Elias Bounces Back To Win PittRace Superbike Race
Elias Wins Last-Lap War With Beaubier
WAMPUM, PA – When it comes to last-lap battles, they don’t get much better than the final lap of today’s Motul Superbike race between Toni Elias and Cameron Beaubier in the Championship of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh International Race Complex.
The 18-lap Motul Superbike race came down to the very last lap of the 2.78-mile PittRace course and featured several close passes by both riders. In the end, though, victory went to Elias and his Yoshimura Suzuki – by just .046 of a second from Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Beaubier. It was Elias’ seventh win of the season and the 23rd of his MotoAmerica Superbike career and he dedicated the victory to Brian Drebber, the MotoAmerica announcer who passed away on Thursday from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.
“It was crazy,” Elias said of the final lap. “I’m really proud of the moves these two (Cameron Beaubier and Josh Herrin) are doing during this season because I think there’s not many championships you can see this show. Some days it falls on my side, other days it falls on his side, and other days on his side. So, everybody is there to try to win. It was amazing. I tried to push all the last lap, trying to close the doors, but I knew he (Beaubier) had the pace. He was there. I knew he was there to try it and he did it. The next corner I give it back, but, honestly, I was braking really hard in the last area. He tried. It was a big surprise. I said, ‘wow, where he go?’ He did it, but at the end I was inside and I could continue leading the race until the finish line. I’m happy because this is not our favorite track. We are always struggling a lot here, but this year we’re struggling more. It looks like yesterday we found some solution. My team is giving more than what we have. I felt better than yesterday. I don’t feel comfortable. I feel I’m losing the rear too much on the entrance, on the exit. Too much spin sometimes. With these guys, especially the official Yamaha team, we’re struggling a little bit in the edge grip and that first moment when you want to go out of the corner. But today it looks like we found something was a little bit better. Was not perfect but was a big help. Thanks to my team. Let’s continue like this.”
Beaubier bounced back today after finishing fifth in yesterday’s iffy conditions and, after a slow start, caught and followed Elias until the final lap. At that point he pounced, the two exchanging blows for the entire lap until Elias’ decisive counter punch a few corners from the finish.
“The race started off not the best, I think,” Beaubier said. “I think what I did was hit the pit limiter and the launch control. So, I launched and when I was going, it just hit like a limiter at 11,000 RPM or whatever it’s set at. I made a couple quick shifts and it slotted me back to like fourth place. I was fighting for a position with Matty (Scholtz) and was able to beat him down the hill into five. (Josh) Herrin and (Garrett) Gerloff were riding really good. This place is pretty tough to pass at. I was able to sneak up the inside of Garrett and then Herrin ran or blew the chicane and let me by. Honestly that was pretty big for me because I was able to put my head down and start chipping away at Toni’s (Elias) lead. It wasn’t easy, though. He was riding really good. He definitely upped his pace from practice and yesterday. I wasn’t expecting him to be that fast. That’s all I had. I got in behind him and I just wanted to stay on his wheel and see what I could do the last five laps or so. I knew there was no way I could pass him and gap him or nothing like that. I knew that wasn’t happening. So, I waited until the end and tried to get creative. I was struggling a little bit getting a run onto the front straight into one. Then compared to last year, Toni was really good over turn two down into the braking zone into three and that was where I felt like I could capitalize on him last year, but this year wasn’t the case. It always sucks to come up short, but I was really happy with how I rode this weekend. He (Elias) deserved it. He led almost every lap of the race. Hats off to him. I’m happy we’re going into the last two rounds with a good points lead. We’ve been working so hard this year. Hats off to my guys. I’m really looking forward to going to New Jersey because I didn’t get to race here last year with my shoulder injury, so should be good.”
Third went to Saturday’s Motul Superbike winner Josh Herrin, the Georgian holding off both M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis and Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz by less than a second.
“Can do like in motocross where we get an overall?” Herrin said after posting what would have been a 1-3 moto tally. “I was happy with the race. I think the thing that I was most proud of was that I had struggled in the beginning. I had some big moments going into the corner, like (Garrett) Gerloff and (Valentin) Debise had earlier. It just got in my head. I was just kind of riding around, not really concentrating and looking forward. I was thinking, ‘is it going to do it again?’ the whole time. So, I was proud that I was able to kind of regroup and charge again and do some consistent times by myself. These guys were riding super-fast, Toni (Elias) especially. I wasn’t expecting him to be up there. I thought he was going to get a good start. I thought that Cam (Beaubier) was going to come blowing by, but Toni kept the pace and rode really well. There was a certain part of the race where I felt like me and (Mathew) Scholtz were maybe going to catch a little bit, and it was just motivating. I didn’t think we were going to catch them, but we were at least biting away a little bit and we were using those carrots to kind of move forward. Then they pushed super hard at the end and pulled away again. I lost my carrot there, but I was happy with the last lap. I was able to put my head down and do my fastest lap of the race to get away from (Jake) Lewis. Like I said yesterday, this track is amazing. It was new to me this weekend and I was kind of nervous to ride here because I didn’t think I’d do well because it was a difficult track to learn. I’m super pumped with the track and I can’t wait to come back next year. I think it’s definitely an event that we should look at coming to twice just because the fans are so good here and the track is really good, the racing is really good. I think all of us would say the same thing. We had a lot of fun. Looking forward to New Jersey.”
Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Bobby Fong finished sixth in his second race on the Honda CBR1000RR SP2, improving upon yesterday’s eighth-place finish.
Scheibe Racing BMW’s Danny Eslick was seventh after yesterday’s non-finish with KWR’s Kyle Wyman taking eighth, improving on Saturday’s 10th-place finish. Fly Street Racing’s David Anthony and Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounded out the top 10.
The only two non-finishers were notable in that they were Beaubier’s teammate Garrett Gerloff and Elias’ teammate Roger Hayden. Gerloff crashed on his own accord, with Hayden getting bumped off by Scholtz.
Despite a weekend without a victory, Beaubier has his hands firmly on the title with a 56-point lead and two rounds (four races) left to run. The Californian has 329 points to Elias’ 273. Herrin is third with 228, 101 points adrift of Beaubier. Scholtz and Gerloff round out the top five in the title chase as the series heads to New Jersey Motorsports Park in two weeks.
Supersport – It’s A Beach
JD Beach (95) leading Hayden Gillim (69) and Bryce Prince (74) during Supersport Race Two. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of MotoAmerica.
In the red-flag-shortened Supersport race, Monster Energy/Y.E.S./Graves/Yamaha rider JD Beach edged oh-so-close to clinching the 2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship when he made a strong comeback from a so-so result on Saturday at PittRace to win Sunday’s 12-lap feature, albeit by less than a second over Rickdiculous Racing/Yamaha’s Hayden Gillim.
Beach currently holds a 98-point lead over Gillim in the point standings, and he is poised to wrap up the championship at the next round in New Jersey. Yesterday’s third-place finisher Bryce Prince once again finished third aboard his RiderzLaw Racing/KWR Yamaha in the best weekend the California rider has had all season.
“We struggled quite a bit in the race yesterday after about lap six or so,” Beach said. “I think we figured out what it was, and it definitely didn’t happen again in the race for today. I felt like I had really good pace before the first red flag. After the second red flag it was like we were all in a group. (Valentin) Debise and Hayden (Gillim) were passing hard and I was passing Debise trying to get up to Hayden, and then Debise would get back by me. It was going to be a really fun race, and then I was able to get out in front. There were definitely parts of this track that I was struggling at, but I was trying to just be real quick in the parts that I was good at. We were able to get the win. I’m not too sure that would have happened if we would have gone the full race distance, but sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”
Liqui Moly Junior Cup – Oh, Canada
Alex Dumas (23) took a close victory over Cory Ventura (64) in Junior Cup Race Two. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of MotoAmerica.
In Liqui Moly Junior Cup, Saturday’s race winner Alex Dumas did the double and also notched a win on Sunday aboard his KTM Orange Brigade/JP43 Training RC390R. Dumas battled with Quarterley Racing’s Renzo Ferreira for several laps before Ferreira crashed out unhurt. Also crashing unhurt and out of the race was Yates Racing’s Ashton Yates, which opened the door for MP13 Racing Yamaha rider Cory Ventura and RiderzLaw Racing/Yamaha’s Jackson Blackmon, who finished second and third, respectively. Dumas, who now has eight race victories on the season, holds a 64-point advantage in the championship standings.
“This weekend has been incredible for me,” said Dumas. “I’m happy because I won the race and got 25 more points for the championship. I’m really happy about that. My KTM RC390R just went so well this weekend. We made a lot of changes, even all the weekend. I’m really happy how we ended up. I had a good holeshot in the first part of the race. I was able to do a big lap in the half lap, and then there was a red flag, so I just put my head down for the second part. Some guys just passed me, and I was just putting my head down and trying to be in front.”
Stock 1000 – Lee Again!
Andrew Lee (14) leading Dustin Dominguez (681) during the Stock 1000 race. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of MotoAmerica.
In Stock 1000, RiderzLaw Racing/Kawasaki’s Andrew Lee, who won his first race of the season at Sonoma Raceway during MotoAmerica’s previous round, emerged victorious again on Sunday at PittRace. The championship points leader had the measure of the field in the red-flag-shortened event and won by nearly seven seconds. Woolich Racing/Kawasaki rider Shane Richardson, who missed two races while he was back home in New Zealand, finished second. Third place went to Team Lewin Estates/Yamaha rider Chad Lewin.
