Warm, sunny skies and just a hint of a breeze greeted racers on the first day of the two-day official pre-season MotoAmerica test at The Podium Club in Casa Grande, Arizona. Representatives from Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha Racing, Team Hammer, Tytlers Cycle Racing, Warhorse HSBC Racing Ducati and OrangeCat Racing joined privateers in lapping the 2.32-mile circuit, located between Phoenix and Tuscon.
The Warhorse HSBC squad had three Ducati V2 Panigale racebikes on hand for Wristin Grigg, new signee Cameron Petersen and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Josh Herrin. The squad was prepping Herrin for the upcoming Daytona 200, while Petersen and Grigg were testing for the regular season. Petersen had a small crash in Turn One toward the end of the day, but his team said Petersen was happy with the bike in his first outing on the V-twin.
Multi-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne continued his return to action following his hiatus for the last two races of the 2024 season to recuperate from injury.
Cameron Beaubier, who also missed races last season due to injury, was back in action. Beaubier said his goal for the test was just getting re-acclimated to the speed of a full-blown Superbike.
Bobby Fong continued his work with the Attack squad, who picked him up after Fong won two races last season on a satellite Yamaha. Fong says the change isn’t so much in the machine as it is in the routine of working to develop a factory-supported racebike.
Sean Dylan Kelly was happy with his second day on the Team Hammer Suzuki GSX-1000R, praising the bike’s speed but looking for more stability in the chassis. Dylan took part in an earlier Dunlop test at the track.
OrangeCat Racing’s Andrew Lee and Jason Uribe worked with their 2024 Stock 1000 BMW M 1000 RR machines. The 2025 machines from Alpha Racing are still under construction and development and are scheduled to appear later in the year.
