Gagne & Herrin share COTA MotoAmerica Superbike wins

2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Round Eight – Circuit of the Americas, Texas

Images by Brian J. Nelson

MotoAmerica Superbike One

Yamaha’s Jake Gagne won his 10th MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race of the year at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, but he was just as happy for the two who joined him on the podium – podium first timer Richie Escalante and Gagne’s teammate JD Beach.

Gagne, who wrapped up his third MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship two weeks ago, won the 39th AMA Superbike race of his career on a steaming hot Saturday in Austin by 2.5 seconds over Suzuki’s Escalante, the Mexican earning the first podium of his Medallia Superbike career after his near-picture-perfect race that was a popular result with the entire paddock.

Ditto for JD Beach’s third-place finish with the season-long flat tracker reaching the podium in his just his second race as the replacement rider for the injured Cameron Petersen. The podium was Beach’s first in the Superbike class since he finished second to Cameron Beaubier at New Jersey Motorsports Park in 2019.

Beach ended up just .172 of a second behind Escalante after hounding him in the closing laps and 4.38 seconds ahead of PJ Jacobsen.

Mathew Scholtz was fifth, 18 seconds behind Gagne and 8.4 seconds ahead of Corey Alexander, the New Yorker righting the ship after a tough couple of rounds.

Bobby Fong was just a few seconds adrift of Alexander in seventh with Ashton Yates eighth, matching his best finish of the year.

Stefano Mesa was ninth in his Superbike debut on Cameron Beaubier’s vacated BMW M 1000 RR with Max Flinders rounding out the top 10.

Notable among the non-finishers were Josh Herrin and Brandon Paasch. Herrin battled with Gagne early, then slipped back into the grasp of Escalante and then Beach and Jacobsen. While running fifth, Herrin’s Ducati suffered a mechanical problem that took him out of the race. Paasch, meanwhile, crashed out of the race uninjured in the early laps.

Jake Gagne –  P1

“It’s nice to not have to think about the championship. Obviously, there’s been some bummer luck for some of those guys. I feel like I’ve been on the lucky end all year. But regardless, I’ll take it. It was a tough, hot race for sure. The first lap was kind of wild. Me and (Josh) Herrin went back and forth a little bit, which was fun. I think even just going into turn one, he was up the inside. I released the brake, he released the brake, and we just kind of played that game for a little while. I think he had a bike issue. Just kind of put my head down. I saw on the big board that it was Richie (Escalante) and JD (Beach) up there second and third after a few laps or mid-race. Congrats to both these guys. They really earned it.”

Richie Escalante – P2

“I think my team, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki is still working. It’s difficult. The level is super high. I need 37 races to finally finish on the podium, so one year and a half. Working really hard, training hard, and finally I know the tracks when it’s more flow, more like sector one here. Smooth for my style. So, I know Pittsburgh, the Ridge, Laguna Seca, here are good tracks for me to battle for the podium. Finally, I finished in P2. Super-hot out there. In the beginning, I felt very strong. I lost a little bit of time to pass (Josh) Herrin. Then I just tried to concentrate on my pace. In the last laps, I can ride the bike just waiting for finish the race. So, I hope to stay there tomorrow. I know it will be difficult, but I’ll try my best. I know my team will push hard tomorrow in the 15 minutes (the Sunday warm-up session) more to improve a little bit more the grip, but super happy. Finally, P2.”

JD Beach – P3

“It was a hot one. I’m so pumped. This team has worked so hard to help me, when they’ve got this guy (Gagne) going for the title, and even Cam P (Petersen). He’s been at the races and I’m riding his bike. He’s still trying to help and root me on. It’s been great to work with this team. They just work so damn hard. It feels so good to get this podium. I’m up here with the best guys in the US. To do that after five years, I can’t even put it into words. I think I’m just babbling right now. It’s so awesome. I hope I can do it again. It feels good to reassure myself that I can still do it. As a racer, there’s always self-doubt and these last few years I’ve had a lot. To come back out here two weeks on the bike and put it in third with it being 110 degrees out on a track that I think I was two seconds faster this weekend than when I was racing full-time before. So, it feels great.”

