Cycle News Staff | September 25, 2022
Sunday
Superbike
Jake Gagne won 17 races last year en route to his first MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. This season, Gagne won 12 – five fewer races – to take the title. Yet, this championship means more than the first, he said. Because it came with more difficulty.
“Last year was cool winning all those races and taking home the championship, but this one feels good to bring it all the way down to the last race,” Gagne said. “It was just incredible. It was amazing being able to race with Danilo (Petrucci). That guy is a world-class racer. Like I said down there, I don’t think there has ever been anybody that I wanted to beat more, just because of his resume. He’s a MotoGP guy, a MotoGP winner. I don’t know how many of those we’ve had here in the States, so I wanted to do right and protect the home turf here and bring this MotoAmerica Championship home with an American.”
Gagne brings it home for title number two in MotoAmerica Superbike.
On Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, Gagne finished second to his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing teammate Cameron Petersen and that earned him a second successive Superbike title. The runner-up finish on Sunday put a ribbon on Gagne’s season that featured 12 wins and 14 total podiums in 20 races.
The race went perfectly for the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing team as Petersen led Gagne for the duration, the pair flying in formation until Gagne backed it down in the final laps.
Petersen took his second win of the season, his third career victory, and his first in dry conditions at his favorite track by 3.1 seconds over Gagne.
Petrucci (left) congratulates Cameron Petersen, who put in a storming end-of-season ride.
Third place went to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen with the New Yorker passing Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci in the last corner on the last lap. It was a fitting finish for Jacobsen, who lost out on third in Saturday’s race one when Petrucci’s jump-start penalty was reversed after the team’s appeal was upheld.
Jacobsen beat Petrucci to the line by .206 of a second.
Fifth place went to Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African racing with Petrucci early on before fading. He was some seven seconds adrift of the Italian at the finish and 3.2 seconds ahead of Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante.
Next up was Escalante’s teammate Jake Lewis with the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider topping Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Kyle Wyman was ninth with his teammate Hector Barbera rounding out the top 10.
Superbike Race 2
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Kyle Wyman (BMW)
- Hector Barbera (BMW)
REV’IT! Twins Cup
The REV’IT! Twins Cup riders had their final race of the season on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, and the championship was still in the balance. Sixteen-year-old Virginia-based rider Blake Davis finished fourth and clinched the season championship aboard his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha. Meanwhile, last year’s Twins Cup season champion Kaleb De Keyrel won the race, which was, surprisingly, his first victory of the year. The Veloce Racing Aprilia rider started from the pole, was never headed in the nine-lap race, and took the checkered flag with a lead of more than three-and-a-half seconds over Robem Engineering Aprilia rider Teagg Hobbs in second. Hobbs’ teammate Ben Gloddy finished third and only .141 of a second behind Hobbs.
Kaleb De Keyrel (1) won the finale REV’IT! Twins Cup race of the season, but the class championship went to Blake Davis (22).
Supersport
Rain showers during the day on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park played a factor in Supersport race two as some of the riders made the decision to use rain tires on the damp track while others chose slicks and gambled that the track would dry out enough as the race wound down to yield faster lap times. It was an interesting dichotomy in team strategies, but in the end, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin, who chose rain tires, was able to run a fast pace from beginning to end, and even with the track almost fully dry by the time the checkered flag flew. Herrin, the recently crowned class champion, won the 15-lap race by a whopping margin of nearly 18 seconds over 3D Motorsports LLC Suzuki rider Luke Power, who finished second for the Australian’s second podium of the season. VisionWheel M4 Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was third.
Royal Enfield’s Build. Train. Race
Royal Enfield’s Build. Train. Race. program wrapped up at Barber Motorsports Park, and Kayleigh Buyck won the final race of the season while also clinching the season championship at the same time. Coming home second was Chloe Peterson while Crystal Martinez rounded out the podium in third.
Kayleigh Buyck is the 2022 Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Champion.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup’s final race of the season was also the final race of the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, and Alpha Omega Kawasaki rider Cody Wyman played his cards exactly right with no room for error. He finished eighth in the race, which was just enough for him to clinch the championship with a tie in points but winning the tiebreaker on more wins. The rider who Wyman tied with on points was the same rider who won Sunday’s race: Rodio Racing Kawasaki’s Gus Rodio. The New Jerseyan did all he could to wrap up the title with his last-race victory, but he couldn’t overcome the advantage that Wyman had in total season wins. Second place went to Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Kayla Yaakov, and in third place was Team ISO Kawasaki’s Ryoto Ogiwara.
Rodio (closest to camera) took the race but Wyman won the title on countback.
Saturday
Superbike
All season long, Jake Gagne hasn’t wanted to talk about championship points. Today, at Barber Motorsports Park, he didn’t seem to mind. It’s amazing what a 13-point lead going into the final race of the year will do.
