Jacobsen Vs. Scholtz As Supersport Series Heads To Wisconsin
Road America Set To Host Five MotoAmerica Support Class Races In Addition
To Steel Commander Superbike, May 31-June 2
IRVINE, CA (May 30, 2024) – Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen by no means breezed through the opening weekend of MotoAmerica Supersport racing, but he must have felt at least a bit comfortable after coming out of Road Atlanta with a clean sweep of the two races. But whatever comfort Jacobsen found in his Georgia domination may not be so cozy now as the series heads to Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for round three of the series, May 31-June 2.
We can blame that on Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz.
Scholtz and his Yamaha YZF-R6 were third and fourth at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and both of those came after poor starts and a less than stellar qualifying performance meant he had to come from behind in both races. Scholtz cleaned that up, at least a bit, at Barber and he turned that into two impressive victories – the long-time MotoAmerica Superbike rider’s first wins in MotoAmerica Supersport.
Thus, with two rounds and four races in the rearview mirror, Jacobsen (who was second in both races at Barber) has an 11-point lead on #11 Scholtz.
However, it’s much too soon to think of the series being a two-horse race. Far from it as a horde of riders are bunched together in the third through 13th spots in the series standings.
TopPro Racing Team’s Maxi Gerardo leads the bunch after his third- and fourth-place finishes at Barber after starting both races from pole position. Gerardo is 41 points behind Jacobsen and just two clear of N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis, who was fifth and third at Barber. Next comes Altus Motorsports’ Jake Lewis, five points behind Davis and three points ahead of Corey Alexander. Unfortunately, Alexander will miss the Barber round after breaking the wing portion of his ilium (the largest and uppermost bone in the hip) in the second race at Barber.
Equitea MV Agusta by MP13 Racing’s Roberto Tamburini had a solid outing at Barber, and he sits four points behind Alexander and nine head of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Stefano Mesa. Then there’s TopPro Racing Team’s Alfonso Linares in ninth before we get to the young man many expected to fight for the title in 2024 – Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott. Scott finds himself 67 points behind Jacobsen after a big crash in race one at Road Atlanta and another big one in race two at Barber. They don’t come much tougher than Scott so don’t be surprised to see him at or near the front in Elkhart Lake.
Mission King Of The Baggers – Herfoss (Indian) vs. Wyman (Harley-Davidson)
Nine points is all that separates S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss from Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman in the battle for the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship. Nine points.
With both men winning three races apiece, the difference lies in fact that, in Wyman’s three race wins, Herfoss was second. Wyman was second in two of the Aussie’s three victories but struggled to fifth in the rain-struck second race at Road Atlanta.
Although it may be a bit early to call this championship a two-man battle, it resembles what a two-man battle would look like. So far.
Ironically, Herfoss’s teammate Tyler O’Hara and Wyman’s teammate James Rispoli are tied for third in the championship – 56 points behind Herfoss and five points clear of RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s defending class champion Hayden Gillim. Then comes Mad Monkey Motorsports’ Max Flinders and then the man who has proven in the past to have race-winning speed, SDI/Roland Sands Racing/Indian Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong.
Gillim’s rookie teammate Rocco Landers, Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson’s Cory West and RydFast Racing’s Kyle Ohnsorg round out the top 10 heading into Road America’s two races.
BellissiMoto Twins Cup – Five Different Winners
Five racers have won the first six races of the BellissiMoto Twins Cup Championship: Gus Rodio, Rocco Landers, Alessandro Di Mario, Dominic Doyle and Avery Dreher. Those five are racing three different brands of motorcycle: Aprilia (Rodio, Di Mario and Dreher) Suzuki (Landers) and Yamaha (Doyle).
It’s not going out on a very big limb to call that parity.
The fast-starting Gus Rodio and his Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660 is leading the title chase by 15 points after two wins and three podiums to start the series at Daytona and Road Atlanta.
Rodio leads Landers in the championship by nine with the all-time win leader in the class taking his lone victory in race one at Road Atlanta. Eight points behind Landers is Rodio’s teammate Di Mario with the youngster taking his first career MotoAmerica win in race two at Barber Motorsports Park.
Doyle sits fourth in the championship, 35 points behind Rodio. Doyle’s win came in race two at Road Atlanta, but his points tally has taken a hit with two DNFs, including his race two crash at Barber two weeks ago.
TopPro Racing’s Avery Dreher won his first Twins Cup race in Saturday’s race one at Barber. He is fifth in the championship, 40 points behind Rodio.
Junior Cup – A Year Of Firsts
All three of this year’s Junior Cup winners have been first-time victors.
It started in the series opener at Road Atlanta when BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin won the first race of the season for his very first MotoAmerica victory. That continued in race two when New York Safety Track Racing’s Yandel Medina scored his first-career MotoAmerica victory.
At Barber Motorsports Park, the trend continued but also ended as Speed Demon Racing’s Logan Cunnison not only won his first-ever MotoAmerica race, but he also enjoyed it so much he did it again the next day.
The point standings show that one of those race-winners has been more consistent than the others and that is Medina, with the New Yorker standing on the podium in all four races with a win, a second and two thirds.
That show of consistent speed puts him 14 points ahead of Cunnison, who has the only DNF of those in the top five. Cunnison, meanwhile, is eight points ahead of Chapin, who has been off the podium in all of the races other than the win he opened the season with. Wolfe Racing’s Ryan Wolfe hasn’t won a race yet, but you get the feeling he’s going to. Wolfe had two runner-up finishes at Road Atlanta and he followed that up with fourth in race one at Barber. A DNF in race two, however, has him 24 points behind Medina.
