2015 KTM RC Cup Kicks Off at Road America With a 1-1 Victory for California’s Gage McAllister

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The 2015 KTM RC Cup kicked off its inaugural season of racing at the historic Road America racetrack in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin with the MotoAmerica Series. Twenty-seven participants competed in the spec class aboard KTM RC 390 Racebikes where Lincoln, California’s Gage McAllister swept the weekend with a double victory to claim the early points lead in the five-race RC Cup Series.

With unpredictable weather conditions throughout the weekend, the opening round of RCup racing proved to be a challenge for the young racers. Friday’s practice sessions saw rainy conditions, which carried into Saturday morning’s qualifying session that served as the one and only opportunity for participants to seed into the two-race format.

Josh Serne, from Placerville, California, qualified in pole position heading into race one but an unfortunate incident on the sighting lap forced Serne to sit the first race of the season out.

Gage McAllister, who qualified third, grabbed the early lead in race one with a hard-charging duo of Hayden Schultz and Anthony Mazziotto III dicing close behind. While engaging in a three-way battle for the lead, Mazziotto went down and with nowhere to go, Schultz, too, ran off the track and crashed. This allowed McAllister some breathing room out front, as well as a surge in podium contention for Illinois native Jody Barry and Texas native Brandon Altmeyer. During the final laps Barry and Altmeyer battled for the second place position but in the end it was Barry who claimed the spot behind McAllister, with Altmeyer rounding out the podium.

“That was really my first race in the rain but it was the perfect bike to do it on, the KTM was really smooth in the rain,” McAllister commented.

Justin McWilliams finished fourth, with Ruben Casarez rounding out the top five in race one.

In race two, the lead battle was just as exciting with a tight pack of three riders pushing each other along the 4.048-mile course. With Canadian Braeden Ortt at the helm, Barry and McAllister rode wheel-to-wheel on either side of the leader as they weaved back and forth on the final laps.

McAllister and Barry made a last-minute attempt to get around Ortt for the lead but it was McAllister who made it stick in the final turn before the finish to claim the race two victory. Ortt claimed the second place position, while Barry edged out Altmeyer for the final podium position.

“It was a very smart move on Gage’s part, he got me on the draft and made the pass right before the finish,” Ortt said. “It was a tough last lap but we have to play it smart at the end. I’m just happy to be here.”

McAllister made it a perfect weekend with two race-wins, where he tops the RC Cup Series standings with 50 points after the first round.

“This track suits me well,” McAllister said. “I knew it was going to be tough but we managed to break free from the others and it was close to the end.”

Barry sits in the second place position with 39 points, with a tie for third between Braeden Ortt and Brandon Altmeyer, who each sit with 29 points, while Justin McWilliams sits seven points back in fifth.

The RC Cup Series features riders between the ages of 14 and 22-years-old who hold an AMA Superstock Limited license to participate. All participants race aboard a 2015 KTM RC 390 Cup Racebike, designed as racing competition bikes (not street-legal) and have been prepared by KTM with over 40 PowerParts and other enhancements to increase racing performance.

Round two of the 2015 KTM RC Cup takes place June 12-14 at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, please visit www.ktmrccup.com.

KTM RC Cup Standings – Round 1 of 5

1.Gage McAllister (50)

2.Jody Barry (36)

3.Braeden Ortt (29)

4.Brandon Altmeyer (29)

5.Justin McWilliams (22)

6.Ruben Casarez (17)

7.Christopher Kosan (13)

8.Hayden Schultz (12)

9.Nolan Lamkin (12)

10.Josh Serne (10)

11.Grayson Gerloff (8)

12.Gabe Miller (8)

13.Mason De Keyrel (7)

14.Drew Sivertsen (6)

15.John Knowles (5)

16.Nicholas Swensgard (4)

17.Jake Fell (3)

18.Nick Doolan (2)

19.Jaret Nassaney (2)

More, from another press release issued by KTM North America:

Chris Fillmore Earns Fifth and Sixth Place Finishes at Road America Doubleheader in Wisconsin

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – The KTM HMC Racing Team had a successful weekend at round four of the MotoAmerica Series as team rider Chris Fillmore earned a pair of respectable finishes in the premier Superbike class in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Fillmore finished fifth and sixth place on Sunday at the Road America doubleheader aboard his KTM 1190 RC8 R.

