The following is from Ducati…
The fourth round of the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Championship at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota proved another strong race meeting for the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team with riders Josh Herrin and Loris Baz collecting podium finishes.
Josh Herrin showed his class by sealing second place in race one behind winner Bobby Fong, fending off teammate Baz by 0.2 seconds. This marks the first time in the 2024 season that Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R riders have shared the podium.
Race two saw Herrin fight past Cameron Petersen and move into second place, eventually stretching a 2.5-second gap and sealing another podium in second place. However, for Baz, he would be in the wrong place at the wrong time as, while battling for the podium, Sean Dylan Kelly had a big highside crash in front of Baz at turn three, causing him to run off the track and lose touch with the podium battle, eventually coming home in fourth place.
Regardless, the weekend was a success. It marked four races in a row in which either Baz or Herrin (or both) has been on the podium, indicating they have the speed and consistency needed to fight for the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Championship title.
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“It was a super positive weekend here at Brainerd,” Herrin said. “It was a great result to get two podiums. The team has been plugging away—the momentum is clearly with us now after this weekend and getting the win at Road America last time out. That’s three podiums in a row, which is a great boost to me and the team.”
“Now we head off to The Ridge in Washington. It was one of our best races last year, and then onto Laguna Seca, so we’ve got a couple of fun race weekends coming up. I’m really happy with how my Ducati Panigale V4 R is working right now and ready to keep the ball rolling.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“Coming from a podium yesterday, the ambition was high,” Baz said after race two. “We always want to be in the front and take the next step. We tried a few things in the morning warm-up session, which didn’t work as planned, which led us to go back to yesterday’s set-up. I was also a bit more aggressive at the beginning of the race today.”
“I was on the limit a bit with the front-end when Josh (Herrin) came by, so I just took my time a little and tried to follow, but then Sean Dylan Kelly had a massive crash right in front of me. I’m glad he is OK, it was a big one, but I had to run off the track and I lost a lot of time. It took me over a lap to get back to my rhythm with my tires being dirty. I tried to be with Cameron Petersen, but in the end, I settled for fourth. It was a not-so-bad ending; we leave with some good points and another podium heading into The Ridge.”
The following is from Suzuki…
Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) and its MotoAmerica teams RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki– continued to lock into their midseason form with a hugely successful weekend at Brainerd International Raceway in which they collected a combined two wins, five podiums, and eight top five finishes.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki racer Rocco Landers (97) was effectively perfect on the weekend, claiming a pair of Twins Cup victories from pole aboard the quickly developing Suzuki GSX-8R – the first win in runaway fashion, and the second following a heated three-way scrap. The wins were the 18th and 19th of Landers Twins Cup career and allowed him to further stretch his rapidly expanding championship advantage.
Landers said, “It’s amazing where we are now considering where we started on the GSX-8R when we finished P5 in the season opener at Daytona. The bike was new to us, but one thing we did have was a direction, and we’ve just been following the breadcrumbs ever since. The GSX-8R has been getting better and better every round, and the team has worked hard. At this point we have a great base setup, we made one small tweak this weekend – and now it’s obviously feeling incredible.”
Landers was twice joined on the Twins Cup box by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Rossi Moor (92), who also made gains on the GSX-8R. The young gun earned a pair of thirds, including a particularly impressive ride on Sunday in which he chased down the leaders and fought for the race win.
“This was a hard-fought third,” Moor said. “As the race was going on, I could see we were in better shape with our tires, and I was able to close the gap. I did my best to try for the victory, but these are all top-level racers, and I’m grateful just to be pushing them and learning. The Suzuki GSX-8R worked great. It was really fantastic throughout both races. I’m really happy for these results and to get as many points as possible.”
Moor’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Supersport teammates were also in the podium mix all weekend on the next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750. Teagg Hobbs (79) broke through following a difficult start to his sophomore Supersport campaign with an outstanding ride to third on Saturday. Hobbs led early in Sunday’s race but was shuffled down to fifth in a late three-rider fight for the podium.
On his Saturday podium, Hobbs said, “It’s long overdue. I’ve got to give it up to my Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew. The GSX-R750 was on rails. We’ve put ourselves in the right spots, and the whole team is working so hard. Finally all that hard work is paying off.”
