Landers puts Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia on top step of MotoAmerica Twins Cup podium Saturday, Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park

Fill-in rider Landers now has three victories in last four races, while teammate Rodio endures difficult weekend

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — It was a tale of two very different weekends at Barber Motorsports Park for Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering riders Rocco Landers and Gus Rodio. Landers made the most of his second round filling in for injured rider Ben Gloddy by winning both MotoAmerica Twins Cup races and climbing to within 12 points of the championship lead.

Rodio started the event with a big lead in the Twins Cup standings but did not score any points and endured two crashes. Thanks to his excellent results in the first two rounds of the season, Rodio remains one of the frontrunners in the championship battle. He’s now just two points adrift of the championship lead with eight races remaining in the 2023 Twins Cup season.

Rodio and Landers took turns topping the time sheets in the Twins Cup’s two on-track sessions Friday. Rodio posted the fastest time in Friday practice, with Landers less than two-tenths of a second off Rodio’s pace. For the Friday afternoon Qualifying 1 session, Landers moved into the top spot when he put in a best lap time of 1:29.946. Rodio’s best lap time — 1:30.422 — was more than a second better than the third-fastest rider in the session.

Saturday morning’s Qualifying 2 session saw Landers claim pole position with a blistering lap. He lowered his best qualifying time by almost a second to 1:29.135. Rodio was unable to match the pace he had on Friday afternoon and qualified third. He missed out on starting next to Landers for the weekend’s two Twins Cup races by 0.065 seconds.

The Saturday afternoon Twins Cup race started out very well for the Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering riders. Landers got a good start from pole, and Landers and Rodio were running in first and second place, respectively by the end of Lap 1. The pair changed positions twice on Lap 2, though Landers gradually built a gap to the rest of the field of about 1.5 seconds by Lap 4. On Laps 5 and 6, light rain began falling on parts of the track, and Rodio took the race lead. At the start of Lap 7, Rodio crashed heavily as he negotiated Turn 2, and the race was red flagged. Due to a decision by MotoAmerica Race Control, Rodio was not able to take part in the restarted five-lap race. When racing did get back underway, Landers put in an impressive ride to claim the race win. Though he took the restart from ninth on the grid, Landers was running in second place by the end of Lap 1 and took back the race lead on Lap 3. He went on to clinch the victory by a margin of more than a second.

Sunday’s Race 2 saw Landers back on the top of the podium while Rodio endured another setback in his quest for the Twins Cup title. Both riders got very good starts to the race and were the first two riders through the first turn. Rodio was running at or near Landers’ pace for the opening laps of the race, while Landers gradually began increasing his lead lap by lap. On Lap 8 of the 14-lap race, Rodio began losing pace and was caught by the end of that lap by a group of three riders. Unfortunately, another rider made contact with Rodio’s motorcycle as both riders entered Turn 14 on Lap 9, which resulted in both riders crashing. Landers had an uneventful end to the race, as he claimed his second victory on the weekend by more than five seconds.

The Rodio Racing — Powered by Robem Engineering team has an extended break in the 2023 schedule, as the Twins Cup is not slated to take part in the next MotoAmerica round at Road America. The next Twins Cup races take place at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Wash., on June 23-25.

Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2023 include Aprilia Racing, Piaggio Group Americas, The Center for Plastic Surgery, Synchrony, Bitubo Suspension, Dunlop, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, Sprint Filter, DID, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies, Motovation USA and SC-Project.

More, from a press release issued by Levi Badie Racing:

Levi Badie makes history in MotoAmerica

Levi Badie has made history at Barber Motorsports Park by becoming the first Belgian to win a race in any MotoAmerica category and the first European to stand on the top step in the Junior Cup class.

The teenager competed in a handful of races last year. He is running the full season in 2023 and after missing the opening round due to logistical issues related to the shipment of his bike to the US signaled his intentions in style on his debut at the 2.38-mile circuit in Alabama – his debut at the venue.

Using practice to learn the circuit, Levi qualified strongly before finishing inside the top six on Saturday, but it was in Sunday’s second race where he shone. A solid start saw him at the back of the leading trio before a couple of perfectly executed moves had him out front. A tense final lap saw him use the slipstream to full effect – the #71 Badie Racing by MTM Kawasaki rider snatching victory in the one of the closest photo finishes in the series… 0.003s!

With thirty-five points on the board, Levi heads to Road America in a couple of weeks, a circuit he knows, full of confidence and with his eyes set on a repeat performance.

