Cycle News Staff | July 7, 2023
Sunday Superbike
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier had about as good of a Sunday as a person can have as he stormed to two MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike victories at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca a day after what was for him, a miserable Saturday.
Beaubier had similar battles in both of the Medallia Superbike races but with different foes. In race one, he hounded Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne for 15 of the 20 laps before making a pass and pulling away to a 2.423-second win over the defending two-time champion. Three hours later, Beaubier did it again only this time it was Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin leading until the very last lap only to get passed by Beaubier, who won his second race on the day – this time by .620 of a second.
Cameron Beaubier (6) got the jump on the Medallia Superbike pack in the third of three races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday on the Monterey Peninsula.
Beaubier’s two wins were his fourth and fifth of the season and the 58th and 59th of his AMA Superbike career. The two wins came a day after he crashed out of race one on the opening lap after Cameron Petersen crashed in front of him, leaving him nowhere to go.
Herrin, who is still nursing the injuries suffered in his Q2 crash at Ridge Motorsports Park two weeks ago, was third and second in the two races on Sunday.
Gagne, the championship points leader, was second in race one and crossed the line second in race two, as well. However, he was given a two-second penalty for exceeding track limits and that penalty dropped him to third behind Herrin.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante continues to prove that he’s now a Medallia Superbike front runner as he scored two fourth-place finishes on Sunday, beating Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen in both races by 7.9 and 1.4 seconds, respectively.
Cameron Beaubier (6) led Jake Gagne (1) across the finish line in race three, but Gagne was penalized two seconds for exceeding track limits and was dropped to third behind Josh Herrin (2).
Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz had a weekend to forget as he finished sixth and eighth in the two Sunday races.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen couldn’t match his podium finish from Saturday on Sunday as mechanical problems knocked him out of race two prior to him finishing sixth in race three.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch, meanwhile, had a weekend he will always remember as he concluded his factory Suzuki debut weekend with eighth- and seventh-place finishes a day after finishing fifth.
The third of the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RRs was ridden to seventh and ninth in Sunday’s two races by Corey Alexander.
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim had a busy day with two Superbike races and a Mission King Of The Baggers race and he was ninth and 10th in the two Superbike races.
After five rounds and 11 races, Gagne and Beaubier each have five wins, but Gagne has a 34-point lead on his former teammate, 217-183. Herrin, with one victory on the year, is third with 178 points. Escalante and his 127 points are eight better than Scholtz, who slips to fifth in the championship points chase.
Superbike Race Two
- Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Josh Herrin (Ducati)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Corey Alexander (BMW)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Max Flinders (Yamaha)
Superbike Race Three
- Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
- Josh Herrin (Ducati)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Corey Alexander (BMW)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
Saturday Superbike
Jake Gagne cast a lonely shadow on the front row of the grid for the second part of the red-flag-interrupted Medallia Superbike race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Saturday as the other two front-row starters were nowhere to be seen.
A scary crash on the exit of turn two on the opening lap of the first start had taken out pole sitter Cameron Beaubier and Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen. Prior to the restart, Richie Escalante – the third fastest qualifier – had a brake issue and missed the sighting lap and was put to the back of the grid. Thus, a lonely Gagne was the only rider on the front row while the second row also lacked Petersen who, like Beaubier, was unable to make the restart.
But first things first. The crash. With Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Petersen nabbing the holeshot from the second row, he led the field through turn two and then highsided on the exit. Beaubier and the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR had nowhere to go, and he slammed into Petersen’s crashed Yamaha YZF-R1 and also went down. At that point the race was stopped.
On the restart, Gagne wasn’t challenged, and he led every one of the 19 laps, eventually crossing the finish line 5.3 seconds clear of second place. The victory was the fifth of the year for the championship points leader and his Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 and the 34th of his career.
