Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Team Claims 2-2 Finishes at Laguna Seca Superbike
Following 4-3 finishes at round four of the 2021 MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Championship in Ridge Motorsports Park, Sheldon, Wash., the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Team and rider Loris Baz arrived at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in California confident for additional podium finishes.
The reason was simple; the team already had data from the Ducati Panigale V4 R, and Baz had raced at Laguna Seca before— although never on a Ducati with Dunlop tires. The confidence paid off, and the 28-year-old Frenchman rode consistently to take second in both races at round five—the best performance so far this season.
The team wasted no time getting up to speed during Friday’s practice and qualifying, and secured second place to start Saturday’s race one. During race one, Baz got off to a quick start ahead of a red flag. Although Baz was the only rider on the front two rows using an extra soft front tire and didn’t have as good of a launch during the restart, he moved his way to the front and kept the pressure on Yamaha’s Jacke Gagne to the checkered flag. Baz would end Saturday in second.
The team made some minor modifications to the VR 4 ahead of Sunday’s race. Baz was quick off the line and once again kept the pressure on Gagne throughout race two, even taking the lead after a mistake by Gagne. When Sunday’s race ended, Baz crossed the line second for a 2-2 finish at round five of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in California.
“It’s been a great weekend; the best we’ve had so far,” Baz said. “We’ve had no real issues all weekend, besides the small fumble on Friday, we’ve been strong all weekend. I think since Road America, race one, we finally found a base setup that I like on the bike, so I’m riding better and better. I’ve really enjoyed riding the V4 R at Laguna Seca. I was able to put pressure on Jake during race one and race two. We put on a great show in front of the many fans around the track. Considering how new this project is, we are getting better and better, so I look forward to the future.”
After five of nine rounds, Baz is fifth in the Superbike Championship with 122 points, up another position. The team will now prep for the sixth round July 30 – August 1 at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota, a track Baz is familiar with due to testing.
The team is made possible through key partners: North American Warhorse, Parts Unlimited, Ducati New York, Horsepower HD, Competition Werkes, Mount Airy Casino & Resort, New York Safety Track, and Fast by Ferraci. In addition to the support of their technical sponsors: Akrapovic, Bickle Racing, DID Chain, DNA Air Filters, Drippen Wet, Drive Systems USA, EVOL Technologies, FullSix Carbon, Full Spectrum, Hard Knocks Moto Coffee, Melotti Racing, OGNIBENE S.p.A., RaceSeats, Spider Racing , Samco Sport, Spiegler Performance, Race Technologies, and TechSpec.
More, from a press release issued by Scott Powersports:
Tyler Scott Doubles and Beats Track Record at Laguna Seca
Blackmon continues consistency at Laguna
Jackson Blackmon fresh off a pair of Twins Cup wins at The Ridge Motorsports park, continued consistency at Laguna Seca. It was a one race weekend for Twins Cup competitors that resulted in some really close racing all weekend long. The pace was fast and very close as Blackmon qualified 7th, but only 0.55 behind the polesitter. Jackson got a good start and was up with the lead pack of 4 for most of the race. However, Blackmon just didn’t have the confidence in the front end with about 4 laps to go to stay with the pack at the end. It was a good result for Blackmon, still sitting 2nd in the championship just 15 points out of the lead.
“I am very happy to continue my consistency at Laguna with a 4th place finish. We struggled a little bit with my confidence in the front end, however my bike was capable of winning I just didn’t quite have the pace late in the race to stay with the leaders. We learned from the weekend and looking to improve at Brainerd. Big thanks to Yamaha and all of my supporters for making this year possible. We are right in the championship and gelling with my bike more and more everytime out.”
Jackson Blackmon Racing has had a tremendous first half of the season and looking to keep the ball rolling next time out at the new race on the schedule, Brainerd International Raceway. The team has been working hard to get the all new 2022 Yamaha R7 together to race in the Twins Cup. Will Brainerd be the round they bring it out? Stay tuned to find out.
JBR would like to thank their sponsors: Yamaha Motor USA, Finishline Machine, North East Cycles, Yamalube, Trackday Winner, GP Tech, Wiseco Pistons, HJC Helmets, Roaring Toyz, Millennium Technologies, OneX, Web Cams, SBS Brakes, Vortex, and 64 Degrees.
More, from a press release issued by HONOS HVMC Racing:
SECOND PLACE FINISHES FOR HONOS HVMC RACING AT LAGUNA SECA
During the 5th round of the MotoAmerica season at Weather Tech Laguna Seca Raceway in the Monterey Bay region of California the HONOS HVMC Racing team secured a pair of second place finishes in Supersport and a single second place finish in the sole Stock 1000cc race of the weekend.
