KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
PJ Jacobsen ran away with a rain-delayed MotoAmerica Supersport Race One victory race at the end of a chaotic day at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. On a damp-but-drying track, Jacobsen won by 25.473 seconds over Championship rival Matthew Scholtz. Both riders had crashed on oil during the first attempt to race, then rain, a lengthy cleanup and another familiarization session pushed the shortened 12-lap race to a 6:25 pm start. Larry Pegram, in a wildcard appearance, finished third after gambling on rain tires in his first podium appearance in AMA/MotoAmerica competition since 2014.
supersport race 1 - 24_10_MIDOHIO_SSP_R1_res
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Jacobsen, Scholtz And Pegram Tame The Conditions In Mid-Ohio Supersport
Day One In The Return To Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Filled With Drama
LEXINGTON, OH (August 17, 2024) – It’s not often that the two riders in the championship fight get overlooked from their first-and-second place finishes, but that’s what happened in the Supersport race on Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Why? Two words: Larry Pegram.
Always a fan favorite at his local racetrack and a popular figure in the paddock, 51-year-old Pegram couldn’t pass up the opportunity to race at his home track 10 years after the series stopped coming to Mid-Ohio. But Pegram didn’t decide to drive the hour from his home in Hebron, Ohio, just for a trip down memory lane. He came to race.
And race he did. Pegram stormed off from the start and jumped into the lead with his full-rain tires in the iffy conditions. From there he held tough until PJ Jacobsen came past on his slick-shod Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2. And then came championship leader Mathew Scholtz on the Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6. But that was it. No other racers came past and Pegram had a podium finish for the first time since 2014 when he earned a Superbike podium at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
At the finish of a long day that featured mixed weather conditions and delays, Jacobsen had his sixth win of the season and his third in a row to claw back five valuable points on second-place finisher Scholtz.
Then came Pegram on his EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing Suzuki GSX-R750, some eight seconds after Scholtz who in turn was 25.4 seconds behind Jacobsen.
Pegram’s teammate Maxi Gerardo was fourth with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Teagg Hobbs rounding out the top five.
“It’s been a pretty long day,” Jacobsen. “We’ve run into everyone’s dinnertime here, pretty much. It was a very long day, and it was unfortunate that me and (Mathew) Scholtz crashed in that corner, but I definitely think there was oil down or something that happened because it was very strange. I think we could have had a really good battle in the dry race. I think tomorrow, hopefully, if it’s like that we’ll have a great battle like that tomorrow. I think in the race today, I made a pretty smart move, just going back from BSB days and trying to have experience. It looked like it was just going to be for slicks for sure by the end of the race. Then when Larry (Pegram) got out front, I was kind of laughing for a second because I was like, ‘There goes Pegram. He’s out front, but I’m going to reel him back in.’ Ended up catching him. I had a pretty big gap I guess behind me. So, I just kept on getting in a rhythm and it was good. I felt pretty comfortable. Happy with my team and stuff, because they deserve it so much. Kayla (Yaakov), Cory (Alexander), and my side, they were all on my bike fixing t to make it work for this race. They really deserve it all.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – Herfoss Over Wyman
The Mission King Of The Baggers Championship is a uniquely American series that pits Indian Motorcycle and Harley-Davidson – two storied and iconic U.S.-based motorcycle manufacturers – against each other. It is a fierce rivalry that is very real between both manufacturers, the teams, and the riders. S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss and Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman are cordial enough to each other, but when the faceshields go down and the lights go out on the starting grid, the two riders will fight with everything they have to beat each other.
In Saturday’s King Of The Baggers race one at Mid-Ohio, Wyman and Herfoss battled it out in a nine-lap shootout that saw Herfoss take the checkered flag by just a little more than a second over Wyman after Wyman made a strong challenge for the lead, but Herfoss was able to overtake Wyman again and make it stick.
Finishing third and another second adrift of Wyman was RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Rocco Landers, who got the better of his teammate Hayden Gillim to round out the podium.
Herfoss’ win narrowed championship-leader Wyman’s advantage to just nine points with only five races left in the season.
“That was our best (race win) yet,” Herfoss said. “We’ve been second fiddle this weekend and the last few rounds to Kyle (Wyman). It felt real nice to be able to get out and lead the race at my own pace. He always has a go. So, he shot down underneath me, and I got back in front of him. Thank you to everyone that’s involved. S&S Cycle, Dunlop, Progressive Insurance. There’s so many great people helping us. Let’s give them another one tomorrow.”