Teammate Tyler Scott (70) opened both races from pole thanks to his blistering qualifying performance on the GSX-R750. Scott used that starting slot and sheer pace to lead both races. Unfortunately, his Saturday race ended in a lap-five crash. He bounced back to challenge Hobbs and another rider for the podium on Sunday, ultimately coming home in fourth.
Scott said, “I felt great on the GSX-R750. I wanted to be with the first group racing for the win, but I was struggling a bit with front end traction. We’re improving every weekend, and there’s more to come from the bike, myself, and the team. We’re going to come back swinging.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s third Supersport runner, Joel Ohman (92), continued to gain valuable experience and grows more and more accustomed to competing against the nation’s elite racers.
“It was the toughest weekend for me yet,” Ohman admitted. “I was off the pace, and in Race 2, the tire went off, and I lost even more. I was looking for improvement and couldn’t find it, which was frustrating. We’ll come back for the next race and see if we can get back on track.”
Superbike pilot Brandon Paasch (96) backed up his best weekend of the season with an even better one at Brainerd on the GSX-R1000R. After securing sixth on Saturday, Paasch fought his way to fifth on Sunday.
“We moved up the order and got some good results,” Paasch said. “Moving forward is exactly what we’re trying to do. It wasn’t one big move this time; it was a lot of areas where we made small gains, from feel for the bike, to my conditioning. That’s the key, to keep improving and getting the details better. Our goal is to get on the podium, and we know it will be hard. The plan now is to go to the Ridge and pick up where we left off. Everything is super positive and going in the right direction.”
Reigning Supersport champion Xavi Forés (34) was beat up in a Friday crash which limited his ability to ride the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R to his full potential. Forés was forced to pull in during both of the weekend’s races, despite demonstrating the pace to run inside the top ten early on both Saturday and Sunday.
Forés said, “It was a tough weekend after my crash on Friday. Physically, I was very sore, and it was difficult to manage. Today I was feeling better and coming back with a good pace, but we had an issue that forced me to retire. There’s not much to say. I want to apologize to the team for a difficult weekend, and now I’m really looking forward to healing well and to be strong at Ridge, a track I really like.”
The Suzuki contingent travels next to Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington, on June 28-30 when the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship resumes.
The following is from Yamaha…
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen returned to the podium with a third-place finish in yesterday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 at Brainerd International Raceway. His teammate Jake Gagne salvaged points on a tough weekend in Brainerd, Minnesota, with a seventh-place finish.
In Sunday’s Race 2, Petersen got another great start from the second row of the grid to the runner-up spot. The South African rode a strong pace but was passed on Lap 7. He stayed on the heels of the competition for most of the race and ultimately rode on to score third for his fifth podium finish of the season. Petersen’s efforts advanced his position to fourth and within 28 points of the top spot in the hotly contested title chase.
After another less-than-ideal start, Gagne found himself sixth and was shuffled to seventh on the second lap. Despite being unable to ride to his full potential with arm pump issues, the defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion did what he could to salvage points with a seventh-place finish. As the series approaches the halfway mark, Gagne remains within reach of the championship lead, trailing fellow Yamaha rider Bobby Fong by eight points.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team returns to action in two weeks’ time as racing resumes with MotoAmerica Superbike Round 5 at The Ridge in Shelton, Washington, on June 28-30.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Not much to say really. We lost this round, but we’ll move on and smash them at The Ridge.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“It was not a bad weekend for me and the team. I’m happy with the podium in the second race and we’re still right in the hunt for the championship. I will go back to work and show up stronger for The Ridge so we can put up more of a fight. I have to give a massive shoutout to the whole team for all their hard work.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“It was another rough day with hand issues, which was definitely a bummer because the bike was awesome here. I’ll get it sorted and back where we belong!”
The following is from OrangeCat Racing…
Though he’s a rookie in this year’s MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Class, the value of OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe’s wealth of overseas road racing experience was on full display Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway. The Californian followed up a fourth-place result in Saturday’s Stock 1000 contest with his first victory in the class in just his fourth race this year.
