Here We Go: It’s Title Time At Barber Motorsports Park
Just Four Points Between Gagne And Petrucci, And It’s Time For The Season Finale At Barber Motorsports Park, September 23-25
IRVINE, CA (September 21, 2022) – All good things must come to an end, and such is the case with the 2022 MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship. But not before it all comes to a head at Barber Motorsports Park, September 23-25, in what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to an epic season.
And it all starts at the top as the season finale has turned into a winner-take-all battle for the Medallia Superbike Championship as one of two deserving men will be crowned champion on Sunday afternoon in Alabama.
The two protagonists couldn’t be any different.
One of them is from Colorado by way of California, the other is from Italy. One is the defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion, the other comes from MotoGP via the Dakar Rally. One races a Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing YZF-R1, the other a Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V4 R.
Meet Jake Gagne and Danilo Petrucci.
With two races remaining in 2022, Gagne leads the championship by just four points after gaining three points on Petrucci at the New Jersey Motorsports Park round. Gagne rode to his 11th win on Saturday in the Jersey sunshine, but on Sunday Petrucci finally got the chance to show off his rain-riding prowess with his fifth victory of the year coming in a downpour. Petrucci was a struggling fourth on Saturday, Gagne a careful third on Sunday. Thus, the three-point gain for Gagne.
It’s obvious that Petrucci thrives in the rain and who can forget last year’s deluge at Barber Motorsports Park? But also remember that Gagne went into last year’s finale with the championship already wrapped up. He was careful in the rain because he could be in two of the three races (yes, three races last year), but he went out and won in the wet in the last race of the year for his 17th victory in 2021. Wet or dry, Gagne and Petrucci will go at it for the duration. They will have to.
Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen’s mouth starts to water at the thought of racing at Barber Motorsports Park, the site of his first-career Superbike win last year. He loves the place, and he could play a role in the outcome of the championship as he will obviously be helping Gagne if the need arises.
Petersen is third in the championship and will be looking to hold on to that spot with fellow South African Mathew Scholtz giving chase in fourth. Scholtz, who also won a race last year at Barber, is 17 points behind on his Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Petersen has nine podiums in 2022, including his victory in race two at Road America; Scholtz has 10 podiums, including his victory in race one in Wisconsin.
Fifth place in the championship looks like a lock for Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera with the Spaniard racking up solid points in every race bar two. His consistency has placed him 32 points clear of his teammate PJ Jacobsen with the latter crashing out of pole position in race two at NJMP for his fourth non-finish of the season. Jacobsen’s early-season run was also hampered when he was forced to miss both races at Road Atlanta with COVID-19.
Still, Jacobsen looks set to finish sixth in his first season with the upstart Tytlers Cycle Racing team as he goes into Barber with 15 points in hand over Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis with the Kentuckian fighting to beat his rookie teammate, Richie Escalante, in the championship. Lewis is nine points ahead of Escalante.
The man on the move in the standings is Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim. After six strong finishes in a row in the Medallia Superbike class, Gillim finds himself just three points behind Escalante and 12 behind Lewis.
Tenth place is held by After Care Hayes Scheibe’s Ashton Yates, who crashed out of a battle with Gagne for third in race two at NJMP. Yates, who is currently 10th, could pass Gillim as he trails him by just five points.
Pre-Barber Superbike Notes…
While Danilo Petrucci has been fighting with a horde of Yamahas all season long in the form of Jake Gagne, Cameron Petersen and Mathew Scholtz, he will at least have a comrade in red with him for the final two races of the year at Barber Motorsports Park as he will be joined on a Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC Panigale V4 R by newly crowned Supersport Champion Josh Herrin. How much help could Herrin be? Well, the 2013 AMA Superbike Champion has that title, and eight Superbike wins on his resume.
The Superbike Cup and the $25,000 that goes to the winner of the class within a class will go down to the wire at Barber with Danilo Lewis leading Brandon Paasch by just 11 points in a battle that looks like it will be between just those two. Paasch has five wins to his credit and Lewis has three.
There were three Superbike races held over the course of MotoAmerica’s final round a year ago and all three were entertaining with rain wreaking havoc. Race one was won by Cameron Petersen, the South African the first in recent memory to crash and still win a Superbike race. Petersen bested Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, who had also crashed out of the lead only to remount and finish second. Third went to Ducati-mounted Loris Baz. In race two it was Scholtz who came away with victory over Baz and Jake Gagne. In Sunday afternoon’s third race of the weekend, Gagne scored a record-setting 17th win of the season over Scholtz and Baz.
Five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier is the Superbike lap record holder at Barber Motorsports Park with his best of 1:22.676 set during Superpole in 2020. Beaubier also holds the Superbike race lap record with his 1:23.403 coming in race two in 2020 on the 2.3-mile Barber circuit.
