AMA Pro SuperBike recap: Road America
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The 2014 AMA Pro SuperBike championship chase went into the Subway SuperBike Doubleheader at Road America separated by just a single point at the top of the order. Three hard-fought days of excitement and drama later, the series left Wisconsin even tighter than it arrived.
Just two rounds and four races into the 2014 campaign, this year’s early season title fight has taken shape as a three-way scrap featuring the three-time king, the perennial contender, and the hotshot upstart.
Monster Energy Graves Yamaha’s Josh Hayes was the weekend’s biggest mover, springing right back into championship contention despite his DNF in Daytona. However, it didn’t come easily.
The Mississippian, who had previously demonstrated an unquestioned mastery of Road America, found himself mystified by his rookie teammate’s incredible speed around the four-mile circuit.
The 39-year-old Hayes came into the venue having won five straight at the track, including two perfect weekends in a row. However, 21-year-old Beaubier came out swinging. The reigning GoPro Daytona SportBike champion posted the fastest time in both the opening practice and provisional qualifying on Friday. Then on Saturday, he topped second qualifying and absolutely dominated the all-new Qualifying 3 session, in which the top 12 qualifiers squared off with a clean slate to determine the race’s front four rows.
Beaubier clocked the decisive session’s three fastest laps and secured the first pole position of his AMA Pro SuperBike career.
Hayes struggled to find an immediate answer for his immensely talented new teammate and rival.
“That’s a good question,” said Hayes when asked how Beaubier was so quick so early in his SuperBike career. “I haven’t really sorted it out yet. Even looking at the data, it doesn’t make sense when I look at it. He’s got a pretty good feel for things. … As far as the riding goes, we’re very, very different riders. It’s been interesting to see what he’s doing when I look at it and try to figure it out. I don’t know that I can turn into riding like Cam Beaubier, but maybe I can improve some things that I do.”
The stage was set for an epic tilt in Saturday’s 13-lap contest. Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Martin Cardenas clung on over the race’s opening half, but the sprint to the flag was all Hayes and Beaubier.
Hayes clawed back from nearly a second down and capitalized on a Beaubier mistake to claim a near-two-second advantage of his on with just four laps remaining. However, the rookie ran Hayes down, and overhauled his legendary teammate on the final lap to score the second AMA Pro SuperBike victory of his young career.
“Josh was riding awesome, he was so strong on the brakes,” Beaubier said. “That made it really hard to pass anywhere. I knew that once I got past Josh I had to go. I had to put my head down and see what happened. I saw ‘.5’ on my board and I kept pushing. I made a couple mistakes and almost crashed in the first corner and Josh went by me. Then I over-broke myself going down into turn five and I thought it was over.
“I put my head down and pushed as hard as I possibly could. I was making a couple mistakes just trying to catch back up, but I was able to close the gap with about a lap and a half to go. I got by him in the first corner. I knew he was super strong on the brakes so I just tried to block the inside a little bit and I made it to the finish.”
Beaubier knew coming into Road America it would be tough to beat Hayes.
“Josh has this place dialed,” said Beaubier. “Coming into this weekend I knew I was going to have to do everything I could just to stay on pace with him. To come out like I did … I can’t think of a better day. That was probably the best race of my career right there.”
While Beaubier threatened to steal the show and firmly establish himself as the man to beat in 2014, inclement weather and inexperience caught the rising star in Sunday’s rematch.
Beaubier crashed out of a fight for the lead with Hayes and Cardenas near the Sunday race’s midpoint. The skies opened up a short while later, bringing out a red flag and race restart. Beaubier reentered the race from pit lane, despite being a lap down.
He ran off track once and then crashed a second time in the difficult conditions. However, his persistence paid off in the form of a 13th-place result, allowing him to stay atop the championship fight with 89 points and two race wins to his credit.
Hayes, meanwhile, called on every bit of racing experience to tiptoe around the circuit in the rain, showcasing the full depth of his skills. In the end, the race was red-flagged a second time just as Hayes was about to take the checkered flag, earning him his second win of the season.
As a result of his weekend one-two finish, Hayes is back within one victory of taking the title lead with 84 points.
“I’m really happy for my team,” Hayes said. “Big thank you to Monster Energy Graves Yamaha for providing me with what I need to win races.”
The win was SuperBike victory No. 43 for Hayes, and it’s not one he’ll soon forget.
