MotoAmerica at Road America | Luke Power on SS podium

2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship
Round 5 – Road America

Images by Brian J Nelson

MotoAmerica Superbike Race One

Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz has finished second in five of the seven MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike races going into race one at Road America. But he refused to finish second again, the South African going head-to-head with Italian Danilo Petrucci and coming out on top of a last-lap brawl to score his first victory of the season and the fifth Superbike win of his career.

With Scholtz and Petrucci well clear of the battle for third place, it all came down to the last lap. Petrucci led, but Scholtz had a plan and he stuck to it. With a late-braking effort and a block pass into turn five, Scholtz took the lead. Petrucci tried to pass in the final corner, but it didn’t work and Scholtz was able to hold off the horsepower of the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V4 R up the hill to the finish line – by just .015 of a second.

The win, the fifth Superbike victory of Scholtz’ career and his first in the dry, vaulted him to the top of the championship point standings by a single point over Petrucci, 125-124.

Mathew Scholtz

“I kind of thought after corner five, I had a decent gap that he (Petrucci) wouldn’t be close enough to me, but he obviously had a really good couple corners after that and caught up to me. I didn’t realize in the final corner he was going to try to pass me. I kind of heard him turning in and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his front tire. I actually had to give it a little bit of gas to make sure that he didn’t touch me and push me wide. We crossed the finish line and I looked right, and he was right there next to me. I wasn’t even sure that I had won, at that point. I think over the last two races that we’ve had, if you combine both of those finishing times, they’re both less than eight tenths. So, it’s been extremely close. I’m just really happy to be up here battling with this guy. Coming off of MotoGP, winning a Dakar stage, it really shows how the Westby team have made the bike better, how I’m riding better. I think things might have been different if Jake (Gagne) was there, but sometimes you’ve got to take your luck when it comes.”

Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera was third, the Spaniard earning his first MotoAmerica podium in his second season in the series. Barbera crossed the line 8.5 seconds behind the battle for victory and just .055 of a second ahead of his teammate PJ Jacobsen.

And what of defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne? Gagne and Petrucci touched under braking, and both ran wide on the first lap in turn five. While Petrucci was able to get his Ducati slowed down and turned, Gagne was forced to take to the gravel trap on the outside of turn five and he tipped over. By the time Gagne got going again, he was 29th and dead last.

From there Gagne and his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 went on a charge through the pack to an eventual fifth-place finish and the 11 championship points that come with it. Points that may prove valuable at season’s end.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis and Richie Escalante were next, the pair separated by some 13 seconds with Lewis sixth and Escalante seventh.

Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander was eighth with Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Larry Pegram ninth, in his return to MotoAmerica Superbike racing, and Aftercare Hayes Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates rounding out the top 10.

MotoAmerica Superbike Race One (Top 10)

MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two

Cameron Petersen went out and won in iffy wet/dry conditions on the four-mile circuit in America’s Dairyland for Sunday’s race two. The win was the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing rider’s first of the season and the second of his Superbike career.

Sunday’s race was a good one with all the top men opting for full rain tires but searching for puddles by the time it concluded. The battle at the top featured three riders and it lasted for all eight laps of the shortened race with Petersen, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen, and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci all taking turns at the front.

At the finish it was Petersen putting his head down on the final go-around to take victory by 1.3 seconds over Jacobsen with the New Yorker just 0.455 of a second ahead of Petrucci.

The win was the second of Petersen’s MotoAmerica Superbike career with the first coming in a driving rainstorm last year at Barber Motorsports Park. This was Petersen’s first victory with his new Yamaha team.