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Moore No Less
Mikayla Moore wrapped up her second Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. Championship with another runaway victory in the first of two races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The win was her fifth of the season and she earned the title a race early with what was her 12th career win in the class.
Moore topped Kira Knebel, who raced to her second podium of the year, by 14.5 seconds with Holly Varey earning her first-career podium in the class. Varey was in a battle to the bitter end and was just a few tenths ahead of Aubrey Credaroli, who in turn was less than a second ahead of fifth-placed Miranda Cain.
“It feels wonderful because I knew coming to this race, looking at the lap times, I knew it was probably going to be a close battle,” Moore said. “Kira (Knebel) was pretty close to me and so were the other ladies. I knew I just had to put my head down and just start charging away from the beginning. So, to be able to do it and to show how fast this Royal Enfield could go all season means a lot to me. Huge thanks to the Royal Enfield team, Dunlop tires, Arai helmets, Bison. Just everyone that helps put this program together. I’m super happy to be crowned number two.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
PJ JACOBSEN WINS AT MOTOAMERICA SUPERSPORT’S RETURN TO MID-OHIO
SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 2024 | QUALIFYING 2 & RACE 1
Mixed conditions played with the schedule for Saturday’s race activity at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. With rain overnight, the track surface was fresh for the second qualifying session of the weekend. Despite Tyler Scott topping the charts in Q2, PJ Jacobsen’s time remained the fastest overall, and the track record, securing him the pole position. Kayla Yaakov secured a seventh-place starting spot, and Corey Alexander was able to clock a lap that placed him mid-pack to start 15th.
After rain delayed the initial start for the Supersport class, the conditions improved for a quick start in the late afternoon. However, on Lap 2, a competitor’s engine expired, leaking oil onto the track surface. Both Jacobsen and championship rival Mathew Scholtz slid in the residue, collecting both riders and bringing out a red flag. All three crews worked quickly to get Jacobsen’s XPEL Ducati back into running condition while the rain poured over the Lexington, Ohio track.
Unfortunately, Alexander, who’s Ducati experienced various mechanical issues throughout the weekend, encountered more troubles and ultimately decided to not restart the race.
It was over four hours after the initial race start time that Race 1 went green. Both Jacobsen and Yaakov opted to start on the slick tires, despite the track showing mixed conditions. For Jacobsen, the gamble paid off taking the victory 25.4 seconds ahead of second place Mathew Scholtz. Today’s win closes the gap to the championship, placing Jacobsen only 13 points behind Scholtz.
Tomorrow hosts another day of track activity at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The Roller Die team will be working tirelessly overnight to get Alexander’s back up bike prepared for tomorrow’s warm up session and Yaakov seeks better weather conditions to progress in tomorrow’s Race 2.
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 1st
FINISHED: 1st
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (266 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was really good. It was a very tiring day for the entire team, waiting around for the rain delays. I want to thank the whole RDM team, all three crews were fixing my bike after the crash with Scholtz. I think there was some oil on the track that caused the crash. Unfortunately, Corey’s bike wasn’t working, but he was still out there holding the umbrella in a total downpour while everyone was working. Incredible job by the whole team. We are a big family, and they did everything they could to help me in the battle for the championship today. I really can’t thank them enough.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 7th
FINISHED: 10th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (114 pts)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “Today wasn’t the best, to be honest. The Rahal Ducati Moto team has done a great job putting great bikes under us, but it felt like luck wasn’t on our side. The Qualifying 2 session this morning felt as though we had all the right things to put in a good lap, but we had some misfortune with other riders in the way. In Race 1, the conditions were horrible. The track went from fully wet, to fully dry, and everything in-between. Unfortunately, we couldn’t do well today in these conditions, but we finished the race and that’s what matters. Tomorrow I’m looking to get a better finishing position..”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 15th
FINISHED: DNS
CHAMPIONSHIP: 7th (111 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Another frustrating day unfortunately, not for lack of trying, but our bike is still having some issues. We weren’t able to safely finish the race today. Hopefully we can continue to diagnose whatever the issue is or switch to our back-up bike. One way or another, we’ll be back on the grid and hoping for a good result tomorrow.”
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a great day for the team. PJ got another win and closed the points down on Scholtz. It was a pretty stressful race because of the track being half wet and half dry. Kayla rode well for that being one of the first times being in those conditions. Unfortunately, we still had some issues with Corey’s bike, and he wasn’t able to race. We are going to continue to try and fix those problems and get him back out there to race tomorrow and gain some points.”
