Stefano Mesa will once again ride in place of injured Kayla Yaakov in MotoAmerica REV’IT! Twins Cup this coming weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
Yaakov, the first female to ever win a MotoAmerica race, was testing her Yamaha at Roebling Road Raceway on March 7, ahead of the Twins Cup season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, when she crashed and was struck by her motorcycle.
In addition to soft tissue damage to her right leg and knee, Yaakov suffered a fracture in her right fibula that is keeping her sidelined.
“It was a more aggressive fracture, and that’s the thing holding me back right now,” Yaakov told RoadracingWorld.com. “We just have some issues with my knee and my fibula, and right now the biggest thing is making sure my fibula is healed. My knee is doing really good. I have more and more strength each week…each day, even. We’ll be ready to go for Barber [May 19-21].”
Journeyman racer Mesa, who filled in for Yaakov at Daytona and won Twins Cup Race Two there, will replace the injured 15-year-old again in Georgia, according to MP13 Racing Yamaha owner Melissa Paris.
This means that Mesa will pull double duty again, competing on the MP13 Racing Yamaha in Twins Cup and his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki in Supersport.
Mesa raced in Twins Cup and Super Hooligan at Daytona.
Yaakov said she will still attend the MotoAmerica event at Road Atlanta and will spend her time supporting her team as well as working on the MotoAmerica broadcasts during some of the races.