With his 28th Superbike win coming at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the ninth round of the championship, Jake Gagne now has 28 career AMA Superbike wins which places him in a tie for sixth with former AMA and World Superbike Champion Ben Spies. Next up for Gagne is Toni Elias and his 32 career victories in AMA Superbike racing.
Australian Mat Mladin has won more Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park than any other racer with nine victories from 2004 to 2009. Josh Hayes is second on the Barber win list with seven Superbike wins – all in a row from 2012 to 2015. Cameron Beaubier has won five Superbike races in Alabama. The very first Superbike races held at Barber were in 2003 with Aaron Yates winning race one and Kurtis Roberts taking victory in race two.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is the North American road racing series created in 2014 that is home to the AMA Superbike Championship. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership that includes three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey, ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland, motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges, and businessman Richard Varner. For more information on MotoAmerica, visit www.MotoAmerica.com. Also make sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Mathew Scholtz And Westby Racing Ready To Make It A Dozen At Barber Motorsports Park This Weekend
Tulsa, OK – September 21, 2022 – The 10th and final round of the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship starts this Friday at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, and Mathew Scholtz and his Westby Racing team are looking for two more Superbike podium finishes to make it an even dozen on the year.
Mathew and the team are coming off a runner-up and third-place finish at round nine in New Jersey the weekend before last, and they are aiming to keep the momentum going this weekend in Alabama.
Currently ranked fourth in the season points standings, Mathew has a chance to take over third place in the rankings, and there is no better place than Barber Motorsports Park for him to do it. The 17-turn, 2.38-mile road course has always suited Mathew’s riding style as well as the power and handling characteristics of his #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike. In fact, Barber is the site of two of The Scholtz Kid’s five career Superbike victories. One of those wins came just last year during an unusual three-race weekend for MotoAmerica at Barber, and in each of the other two races, Mathew was runner-up.
What’s more, Mathew and the Westby Racing team have a six-race podium streak at Barber Motorsports Park extending all the way back to 2019.
“I can’t wait to race at Barber,” Mathew said. “It’s always been one of my favorite tracks, and it’s always been good for me and the Westby team. Last year, it rained, and I got some good results, but I’m looking forward to dry, sunny weather this weekend. I feel like we’re at a really good point with the bike and my riding. I know there’s a lot of attention around the Gagne and Petrucci championship battle, but I think, myself and the Westby team know what we’ve got to do. We’ll put our heads down, work hard, and try to bring home a win or two, finish off the season on a high note, and put us in good stride towards the 2023 season. So, it’s the final race weekend of the season, and a big thank you to the fans and everyone who have helped me and the Westby team to get where we are. It’s only going to get better from here.”
Superbike final qualifying is on Saturday morning at 10:15 a.m. CT. Superbike race one will go green on Saturday afternoon at 3:10 p.m. CT and will be broadcast via tape delay on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. ET. Superbike race two is on Sunday afternoon, also at 3:10 p.m. CT and will be broadcast via tape delay on FS2 Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET.
For all the action from Barber Motorsports Park, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica’s live streaming and on-demand service.
Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More
Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11 to 11:40 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at Barber Motorsports Park. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don’t miss it.
Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase
Attack Performance and Puig USA are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.
For more updates about Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit https://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
It’s The Final Showdown For Danilo Petrucci and Ducati
Danilo Petrucci and Ducati ready to slug it out for an incredible rookie championship this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 21, 2022 — After nine rounds and 18 races, it all comes down to this. The incredible Barber Motorsports Park will play host to the final round of the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship and will see a champion crowned in the form of Yamaha’s Jake Gage or Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s star Italian, Danilo Petrucci.
Former two-time MotoGP race winner Petrucci’s never-give-up style served him well at the previous round at New Jersey Motorsports Park, where a crucial victory pulled him to within four points of defending champion Gagne with two races and 50 points up for grabs at Barber.
It will be a winner-take-all encounter as the two star riders in this year’s championship go head-to-head one last time in 2022.
Petrucci is hoping to emulate fellow Ducati legend Troy Corser, the last rider to win an AMA/MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in red as a rookie and it would be the first title for an Italian on American soil.
Danilo Petrucci (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – Ducati #9): “I’m feeling really good about this weekend,” Petrucci said. “I’ve been spending the time since New Jersey in America and I have had plenty of rest and good training to be as ready as possible for Barber. I’m happy, whatever way this weekend will go. We’ve been able to bring a lot of excitement to this championship and, for sure, we’re ready. We know we have to do everything at 101 percent because our opponents are really fast. We want to finish the year in the best possible way. It will be tough to win, but we will try as hard as possible. Barber is a small track for us, but I’m happy to have brought this fight to the end of the season.”
The final of the 2022 Medallia MotoAmerica Superbike from Barber Motorsports Park will start with Superbike action at 10:50 am CDT on Friday, September 23. Race one is scheduled for Saturday, September 24 at 3:10 pm and race two kicks off on Sunday, September 25 at 2:10 pm.
