1993 500cc World Champion, Kevin Schwantz, famously said, “90 percent of motorcycle racing is between the ears”.

It’s one of racing’s great quotes because it encapsulates how important it is for your head to be in the right place if you’re not just going to survive but thrive at the elite level of professional motorcycle racing.

For Wrench Motorcycles rider Cameron Petersen, that “between the ears” belief has never been doubted, but he’s been knocked down and injured repeatedly over the last five seasons, and regardless of how physically and mentally strong you are, the pain can begin to wear on you. 

“For whatever reason, over the last four or five years, I’ve kind of been the guy who, whenever I crash, I pick up an injury,” the South African says. “I’m still dealing with that a little bit in my left shoulder, so it’s made things super tough.

“For the first half of this year, basically up until Road America, I was coming into each weekend thinking, ‘Let me just get through this weekend the best I can and see where we are.’ Then, the more comfortable I felt on the bike and the better my shoulder got, especially after the win at Road America, that mindset completely changed.

“Ever since then, I’ve been coming into the weekends thinking, ‘I’m going to win this weekend.’”

Confidence breeds confidence in all walks of life but especially when the consequences of pushing too hard can result in yet another trip to the E.R. But Cameron has a not-so-secret trick up his sleeve this year with legendary father Robbie Petersen now his Crew Chief in the revamped Wrench Motorcycles team. And with Nick Ciling taking care of the reams of data coming from the year-old Ducati Panigale V4 R, Petersen feels he may have just unlocked the “secret sauce” to consistent race wins and a possible MotoAmerica Quad Lock Superbike Championship challenge.

“I’m a little bit biased, but I’ve seen what my dad has done with other teams,” Petersen says. “Even a couple of years back, in the first year with Wrench Motorcycles, it was kind of a mid-pack package, and my dad just took it to the top.

“Obviously, there are a lot of people who helped make it happen, but I’ve seen the trend everywhere my dad goes. All of a sudden, by the end of the year, the guys are up at the front. Nobody’s walking on eggshells here in this team, and it’s just such a nice atmosphere. To know and have the trust that those guys are working on my bike is amazing.”

Petersen’s appointment to the Wrench Motorcycles team came after a disappointing 2025 season, one that saw him move back to the Supersport class for the Celtic/Economy Lube+Tire/Warhorse HSBK Ducati team. 

A fifth place in the final standings was not what he or the team expected, but injuries and a rampaging compatriot in two-time class champion Mathew Scholtz makes his 2026 turnaround all the more remarkable. 

A breakthrough win in race one at Road America after a three-way dogfight with Sean Dylan Kelly, Bobby Fong and PJ Jacobsen signaled to everyone that perhaps the white and black Ducati really did have the chops to make a run at a title. 

That win was his only trip to the top step of the podium in 2026 so far, and it marks the only race victory for a Ducati to this point. However, a pair of second-place finishes behind runaway winner JD Beach at Laguna Seca has cemented his fifth place in the standings. He remains 56 points adrift of leader Kelly—a large but not insurmountable gap—with 250 points still on the table for the rest of the season.

Petersen’s leaving no stone unturned, including uprooting himself and wife Nina from California to Florida, but not for the reason you might expect.

“Going into the second half of the season, I think we’re in a way better spot than where we were when we started,” Petersen says. “VIR in August and COTA are going to be extremely hot, and those are triple-headers. One of the biggest reasons why I moved to Florida was for the humidity and to try to do everything I can to give myself the best opportunity to perform.

“Having said that, this class is so stacked this year, and everybody is so close. It’s going to be an interesting second half of the season, but I think with where we are and the way we’re feeling, I’m up to it. I just have to keep clawing away at the points and hopefully be in the top three in the championship by the end of the year.”