Cameron wins on MotoAmerica return, Corey and PJ bag solid points as 2023 begins

Tytlers Cycle Racing leave the opening round of the 2023 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship as joint leaders of the series after Cameron Beaubier, who returns to the series after a couple of seasons on the world stage, romped to the win in Saturday’s first race before narrowly missing the double win on Sunday where he crossed the line second.

The team’s trio of riders Beaubier, PJ Jacobsen and reigning MotoAmerica Stock 1000 champion Corey Alexander were in fine form at Road Atlanta – all three showing a strong pace and potential throughout the weekend.

With all three inside the top ten in qualifying (Cameron second, PJ fifth and Corey ninth) the stage was set for a great opening round.

When the lights went out at the start of the opening encounter all eyes were on Cameron Beaubier as the former multiple MotoAmerica champion slowly but surely reduced the gap to early leader (and defending champion Jake Gagne). Hitting the front, the final stages were intense but as the checkered flag was waved it was the #6 who took the win to give the team the championship lead and BMW its first victory in the US national Superbike series for forty-five years.

Corey Alexander finished a credible eighth whilst unfortunately PJ Jacobsen crashed out, thankfully unhurt.

Sunday’s race was another barnstormer with Cameron once again in the battle for victory. Taking his turn to lead he would eventually be denied the win. He crossed the line second, adding another twenty points to his championship tally. He heads to the next round at Barber Motorsports Park as the joint championship leader.

PJ Jacobsen raced to his first points of his 2023 campaign with a solid ride to sixth. He finished just over a second ahead of teammate Corey Alexander who finished seventh.

 

Cameron Beaubier: “Saturday was a great day. I am super happy to start the year off a win but to be honest I wasn’t expecting it after the time gap Jake (Gagne) had on us in qualifying. Race two was a wild one with good battles all race long. I am glad we got out of there safe on the last lap. I want to say a massive thank you to the Tytlers team for this first weekend back. We know what we need to work on, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.”

 

Corey Alexander: “It was a great first race and I was able to run inside the top eight for most of it. We knew after the race that there were a few set up issues that we could work on and improve, and I was confident of improving on Sunday. I am happy with the progress we made in Sunday’s race. Our average pace was much faster than Saturday and our set up took a step in the right direction. Overall, it was a successful first weekend on the superbike and I’m excited to continue the forward momentum into Barber. Thanks to my guys for all the hard work and congrats to Cam for the unbelievable weekend. It further proves the capability of the BMW.”

 

PJ Jacobsen: “Race one was a complete disaster. It was a shame to crash but we worked as a team to understand what happened and I was determined to come back stronger on Sunday. We bagged some solid points on Sunday but in all honesty, I want to put the weekend behind me and move on to the next one. It was a tough one for me and I am hoping to be a lot closer to the front at Barber. Obviously, it was great for us a team with Cam getting the win, so congrats to him and I hope to be in the fight at the next one.”

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering:

Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia riders Landers, Rodio score win, pair of second-place finishes at Road Atlanta

Rodio increases MotoAmerica Twins Cup points lead at April 21-23 round
 

BRASELTON, Ga. — Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering riders Rocco Landers and Gus Rodio each found success in different ways at this past weekend’s MotoAmerica round at Road Atlanta. Rodio’s pair of second place finishes allowed him pad his lead in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup points standings, while fill-in rider Landers found immediate success in his first weekend racing an Aprilia RS 660 by scoring a pole position and dominating victory.

Rodio came into the April 21-23 Road Atlanta round with a win and runner-up finish at Daytona under his belt, while Landers made his debut with the team in place of Ben Gloddy – who is still recovering from an injury he suffered at Daytona. The duo of Landers and Rodio ended up claiming three of the possible six podium finishes in the two Twins Cup contests at Road Atlanta, though Landers’ motorcycle suffered a mechanical problem during Saturday’s Race 1. The 2020 MotoAmerica Twins Cup and two-time MotoAmerica Junior Cup champion Landers also lowered the race lap record for the Twins Cup at Road Atlanta during Race 2 by about 0.8 seconds.

The team kicked off the weekend’s on-track action at the top of the time sheets, as Landers paced the field in Friday morning practice. In his first session on an Aprilia RS 660, Landers posted a best time of 1:33.937 — more than half a second faster than the next fastest rider. Rodio also showed good pace in practice as he finished third fastest. Later Friday, Landers was again the class of the field and lowered his best lap time for the day by about two seconds. Rodio finished Qualifying 1 in fourth.