“My goal coming into this weekend was to repeat Sonoma, and thankfully I did it because the crew behind me really stepped up this round and really worked super-hard,” Lee said. “To do it again, same kind of form, was just honestly a dream come true.”
Motul Superbike
1.Toni Elias (Suzuki)
2.Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
3.Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
4.Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
5.Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
Supersport
1.JD Beach (Yamaha)
2.Hayden Gillim (Yamaha)
3.Bryce Prince (Yamaha)
4.Anthony Mazziotto III (Yamaha)
5.Jason Aguilar (Yamaha)
Liqui Moly Junior Cup
1.Alex Dumas (KTM)
2.Cory Ventura (Yamaha)
3.Jackson Blackmon (Yamaha)
4.Kevin Olmedo (Yamaha)
5.Toby Khamsouk (Yamaha)
Stock 1000
1.Andrew Lee (Kawasaki)
2.Shane Richardson (Kawasaki)
3.Chad Lewin (Yamaha)
4.Travis Wyman (BMW)
5.Stephen Incledon (Yamaha)
More, from a press release issued by Yamalube/Westby Racing:
Mathew Scholtz Finishes Fifth In Sunday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race At Pittsburgh International Race Complex
Mathew Scholtz (11). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Wampum, PA – After reaching the podium with a third-place finish under partially wet/partially dry track conditions in Saturday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, Mathew Scholtz came to the track on Sunday morning and was the fastest rider in the Superbike warmup session, which gave Mathew and the Yamalube/Westby Racing team increased confidence heading into the afternoon’s Superbike Race 2. And, while Mathew didn’t emerge with another podium finish to match his Saturday result, he did finish fifth to round out a very solid weekend.
Mathew started Sunday’s race from fifth on the starting grid, and he advanced forward in the running order to as high as third at about the midway point of the race, but as the laps wound down, the “Durban Dynamo” ultimately had to settle for fifth at the checkered flag.
The two top-five finishes solidified Mathew’s fourth-place position in the championship with two rounds and four Superbike races left in the 2018 season.
Commenting on his weekend, Mathew said, “I got a terrible start, which has unfortunately become a habit for me this year. I had to make some aggressive passes in the opening laps, and I came together with Roger (Hayden), which caused him to crash. I’m very sorry that happened. The track temperature was higher today, and I was slipping and sliding everywhere. I got by (Josh) Herrin at one point, and I held a pretty decent pace. Then, I got into a dogfight with (Jake) Lewis for a couple of laps and almost high-sided on the final lap. I’m happy to be close to the podium, and we’ll keep moving forward.”
Round 9 of the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will take place at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, on August 14 through 26.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha – 329
2. Toni Elias – Suzuki – 273
3. Josh Herrin – 228
4. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 190
For more updates about Yamalube/Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Team Hammer:
HIGH DRAMA FOR TEAM HAMMER IN PITTSBURGH
Team Hammer concluded a trophy-winning MotoAmerica weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in mixed fashion, combining multiple strong performances with stinging disappointment.
Jake Lewis (85). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Superbike ace Jake Lewis stepped into the spotlight on Sunday with a stirring ride in the premier-class shootout. The former Superbike Rookie of the Year again charged his way up from 12th on the grid aboard his fire-breathing GSX-R1000 and elbowed his way into podium contention.
From there, Lewis battled with a pair of 2018 Superbike race winners as they fought over the final spot on the box. Lewis slotted up into fourth late and was looking for a way into third when the checkered flag brought the thrilling showdown to an end. The result was Lewis’ 10th top-five of the season. He currently ranks sixth in Superbike points at 166
“It was a pretty good race for us. Starting further back than usual made it tougher but we made some good passes and had a couple of crashes in front of us and then we were fighting for the podium again,” said Lewis. “The team worked very hard, as usual, and the bike was performing great in the race. With the rain this weekend, it left everyone looking for more grip but our bike was working well and it was up to me to make it happen for the podium. I didn’t quite get it but we got fourth and we can build on that.”
Unfortunately, Lewis’ M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate, Valentin Debise, was unable to repeat his Supersport race-winning heroics from the day before, despite giving all that he had — and then some.
The Frenchman went wheel to wheel with his rivals, executing a number of brave and creative passes as the race took shape in its early stages. But Debise crashed out spectacularly just after passing up into second position.
Debise was able to return to his feet after the terrifying, bike-destroying crash, but was transported to a local hospital where he was treated, cleared to fly home to France, and released. Despite the DNF, he continues to rank third in points at 150.
