KYLE WYMAN LEADS HARLEY-DAVIDSON SWEEP OF KING OF THE BAGGERS PODIUM AT LAGUNA SECA
Kyle Wyman Wins; Travis Wyman Second; James Rispoli Third; Championship Battle Tightens to a Single Point
MILWAUKEE, WI – Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle® factory rider Kyle Wyman led his brother and factory teammate Travis Wyman, and Vance & Hines racer James “Hogspoli” Rispoli to a sweep of the podium positions in the MotoAmerica Mission Foods King of the Baggers race on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, CA. Kyle passed early leader Tyler O’Hara on the second lap of race and crossed the finish line 3.063 seconds ahead of Travis. Rispoli finished third, a half-second ahead of O’Hara’s factory Indian Challenger. Six of the top 10 finishers were aboard Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Travis Wyman was the fast qualifier on Saturday, setting a new class record of 1:29.748 on the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. But it was Kyle Wyman who won the King of the Baggers Mission Challenge 3-lap sprint race and winner-take-all $5,000 purse immediately following Q2. Both factory Harley-Davidson riders started from the front row along with Rispoli.
In the 8-lap King of the Baggers feature race, O’Hara jumped out into the lead from the second row of the grid. But Kyle Wyman kept the pressure on him with inside and outside moves at several points around the course and then passed him cleanly in turn 9 on the second lap. From that point, Kyle broke away and was never challenged for the lead.
“It was really greasy out there today, and I was cautious with how the edge grip was,” said Kyle Wyman. “O’Hara lost the rear coming out of turn nine and that allowed me to go by. I was happy to get clear and run my own race and manage the gap to the finish. It’s just great to get a 1-2-3 for Harley-Davidson and to reward the entire Harley-Davidson factory team who made this possible.”
“To come home second to Kyle is pretty amazing,” said Travis Wyman. “We did it the other way around at Road America. And now we’re tied in points. So these last two rounds are going to be pretty awesome for the fans.”
The Mission King of the Baggers series features race-prepared American V-Twin touring motorcycles. Harley-Davidson® Factory Team Road Glide® motorcycles are powered by modified Screamin’ Eagle® Twin-Cooled Milwaukee-Eight® 131 Performance Crate Engines.
After five of seven rounds on the 2022 MotoAmerica Mission King of the Baggers series, Kyle and Travis Wyman are tied for second in the series standings with 86 points. O’Hara leads by one point with 87. The Harley-Davidson® Screamin’ Eagle® factory team returns to the track July 29-31 at the MotoAmerica Superbikes in Minnesota at Brainerd International Raceway.
MotoAmerica King of the Bagger Race Results – Laguna Seca
- Kyle Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
- Travis Wyman (H-D) Screamin’ Eagle Harley-Davidson
- James Rispoli (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
- Tyler O’Hara (Ind) Mission Foods/S&S Cycle
- Jeremy McWilliams (Ind) Mission Foods/S&S Cycle
- Bobby Fong (Ind) Roland Sands Design
- Taylor Knapp (H-D) Vance & Hines Racing
- Frankie Garcia (Ind) Roland Sands Design
- Danny Eslick (H-D) Nowaskey Extreme Performance
- Andrew Lee (H-D) Big Bear Performance
- Patricia Fernandez (Ind) Saddlemen/Lloyd’z Garage
- Zack Nation (H-D) Zack Nation Racing Revolution Performance
- Eric Stahl (H-D) Jiffy Tune Racing
More, from a press release issued by Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing:
Four consecutive Stock 1000 wins for Tytlers Cycle Racing powered by #RideHVMC
It was another lights to flag win for Corey Alexander and the Tytlers Cycle Racing #RideHVMC squad in the latest round of the MotoAmerica Stock1000 race at Laguna Seca on Saturday. After storming to the Pole Position the #23 hit the front from the off and was never headed, taking a convincing 4.7s win at the end of the fourteen-lap encounter.
Travis Wyman kept his championship hopes alive with a fighting fourth place finish, missing a podium after a race long fight in the early stages. After losing touch with the leading trio, he eventually finished in a solid P4.
Zac Schumacher, on his first visit to Laguna Seca, finished twenty-sixth.
The next round of the championship sees the riders head to the Brainerd International Raceway at the end of July.