“It was harder than the hardest lap I’ve ridden around this racetrack just to negotiate around,” said Hayes.
The late downpour didn’t favor Cardenas, who dropped from victory contention to a seventh place result. However, it did work out for the title hopes of his Yoshimura Suzuki teammate, Roger Hayden.
Hayden wound up earning third in the wet to go along with his fourth place showing on Saturday. Despite admitting Road America has never been one of his strongest tracks, the Kentuckian actually managed to make up a point on Beaubier on the weekend and is now even with him at 89 points.
“Things are coming along,” Hayden said of his first season with the decorated Yoshimura outfit. “I struggled this weekend but that was more the rider. I’ve always struggled at this place, never really did any good. I went faster than I ever have here, so I’m happy about that. I’m glad to get out of here with some decent points and go on to these tracks with the points lead, I think. Now I get to go to some tracks I’m really good at, so I’m looking forward to it.”
“(Saturday’s) race was pretty good,” said Cardenas after picking up his second podium of the season, “especially the first part. The last half I lost contact with the guys, they were faster than me. I did the best I could but I didn’t have anything for them in the second half of the race.”
Among the next group of finishers, two riders in particular have stepped up early in 2014: ADR Motorsports/Sic/Motul Fly Racing’s David Anthony and Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing’s Chris Clark.
Anthony has reconfigured his team this season, allowing him to focus more on his riding, and it’s paid dividends. The Australian has finished in the top five in all four races this season, including a skillful charge up to second in the wet at Road America.
After earning his first-ever AMA Pro SuperBike podium result, Anthony said he’s looking for even more.
“Definitely, things are coming around this year,” said Anthony. “We’re putting the effort in and changing things around and doing things a lot differently. In the past, I’ve been the main guy behind the team, but I’ve been able to step back this year. I brought in some good people and that’s the difference. I can focus on riding which I’ve never, ever been able to do. It’s always been business first and then riding, but now it’s the other way around. I was actually a little disappointed with the weekend. I’ve been fifth pretty much the whole time, a second off where I need to be. I was down in spirits all weekend. To get a podium, the way it ended up, yeah it’s good. But we need to find something at the next couple tracks for sure.”
Meanwhile, Clark scooped up his third fourth place finish of the season, and even pushed Hayden for a podium at stages during Sunday’s race.
“It was definitely an experience, that’s for sure,” said Clark. “I’ve really been focusing on the rest of the season as a whole. The Yoshimura Suzuki crew did a great job, so I have to thank the team for a positive weekend overall. On Sunday, fortunately, my crew was able to make a decision that benefitted us for the restart. I started seventh and then got up to fourth. But then it was just pouring rain and I could hardly see, so I just tried to hold on and not take too many risks. I think at Barber, we’ll have another good result because the Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 is working well, so I’m looking forward to it.”
KTM/HMC Racing’s Chris Fillmore was hoping for a big weekend at the HMC crew’s home track – even if Road America’s characteristics don’t suit the RC8R as well as those of some of the upcoming circuits. However, Fillmore struggled with nagging electrical issues throughout the weekend. Still, he and his crew managed to fight through the difficulties enough to snag finishes of fifth and seventh place.
Several others managed to score at least one top-ten result on the weekend. Foremost Insurance Pegram Racing’s Larry Pegram continued to acclimate to the EBR 1190RS and rode it to sixth on Sunday, while Team AMSOIL Hero EBR’s Cory West took his EBR 1190RS to ninth the day before.
Local ace Jason Farrell guided the Farrell Performance/US Chrome Kawasaki ZX-10 to tenth on Saturday, while Proto-Tech Spain’s Bernat Martinez, Seven Sports’ Trent Gibson and Dumas Superbike Team’s Fancois Dumas finished eighth through tenth, respectively, on Sunday.
GEICO Motorcycle Road Racing Honda’s Chris Ulrich came home in eighth on Saturday but unfortunately crashed on Sunday.
“Well, Saturday didn’t start the best but we rallied back,” Ulrich said. “We discovered a small problem with the electronics this morning on the bike we’ve been riding. I really like that bike because it has some different components on the chassis and it was the bike we ran our best time on. Unfortunately, it developed a small misfire, and we diagnosed it and thought we had it fixed. I went out on the parade lap and another problem surfaced, so we had to come in and start on a spare bike instead.