Meanwhile, M4 medAge Suzuki’s Nick McFadden and M4 RiCK! Suzuki’s Daytona Anderson collected a pair of top-10 Supersport results in Debise’s absence.
McFadden was in the mix for fourth before a red flag ended the race a couple laps prematurely. He was ultimately credited with seventh, less than 0.7-second behind fourth.
Similarly, Anderson finished 10th despite being involved in a fight for eighth before the red flag brought the race to an early end.
Team Hammer will be back in action in just two weeks as the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship heads to its penultimate round at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, on September 7-9.
About Team Hammer
The 2018 season marks Team Hammer’s 38th consecutive year of competing as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 70 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 200 times and have won five AMA Pro National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships. The team has also won 135 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles, and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
More, from a press release issued by KTM North America:
KTM ORANGE BRIGADE’S ALEX DUMAS SWEEPS BOTH MOTOAMERICA JUNIOR CUP RACES AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL RACE COMPLEX
Round 8 – MotoAmerica Junior Cup
WAMPUM, Pa. – KTM Orange Brigade rider Alex Dumas is now two steps closer to claiming the inaugural MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship following a dominant 1-1 performance at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania over the weekend. With two victories at the eighth round, Dumas now has a 64-point lead in the championship standings with only two rounds remaining.
Alex Dumas (23). Photo by Brock Imaging, courtesy of KTM North America.
His teammate, Sean Ungvarsky, struggled through a difficult weekend. He had a good first qualifying session on Friday afternoon but transponder problems prevented his fast laps during Saturday morning’s qualifying session to be recorded. Ungvarsky consequently started both races from 19th place on the MotoAmerica Junior Cup grid.
Saturday’s Race 1 saw Dumas and Ungvarsky each capture good starts aboard the KTM RC 390 R. Dumas found himself in a three-way battle at the front before the race was red-flagged. The race was restarted with five laps to go, and Dumas got a great start and he made a move for the lead at the track’s corkscrew-like Turn 3/4 complex on the first lap of the restarted race. The battle at the front was intense, and Dumas was declared the race winner when the race ended with a second red flag. His margin of victory was 0.186 seconds. Ungvarsky had moved up four positions when the first red flag came out, and he ultimately finished inside the points in 14th place.
Dumas took the holeshot in Sunday’s Race 2. The race was red flagged, and Dumas went right back to leading the field when the race was restarted and he led six of eight laps to claim his second victory of the weekend by 0.109 seconds. Ungvarsky didn’t get off to the best start and he dropped back to 20th place before rebounding to claim 14th in Race 2.
The next round of the MotoAmerica Junior Cup takes place at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey on Sept. 7-9, 2018. Dumas won both KTM RC 390 Cup races there in 2017, and Ungvarsky scored a podium finish so the team looks forward to continuing past success at the penultimate round.
Chris Fillmore, KTM Orange Brigade Team Manager: “Obviously, it was a great showing from Alex this weekend. He’s extended his points lead to where he could wrap up the championship at New Jersey. It was a tough weekend for Sean. We know he is a talented young rider and are going to work hard at the next round to help him regain the form he showed earlier this season.”
Alex Dumas, #23 KTM Orange Brigade Rider: “Friday was good for us. I was second in practice and ended up third in qualifying. We made some suspension changes Saturday morning, and I was able to claim pole position for the weekend. I had a good battle going in Race 1 and was able score a tough victory. I didn’t go out for warm-up this morning because the track was still wet from the overnight rain. I had a one-second lead going when the red flag came out and I got another good start on the restart and was able to back off my pace a little bit toward the end. I really want to win the championship at New Jersey. I just want to get a good rhythm going there, ride smart and take home the inaugural MotoAmerica Junior Cup title.”
Sean Ungvarsky, #48 KTM Orange Brigade Rider: “Last year this track was the first one I rode after blowing out my ACL. I showed up here and ended up riding better than I had at any previous MotoAmerica to that point. With my past success here, I was looking forward to a rebound in my on-track performance. I love this track. It is as smooth as a tennis court and is a lot of fun to ride. Practice and Friday’s qualifying went pretty well and I felt like I was riding well, but there was a problem with our transponder. We got the problem resolved, but I crashed on my out lap from the pits and was unable to put in another fast time. I ended up having to settle for qualifying 19th. I got caught in traffic in both races and wasn’t able to make the forward progress I wanted. I still had a great time here at Pittsburgh. The fans here are great. I am hoping for better things at the next round at New Jersey. I was on pole there last year and am aiming to be battling at the front again there.”