Corey Alexander: “Overall it was a positive weekend. Initially we took a bit of time to get going, everyone was going pretty fast, and I needed to find a bit more with the set-up of the bike. The team worked hard, and we found a good direction and that was enough to take pole and the win. It was an uneventful race, and we were able to take another twenty-five points. We will keep plugging away and look ahead to Brainerd.”
Travis Wyman: “It was a good race. I couldn’t quite hang with the leaders and ended up finishing fourth which wasn’t too bad which I am pretty happy with considering the small issues we had.”
Zac Schumacher: “The race didn’t go as well as I had hoped. It was my first time at Laguna and it’s a pretty challenging track and I just struggled to find a setting that I was comfortable enough with. The team supported me the entire weekend and I want to thank them for that. The next round is Brainerd and I’ve been there before and so I am looking forward to being back in the mix with a much better result.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA LLC:
SCOTT CONTINUES PODIUM STAND FOR VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI
The GSX-R750 Class of the Field in New Generation Supersport Series
BREA, Calif., July 11, 2022 — Suzuki and Team Hammer closed out an encouraging weekend of MotoAmerica competition at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday with their rookie aces once again leading the charge.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott continued his successful upward progress, adding another MotoAmerica Supersport runner-up result along with fast lap honors to a weekend that had already seen him collect pole position and a second-place podium on Saturday.
The 16-year-old was embroiled in a six-rider charge for the lead early aboard his next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750 that also included the team’s talented substitute rider, Cory Ventura.
Ventura slotted into third early. He then took advantage of Scott’s back-and-forth battle for first to slip into second and then, momentarily, the lead as the hectic race continued to change shape in the early laps.
Scott pulled off a remarkable save on lap 3 after hitting a bump on the track but was shuffled down to fourth in the aftermath. The youngster then set about the difficult task of clawing back up the order as Ventura settled into sixth.
During his charge, Scott ripped off the fastest lap of the race – a 1.26.985-second lap that ultimately proved more than a half-second quicker than any other rider could manage. He leveraged that pace to slash back up into second and then proceeded to defend the position to the checkered flag.
The result was the rookie’s sixth podium of the year and the fifth occasion where Scott finished in either first or second position. He said, “The Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki worked great in the first part of the race, but I got bottled up and shuffled back. I had to get my pace back and then hold onto second while battling grip issues,” stated Scott.
“We’re improving every round – both with my riding and with the bike set-up. I definitely think we’ll be on the podium a lot more and hopefully get some more wins.”
Ventura gained a position on the race’s final lap to move into fifth, earning the squad two top-five finishes in a single Supersport race for the fourth time this year.
Ventura said, “I got the call to ride for the team last Friday, and I knew I had to do it. I’ve been training hard for this moment for a long, long time. Early in the weekend, it was a little hard to transition to the Supersport bike, but slowly we improved throughout the weekend to where we were able to run up front for a couple of laps today. We’re still learning… I wish we had just one more day and one more race tomorrow!”
Young gun Liam Grant missed the race due to a concussion. He crashed in qualifying on Saturday. The GSX-R750 proves to be a front runner in the new generation Supersport class with 45% of the top ten this weekend being Suzuki’s.
Meanwhile, Richie Escalante put the finishing touches on his best weekend yet as a Superbike pilot, backing up Saturday’s career-best fourth-place finish with yet another fourth on Sunday.
Escalante powered into fifth early aboard the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R and then slipped up the inside of a pair of veteran Superbike stars to move into third on lap 2. He then maintained the position until being displaced on lap 4 of 20.
Escalante was overtaken by another competitor on lap 6 but regained the position on lap 11, which he controlled to the contest’s conclusion.
Escalante declared, “For today, the team tried to improve the bike for the later laps when the tire goes off. The bike’s handling was more calm and it was easier to do consistent laps. I got a strong start and also was able to use our great starting position. We were happy to battle for the podium early in the race, and I was happy with the pace today. In the end, we were 17 seconds behind the leader again at the checkered flag, but I think we made many steps forward.”
“Thanks to the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team and my crew for doing a great job. We need to find a half-second a lap to be fighting for the podium every time, but we are much closer than we were earlier in the season. I like Brainerd. It is a cool track and super-fast. Hopefully, we will be able to continue improving.
Laguna Seca circuit. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Suzuki Motor USA LLC.
Kyle Wyman bettered his strong Saturday with an eighth-place result in substitute duty aboard the second Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R, collecting a seventh-place finish on Sunday. Wyman steadily picked up his pace as he gained seat time aboard the bike, posting the best lap nearly six-tenths quicker in Race 2 compared with Race 1.