A battered and bruised Josh Herrin finished second on the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, besting a fast-closing PJ Jacobsen on the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR. The red flag cost Jacobsen any chance of a late-race attack on Herrin and he finished just .368 of a second behind the
Ducati.
Considering he started from the back row of the grid, Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante continued to show that he’s a top-tier Superbike racer as he carved his way through the field to latch on to the back of the Jacobsen/Mathew Scholtz battle for third. When Scholtz crashed out of the race with two laps to go, Escalante inherited fourth place just hours after earning the first Superbike front-row starting spot of his career in the second qualifying session on Saturday morning. Scholtz’s crash in Rainey Curve brought out a second red flag and the race was called complete.
Escalante’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Brandon Paasch finished an impressive fifth in his debut on the factory Suzuki GSX-R1000R. It was also Paasch’s comeback ride after he suffered a broken back in an off-season motocross crash.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong ended up sixth with Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim seventh. Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander, Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders and Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates completed the top 10.
Superbike Race One
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Josh Herrin (Ducati)
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
- Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Corey Alexander (BMW)
- Max Flinders (Yamaha)
- Ashton Yates (BMW)
Supersport
Xavi Fores wasn’t overly confident going into Saturday’s “Extended” Supersport race after suffering the first two crashes of his season on Thursday and Saturday morning. He also knew that Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes had good pace. Put those two things together and it was as close to trouble as Fores has been in all year.
But then it all fell into place when the race started. Fores suddenly felt more comfortable, and he could match Hayes’ pace, though he did lose valuable time in lapped traffic just prior to the mandatory pit stops.
And the pit stop is where Fores won the race, though it wasn’t in his pit. The race was handed to him when Hayes’ crew struggled to get the front wheel into the fork during his stop and it ultimately cost him victory.
At the completion of the 38-lap race, Fores was 12.685 seconds ahead of Hayes and had his eighth straight win in hand. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott finished third with the youngster being caught and passed by Hayes in the closing laps.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Teagg Hobbs rounded out the top five.
Mission King Of The Baggers
Talk about a wild finish. Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’ Tyler O’Hara stuffedhis way past H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Kyle Wyman heading into the Corkscrew and held that lead all the way to the final corner. With his Indian snaking under braking, O’Hara flicked it into the final corner, lost the front end and crashed. But that’s not all. Just a millisecond later, Wyman made exactly the same miscue and both riders found themselves trying to pick up their motorcycles.
Meanwhile, Vance & Hines/Mission/Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim streaked past to score his first victory in the class – 2.9 seconds ahead of his teammate James Rispoli with the pair smiling under their helmets like five-year-olds at Christmas.
Ditto for Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian’s Bobby Fong, who also found himself gifted with a podium finish.
O’Hara won the race of the fallen to finish fourth, just ahead of Team Saddlemen’s Jake Lewis.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship
Jeremy McWilliams flew back to Northern Ireland an angry man after learning that his first-career Super Hooligan victory at Ridge Motorsports Park was taken from him due to a protest that resulted in his disqualification for a technical infraction.
McWilliams stewed for the two weeks, but came back with a vengeance, leading the practice sessions, qualifying on pole, and winning Saturday’s race by a scant .071 of a second on his Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods Indian FTR1200 over DiBrino Racing KTM’s Andy DiBrino.
Cory West rode the Team Saddlemen Harley-Davidson Pan America to third place.
REV’IT! Twins Cup
REV’IT! Twins Cup had their first race of the weekend on Saturday, and pole sitter Rocco Landers notched his fifth win of the season by more than four seconds aboard his Robem Engineering Aprilia in a contest where he was chased by his stablemate, Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio. For Rodio, it was his sixth podium aboard his Aprilia RS 660. Finishing third after overtaking defending class champion Blake Davis was Dominic Doyle aboard his Team Iso Yamaha YZF-R7.