The Twins Cup’s second and final qualifying session took place Saturday morning, but the conditions did not allow riders to improve their best lap times. Landers was again at the top of the time sheets in Qualifying 2, and Landers and Rodio ended up securing first and fourth place on the starting grid, respectively.

When Saturday’s Twins Cup Race 1 got started after a short red flag period, Rodio got a good start and had moved up to second place by the first corner. Landers didn’t get off the line as well but was running in fourth at Turn 1 and quickly moved up to third at Turn 3. Rodio, Landers and another rider then began pulling away at the front. The three riders jostled for position for several laps before Landers was forced to retire from the race at the end of Lap 3 due to a technical problem. Rodio and the other frontrunning rider took turns in the lead, and Rodio made a valiant effort to overtake the race leader on the last lap but wisely settled for a runner-up finish.

Landers’ fortunes turned around for Sunday’s race and he ended the weekend with a show of utter dominance. Landers got a very good start and led the race start to finish to claim a victory. His lead over Rodio and two other riders vying for second place grew to more than seven seconds with four laps to go, though he backed off his pace a little in the closing laps to win by a margin of more than four seconds. Rodio was at the point for the battle for second place for most of the race, as he finished nine of the race’s 12 laps running in second. In the closing laps, Rodio gradually pulled away from the third-place rider to clinch his second runner-up finish of the weekend by 0.831 seconds.

The results marked the second time in four races that a Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 rider was on the top step of the podium, and Rodio’s third and fourth runner-up finishes of the season allowed him to extend his lead in the points standings. Rodio’s 85 points are 26 more than the next closest competitor in the standings. Though Landers has taken part in just two races and only finished one of them, the 25 points he earned for his victory moved him up to eighth place in the Twins Cup standings.

The Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering team will be back in action in three weeks time at the next MotoAmerica round, which takes place at Barber Motorsports Park on May 19-21.

 

Rocco Landers / No. 97

“My first time on the Aprilia RS 660 was amazing. It handled very similar to a 600cc bike, in that it gave me a ton of feel on the front tire. I really like riding it. It’s really easy to adapt to, which is a blessing when you get on a new bike. Once I got on it, I knew I was going to gel with it immediately. Saturday’s race was a bit of a bummer, but a day like today always makes you feel better about a day like yesterday. I’m very, very happy to be able to ride the Aprilia to a win today, and I’m excited about the rest of the season.”

 

Gus Rodio / No. 96

“Overall, it was a pretty good weekend here at Road Atlanta. I’m super happy to get a double podium and extend my points lead to 26 points. I feel really good and learned a lot this weekend from riding with Rocco and other riders. I’m excited to take what we learned here to Barber and have a good weekend there.”

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

Rodio Racing’s technical partners for 2023 include NJ MiniGP, Luxestar VIP, MAR Contractors, Evolve GT, N2 Racing, Dunlop, Spellcaster Productions, Kathedral, The Martinn and MVR Endeavor.

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Altus Motorsports:

MotoAmerica: Altus Motorsports faces difficulties at Road Atlanta

(Atlanta, GA) Altus Motorsports WPS Fly Racing Team entered the 2023 season with ambitious plans and high hopes. The team has talented riders and competitive equipment across four different classes: Stock 1000, Supersport, Twins Cup, and the Junior Cup. However, Road Atlanta proved to be a challenging weekend due to a mechanical issue that caused failures across most of the motorcycles on Saturday.

“We are still investigating the source of the problem that sidelined three of our four bikes on Saturday,” said George Nassaney, team owner. “I feel bad for the team and the riders. We continued to do things exactly as we have done for years, so to have issues manifest like this is demoralizing. We made some changes on Saturday evening and did not have the same issues on Sunday. We are working to get to the root of the problem to ensure it does not happen again.”

Superbike & Stock 1000:

As Brandon Paasch was out with an injury, Anthony Norton stepped in to ride the Altus Motorsports GSX-R1000. Norton arrived in Georgia with zero experience at Road Atlanta. A mechanical issue caused Norton to miss the first practice, which meant his first laps were during the Stock1000 qualifying session on Friday. Despite these challenges, Norton managed to post some impressive times and finished the first qualifying session in 25th place out of thirty-five competitors. Not bad considering he was on a track he had never seen and a bike he had never ridden. Norton started Race 1 from 25th and, after a great launch, was in 21st after the first lap. Through the race, he fought his way up to 17th and crossed the finish line in 16th – dropping four seconds off his qualifying time. Another amazing start in Race 2 put Norton up to 18th on the first lap. After a race-long battle, Anthony took the checkered flag in 17th.

