KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
PJ Jacobsen won MotoAmerica Supersport Race Two Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in Millville, New Jersey. Riding his Rahal Ducati Moto w/XPEL Panigale V2 on Dunlop tires, the New York native fought off season-long rival Mathew Scholtz to take his seventh win of the season.
Scholtz, the newly crowned 2024 Supersport Champion, put up a tough fight for the first half of the race but had to settle for second place on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.
Rahal Ducati Moto w/Roller Die + Forming’s Corey Alexander put in a strong, late-race push to secure third.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott was in the hunt for a podium finish for most of the race but ended up fourth.
Blake Davis went from 17th on the grid to a fifth-place finish on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R6.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Herfoss Crowned In King Of The Baggers Finale At New Jersey Motorsports Park
Troy Herfoss And Hayden Gillim Are The Final 2024 Champions Crowned In
The 2024 MotoAmerica Championship
MILLVILLE, NJ (September 29, 2024) – S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss removed any drama from Sunday’s title decider in the Mission King Of The Baggers finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park as the Australian made the race his own, crossing the finish line as the 2024 Mission King Of The Baggers Champion.
Although the pair were separated by just two points at the start of Sunday’s finale, the winner-take-all thriller between Herfoss and Harley-Davidson Factory Racing’s Kyle Wyman never materialized. Wyman got the start he wanted, led briefly and was soon passed by Herfoss. It didn’t take Wyman long to realize he didn’t have the same pace as his Indian-mounted rival, and it ended up being a tough day at the office for the winningest rider ind Mission King Of The Baggers history.
It didn’t get any easier for Wyman when he was attacked from behind by RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s Rocco Landers with the 19-year-old eventually taking second from the New Yorker. Wyman held on for third and he and Herfoss ended the season just 11 points apart.
For Herfoss it was his seventh win of the year and his 14th trip to the podium out of 18 races and he adds the King Of The Baggers title to his three Australian Superbike Championships. He crossed the line 1.7 seconds ahead of Landers after fist pumping his way through the final set of corners.
Landers, in turn, was just .119 of a second ahead of a disappointed Wyman.
Landers late-season burst of speed moved him all the way to fourth in the championship. He actually tied his teammate Hayden Gillim, fifth today, in the points tally, but the spot went to Gillim via the tiebreaker.
Fourth place in Sunday’s finale went to Herfoss’ teammate Tyler O’Hara, just a few tenths ahead of Gillim.
“Firstly, thank you,” Herfoss said. “It’s been an incredible journey. Seriously, twelve months ago I was in this position in Australia and on top of the world, but didn’t know exactly what I wanted from racing moving forward. This incredible opportunity to come and race for a new motorcycle (brand) in King Of The Baggers came up. I wanted to step outside my comfort zone, and that’s exactly what it was. I was extremely uncomfortable from the banks of Daytona through the world championship crowds at COTA to the gravel trap at Brainerd, and to here, this moment winning a championship. It’s been a wild ride and an incredible journey. Kyle (Wyman) has been an amazing competitor, just a true professional in every way. He literally just kept himself in there on his bad days, and on the good days he made me pay. It was exciting. It was stressful. It’s a real highlight for me. Last year was a huge highlight for me, coming back from a big injury to win a Superbike Championship in Australia. But I don’t know if I believed I could do this at the start of the year, so that’s why it makes it pretty special for me.”
Stock 1000 – Seven Is Heaven For Gillim
With a 12-point lead in hand at the start of the last Stock 1000 race of the season, Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim didn’t have to win to be crowned champion. But he won anyway.
The win, his seventh of the year, combined with his rival Jayson Uribe finishing third on the OrangeCat BMW M 1000 RR, gave Gillim his second successive Stock 1000 Championship with this one coming on a Honda CBR1000RR-R SP – thus giving Honda its first-ever MotoAmerica title.
Second place went to Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates with the Georgian hounding Gillim for the entire race. Yates waited until the final lap to make a move on Gillim with a pass in turn one on the final lap. But it didn’t stick as Gillim re-passed him immediately. From there it was just a case of defending the inside and keeping Yates behind him.
Yates held on for second, just .049 of a second off the back of Gillim, and it was enough to earn him third in the championship.
Uribe ended a highly successful season of racing with a third-place finish as he narrowly topped FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith on the final lap by just .030 of a second.
AMD Motorsport RK Racing’s Richard Kerr was fifth with the Irishman well clear of sixth-placed Bryce Prince on his BPR Yamaha YZF-R1.
