Shawnee, OK (August 12, 2019) – Celtic HSBK Racing had a successful weekend with Rider PJ Jacobsen at the MotoAmerica Cycle Gear Championship of Sonoma. Landing on the box twice and finishing the weekend on the top step the team walks away ready for their next round in Pittsburgh.
It was a two day event making for a fast and furious weekend. Saturday during practice 1, PJ ran the fastest times in the SuperSport class. Later that day during qualifying, PJ continued to improve his lap times. While on his last flying lap he encountered lap traffic and ultimately earned the fourth spot on the grid putting him on the second row. That afternoon in Race 1, there was a red flag early in the race and the race went from 19 to 12 laps. PJ ran a good clean race, but didn’t have the pace to keep up with the race leaders and finished in 3rd.
The team went into Sunday with changes to the bike setup and race strategy. During race 2, PJ worked his way to the front of the pack passing at the most difficult corner of the track repeatedly picking off opponents one by one. By the end of the race he had built over an 8 second lead on second place finisher Bobby Fong. The team was ecstatic to see the bike and rider run such an impressive race.
The team looks forward to the next supersport round at Pittsburgh International Race Complex later this month. It is a track PJ has tested at and will be able to show the full potential of rider and bike.
To see updates throughout the season and on race weekends, follow HSBKRacing on Facebook and Instagram
Special thank you to Bickle Tire Warmers, BrakeTech, Competition Werkes, Cox Racing, Drippinwet.com, Eazi-Grip, Evol Technology, Fast Frank Racing, Ferodo, Full Spectrum, GB Racing, HVAC Construction, Jap4performance, MotionPro, MWR Filters, Nitro Lubricants, RaceSeats, REV’IT, Samco Sport, Spiegler Performance Parts, STM Clutches, SunStar Chain & Sprockets, Yamaha USA, and Zero Gravity
More, from a press release issued by Aguilar Racing:
RiderzLaw/Aguilar Racing Has Solid Weekend at Sonoma Raceway
Jason Aguilar had 4 weeks to focus on recovery from injuries and illness in between MotoAmerica rounds at Laguna Seca and Sonoma Raceway. The time off allowed Jason to get better and put in a little training time with some mountain biking. However, the new 2-Day format at Sonoma was going to be difficult as Jason did not have any data for Sonoma with his new team. Without the additional day and less track time, it was going to be a challenge to get up to speed and get a good setup and qualifying result.
Jason finished the first practice session in 10th place, putting in 3 more laps on his Yamaha R6 than any other rider. The team used the data from that first session to make adjustments for the only qualifying session. In qualifying, Jason ended the session in 9th place securing a third row starting position. While not satisfied with his qualifying position, Jason was getting closer to the leader’s pace than he had been all season.
Jason got a good start in Saturday’s race, but it was nullified by another rider’s crash causing a restart after they tended to the downed rider. The red flag incident caused the race to be shortened from 19 laps to 12. On the restart, Jason did not get a good start and dropped back to 10th place. Jason methodically utilized the chicane to pass riders and worked his way up to 6th place where he finished the shortened race. It was RiderzLaw/Aguilar Racing’s best finish since Virginia.
With MotoAmerica’s 2-Day format, rider’s grid positions for Race 2 are determined by their best lap time in Race 1. This allowed Jason to improve his grid position from 9th to 6th, moving him up to the second row for Sunday’s race. Race 2 saw Jason get pushed out wide in turn one at the start, causing him to drop back to 8th place. Jason lost contact with the lead group, but he pushed hard to catch up and finally joined the lead group by midrace. The eight-rider group was battling each other for the win. Jason advanced to 7th place with a nice pass in the chicane, but had to do it all over again when a missed shift on the front straightaway caused him to lose the position. He made the same pass two laps later and then advanced to 6th when one of the leaders crashed. Jason was closing in on 5th place, and looked like he was going to battle for the position. The riders came upon a 4-rider group of slower riders and Jason got held up in the esses causing him to lose a full second to the rider that he worked so hard to catch. Then, at the start of the next lap, Jason missed a shift in turn one allowing another rider to pass him and drop him back to his final finishing position of 7th place.
Jason Aguilar: “It was frustrating to have a couple of mistakes and a little bad luck cost me a shot at 5th place in Race 2, but I was finally able to get back to the lead group and battle with the leaders. That felt really good. The team gave me a great bike, and we are getting closer to fighting for a podium finish. I am looking forward to our next race at Pittsburg International Raceway.”