Uribe’s win — along with some bad luck for the current Stock 1000 points leader in Sunday’s race – allowed Uribe to move up from fourth to second in the Stock 1000 points standings and close the gap to the previously-undefeated class leader to just 16 points with six races remaining.
OrangeCat Racing’s second rider, Travis Wyman, struggled a little for pace on Friday and Saturday, but managed to salvage a top-10 result in Saturday’s race and score a seventh place on Sunday.
Both OrangeCat Racing riders showed good pace in the first on-track session of the round. Uribe finished Friday morning practice third-fastest, and Wyman wrapped up that session as the sixth-fastest rider. Later Friday, both riders slipped back one position in Qualifying 1, as Uribe concluded that session in fourth place and Wyman in seventh. Qualifying 2 took place Saturday morning and saw Uribe clinch sixth on the starting grid and Wyman 11th for the round’s two Stock 1000 races.
Saturday afternoon’s Race 1 featured both riders finishing higher in the running order than they started. Uribe moved up one position early in the first lap and finished that lap running in third place. Wyman quickly moved up to ninth place early in the first lap and ran as high as eighth at the end of Laps 1 and 2 before falling back to ninth, which is the position he finished the race in. Uribe was putting up a good challenge for second place until the closing stages of the last lap, when a failed pass attempt caused him to finish just off the podium in fourth place.
Though he didn’t get a great jump off the line, Uribe’s stellar pace in Sunday’s Race 2 was quickly evident. He’d moved up to fourth place by the time the field reached Turn 2 on the first lap. Wyman also advanced a couple positions up the running order early during the first lap. The race leader crashed out early in Lap 2, which promoted Uribe to third place and Wyman to eighth. Uribe then moved up to second place on Lap 3, and another frontrunner crashed on Lap 5 to elevate Wyman up to seventh in the running order. Uribe gradually closed the gap to the race lead and took over the point at Turn 3 on the last lap to capture his first Stock 1000 triumph by 0.144 seconds. Wyman finished in a lonely seventh place.
The MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Class will be back in action later this month at the next round, which is slated for June 28-30 at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Wash.
Jayson Uribe / No. 360
“Overall, it was a successful weekend at Brainerd. Coming to a new track is always a bit stressful, but we managed to get up to speed pretty quickly. Our one-lap pace was never lightning quick, but our race pace and consistency were incredible. Race 1 on Saturday was a good learning lesson. It proved to me and everyone else that we had the speed to be on the podium. In Race 2, I knew if I could stay in touch with the riders in front of me, we’d have a shot at the win. I tried to play it safe and make smart, calculated moves — and got the win! I’m super pumped for the entire OrangeCat Racing team.”
Travis Wyman / No. 10
“We had a slow start to the weekend, and the team worked really hard to try to turn the weekend around. We made progress with the bike setup every session. The pace in both races was super fast, but we did make a bit of an improvement to get Sunday’s result. We need to make another step like that to get to the front, and I’m looking forward to myself and the team accomplishing that at the next round at The Ridge.”
OrangeCat Racing’s promotional and technical partners for the 2024 MotoAmerica season include Motoworks Chicago, Ohlins USA, and alpha Racing.
Travis Wyman’s promotional partners for the 2024 MotoAmerica season include SP Connect, Klingler Thrillers, Fast Line Motorcycle Performance, Stomp Grip, On Any Moto, Bilmola USA and Alpinestars.
Jayson Uribe’s promotional partners for the 2024 MotoAmerica season include CT Racing, 4SR, San Jose Motorsport and Red Engine Brewing.
The following is from Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering…
It was another strong showing by Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering rider and MotoAmerica Twins Cup rookie Alessandro Di Mario this past weekend at Brainerd International Raceway. The 2022 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner added second-place finishes on Saturday and Sunday to his already impressive rookie campaign and is one of two riders who can clinch the 2024 Twins Cup title with two races remaining.
Di Mario’s teammate, Gus Rodio, enjoyed positive results at Brainerd after enduring setbacks in both races at the previous round at Road America. The Hammonton, N.J., resident claimed two fourth-place finishes and is now third in the Twins Cup points standings.
