Photography by Brian J. Nelson
Thus far this season the Bazzaz Supertock 600 Series has been about three men: Roberts, Escalante and Travis Wyman. Today there were two more interlopers – Bryce Prince and his Tuned Racing teammate Jason Aguilar. Prince was in a battle with Roberts when his bike expired early on, but Aguilar was able to bring glory to the team when he held on for third and his first podium of the season.
Meanwhile, at the front, Escalante gave Roberts all he could handle on the run to the flag, the Mexican fighting back to get to .284 of a second at the checkered flag. The win was Roberts’ fifth on the year and it gives him an 11-point cushion on Escalante in the title chase, 145-134. Wyman, who sits third in the series point standings, had his first non-podium finish of the year on his Kyle Wyman Racing Yamaha. Wyman ended up seventh.
“At the beginning, Bryce (Prince) got a great start and I didn’t really want to sit behind him,” Roberts said. “I wanted to get out and go. He wasn’t really dropping back like I thought he would and he tried to make a move on me going into turn 12. I kinda shut the door on him. I looked behind and he wasn’t there, but I saw Richie (Escalante) and I had a comfortable (one) second lead and I just tried to maintain that. The conditions were a little bit sketchy with how hot it was. I was just trying to maintain that gap and came across some lappers and unfortunately got held up by them. Richie started catching me and it got to the point where on the last lap he was right behind me… I knew if I messed up, Richie would have got by me. Great job by him.”
Bazzaz Superstock 600 results from Barber Motorsports Park – June 13, 2015
1 25 27 Joe Roberts Wheels in Motion/Motosport.c Yamaha YZF-R6
2 20 54 Richie Escalante Escalante Racing Yamaha YZF-R6
3 16 96 Jason Aguilar Tuned Racing Yamaha YZF-R6
4 13 19 Wyatt Farris Mach 1 Motorsports Yamaha YZF-R6
5 11 16 Nick McFadden McFadden Racing Suzuki GSX-R600
Standings
1. Joe Roberts, 145
2. Escalante, 134
3. Travis Wyman, 122