Levi Badie: “I had a bad start on Saturday and got caught up in the second group. The gap was too big and with the lack of experience on the track I had to focus on being at the front of group two. It was solid points in my comeback race in the USA, but I felt I had the pace to run in the lead group. I told myself to be more aggressive in the opening lap and that’s what I did. I was able to latch on to the leaders and then just took my time and tried to be smart. The group started to pull away from the guys behind and it was a case of just waiting for the laps to tick down. I decided to lead for a while and see if they attacked but I have to say it was a clean battle, no stupid moves like I saw last year with some riders, and it was a lot of fun. I couldn’t break away and so I knew it would be down to the last lap. It was a lot hotter on Sunday and when I saw the white flag I kept thinking, keep pushing. I dropped to second, but Hayden (Bicknese) made a mistake, and I got such a good run out of the final call, and I was able to win. I am so happy, and I honestly cannot thank everyone around me who is helping me. I have to say a special thank you to Rodio Racing for transporting the bike for me and to Rob and Tosha from Bison, not only for the great leather suit but for all the other things that they are doing – even cooking breakfast! I am staying in the US until after the next race so it’s time now to relax a little, but I am really excited for the next round in Road America as I know the track. Thanks again to everyone back home for their support – RIJE RUDY!”

More, from a press release issued by Chris Clark Racing:

Podium pace at Barber Motorsports Park gives Chris Clark confidence for rest of year

Chris Clark backed up his pace from round one of the MotoAmerica Junior Cup series with a spirited and hard fought seventh in the opening race of round two at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday, an incredible recovery after an FP1 spill saw him miss valuable track time.

The youngster, competing in his first full season of MotoAmerica continues to impress, his natural riding talent clear for all to see.

Bouncing back to qualify twelfth, Clark raced hard to take nine points in the opening eleven lap encounter at the undulating 2.3-mile circuit located near Birmingham, Alabama. A rocket ship start to Sunday’s second race saw the #27 rider latch on to the front group. Looking comfortable a crash midway through the race put paid to his podium challenge. Despite the race two DNF, Chris is satisfied with the weekend and is looking forward to lining up on the grid for round three at Road America in a couple of weeks.

Between now and then the talented teen will compete in the R3 Yamaha bLU cRU championship in Thailand after being invited to race as a wildcard entry!

Chris Clark: “Practice one wasn’t the best. I had a small crash after a couple of laps which put us on the backfoot, but I was determined to bounce back in qualifying. We progressed in Q2 and improved our lap time and it put me twelfth on the grid. I started on row four and finished seventh and I was super proud of what me and the team were able to do considering how things went on Friday. Race two was great despite a crash halfway through. I got an incredible start and was in the first group after working my way through the pack. It was the first time I had been able to do that, and it was awesome. I had the top five and maybe even a podium in sight but unfortunately, I crashed. I proved to myself and a lot of others that I have the speed to be at the front in MotoAmerica and I can’t wait for the next round.”

More, from a press release issued by Kreece Elliott Racing:

Kreece produces the race of his MotoAmerica career to date at Barber

Colorado teenager Kreece Elliott raced to his first top ten of the season in the latest round of the 2023 MotoAmerica Junior Cup championship at Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama on Sunday, his third point scoring ride of the year.

Buoyed from his double points finish at Road Atlanta a few weeks earlier Kreece was in confident mood from Friday’s opening Free Practice session which saw him running inside the top six at the half way point.

Improving his lap time in Q1 and then again in Q2 the #47 Kawasaki rider was locked in a multi rider fight for the top ten in Saturday’s opening race before a technical issue forced his retirement. Unfettered he went even faster in Sunday morning’s warm up before, with just minutes left in the session, he was taken out by a fellow competitor. Great work by the team saw the bike repairs and despite being battered and bruised Kreece lined up on the grid for the second race of the weekend – and what a race it was. An incredible opening lap saw him gain several positions before he slotted into the lead group with a lap time over a second faster than he had ever achieved at the 2.38-mile circuit. Running as high as eighth he eventually finished a more than respectable tenth after a nail biting final two laps.

The result underlines the step made by the sixteen-year-old over the winter and with round three at Road America in a little over a fortnight Kreece is keen to keep the momentum going.

He also announced on the MotoAmerica Live+ broadcast that he has a merch range coming soon. Further information will be published in due course.

Kreece Elliott: “Race one didn’t go to plan. From the start I had issues and as the race went on, they got worse. I tried my best to keep going but, in the end, I decided to pull off to prevent any major issue with the bike and out of safety for me and the other riders. Race two went really well. I got a great start and positioned myself on the outside for turn one. I fought the whole race and was super happy with how I was riding and how I attacked straight away when I got passed. I finished in the top ten and the result was like a mini victory, especially when you consider how the weekend went. I also achieved a personal best lap time by almost a second and showed that we have the speed to fight close to the front. I am really motivated for the next round, and I want to thank everyone around me that believes in me and is supporting me.”