 

 

Supersport:

Last season Jaret Nassaney really gelled with the new GSX-R750. Now, with a year of experience on that bike and building on some of the best riding of his career, Jaret is expecting  great things in 2023. Based on his results on Friday at Road Atlanta, things were looking good for the weekend. Nassaney was Top 10 in both sessions and ended up qualifying 8th. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue knocked him out of Race 1. The second Supersport race was a different story. Jaret got a good start and ran most of the laps in 6th place. On the last lap, he lost that position to cross the finish line in 7th.

 

 

Jaret Nassaney: “We had some unfortunate luck on Saturday that knocked us out of the race but I’m happy with the amazing start I got! We had great pace all week and I’m really happy with how I’m jiving with the bike! Race 2 I got another great start and slotted myself into 5th but unfortunately made a couple mistakes and settled into 6th for the whole race until the last lap when I got passed into turn 10a and didn’t have any opportunity to attack back. All and all I’m happy with our pace. Barber is one of my favorite tracks so I’m ready to get back out there and try to battle a solid result!”

Twins Cup:

Joseph LiMandri Jr. qualified in P7 on the Altus Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R7 and looked good in the first race on Saturday. By lap 3 he had slotted into a solid 5th place. Unfortunately, that came to an untimely end a few laps later when a mechanical issue sent him back to the pits. In the Sunday race, LiMandri had an amazing start and completed the first lap in 4th. He ended up crossing the finish in 5th place.

 

 

Junior Cup:

There is no doubt that Alessandro Di Mario has the talent to win races. At Road Atlanta, the 2022 North American Talent Cup Champion put the Altus Motorsports Kawasaki Ninja 400 on the pole for his first race weekend in the MotoAmerica Junior Cup class. The first race ended unceremoniously when Di Mario was forced to retire with a mechanical issue. In the second Junior Cup race of the weekend, Alessandro went with the top group and led the race on more than one occasion. On the final lap, he lost the front while attempting a pass to take second place, knocking him out of the race. While he leaves the first round with no championship points, there is no doubt he will be a contender.

 

 

“What a crazy and stressful weekend, but our team came through like Champions” said George Nassaney Team Owner.  This was our teams first race weekend after the sudden passing of our friend and Crew Chief Eric Gray.  I was expecting some growing pains, but not 3 DNF’s.  I can absolutely say it was not our mechanics fault.  Our Crew Chiefs Mike Castro and Mike Pond along with our mechanics put their head’s together and figured out the issue.  We fixed the issue and Sunday showed our riders talents with their results.  We are going to come into Barber recharged and ready to battle”

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, and Altus Factory Racing

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Hayden Bicknese Racing:

Hayden converts front row to double P3 as 2023 MotoAmerica Junior Cup starts at Road Atlanta – heads to Alabama third overall

 

 

Hayden Bicknese kickstarted his MotoAmerica Junior Cup campaign in the best possible way – bagging a double podium in the season opener at Road Atlanta last weekend.

Fast from the off, the #69 Kawasaki rider ran at the front from the very first session, backing up his Free Practice pace with a strong showing in qualifying to secure a place on the front row of the grid for both races.

Saturday’s opening race was red flagged and restarted with Hayden losing a comfortable advantage that he had built. Nevertheless, he remained in contention when the second part of the opening encounter got underway. An on-track moment, that saw him take to the grass, created a gap between him and the leaders but he was still classified third at the flag after an incredible fight back in the latter stages.

With no major set up changes to his Bicknese Racing machine for warm up on Sunday morning, Hayden was once again in contention for glory when Race 2 got underway. But, as in most Junior Cup races the constant exchanging of positions enabled Bicknese to remain in the mix for the win throughout, his cool head and smart thinking allowed him to make his move on the final lap to secure his second podium of the weekend.

His double third place means he sits third overall in the standings as the series heads to Alabama and Barber Motorsports Park in a few weeks.

Hayden Bicknese: “FP1 started well, and I posted a time that was very competitive. I was surprised how fast I was at the compared to last year, almost four seconds in the first session. The bike was already set up well, but we made a small change for Q1. The change to the external pre-load helped on the brakes, but it was still not really proven with the track being a little greasy, but I was still able to improve my times. I was classified P2 and could have been P1 if I hadn’t made a mistake and hadn’t been held up by another rider on the last corner. We didn’t make any changes after first qualifying, and we skipped Q2 because of a storm the night before and we knew that the race would be dry. Race 1 started very well. I was able to set the pace at the front and as the race progressed it was just me, Alessandro (Di Mario) and Avery (Dreher). We had a huge gap but then there was a red flag. In the restart I got another good launch and was running first and was starting to open a gap, but I had a little bit of a headshake on a curb and lost drive. I got swallowed up on the straight and pushed back to fourth place. I was comfortable sitting behind. My plan was to try to just pass one-by-one to get to the front, but I got pinched-off a bit up to the esses. I got bumped off the track and lost about three seconds to the group. I was able to catch up but because there was a red flag the race was super short, so I only had a lap or two to pass three people to get to the podium. Race 2 started pretty well, and I was running third until I hit a false neutral on the first lap. I was able to remain in the fight at the front but it was so crazy so I decided to be smart and take a little less risk because I knew eventually that the riders ahead would slow each other up and I could take advantage. To take another podium is super good and a really great way to start the 2023 season. Having the data from previous years really helped us and I am confident that we can run at the front in Barber. I want to thank all of my sponsors and the team for all their hard work. See you all in Alabama!”

