back with the team this weekend after competing in the Bagger World Cup series. Rodio finished fifth and was mathematically eliminated from title contention.

Both BPR riders broke the race lap record during the race — Kornbau set, then broke, his own mark — before DiBrino turned the fastest lap of the day late, a 2:14.890, to claim the new record.

The following quote is from Mission Super Hooligan National Championship Race 1 Winner, Bryce Kornbau:

“Just hats off to my wife Savannah for supporting me and helping me on the mend with my injuries and just all the BPR team that has been behind us and you know, I gotta give huge thanks to Andy (DiBrino) too because I know we can both say that neither one of us will be going this fast if it wasn’t for each other, I mean I broke the track record yesterday. He broke it again this morning. And I’m like oh man here we go. So, it’s been a good day. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Someone’s got to win. 

“I knew I needed to win today, and he (DiBrino) knew, probably, he still has tomorrow. So, we’ll see what happens. The strategy kind of came as the race went on. And there were some areas that I was surprised I was better than him in, but he was actually better in a couple corners that made him strong and hard to get past. So maybe we’ll sleep on that. Make a few changes on the bike. But when the green flag drops, I don’t know what’s going to happen but I’m going to try and win.”

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