This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
Editorial Note: It was not raining during the race, but the track was fully wet.
MotoAmerica HONOS Superbike Championship Point Standings (after 20 of 20 races):
- Gagne, 445 points, clinched Championship
- Scholtz, 357
- Petersen, 264
- Baz, 238
- Fong, 207
- Herrin, 200
- Barbera, 157
- Jake Lewis, 131
- Kyle Wyman, 111
- Alexander, 83
- Travis Wyman, 83
- Toni Elias, 76
- Gilbert, 56
- Anthony, 52
- Yates, 52
- Danilo Lewis, 41
- Jayson Uribe, 39
- Lee, 30
- Bradley Ward, 28
- Farris, 28
MotoAmerica Superbike Cup Championship Point Standings (after 20 of 20 races):
- Jake Lewis, 397 points, clinched Championship
- Travis Wyman, 290
- Alexander, 267
- Gilbert, 210
- Danilo Lewis, 182
- Farris, 181
- Yates, 145
- Lee, 145
- Coffey, 103
- Giannotto, 99
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Scholtz, Gagne Split Wins In MotoAmerica Superbike Finale At Barber
Jake Gagne Ends His Record-Setting Season With Another Record
BIRMINGHAM, AL (September 19, 2021) – Despite a weekend at Barber Motorsports Park that featured horrendous weather and difficult racing conditions, the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Series ended as it should have with Jake Gagne winning a record 17th race to put an exclamation point on a season like no other.
Gagne, who earlier in the season set a record with 13 straight wins, didn’t win his record-extending 17th race in a row in Saturday’s race one, and he didn’t win it in race two on Sunday morning, but he did take that 17th victory in the season finale on Sunday afternoon at Barber Motorsports Park.
How’s this for a season? Twenty starts, 17 victories, 18 podiums and 445 championship points. That was Gagne’s year with the Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha team as they simply scorched the competition in putting together a season that is unprecedented in AMA Superbike history.
The cherry on top is that Gagne’s victory in race three at Barber – the 17th of his season and career – on Sunday put him into a tie with Nicky Hayden for eighth on the all-time AMA Superbike win list.
“What a way to finish the year,” Gagne said after win number 17. “Yesterday was chaos. We all threw it down, but I couldn’t get it back up in time. The race earlier today, we weren’t too happy with it. We had some issues and we sorted it out and we were ready to go out there and try to win this thing in race three. Hats off to this team. It’s been an incredible year. Seventeen wins is unbelievable, especially against a field this deep and talented, these amazing teams. These guys are world-class riders. We did our work. We focused on what we needed to focus on and cranked out laps. I gave it my all every single lap of every single race, and it worked out most of the time. I feel blessed and I’m just lucky to have such a great crew, such an amazing motorcycle. I’ve had more fun than ever racing motorcycles, so life is good. It’s going to be nice to have a little break here, but we’ll be back to work and ready to keep fighting with these guys next year. It’s going to be hard to beat that year. Nothing but hard work to come and we’ll just keep chipping away.”
Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz had his best weekend of the year, despite crashing out of the lead but remounting to finish second in Saturday’s Mother Nature race. Scholtz made up for his Saturday miscue with his fourth career Superbike victory on Sunday morning (in a race that was stopped a few laps early when a deer ran across the wet track in front of Scholtz) and followed that up with a second-place finish behind Gagne in race three – another wet race – on Sunday afternoon.
“Yeah, I don’t even know what happened yesterday,” Scholtz half-joked after erasing that race from his memory banks with a win in race two. “I’m just trying to forget about that and just concentrate on what we do now. Pulled a pretty decent gap in the first couple laps. I definitely took some pretty decent risks in the more fast-speed corners, which I think definitely helped me open up the big gap. I tried to charge. At the halfway point, I had a couple decent front-end pushes, front-end wobbles. Also tucked the front in corner five. So, I kind of just chilled out, watched the board, and just tried to hold the six- or seven-second gap. I think with five laps to go, I was coming over the corner of 14, 15 there and a deer jumped out. I didn’t really think too much of it then, then I saw that the red flag came out and I kind of knew that I had won it there. Just a big thank you to the Westby crew. Yesterday was a difficult time for us. Kind of thinking with a 11-second gap, one and a half laps to go, I kind of screwed up big time there. It’s always good to bring home a decent result afterwards.”
