BRANDON PAASCH REJOINS TSE RACING FOR TOP 10 FINISHES IN DUNLOP CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROAD AMERICA SUPERSPORT SERIES JUNE 1-2, 2019
An extended break after winning both races in the opening round of the British Superbike HEL Performance British Motostar Championship gave Brandon Paasch and TSE Racing the opportunity again to race MotoAmerica Supersport in the Dunlop Championship at Road America this past weekend. After he narrowly missed making the podium at the Daytona 200, Brandon jumped on the same Yamaha R6 and brought home two Top 10 finishes at the famed high-speed track, considered the “home track” for the Wisconsin-based TSE Racing team.
Despite not having any time to conduct testing prior to the race, Brandon and the team got up to speed quickly. Bike setup was critical to staying in the draft and passing along Road America’s long straights, and adapting to Dunlop tires after using Pirellis at Daytona was the team’s biggest challenge. Feedback from Brandon allowed the crew to make significant changes to improve corner speed and rear grip for better acceleration off the apex. Qualifying was a mixed result, with the first qualifying dry session setting the grid after a wet second session failed to improve Brandon’s initial P8 spot.
Both races were challenging and exciting, but a couple small mistakes in Race 1 saw Brandon finish in 7th place after he spent the first half of the race clearing through a mid-pack start. In Race 2, Brandon got off to a much better start and ran every lap under his qualifying time to finish 5th.
“After taking home a double win in the opening round of the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship, I had a decent amount of time off before the next race at Brands Hatch GP. I came home with a lot of momentum from the wins, and I was excited to race again with TSE Racing at Road America. I know this is one of the most iconic tracks in the USA, and using the Yamaha R6 we ran at Daytona would be another opportunity to fight for a podium spot.
“TSE Racing put together a great bike for me at Daytona, and we used that for a solid base to start the weekend. The biggest challenge we faced was bike setup after switching from Pirellis to Dunlops. We had a good practice session, but I got a little stuck in the first qualifying session and couldn’t get the starting spot I wanted, and the second wet qualifying session didn’t move us up, despite being second fastest.
“I messed up the start in Race 1 a bit, and then I made a couple mistakes that let some guys come by in the early part of the race. So, I just put my head down and started setting consistent laps, and by end of the race I had moved up to finish 7th. In warm-up on Sunday, we made a big change that really helped, and I got my confidence back. I was able to launch much better in Race 2, the bike hooked up really well, and I ran every lap under my qualifying time. PJ and the front runners set a big gap in front of me that I worked on closing, but I was happy to finish in 5th place after setting my fastest lap just 0.5 seconds off the winner’s time.
“TSE Racing did an amazing job, and I owe them a huge thank you for putting this together. I was stoked to get back together with Scotty, Meghan and the rest of the TSE Racing crew. Here and at Daytona, we showed that we had the pace, the experience, and the teamwork to fight at the front. Thanks very much to the whole TSE Racing crew for a great weekend! Now I’m looking forward to heading back overseas and getting back to business on the FPW Racing KTM Moto3 for the British Motostar series.” – (Brandon Paasch)
“We were so excited to have Brandon back on the TSE Racing Yamaha R6 that we raced at Daytona. I felt like we had some unfinished business left from that race, but we planned to just run the same way at Road America as we did at the 200. We had to make some significant setup changes to accommodate the Dunlops, and we made some very good forward progress to keep Brandon up in the front of the pack. There was no pressure on Brandon or the team, we only wanted to have the best weekend possible. I’m very proud of the whole team and the results we got, and now we get to sit back and watch Brandon go race in the UK. I’m wishing him the best, and we’ll see if we can get in another couple races with him again before the end of the season.” – (Meghan Ryan)
Brandon heads back to the UK next week to return to the HEL Performance British Motostar Championship, where he leads the series with 50 points total from his double win at Oulton Park. The round will run June 14-16 at Brands Hatch GP, one of Brandon’s favorite tracks. Be sure to watch the action and live timing at www.BritishSuperbike.com or through the Bennetts BSB app.