“(Sunday’s) wreck was a little mistake. I was riding really hard to keep up with the guys up front. Sometimes when you’re pushing the limits, you fall off. Overall, it was a good race up until then. It’s disappointing to end up in the gravel trap, but the good thing is we’re okay. Unfortunately, the bike broke a handlebar from the fall, so we were unable to continue. We had a strong ride going but I am a little disappointed after last weekend.
“I went over two seconds faster than I did last year here. That shows the progress we’ve made, but based on how I was having to ride the bike (Sunday), it seems like we have some more progress to make. We’ll learn from this, go to Barber, and try to continue to improve. We live to fight another day.”
Next Race
Round 3 of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama for the Triumph SuperBike Classic on June 21-22.
How to Watch
FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also provides coverage of IMSA’s development and single-make series, and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series.
About AMA Pro Road Racing
AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike recap: Road America
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The 2014 AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike races at Road America will be remembered as a big step in the career of Jake Gagne.
The Californian had won a race and a pole before in the class and finished second in points last year, but this past weekend, the former Red Bull Rookies Cup champion dominated like never before.
Gagne, 21, won the pole at both races at Elkhart Lake and did so at a blistering pace.
“It was a perfect weekend and I’m really stoked,” said Gagne. “To come out of here with pole and two wins, I couldn’t ask for anything better for the whole RoadRace Factory/Red Bull crew. They have been working hard since Daytona.”
The former youth motocrosser who first raced on pavement in 2008, enjoyed a strong 2013, but his AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike campaign was overshadowed by the dominance of champion Cameron Beaubier. Gagne also enjoyed some solid performances in Europe before coming stateside for AMA Pro, so the paddock knew he was a contender. The twists and turns at Road America seemed to play into Gagne’s strengths.
Three riders bettered Beaubier’s qualifying mark from last year and Gagne, who qualified second in 2013, shaved nearly two seconds off his previous best lap in this year’s sessions. The RoadRace Factory/Red Bull pilot’s mark of 2:18.647 topped Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff by two tenths. Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Dane Westby joined them on the front row, lurking just under a second behind Gagne on the time charts.
Race 1 saw Gagne get the holeshot ahead of Gerloff and Castrol/Triumph/Sportbike Track Time’s Jason DiSalvo. Gagne built a strong lead, and by the time the first circuit was completed, was free to run clear laps.
However, his advantage disappeared with a red flag that waved while he worked lap 10 due to Joe Roberts’ crash on his M4 Motorcycle Road Racing Honda. Roberts suffered a hand injury and was unable to race Sunday. Essentially, Gagne would have to win the race twice.
The restart and resulting three-lap shootout made Gagne feel challenges from rivals who previously had seen their chances at a win slip away. Jake Lewis on the MotoSport.com/Meen Yamaha YZF-R6 jumped to the front, but Gagne was able to retake the lead and pull a bit of a gap to win it.
“The first part of the race we were just clicking off laps,” said Gagne on Saturday. “We were a little bummed when we heard it was going to be a three-lap dash after the red flag. I knew the guys would be back up there on me. Jake and Garrett both made some moves. Going into the last lap, I tried to get a clean, strong lap.”
On Sunday, Gagne continued his excellence. After the initial race was red-flagged early when Gerloff crashed, Gagne shook off Westby and JD Beach on his Yamaha Extended Service/Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha to pull away to win by 12.209 seconds. Gagne did the “Superman” as he crossed the line the final time.
“We made some pretty significant changes for Sunday,” said Gagne. “I thought it improved the bike.”
Gagne finally made a mistake after the races were won. He dropped the bike turning around in the grass as he headed for victory circle.
“I jumped off the bike so it was pretty clean. It might have bent a clip-on. I think the guys are all right with it,” he laughed.
Beach had a great weekend, earning third and second in just his second weekend with the Factory Yamaha team. The dirt-tracker came up big to run in the podium positions. On Saturday, he seemed to get better as the race wore on. On Sunday, Beach fought an early battle with Gagne and challenged Westby late. He showed he isn’t content to let Gerloff position himself as team leader just yet.
“It feels good to get second here at Road America, but it would feel even better if I’d won,” said Beach on Sunday. “Jake rode a great race and pulled a pretty big gap on Dane and me. I’m glad to be on the podium. My team and I are improving with each race, so I’m really happy with our progress.”
