Press Release | August 2, 2020
Superbike Race Two
Cameron Beaubier completed a perfect weekend for him and his Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha team at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the four-time defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion riding to his second victory in two days on another scorching hot day in Northern Georgia.
On Sunday, the HONOS Superbike podium was an exact replica of Saturday’s with Beaubier’s teammate Jake Gagne finishing second and Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz third again. It was also the second straight podium sweep for the Yamaha YZF-R1.
For Beaubier it was his fifth win in six races and his seventh career AMA Superbike win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Additionally, the win was Beaubier’s 43rd career victory in the premier class.
For those who have watched Beaubier since he first started riding a Superbike, it’s obvious that this is as comfortable as he’s ever looked on a motorcycle. And it’s a point he agrees with.
“I definitely feel really good on this thing,” Beaubier said. “It’s confidence-inspiring the way Richard (Stanboli) has the electronics set up and just the way the bike works with me. I’m just really enjoying riding right now. I’m just having fun. I saw Toni (Elias)… he got the holeshot. For a second I thought it was Jake (Gagne). I was like, ‘oh, man. I’ve got to try to get in front of him as quick as I can.’ But it ended up being Toni. I just pinned it up into the second corner and made sure I was leading into the chicane. I knew how fast Jake went this morning. He’s progressed throughout the whole weekend and he’s gotten faster and faster. I knew I just had to put my head down. I know Toni’s pretty hard to pass. I knew he was in second and I just gave everything I had for the first half of the race and then put it in management mode. It was really good. We didn’t change too much on the bike this weekend, but a couple of the small changes just made it more comfortable to ride. As a rider, I’m sure these guys all say the same thing. This track is pretty physical. You could be a foot off going into the chicane or coming down hard on the brakes into the last section and screw up the next three corners. I think that’s just a testament to how comfortable Richard has us on these things. Like Jake said, it’s just good to have three Yamahas up on the podium each day. Looking forward to going to the next one.”
The race was red-flagged early when Danilo Lewis crashed in turn seven. It was restarted shortly thereafter and with similar results. Although he didn’t get the holeshot, Beaubier was at the head of the field when they hit the esses for the first time and he instantly gapped the field with Gagne getting baulked slightly by M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias. Soon Gagne was past the Spaniard after passing him around the outside, but he didn’t have the pace of his teammate. Ditto for Scholtz, who also made his way around Elias before trying unsuccessfully to catch Gagne. Both riders, however, ended up closer to the race winner at the conclusion of the race, though Beaubier obviously slowed his pace toward the end.
Gagne cautioned that although he was closer to Beaubier at the finish today, there were reasons why.
“It was a little bit of a shortened race,” Gagne said. “Cam (Beaubier) got off to that lead early. He definitely kind of settled into a nice, comfortable pace. I knew he wasn’t going to be making any mistakes up there. He’s been riding really, really good. I knew Mat (Scholtz) was going to be faster today than he was yesterday. We could see that, like he said, in warmup. He had some more pace, so I knew he was going to be there. I think we all know, at a track like this the start was everything, if we could get up to that top chicane. I was bummed with that restart because me and Cam were running one and two before that restart. At least I could see Cam. He was right there in front of me. Kind of got off to a better jump. Then after that restart I knew we had to get another start. My starts have been good this weekend. One of my best-ever starts. We figured a couple things out. Cam led into the chicane with Toni (Elias) in-between us, so I was like, ‘I know Cam’s just going to take off. He’s going to set sail.’ Luckily, I got by Toni down into turn six on that first lap, but even by then Cam was already setting sail. When I went by Toni around that outside, I was pushing that front all the way in there. I thought he was going to come back underneath me in seven, but luckily I held it. The beginning of the first couple laps were tough after that restart. We kind of didn’t have the brand-new tire bite like we had originally. I was kind of making a couple mistakes. I saw on my pit board, I think it was Mat probably closing the gap a little bit. Like he said, we were going a little bit back and forth, back and forth. Then I kind of tried to smooth myself out and put my points together a little bit towards the end. Hats off to Cam. Hats off to the Yamaha Monster Energy Attack. It’s good to get a Yamaha sweep on the Superbike podium this weekend. And hats off to Mat. He didn’t let it come easy to me. I saw that pit board the whole time and I knew he was right there. Luckily, we got a couple days and we’ll be in Pittsburgh.”
At the finish, Beaubier was 2.5 seconds ahead of Gagne and 6.1 seconds clear of Scholtz, who was pleased with the progress he made from Saturday’s race.