“It means a lot,” Gillim said. “Haven’t had a weekend like this since Barber. Had a couple crashes and made it a lot harder on ourselves. Jayson (Uribe) was making us work for it. Ashton (Yates) was really getting it going here at the end. It’s cool to have Honda one and two and wrap up the championship for the Real Steel Southern Honda Powersports team. It’s cool to have the family and everybody here and all the fans. Thanks for sticking it out in the weather.”
Junior Cup – Chapin In A Thriller
On Sunday, it was the final race of the final season for the Junior Cup Championship as the class gives way to the inaugural MotoAmerica Talent Cup Championship in 2025. Two teams and four riders raced in close formation at the front, and who would win, who would reach the podium, and who would finish just off the podium were in question right up until they crossed the finish line.
BARTCON Racing’s Matthew Chapin, who won the championship two weekends ago at Circuit of The Americas, prevailed with the win by just .252 of a second over Bad Boys Racing’s Ella Dreher, while Dreher’s older brother Avery Dreher – who was this year’s defending class champion – crossed the finish line only .018 of a second behind Ella to take the third spot on the podium.
Chapin’s teammate Eli Block finished fourth, just missing out on the podium by .008 of a second.
“Oh, man. That race was really fun,” Chapin said. “I had fun battling with Eli, Avery, and Ella. They were all ripping. It was overall a great race. None of us really made any mistakes. It was really hard to close the gap to Avery at first. He was fast right from the start. I just want to give a huge thanks to (team owner) Colin Barton and (crew chief) Mike Skowronek for everything they’ve done for me this season. My mom and dad, and all my family and friends for coming out. Blud lubricants, KYT, Bison, thank you guys.”
Supersport – Jacobsen Ends It In Victory
With the 2024 Supersport Championship decided on Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, title winner Mathew Scholtz was free to mix it up with the field on Sunday.
And mix it up, he did. It was “just like old times again” in MotoAmerica’s middleweight class as Strack Racing’s Scholtz and Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen took their familiar spots at the front of the field and proceeded to swap the lead back and forth.
The situation stabilized in the middle laps of the race as Jacobsen established himself in the lead. The New Yorker then stretched his lead at the front and took the checkered flag nearly three-and-a-half seconds ahead of race runner-up Scholtz. Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander finished third, almost 13 seconds behind Scholtz.
“Last night, I didn’t sleep too well,” Jacobsen said. “It was a hard race yesterday for me. I was really struggling, but we kind of went back to the drawing board last night and figured out some stuff that we saw on the data. I felt pretty good in morning warmup, and then, in the race, I felt really good, as well. I was actually surprised that (Mathew) Scholtz was there and made the pass. I was running mid-22s at that point. I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty fast.’ But it’s been like that all season with him. I was happy to get the win here for the last race of the season and going into winter like that. Especially for the team itself. They worked so hard this first season. So, I’m really proud of the team and everything that they’ve accomplished. We didn’t get the championship, but we definitely fought pretty hard for it. We made some mistakes along the way as a team, also me as a rider. I feel like it was a really good season.
“Having Scholtz as a person to battle with all year, we used to talk more in Superbike and stuff, and I think all the stuff that drew to the competition. It was almost like UFC fighting. It was really good. At the end of the day, that’s how it should be. You don’t want to be laughing and stuff like that with the person you’re battling with. You go in there, and he has to pay his bills, and I have to pay mine. So, at the end of the day, he won a championship, and we’re not really friends on the track. So, I congratulate him and the whole team. Hopefully, he and I can start talking again and be friends. It’s been a long season. Congrats to them. I really enjoyed this whole season, even though it’s been super up-and-down. I had strong moments and bad ones. You look back and you learn from all that stuff. So, we’ll just move forward and get ready for next year.”
More, from a press release issued by Rahal Ducati Moto:
NEW JERSEY MOTORSPORTS PARK RACE 2
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2024 | WARM-UP & RACE 2
The checkered flag has been waved for the final time of the 2024 MotoAmerica Supersport season. And just as the season started, the Rahal Ducati Moto team claimed victory as PJ Jacobsen crossed the finish line with Corey Alexander coming in third and Kayla Yaakov finishing seventh.
With nothing to lose, all three riders rode incredible races and finished the season off on an incredible effort.