Team Hammer will return to action in three weeks, as the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season continues on July 29-31 at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2022 season marks Team Hammer’s 42nd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Racebikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 129 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 342 times, and have won 11 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National Championships, as well as two FIM South American Championships (in Superbike and Supersport.) The team has also won 137 endurance races overall (including seven 24-hour races) and 13 Overall WERA National Endurance Championships with Suzuki motorcycles and holds the U.S. record for mileage covered in a 24-hour race. The team also competed in the televised 1990s Formula USA National Championship, famously running “Methanol Monster” GSX-R1100 Superbikes fueled by methanol, and won four F-USA Championships.
ABOUT VISION WHEEL
Founded in 1976, Vision Wheel is one of the nation’s leading providers of custom wheels for cars and trucks, and one of the first manufacturers of custom wheels and tires for ATVs, UTVs, and golf carts. Vision Wheel looks beyond the current trends and to the future in developing, manufacturing, and distributing its wheels. Vision’s lines of street, race, off-road, American Muscle, and Milanni wheels are distributed nationally and internationally through a trusted network of distributors. Vision Wheel also produces the Vision It AR app to allow users to see how their wheel of choice will look on their vehicle before purchase and installation. For more information on Vision Wheel, visit www.visionwheel.com.
ABOUT SUZUKI
Suzuki Motor USA, LLC. (SMO) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automotive Parts, Accessories, and ECSTAR Oils & Chemicals via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles, Outboard Motors, and related products. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has business relations with 201 countries/regions. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.
More, from a press release issued by Robem Engineering:
Robem Engineering Aprilia rider Gloddy nets fourth-place finish Saturday in MotoAmerica Twins Cup race at Laguna Seca
Hobbs claims sixth top-10 Twins Cup finish of the 2022 season
MONTEREY, Calif. — Ben Gloddy was hoping to be back to his usual front running form in MotoAmerica’s Twins Cup after enduring a tough weekend two weeks ago at The Ridge Motorsports Park. And that’s exactly what the Robem Engineering Aprilia rider delivered Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca when he qualified third and finished fourth in the event’s lone Twins Cup race.
Though Gloddy and his teammate, Teagg Hobbs, weren’t at the top of the time sheets during Friday practice and qualifying, Gloddy’s gritty Saturday performance helped move him up from ninth to eighth in the Twins Cup points standings. Hobbs – who is still recovering a broken collarbone he suffered at the Road America round in June – persevered to score his sixth top-10 finish of the 2022 season and hold onto sixth place in the standings.
Both riders were a little off the pace at the start of the weekend. Gloddy was the faster of the two riders in Friday practice, as he finished the session 10th-fastest with best lap time of 1:32.890. Hobbs finished practice in 12th with a 1:33.410. Later Friday, Gloddy and Hobbs improved their pace to the rest of the field, as Gloddy finished Qualifying 1 in eighth place and Hobbs 11th. It all came together for Gloddy in Saturday morning’s Qualifying 2, as he moved up five places to secure third on the starting grid. Hobbs qualified 11th.
The Twins Cup race got underway late Saturday afternoon, and Gloddy got a phenomenal jump off the line. He nearly got the holeshot and was running in second place for the majority of Lap 1. Though he lost touch with the leading group on Laps 2 and 3, Gloddy was back in the leading group on Laps 4-6. Unfortunately, another rider crashed at the exit of Turn 2 on Lap 7, and Gloddy was among the riders who had to run off track to avoid the down rider. Gloddy rejoined the race quickly but had fallen to sixth place at the end of Lap 7. With six laps remaining in the 13-lap race, Gloddy put his head down and battled with several other riders to score a hard-fought fourth-place finish. Hobbs moved up two positions to finish Lap 1 in ninth place and ran the remaining 12 laps in ninth- or tenth-place before finishing tenth.
The MotoAmerica series goes on a three weekend break until the next round, which is scheduled for July 29-31 at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn.
Ben Gloddy / No. 72
“I think we had a good race. I got a really good start and put myself in a good spot for about half the race. Then another rider high-sided in front of me, which caused me to run off the track. I came back on track in seventh or eighth place, then was able to make my way back to fourth on the second to last lap. Another rider tried to pass me at the last corner, but he ran wide and I was able to get my Aprilia turned and got a good run to the checkered flag.”
