Josh Hayes, age 48, rode his Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 to victory in MotoAmerica Supersport Race One Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway, in Brainerd, Minnesota. The victory was significant as it was Hayes’ 87th career MotoAmerica/AMA race win, giving him sole possession of the all-time record. It was also Hayes’ first win of the season, breaking Xavi Fores’ eight-race win streak.
Wild card entry Rocco Landers came back from a poor start to get second on his Landers Racing Yamaha, and Tyler Scott finished third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750.
Scott got third by just 0.4 second ahead of his teammate Teagg Hobbs, who caught up to and pressured Scott at the end of the race. Stefano Mesa finished fifth on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, just ahead of Jake Lewis on the Disrupt Racing Suzuki GSX-R750.
Championship point leader Fores struggled from the start and finished a season-worst seventh on his Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V2.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Hayes Makes History With Supersport Victory At Brainerd International Raceway
Josh Hayes Is Now The Winningest Rider In AMA Road Racing History
BRAINERD, MN (July 29, 2023) – When Josh Hayes shocked the AMA road racing establishment with his first career victory in the 750cc Supersport race at Daytona International Speedway in 1999, who could have known that 24 years later he would become the winningest racer in AMA road racing history.
And that he is.
Hayes made history on Saturday in Minnesota, the 48-year-old from Mississippi, who now calls Oceanside, California, home, winning the 87th AMA road race of his career when he raced off into the distance to win the Supersport race on his Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, moving him out of a tie with the legendary Miguel Duhamel.
Supersport – Call Him Mr. All-Timer
History was made in Saturday’s Supersport race at Brainerd International Raceway when 48-year-old rider and four-time Superbike champion Josh Hayes got the win, which broke a tie with AMA Hall of Famer Miguel Duhamel for the most all-time wins in AMA history.
Hayes’s 87th career victory was a bit surprising given that Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati rider Xavi Forés had won all eight Supersport races thus far this season. But the technical Brainerd road course threw him a curve in more ways than one, and he only managed to finish seventh on Saturday.
Landers Racing’s Rocco Landers started from the pole, but he didn’t get the start that he hoped for, and he had to claw his way back towards the front. Landers was in second place by the time the checkered flag flew, but Hayes had a gap of more than three seconds at the finish line. Third place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott.
“Pretty good weekend so far,” Hayes said. “I was really glad the (Supersport) race was first. That’s still my primary goal is to win on that bike. I was doing like I have all year – try to be super aggressive in the first laps and get myself to the front. Fortunately, I was able to open up a little bit of a gap and I was able to manage it. The managing was coming pretty easy. I was doing low 34’s without much drama. Just really happy. The hardest part was staying focused in the last few laps, just because I was happy and super excited. Probably the hardest part was when I rolled into victory circle and Melissa was standing there with my kids. There’s a reason my helmet didn’t come up too quick. But for the Squid Hunter team and I, we’ve been working for this hard for a year. I really enjoyed every race we’ve been in this year. Been in the fight a lot. It’s more relief than anything to get that done, out of the way. We don’t have to talk about it anymore. Let’s just go have some fun and race now.”
Steel Commander Stock 1000 – Gillim On The Prowl
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim knows that to get back into title contention in the Steel Commander Stock 1000 Championship he must win races. He did just that on Saturday at BIR as he dominated the race, winning by 7.4 seconds.
With season-long championship points leader Ezra Beaubier finishing fifth, Gillim was able to gain valuable points and he now trails Beaubier by 23 points. When the race started, Gillim trailed Beaubier by 37 points.
Orange Cat Racing’s Kaleb De Keyrel, who started the race from pole position, couldn’t match Gillim’s pace and he settled into a comfortable second – until the closing stages when he found himself in a last-lap battle for the spot with Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman. At the finish, it was De Keyrel taking the spot by just a 10th of a second over Wyman.
De Keyrel remains in second in the title chase but he’s just a point ahead of Gillim and 22 points behind his teammate Beaubier.
Benjamin Smith Racing’s Benjamin Smith had a solid first outing in the class, riding his just-built Yamaha YZF-R1 to fourth place ahead of Beaubier.