More, from a press release issued by Altus Motorsports:

MotoAmerica: Results from Barber Motorsports Park for Altus Motorsports Team
 
(Birmingham, AL) The MotoAmerica round at Barber featured the first SuperSport long-format race and brought intermittent weather that impacted several races.

Superbike & Stock1000:

Anthony Norton stepped in for the injured Brandon Paasch again at the Alabama round. Like Road Atlanta, Barber is another track that was new to Norton. On Friday he set to work to learn the fantastic track and improve his lap times and the bike setup.

Norton started both of the Stock 1000 races from 19th on the grid. In Race 1, he crossed the finish line in 18th. After some setup changes on Saturday evening, he dropped another second off his lap time during Race 2 and finished in 16th.

Anthony Norton: “Riding Barber for the first time was an awesome experience and I only wish we could have had more direction on the setup a little sooner so we could have shown our true potential! We hear Brandon may be cleared to make the next round and the Altus team and I are excited for his return. I’d like to thank the entire Altus team for the opportunity and experience, as well as Apex Assassins, Crossbeam Builders, and Legal Ride for helping make it happen!”

Supersport 600:

Barber hosted the first long-format race for the Supersport class. The team showed up prepared and excited for the mandatory pit stop race length. This meant investing in equipment and practicing pit stops. Jaret Nassaney had good pace in the practice and qualifying sessions and started the single, double points race from 8th. On lap 6, the weather turned and it started to rain. Jaret came into the pits to change tires and then suffered a crash on his first lap out. He quickly returned to the pits to assess and repair the damage to rejoin the race. Unfortunately, MotoAmerica did not allow Nassaney to continue.

George Nassaney: “It’s tough to lose out on double points. Especially when Jaret had good pace. We were excited to run the longer format race and it’s unfortunate we couldn’t finish that race. I’ve asked MotoAmerica to evaluate their current process for determining if a bike is safe to re-enter a race.”

Twins Cup:

Joseph LiMandri Jr. struggled to find a perfect setup for Barber. He was in the top 10 of every session and qualified 9th. In the first Twins Cup race of the weekend, he finished 10th. After the race on Saturday, the team made some significant changes to the suspension. On Sunday, in Race 2, LiMandri held 6th position for most of the race and crossed the finish line in 7th.

Junior Cup:

Alessandro Di Mario showed great pace in the practice and qualifying sessions. He topped Q2 and ended up gridded second for both Junior Cup Races. In both races, he went with the front group and battled from flag to flag. In the Saturday race, he took the checkered flag just off the podium in 4th. On Sunday, he finished with the lead group in 6th.

“Overall this past weekend did not go as well as we would have liked.  It just shows you how hard this sport is and the mental toughness the riders and team must have.  We are all back home now, so it’s time to regroup and get ready for Road America.  Our Team will be ready to battle again in 2 weeks.  I would also like to Thank our New Sponsor BUY A JET FROM STEVE MAIN,” said Team Owner George Nassaney

Altus Motorsports team is supported by our great family of sponsors: Altus Motorsports, FLY Racing WPS, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Yamaha Motor Company, Barnett, Maxima Racing Oils, Moto-D Racing, Bonamici, Hot Bodies Racing, M4 Exhausts, Vortex EK, Motion Pro, SBS Brakes, BrakeTech USA, Inc., Ohlins, K-Tech, RS Taichi, Arai, Yoshimura, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, CarbonSmith, Law Tigers Oklahoma, Buy A Jet From Steve Main, and Altus Factory Racing

More, from a press release issued by Davis Racing:

Ryder Davis Takes Four Wins In Four Starts In MotoAmerica Mini Cup Competition At Barber

Ryder Davis won every race he entered in MotoAmerica Mini Cup competition at Barber Motorsports Park, taking two wins on Pirelli tires and two on Dunlops in a perfect weekend on the track.

The Alpha Omega rider took both victories in the Mission MotoAmerica Mini Cup Presented By Motul series (the FIM qualifier for the World Series) on Friday on his Pirelli-shod Ohvale GP-2 190. He repeated the feat on Saturday, winning both of the MotoAmerica Mini Cup races on that series’ spec Dunlop tires.

“I had a great weekend,” said Davis, 13, of Pittsburgh, PA. “I came in focused on maintaining my points lead. On Friday I was focused on not making mistakes. There were a couple of things I could have done better. But overall it was a good weekend of riding and racing with my friends.”

Davis leads the points in both championships heading into Round 3 at Road America 6/2-6/3.

Follow Ryder Davis Racing @ryder5davis on Instagram and Facebook.