Friday Superbike
Six of the Medallia Superbike riders are within a second of provisional pole man Cameron Beaubier after the first of two qualifying sessions at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Friday afternoon, throwing doubt into tomorrow’s first of three races on the newly repaved racetrack on the Monterey Peninsula.
Beaubier’s best lap was his eighth on a chilly and breezy Friday afternoon, the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion lapping at 1:23.489 to top his Tytlers Cycle Racing teammate PJ Jacobsen by .344 of a second. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante was fast all day and that didn’t stop in Q1 as he sped to a 1:23.856 to land on the provisional front row. Escalante was the final rider to circulate in the 1:23s.
Beaubier maxed it out on Friday with the fastest Superbike time.
Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz was fourth fastest, .682 of a second off Beaubier’s best and just .012 of a second ahead of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Racing’s Josh Herrin.
Championship leader Jake Gagne not on the provisional front row is a surprise. Gagne barely making it on the second row is downright shocking, but that’s where he ended up on the session that was shortened by some five minutes with a red flag.
Gagne’s Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing teammate Cameron Petersen ended the session in seventh and the last rider on the same second as Beaubier.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch completed his first Q1 session on the team’s second GSX-R1000R in eighth, the youngster adapting quickly to the Superbike left vacated by Toni Elias’ surprise retirement
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Corey Alexander and Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10.
Supersport
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa led Friday’s Supersport Q1 session with his 1:27.577 lap besting Squid Hunter Racing’s Josh Hayes by just .240 of a second to earn the Floridian provisional pole position.
The provisional front row was completed by Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott with the youngster lapping at 1:28.053, which was just a tick quicker than North East Cycle Outlet Racing’s Anthony Mazziotto.
Scott’s teammate Teagg Hobbs ended the session fifth-fastest with Xavi Fores sixth, the championship leader (with seven straight wins) just over a second off Mesa. Fores had the first crash of his rookie MotoAmerica season on Thursday and was struggling with front-end grip and a lack of confidence.
REV’IT Twins Cup
Robem Engineering’s Rocco Landers led the way in the REV’IT! Twins Cup Q1 session at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Friday with the 2021 Twins Cup Champion lapping at 1:30.741 to better Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio by half a second.
The WagBar MP13 Racing Team’s Kayla Yaakov ended the day third fastest, 1.8 seconds behind Landers’ best and just .005 of a second ahead of Cycle Tech’s Hayden Schultz. Trackday Winner/Blackmon Racing’s Jackson Blackmon rounded out the top five.
Mission King Of The Baggers
H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Kyle Wyman was the King of Friday’s Q1 session in the Mission King Of The Baggers class as the 2021 class champion lapped at 1:28.586 to top the timesheets.
Vance & Hines/Mission/Harley-Davidson’s Hayden Gillim was second fastest and just .423 of a second slower than Wyman. The provisional front row was filled by Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods-backed Tyler O’Hara with the defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion .616 of a second off Wyman’s best.
Gillim’s teammate James Rispoli, meanwhile, was fourth with Roland Sands Design/Indian Motorcycle’s Kyle Ohnsorg rounding out the top five.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship
Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’ Jeremy McWiliams had his first Mission Super Hooligan National Championship win taken away from him two weeks ago at Ridge Motorsports Park when he and teammate Tyler O’Hara were protested and ultimately DQ’d for a technical infraction.
Judging by his performance in Friday’s Q1 session, it might not be a good idea to make McWilliams angry as the Northern Irelander put a whuppin’ on the rest of the field with his 1:29.298 almost a second quicker than DiBrino Racing KTM’s Andy DiBrino.
O’Hara ended the session third fastest and 1.3 seconds slower than his teammate McWilliams.
Former Superbike race winner Larry Pegram made his Super Hooligan debut a good one as he rode his Roland Sands Design/Indian Motorcycle FTR1200 to the fourth fastest time in his first race of any kind in 2023. Team Saddlemen’s Cory West was fifth fastest on his Harley-Davidson Pan America.
