Random notes, comments, statistics, musings, and bits of trivia from MotoAmerica Superbikes at VIRginia.
Seeing Double
There were 12 races held over the past weekend at VIRginia International Raceway, and seven riders won those races.
Alessandro Di Mario led the way with wins in SC-Project Twins Cup races one and two, and he also scored a victory on Sunday in Parts Unlimited Talent Cup By Motul race two. The 16-year-old sensation would have had a perfect weekend with four wins out of four races, and across two race classes—not to mention that he wrapped up the 2025 Twins Cup Championship—but a renegade quick-shifter linkage decided to find out how things would go for Di Mario with his bike stuck in fourth gear.
As the late, great Marvin Lee Aday (AKA Michael Lee Aday, AKA Meat Loaf) used to sing, “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” so three out of four, as in race wins for Di Mario, is pretty darn good.
Bobby Fong, JD Beach, and Mathew Scholtz each swept both races in their respective classes, with Fong notching two more Superbike race wins to bring his winning streak to four, while Beach showed total dominance in Stock 1000 with his two impressive wins, and Scholtz won both Motovation Supersport races to take over the Championship lead by seven points over PJ Jacobsen.
The other three riders, Hank Vossberg (Talent Cup race one winner), Camille Conrad (race one winner in Royal Enfield Build.Train.Race.), and Kira Knebel (BTR race two winner) all completed the septet of riders who stood on the top steps of the podium at VIR.
Knebel, by the way, was awarded the number-one plate and trophy for winning the 2025 Build.Train.Race. Championship. The Texan, who now lives in Iowa, will next race her Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 during the Barber Vintage Festival at Barber Motorsports Park on October 3 through 5. Knebel will be joined by some of the other BTR racers, including Championship runner-up Miranda Cain and third-place BTR Championship finisher Shea MacGregor.
Cutting It To The Quick
Since MotoAmerica hadn’t raced at VIR since 2022, it seemed fairly certain that lap records would be broken in all five of the race classes that were in action over the past weekend. Not only that, but the Superbike lap record and Superbike race lap record that Ben Spies set way back in 2008 would certainly be eclipsed.
Nope, it didn’t happen. “Elbowz” still holds both Superbike lap records at VIR. It’s a different era for Superbike racing in America. Not to cast aspersions on Spies—after all, he’s a World Superbike Champion and MotoGP race winner—but the fuel used in MotoAmerica doesn’t quite pack the same punch as the fuel, and associated bike tuning, that Spies enjoyed in AMA Superbike racing back in the late 2000s.
No new lap records were set in Stock 1000, either (what is the deal with these literbikes?), but that doesn’t mean that no lap records were toppled.
On the contrary, in Supersport, the aforementioned Mathew Scholtz did a fastest lap of 1:25.964 in Sunday’s race two, which was both a new lap record and race lap record.
Also aforementioned, Alessandro Di Mario set a new race lap record in Twins Cup race two with a 1:30.544 that didn’t quite break Jody Barry‘s blistering class lap record of 1:30.082 that he set during Twins Cup Qualifying 2 back in 2022.
Notice a pattern here? Aforementioned Hank Vossberg set the lap record and race lap record in Talent Cup during Sunday’s race two when he did a fastest lap of 1:34.858.
And, finally, Miranda Cain wrapped up her two-year stint in Build.Train.Race. by setting a new lap record and race lap record of 1:46.428 in Sunday’s BTR race two.
Alphonse & Gaston
What exactly were Alessandro Di Mario and Hank Vossberg doing on the final lap of Sunday’s Talent Cup race two, anyway? Neither rider wanted to lead coming out of the final turn on the final lap, so their racecraft ended up looking like an old comedy routine.
“After you, kind sir.”
“No, my good fellow, please, after you.”
It reminded me of Frederick Burr Opper‘s ages-old comic strip, “Alphonse & Gaston,” which was later mimicked by Warner Bros. with their “Goofy Gophers” cartoons. Whether it’s two overly polite Frenchmen, a pair of excessively courteous rodents with British accents, or Ale & Hank, I’d seen that show before, and it was just as comical to watch play out on the racetrack as it was on Saturday morning TV when I was a kid eagerly shoveling milk-laden spoonsful of Apple Jacks into my mouth while partaking in Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.
Hammer Time
I don’t think there was anyone in the paddock or among the fans, save for possibly a couple of competitors, who wasn’t absolutely thrilled to see Sean Dylan Kelly and Richie Escalante both make the podium in Sunday’s Superbike race two.
The pair of teammates went at it “Team Hammer & Tongs” during that race aboard their Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzukis, and Kelly barely pipped Escalante for the runner-up spot on the podium.
We held our breath for a bit at the beginning of the post-race press conference, anticipating that the two hot-blooded Latinos might continue their on-track battle with a few jabs back-and-forth on the microphones. But, it was all sweetness and light between the two fan favorites. They raced each other hard, but fair, and they were both overjoyed to share the podium with each other and make history for Team Hammer.
Parrish The Thought
We had a fair number of crashes at VIR, and of course, even one is too many. Our best wishes go out to those riders who suffered tipovers or worse and hurt themselves as well as their bikes. It’s a part of racing that we really hate to see, but kudos to the track marshals, the Roadracing World Action Fund, and the motorcycle safety gear manufacturers for helping to protect MotoAmerica’s most important assets: the riders.
One of those riders who had a mishap (was it ever) and suffered injuries was 2018 Twins Cup Champion Chris Parrish, who is still mixing it up with the young guns while constantly doing development work on race bikes and motorcycle bodywork.
Parrish led SC-Project Twins Cup practice on Friday, giving him proof of concept that his Ghetto Customs Aprilia RS 660 is fast. Unfortunately in Saturday morning’s Qualifying 2 session (Friday afternoon’s Qualifying 1 session was canceled due to weather), Parrish lost rear grip on a still-damp section of the track and had a stratospheric high-side that did not feel good on the man’s sprightly, yet 48-year-old, body.
With a badly banged-up shoulder and a ballooned-up left hand, the tough Tennesseean lined up for Saturday’s race one with his teeth clenched and his mind focused. He advanced from 24th on the starting grid to ninth place on lap two. Then, suddenly, his bike had a technical issue, which forced him to pull off the track and end his day. He wasn’t ready to end his weekend, however.
But, a fitful Saturday night’s sleep and time for his injuries to fully manifest themselves led to him making the right decision to skip Sunday’s racing in favor of heading home to heal up and try again, hopefully at New Jersey Motorsports Park for the final round of the 2025 Twins Cup Championship on September 26 through 28.
“Broken rib, cracked collarbone, plus old-man soreness,” Parrish wrote on Facebook. “The roadside doctor prescribed ‘whiskey and do nothing’ for a couple days.
“I believe I created a monster in my little garage. The dyno told me what I had, but the racetrack told the truth. Sum bitch is a rocket! I rode it like it was stolen until the bastard spit me into next Tuesday! But, it’s a good baseline for the future of the (Ghetto Customs race) program and maybe a full season in 2026.
“Thank you to all of you who reached out with messages, texts, and phone calls. So glad I had (partner) Beth (Braun) and her mom with me plus everyone else who helped me get loaded up for the ride home. Plus, (Dr.) Carl (Price) and his guys for the evaluation.
“Old man is fine, and to those (to whom) I owe parts, gimme a few extra days to heal. Cheers!”
Cheers, indeed. “Cheers” and thank you to all the fans who turned out in person for our MotoAmerica Superbikes at VIRginia event. We had a huge crowd who clearly enjoyed the racing and the perfect racing weather. Also, thumbs-up to everyone who streamed us on MotoAmerica Live+.