Superbike Race One Results

Superbike Race Two

Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Josh Herrin made up for a dismal Saturday at Circuit of The Americas with a straight-fight win over three-time Medallia Superbike Champion Jake Gagne in Sunday’s finale.

A day after his Ducati Panigale V4 R failed him in race one, the bike was perfect on Sunday and so was Herrin. After all, you don’t beat Gagne and his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1 unless you’re at the top of your game.

Herrin led off the start and stayed out front for all 10 laps of the red-flag-interrupted race with Gagne on his tail the entire time. At the finish it was Herrin four seconds ahead with Gagne giving up the chase on the final lap. The pair were the only riders to lap in the 2:09s with Gagne getting the fastest lap of the race with his 2:09.746 to Herrin’s 2:09.776.

Third place went to PJ Jacobsen with the New Yorker some five seconds behind Gagne. Bobby Fong was a come-from-behind fourth, closing on Jacobsen, ending up some six seconds adrift of the BMW.

Brandon Paasch ended up fifth, five seconds ahead of Ashton Yates, who had Stefano Mesa nipping at his heels and just .341 of a second behind at the finish line.

Mesa’s teammate Corey Alexander was in the fight for seventh when he made a great save of what looked like a certain crash on his BMW M 1000 RR. Alexander was well clear of Danilo Lewis with Max Flinders rounding out the top 10.

Among the non-point scoring riders were two of the three podium finishers from yesterday – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha’s JD Beach and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante with both riders crashing.

For Beach it was his second crash of the day as he also crashed in the first portion of the race, prior to the red flag. Escalante, meanwhile, crashed out of third place while right behind Gagne.

Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was collected by the sliding Beach. None of the riders suffered injury.

With just the two races from New Jersey Motorsports Park remaining on the schedule, Gagne and his insurmountable 382 points have wrapped up the championship with Herrin solidifying his hold on second place. Herrin is 28 points ahead of Jacobsen, 261-233.

Josh Herrin – P1

“I feel like a broken record saying this, but getting track time at this track prior to coming here and having some time on this bike before we came here to race is what we needed. It took all the way until the second half of the Saturday race for us to be comfortable and then Sunday would be good for us. I don’t want to celebrate too much. I feel like a linebacker getting a sack or something in a football game when you’re down by 30 points because we lost the championship. But it feels good to get this win. I’m so happy to be a part of this team. Bobby Shek, the DeNaples, Ducati USA. Everybody that puts this program together, Warhorse and HSBK Racing. It’s an amazing program. I don’t think anybody realizes how special of a relationship we have with everybody on the team. It’s just truly something special and I’m happy to be a part of it. Just so pumped that we could get another win.”

Jake Gagne – P2

“Josh (Herrin) seriously rode his butt off. I think he stepped it up a lot. I know he got screwed yesterday, but he rode an awesome pace. I wasn’t even looking at the lap times, honestly. I was just struggling after a few laps. After the halfway point I was just kind of hanging on. But the bike was working really good. It was hot and greasy. At that point, I wanted to bring it home. That was all the fight I had today, for sure. So again, hats off to Josh and the team.  I would have liked to make it a little bit more of a race, but I just couldn’t pass him anywhere. I was struggling with my own stuff. Good race, again. I’m happy to leave here with another podium. We brought this Yamaha home. Again, congrats to Josh because I think he rode really awesome from my perspective.”

PJ Jacobsen – P3

“Yeah, I think I was a bit lucky there to get third with some guys crashing out. Richie (Escalante) was pretty strong. I could see Josh (Herrin) and Jake (Gagne) in the distance, but I could just never close the gap. As the track got greasier for me, I was losing the front in a lot of spots. Then the rear was going past the TC and would just come around. It was really difficult. It was hard to get the grip for me because I was struggling with both front and rear, so I really couldn’t push. It was hard. Just trying to get back to the podium with my gap I had on I think it was Bobby (Fong). That was coming down a little bit too because I kind of just eased up as I was having some issues and problems. It’s good to take home another podium here. Josh rode great. He did a great job getting the win, and Jake. They’re super-fast and super strong all the time, so they did a good job. They beat me today.”