Cameron Petersen

“The whole race, like these guys said, it was tricky. For sure wasn’t wet enough for the rains. I think from first lap, second, lap it just took all the rubber away. The center of the tire was so chewed up that every time we’d try to find the wet stuff, it was already like riding on a slick. So, it would spin up a little bit more. Then going into that last lap, the lap before going to the white flag, I think PJ might have got me to the line. I can’t really remember. I knew that there was maybe a possibility of that, so I put my head down. There were a lot of scary moments. I pushed the front so many times. I just wanted to try everything I could to at least give myself a little bit of a gap coming onto the straightaway. Then, like I said, throughout the race, going up to the wet stuff trying to keep the tires cool, I knew how much it was spinning, so on the last lap coming up the last corner I just stayed on the dry stuff all the way up the hill to make sure I got the maximum drive. Just so stoked. It was a fun race battling with these guys. We went back and forth a little bit. Never stood on the podium with PJ (Jacobsen), so that’s pretty cool. Well done to them and their team. Once again, just a great race with Danilo (Petrucci). We had one scary moment there where it was just kind of my bad. He passed me down the straightaway and I just wasn’t expecting for us to set up that early. I wasn’t able to move the bike on the brakes. Unfortunately, I just smoked his leg. So, that was on me. That was my bad. Even that, the last lap behind PJ going into five, I locked up the front end like three times going in there. I tried to brake so late. Good to be back up here. Both my wins have been in sketchy conditions, so it would be nice to try to get one in the dry. We’re slowly but surely getting there.”

Petersen’s teammate Jake Gagne, the defending MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion, finished fourth – 14.3 seconds behind Petersen and four seconds ahead of the ageless Larry Pegram, who put his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW into the top five in his first race since last year’s Stock 1000 race at Road America.

Aftercare Hayes Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates continued his season of scoring points in every round and this time it was his best finish of the season as he rode the team’s BMW to sixth place.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis was some 11 seconds behind Yates and five seconds ahead of Saturday’s race winner Mathew Scholtz on the Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.

Tecfil Racing’s Danilo Lewis finished ninth with Nielsen Racing’s Justin Miest having his career best finish in 10th.

A day after taking over the championship points lead, Scholtz handed that lead back to Petrucci with the Italian now leading the South African by seven points, 140-133. Gagne is third with 115 points, 12 points ahead of Petersen. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera failed to score points for the first time in 2022 but remains in fifth in the series point standings.

MotoAmerica Superbike Race Two Results (Top 10)

MotoAmerica Superbike Standings

YUASA Stock 1000 Race

Corey Alexander made a big comeback from his crash at VIRginia International Raceway when he began the weekend at Road America by setting a new Yuasa Stock 1000 lap record in first qualifying, then going even faster in final qualifying to lower his record even more and set the pole.

Then, in the literbike riders’ feature race of the weekend, Alexander led every lap of the event aboard his BMW M 1000 RR and took the checkered flag by nearly three seconds over his teammate Travis Wyman. Honda rider Geoff May rounded out the podium in third.

Corey Alexander

“For sure, this was our plan all year to try to be one and two, Travis (Wyman) and me,” Alexander said. “That’s what we’re here for. Definitely coming into the weekend, I honestly wasn’t 100 percent sure what it would feel like to get back on the bike. It took me every bit of the two weeks to do everything I possibly could to recover for this and get back to a head space where I was comfortable with getting back on the bike. So, just to be out here riding again after that crash, obviously it was very scary. Fortunately, I don’t remember any of it. But it was scary to watch. Just super thankful for my guys and the whole team. This is what we’re here to do. It’s great to have Travis up here with me, and unfortunate for Hayden (Gillim, who is leading the Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship, but suffered a mechanical failure on Saturday). But we need every point we can get after missing those two. I keep bringing it up, but we don’t have double-headers every weekend, so these single-header weekends, there are not that many races left. We’re only three races into the season, but we don’t have a ton left in Stock 1000. So, we’ve got to get every point we can to try to get back in the hunt for the championship.”

YUASA Stock 1000 Results

YUASA Stock 1000 Standings

Supersport Race 1

Sixteen-year-old Tyler Scott, who won last year’s SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Championship, moved up to Supersport for 2022, and in just his fifth race in the class, the Pennsylvanian notched his third podium of the season, but more importantly, his first victory.

Scott stalked Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider and current point leader Josh Herrin for almost the entirety of the race. And then, on the final go-around of the 11-lap race, Scott made a perfect pass on Herrin and prevailed in a drag race to the checkered flag, winning by just .039 of a second. Third place went to Landers Racing Yamaha’s Rocco Landers, who prevailed in a battle of his own for the final step on the podium.