Many of the top riders in the class saw a similar theme – one strong race, but another with struggles – in Wisconsin. Some class protagonists found themselves by the side of the track instead of in the action.
Gerloff had a wild weekend. The Texan had a big crash in qualifying that left his team scrambling to get his bike prepared for the race. Gerloff took the rebuilt machine to second in a gutsy ride.
“My Y.E.S. team had to totally rebuild the bike for me after my crash this morning, and they did a great job getting it race-ready in a very short amount of time,” he said after his performance on Saturday. “We weren’t able to get in any practice laps since the race followed right after qualifying, so I wasn’t sure what I had. The front-end felt a little different, so I had to adjust to the change and just concentrate on my lap times. The restart helped me because my team was able to adjust the front suspension and get me a little more comfortable. It was a big improvement, and I’m really happy to finish second, although I wish I’d won.”
On Sunday, an early crash netted Gerloff a trip in the ambulance, but he was cleared of a suspected concussion.
Westby had a similar event Saturday. The Oklahoman had made a push to second place on the final lap before he had a mechanical issue. It was tough to stomach after a Daytona crash thwarted another shot at the podium.
Westby was able to rebound to third on Sunday, charging after a so-so start to pass Beach before “calling off the dogs” when a few drops of the wet stuff began to fall.
“It is absolutely amazing and a huge weight off my shoulders,” said Westby after the weekend was in the books. “After pilot error at Daytona and a component conflict (Saturday) … when you put together a team like we have done, you obviously want to produce results. We were able to come through, and there is more coming in future races. Today, I felt the wisest decision was to stay on the podium and let the guys go when it started raining. I wish it had been a really good battle to the finish, but that’s how it goes. The team did a great job on the little Yamalube bike and I’m glad it paid off today. We have a really cool thing going and it was a super weekend with all the fans coming out to a great track.”
Danny Eslick had a similar one good, one bad tale to tell. Eslick had a scary crash early in Race 1, a rare occurrence for the Oklahoman.
“I’m a little bit beat up, banged up, bruised, but my pride’s probably hurt more than any of it,” said Eslick. “I think it was 2008 since I’ve last crashed out of a race. It’s a bit of a disappointment for me, that was a pretty good run I had going there.”
But, on Sunday, Eslick took a solid fourth on his Riders Discount Racing Triumph, unable to run with Beach and Westby but clear of the battle behind him.
“I was just trying to salvage the best finish I could and stay in line for the championship,” he said.
A similar fate met Jake Lewis. Lewis took full advantage of the red flag to lead briefly on the restart before eventually finishing fourth. That moved the fast teenager into a tie with Eslick in points. Sunday, however, saw him fall behind Gerloff’s crash. His team’s mad scramble to repair the damage got him back in the race but well behind the leaders. He moved up to 14th at the checkered flag, but it was an impossible task to earn much more for the Kentuckian.
DiSalvo rode in the lead pack on Saturday and earned a solid fifth, less than five seconds back. The New Yorker showed plenty of fight but couldn’t keep up the pace at the front. DiSalvo did not finish the race on Sunday, completing only nine laps.
RoadRace Factory/Red Bull’s Tomas Puerta showed impressive speed both days. The young Colombian fought in a tough pack inside the top ten both days, taking seventh on Saturday and his best AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike result yet when the reigning AMA Pro SuperSport champ earned fifth on Sunday.
Blake Young took advantage of the late red flag Saturday to gain positions. The GN Gonzalez Racing pilot and local Wisconsin favorite earned sixth after charging through the field following the restart. Sunday, he was tenth.
Kyle Wyman was consistently good in Wisconsin, earning two eighth place results on his Kyle Wyman Racing Yamaha.
Steve Rapp on his D&D Cycles/Castrol/Triumph machine earned seventh on Sunday after issues on Saturday. For Rapp and other Triumph pilots, such as Castrol/Triumph/Apex Manufacturing’s Elena Myers and Latus Motors/Castrol/Triumph Racing’s Bobby Fong, the weekend seemed to give mixed results after early promise. Triumph swept the second row of the grid at Road America but missed out on the podium.
Team H35’s Benny Solis earned two top-tens as a result of his battling in the pack that included Puerta and Young. Sixth and ninth were his results. That netted Solis tenth in points heading into Barber Motorsports Park.
Jake Zemke and Tuned Racing’s Bryce Prince also earned top tens at Road America.