After earning pole position this morning with a new lap record, Gagne did what Gagne does in the race. He took off at the start and was never headed, flanked initially by his wingman on the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha team Cameron Petersen and ultimately followed home by Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz.
At the end of 20 laps of the 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park, Gagne had his 12th win of the season and the 29th of his AMA Superbike career by 5.43 seconds over Scholtz. Scholtz had been on the move early, chasing Petersen until his fellow South African crashed on the sixth lap. From there, Scholtz went into points-scoring mode as those two will battle for third in the championship in tomorrow’s finale with only four points separating them. Petersen, meanwhile, remounted and scored seven valuable points for finishing ninth.
Gagne put one hand on the trophy with a flawless performance in race one.
Gagne’s run to the championship tomorrow was originally made easier with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci struggling with a fourth-place finish after being stung with a jump-start penalty of five seconds. The penalty, however, was later overturned on appeal by Petrucci’s team and overturned at roughly 6:30 p.m., giving Petrucci third on the day.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen was originally credited with third place but the change in the official results moved him back a spot to fourth.
While Gagne pocketed 25 points for winning, Petrucci earned 16 points for finishing third. That gives Gagne a 13-point advantage going into Sunday’s final race of the year.
Fifth place on Saturday went to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera, giving the BMW team two riders in the top five. Barbera was some nine seconds ahead of the Hayden Gillim/Jake Lewis scrap for sixth.
That spot went to Disrupt Racing’s Gillim over fellow Kentuckian Lewis and his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki by just .059 of a second.
Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander, Petersen and ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony rounded out the top-five finishers.
After 19 of 20 Medallia Superbike races, Gagne leads Petrucci, 356-343, with Petersen third on 279 points. Scholtz is four points behind with 275 and Barbera rounds out the top five with 184 points.
With just one round remaining in the Superbike Cup for racers using Stock 1000-spec motorcycles in the Superbike races, Danilo Lewis leads Altus Motorsports’ Brandon Paasch by six points with Paasch winning today’s race-within-a-race while Lewis finished second.
Superbike Race One
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Hector Barbera (BMW)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Corey Alexander (BMW)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- David Anthony (Suzuki)
Yuasa Stock 1000
Yuasa Stock 1000 started off the day, and it was the final race of the year for MotoAmerica’s literbike riders. With the championship already decided in Corey Alexander’s favor two weekends ago at New Jersey Motorsports Park, this race was all about just taking the checkered flag and standing on the top of the podium with a win.
Gillim (leading) notched his fifth win of the season.
That win went to Disrupt Racing Suzuki’s Hayden Gillim, which was his fifth victory of the season. Gillim, who started from the pole position, got the holeshot and was never headed. At the checkered flag, the Kentuckian had stretched out his lead to more than eight-and-a-half seconds. Second place went to Vision Wheel/Discount Tire/KWS Honda rider Geoff May who withstood a near highside on the way to his runner-up result. Cycle World/Octane/Chuckwalla Racing Andrew Lee completed the podium in third aboard his Suzuki.
Supersport
The 2022 Supersport Championship was also decided at New Jersey Motorsports Park, with Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin clinching the title, so the final two races of the Supersport season were also all about pride.
Landers came from behind to take the first Supersport race win.
In race one, Herrin started from the pole and chose softer-compound Dunlop tires than Landers Racing Yamaha’s Rocco Landers did. With better grip than Landers had at the beginning of the race, Herrin was in the lead and looked to be headed for a dominant win. However, Landers’ strategy paid off. As Herrin’s tires wore and lost some of their grip, Landers closed the gap and overtook him for the lead. Herrin hung tight to Landers, however, and Mesa37 Racing Kawasaki’s Stefano Mesa also joined the battle for the win. At the checkered flag, it was Landers who got the win over Herrin by just .364 of a second. Mesa finished third, but only .061 of a second behind Herrin.
SportbikeTrackGear.Com Junior Cup
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup is down to its final two races of the season, and Saturday’s race one ensured that the championship will be decided in race two tomorrow at Barber Motorsports Park.
Yaakov pulled a perfect last lap for the Junior Cup win.
Championship leader Cody Wyman started from the pole, but his lead was short-lived as Rodio Racing’s Gus Rodio overtook Wyman on the opening lap. Rodio was then overtaken by Altus Motorsports Kawasaki rider Kayla Yaakov, and the battle for the lead was on between Rodio and Yaakov. And then, as seems to happen in most of the Junior Cup races, especially this season, “the shuffle” was on among the lead riders. Yaakov made a strategic and gutsy pass for the lead on the final lap, and at the finish line, the Pennsylvanian prevailed by half a bike length over Bauce Racing/JL62 Team’s Joe LiMandri Jr. who stalked the leaders until the end of the final lap, then put himself in the runner-up position over third-place Rodio and very nearly won the race.
