MotoAmerica: Results from Laguna Seca for the Altus Motorsports WPS FLY Racing Team

(Monterey, CA) The results on paper are not an indicator of the success the team had at the 2022 Laguna Seca MotoAmerica round.

“Sometimes you do everything right and the cards just don’t go your way. That pretty much sums up our Laguna Seca weekend. We have an amazing team and all of our riders are making improvements every round. Our pace was great but we suffered a mechanical on Sunday in Supersport and Kayla caught some bad luck in both Junior Cup races. It is what it is and we just move on to the next round,” said team owner George Nassaney.

Superbike Cup & Stock 1000

Laguna Seca Raceway was another solid step forward for Brandon Paasch. This round featured only one race on the schedule for the Stock 1000 class. Paasch started from 8th and finished 6th. In the Superbike Races, he qualified 21st. In the Saturday race, Brandon fought his way forward to 14th and 4th among the Superbike Cup competitors; the race-within-the-race of Stock 1000 competitors running with the Superbikes. On Sunday, he also finished 14th but this time as the top Superbike Cup racer.

“We definitely had a good weekend of learning and improving. We were steadily chipping away at the lap time all weekend and had some great battles farther up the grid. I’m definitely happy with the progress and I am looking forward to getting back out at Brainerd in a couple of weeks,” said Brandon Paasch.

Supersport 

Jaret Nassaney began both of the Supersport races from 9th. In the first race, on Saturday, he had worked his way up into a race-long battle for 7th. He fought hard for the position during the last few laps and managed to hold it when he crossed the finish line. In the second race, Nassaney was also running in 7th when an electrical issue surfaced. He limped the bike back to the pits and, regrettably, took the DNF.

“We went faster than we ever have at laguna so that was a big plus! We got p7 in race 1 after salvaging a bad start! In race two we were in contingent for 6th with three laps to go when an electrical issue caused us to retire from the race. Super bummed but we’ll give it another go at Brainerd,” said Jaret Nassaney.

Junior Cup

Kayla Yaakov has established herself as a mainstay in the leading pack of the Junior Cup races this season. Laguna Seca was no different. After qualifying 6th, she went with the lead pack during the Saturday race. She was rarely outside of the top three spots and even took her turn at the front a few times. With two laps to go, Yaakov was running in 2nd with sights set on another win when an incident with the rider in 3rd put them both on the ground and, unfortunately, out of the race. The Sunday race was more of the same. She went with the front runners at the start but on the final lap the rider in 2nd highsided on the exit of Turn 3. His bike hit Kayla. She was able to keep her motorcycle upright as she ran off the track. She did re-enter but only managed to cross the finish line in 9th.

“Laguna was definitely a tough weekend for us. After having a really good pace in practice and qualifying, we were really looking forward to the races. Unfortunately, we ran into two unavoidable racing incidents in both races. This caused me to crash in race one, and lose my rear brake, foot peg, and run off the track in race two. Definitely not the weekend we were hoping for, but the whole Altus Motorsports crew and I are already fully focused and ready for Brainerd,” said Kayla Yaakov.

“It seems like I say it after every race weekend: We have a great team. Our riders, mechanics, and support staff are all amazing,” said team owner George Nassaney. “A nd it was great to see such an amazing fan turnout in California. The campsites around the track were full and there were people everywhere. Those were the biggest crowds I think I’ve ever seen at that track. That’s a good omen for the sport and we owe that to the efforts of MotoAmerica.”

The Altus Motorsports team is supported by our great family of sponsors: Altus Motorsports, FLY Racing WPS, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Moto-D Racing, Bonamici, Hot Bodies Racing, M4 Exhausts, Vortex EK, Motion Pro, Barnett, Maxima Racing Oils, SBS Brakes, BrakeTech USA, Inc., Ohlins, K-Tech, RS Taichi, Arai, Law Tigers Oklahoma, and Altus Factory Racing.

More, from a press release issued by Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing:

RODIO RACING/WARHORSE HSBK RACING CONTINUES CHAMPIONSHIP CHASE IN TWO CLASSES

Gus Rodio Rebounds For Podium; Anthony Mazziotto Closes In On First Place In Championship

Rebounding from a late race crash while leading the SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup Race 1 at Laguna, Gus Rodio avoided a crash by another rider in Race 2 to claim 2nd place on the podium. In Race 1 Gus set the fastest lap time of the race but could not capitalize with a podium finish.

Gus Rodio: I was super happy to end the weekend on the box, after crashing out of the lead in Race 1. I can’t thank my crew enough for the work they put in for me. Cannot wait to get to Brainerd, the only MotoAmerica circuit I have a lap record at.

After avoiding a huge crash by another rider that caused Anthony Mazziotto to run off track, he was able to re-enter the track and push to finish in 6th place in the single REV’IT! Twins Cup at Laguna Seca. The race was extremely close among the top 7 riders with lap times within 0.3 seconds of each other providing another exciting Twins Cup show. With the points gathered Anthony maintained his 2nd place in the class championship, now 4 points behind the leader.

Anthony Mazziotto: P6 in the race, I avoided a major crash and had to play catch up. Managed to close a huge gap and collect as many points as I could! The championship hunt is getting close and I can nearly smell it!

Rodio Racing/Warhorse HSBK Racing will continue their championship quests at the next MotoAmerica Round at Brainerd International Raceway July 30-31.