The weekend started well for both Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering riders. Rodio and Di Mario finished Friday morning practice in third and fourth place, respectively. Later Friday, the pair each moved up one position on the timing sheets to provisionally qualify second and third. Qualifying wrapped up Saturday morning with Di Mario having clinched second on the starting grid and Rodio third to put both riders on the front row for both of the round’s Twins Cup contests.
Race 1 was a lonesome event for Rodio. He ran in a mostly uncontested fourth place for all 11 laps of the race, while Di Mario found himself in a fierce fight for second place. Though he ran in third place on Laps 1-3, Di Mario made his move on Lap 4 and held off a persistent challenge from another frontrunning rider right to the last corner of the last lap to claim his third consecutive runner-up result by 0.036 seconds.
The start of Sunday’s Race 2 witnessed Di Mario pushing hard to take the lead early in the first lap, but contact with another rider later in that lap caused him to slip behind his teammate Rodio into fifth place. Di Mario quickly got by Rodio and was running in second place by the end of Lap 3. Di Mario then caught up to the race leader and assumed the lead on Lap 7. He held onto the lead for the next three laps, but got passed early in the final lap and had to settle for another second-place result – his fourth in a row. After the first couple laps, Rodio ran and finished in a lonely fourth place.
The Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering team now has a several month break before the MotoAmerica Twins Cup season finale takes place Sept. 13-15 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Alessandro Di Mario / No. 27
“I didn’t really expect to be this fast this weekend since this is not one of my favorite tracks. My tires were really bad by the end of Saturday’s race, so by the last lap I just tried blocking every passing opportunity and was able to hold onto second by just a small margin. Today’s race was good. Our pace in this race was absolutely insane, but I wasn’t able to win the race by just a little bit. I can’t wait for the next round at Circuit of the Americas and want to thank the team and everybody that’s help me out this weekend.”
Gus Rodio / No. 96
“Saturday’s race was interesting. I started the race with decent feeling in the bike, but after three laps the grip in my rear tire was gone. The team worked really hard after the race to figure out what had gone wrong. Overall, the two fourth-place finishes wasn’t our best showing as a team, but far from our worst. It was nice to score a bunch of points after how the last couple rounds have gone, and I’m excited to get to work during the break and finish the season strong in Texas.”
The following is from Rahal Ducati Moto…
The overcast skies at Brainered International Raceway welcomed Race 2 of Supersport competition at the 13-turn course. It was another stellar race with the Rahal Ducati Moto riders showcasing their racecraft and skill collection another set of top-10 finishes.
The team heads west for Rounds 9 and 10 of championship competition, to Ridge Motorsports Park June 27 – 30. Keep up to speed with all things Rahal Ducati Moto by following along on our social media channels (@rahalducatimoto).
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 5th
FINISHED: 2nd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 1st (171 pts)
NOTES: Continues to lead the championship by two points leaving the weekend // Scored another podium finish, marking his eighth podium in as many races this season
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was quite a difficult race. I was trying to stay behind [Mathew] Scholtz the whole time, but there was a bit of a dropoff for me because I was trying to get the most of of the tire. Even standing the bike up, I couldn’t really get towards him because he was doing similar lap times. I knew today would be difficult, but we made some great changes overnight. Going forward to Ridge, I think I can be quite strong on our current bike. Our bike is great in the breaking zone, we just need to figure out the acceleration out of the corner in third and fourth gears, not sliding so much. Once you’re on the 600 and you start sliding off the corner, it can kill your lap time, more than a Superbike would where you can make it up. Scholtz rode great this weekend so I’m happy for him and his team. My teammate Corey, for him to be on the podium after his injury and Graham to be here between his INDYCAR races was awesome. The team should be proud, we did a great job. The championship could come down to the last couple of races.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 3rd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (68 pts // +2 positions)
NOTES: Caught behind the Suzuki bikes of T. Hobbs and T. Scott for majority of the race // Made an impressive move on Scott for third place going into Turn 12 of the final lap, crossing the line just .023 ahead to secure the podium // Recorded his second podium finish of the season (first was Road Atlanta Race 2) // Earned two top-four finishes in his first weekend back after being sidelined for an injury