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by BMW Motorrad North America:

BMW Motorrad Motorsports Customer Racing Teams and the BMW M 1000 RR capture six podium finishes during MotoAmerica’s Race Weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – April 25, 2023…This past weekend’s MotoAmerica races at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta saw BMW Motorrad Motorsport M 1000 RR customer racing teams clinch two wins and six total podium finishes around the 2.55 mile track in the Superbike and Stock 1000 classes. Six BMW riders were entered in the Superbike class and nine riders competed in the Stock 1000 class.

Medallia Superbike

In the Superbike class, five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion, Cameron Beaubier, on the No. 6 Tytlers Cycle Racing M 1000 RR, claimed the checkered flag in Race 1, by less than half a second, marking the 55th AMA Superbike win of his career. This win also delivered BMW’s first AMA Superbike win in 45 years, when Harry Klinzman and the R 90 S won in New Hampshire in 1978. Rounding out the top BMW finishers in Race 1 were Corey Alexander / Tytlers Cycle Racing (8th place) and Nolan Lamkin / Tom Wood Powersports (12th place).

 

 

In Race 2 of the Superbike class, Cameron Beaubier was denied a victory but finished in 2nd place, making it two podium finishes in a row for Tytlers Cycle Racing. PJ Jacobsen / Tytlers Cycle Racing (6th), Corey Alexander / Tytlers Cycle Racing (7th), Ashton Yates / Aftercare Scheibe Racing (9th) and Nolan Lamkin / Tom Wood Powersports (15th) rounded out the BMW finishers.

 

 

After the first two races of the season, Cameron Beaubier is in 2nd place in points in the Superbike class with Corey Alexander behind him in 6th position.

Stock 1000

BMW M 1000 RR riders took two wins and four total podium finishes in the two Stock 1000 races of the weekend.

In Race 1, Ezra Beaubier, riding for Orange Cat Racing, took the win and was followed closely in 2nd by Travis Wyman of Travis Wyman Racing. Ezra’s Orange Cat teammate, Kaleb De Keyrel crossed the finish line in 4th.  Taylor Knapp / Taylor Knapp Racing (5th), Nolan Lamkin / Tom Wood Racing (6th), Jason Waters / Edge Racing (8th), Alex Arango / Top Pro Motorsports (9th) and Michael Henao / Hey Now Racing/On Any Moto (15th) were the BMW finishers in the first race.

 

 

Race 2 saw Ezra Beaubier capture his 2nd win of the weekend and Taylor Knapp / Taylor Knapp Racing joined him on the podium after finishing in 3rd place. BMW Motorrad Motorsport customer racing teams rounding out the field in Race 2 were Travis Wyman / Travis Wyman Racing (4th), Kaleb De Keyrel / Orange Cat Racing (5th), Nolan Lamkin / Tom wood Powersports (7th), Jason Waters / Edge Racing (9th) and Michael Henao / Hey Now Racing/On Any Moto (12th).

In the Stock 1000 points standings, Ezra Beaubier leads the class in 1st place with Travis Wyman in 3rd, Taylor Knapp in 4th, Kaleb De Kreyel in 5th and Nolan Lamkin in 5th.

The next event on the MotoAmerica schedule is Barber Motorsport Park, May 19-21.

BMW Group in America

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles as well as the BMW XM. The 349 BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

www.bmwgroup.com and www.bmwmotorcycles.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BMWMotorradUSA

Twitter: www.facebook.com/BMWMotorradUSA

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@bmwmotorrad

 

 

 

More, from a press release issued by Travis Wyman Racing:

Travis Wyman kicks off MotoAmerica Stock 1000 season with podium finish Saturday at Road Atlanta

BMW rider wraps up season-opening round third in Stock 1000 points standings

 

 

BRASELTON, Ga. — Travis Wyman got his sixth season racing in MotoAmerica’s Stock 1000 Class off to a positive start Saturday when he scored a podium finish in the first Stock 1000 race of the year. Wyman followed up his runner-up performance with a fourth-place finish in Sunday’s Race 2 and ended the April 21-23 event third in the Stock 1000 points standings.