More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing:
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias Scores Victory at PittRace
Exhilarating Final-Lap Battle in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race
Toni Elias (1) and Cameron Beaubier (6) fought hard on the final lap of MotoAmerica Motul Superbike Race Two at PittRace. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
Wampum, PA — Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Toni Elias scored a nail-biting victory in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Superbike race at Pittsburgh International Race Complex (PittRace). Defending series champ Elias and current series leader Cameron Beaubier passed each other several times on the final lap with Elias scratching and clawing his way to his seventh victory of the year.
His win, combined with his fourth-place on Saturday, drew Elias seven-points closer in the series standings. Elias is now 57 points back (329-273) with four races remaining in the 2018 championship.
Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Roger Hayden had a tough outing at PittRace, finishing seventh in Saturday’s race and crashing out of Sunday’s after another rider made contact with him.
Roger Hayden (95). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
In Sunday’s race Elias was able to quickly power to the front of the field on his Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000. Elias looked strong throughout the 18-lap final, but in the closing laps Beaubier moved up to make a challenge. In a thrilling final lap the leading duo got into a heated exchange, swapping the lead several times before Elias finally wrestled away control of the race in the final few turns.
“Cameron has been so strong here this weekend I didn’t think I would be able to run this pace,” Elias said. “My team asked me to try a different setup and I agreed to do it and it worked to perfection. It was a great battle and we were both on the limit. I think it was a great race for the fans. I want to dedicate this victory to our announcer Brian Drebber. He was great man and we will miss him.”
Elias was referring to MotoAmerica track announcer Brian Drebber who tragically passed away on Thursday.
For Hayden things were setting up for a much better race for him on Sunday when the collision occurred.
“I had a good start and made some good passes,” Hayden explained. “Then at turn six another guy got up inside of me hit my elbow and down I went. It was disappointing because we had pretty good pace, I’m looking forward to New Jersey. It’s a track that I like and we’re hoping to have a good weekend there.”
Hayden is ranked eighth in the championship.
Next up for the team is the Championship of New Jersey at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 7-9 in Millville, NJ. All the action is televised on beIN Sports.
More, from a press release issued by Kyle Wyman Racing:
Wyman makes progress, Prince scores podiums at Pittsburgh International Race Complex
Kyle Wyman (33). Photo by Brian J. Nelson.
WAMPUM, Pa. — The KWR team brought home solid finishes this weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Kyle Wyman finished 10th/8th in Superbike races one and two on his Harv’s/KWR Yamaha, while Bryce Prince scored his first ever podium results in the Supersport class with a 3rd/3rd on the weekend on his RiderzLaw/KWR Yamaha.
For Wyman, the weekend started out with a new suspension package on his Superbike. The KWR team went to work developing and working with the Ohlins forks and shock to get Wyman comfortable on the bike, trying multiple valving settings throughout the day. In Saturday’s Superpole session, Wyman was able to put his Yamaha 6th on the grid, his best qualifying result of the season.
“Friday for me was like starting over from scratch,” Wyman said. “Working with the new parts, we had to find my comfort with the suspension as quick as possible. By the time we hit Superpole, I already had a bike that I was more comfortable on than I had been all year. The results showed, and I was able to put the thing on the second row again, like we did all of last year. It felt good to have that view again on the starting grid.”
With that good work in the books, the KWR crew prepped the bike for race one. A surprise rain shower before the sighting lap soaked half of the race track, and the race was delayed slightly. With most of the track dry, the race would start as usual and riders would hit the track on slicks, despite the wet areas. Wyman got a good start and battled in the top-5 early on, but dropped back to 10th as conditions changed.
“Race one was a tough race and I feel like I rode pretty well,” Wyman said. “In the middle of the race I was pretty solid in 5th place and working into the track as it dried out. Those conditions are really sketchy. I was able to continue going faster each lap but was overtaken by a bunch of guys who simply were willing to take more risk than me.”
The Superbike warm-up session on Sunday morning was wet as well, and riders went out in a mix of different tire choices to prepare for the unpredictable weather forecast for Sunday afternoon. Luckily the race was run under beautiful sunny skies, and Wyman got off to a great start at the beginning of race two.
Wyman found himself 5th after the turn one shuffling, and remained right in the lead group for over two laps. It was the first time all year that he’d gotten off with the leaders and stayed there for a bit, and brought confidence to the entire KWR crew.
“I finally was able to get a great start, and starting from the second row helped a lot,” Wyman said. “I got aggressive in the first few corners and it paid off, I found myself following Cam (Beaubier) for the first two laps and was latched onto him pretty good.”
Wyman stuck in the lead group until an aggressive pass from Mat Scholtz pushed him wide in turn 6, and ultimately caused another overtake by Bobby Fong. Wyman battled arm pump from lap four on, and dropped back to 8th to finish race two.