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “I’m thrilled with our podium finish today. Coming into the weekend I had just been hopeful for a top 10 after returning back from an injury so quickly. It was definitely unexpected but a testament to how hard the team has worked to make this package suitable for me. As always, thanks to everyone supporting myself and the team. I’m now even more excited to head to one of the best tracks on the calendar for me, The Ridge.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 8th
FINISHED: 8th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 10th (53 pts)
NOTES: Climbed through the field throughout the race, making another notable pass on S. Mesa // Scored her second top-10 finish of the weekend after finishing sixth in Race 1
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Our last day here at Brainerd was still very positive. It’s been the best weekend we’ve had with the team and with this bike, and the best weekend I’ve had in the Supersport class so far. Being within the top 10 for every session this weekend has been a huge goal and is a big accomplishment for me. I’m really happy with how hard our team worked with these bikes. We struggled a bit with Race 2 today, but we should have a better run at The Ridge. I’m excited to go back to where I got my first official MotoAmerica win!”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a great race for the team. All three riders did a great job today, and all weekend. PJ had a better race than yesterday – but we still didn’t have enough pace to catch [Mathew] Scholtz, but we definitely closed the gap. Corey had a really great race and a phenomenal last lap. He had a big pass with two corners to go, and it was great to have him put up results in his first weekend back. Kayla’s performance today was great, and hopefully builds more confidence in her abilities heading into Ridge. Having two riders on the podium today with Graham attending his first race was huge for us, and another great morale boost for the team.”
The following is from Tytlers Cycle Racing…
Tytlers Cycle Racing were back in action in the latest round of the 2024 MotoAmerica Championship at Brainerd last weekend, with all three riders JD Beach, Troy Herfoss and Stefano Mesa each achieving double finishes in the Superbike and Supersport categories, respectively.
JD Beach delivered the team’s best result in the premier class – sixth in race two on Sunday. He finished seventh twenty-four hours earlier. Alongside him and making his BMW M1000 RR debut was multiple Australian Superbike Champ, and current King of the Baggers front runner Troy Herfoss. Herfoss adapted well considering the lack of track time, crossing the line ninth in the opening encounter of the weekend on Saturday. He went one better with a P8 on Sunday.
Herfoss, who will continue with the squad whilst Cameron Beaubier recovers, is optimistic of further steps forward when the series takes to the track next at The Ridge in Washington State next week. JD, who currently sits eighth overall in the points standings is equally optimistic of running at the front after producing some impressive opening laps in Brainerd’s second race.
Cameron Beaubier sits seventh overall in the standings despite not competing after his Road America spill.
In Supersport, Stefano Mesa improved his lap times from twelve months ago aboard his Kawasaki. The #37 rider adding valuable championship points to his tally with seventh and ninth place finishes. The results elevate Mesa to ninth overall in the Supersport standings. Mesa and the team continue to be highest placed Kawasaki rider in the series and look forward to being more competitive at The Ridge, a circuit which should suit their bike a little better.
JD Beach: “Brainerd was a little bit of a frustrating weekend for me. The Tytlers team and my crew worked hard but I was left chasing my tail a bit. I feel like for set up we could improve on part of the bike but hinder another part. We were close to two top five finishes, but I need to work on getting up to pace a bit quicker on Friday to give us a better chance in the races. Race two for me were some of my best opening laps of the season but I need to work on keeping that pace going. It was weird not having Cam in the truck for the weekend, but it was cool to get to work with Troy, he’s an Australian SBK legend so I know I can learn from him.”
Troy Herfoss: “I had a lot of fun throughout the weekend and enjoyed working with a new crew, riding a new bike as well as riding another new track. Like normal, as a racer I’m frustrated purely because I can feel the potential of the package I’m riding and there simply wasn’t enough time in the weekend for me to adapt properly. I made a good step in morning warm up Sunday which gives me a lot of motivation heading into The Ridge in a few weeks. I want to thank the team for their patience throughout the weekend and JD for helping me feel at home while Cam continues his recovery.”
Stefano Mesa: “Brainerd was definitely the toughest round we have had. We knew coming into the weekend that it wouldn’t be easy knowing how stacked the class is, but the team worked hard throughout the weekend to keep me fast and make progress every time out. We ended up going faster than last year so I am happy about that but not happy with the results. We will do some homework and come back stronger at The Ridge. I appreciate the team for all the good help and support.”
