Larry Lawrence | April 28, 2021
Twenty-six Honos Superbike riders will take to the Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta track this weekend for the opening round of the 2021 MotoAmerica Series and Ducati is looking to mix it up with Yamaha and Suzuki.
Photography by Brian J. Nelson
With defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier moving to the world stage in 2021, MotoAmerica Superbike will have a vastly different look at the top, even if many of the main players are still the same. Beaubier’s dominance in 2021 was something the series has rarely seen in its 45-year history and his absence sets a clear demarcation into a new era for the series.
Exactly who will fill the void left by the rider who won five out of the last six MotoAmerica Superbike Championships is still very much in the air.
On paper the odds-on preseason favorite would probably be Frenchman Loris Baz. Ducati stepped back into the series at the tail end of last year with a second of the potent Panigale V4 Rs joining the battle, and Italian World Superbike part-timer Lorenzo Zanetti gave Ducati its first MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike win in a decade. That apparently whetted Ducati’s appetite and its American squad Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati brought in a heavy hitter in Baz for 2021.
On paper, Frenchman Loris Baz, a former MotoGP racer, seems to be the odd-on preseason favorite going into the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. Ducati wants the title.
Undoubtedly Baz is the real deal. A former MotoGP rider, Baz was scoring podiums in the Superbike World Championship just last season. And he came out swinging in MotoAmerica preseason tests, topping the charts on the first day.
Baz’s intro into MotoAmerica feels very reminiscent of Toni Elias’ stunning debut in 2016 when he won the first three races he entered. Baz may have even more potential out of the box than Elias. Elias was riding an outdated Suzuki GSX-R1000 when he came into the series. When they gave him the new and improved GSX-R, he won the championship the next season.
Baz is already ahead of the game in that department, riding the factory Ducati Panigale V4 R, possibly an overdog among the entire world of Superbikes. So, Baz has the mount to win the title, no doubt. The key question is how quickly he will adapt to MotoAmerica-spec Dunlop tires and the American circuits, most of which will be completely new to him. Ducati is trying to stack the odds in their favor by already having Baz test on at least two of the circuits (New Jersey Motorsports Park and VIRginia International Raceway) that MotoAmerica will visit this season.
Ducati has not won the MotoAmerica/AMA Superbike Championship since 1994 when Australian Troy Corser stopped off and accomplished the feat in 1994 en route to his stellar career in World Superbike. Ducati wants this title again, and with Baz and the Panigale they may just have the combination to do it.
Then there is defending championship-winning team, Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha. Team owner Richard Stanboli is a master-class builder in the vein of past legends of the championships such as Rob Muzzy, Pops Yoshimura, Udo Gietl and Eraldo Ferracci. If anything, the Yamaha R1 Superbike Stanboli supplied to Cameron Beaubier last year was actually better than the full-fledged factory rigs he raced in seasons prior. That is good news for team riders Jake Gagne and Josh Herrin.
Attack Yamaha’s Jake Gagne would have to be considered a favorite, as well. He’s got big boots to fill now that Cameron Beaubier has moved on.
Gagne could also lay claim to preseason favorite. He was, after all, the runner-up in last year’s championship where he was a model of consistency. Gagne also showed good speed in the preseason tests at COTA, topping the charts at times on the second day before being eclipsed in the final session. With a full season on the Attack Yamaha in his memory banks, Gagne will certainly have a good baseline to work from for this coming season, and at 27 he’s entering the prime of his racing career, has a season of World Superbike to his credit, and is just generally well placed and prepared to assume the mantle of his former teammate Beaubier. He also has a new crew chief in his corner, former racer and Ӧhlins technician Jon Cornwell.
The well-experienced Josh Herrin will be Gagne’s new teammate. Herrin comes over from BMW.