Wyman’s fatigue was likely caused by overworking and overtraining, as he spent four days at Pittsburgh before the race weekend started, conducting two-up rides and coaching riders for the likes of N2 Track Days and Yamaha Champions Riding School. Wyman rode 7 of 9 days spent at the circuit total.
“Overall I’m super happy, because we’ve found a great direction with the bike,” Wyman said. “Our pace in the beginning of the race before I got arm pump shows that the bike is capable of fighting at the front. I overworked myself this week with all the coaching and riding, but those are just things I need to do to help me keep my race program going. My plan is to rest, recover and start with this new setting we’ve found on my Superbike and be ready to fight at the front at New Jersey.”
Asked about the prospect of another podium finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Wyman says he’s feeling even more confident than he did last year, where we scored his first career podium with a 2nd place finish in race two.
“Moving to another suspension brand mid-season was a big decision for us, a risky move, and one that I did not take lightly,” Wyman added. “I want to thank K-Tech for all of their support over the past few years, as we’ve had a lot of success together and their product is world-class. However, in light of this strategic decision, I feel like we now have our best chance for results in New Jersey, so we had to make this change for Pittsburgh. We basically used this race weekend as a test, and now we know exactly what we have and what the bike is capable of. You’ve got to pull an arrow back to shoot it forward, and I feel like we’ve invested our time wisely at this point.”
Wyman retains 7th place in series points standings.
The New Jersey MotoAmerica round is in two week’s time, September 7-9, 2018.
Bryce Prince earns career best results in Supersport with double podium finishes!
After a long season of progression and hard work, the RiderzLaw/KWR Supersport team finally achieved podium results at Pittsburgh International Race Complex. Bryce Prince finished 3rd in both races over the weekend.
“Two podiums on the weekend is like a dream come true for me,” Prince said. “A few weeks ago I called Kyle (Wyman) and told him about my budget concerns, and at the time thought I would have to miss the Pittsburgh round in order to finish off the season. Luckily, with the support of RiderzLaw, we were able to make it here and I’m glad we were able to repay them with podium finishes in both races. Hard work has paid off for me and my crew.”
Prince battled hard with points leader JD Beach nearly flag-to-flag in race one, beating out the factory rider in a last lap duel, in spectacular fashion. A well-earned first podium for Prince gave him the confidence to repeat the feat on Sunday. Prince jumped to 4th in series points standings from 7th, and now is only 14 points shy of the third place competitor and Saturday race-winner Valentin Debise. Prince also earned the fastest lap of the race in Sunday’s race two.
“A podium, and fastest lap of the race on Sunday, it feels good,” Prince added. “Louis and Chris have been great to me all year, believing in me and the whole KWR team has supported me this year. To think where I was before the season and to be having these results is confidence inspiring for New Jersey. Next round can’t come soon enough!”
The MotoAmerica series heads to New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J., September 7-9, 2018. Stay tuned for news and updates in the coming week.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Beaubier Claims Close Second-Place Finish in Superbike Race 2 at Pittsburgh International Race Complex
JD Beach Leads Yamaha bLU cRU Podium Sweep in the Supersport Class
Pittsburgh, Pa. – August 27, 2018 – Superbike points leader Cameron Beaubier continued his pursuit of a third career title at the MotoAmerica Championship of Pittsburgh, earning valuable points with a hard-fought second-place finish in Race 2 on Sunday. With two rounds remaining in the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, Beaubier holds a 56-point lead in the championship standings.
Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing Superbike Team
As the green flag waved to start Superbike Race 2, Beaubier was ready to launch his R1 from the pole-position to the front of the pack when he accidentally missed a shift after leaving the starting line. The error resulted in Beaubier rolling back to fourth place, but he quickly went to work and caught up to his third-place teammate, Garrett Gerloff. After moving into the third-place position, Beaubier set his sights on Yamaha bLU cRU rider Josh Herrin, passing him for second place on lap four.
Beaubier charged away from the rest of the field, then closed the gap on race-leader Toni Elias and pressured him for the lead position throughout the second half of the race. With one lap to go, Beaubier completed a successful pass for the lead, but Elias managed to reclaim the position. Beaubier rode smart and kept charging all the way to the final straightaway, where he narrowly missed the race victory by 0.046 of a second.
Garrett Gerloff took advantage of the power of his R1 and a front row starting position to battle at the front of the pack during the first laps of the race. Gerloff swapped positions early on with Herrin and then Beaubier, but a race-ending high-side crash on lap six brought his weekend to an early end. Luckily, Gerloff escaped uninjured and will set his sights on a podium finish at the next round of racing in New Jersey.
Cameron Beaubier – #6 YZF-R1
“I missed a shift off the starting line that hurt my first lap, but the R1 and I were able to make our way back up to Toni [Elias] in the lead. I was trying to be patient and make my move at the end of the race. We diced back and forth and came up barely short of the win. I’m glad and proud to leave here smart and safe with a firm points lead going into the last two rounds.”