Superbike Race Two Results

MotoAmerica Superbike Standings

Supersport Race 1

After Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Xavi Forés started the season with a record-breaking eight wins in a row, setting a new record in the Supersport class, the Spaniard’s victory tally suddenly came to a halt at Brainerd where he finished both races off the podium. At Pittsburgh he finished second in both races. Now on Saturday at COTA, Forés returned to his winning ways with a championship-clinching victory.

Starting from the middle of the front row, Forés got a good jump off the line and led the first two laps of the race. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, who earned the pole position, overtook Forés on lap three, but then Forés was able to get past Scott two laps later, and he held on to the lead for the remainder of the race.

Forés took the checkered flag by a little more than a second over Scott, and Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs completed the podium in third.

Xavi Forés – Supersport Champion 2023

“When I accepted this challenge, I was expecting to fight for victories, but I was not expecting to fight for winning the title, winning eight races in a row and then win again. It was a very nice season for me because at the end of the last year I was considering retiring, because I was not enjoying racing. I was doing Moto-e, something that I didn’t want to do. But then when I contact Ducati again and the team, they offered me the Supersport and I said, why not? I want to enjoy riding the bikes again. So, it was nice. Since Road Atlanta, I felt so good on the bike. We worked really hard on the bike. Most of my job was at home watching the last year’s races to learn the layouts. Today we are here. We won the title. I have to say that the last races were really tough. Today, I let him (Scott) pass. I let him lead the race to try to understand his pace. After three laps I decided to pull my pace out. I thought I was going to put more gap, but he’s always there. He pushes really hard. He’s a smooth rider. I think this year the championship and also the series did a big improvement in several aspects. I would like to see him in the World Championship because he is a top contender, for sure. Now it’s time to enjoy my title with the time and move forward for tomorrow. There is another race, hot race. Let’s try to win again. Back home, because I have 24 hours (the Bol d’Or 24 Hour next weekend) so it’s going to be a busy month for me.”

Supersport Race 1 Results

Supersport Race 2

Old age and treachery was defeated by youth and enthusiasm in Sunday’s Supersport race with Tyler Scott besting Xavi Fores in a race that featured a thrilling last lap.

After a heated last lap that saw both riders on COTA’s expansive run-off areas at certain times, Scott withstood the constant pressure of Forés with the cool head of a rider well beyond what you’d expect of a 17-year-old.

The win was Scott’s third of the year and what he called the best of his young career. For Fores, it was his 11th podium of his championship-winning year.

Scott’s new Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Torin Collins finished third in just his second ride ever on a Supersport bike – a day after he finished fourth in what was his debut with the team and in MotoAmerica.

Tyler Scott

“This morning we made a few changes from yesterday,” Scott said. “They were all very minor, one or two very minor changes. But the big question was we were running out of gearing on the back straightaway. So, we were hitting the limiter. Before the restart, I tried to draft him and then see if I could pass in the braking zone. But the gearing, I started hitting the limiter at the first braking marker and was actually losing ground. So, I knew for the rest of the race and what eventually would become the restart that I would have to be really aggressive, really deep into the brakes, or lead down the big straightaway and hopefully he gets beside me. I had the confidence in the front end to be able to out-brake Xavi (Forés) for one of the first times this season. I was able to match him in the braking zones and came out on top in those battles. I can’t give enough thanks to the whole Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for preparing a beautiful bike this weekend, dialing in the electronics, Barry from Öhlins dialing in the suspension. It couldn’t be more perfect. The one thing also, I went with the zero front tire which was super soft. About halfway, I started tucking the front a little bit and I just had to be careful in the closing laps not to put a lot of bar input at the apex.”

Supersport Race 2 Results

Supersport Standings

Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race 1

It’s the final round for the Steel Commander Stock 1000 Championship this weekend at Circuit of The Americas, and Saturday’s race gave a little bit clearer picture of who might win the title. But it’s not quite decided yet.