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York’s Loris Baz was also on the podium in both races on Sunday with a second-place finish in race two in the morning and a third in race three on Sunday afternoon. Baz doesn’t like to do things the easy way and his third-place finish came after a crash early in the race with an impressive fight back through the pack to follow.
“The start was not too bad,” Baz said after the final race of the season. “I actually got into P2 really early and Jake (Gagne) was pushing hard. I had a moment going into turn six or seven, then Cam (Petersen) crashed. It was a bit of a mess. Jake already had a two-second lead on the first lap. So, I tried just to get a feeling on the bike. I was struggling a little bit, then I found a pace. I had a lack of rear grip, so I started to push on the front and then I just lost it into turn five. I managed to pick up the bike pretty early and restart it. I had an error message on the bike, and I could not turn it off. I had to reset the bike. So, I restart almost half a lap trying to reset all the buttons that I have on the bike. All the guys came through and finally the bike started to work again. When I went to neutral, it went into restart again. So, I just put my head down. I saw 13 or 15 seconds to the podium. I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ It would be bad to do another crash. I would have normally not cared, but I wanted to finish the season with a podium at least. I managed to get back pretty fast. So, it’s not what we wanted. I really wanted to finish the season a little bit better, but I gave everything I had. Big thanks to the team, all the guys, all the fans that stood in the rain, and MotoAmerica for this great season. It’s been nice to discover a new championship. Congrats to Jake (Gagne) for kicking our asses all season. He finished the same way that he started the season.”
With Scholtz, Baz and Gagne owning the podium in both races on Sunday, Saturday’s first-time winner Cameron Petersen was fourth in race two on the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, then crashed in race three, remounted and finished fifth, giving him a 1-4-5 weekend tally.
Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates came close to giving Honda a podium on his CBR1000RR-R in race three, but the Georgian gave up the spot late in the race to the flying Baz. Still, Yates had his best Superbike weekend ever with two fourths and a sixth.
Panera Bread Ducati’s Kyle Wyman ended his season with a sixth in race three to go with a seventh in race two, the New Yorker finishing well clear of HONOS HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander in race three.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong had a rough weekend and he ended it with two eighth-place finishes on Sunday. Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis wrapped up the Superbike Cup on Sunday and picked up his $25,000 check after finishing ninth in race three. Earlier in the day, Lewis had put his Stock 1000-spec GSXR-1000 into fifth.
Gagne’s Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha teammate Josh Herrin erred by fitting slick tires to his Yamaha YZF-R1 in race two and eventually pulled out of the race. On Sunday afternoon, with rain tires fitted, Herrin ended up 10th.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Gagne Completes MotoAmerica Superbike Season with Record-Breaking 17th Victory
Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne finished his stellar 2021 season on a high note with a record-breaking 17th MotoAmerica Superbike win in today’s Race 3 at the Barber Motorsports Park. It was a much better day two for the newly crowned champ, who finished third earlier this morning in the second race of the tripleheader. Josh Herrin was all in for the win and went with slick tires in the mixed conditions in Race 2. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish, but he rebounded to close out the season with another top-10 finish in the challenging conditions in Race 3.
Gagne got a great start from the fourth row of the grid in Race 2 and made his way to within reach of the podium on the opening lap. He patiently waited in fourth as the two riders ahead battled for second and then made his move to third at the beginning of Lap 6 as they lapped his teammate. Gagne kept second in sight, but with five laps to go, the race was red-flagged due to a deer crossing the track. With the required percentage of the race completed, it was called, and he returned to the podium in third.
After two bizarre races, Gagne returned to dominant form in the final race of the season. He claimed the lead early and set a blistering pace to quickly build a comfortable gap up front and cross the line with a 12-second margin of victory. It was a fitting end to a landmark season for the 29-year old who, in addition to claiming his first title in the premier class a weekend early, added several record-breaking accolades to his resume. He broke five lap records out of nine venues and led a phenomenal 244 laps. Gagne also broke the record for most consecutive wins with 16 and then for the most race wins in a season with today’s 17th victory, which also puts him in a tie with Nicky Hayden on the AMA Superbike all-time win list.