Teagg Hobbs / No. 79
“Laguna Seca was an up and down weekend, and the team and I gave it everything we had. Unfortunately, the results don’t reflect that effort. We know what needs to be done for the next round, so all we can do is move on and prepare for Brainerd. Thank you to Robem Engineering for all the hard work this weekend, and I’m looking forward to some better results at the next round.”
Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2022 include Aprilia Racing, Piaggio Group Americas, The Center for Plastic Surgery, Synchrony, Velocity Calibrations, 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 Luke Power Racing:
P6 on track, winner off it… Luke Power shines on his Laguna Seca debut
A strong opening day paved the way for an even stronger Saturday with Luke Power qualifying a strong seventh before storming to sixth in Race 1 after getting the better of a total mic battle with Cory Ventura in the early stages of the nineteen-lap encounter. Once clear of his rival Power’s pace was as fast as the lead group, the #68 reducing an almost six second deficit to the guys ahead to a mere 0.2s at the flag. He crossed the line to secure another ten championship points, closing the gap to the top five in the overall standings.
Sunday saw improvements in terms of lap time in morning up but sadly Race 2 was short lived. Luke, who was running in the leading pack, crashed out of the podium battle in the early stages. Unhurt, he is now focused on the next round of the series at Brainerd International Raceway at the end of July.
One of the highlights of the weekend was Saturday’s ‘Party at the Podium’ which is a now annual affair at the iconic Laguna Seca circuit. Along with 3D Motorsports team manager Dustin Dominguez, Luke took part in the fan party at the end of the opening day of race action, the pair’s rendition of the classic song ‘Tequila’ earning them the MotoAmerica’s Got Talent winner’s trophy.
Luke Power: “Race 1 was not a bad race. I got held up a little at the start but recovered well and had good race pace, especially on used tyres. Race 2 started well, and I was running inside the top six and in touch with the leaders. I made a small mistake overtaking into the corkscrew and unfortunately, I went down. It goes like that sometimes, but it certainly wasn’t in the plan. I am sorry to the team and to everyone that supports me, we will try to come back stronger at Brainerd. Outside of the racing I had a blast at Laguna Seca. We were invited to the Party at the Podium on Saturday night, and we decided to enter the talent contest. There were so many fans, and it was great to be part of it. We went with the iconic song Tequila but went all in with matching watermelon outfits. I was so much fun and hopefully we can defend our crown next year. I want to say a big thanks to Jason Aguilar’s father Bob, and his sister Alyssa who presented us with some of his memorabilia – it will be displayed proudly.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
KALEB DE KEYREL SCORES POLE, PODIUM FINISH IN MOTOAMERICA TWINS CUP RACE AT LAGUNA SECA ABOARD VELOCE RACING APRILIA RS 660
FIVE APRILIA RIDERS FINISH IN THE TOP 10; JODY BARRY REMAINS ATOP POINTS STANDINGS
MONTEREY, CA – JULY 11, 2022 – Reigning MotoAmerica Twins Cup champion Kaleb De Keyrel was back to his frontrunning form Friday and Saturday. The Veloce Racing rider put his Aprilia RS 660 on pole for the weekend’s lone MotoAmerica Twins Cup race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and claimed his second podium finish of the 2022 season.
De Keyrel was joined in the top five by Robem Engineering rider Ben Gloddy, who finished in fourth after starting the race from third.
When racing got underway late Saturday afternoon, De Keyrel led the field through the first corner, with Gloddy right on his tail. De Keyrel and Gloddy finished the first lap first and fourth, respectively, and De Keyrel was part of the small group of riders battling for the lead on Laps 2-6. Gloddy had fallen back to fifth on Laps 2-3 but had made his way to the tail end of the leading group just as a rider crashed hard at the exit of Turn 2. Unfortunately, several Aprilia riders – including De Keyrel and Gloddy – had to take evasive action to avoid the down rider, which caused them to lose touch with the front runners.
Not one to give up, De Keyrel showed great pace to quickly catch up to the race leaders from a distant third place. He was back to vying for the lead for the closing laps of the race and had to settle for a third-place finish. Gloddy came out on top in a battle for fourth place that went down to the last corner.
The other Aprilia RS 660 riders who finished in the top 10 are Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing rider Anthony Mazziotto in sixth, Veloce Racing’s Edoardo Mazzuoli in ninth and Robem Engineering rider Teagg Hobbs in 10th.