Before the race even started, championship leader Ezra Beaubier was unfortunately scratched from the grid due to illness. Polesitter Hayden Gillim had one less contender to deal with, and he made the most of it.

The Kentuckian led the race from start to finish aboard his Disrupt Racing Suzuki and won with a gap of more than eight seconds back to Travis Wyman whose runner-up result was the fifth podium finish of the season for the Travis Wyman Racing BMW rider.

Third place went to Beaubier’s Orange Cat Racing BMW teammate Kaleb De Keyrel, which was his sixth podium result in 2023.

Gillim currently leads the championship by 13 points over De Keyrel, 17 points over Beaubier, and 24 points over Wyman. So, it all comes down to Sunday’s race two, the final race of the season to decide it all for the liter-bike riders.

Hayden Gillim – P1

“It sucks whenever one of the guys that has been up front all year and the guy that we’ve all been chasing isn’t here to defend his points lead… We’re all feeling pretty rough this weekend with the heat and everything, so hopefully he gets better and is able to be out here tomorrow with us. It sucks, but honestly, it’s so tight at the front that it wasn’t just Ezra (Beaubier) that we had to think about. Kaleb (De Keyrel) was four points behind me coming into this race. Travis was 15 points behind me. So, really for me, my whole goal this weekend was just to win. That’s the only way I know. I’m from Kentucky, so I don’t do math too good, so I just figured if I’m in front of everybody I don’t have to worry about it. It’s been a good weekend. This morning, like Travis (Wyman) said, we found a little bit. I was able to follow Diego Perez one lap this morning and it helped me quite a bit because he was faster in a couple spots that I thought I was going pretty good in. I learned a little bit from him and was able to use that and get my lap times down into the time range that I needed to have a chance to fight with Travis. So, it’s good. I did what I needed to do today. We’ve got a lot of racing left this weekend still. Just focusing on staying healthy, staying hydrated, staying cool and just having a good weekend.”

Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race 1 Results

Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race 2

The 2023 Steel Commander Stock 1000 Championship was decided on the final day of the class’s season, and even though Disrupt Racing Suzuki rider Hayden Gillim didn’t need to win the race to the win the title, the Kentuckian got the victory anyway, which was his sixth race win of the year.

Gillim started from the pole, but he had to withstand an early challenge from Travis Wyman. At about the halfway point of the race, Gillim overtook Wyman for the lead, and he kept it all the way to the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Wyman crossed the finish line in second.

Third place went to Diego Perez, who was competing in his first Steel Commander Stock 1000 race weekend of the year.

Hayden Gillim

“Everybody before the race was telling me where I needed to be and everything,” Gillim said. “Like I said yesterday, I’m not good at math, so I wanted to win the last one. I didn’t want to sit there. I knew Travis (Wyman) from the first couple of laps was going to be hard to pass. It took me a while. The first pass I made on him, immediately he came back by. So, the second pass, I made sure to kind of block a little bit going into that next-to-last corner. Knew I had a little bit on the brakes going up into one, just from the first time he came back by me. But it was good. It was so much fun to race with him. We’ve raced so hard over the years. For us to be dicing it out the last race of the year is a lot of fun. He definitely made me work for it today, though. But the whole team, Disrupt Racing 4SR team, has been working their butts off this year. We had a really bad start to the season and to be able to finish it off with the couple wins we did here is pretty special, and to have the whole Nichol family here running 4SR in the U.S. is amazing. They’re like family to me. Having them here with us is really awesome. To be able to bring it home for Jesse and Danny Hwilka this year is really special. They’ve been wanting it really bad. I got their first win for them and the first podium. And now, the first championship. So, it’s really special. It’s a bummer because my wife isn’t here and my son isn’t here, but they’re at home watching. She made me tear up a little bit on the podium because she was crying on the phone. So, I wasn’t able to get out some of the stuff I wanted to say on the podium. This is really awesome.”