Based off his qualifying results from Saturday’s timed sessions, Fillmore started on the grid in 15th place for both races. In race one, the Michigan native shot off the line to pass several riders on the opening lap, where he settled into sixth place. Around the halfway point the race leader went down and Fillmore capitalized to finish fifth place in the Superbike class and sixth overall in the combined results.

With another 15th place start on the grid, Fillmore focused on getting another solid start in the second race of the day. The KTM HMC Racing rider did just that, passing up to tenth place on the opening lap. From there, Fillmore made a small mistake that dropped him back to 11th but it wasn’t long before he pushed his way into an intense battle for seventh place. Another rider made a mistake in front of Fillmore on the final lap and he once again capitalized to gain a valuable position late in the race.

In a near photo-finish moment, Fillmore crossed the finish line less than one tenth of a second away from another top five finish – earning sixth place in Superbike race two and seventh overall in the combined results.

As a program ambassador of the new KTM RC Cup Series, Fillmore has had limited time on the bike and the team is very excited with his results at the Road America round.

“I am really happy with the weekend as a whole,” Fillmore said. “I’m getting more comfortable on the bike every time I ride and I wish the race weekend would keep on going! I’m really looking forward to the next round and looking to continue this momentum.”

The MotoAmerica Series heads to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama on June 12-14. For more information, please visit www.ktmrccup.com.

Superbike Race 1

1.Cameron Beaubier

2.Roger Hayden

3.Jake Lewis

4.Danny Eslick

5.Chris Fillmore (KTM)

Superbike Race 2

1.Josh Hayes

2.Cameron Beaubier

3.Jake Lewis

4.Roger Hayden

5.Danny Eslick

6.Chris Fillmore (KTM)

More, from a press release issued by TOBC Racing:

TOBC Racing’s Taylor Knapp Finishes Second In MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Race 2 At Road America

Elkhart Lake, WI – May 31, 2015 – After running well in MotoAmerica Superstock Race 1 at Road America, but suffering a mechanical issue that forced him to pull off the track near the end, TOBC racing’s Taylor Knapp returned to form in Superstock Race 2 and finished second in class and eighth overall in the combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 results. It was Taylor’s fifth podium finish in eight races thus far in the season.

After the Race 2 podium celebration, Taylor reflected on his day: “We’ve been having these bittersweet weekends, with a lot of good, but also some bad. I had a technical issue with the bike in the first race, but I’m glad to get on the podium in Race 2. We’ve got a ways to go to catch up to Jake (Gagne, RoadRace Factory Yamaha R1 rider who finished first in Superstock 1000), but the TOBC racing R1 is so good. I can’t wait to get to (the next MotoAmerica round at) Barber and ride it again!”

TOBC racing will be back in action for round five of the MotoAmerica series, which will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL, on June 12 through 14.

Gabe Miller Finishes Eighth In MotoAmerica RC Cup Race #2 At Road America

Gabe Miller, who is also racing for TOBC and joined the team this weekend for the debut of MotoAmerica’s RC Cup spec-racing class, finished eighth in Sunday’s RC Cup Race 2, a welcome improvement after having a tipover during Saturday’s rain-drenched and cold RC Cup Race 1. Earlier in the weekend, Gabe qualified third, so he and the team know that he has what it takes to run up front in the new race class. Gabe is looking forward to getting to Barber Motorsports Park in a couple of weeks.

Watch Round 4 Of The MotoAmerica Championship on CBS Sports Network

MotoAmerica Round 4 from Road America will air on Sunday, June 7, at 2:00 PM EST with a replay later that day at 5:00 PM EST, and a second replay on Monday, June 8, at 2:00 AM EST.

For the complete MotoAmerica TV broadcast schedule on CBS Sports Network, visit http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-tv-schedul…