BARTCON Racing’s Eli Block is fifth overall with his 44 points 10 better than BPM’s Isaac Woodworth.
Two-time Junior Cup race winner Levi Badie is up to seventh in the championship despite missing the opening round in Georgia. Badie was third and second in the two races at Barber.
The biggest surprise thus far in the series is the fact that defending series champion Avery Dreher sits 10th in the series standings after the first four races. Dreher crashed out of the lead in the very first race of the year at Road Atlanta, had a DNF in race one at Barber and has a best finish of fifth in race two at Atlanta. He has 20 points to show for it and is now 57 points behind Medina and four points behind his sister, Ella, who has been a positive surprise in 2024.
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. – Two Words
Build. Train. Race. Those are the three words that accurately define Royal Enfield’s MotoAmerica racing program.
Two words more accurately describe the past nine Royal Enfield races. Mikayla. Moore.
After the first two races of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. series, Moore is undefeated. Still. With nine straight race wins dating back to her first race in the championship at Road America last year, Moore is the benchmark for the rest of the women in the class to shoot for.
And the opening round of the series two weeks ago at Barber Motorsports Park was no different as Moore ran away to two victories while the others scratched and clawed behind her to see who second best would be.
In the opener it was Emma Betters and Camille Conrad who fared the best with Conrad finishing second in race one and third in race two while Betters was third in race one and second in race two. Both came out of the weekend with 36 points, 14 behind Moore.
Miranda Cain and Cassie Creer were consistent with Cain fourth both times and Creer likewise with her two fifths.
Pre-Race Support Class Road America Notes…
Xavi Forés won both Supersport races at Road America a year ago en route to earning the series championship. Forés beat Stefano Mesa in both races with Josh Hayes and Tyler Scott swapping third in the two races.
Avery Dreher and Rossi Moor emerged victorious from the two Junior Cup races in 2023 in Elkhart Lake. Dreher beat Moor in race one with Moor topping Max Van in race two.
In the third round of the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship a year ago at Road America it was Kyle Wyman and Bobby Fong taking the two race wins. Wyman beat Tyler O’Hara and James Rispoli with Fong besting Rispoli and Wyman in race two.
The Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. season got its start at Road America last year with Mikayla Moore winning both races en route to her perfect season in the class. Crystal Martinez was second in race one with Sonya Lloyd third. In race two it was Kayleigh Buyck finishing second with Aubrey Credaroli third.
About MotoAmerica
MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Junior Cup, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including 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, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com and follow MotoAmerica on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on demand service, MotoAmerica Live+
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
RACE PREVIEW: ROAD AMERICA
ELKHART LAKE, WI., (05.30.2024) – Following a double podium finish from PJ Jacobsen at Barber Motorsports Park, the Rahal Ducati Moto team has traveled to Road America for rounds five and six of competition.
It will be only the No. 15 of PJ Jacobsen and the No. 19 of Kayla Yaakov who take on the 14-turn course, while Corey Alexander cheers his teammates on from the sidelines after an accident in Race 2 at Barber Motorsports Park two weeks ago. Alexander is working on his recovery and intends to be back onboard his Roller Die machine soon.
Jacobsen looks to build on his championship lead, coming into the weekend 11 points ahead of Mathew Scholtz. Yaakov anticipates growing her Ducati Panigale V2 experience in the Supersport category after improving several positions during this season’s races.
Tomorrow’s schedule will host Practice and Qualifying 1, with Qualifying 2 and Race 1 on Saturday, followed by a warm-up and Race 2 on Sunday.
QUOTE BOARD:
PJ JACOBSEN (No. 15 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m looking forward to Road America, it’s an awesome track. I did very well there last year and it’s been repaved which helps us out a lot. The track has a huge fan base too. Hopefully, the weather stays nice all weekend – we’re hoping for a three-day, sunny weekend. There will surely be a pretty big battle, especially in the Supersport class. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m determined to keep being consistent and stacking these podium finishes.”
KAYLA YAAKOV (No. 19 XPEL Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m super excited for this weekend at Road America! It’s one of my favorite tracks on the calendar, and the fan atmosphere is always amazing. I haven’t raced at this track in about two years, the last time being on a Junior Cup bike, so I’m excited to experience this track at full speed on the XPEL Rahal Ducati V2. Races are always super exciting and fast here, so I’m really looking forward to the races this weekend and continuing to build and improve on this bike!”
COREY ALEXANDER (No. 23 Roller Die + Forming Ducati Panigale V2): “I’m super bummed to be spectating here at Road America this weekend after my Race 2 crash at Barber [Motorsports Park]. It’s one of my favorite events of the entire year so it definitely hurts to be on the sideline. I’m excited to at least be here with the team and supporting PJ and Kayla from the pits in anyway I can. I am trying to recover as quickly as possible and make it back on my Roller Die Ducati V2 sooner rather than later! Thanks again to everyone who’s reached out these last two weeks, I appreciate you all.”
BEN SPIES (Team Principal): “Going to Road America, I think everybody’s in good spirits. Unfortunately, Corey had a really big crash at Barber but the prognosis of the injury looks really good. He will be sitting out this weekend as will his bike, but with Kayla [Yaakov] and PJ [Jacobsen], we still think we can get some strong results. Road America is a favorite track for most people after being repaved and we’re all looking forward to getting up there, taking home some strong results for the XPEL and Roller Die Ducati‘s, and having some fun.”