Tyler Scott

“I tried to break away in those first couple laps and saw that wasn’t a possibility of happening,” Scott said. “So, I just tried to follow Josh and learn what I could and use it on the final lap and try and draft him to the line. I didn’t expect (to win). I definitely wanted it, but I knew it was going to be a little bit to get used to the team and the bike. I wanted the first win to come as soon as possible.”

Luke Power was just off the podium, trailing Landers in, with Stefano Mesa hot on his tail.

Supersport Race 1 Results

Supersport Race 2

In Supersport, it was Oshkosh, Wisconsin, rider Jason Farrell who absolutely dominated the eight-lap race aboard his Farrell Performance Kawasaki.

As Farrell himself said, he’s raced at Road America more times than he can count, so he used his knowledge of the track to win on Sunday, despite the rain, by just under 10 seconds over 3D Motorsports LLC Suzuki rider Luke Power, the Australian finishing second for his very first podium in the MotoAmerica series.

Championship points leader Josh Herrin finished a safe third aboard his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V2 and stretched his point lead to a gaudy 51 points over second-place Rocco Landers and 52 points over third-place Tyler Scott.

Jason Farrell

“I haven’t raced a motorcycle, mind you, since August last year at Brainerd,” said Farrell. “This is my home track, so it’s kind of like muscle memory for me just showing up here. I’ve done a lot of laps around here. I was a little behind in qualifying. I think I was P10. I thought I was P6, then I went to P10. Times were pretty close. I knew I had about a second and a half. We made some adjustments to the bike. We got up into P4 and P6. I knew we would be right in there. We did the warmup lap, and I was like, all right, ‘I’m there.’ So, I was ready to dice it up with these guys. The bike was good. We softened the springs up when the rain came. Checked on weather. Went out in practice. I’m kind of glad I went out in practice. I saw Josh (Herrin) didn’t go out. I know what it’s like when you first go out in the rain. You’re kind of like, ‘I’ve got to get that feel.’ I remember the first two laps around the track, I was kind of a little bit behind. Then all of a sudden, I started getting my groove and I started feeling good in practice. Then I felt good for the race. I was ready to go. It all worked out for me real good.”

Supersport Race 2 Results

Supersport Standings

Twins Cup Race

Veloce Racing Aprilia rider Jody Barry had a short hiatus from the MotoAmerica series a couple of years ago, but ever since he returned and started racing in the Twins Cup class, he’s had a lot of success. This year, he’s become the odds-on favourite to win the class championship.

On Saturday at Road America, Barry bided his time at the beginning of the eight-lap race, but then, he took the lead on lap two and held steady to take his fourth straight win this season. BARTCON Racing Yamaha rider Dominic Doyle looked to have second place wrapped up, but Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing Aprilia’s Anthony Mazziotto seemingly came out of nowhere and overtook Doyle on the final lap to finish as runner-up, which relegated Doyle to the final step on the podium.

Jody Barry

“Daytona was a wild round, so, I figured it would be like that all year,” Barry said. “Thankfully, (Veloce Racing is) putting together a good bike, allowing me to get consistent wins and everything. My rear tire was going and everything, and I figured everybody else’s rear tire was going. Coming to the white flag lap, I’m like, ‘If somebody passes me into five, we can see what we can do for the draft,’ but no one did. So, I was like, ‘Let’s see what we can do as far as lap time goes and just put down a good lap.’ ”

Twins Cup Race Results

Twins Cup Standings

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Junior Cup Race 1

Saturday was a breakthrough day for Joseph LiMandri Jr. as the Kawasaki rider won the first race of his career in the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup class… but it wasn’t easy.

LiMandri Jr. need every one of the seven laps and every inch of the four-mile track to win over Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Gus Rodio, who finished second and just six milliseconds behind LiMandri Jr. Rounding out the podium was Altus Motorsports rider Kayla Yaakov.

Joseph LiMandri Jr.