Looking for that first win of the season, Herrin rolled the dice in the morning race and put on slick tires in hopes that the track would continue to dry. Unfortunately, it did not dry as quickly as it has done in previous years, and Herrin was lapped by the lead group just after the start of Lap 6. He kept pushing and was starting to drop his times as the track dried out, but unfortunately, it started to rain again, and he ultimately withdrew from the race.
In Race 3, Herrin rebounded with a great start from the fourth row of the grid and made his way to fifth on the opening lap. He was riding comfortably in fifth but unfortunately went off track on Lap 6 and rejoined in eighth. The Californian quickly recovered a position but also found himself in a multi-rider battle and jockeyed for position. He was seventh until the penultimate lap but unfortunately went off track again and was shuffled to 10th. Herrin rode it home to score his second top-10 finish on a difficult weekend in Leeds, Alabama.
Richard Stanboli – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“We were able to finish the season properly today with a win and a new record of most wins in a single season. Race 2 did not go as we expected and a setting based on yesterday’s heavy rain ultimately was not the ideal setup, and Jake had a hard time staying with the leaders in the very light rain from this morning. Learning from that, we made adjustments, and Jake once again ran away from the rest of the field for yet another flag-to-flag race victory.
“Our 2021 championship season is another success to add to our 2020 championship results. It has been an amazing experience! We can’t thank the staff at Yamaha enough for giving us the opportunity and the trust in what is now two of our best seasons in Superbike racing.”
Jake Gagne – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“What a year! I’m so happy for what we’ve accomplished, and to finish it off with a win is amazing! Again thanks to the whole team. We’ve got such a great crew, and everybody works so hard. I had a lot of fun riding in the wet, and this Attack R1 was on rails again. It was good to get a win in the wet after that crazy day yesterday. Man, what a way to finish the year!”
Josh Herrin – Fresh N’ Lean Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“It was a tough weekend and definitely not your normal race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. I really wanted that win and had nothing to lose, so after going out on the sighting lap, I saw the dry line forming and switched to slicks. Unfortunately, the track didn’t dry out like it normally does, and it didn’t work out. I got a good start in Race 3, but I was struggling to find my comfort zone and finished 10th. It’s not how I wanted to end the season, but we gave everything that we had and look to come back stronger next year.”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati:
Ducati Rounds Out 2021 MotoAmerica Season on the Podium
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 19, 2021 – The Barber Motorsports Park round of MotoAmerica 2021 was held in torrential conditions, with Ducati duo Loris Baz and Kyle Wyman fighting the elements to get home safely.
Baz suffered a massive crash on Friday and was uncertain on his participation for this weekend, but the gritty Frenchman came away with three podiums in third, second and third, despite crashing in two of the three races and the nation’s best struggled to get to the finish.
Wyman, in the final Ducati ride of his MotoAmerica career, failed to finish race one’s drenching but came back for seventh in race two and sixth in race three.
Baz ends the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in fourth place behind champion Jake Gagne, with Wyman signing off in ninth, marking the first time in nearly two decades two Ducatis have finished in the top 10 in AMA Superbike competition.
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“It’s been a crazy weekend after a massive crash on Friday,” Baz said. “I was 90 percent sure on Friday I was not going to be racing this weekend and I started last because I missed Q1 and was in third, crashed again and started ninth with a completely broke bike—broke handlebars, everything—and got a podium in P3. This morning was a bit easier. The pain was less and I went P2, but it’s not a condition I like, when it’s drying. I had better hopes for this weekend and this afternoon but Jake (Gagne) pulled a gap straight away on lap one and I couldn’t, crashed again and finished third. But three podiums to finish the season with two crashes in the races and three over the three days. I want to thank the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York team, all my mechanics, all the guys on the team who got me out on the track. Also, team managers Bobby and Lewis because they wanted me to go home and rest and I was the one who told them I wanted to race. They didn’t need t o do that. I am really proud to race for this team, and we ended the season with three podiums. Thanks to all the Ducati fans and we’ll see what the future brings.”