Steel Commander Stock 1000 Race 2 Results

Steel Commander Stock 1000 Standings

Super Hooligan Race One

Tyler O’Hara was crowned champion of the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship on Saturday at COTA, but not before a last-lap bash-fest in the final corner that left teammate and championship rival Jeremy McWiliams on the ground and out of the race. Championship over.

O’Hara won four races en route to the title and the last one was the most intense with him and McWilliams going back and forth all the way to the final corner on the last lap.

With the two banging into each other repeatedly on the entrance and apex of the final corner, McWilliams spun his Indian FTR 1200 up and was highsided.

The Ulsterman was fortunate to not suffer serious injury but is likely to miss tomorrow’s race and O’Hara had his second straight championship in the class.

History was made on Saturday when Stefano Mesa rode the electric Energica Eva Ribelle RS to second place, giving the company its first podium finish.

Mesa ended up nine seconds behind O’Hara and a second clear of Andy DiBrino, who earned his fifth podium finish of the season. AJ Peaslee and Nate Kern rounded out the top five.

Tyler O’Hara – P1

“It started in 17/18,” O’Hara said of the last lap. “Well, it started in 16, and he protected and then I rolled it to get a good exit. Then I was on the outside of 16/17 and he kept going wider and wider and wider. I about had my shoulder on his tire. Then it was just a battle into 19. We both stopped. Then basically going down the straightaway we were rubbing, and rubbing is racing. Then he parked it in the corner and then we both go for it. I think he just lit the tire up and then highsided, otherwise he would have had me. Honestly, I was expecting it to come down to tomorrow. I’m glad that he’s okay. He’s a true competitor. He’s the salt of the earth, as he would say. He’s lovely. I’m so glad that he’s my teammate. He has made me a better rider this year. He has made the whole team better.”

Super Hooligan Race One Results

Super Hooligan Race Two

Tyler O’Hara wrapped up the 2023 Mission Super Hooligan National Championship on Saturday and continued his party with a second victory on Sunday at COTA. The win was O’Hara’s fifth of the season and it came after a rough and tumble win on Saturday that saw his teammate Jeremy McWilliams crash out on the final lap in the last corner with the two basically locked in combat.

A banged up and bruised McWilliams finished second for his sixth podium finish of the season and it earned him second in the championship point standings.

Andy DiBrino earned his sixth podium of the season and that placed him third in the final championship standings. DiBrino and McWilliams went into Sunday’s series finale tied in points with Ulsterman McWilliams coming away with the runner-up spot in both the race and the title chase.

Tyler O’Hara

“Today definitely wasn’t as hot, which was nice,” O’Hara said “A little cooler today. Yesterday was just an all-out, epic, one of those days like fighting with your brother in the backyard or something with the gloves off. It was epic. It was just clean all year. He didn’t hit me. He didn’t bump me. He rubbed me, and rubbing’s racing, and I’m okay with that. We push each other, and he’s great at putting in fast laps when he needs to. I’ve worked a lot on that this year and really had to dig deep to bring my level up and my speed. A lot of speed work in the training. He brings a lot to the development of this team. He brings a world championship level of preparation to our whole program. He makes everybody on our team better. He’s a warrior. We were both at the medical center this morning. We both had pretty good ones this morning. Hats off to them. S&S Cycles. They’ve been working so hard all year. Today we had a great first start. I could hear him. I was like, okay. I had a little battle with (Stefano) Mesa there. Then we got the red flag and just tried to kind of go around the first lap, keep my bike cool and kind of get some heat in the tires the last couple corners so I don’t have to sit there with my clutch. Got not the best jump. Jeremy (McWilliams) got a better jump and he stayed inside. I think that kind of pinched off a couple of the other guys. I kind of swung wide in, too. Three lap dash, it’s like the dash for cash. You’ve just got to go for it and bite your lip and get a little western. It was really fun. To cap it off with a win feels really good. Again, this one is for the team, everyone that works so hard. It feels really good. Andy (DiBrino) rode awesome all year. Looking forward to Daytona in March.”

Super Hooligan Race Two Results

Super Hooligan Standings