“I got a decent jump off of the line from the second row,” Scholtz said. “Jake (Gagne) passed me early on and I started panicking slightly because I knew they would catch Toni (Elias) fairly quickly. So, I got past Toni around corner seven. Then I think a couple laps after that myself and Jake were going backwards and forwards maybe down to about one to two seconds. Then I think Jake upped his pace and I had nothing for him there. I was kind of sliding around lots. Yesterday I finished third and I wasn’t happy because we were so far back. Today I finished third but I’m actually really happy. We kind of closed the gap up to the two of these guys. Both of them are riding really well. Hopefully at Pittsburgh we can just carry on working hard and just carry on closing the gap to them.”
Fourth place went to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong, the winner of race two at Road America 2 hounding Scholtz for most of the race. He ended up less than a second behind the South African at the finish and 2.4 seconds ahead of his teammate Elias.
OneCure/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman finished sixth, the Ducati Panigale V4 R rider making up for yesterday’s disappointing non-finish after a mechanical issue took him out of the race early. Wyman battled early with Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin before pulling away to a comfortable margin of some six seconds.
FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony finished eighth with Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen ninth and Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander rounding out the top 10.
After three rounds and six races, Beaubier leads Gagne by 19 points, 125-106. Scholtz moves past Fong and into third with 76 points – three more than Fong.
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Superbike Race Two
1. |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Yam) |
2. |
Jake Gagne |
(Yam) |
3. |
Mathew Scholtz |
(Yam) |
4. |
Bobby Fong |
(Suz) |
5. |
Toni Elias |
(Suz) |
Supersport Race Two
The three main protagonists from Saturday’s Supersport race one had an encore performance in Sunday’s race two, but this time, the winner was HONOS Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante, who has won five of the six races thus far in the season. Saturday’s winner Sean Dylan Kelly crossed the finish line second on Sunday aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, and Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha’s Brandon Paasch was again third.
Also similar to yesterday, the race was a battle in the early laps, with Escalante, Kelly, and Paasch tightly bunched together and going two- and sometimes three-wide into the corners. Each one of the trio led the race at various points, but as the laps wound down, Escalante solidly asserted himself at the front and took the checkers with a gap of more than six seconds. Kelly also stretched his advantage over third-placed Paasch and had a gap of more than seven seconds at the finish line.
“Today, my start was a little bit better but still finished in the first corner in third,” said Escalante. “I’m surprised we ran in the first laps really fast. I take a little bit gap so I said, ‘maybe I go.’ I tried to do my best, then Sean (Kelly) passed me on the brakes. He’s very, very hard right now in the braking. Then I concentrate. I need to pass very quickly when the tires are new. I tried to pass and then had very consistent rhythm. I’m a little bit surprised with my rhythm today. But I’m really happy for my team. HONOS Graves Kawasaki were working yesterday to give me a very good bike today. I’m really happy and ready for Pittsburgh in four days.”
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Supersport Race Two
1. |
Richie Escalante |
(Kaw) |
2. |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Suz) |
3. |
Brandon Paasch |
(Yam) |
4. |
Jason Aguilar |
(Yam) |
5. |
Kevin Olmedo |
(Suz) |
Stock 1000 Race Two
After winning his first-ever MotoAmerica race in Saturday’s Stock 1000 event, Ride HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Corey Alexander kept his winning ways going and won again on Sunday. The New Yorker finished a little over a second ahead of rapidly rising youngster Alex Dumas, who finished second aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki. Third place went to local Georgia rider and former factory Superbike and World Superbike competitor Geoff May.
The beginning of the race looked like it would be dominated by Altus Motorsports Tucker Hagerty rider Cameron Petersen, but as was the case in Saturday’s race one, a technical issue took Petersen out of first place and eventually out of the race altogether, even though he did rejoin to ultimately finish 18th and two laps down.