“Of all the guys I was around, I think my bike worked better in the corners,” said the veteran Zemke. “We’re just fighting an uphill battle and are unfortunately down a little bit. We’re maximizing the positives of the bike currently. We have half the puzzle figured out, so we just need the other half now.”
Gagne now leads the championship standings with an even 100 and holds a 22-point advantage over Eslick, who sits at 78. Eslick will try to close that gap later this month when AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike heads to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., June 21 and 22. After the long straights and fast corners of Road America, Gagne and the rest of the field will face a much different challenge at another great circuit.
GoPro Daytona SportBike yearend point fund
Jake Gagne
Danny Eslick
Jake Lewis
Garrett Gerloff
JD Beach
Sunoco “Go the distance” award
Leader – JD Beach (706.5 miles)
Saddlemen Rookie of the Year award
Leader – Tomas Puerta
Next Race
Round 3 of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season, the Triumph SuperBike Classic, will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., June 21-22.
How to Watch
FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also provides coverage of IMSA’s development and single-make series, and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series.
About AMA Pro Road Racing
AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
AMA Pro SuperSport recap: Road America
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – AMA Pro SuperSport headed into Road America with Corey Alexander in the points lead after dominating at Daytona. The New York native and Celtic/HVMC Racing pilot had put on a show in Florida.
In the season’s first two races, Alexander, last year’s East champion, maintained his momentum from the previous season and served notice that anyone wanting to hoist an AMA Pro SuperSport victory trophy in 2014 would have to go through him.
Elkhart Lake, where Alexander won twice last year, looked like a great place to extend his push. However, a broken collarbone from a training accident and surgery to fix it left Corey with shoulder ills. Going into this weekend, Alexander said he was unsure how his fitness would progress.
Hayden Gillim of TOBC Racing proved to be his toughest opposition in Wisconsin. The duo split wins at the four-mile circuit. While Alexander maintained his points lead, Gillim jumped up to second in the standings.
It looks like the season will see Alexander and Gillim jockey for position in the championship. Celtic/HVMC Racing’s Wyatt Farris and HSBK Racing’s Dustin Dominguez sit just behind Gillim and will fight to make their mark as the year progresses.
Saturday’s race began with pole man Alexander lined up alongside Dominguez and Gillim. Gillim moved to the front but Alexander was able to dispatch him quickly and break away.
Alexander cruised to victory, crossing the line with a 4.236-second gap over second place. The win was his third in a row to begin the year.
“I knew the first three laps were going to tell the whole race. I wanted to put my head down and get a gap if I could,” said Alexander.
When asked about his shoulder, Alexander noted he was simply in the zone and it didn’t affect him on the bike.
“When you are riding, you have a lot of adrenaline going,” he said.
Dominguez worked his way through early issues to finish second. The Oklahoman had the measure of everyone except Alexander. By lap five of 10, he had passed Gillim. He couldn’t run down Alexander, but he kept the gap constant.
“I got a horrible start and the first lap, my clutch was slipping,” said Dominguez. “I had to pass a couple of guys but finally saw Hayden and worked my way around him. I tried to push again and I saw Corey. The gap was staying about the same.”
After leading on the start, Gillim made a valiant bid to hold on and earned a podium for his efforts.
“Corey came by pretty quick,” said Gillim. “I tried to stick with him but he’s got that bike going pretty quick. I ran my own race for a while and, slowly but surely, Dustin caught up.”
The battle for fourth was a hot one, with Farris and Kaleb De Keyrel of De Keyrel Racing jousting for the spot. It was a nice display of exuberant passes and aggressive moves. De Keyrel led the white flag lap, but gave up the slot in Turn 2. Farris took the position by just 0.426 seconds at the checkered flag.
Another dogfight for sixth saw Tuned Racing’s Jason Aguilar top Excel Racing’s Conner Blevins by 0.456 seconds.
House of Paint Designs pilot JC Camacho was eighth in another solid finish for the young Texan. Mexico’s Erick Sanchez on the EYK Racing entry and RoadRace Factory’s Hayden Schultz rounded out the top 10 in a contest that saw 40 riders make the grid.
On Sunday, a red flag on the first time around the course stopped the initial attempt at the 10-lapper. The second try was stopped again just a few laps in, after rain fell in the area of Turn 3 and made the track slick. Several riders fell and the red flag quickly flew.