As the final round of competition falls behind us, Rahal Ducati Moto reflects back on the incredible success coming out of its debut season. Take a look at the below statistics from RDM’s first year:
Seven race wins: Road Atlanta Race 1 (Jacobsen), Road America Race 2 (Jacobsen), Road America Race 1 (Jacobsen), Laguna Seca Race 1 (Jacobsen), Laguna Seca Race 2 (Jacobsen), Mid-Ohio Race 1 (Jacobsen), New Jersey Race 2 (Jacobsen)
20 total podiums: Road Atlanta Race 2 (2nd, Alexander), Barber Race 1 (2nd, Jacobsen), Barber Race 2 (2nd, Jacobsen), Road America Race 2 (3rd, Jacobsen), Brainerd Race 1 (2nd, Jacobsen), Brainerd Race 2 (2nd, Jacobsen // 3rd, Alexander), Ridge Race 1 (2nd, Jacobsen // 3rd, Yaakov), Ridge Race 2 (2nd, Yaakov), COTA Race 1 (3rd, Alexander), New Jersey Race 1 (2nd, Alexander // 3rd, Jacobsen), New Jersey Race 2 (3rd, Corey Alexander)
29 top-five finishes, 43 top-10 finishes
14 front-row starts
679 of 722 laps completed
90 of a possible 245 laps led
Only two races in which a Rahal Ducati Moto Rider did not finish on the podium (Mid-Ohio Race 2 and COTA Race 2)
As the truck heads back to the team’s new headquarters in Zionsville, Indiana, and begins to prep for the 2025 season, we are incredibly thankful to our entire crew, our riders, our sponsors, and our fans for all their support throughout our rookie season. Rahal Ducati Moto looks forward to growing the team’s success and fighting for the championship next season.
Keep up with all things Rahal Ducati Moto this off season by following the team on social media (@rahalducatimoto).
PJ JACOBSEN
No. 15 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 4th
FINISHED: 1st
CHAMPIONSHIP: 2nd (331 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “Today was great. I feel like yesterday we were struggling with grip and some other things out of our hands. I went 1.1 seconds faster in this race. I felt really good today. Scholtz was pressuring me and got past me, but then I regained myself again and felt great – even towards the end if he were to come back towards me with those laped bikes – I still could’ve went faster with my lap times. I’m really happy to cap of the season like this, especially for the team. They’ve done such a great job this entire season. It’s great to end the season with a win and get a short break before working for next year, when we start testing and Graham [Rahal] can keep it rolling for us next season. Huge thanks to the whole team and XPEL.”
COREY ALEXANDER
No. 23 ROLLER DIE + FORMING DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 3rd
FINISHED: 3rd
CHAMPIONSHIP: 6th (176 pts)
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a great weekend for us at home here in New Jersey – getting two podiums to cap off the year. I really wanted to get a win before the season was over, and I gave it everything I had today, but PJ and Mathew [Scholtz] were riding too well for me. I had nothing left with some grip issues, but otherwise they just outrode me. I’m stoked to go into the off season and continue into next year with some more progress. Thanks to the whole team for all their hard work all year and thanks to Roller Die and our sponsors for making this possible.”
KAYLA YAAKOV
No. 19 XPEL DUCATI PANIGALE V2
STARTED: 5th
FINISHED: 7th
CHAMPIONSHIP: 7th (151 pts)
WHAT SHE’S SAYING: “We just finished the last race of the year, and I would’ve liked to end it on a better note, but with all things considered, I’m very happy with the progress we made. This whole season has been amazing, and I couldn’t have asked to be a part of a better team. For our first year, we’ve done an amazing job. I’m happy that we were able to achieve my goal, which was to be on the podium by the middle of the season. We made progress, continued to chip away at it, and got closer to the front – a definite positive. As much as I would’ve wanted to be a little bit closer, this is part of it, and we’re going to continue to keep learning and keep growing. I can’t wait to continue with this team next year and come back even stronger.
BEN SPIES
TEAM PRINCIPAL
WHAT HE’S SAYING: “It was a really great last race of the season for Rahal Ducati Moto. I’m really proud of all three riders. PJ rode lights out, Corey had a good third place, and Kayla had a pretty rough weekend until this morning and in the race, but she was able to regroup, turn it around to where she wanted to be, and put in a great race. We can’t be happier with how they rode. For the first year on the team, everything worked out really well. We wanted the championship, but it’s our first year and that’s the way it goes. We just have to do better next year. I can’t say enough about the whole team, I’m very happy for everybody.”