See more posts and videos from Brandon and TSE Racing on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter here:
YouTube: search Brandon Paasch and subscribe
Facebook: @BrandonPaasch facebook.com/BrandonPaasch/ @TSERacingTeam
Instagram: @brandon_paasch @TSE_Racing
Twitter: @PaaschBrandon
Hashtag: #SendItBP2019 #RoadAmerica #TSERacing #MotoAmerica
Brandon is sponsored by TSE Racing, Electronic Concepts, luxeStar VIP, Arai, and Spidi.
More, form a press release issued by AP MotoArts:
Draik Beauchamp Takes Debut Twins Cup Win At Road America
Draik Beauchamp – AP Moto Arts #77
Draik Beauchamp took his debut MotoAmerica Twins Cup win aboard his AP MotoArts Yamaha FZ-07 in a thrilling race June 2 at Road America. Despite an impressive wheelie from his sixth place grid position that cost him a few positions, Beauchamp methodically worked his way forward, and crossed the line in second position at the end of the second lap. Half a lap later, Beauchamp took over at the front. Fending off several spirited attacks from the chasing pack of five riders, Beauchamp used his racecraft and the power of his AP MotoArts-prepared Yamaha FZ-07 to seal the deal on his maiden MotoAmerica Twins Cup victory. Beauchamp’s win slots him into third in the championship standing as a solid contender for the MotoAmerica Twins Cup title.
‘I started off on the second row, not exactly where I wanted to start the race. My main goal was to get up to the front and battle with the leaders. My strategy was to get past them and keep them behind me and take it home, hoping that nobody would draft me at the line. We got the job done. Thank you to all of my sponsors and supporters for getting me to this point.’
Draik would like to thank AP MotoArts, ARacer USA, Red Fox Racing, Orient Express, SBS Brakes, 129photos.com, NJK Leathers, Jenspeed LLC, Pit Pass Radio, GB Racing Premier Motorcycle Protection, LS2 Helmets, K-Tech Suspension USA, Sportbike Track Time, Robem Engineering, Kurtiss and Alicia Beauchamp, and Billy Mallory/Brick Gentry Law.
Cooper McDonald – AP MotoArts #120
Road America rookie, Cooper McDonald, had a solid debut at the 4-mile Road America circuit. Starting from tenth on the grid, McDonald was engaged in a race-long battle with several riders in his group in which McDonald came out on top with a tenth-place finish. No mean feat at the fast and demanding Wisconsin circuit.
‘I’m Glad I could finish the race with a top ten! I dropped two seconds in the race, with a personal best of 2:33.71, and had a great battle with a tight group for the top ten spot. I was able to get a good enough drive out of the last corner and take home a tenth position! This was my first time here, and we are hoping to come back next year with more momentum! Next stop is Utah Motorsports Campus!Thanks so much to everyone who made this possible. Also, great job to my teammate for winning the race!’
Cooper would like to thank Andy Palmer and the AP MotoArts crew, LS2 Helmets, Specialized Racing Gear, K&N Air Filters, and MotoAmerica.
Darren James – AP MotoArts/Ruthless Racing #229
Straight out of British Columbia, Canada, AP MotoArts/Ruthless Racing’s Darren James put in an outstanding qualifying effort to secure a fifth place grid position with a time of 2:32.196. Once the lights went out, James was able to break away with the lead group of six riders. After a close battle with the other riders in the lead group, James crossed the line in a solid fifth place and bagged eleven valuable championship points in the process.
‘Finally…finished a race! This is the first race I have finished since Daytona back in March. I won’t lie; it’s been a tough stretch. Today’s race was so much fun. Six of us split from the field. It was fun battling with such a fast group of riders!’
Darren would like to thank AP MotoArts, Arai America, The Ruthless Crew, Bickle Racing, Time Bomb Trading, Etnies, Deeley Exhibition, Cummings Trailers, and Addictive Sportswear.
Draik, Cooper, Darren, and the rest of the AP MotoArts gang return to action June 15-16 for round five of the MotoAmerica series at Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, Utah.
More, from a press release issued by Altus Motorsports:
MotoAmerica: Altus Motorsports Tucker TerpTastick.com VP Lubricants Race Report “An Exciting Weekend“ at Road America
(Elkhart Lake, WI) The Road America venue always brings great crowds of amazing fans to watch exciting motorcycle road racing. This year was no exception. And the excitement was shared in the Altus pits.