Friday
Superbike
To say that Cameron Petersen likes Barber Motorsports Park would be a gross understatement. Petersen, who won his first career MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike race here a year ago in a rainstorm, arrives in Alabama every year brimming with confidence. Well, that confidence level just skyrocketed today with provisional pole position and a new lap record of the 2.380-mile circuit.
Cameron Petersen is the pole sitter for tomorrow’s Superbike race after smashing the track record at Barber. Photos: Brian J. Nelson
Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Petersen was fast from the get-go, breaking the lap record in Free Practice 1 this morning before bettering that effort in Q1 with his 1:22.323 lap on his 18th go-around. The lap put him .595 of a second ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz.
“As long as I keep breaking it, I’m happy with that,” Petersen said when reminded his first lap record didn’t last long. “Honestly, I’m pretty damn surprised by that. Obviously, the track was a little bit more greasy this afternoon, but this bike is working so good. It’s crazy. I can’t take all the credit. The bike isn’t doing anything wrong and it’s allowing me to push to that level. I’m having fun.”
While Petersen had a perfect day, Gagne did not. With just a few laps under his belt in Q1, Gagne’s Yamaha YZF-R1 gave up the ghost and denied the defending MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion any chance of a quicker lap.
Still, he was third fastest with his best lap coming on lap four, his 1:23.310 some two-tenths quicker than Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen, the New Yorker 1.5 seconds slower than Petersen’s best.
Fifth went to Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci with the Italian having a dreadful day on the Panigale V4 R. Although the bike had the same setup as when he’d run at lap-record pace during a test here in May, Petrucci was left scratching his head and in fifth with a best of 1:24.177 – 1.8 seconds slower than Petersen.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup – Yaakov Leads ‘Em
Altus Motorsports’ Kayla Yaakov picked up where she left off with the fastest lap of Barber Motorsports Park in Friday’s SportbikeTrackGear.com Q1 session. Yaakov, who dominated a wet race two at NJMP a few weeks ago, lapped at 1:36.243 to best Bauce Racing/JL62’s Joe LiMandri Jr. by .140 of a second and championship points leader Cody Wyman on his Alpha Omega Kawasaki Ninja 400 by .199 of a second.
The top nine Junior Cuppers completed the session within a second of Yaakov.
Supersport – The Champ On Top
Josh Herrin isn’t slowing down even though he’s already the ’22 Supersport champ.
Newly crowned MotoAmerica Supersport Champion Josh Herrin earned provisional pole position on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V2, besting Landers Racing’s Rocco Landers by just .106 of a second with both riders doing their best on their 13th laps of Q1.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was third fastest, half a second off Herrin’s best.
Unfortunately, four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes was knocked out of the season finale after just the sixth lap of Free Practice 1 when he was highsided from his Squid Hunter Yamaha YZF-R6 and suffered a broken left ankle. Hayes was set to go for a record-setting 87th AMA race win this weekend.
Yuasa Stock 1000 – Alexander!
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander wrapped up the Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship a few weeks ago in New Jersey. Today, in Alabama, Alexander was again on top – this time in Friday’s Q1.
Alexander’s best was a 1:24.712 and that put him .393 of a second faster than his teammate Travis Wyman. Third fastest was Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim.
REV’IT! Twins Cup – De Keyrel’s Friday
Veloce Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel won’t get the chance to run the number-one plate in 2023 after losing out in this year’s championship. But he’s trying to squeeze the most out of that number one while he’s still got it as he earned provisional pole position for the REV’IT! Twins Cup season finale.
De Keyrel’s 1:29.398 topped Robem Engineering’s Teagg Hobbs by .483 of a second with Hobbs’ teammate Ben Gloddy ending the day third fastest. CN
2022 MotoAmerica Championship
Final Round
Barber Motorsports Park
Leeds, Alabama
RESULTS (September 23, 2022)
SUPERBIKE QUALIFYING
| 1. |
Cameron Petersen |
(Yam) |
|
| 2. |
Mathew Scholtz |
(Yam) |
0.595 |
| 3. |
Jake Gagne |
(Yam) |
0.987 |
| 4. |
PJ Jacobsen |
(BMW) |
1.531 |
| 5. |
Danilo Petrucci |
(Duc) |
1.854 |
| 6. |
Hector Barbera |
(BMW) |
1.857 |
| 7. |
Richie Escalante |
(Suz) |
1.869 |
| 8. |
Hayden Gillim |
(Suz) |
2.237 |
| 9. |
Corey Alexander |
(BMW) |
2.389 |
| 10. |
Jake Lewis |
(Suz) |
2.473 |
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