Then there’s Gagne’s Attack Performance Yamaha teammate Herrin, the most experienced of the elite riders in the series. Additionally, Herrin is the only former AMA Superbike Champion in the field this season, having won that title in 2013. He’s new to the Attack squad this year, having finished sixth in the series last year on the Scheibe Racing BMW S 1000 RR, but Herrin has extensive experience on the Yamaha R1 Superbike. That’s the machine he won the championship on, so if he gets comfortable on the bike again, it could mark serious trouble for the rest of the Superbike field.
Suzuki will be well represented by M4 Ecstar Suzuki’s Bobby Fong and Cameron Petersen. Along with Baz and Gagne, Fong is on equal footing in terms of preseason favorite. Not only was he fastest at the COTA test, he is also the only rider in the championship this season to have won a MotoAmerica Superbike race last year. He won three races en route to his ranking of third in the final 2020 standings. He also has the know-how of the M4 Ecstar squad, the longest-running team in the paddock and one with an impressive list of national championships and wins to its credit.
Cameron Petersen (pictured) and Bobby Fong will hold down the fort for the M4 Ecstar Suzuki Team. Fong the fastest rider at the recent COTA test.
Petersen comes off a breakthrough 2020 that saw him dominate MotoAmerica Stock 1000 on the Altus Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000. After years of struggle, highlighted by intermittent sparks of brilliance, Petersen finally looked like the smooth and fast veteran that he’s becoming in last year’s Stock 1000 class. There’s unquestionably going to be a learning curve moving up to the Superbike ranks, but Petersen, whose dad, Robbie, was a leading AMA 250 Grand Prix competitor in the 1980s, is perhaps the hungriest rider in the field and will certainly give his all to stick with the front runners.
One other rider who cannot be left off the list of potential MotoAmerica Superbike Champions in 2021 is Westby Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz. Owned by former AMA Superbike racer Tryg Westby, the Westby Racing umbrella is expanding, assisting several teams in various MotoAmerica classes this year. Westby’s Team Manager Chuck Giacchetto has emerged as the go-to guy when it comes to getting a handle on how to get the most out of a limited budget, private-entry racebike.
Westby Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz, a former winner, hopes to have a breakthrough season.
Scholtz has had a tough time putting together an entire season sans injury. Sometimes viewed as an overachiever, Scholtz is still remembered for his remarkable Superbike victory in the 2017 season finale at Barber Motorsports Park, where he became the first, and to date, only rider to win a MotoAmerica Superbike race on a Stock 1000-spec machine. Scholtz is a rain master and won his second-career Superbike race one a wet COTA in 2018, so if we have a wet summer, watch out! Regardless of the weather, Scholtz certainly has the experience, the team and the machine to win.
Even more international flare was added to the MotoAmerica Superbike grid when it was learned that Héctor Barberá, a 10-time World Championship Grand Prix winner (in the 125cc and 250cc classes), will join Scheibe BMW. To date, no one has been able to consistently put that team’s BMW S 1000 RR up front, but Barberá certainly represents out-of-the-box thinking and 17 years of Grand Prix racing experience counts for a lot, so perhaps that combo will make the Scheibe entry a win contender.
Other riders to watch for include Kyle Wyman on the KWR Ducati. Wyman finished seventh in the championship last season and managed to get on the podium twice. If he can find consistency with his machine, he could find his way to the box more often in 2021.
FLY Racing/ADR Motorsports will field a solid team with team principal David Anthony along with squad newcomer Jayson Uribe. Anthony is a steady performer serving double duty as team owner/rider. Uribe is a West Coast club racing standout who has shown good speed in his limited MotoAmerica appearances.
Those will be the main players in MotoAmerica Superbike in 2021, in addition to leading Stock 1000 riders who will take part in the Superbike Cup on their Stock 1000-spec bikes, riders like Corey Alexander (Honos HVMC Racing Kawasaki), Jake Lewis (Altus Motorsports Suzuki) and Wyatt Farris (M4 Ecstar Suzuki) and Travis Wyman (Travis Wyman Racing BMW).
One thing is certain, 2021 will be the start of a new era in MotoAmerica Superbike racing and one that fans hope will bring parity and competition among multiple riders for the crown.