Liqui Moly Junior Cup: Kevin Olmedo was on fire again at Road America. He was top three in almost every practice session and showed great pace, poise and skill during the races. The track was still drying from a short rain when Race 1 started. As a result, riders were evaluating and re-evaluating grip and lines every lap. After the first few laps, Kevin found himself in a pack of bikes battling for the final podium spot. He began the final lap with work to do at the back of the group in 7th place. With the long, uphill run to the finish line, he knew he didn’t want to be leading but he needed to move himself into striking distance. And he did. It was planned to perfection; working through the group and leveraging the draft to finish. He snatched 3rd place at the line by thousandths of a second. In the second race, Kevin was part of an exciting 3-bike breakaway that spent most of the race trading positions. Olmedo took his turn at the front of the group on several occasions and lead most of the final lap. Unfortunately, during the long run to the line he lost first and finished in second place by less than a tenth of a second.
Stock 1000: A gremlin in Miles Thornton’s GSX-R1000 caused frustration most of the weekend. Inconsistent throttle response made it difficult to find pace Friday and Saturday. He managed to be p6 in first practice and p7 in Q1. Qualifying 2 was wet and offered no time to track down the issue or find a setup. Despite the challenges, Miles brought the bike home in 7th in the Saturday race. That night, the crew decided to simply go after every possible cause of the issue – both analog and digital. They replaced the throttle and grip and then wiped and loaded a completely new map. Sunday the bike felt significantly better and Miles finished in a solid 4th. With more setup he feels he could have been on the podium. “ We are going to stay in Wisconsin on Monday and do some additional testing. We are all willing to do the work to perfect this package. I want to in Utah ready to fight for the top step,” said Miles.
Supersport 600: The first practice session and Qualifying 1 had teammates Jaret Nassaney and Lucas Silva running almost identical lap times. Both floating around midpack and looking for improvements to get closer to the top 10. Q2 was wet and offered no opportunity to make dry-setup adjustments. In Race 1, Nassaney jumped up a few places and was battling for 12th. He began the penultimate lap confident he had a strategy to own that position across the line. Unfortunately, the bike began to sputter and finally stopped a few hundred yards short of the finish line completely out of fuel. Knowing there was a gap to the bikes behind and not willing to give up on earning a top 15 spot and some championship points, Jaret began pushing his GSX-R600 toward the waving checkered flag. As bikes went by, he realized he would not get the top 15 but he didn’t stop. Refusing to take the DNF, he crossed the line in 22nd and showed the heart that is at the core of the entire Altus team. For Nassaney, Race 2 went more to plan. It was almost a carbon copy of the previous day. Nassaney knew he didn’t want to be leading down the final straight so he let his pursuer past and then drafted by to take p13 at the checker. Lucas struggled to find a setup for the fast Road America course. In Race 1 he managed to gather points and cross the line in 15th. Race 2 was similar and he crossed the line in a lonely 16th. Silva has his sights set on the next round and is eager to be back in the top 10 fight..
The next round for the MotoAmerica series will be Utah Motorsports Park. While the location has been on the calendar for years, in 2019 they will be running a different configuration. “It will be a new track for almost everyone and with more corners it will level the playing field a bit. I am looking forward to it, “ said Supersport 600 rider Jaret Nassaney.
Team owner George Nassaney is happy with the direction the team is going. “We continue to learn and improve. Our team is really beginning to gel. We can’t thank the crew enough. The mechanics really worked their butts off to make this our smoothest weekend so far.”
The Altus Motorsports team is supported by our great family of sponsors: Altus Motorsports, Tucker Powersports ,TerpTastick.com, Conquest CBD, VP Lubricants, RS Taichi, Arai, Moto D, Bonamici, Hotbodies Racing, SBS Brakes, Vortex, Motion Pro, STACYC, Law Tigers Oklahoma, BrakeTech Rotors, M4 Exhaust , Braking Rotors, Yoshimura R & D, Dunlop, Team Hammer, and Altus Factory Racing