Garrett Gerloff – #31 YZF-R1
“After the crazy race yesterday, it was nice to know that we were going to have a dry race today. I felt like I had a good start and some good pace on my R1 in the race, but unfortunately on the sixth lap after passing Herrin for third place, I had an off-throttle deceleration high-side going into turn 12. I’m really, really disappointed with how everything ended today. I really had high hopes for the race today, but sometimes the unpredictable happens and all you can do is look forward. On to New Jersey!”
Tom Halverson – Team Manager
“Cameron gave it his best on his R1 with a very exciting last lap battle, missing the win by just 0.046 seconds. We are happy, though, to go into the last two rounds with a very solid points lead for the championship. Garrett was also feeling great on his R1 today, so it was very frustrating for him to go down. He made another step in the right direction and knows he is close to consistently running at the front.”
2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings – 16 of 20 Series Races Completed
Pos.Rider Points
1Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 329
2 Toni Elias – Suzuki 273
3 Josh Herrin – Yamaha 228
4 Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha 190
5 Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 177
7 Kyle Wyman – Yamaha 130
Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Supersport Team
JD Beach came into Sunday’s Supersport Race 2 looking to return to the top of the podium with his R6, but fellow Yamaha bLU cRU racers Hayden Gillim and Bryce Prince were up for the challenge. At the start of Race 2, Beach immediately went to work by launching his R6 to the front of the pack on the opening lap of the race, but a red flag incident sent all of the riders back to the grid for a restart. When the green flag waved to start the race again, Beach found himself engaged in a battle with Valentin Debise, who suffered an unfortunate crash, leaving Beach in third place. Beach set his sights on Prince for second place, made his move to claim the position, and then focused on race-leader Gillim. The duo swapped the lead several times before another red flag came out with two laps to go, ultimately ending the race with Beach in first place.
JD Beach – #95 YZF-R6
“Well today for Race 2 it was a crazy one. Lots of crashes and red flags, so I hope everyone is OK. But it was good to bounce back from our race yesterday. My R6 was working awesome and let me battle hard. The group of us were throwing passes left and right, and it was a ton of fun. Pittsburgh was a great track, but NJMP [New Jersey Motorsports Park] can’t come soon enough!”
Chuck Graves – Team Owner
“JD had an exciting race today, swapping the lead position many times during the shortened race. In the end, JD and the R6 scored another victory for the history books.”
2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings – 13 of 17 Series Races Completed
Pos.RiderPoints
1JD Beach – Yamaha303
2 Hayden Gillim – Yamaha 205
3 Valentin Debise – Suzuki 150
4 Bryce Prince – Yamaha 136
Additional Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Notes
Attack Performance/Herrin Compound/Yamaha’s Josh Herrin put his R1 back on the podium with a third-place finish in Sunday’s Superbike Race 2 after charging hard in the final laps of the race. Fresh from winning Race 1 in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Herrin got off to a good start in Race 2, but a mistake caused him to get shuffled into a top-five position early on. Herrin held on, though, and dug deep in the middle of the race to come back and claim the final podium position.
In Supersport action, Rickdiculous Racing’s Hayden Gillim put up a great fight against race-winner JD Beach, and led the most laps of Sunday’s shortened Race 2. Following the red flag restart after a crash on the opening lap, Gillim put his R6 out front from the beginning and fought hard to hold off Beach. Despite a hard charge by Gillim after Beach moved into the lead, the race was cut short on lap nine due to another red flag, and Gillim was scored with a second-place finish. Bryce Prince completed the Yamaha bLU cRU podium sweep, piloting his Riderzlaw Racing/KWR R6 to a solid third-place finish.
The Graves/Yamaha R3 Support Program riders made big strides on Sunday by capturing second through fifth-place finishes in Race 2 of the MotoAmerica Junior Cup. MP13 Racing’s Cory Ventura was once again at the helm of the Yamaha bLU cRU pack, making his second podium appearance of the weekend with second-place finish in Race 2. Ventura was joined on the podium by RiderzLaw Racing’s Jackson Blackmon in third., while MonkeyMoto/AGVSPORT’s Kevin Olmedo and Toby K Racing’s Toby Khamsouk finished just off the podium with fourth and fifth places, respectively.
“The Graves/Yamaha R3 riders fought hard today,” said Chuck Graves, “They managed to take four of the top-five positions, and narrowly missed the win at the finish line.”
The Yamaha bLU cRU riders will head to Millville, New Jersey Sept. 7-9 for Round 9 of the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship series at New Jersey Motorsports Park. For complete schedule details, visit: http://motoamerica.com/.
