Kyle Wyman rides Motovation USA/Lucas Oil/KWR Superbike to solid finishes in Utah
TOOELE, Utah (June 28) — Kyle Wyman returned to Superbike racing action this past weekend at Utah Motorsports Campus for the fifth round of the MotoAmerica championship. Wyman rode his Motovation USA/Lucas Oil/KWR Yamaha to 5th and 6th place finishes in race one and two respectively.
Wyman earned a spot on the second row of the grid after a superb qualifying effort, ending 6th overall with a fast lap time of 1:50.009 around the 3-mile Utah circuit.
“On Friday we struggled a little bit, somewhat because of me and my time off but also with the bike setup,” Wyman said. “Normally we have a stronger showing on Friday, but we were down the order in 8th position after the first day. I had a pretty good qualifying lap on Saturday however and was able to put it back on the second row. Being on the first two rows is a big deal come race time.”
Wyman got off to a strong start in race one, battling in the lead group early before settling into a game of cat and mouse with a fellow rider. A last lap pass would put Wyman ahead and into 6th overall, 5th in Superbike.
“The whole first half of race one I was having trouble with the bike on corner entry,” Wyman said. “If you started the season over on me I would be super happy with a 6th overall finish, but considering the progress we’ve made this season I’m not content to settle for the same spot as I qualified. I want to run up front with the factory bikes.”
Wyman finished the race 25.617 seconds off of race winner Toni Elias, a longer margin than the KWR team has seen in prior races. With adjustments to the Flash-Tune ECU and the K-Tech KTR-3 Forks, the KWR team was able to give Wyman an improved bike for Sunday.
“Immediately on Sunday morning the changes were a step in the right direction,” Wyman said. “We got the suspension working better and the electronics calmed down on corner entry, and it was easier for me to put in consistent fast laps.”
Wyman entered the Utah Sportbike Association Superbike Challenge race on Sunday afternoon, scheduled to take place before the second MotoAmerica Superbike race. Wyman took the holeshot and ran away from the field, earning the victory by a margin of 34 seconds over second place.
The setup changes were confirmed as the right direction, and Wyman gridded up for Superbike race two, where he battled with Superbike rival Josh Herrin over 5th place overall in Superbike. Wyman would come up just .155 seconds short of the spot behind Herrin, and only 18.161 seconds behind the race winner.
“After the Superbike Challenge race I was feeling confident about my chances against the big boys,” Wyman said. “I found myself in the same battle in the first laps, but as the factory bikes built up their gap I just tried to maintain my spot in 5th position. My pit board kept saying plus zero for about 12 laps straight, there was someone staying right with me but I wasn’t quite sure who it was. Eventually Herrin came by and was able to squeeze out 5th place over me. I felt like with one more lap I could have had him!”
The MotoAmerica series has a short turnaround as the next stop on the calendar is at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next weekend, July 7-9, 2017.
Follow Kyle at Utah Motorsports Campus this weekend starting at 11:20am MST, Friday June 23rd.
For more information about Motovation USA, visit www.motovationusa.com
More, from a press release issued by Quarterley Racing/On Track Development:
Quarterley Racing On Track Development continues to place riders on the podium in round 4 of the KTM RC Cup Series at Utah Motorsports Campus
Tooele, UT –The skies were clear and qualifying placed the team in prime real-estate for the start of Race #1 in the KTM 390 RC Cup Series. The first race of the weekend was televised live thanks to BEIN Sports providing nail-biting excitement as the top three riders swapped positions several times during the race. Benjamin Smith and Jackson Blackmon placed second and third after laps of competitive racing and extend their congratulations to the winner Cory Ventura. Draik Beauchamp battled for fourth until losing the front on the last lap, but just like his teammate Jake Leahey, who low-sided early in the race, got right back on and raced to the end. This was the first time this season, breaking the six run winning streak, Quarterley Racing on Track Development did not have a rider on the top tier of the podium.
After earning his first ever pole position in Race #1, Jackson Blackmon, wasn’t satisfied with his third place finish, with his head down he grabs the hole shot at the start of Race #2. Jackson working with his teammate, Benjamin Smith, obtain the fastest times of the weekend, 2:12.046 and 2:12.009 respectively. What has become a common occurrence on track Benjamin and Jackson swapped the lead several times, pulling away from the field, finishing nine seconds ahead of third place. On the last lap, Blackmon made the move to seal the win. Blackmon’s third victory of the season ties him with teammate Benjamin Smith, furthering his hopes for a chance at the title even with a late start to the season. Jackson sent a shout out for a quick recovery to his teammate Draik Beauchamp who had to sit out Sunday’s Race after Saturday’s crash. Draik reports he is all cleared and looking forward to racing at Leguna Seca. Jake Leahey, reflects on the weekend and states, “We don’t give up, each time we fall down, we get up again. I’m pretty sore, but pulled out an 8th place finish in Race #2.”