“A lot of my strategy was kind of what Gus was doing,” LiMandri Jr. said. “I wanted to be out front. Usually I play tag behind, or I just follow behind someone. Obviously, that hasn’t been working too much lately. I’ve either been second or third. There were bikes everywhere. I got hit a couple times. I hit a couple people. So, I was like, you know what? I’m just going to try to get to the front. I messed around with maybe I could pull away. So, I tried to pass in turn five and lead hopefully through the infield and see if I could put a gap, but that didn’t work. So, on the last lap I was hoping to stay in second by the time I got to the front straight, but I got shuffled back. So, I just kind of put my head down. I was really aggressive, and I knew I had to make passes. So, I planned it out in my head right before. I just started making passes right when I saw the opportunity. I saw Gus got a gap, and my confidence was starting to go down a little bit. I didn’t know if I could catch back up. Down the back straight I saw we were closing in Kayla was going in deep into Canada Corner, so I just went a little deeper. I was hoping that it panned out. It worked. Then going down the front straight, Gus was close. I got a good drive out of the last turn. It was just far enough where I knew I could get sucked into that draft and pulled right up next to him and I just popped out. It worked.”

Junior Cup Race 1 Results

Junior Cup Race 2

The first race of Sunday was the Junior Cup, and the battle at the front was fierce despite sections of the track being fully wet, slightly damp, and even a little bit dry at the same time.

Dunlop rain tires were the order of the day, and the frontrunners seemed to be unfazed by the challenge. Alpha Omega Kawasaki rider Cody Wyman won by just .024 of a second over Kawasaki rider Joseph LiMandri Jr. Altus.

Kawasaki rider Kayla Yaakov looked to be headed for her first MotoAmerica victory until both Wyman and LiMandri Jr. executed perfect draft passes to overtake Yaakov just before the finish line. Wyman took the checkers .026 of a second ahead of Yaakov, and LiMandri Jr. nipped Yaakov by just two milliseconds.

Cody Wyman

“It was good to come back and get a good finish,” Wyman said. “It’s great to be riding (in Twins Cup), as well. Having a blast. Just having so much fun racing motorcycles again. I know I’m a little seasoned, you could say, but I do feel like I’m riding the best of my life on different motorcycles, riding all types of different stuff. Really enjoying myself.”

Joseph Mariniello was a more distant fourth, leading the pack behind the top three.

Joe Mariniello – P4

“The Great Equaliser. Coming into this weekend I knew it going to be a absolute slog at this giant track due to my size disadvantage. Luckily the rain Gods came out for me and I was able to go from P14 to P4! Was a great confidence boost after a seriously tough start to my Moto America campaign. Jimbo from Raceworx USA had my wet setting on rails. Thank you to Dustin and the 3D Motorsports Lads for having an amazing belief in me. You ladz rock. Can’t wait for the Ridge in a couple weeks time. Thank you to my lovely sponosrs and supporters.”

Junior Cup Race 2 Results

Junior Cup Standings

Royal Enfield’s Build. Train Race

Royal Enfield’s Build. Train. Race. program wrapped up the weekend, and 13 women took to the track for a four-lap sprint aboard Continental GT 650s that they race-prepped themselves.

Kayleigh Buyck, who won BTR’s first round at VIRginia International Raceway, also won the race at Road America, but she had to win a battle with Crystal Martinez who was second and just .172 of a second behind Buyck. Jennifer Chancellor rounded out the podium in third, but she was more than 11 seconds adrift of Buyck and Martinez.

A crash at the end of the race led to a red flag, which Buyck and Martinez didn’t obey. As a consequence, their results were upheld, but they were docked all the points that they collected for their finishes.

Kayleigh Buyck

“The battle is what I enjoy,” Buyck said. “It’s hard to lead. Last time, I just kind of got… I don’t know what happened. I started hurting from the crash, so this time I just want to keep my head down and push it the whole way through. Then Crystal got around me, so I knew to just stay back until coming up that last hill, try to get a draft and get her at the line.”

Royal Enfield’s Build. Train Race Results

Royal Enfield’s Build. Train Standings

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