“Obviously, every weekend you come into you want to win,” Alexander said. “That’s why we do this. If we didn’t think we could win, we wouldn’t be here. I didn’t expect to have it go this well, though. We made a lot of changes between Road America and this round to just make the bike work a little bit better for me. I have to give a special shout out to Evol Technologies. They sent me a set of rearsets because we were struggling with some shifting issues and ultimately that made a big difference for us. So, thanks to Steve from Evol for sending those to us. Honestly, that was probably the biggest thing. You can imagine how difficult it is when you’re coming off of a 170-mile an hour straightaway and not really sure if you’re in the right gear. So having that out of my mind kind of just let me focus on chassis stuff and making the bike better. Going into today’s race, I was talking to our riding coach Jason Pridmore about just kind of the pressure I was putting on myself because I really wanted to go out and do it again. I felt like yesterday was good, but I know Cam (Petersen) had that brake issue. I just wanted to beat him straight up. I’m not sure what happened to him. It’s a bummer for sure. I thought we were going to have a tough race today with him. Hats off to Alex (Dumas). It’s really cool. We’ve been riding together since he was really young, so to see him up here with me is a little surreal. It makes me feel old. Kind of probably like Geoff (May). It’s funny how it works. Hats off to these guys, especially Geoff, as well. It’s crazy in this heat and to be able to maintain this level for so long over such a long career. Hopefully we’ll see him in some more races. Otherwise, I want to say hello to my Uncle Richie (Alexander). Wish he could be here. Thanks to all of our team, Graves Motorsports, Iconic Motorbike Auctions, Maxima Racing Oils, Arai Helmets, Tucker, Alpinestars, everybody. I do everything myself. Just like Jeff said, I work. I don’t do mortgages, but I do bike loans all week. Finance. So, we’re selling a lot of Kawasaki’s back home, and it’s great for our industry and for the dealership back home, Hudson Valley Motorcycles. Overall, just got to be happy. Thanks everybody. Thanks to MotoAmerica. Thanks to all the fans for watching and coming out and having a good weekend. I hope everyone is staying safe.”
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Stock 1000 Race Two
1. |
Corey Alexander |
(Kaw) |
2. |
Alex Dumas |
(Suz) |
3. |
Geoff May |
(Kaw) |
4. |
Stefano Mesa |
(Kaw) |
5. |
Travis Wyman |
(BMW) |
Liqui Moly Junior Cup Race Two
In Sunday’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup race, Saturday’s race winner Rocco Landers did the double and took the checkers again, the Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr. Farr/Wonder CBD Kawasaki rider crossing the finish line with a just under a five-second advantage over second-place finisher Dominic Doyle aboard his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki. Third place went to Celtic HSBK Racing Kawasaki rider Sam Lochoff.
Landers got the holeshot in Sunday’s race and made a statement from the get-go. The defending class champion was never headed. Doyle and Lochoff, both from South Africa, traded spots a couple of times during the 11-lap contest, but the finishing order settled out as the laps wound down.
When asked about leading from start to finish, Landers said: “I was going to try to put my head down and try to get a good gap. When I looked back on the second lap, I had a little gap over Sam, but I saw Dom was right behind him. I was like, ‘Okay. He’s there. I’m going to have to try to get my head down.’ Then a couple laps later he was back again, and I saw that Dom was actually right in front of Sam and they were closing on me. At that point I was trying to settle some mid-41 lap times just to not run too many risks but actually still doing fast lap times. Then I saw that Sam passed Dom. Then I was like, they’re battling. I might be able to consistently run this pace and stay in front. Then I saw that Dominic got back past him, and he was closing back on me. So, I tried to put my head down and put in some consistent low 41s, high 40s. Tried to stretch out the lead, and it worked out pretty good. Really, I couldn’t ask for a better weekend with how I’ve been feeling. I’m pretty stoked on this weekend.”
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Junior Cup Race Two
1. |
Rocco Landers |
(Kaw) |
2. |
Dominic Doyle |
(Kaw) |
3. |
Samuel Lochoff |
(Kaw) |
4. |
Benjamin Gloddy |
(Kaw) |
5. |
Gus Rodio |
(Kaw) |
Superbike Race One
Cameron Beaubier won three races in a row before crashing out of the lead in race two at Road America 2, proving that no one is perfect. But he looked pretty damn close to that on a scorching hot Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion riding to his fourth victory of the season in dominating fashion.
Beaubier led off the start, but it was Jake Gagne leading the way through the esses on the opening lap. Although his lead was short lived, it still marked the first time the Monster Energy Attack Performance rider had led a Superbike race. Once his teammate Beaubier sped past, the two teammates circulated together for a few laps before Beaubier pulled away. The points leader slowing in the closing stages of the race to beat Gagne by 4.786 seconds, but said his race was by no means mistake-free.
“I had a couple mistakes in there that I was able to salvage pretty good,” Beaubier said. “They were just scary more than anything. Like Jake (Gagne) said, it was hot and greasy out there. I had a couple pretty good front-end pushes. One down into three where I had that little mistake this morning in Superpole. It was just hot and greasy. Jake got an incredible start from the second row. I knew he was going to be fast. I tried to get by him as quick as I could and just put my head down. But our gap was kind of yo-yo-ing a little bit. To be honest, going into the race I didn’t expect that. So, hats off to him. He’s riding awesome. Hats off to Matty (Scholtz). Three Yamahas up here on the box. It feels really good. It’s going to be another tough one tomorrow. I’m ready for it.”The win was the 42nd AMA Superbike victory of Beaubier’s career and his sixth at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He now leads the championship by 14 points over Gagne, 100-86.