“After Atlanta, I was kind of in a pretty deep hole, mentally and points-wise. Barber was a good weekend, and I knew it was going to be good. I thought Atlanta would be better than what it was, and it ended up just being a terrible, terrible weekend. Road America, I knew was going to be difficult with all these guys on their bikes and my size and everything. I knew it was going to be tough. In the Stock (1000) race last year, this was kind of how the race was going and then we had a red flag and some stuff happened during the red flag and I ended up not having the greatest last lap in the race. So, we had a lot left on the plate from last year. I needed this. I needed this points haul. To be able to kind of just go out and do what I needed to do today. Riding three classes this weekend is actually helping a little bit because I had just come off of the Bagger and hopped on to that thing and was ready to go that first lap. That was ultimately why I pushed as hard as I could right off the bat. I knew with how different the track was this morning to this afternoon it was going to be a little bit difficult, especially for Kaleb (De Keyrel) since he hasn’t been out there since this morning. I figured it would be a little tough because I could already tell it was a little greasier than this morning. I knew right off the bat I needed to just go. Luckily the guys gave me a great bike and I’m feeling good right now. So, it’s going to be a long day. We’ve got Superbike coming up here in a minute, and then we’ll be back at it on Baggers later this afternoon. So, just got to keep our head on straight.”
Mission King Of The Baggers – Hayden Doubles Down
To say that Hayden Gillim had a good day at Brainerd International Raceway would be an understatement. Gillim had a glorious day.
A few hours after dominating the Steel Commander Stock 1000 race, Gillim finished seventh in the Medallia Superbike race. Not long after that he went out and won the Mission King Of The Baggers race on his Vance & Hines/Mission/Harley-Davidson Road Glide, beating Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian’s Bobby Fong by 2.5 seconds and his teammate James Rispoli by eight seconds.
To make a great day even better, Gillim made a big step in the championship as he now sits third, four points behind his teammate Rispoli and six points behind championship leader Kyle Wyman. Wyman was fourth today at BIR with Team Saddlemen’s Cory West rounding out the top five.
Gillim had his hands full early on with Indian Motorcycle/Progressive/Mission Foods’s Tyler O’Hara, who was leading when he had a mechanical problem that forced him off track and out of the race.
“It is a real good day. I was chasing him (Bobby Fong) in the Superbike race, but he had a little bit of speed on me there and got it back. Pulled a little James Bond move. Gave him the smoke. Tried to keep him off of me. It’s been a really good day. I knew this track was going to be good for me. I just feel good here. Last year was really good on the 1000. I didn’t really know what to expect with the Harley coming here. It’s pretty crazy seeing how half the track Bobby (Fong) and Tyler (O’Hara) have a little bit of speed, and then the other half I can kind of pull a little bit back. At least I know for sure on Tyler I got to see him for a second Bagger Challenge. It’s been a really good day. To have another podium with James (Rispoli), another double podium for Vance & Hines, that’s what we’re here for. So, good job for the team and good job for me and my family. Never had two wins in one day, so this is pretty cool.”
Junior Cup – More Moor
It’s been eight weeks since MotoAmerica’s Junior Cup riders last raced, and despite the hiatus, Fairium NGRT – Gray Area Racing KTM rider Rossi Moor picked up right where he left off after race two at Road America in early June.
Moor notched his second straight win in MotoAmerica’s entry level class, and his victory on Saturday at Brainerd International Raceway was by a margin of more than seven seconds. The other two podium finishers were a lot closer together with second-place Hayden Bicknese prevailing aboard his Bicknese Racing Kawasaki by just .138 of a second over SportbikeTrackGear.com’s Max Van, who finished third on his Kawasaki. Rossi led all but one of the 11 laps in the race.
“From practice and from qualifying, I think I had the pace to do it,” Moor said. “It didn’t show on paper since I wasn’t able to put a bunch of good laps together, but deep-down, I knew that, if I’m able to get to the front, I was able to pull away. But, with Jayden being there and Max and Hayden and all these guys I knew it was going to be pretty hard because I’m slightly down on power. I just wasn’t able to draft a lot of people. But as soon as I was able to get past, I just put my head down and tried to get enough gap by the turns where they couldn’t draft me by turn three.”