De Keyrel’s other Veloce Racing teammate, Jody Barry, suffered an unfortunate crash on the last corner of the first lap. Thanks to the four wins he reeled off earlier in the season, Barry continues to lead the Twins Cup points standings. Barry now has a four-point lead over Mazziotto, and half of the riders in the top 10 in the points standings compete aboard Aprilia RS 660s.
The Laguna Seca round started off well for several Aprilia riders on Friday. Four of the top 10 riders in Friday morning’s practice session were on Aprilias. The top Aprilia rider was De Keyrel, who finished the session third fastest. Points leader Barry was seventh-fastest.
Later Friday, it was De Keyrel who paced the field in Qualifying 1 while improving his best lap time by more than a second. There were again four Aprilia riders in the top 10 for the session, including Mazziotto in fourth, Gloddy in eighth and Barry in 10th.
The second and final Twins Cup qualifying session took place Saturday morning, which saw De Keyrel improve his best lap time by another about four-tenths of a second to claim pole position. Gloddy shot up the time sheets to third, giving Aprilia two riders on the front row of the starting grid.
Of the 34 riders entered for the Twins Cup race at Laguna Seca, 14 were riding Aprilia RS 660s.
The MotoAmerica Twins Cup will be back in action in three weeks’ time when the series heads to its second-ever event at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minn., on July 29-31.
More, from a press release issued by Pure Attitude Racing:
Solid weekend in the sunshine state for Chase, Liam and Trevor
The Pure Attitude Racing team kickstarted the second half of the 2022 MotoAmerica championship at Laguna Seca this past weekend with riders Chase Black, Liam MacDonald, and Trevor Standish once again on track.
After receiving further technical support for the event from Yoshimura, who already supply the team with exhausts, the Twins Cup program was given a real boost as the series entered its second half.
Both Trevor and Liam continued their run of form, the pair qualifying well before contesting for the top ten in the early stages of the Twins Cup race on Saturday. Liam ultimately crossed the line in twelfth whilst Trevor was forced to retire with a broken gear linkage.
In Junior Cup teenager Chase Black also qualified strongly and showed podium pace in both races. A spill in Saturday’s opener after posting the fastest lap at the time was unfortunate but the youngster showed real determination on Sunday. A shortened five lap sprint following an earlier red flag saw the #14 once again close to the podium – he finished seventh but showed pace throughout.
Liam MacDonald: “I am a little bit disappointed to miss the top ten but overall, I am happy. I had grip issues towards the end of the race, but I dug deep and was able to score another four championship points. I was involved in a good race with Trevor and a few other guys, and we were closer again to the front. It was great to be back at Laguna Seca and a ton of fun to party with the fans on Saturday night.”
Trevor Standish: “I got a great start and was in the top ten immediately which gave me so much confidence. I was able to hang with them for a few laps and I think was running eighth or ninth but unfortunately, I had to retire when the gear linkage broke. I had crashed in Q2, and the team did a great job to fix the bike so we could race but the part that broke was not visible and it kind of sucked to miss out on a top ten as we should have had one in both races on the west coast. That’s how it goes sometimes. I will take it on the chin and head to Brainerd ready to fight.”
Chase Black: “Race 1 was going well. I was in the lead group and had set the fastest lap when I went down. We could have had the podium but that’s racing. I was pushing hard and so on one hand I am disappointed, but I am happy with how I was riding. Race 2 was red flagged which for me was a good thing as it gave me time to reset and, in the restart, I was with the front group throughout. Perhaps if I was a little bit more aggressive, I could have finished higher than seventh, but I think we have shown that we are getting closer to being a front runner every race and that’s exciting for the rest of the season.”
Dean Standish – Team Owner: “It was a couple of rough rounds on the West Coast but nevertheless we made progress and achieved our best results of the season. It was very humbling to have so many people help us out after the issues we had with Trevor’s bike at the Ridge. Yoshimura, who we are proud partners of, saved the day ahead of Laguna by providing us a motor for Trevor and helped us throughout the weekend with set-up advice. We were able to field a strong package with both of our Twins Cup bikes with Liam scoring points again. Unfortunately, Trevor had to retire due to a broken gear linkage. Despite this it was pleasing to see him and Liam fighting confidently for the top ten, something I am confident we can continue to improve on in the next few races. I am very happy with the job that Chase did. He cannot be disappointed with what he showed. Despite the crash he had when he was fighting for the podium he continues to develop and improve every race and he put in a very strong second race. Liam’s P12 means he has now moved up in the overall standings and has a real shot of the top ten.”