The entire team has worked hard to build a four rider Army and support one another. The team looks forward to continued progress in developing the skills and knowledge needed by these young riders on and off the track to set their compasses in the right direction for taking the next step in pro racing.
Current championship points standings for the Quarterley Racing On Track Development Team:
1. Benjamin Smith 147
2. Jackson Blackmon 118
3. Draik Beauchamp 99
9. Jake Leahey 54
Quarterley Racing/On Track Development with successful veteran pro rider Dale Quarterley, is an entry level pro racing program focused on bringing young riders up to speed as they set their sights on a future and the next step towards top level pro racing. The team offers Moto America full support on a team owned “Ready to Race” 390 Cup bike for a Wild Card entry or multiple events.
Contact is [email protected] or phone 610-217-9926.
Team Sponsors: Beta Tools, Inter-Tech Supplies, Motorex, Regina Chains, Scott Powersports, Street & Competition, Woodcraft Technologies
A special thanks to the personal sponsors for our riders:
Draik Beauchamp: 129 Photos- Law Offices of Ogle, Elrod &Baril- Spider Graphix- Tint One- Pit Pass Radio- Sportbike Leather Service- SaferMoto.com-Red Fox racing Cycle Gear Trever White at Harper VW LS2 Helmets
Jackson Blackmon: Dainese/AGV, TrackDay Winners, Xt Racing, Fast Frank, Fast Bike Industries, Finishline Machine, Drippin Wet
Jake Leahey: Arai Helmets- Sidi Boots- Heroic Leathers- NJminiGP- Stump Racing Kids- United Asphalt- Wholesale Outlet- Hangdry- Solid Performance KTM- Evolve GT Trackdays- RideRich Apparel- Scordo Farms
Benjamin Smith: Arai Helmets- William Deal- Gmoto- Sidi-Impact Armor- Absolute Cycle Experience
More, from a press release issued by Broaster Genuine Chicken Honda:
Tooele, UT
MotoAmerica 2017MotoAmerica – Round 5
The curse of Utah is real….
Utah Motorsports Campus – Tooele, UT
What must a team do to exorcise the demons that haunt it? What more could they possible sacrifice to the gods of two wheeled motorsport to lift the curse that has become Utah? Coming into the Utah Motorsports Campus this past weekend, the team was well aware of the past performances at the high desert facility. In previous visits to Tooele, the team has experienced everything from their first ever race win to complete disaster ever since. The past two seasons alone have seen championship leads cut significantly as they left with no points scored. It’s hard to admit, but there seems to be no real solution for the team at this track.
There were moments this past weekend that seemed as if the curse had been lifted, as if this was going to be the weekend that the team turned their Utah misfortunes into successes. After the pace that Jake displayed in Race Two from Road America, it was evident that 32Crew had found the missing mojo and the bike was running strong. Jake was as ready as he’s been for challenging course. During the practice / qualifying sessions, Jake was as far up the order as P3 and ran in the top five consistently. Things were going great until, they weren’t.
After strong showings in all three of the practice sessions, Jake and the team were really optimistic.. cautiously optimistic knowing that at any moment, the demons could come calling. Heading out for his first lap in Superpole, Jake was setting the pace for the rest of the MotoAmerica field. As he was rounding the final corner, those demons that were thought to have been banished, reached up and grabbed Jake’s Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda. Just as Jake was getting onto the gas, his tire stepped out just ever so slightly and in the midst of a recovery, the demon known as “Physics” took over and rapidly converted the potential energy into kinetic energy which equated to Jake being forcibly separated from his machine. When the other demon called “Gravity” took over, Jake landed on his back while his Honda took the brunt of the impact. Rolling and sliding through the Utah silt, his bike came to rest in a cloud of dust and gravel. Jake was able to walk away while the motorcycle was in need of some care.
Once the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda was delivered back to the team’s transporter, it was immediately pulled apart and assessed for damage as race one is scheduled to start in just two hours. After a thorough cleaning and cosmetic disassembly, it was determined that the motorcycle had suffered too much damage to the custom parts that the team had built and didn’t have spares for and there wasn’t enough time to repair them. It was a hard call but the team had to decide to withdraw from the afternoon’s race one. This would give the team more time to work on the repair and be ready for the next day.