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing
Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on your favorite social media site.
More, from a press release issued by Quarterley Racing/On Track Development:
Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Team – Pitt Race report
Jamie Astudillo:
Jamie did a fantastic job of racing at Pitt with a great pace and true consistency. Qualifying wasn’t quite what she was hoping for but in her usual form, she advanced quickly into the top ten and eventually making it to 6th in both the re-started and shortened race on Saturday, and the same on Sunday. She managed to move forward in both and put in a great pair of solid finishes. Sunday’s race caught some riders out from being a green track after hard rain early in the morning. Jamie put down a fast lap of 1:58.609 in Saturday’s race.
Jamie’s recap of the Pitt Race weekend:
Pittsburgh started off as a struggle. Everyone was going fast and so many riders were within the same second. I qualified 17th, and managed to finish 6th in both races which I would say wasn’t too bad. The team made some changes and put a great bike underneath me. Dale and I worked on things and I improved. So overall it was a good weekend for the whole team!
Dallas Daniels:
In his first event since his wrist injury, Dallas took some time to assess his fitness to ride at race pace and wisely came up to speed with some caution throughout the weekend. His progress was steady and in Sunday’s race he was closer to the pace under those circumstances. Finishing 13th with a fast lap of 1:59.628 was a positive and the NJMP event we hope to see him back to 100%.
Dallas had this to say:
Being my first weekend back after my injury, it started out pretty rough with qualifying 23rd. I just wasn’t feeling comfortable at first. So we ended up 17th in race 1 after the red flag, which I wasn’t very happy with. I went into race 2 with more confidence and determination after talking with my crew chief and coach, Dale Quarterley about what I needed to do different. In race 2 I had a good race and finished 13th, and really started riding the motorcycle again. All in all it was a fair weekend and we will go into New Jersey better and faster.
Renzo Ferreira- Third team rider after serving as fill in at Utah and Sonoma:
Renzo did a fantastic job of filling in for Dallas while he was recovering. The team decided to add him to the entries for the remaining rounds as Dallas has recovered and is back in action. He did a great job of learning the Pitt Race circuit in a short time and said he really liked it’s layout and flow. He was working through some issues in P1 but quickly adapted once that was resolved and got right up to speed with a pace to run with the lead pack. His fast lap of the weekend in the red flagged first sector of Saturday’s race was a 1:56.960.
From Renzo:
I’m happy to continue riding with the Quarterley Racing/ On Track Development team. This was my first time at Pitt Race. At the beginning we had an issue with the Quick Shifter so I had to run the full session with that problem. It was fixed for the afternoon qualifying session which made me go 2.5 seconds quicker than practice that morning. We had a good race on Saturday starting from P7. My times dropped a lot during the race and I was able to keep up with the top 5 riders, making it to 2nd, but a second red flag in the race moved me back to 5th from the last completed lap. The race on Sunday was going really well for me until the last lap. We had a great start and that helped me to fight in the top 5 with Dumas, Yates, Ventura and Blackmon. I was leading a good part of the race and on the last lap trying to gap my opponents and I crashed out going into Turn four at the end of the back straight. I was really frustrated! I have to say thanks to the Quarterley Racing Team for giving me the opportunity one more time. They did a great job this weekend. Thank you all so much!
From Bob Robbins:
With some ups and downs throughout the weekend, as a team we came away with a positive overall outcome. Adding a third rider made for some hustling by the team, but we managed to cover everything. Paul Arciszewski, Ron Barrick and Mark Reynolds make it look much easier than it is to keep things moving along for three riders. It was really nice to see a good turnout of spectators and the level of enthusiasm. Watching our three riders interact and discuss their various thoughts on the track and hang out through the weekend showed a great dynamic between them and the whole team which is vital to have any chance of success. On a sad note, the shocking news of Brian Drebber passing away weighed in on everyone there that knew him. In the spirit of his Fun Meter button which he always wore and was set at red line, I think everyone just did what they could to uphold that attitude. The loss of Brian is a void that will be hard to fill.
Team Sponsors:
Fast By Ferracci, Yoshimura, Regina, Moto-D, Motul, Earl’s Racing Team, Inter-Tech, Scott Powersports, Beta Tools, Defiance Lifestyle Clothing, Fast Bike Industries, Drippin’ Wet Graphics, Dynojet , Woodcraft
Dallas Daniels personal sponsors:
Arai Helmets, medAge, Apex Manufacturing, TCX, Drill Tech, N2 Track Days
Jamie Astudillo personal sponsors:
Bell Helmets, medAge, One-X Suits, TCX, S.O.B. MX, Ohlins, N2 Track Days
Renzo Ferreira personal sponsors:
AGV Sports, Team Pro-Motion, Street & Comp