Continuing with the momentum of his previous double win Corey Alexander immediately set the pace in practice. He was able to follow that up by putting his Graves-spec Kawasaki ZX-10RR in pole position to earn his first of the season. Saturday’s Superbike race one proved to be difficult for the #23 and the team as he fell back to 13th during the race due to lack of grip. This led to some set up changes in preparation for Sunday’s races.
Starting from the first position for Sunday’s Stock 1000cc race Corey fell back to 3rd place on the opening lap where he would trade passes throughout the majority of the race. Around 3/4 race distance there was a two rider breakaway with Corey out front but a late race charge from Travis Wyman would see Corey get nipped at the line for the win by just .0032 of a second.
During Superbike race two Corey suffered a low side crash whilst battling for a top ten amongst fellow Superbike Cup competitors. He was able to get up and rejoin the race securing 5 points towards the Superbike Cup championship.
“This weekend has left me with a lot of mixed emotions. We came into it with a lot of momentum and seemed to start off very strong but struggled with grip throughout. Our bike worked great with a new tire and that helped to earn us our first pole position of the year but otherwise we struggled to stay consistent over race distance. We worked hard at it all weekend and literally came up short by the blink of an eye. That’s racing and I’m happy to have extended my points lead. Thanks to everyone for the support” Corey added.
Corey’s second place finish extends his Stock 1000cc championship lead to 12 points. He also maintains third place in the Superbike Cup points race, 30 behind the leader with 4 rounds remaining.
Corey’s personal sponsors include: Arai Helmets, Alpinestars, Sals Pizza & Pasta, Ikoniqa, Four3 Performance Lab, Redshift, Gemini, and Prestige Services Group.
Just a few days prior to the weekend Richie Escalante unfortunately injured his foot, ankle, and wrist in a crash while testing. This meant he was quite literally on his back foot going into the weekend though never showing it after leading the first practice session and qualifying just 0.158 behind pole position.
Supersport Race 1 saw Escalante and his Graves-spec ZX-6R off to a strong start applying pressure wherever he could to his championship rival. Despite his injury Richie heroically looked for a way around the leader making a few attempts throughout the 19 lap race. He would come up just short at the line 0.099 behind first place.
During the opening laps of race 2 there was a shuffle of positions with an unsuspecting leader out front for a short time. Eventually Richie and his championship competitor would make a break for it mirroring that of race number 1. What looked like would be an eventual last lap pass never came and Richie ended up again just short of victory at the line. Following the race Richie would be penalized 4 seconds for exceeding track limits still securing him second place.
When asked about his feelings on the weekend Richie commented.. “This was a difficult weekend for me in Laguna Seca. Always tough and harder with a broken bone in my left foot after a crash test on Tuesday. We are clear on where we have to improve with the bike and obviously my health. Now we have some time to rest and try to be 100% fit for the next part of the season. See you in Minnesota. Thanks to all the fans for your great support. I really appreciate it! And thank you team for always being there.”
Escalante now trails his championship rival by 31 points as the team heads into the second half of the season. Richie’s personal sponsors include Fresh & Lean, HJC Helmets, Vircos Leathers, Alpinestars Boots & Gloves, and Hidalgo.
The HONOS HVMC Racing team heads to Brainerd International Raceway for the first time during round 6 of the MotoAmerica Championship July 30-August 1st. You can purchase tickets to the event via MotoAmerica.com or in person at the race track.
About WE ARE HONOS®
Founded in 2018, HONOS is a Los Angeles based performance gear and fashion apparel brand that promotes talent within the adrenaline sports realm. With worldwide partnerships ranging from the American Racing team in Moto2 to title sponsorship of the HONOS Superbike class in MotoAmerica, HONOS has heavily invested it’s brand into motorsports. Follow @wearehonos or visit wearehonos.com to shop for team gear now.
About Hudson Valley Motorcycles
Hudson Valley Motorcycles (HVMC) is a family owned and operated motorcycle dealership that has been serving New York’s Hudson Valley and Westchester County as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New England region. HVMC has offered Kawasaki, Ducati, Scrambler Ducati, Suzuki, Energica and ATV, motorcycle or UTV Sales, Parts, and Service for over 50 years. For more info visit hudsonvalleymotorcycles.com, call (914)-762-2722 or follow @hvmotorcycles on social media.