AMA Pro shortened the affair to eight laps with five remaining on the restart. Gillim had his third great start in a row and moved out to a good lead with the Celtic/HVMC teammates behind him.
Gillim and Alexander, former Red Bull Rookies Cup teammates, traded the lead multiple times in the remaining laps. The final time around, Alexander nailed Turn 5 and grabbed the lead. He held it through the last turn and got the better drive heading down the home stretch. Gillim, however, timed his push perfectly and won by a wheel – just 0.015 seconds – thanks to the Road America draft.
“It means a lot,” said Gillim. “Before this weekend, I had only been in the top five once (at Road America). In this race, we were right there. I kept getting good starts. Corey caught me. The board said it was plus one. I heard him behind me and from then on it was all-out war.
“I honestly thought he had me beat, but I was able to pull it out at the line. He went super deep and had a good gap on me and I slipped coming out of the corner. I thought I was done, but somehow a miracle happened and I was able to get right up behind him. It was insane.”
Alexander gave it a great shot. Taking second in a tricky race while injured was a nice result.
“I was a little more cautious,” said Alexander of the wet portion of the race.
He explained that his goal is the championship, so earning maximum points while minimizing risk was the big theme for the weekend.
“I am still pretty hurt. I think it paid off,” said Alexander.
Aguilar earned his first podium in the class. In his Road America debut, the Californian looked like a seasoned pro in the drafting department.
“The restarts caught me out a little,” said Aguilar, the 14th qualifier. “I was in fifth and saw Kaleb (De Keyrel) and Wyatt (Farris) battling in front of me. I thought I would stick behind them and try to draft them to the line. I got sixth in Race 1 and third here, so I am really happy.”
De Keyrel was fourth by just 0.003 over Farris in a battle that will likely be repeated in 2014. De Keyrel turned the fastest lap overall in the race.
Blevins, an Oklahoma native, was seventh once again, showing solid consistency.
Dominguez was an amazing eighth after being scored in last at one point. He was just behind the leader during the second leg but came together with Farris at Canada Corner. The Oklahoman went flying off the track at high speed but remounted and returned to the action.
Undeterred, Dominguez climbed from 35th to 13th in one lap on the last restart.
Harv’s Harley-Davidson’s Cody Wyman crashed just before the red flag, but the New Yorker rebounded to gain ninth place on the day.
Andre Ochs rounded out the top ten.
With great form throughout 2014, Alexander has accomplished his goals so far and has a 29-point lead in the standings. But riders like Gillim and Dominguez have shown they can run at an impressive pace, too. With a little luck and some progress, maybe they can close the gap in Alabama later this month.
Next Race
Round 3 of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season, the Triumph SuperBike Classic, will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., June 21-22.
How to Watch
FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also provides coverage of IMSA’s development and single-make series, and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series.
About AMA Pro Road Racing
AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.
More, from another press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:
AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series recap: Road America
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – KWR/Millennium Technologies’ Kyle Wyman was a man on a mission at the Subway SuperBike Doubleheader.
The 24-year-old entered Round 2 of the AMA Pro Road Racing season at Road America this past weekend still stewing from the disappointment of his finish in the Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
Back in March, it appeared Wyman had earned his third Daytona Harley-Davidson victory and had done so in thrilling fashion. However, he was later disqualified when it was determined his XR1200 had non-compliant and improperly modified engine components.
That setback only fueled Wyman’s fire and he was determined to put himself back on top of the box when the season resumed in Elkhart Lake, Wis.The field was stacked with gifted and hungry riders, but he simply would not be denied.
Wyman kept himself positioned near the front of the pack and braved an attempted slingshot pass from an opponent when he chose to lead up the hill the final time in the sprint to the checkered flag. It was a strategy that had worked in his favor in his 2012 victory at the track, and it did so again on Sunday – by a meager 0.033-second margin.
“I was seeing red, basically,” said Wyman. “I had a lot of time to think about Daytona. So far I’m two-for-two on crossing the line first, so I’ll take that. … I’m really happy to have redeemed myself in that fashion. … I’m just really happy to get up here for Millennium Technologies at their home race, and to redeem myself from Daytona, and get maximum points.”
On his tactics, Wyman said he was thinking back to his last victory in Wisconsin.