Big Thanks to All of our Sponsors: RiderzLaw, Lexin, Honos, Torco, CL Auto Group, Moto Station, Graves Motorsports, Metric Method, TaylorMade Racing, Dunlop Tires, Yamaha Motor USA, FTECU, Superlite Sprockets, Motion Pro, Arai Helmets, Mithos USA, Alien Motion Batteries, SBS Brakes, EF Signs, SBK Paint, RFA Designs.
More, from a press release issued by AP MotoArts:
Draik Beauchamp Takes Over Twins Cup Championship Lead At Sonoma
AP Moto Arts MotoAmerica Twins Cup rider, Draik Beauchamp, left round six of the championship with a 2nd place race result and a one-point overall lead in the standings. After struggling with set up issues early in the weekend, Draik was able to put in a qualifying lap good enough for a 9th place grid position. On race day, Draik really put his head down, got an excellent start, and made his way up to 5th place by just the second corner. During the middle part of the race, Draik just bided his time until the final laps. It was at this point that Draik methodically made his way forward and crossed the line in 2nd place.
Draik Beauchamp – AP Moto Arts #77
“After riding the struggle bus for a little bit, and qualifying in 9th, I turned the launch key on my AP MotoArts missile and boy did she fly… from 9th to 5th by turn 2! After securing a runner-up result, I’m holding on to the championship lead by a single point! Now, only 3 points separate the top three riders. If you go to MotoAmerica Live+, you can catch up on all of the action! See you all at Pitt Race!”
Draik would like to thank AP Moto Arts, ARacer USA, Red Fox Racing, Orient Express, SBS Brakes, 129photos.com, NJK Leathers, Jenspeed LLC, Pit Pass Radio, GB Racing Premier Motorcycle Protection, LS2 Helmets, K-Tech Suspension USA, Sportbike Track Time, Robem Engineering, and Billy Mallory/Brick Gentry Law.
Draik’s team mate, Cooper McDonald, continued his steep learning curve of adapting to new circuits as this was his first outing at Sonoma. Using his early laps to learn Sonoma’s configuration, Cooper and crew then went to work dialing in his AP Moto Arts Yamaha FZ-07. Consistently gaining speed and confidence throughout practice and qualifying, Cooper would start from 10th on the grid. During the race, Cooper got a solid start and held station during the early laps. Running as high as 7th place, Cooper crossed the line with an 8th place finish.
Cooper McDonald – AP Moto Arts #120
“Well, we are very happy with a strong 8th place finish. Not quite where we were at Utah and Laguna, but still finished strong. We have data to make the bike stronger, and we will come back stronger. Thanks so much to the team and to my dad for making this amazing experience possible! Also, huge thanks for the ‘The Official Cooper McDonald Fan and Watch Party’ back at home. I’m sorry I couldn’t get it on the box, but hopefully we can come back strong! I’d also like to give a huge congrats to my teammate, Draik Beauchamp, for getting one of the AP Moto Arts bikes on the box!”
Cooper would like to thank Andy Palmer and the AP Moto Arts crew, LS2 Helmets, Specialized Racing Gear, K&N Air Filters, and MotoAmerica.
Wildcarding for the AP Moto Arts team at the Sonoma round was Fresno, California’s Matthew Riedlinger aboard his Yamaha FZ-07. Matthew had a challenging weekend as he and his crew spent most of the weekend chasing a set up that would suit the challenging and bumpy Sonoma circuit. Matthew would go on to qualify 19th on the grid, but his race ended early due to a crash with just a handful of laps remaining.
Matthew Riedlinger – Y’all Mad Racing/ AP Moto Arts #504
“We came into Sonoma to just have fun, and that’s what we did. We couldn’t get the bike dialed in and it wasn’t for lack of effort! In the words of Alex Honnold; ” I wrote in my journal ‘sad face, do better’” and that’s what we will do! I’ll see everyone at Barber. I’d like to thank Andy Palmer, Paul and Jen Jensen, and John Ryti for the phenomenal help in getting me out there, and my wife, Robin, for always supporting me and pushing me!”
The AP Moto Arts team is looking forward to seeing everyone at the next round, August 23rd-25th, for the MotoAmerica Championship of Pittsburgh.