More, from a press release issued by Suzuki Motor USA, LLC:
STRONG RESULTS FOR M4 VISION WHEEL ECSTAR SUZUKI AT BRAINERD RACE 1
Tyler Scott Captures Fifth Podium of Season
BREA, CA – Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer were back on the box as the 2023 MotoAmerica title fights resumed at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday.
Race Highlights:
- Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki
- Supersport
- Tyler Scott notched up his fifth podium of the season.
- Teagg Hobbs battled his way forward and pushed teammate Scott to the checkered flag in fourth.
- Superbike
- Richie Escalante scored another top-five finish in the premier-class.
- Brandon Paasch qualified fifth fastest before collecting an eighth-place result.
- Supersport
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott shot to the front from his second-row starting slot and ran in the podium positions throughout Saturday’s MotoAmerica Supersport race. Scott settled into second on the opening lap and held that position deep into the contest before finally being displaced to third. Scott protected the podium ride aboard his next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750 from there, throwing down his fastest time on the race’s final lap to capture third.
“My Suzuki felt great during the whole race, and right there at the end, I felt even more comfortable,” Scott said. “I was able to keep chipping away and found some pace at the end. I think we can make some improvements overnight and be in the running for the race win tomorrow. Big thanks to the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for all the hard work they’ve put in. We’ve come a long way so far this weekend, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race.” Suzuki GSX-Rs remained the bike of choice at Brainerd making up half of the Supersport top ten Saturday results.
Scott’s place on the podium was challenged by his on-form teammate, Teagg Hobbs. Starting from Row 1, Hobbs was shuffled back to sixth in the race’s early stages. Undeterred, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki ace demonstrated remarkable pace and style as he overhauled the riders who lined up for the race ranked 1st and 2nd in the championship. Once through, he then closed down on the championship’s 3rd-ranked rider – teammate Scott. Like Scott, Hobbs threw down his fastest time of the race in his last-lap pursuit before finally collecting an impressive fourth-place finish just 0.422 back of third.
“I made a few mistakes at the start and lost some ground,” Hobbs said. “I am still working on my aggressiveness at the start of races. My teammate and I rode well and were both going for the podium. In the end, we were running at the same pace as the riders at the front. I used up a lot of my tire getting there and Tyler was riding great at the end. I knew what I wanted to do to make a move, but the stars didn’t align. Tomorrow, we’ll look for a little different result.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante was a factor near the front yet again, collecting his sixth-consecutive top five. Escalante pushed hard for third over the race’s opening half before finally finding his level in fifth aboard his Suzuki GSX-R1000R Superbike. The result was his ninth finish of fifth or better this season. With each successive race, Escalante continues to establish himself as one of the finest Superbike racers in the nation while knocking on the door of a maiden premier-class podium finish.
Escalante said, “I was happy with our gap to the front, and I thought I rode the bike well. We had a decent pace in qualifying and I was expecting to stay with the leaders, but I lost time after there was a crash in front of me. I felt strong in the race and was pleased with my pace and the final gap to the front. We need a little more for Sunday, so we have been working hard as a team to improve the bike even more. We are looking for more grip from the rear for Race 2 and we will do our best to keep improving.”
Brandon Paasch raised eyebrows during qualifying by posting the fifth fastest lap aboard his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R in just his second outing with the team while still working his way back to full fitness after breaking his back earlier this year. Paasch took advantage of his prime startling slot to fight inside the top five early before gradually fading back to an eighth-place finishing position.
“The race was good for my second weekend on the bike,” said Paasch. “We had a good qualifying result but, in the race, I didn’t have the same connection with the bike. I struggled out there as the race went on and, as the tire went off, I went backwards on the leaderboard. Still, we were in the top 10. We hadn’t changed anything with the bike, so it isn’t easy to say why it didn’t click, but we are working hard to prepare for the second race.”
Team Hammer will be ready for their rematches tomorrow as the weekend at Brainerd International Raceway concludes on Sunday.
For more racing news, results, and special team content please visit https://suzukicycles.com/racing/road-racing.
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.
ABOUT TEAM HAMMER
The 2023 season marks Team Hammer’s 43rd consecutive year of operating as a professional road racing team. Race bikes built and fielded by Team Hammer have won 129 AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National races, have finished on AMA Pro and MotoAmerica National podiums 352 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.