“That’s how I did it in 2012,” said Wyman. “I led out of the last corner to the line. I feel the last segment is one of my strong points. That was kind of the plan from the get-go, as long as I could keep myself toward the front.
“I saw Tyler (O’Hara) coming so I didn’t know how things were going to shake out because you can easily get shuffled to fourth like nothing. The strategy was to lead so if I just consciously passed whoever was in front of me and tried to go as fast as I could and stay in front of everybody, the strategy didn’t have to change on the last lap. It was just, go.”
O’Hara was coming, indeed. The 2014 title leader looked to have been erased from contention for a victory on lap four. He was hot in pursuit of the 2013 race and series champion, Suburban Motors’ Steve Rapp, when his race was upended.
Early-leader Rapp had the back half of the circuit absolutely dialed, allowing him to consistently open up a substantial gap in that section. However, the chasing pack would gobble his advantage back up by working together in the draft down the home straight and in the run down into Turn 5.
On lap four, Ruthless Racing’s Danny Eslick decided it was time to take away Rapp’s open air, diving into the lead entering Turn 1. Rapp lost the front and hit the deck moments later while surrounded by the remainder of the lead pack.
Besides Rapp, Josh Chisum Racing/Bartels Harley-Davidson’s O’Hara got the worst of the incident as he was forced to take evasive action to avoid hitting the downed champ.
This turn of events left Wyman, Eslick, and Rapp’s teammate, Ben Carlson, all alone up front with O’Hara nearly four seconds back.
However, O’Hara took advantage of the titanic battle for the lead and ran the lead group back down, setting up a four-man melee on the race’s final lap. O’Hara moved into a podium position but was ultimately shuffled back to fourth, his hard work not rewarded with a change the final points tally.
Eslick finished a close runner-up, missing out on the win by just fractions of a second. It was an impressive effort nonetheless, as the Oklahoman missed Saturday qualifying following a hard fall in the day’s GoPro Daytona SportBike race. He qualified just tenth-best in the cold morning session but blasted his way to the front of the pack, and very nearly the win.
“Man, I had it set up there at the end to draft (by) him at the line, but I think (I hit) the limiter like three times on that last shift,” Eslick said. “That’s all it takes; everybody’s bikes are pretty evenly matched so you mess up that one little bit, miss a shift by just that much and you’re going to lose out.
“The race was a lot of fun. It’s not been the best weekend for me here. Daytona was awesome but here we’ve hit the ground, destroyed a bike, cost the team a whole bunch of money, and beat myself up. So it was nice to get out there and have a little bit of fun and get on the podium.”
Carlson actually led across the line to take the white flag first. However, he was dropped back to fourth momentarily as the leaders fought for position. The Wisconsin native managed to move back into third by the lap’s conclusion to secure his second consecutive home-race podium.
The third place finisher later admitted he knew O’Hara was on the charge.
“I knew he was coming,” said Carlson. “I looked back once coming into (Turn) 5 and saw he was coming. Our pace, because we were going back and forth and passing, I kind of figured he’d catch us. So, yeah, I knew he was there. And actually, he got ahead of me but Kyle took him wide going into Canada Corner. Good race. I had fun.”
Daytona runner-up Gage McAllister on the Folsom Harley-Davidson entry edged Thunder Roads Magazine’s Ryan Kerr and Chili Pepper Racing’s Hayden Schultz for fifth. As a result, McCallister still sits second in the points, seven behind O’Hara and one up on Eslick.
Level 10/Peter Brady Racing’s Eric Stump, third Suburban entry Nick Hansen and O’Hara’s teammate, Josh Chisum, completed the top ten.
Next Race
Round 3 of the 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season, the Triumph SuperBike Classic, will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., June 21-22.
How to Watch
FansChoice.tv is the official home for live streaming coverage of AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also provides coverage of IMSA’s development and single-make series, and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series.
About AMA Pro Road Racing
AMA Pro Road Racing is the premier motorcycle road racing series in North America and is universally regarded as one of the most competitive road racing organizations in the world. The series is comprised of four production-based classes: AMA Pro SuperBike, AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike, AMA Pro SuperSport and the AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series. Learn more about AMA Pro Road Racing at www.amaproracing.com/rr/.
AMA Pro Racing is the premier professional motorcycle racing organization in North America, operating a full schedule of events and championships for a variety of motorcycle disciplines. Learn more about AMA Pro Racing at www.amaproracing.com.