Road Atlanta is one of Wyman’s favorite tracks. He recorded a commanding win in the first-ever MotoAmerica Stock 1000 race at the track in 2018 and has scored additional victories in Stock 1000 and Superstock 600 at the Braselton, Ga., track. Wyman’s on-track results were hampered some before the round even began, as he spent long days with his team at their Austin, Texas, base of operations repairing his BMW M 1000 RR’s electrical system after technical problems greatly reduced his test and development plan in the weeks leading up to the Road Atlanta round.

Wyman had good pace from the first practice session of the weekend, as he finished Friday morning practice in fifth place. He also finished the Friday afternoon Qualifying 1 session in fifth, but could have been even faster had more electrical issues not cut his on-track time during that session short. Qualifying 2 took place Saturday morning, but the wet conditions did not allow Wyman to improve on his best time from Qualifying 1. He therefore had to settle for fifth place on the starting grid for both of the round’s Stock 1000 races.

In Saturday’s Race 1, Wyman got a good start and was up to fourth place as the field entered Turn 1. Wyman made several attempts to move up the order during the first few laps but wisely took no unnecessary risks and maintained his fourth place until later in the race. On Lap 6 of the 13-lap race, Wyman began moving up the running order. He used the draft to move up to third place and battled with two other riders for the remainder of the race — eventually finishing in second place.

Sunday’s Race 2 wasn’t as sweet for Wyman. He got another good jump off the line and was again in the battle for the lead of the race. Wyman ran in fifth place for most of the race, despite several strategic attempts to move up the running order over the course of the 13-lap contest. A late-race mistake by one of the frontrunners allowed Wyman to clinch a fourth-place finish while missing out on his second podium finish of the weekend by a mere 0.285 seconds.

With a second- and fourth-place finish to his credit, Wyman concluded the first of five MotoAmerica Stock 1000 rounds third in the class standings — just three points behind the second-place rider.

The next Stock 1000 round is slated to take place in three weeks time — May 19-21 — at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.

Travis Wyman / No. 10 

“My team and I started the season with some big challenges when our testing time at Barber got cut short earlier this month. I can’t thank my team and sponsors enough for giving me what I needed to race this weekend. I felt really good on the bike in first practice, but the electrical issues reappeared in Qualifying 1 and cost us a bit of track time in the only dry qualifying session we ended up having. I used Qualifying 2 to make sure the bike was running right again, and overall was happy with my result in Race 1. Things were a bit different in Race 2, as the warmer track conditions had me struggling a bit for rear grip throughout that race. It was still a positive start to the season, and I’m looking forward to having some more time to work on our BMW M 1000 RR before the next round at Barber.”

 

 

 

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

Double points finish as Kreece shows top six potential at Road Atlanta

 

 

A top ten finish on Saturday to score his first points of the 2023 MotoAmerica Junior Cup season, followed by a top six fight on Sunday, Colorado teen Kreece Elliott had a satisfying start to his first full season of racing in the series.

Single race appearances last year, in which Kreece showed pace and potential, opened the door for a full campaign this year with the #47 improving steadily throughout the weekend, achieving a double point haul in the opening round of the championship at Road Atlanta.

Qualifying eleventh, Elliott rode hard in Saturday’s first race which was stopped and restarted after an on-track incident. He finished tenth. Sunday saw the race run the full distance with Kreece locked in a race long multi rider battle that saw him cross the line eleventh, a mere second from P6.

The results mean he leaves Atlanta joint tenth in the overall standings ahead of round two in Alabama in a few weeks’ time.

Kreece Elliott: “After starting P11 race one went well. I got a good start and went up to like seventh or eighth. The race was a battle with like eight other riders. I had a really fun time and learned a lot. Towards the end of the race, I got shuffled back in the draft and wasn’t able to make a smart move in the last lap and I didn’t want to risk a crash. I finished tenth which is a good way to start the season. I also made a decent start in race two but am pretty sure I stayed in the position where I started. It was hectic in the first corner, and I was in a battle for sixth for the whole race. It was super gnarly but I think we had a little issue because we couldn’t overtake on the back straight, even in the draft. I was hitting high top speeds but couldn’t get past the guys around me. I managed to work my way to the middle of the group and was very close to the top six. I wanted more on Sunday, but we scored solid points, and I am excited for Barber. I want to thank everyone that is helping and supporting me, especially mum and dad.”