The new era begins on April 30-May 2 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta where MotoAmerica Superbike 2021 kicks off.
MotoAmerica Support Classes
Among the most highly anticipated battles in MotoAmerica’s support classes is round two of the Supersport battle between defending champ Richie Escalante (Honos Racing Kawasaki) and Sean Dylan Kelly (M4 Ecstar Suzuki). Making Supersport even more compelling this season is the fact that wonder kid Rocco Landers will step up to race Supersport in 2021 after dominating the MotoAmerica Junior ranks and stepping up to win the MotoAmerica Twins Championship last year, as well, racing with SportbikeTrackGear.com/Roadracingworld.com Suzuki. It will be interesting to see how Landers reacts when he’s no longer top dog in the class, at least not coming into the season. If the 16-year-old Landers manages to find the speed to run with the likes of Escalante and Kelly this season, it could become the most entertaining class in the series.
Richie Escalante (Honos Racing Kawasaki) will be back to defend his Supersport title.
Others to watch for in Supersport include South Africans Dominic Doyle and Sam Lochoff. Doyle was one of the only riders who made Landers look human in Junior Cup, so he could be a factor on the Bartcon Racing entry, especially as the season progresses. Lochoff, also moves up from Junior Cup to Supersport and he’ll be on the powerful M4 Ecstar squad, so he’s on one of the best seats in the championship. Xavier Zayat was expected to be a leading contender, but his team pulled out at the last minute. If he can put a program together, expect the “X-Man” to be a contender.
Other riders who figure to mix it up in the top 10, and possibly even the top five, of the 2021 Supersport Championship are Altus Motorsports Suzuki teammates Kevin Olmedo and Jaret Nassaney, North East Cycle Outlet Racing Yamaha’s Benjamin Smith, Pure Attitude Racing Yamaha’s Nate Minster, Cycle Gear Racing Yamaha’s Nolan Lamkin, and another Supersport rookie making the leap from Junior Cup to Supersport, Grant Motors Racing Kawasaki’s Liam Grant.
With defending series champ Cam Petersen moving up to Superbike, the way is clear for other riders to claim the Stock 1000 title. Last year’s runner-up, Corey Alexander, who won two Stock 1000 races last year, seems to be odds-on favorite to win the title. He’ll be on the speedy Honos HVMC Racing ZX-10RR. Jake Lewis, a one-time factory Superbike rider with Yoshimura Suzuki, found himself without a ride last season and saw limited action in a couple of rounds as a fill-in rider. Now he has a new lease on his racing life after getting the call to ride for the Stock 1000 championship-winning Altus Motorsports for 2021. Travis Wyman has built up an impressive resume in his 13 seasons as a professional motorcycle racer. He’s won five races, earned 22-career podiums, scored poles and come very close to winning championships, finishing runner up twice in his career. In 2021 Wyman will again contest MotoAmerica Stock 1000 on his Travis Wyman Racing BMW.
Sean Dylan Kelly (M4 Ecstar Suzuki) is expected to challenge Escalante for the Supersport number-one plate.
In Twins Cup, perhaps the most excitement is not necessarily focused on which riders will battle for the title, but instead the introduction of the Aprilia RS 660 to the class. No pressure on Aprilia, but much is expected of the Italian mount in a class that has seen mostly Suzuki SV650s and Yamaha MT-07-based machines at the top. The most powerful Twins Cup team coming in appears to be Robem Engineering with last year’s series runner-up Kaleb De Keyrel, who will be joined by young talents Hayden Schultz and Toby Khamsouk (third and fifth, respectively, in the series last year). The Robem trio will all be racing the new Aprilia. Jackson Blackmon, who was fourth in the series last year, should also be a leading Twins rider.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup is also ripe for the picking with two-time champ Rocco Landers moving to Supersport in 2021. And it’s not just Landers who’s gone. Same goes for series runner-up Dominic Doyle and third-ranked Samuel Lochoff. While Landers is gone, his Landers Racing seat remains, and it will be filled by 15-year-old Ben Gloddy. That, combined with the fact that Gloddy is the highest-ranked rider from last year’s series coming back, means that he’ll probably be viewed as the rider to beat coming into Junior Cup round one at Road Atlanta.