Kyle Wyman (One Cure Ducati – Ducati #33)
“Today went better than Saturday,” said Wyman. “We finished in seventh and sixth place. We ran up there pretty close to the front in the beginning but we struggled in finding the confidence in the bike that we had yesterday. Definitely it was a grueling weekend, being three rain races. It’s a lot on the equipment and the riders. We grounded through and finished up pretty well. I want to say a huge thank you to my team and everything they have done for this year. It’s been a trying season after coming back from injury and trying to get the results. I can’t thank the sponsors enough—Ducati Richmond, our Ducati dealer partner north of the border—they have been a huge supporter through these three years with Ducati and while this is my last day on the Ducati I am super thankful to the Ducatisti and Ducati North America, everyone who has supported this effort in bringing the Panigale V4 R to America to race against the country’s best. I also want to thank the KW Army, who rallied around this effort and helped me get this program off the ground. Every one of the members played a huge role in that. I look forward to what the future holds, but I’ll look back on a lot of fun memories with this platform and the results we had. Thanks to everyone.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz Finishes Strong With A Win And A Runner-Up Finish In MotoAmerica Superbike At Barber
Birmingham, AL – September 19, 2021 – On the final day of the 2021 MotoAmerica Championship, Mathew Scholtz and the Westby Racing team put a crescendo on their season with a Superbike victory in race two on Sunday morning at rainy Barber Motorsports Park, followed by a runner-up finish in race three on Sunday afternoon.
The win and the second-place finish were the 15th and 16th podium results out of 20 races this season, making 2021 Westby Racing’s most successful Superbike season yet.
In Sunday’s first of two races, Mathew got to the front quickly and built a gap of more than seven seconds. At that point, a deer decided to get in on the action, and it ran across the track ahead of Mathew, which resulted in Race Control stopping the race and declaring Mathew the winner.
After the victory, Mathew said, “I pulled a pretty decent gap in the first couple of laps, and I took some pretty decent risks in the more fast-speed corners, which, I think, definitely helped me open up the big gap. I tried to charge. At the halfway point, I had a couple decent front-end pushes, front-end wobbles. I also tucked the front in corner five. So, I kind of just chilled out, watched the board, and tried to hold the six- or seven-second gap. I think, with five laps to go, I was coming over the corner of 14, 15 there, and a deer jumped out onto the track. I didn’t really think too much of it then, but I saw that the red flag came out, and I knew that I had won it there. Just a big thank you to the Westby crew. Now, we’ll wait and see what the weather does and come out swinging in the third race.”
After Sunday’s second race, in which Mathew finished second for the ninth time this season, he said, “I think 2021 has been a fair season for me. Last year, it was also going pretty well and then, unfortunately, at Indianapolis, I had a bad crash, and it almost ended things for me. But luckily, I’m back here riding again. Like I was saying earlier, I had kind of gotten through the halfway point of the season, and we just started chasing setup and going down the wrong rabbit hole. Some things changed for the last three or four rounds. We’ve been getting stronger and stronger. So, it’s always good to end the season off like we have. Now, it gives us confidence heading into 2022. I’m going to be back with the Westby squad. I’ve been here for five years, going on six years now. They’re all family to me. So, I couldn’t be happier. I get paid to race motorbikes in one of the best championships. I’m here racing against some the world’s best guys and giving it to them sometimes, and sometimes they give it back to me. So, it’s always great. I’m just looking forward to coming back in this championship and hopefully challenging Jake next year. We’ll come out swinging next year. We know what sort of lap times we need to do, where we need to do better. So, we’ll work on that during the off-season. I won’t be going home (to South Africa), which kind of sucks, but that gives us some more testing time.”
Ed Sullivan, Westby Racing Crew Chief said, “It’s nice to finish the season off on a high with the win in race two. Even though all of the races were wet this weekend, the track surface was different for each race. We seemed to get it right this morning, and the Attack guys got it right in the afternoon. Mathew was really strong all weekend, in the wet or dry, and he carried on his form from the past few rounds. 2022 starts now, though. We are preparing our testing program and are working on the areas that we believe we need to improve. All of us are looking forward to COTA 2022!”
Chuck Giacchetto, Westby Racing Team Manager, added, “I’m grateful to everyone who made it possible for us to finish second in the 2021 Superbike Championship. A very special thanks to Tryg Westby, who makes it possible every single day. I’m sad to have the season end, but I’m very much looking forward to 2022.”
And so, that concludes the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship for Westby Racing. Mathew and the team will start working towards the 2022 season with the goal to move up one position in the final point standings next year, which is 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Champion.
2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship Final Standings
1. Jake Gagne – Yamaha – 445
2. Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha – 357
3. Cameron Petersen – Suzuki – 264
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