Overnight, the 32Crew, did what they do best and that is build a motorcycle. With the assistance of the custom fabricators themselves, the crew was able to put the bike back together and it was ready to ride by the morning warm-up. Jake arrived at the track a little stiff and sore but none-the-less ready to ride. Jake was able to get out and give the bike a proper shake down during that short 30 min warm-up session. Everything was in order and so the debrief between Crew Chief and Rider and Team Principal began. The main focus of the discussion was centered on risk vs/ reward. Jake was confident that he could ride and Scotty knew the bike was up to the task. However, the decision was made to once again withdraw from the race that afternoon and concentrate on a full recovery for Laguna in two weeks. The team has had a goal all season, and that goal would be measured at Laguna in front of Honda’s home crowd. The desire to put on a maximum effort in front of the World Superbike audience became the over-riding decision.
It’s never an easy call to not race. In this particular situation, the prevailing wisdom of “More to loose than to gain” became the team’s mantra. The team now looks forward to putting on that show at Laguna. Jake proved that the team has gone in the right direction with the bike. He was running his strongest sessions of the season. The bike was working the best it had all season. The team is confident that they will be running up front at the world famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Jake Gagne – Superbike
“This weekend was one of those crazy weekends that happen every once in a while. We felt pretty good coming out of Road America. We knew the bike was going to be strong and I was really happy with how the bike was working here. Immediately I was feeling really good and confident on the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda. First session out, I was running near the top and for the first time I felt like I could make the bike do what I wanted it to do.
The rest of the practice sessions were awesome. Scotty, DA and Evan really put together an awesome bike. I was feeling good and was sitting in the top five going into Superpole. This was going to be a great showing for us. I went out for that first lap in Superpole and was flying. I came around that last corner and got a little sideways. Trying to recover the bike, I think I hit the paint and just lost it. I landed pretty square on my back but nothing too big but the bike was pretty banged up. Broke some parts we couldn’t fix right away so we missed race one. That was a bummer for sure because I feel that we could’ve run up front.
Sunday morning I went out for a few laps and when I came in to talk with Scotty and Danny (Walker), we felt that the best thing to do was to save ourselves for Laguna. I was a little sore and stiff and with a big show coming up for Laguna, we just had more to lose if something else went wrong ahead of the next round. It’s a real bummer that we didn’t get a chance to really show what we can do here. I’d like to thank everyone on the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda team who helped to get the bike back together. I know they worked their butts off and I’m happy to have them in my garage! I’m looking forward now to Laguna and Honda’s home race”
Danny Walker – Team Principal
“Utah.. yeah.. ok so we don’t really like this this track too much. That’s not to say that we don’t like the facility / track, it’s to say that we just can’t seem to get this place right. It’s a great track but there’s just something there that we can’t figure out and year after year we’ve struggled to say the least.
This weekend was a super tough one for us. We were running really strong all weekend. The guys had built this bike to win this weekend. I feel that for the first time, we had a chance. Jake was running a great pace and I was watching him track sliding the bike around like the old Jake. He was visibly having a good time riding the Honda. So I was confident we could’ve made a strong run with the leaders all weekend.
When Jake had that high-side during Superpole, it looked more wicked than it was. Jake took a hit and was sore as expected but we just had too many custom parts broken or in disrepair. It’s never an easy call but we opted out of the first race because we couldn’t have gotten the bike back together in time. As the team’s principal I have to keep an eye on the bigger picture so after Jake did some laps on Sunday morning we had a good discussion. Jake was ready to race but we talked about the situation over with Scott (Crew Chief) and together we decided to withdraw from the second race. We have a lot a to put on display for our main sponsors at Laguna on the world stage and we need to be at our best for that weekend.
We move onto the next round properly rested and confident about our capability to put on that show for our sponsors and our fans.”
Scott Jensen – Crew Chief
“Utah is always a mixed bag for us. Jake tends to go very well at the Tooele Utah circuit but it seems the past few years we have had some issues at the event. Unfortunately this year proved to be the same.
This event for the 2017 season is approximately our half way point in the season. With us as a team being very eager to showcase what we learned about the new Honda CBR1000RR SP2 we all showed up very excited for some positive results. The weekend started off on a positive note with QP1 showing we had competitive lap times right out of the truck. Racing at this level means you are constantly trying to improve the bike regardless of how happy the rider is and what lap times you are posting. Eric Trinkley from Penske Racing Shocks as always was up to the task with a new shock for us to test in QP2 which was another step forward for us picking up some more full lean grip on the rear tire.
When Superpole came around we were ready to put the Genuine Broaster Chicken / Honda at the front as Jake seems to be able to get a little more out of the Qualifying rear tire than most other riders. But then the event got a little sideways on us, literally. Jake had an uncharacteristic high-side exiting the final corner on his first flying lap on the new Pre-Qualifying tire. This turned out to be the end of the event due to the damage to the bike and Jake being pretty sore. We turned a few laps on Sunday morning but as a team we agreed it was best to sit out the remainder of the event and show up to Laguna Seca ready to run at the front.
As my UK based friends say – ‘ROLL ON LAGUNA SECA'”