MotoAmerica Junior champ Rocco Landers will step up to the Supersport class in ’21. It will be interesting to see how the 16-year-old will stack up to Escalante and Kelly.
In addition to the main classes, MotoAmerica will also feature a three-race King of the Baggers Series. While watching massive touring machines with saddlebags may not be everyone’s cup of tea, there’s no denying that fans flock to the fences to watch the race, if nothing else for the sheer novelty and audacity of the class. The Baggers opener will run with MotoAmerica’s opening weekend at Road Atlanta.
MotoAmerica Mini Cup by Motul is a youth program comprised of a series of four events in the 2021 MotoAmerica Season. The MotoAmerica Mini Cup Series will be held on karting tracks in conjunction with four MotoAmerica events: Road America (June 11-13), The Ridge Motorsports Park (June 25-27), Pittsburgh International Race Complex (August 13-15), and Barber Motorsports Park (September 17-19).CN
2021 MotoAmerica Schedule
| Rnd 1 |
April 30-May 2 |
Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta |
Braselton, GA |
| Rnd 2 |
May 21-23 |
VIRginia International Raceway |
Alton, VA |
| Rnd 3 |
June 11-13 |
Road America |
Elkhart Lake, WI |
| Rnd 4 |
June 25-27 |
The Ridge Motorsports Park |
Shelton, WA |
| Rnd 5 |
July 9-11 |
Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca |
Monterey, CA |
| Rnd 6 |
July 30-August 1 |
Brainerd International Raceway |
Brainerd, MN |
| Rnd 7 |
August 13-15 |
Pittsburgh International Race Complex |
Wampum, PA |
| Rnd 8 |
September 10-12 |
New Jersey Motorsports Park |
Millville, NJ |
| Rnd 9 |
September 17-19 |
Barber Motorsports Park |
Birmingham, AL |
Road Atlanta Schedule
On-track action gets started on Friday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta with practice and qualifying starting at 8:30 a.m. and running through to the last practice session at 4:40 p.m. The first race of the weekend will take place on Saturday at 1 p.m. with Stock 1000 Race 1, followed in rapid succession by Supersport Race 1 (2 p.m.), Honos Superbike Race 1 (3 p.m.), Twins Cup Race 1 (4 p.m.) and SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Race 1 (4:45 p.m.)
On Sunday, racing begins at noon with Stock 1000 Race 2, Mission King Of The Baggers (12:30 p.m.), Supersport Race 2 (1 p.m.), SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Race 2 (2 p.m.), HONOS Superbike Race 2 (3 p.m.) and Twins Cup Race 2 (4 p.m.).
Road Atlanta Broadcast Schedule
| MotoAmerica LIVE+ |
|
|
| Friday, April 30 |
1 p.m. |
Coverage begins with Honos Superbike Qualifying Practice |
| Saturday, May 1 |
9 a.m. |
Coverage begins with STG Junior Cup Practice |
| Sunday, May 2 |
9:05 a.m. |
Coverage begins with Honos Superbike Warm up |
|
|
|
| MavTV |
|
|
| Saturday, May 1 |
2 p.m. |
LIVE Supersport Race 1 |
| Sunday, May 2 |
1 p.m. |
LIVE Supersport Race 2 |
|
|
|
| FS1 |
|
|
| Sunday, May 2 |
12:30 p.m. |
LIVE King of the Baggers Race
|
|
|
|
| FS2 |
|
|
| Saturday, May 1 |
3 p.m. |
LIVE Honos Superbike Race 1 |
| Sunday, May 2 |
3 p.m. |
LIVE Honos Superbike Race 2 |
|
|
|
| Facebook LIVE |
|
|
| Saturday, May 1 |
4 p.m. |
Twins Cup Race |
| Sunday, May 2 |
12 p.m. |
Stock 1000 Race |
For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com