Gagne, meanwhile, was well clear of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African trailing the Californian by 16.3 seconds at the end of the 19-lap race.
“That was I think one of my best starts all year, for sure,” Gagne said. “I knew I was on the second row after the Superpole, so I wanted to make sure I got off well. I knew once Cam (Beaubier) got to the top of that hill in the lead, he was going to go right from the get-go. I was behind Cam into turn one. He ran a little bit wide out there and I just got a good drive up the hill and managed to lead going down into the chicane up there. I just put my head down. I knew Cam was right on my butt. I thought Mat (Scholtz) would kind of be right there for sure. I know these Yamahas were running good. Then we put our head down. We did some 24s (1:24 lap times) out there. Cam kind of came by me down the straight into turn 10 down there. It was everything I had to try to stick with him and do a couple more 24s. I was happy. I was happy after the day we’ve had. We didn’t get a whole lot of laps today. We missed a lot of that first practice and missed a lot of that Superpole stuff. So, I’m really happy on the progress we made and how hard those guys are working. The Monster Energy Attack Yamaha is really rolling good. We’re starting to learn a lot more. It was good to get up there and race with Cam a little bit and see him for a little while there because he’s been going pretty much all year and out of sight. We learned a lot today. I’m happy. It was a little lonely out there once Cam pulled a couple seconds there, and then it was kind of just rolling around in the heat. It got tough out there. Those tires were really getting worked in that heat. Keeping the front end underneath us and the rear end underneath us, was tough out there. I’m glad we brought it home in second. Again, hats off to the guys because they’re really working hard. We had a lot of weird stuff going down this weekend, so it’s good to bring it in and pull a little bit of a holeshot and lead a little bit and run around there with Cam. Hats off to Cam and Mat. Got a couple Yamahas up there, so it’s good.”
The third-place finish was Scholtz’ second podium of the year and came at a track that he calls one of his favorites.
“After the first lap I settled into fourth behind Toni (Elias) and I could just see immediately Jake and Cam were pulling a massive gap, even after maybe five or six corners. Toni’s bike is quick, and he brakes late so I couldn’t really pass him. I was planning on something into corner 10 but coming onto the back of the straight (Kyle) Wyman passed us. Then his bike was leaking a ton of oil or something. It was spraying all over the front of the bike and my visor. So, I was just trying to miss his line where he was going. That really slowed me down. Then I maybe got about a second off of Toni and Kyle Wyman, and then I think Kyle’s bike stopped in corner 10. Then I just slowly caught up to Toni and passed him. Then I think he was there for a couple of laps after that, but once I began dipping to the mid to upper 25s, I think he was dropping off. So, I just kind of rode my own race from there. It was a little bit boring towards the end. I could see Jake was really far up front. Couldn’t see Cameron, so I was in no-man’s land. So, I was just feeling lost. Hoping in the next race we can pick up the pace and hold onto Jake and Cam.”
Elias rode his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to fourth, well clear of his teammate Bobby Fong who had crashed in the morning session at speed and injured his right hand. Fong, in turn, had a big lead over FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, the Australian also having a lonely ride to sixth.
Disrupt Racing/CCFOffiesolutions.com’s Geoff May rode his Kawasaki ZX-10R to seventh, almost a second ahead of FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Bradley Ward. Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders and Procomps Racing Team’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
Two of the top riders in the series, One Cure/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman and Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin, both suffered mechanical problems that knocked them out of the race.
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Superbike Race One
1. |
Cameron Beaubier |
(Yam) |
2. |
Jake Gagne |
(Yam) |
3. |
Mathew Scholz |
(Yam) |
4. |
Toni Elias |
(Suz) |
5. |
Bobby Fong |
(Suz) |
Supersport
Supersport race one was an absolute battle between Kelly and Escalante, with Kelly emerging victorious by just .052 of a second to snap Escalante’s four-race winning streak. The race was red-flagged when Nolan Lamkin crashed in the early going, and it was restarted with the original starting grid and Escalante in the pole position. Kelly got the jump on Escalante, but Escalante stayed close throughout the 18-lap event, and the two swapped the lead several times. On the final run to the checkers, Kelly had enough of a gap to hold off Escalante’s draft-pass move. Meanwhile, Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha’s Brandon Paasch ran a solid race in third to round out the podium.
“First of all, I’m just super happy to finally get the win,” Kelly said. “I haven’t gotten one since Pittsburgh. At the end of the day, after waiting so long, you get hungry, and more hungry, and more hungry. Especially after the start to the season that we had. We definitely had a rough start at Road America 1, but we’ve just built on it ever since. Honestly, I owe it all to the M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team. John and Chris Ulrich, Jeremy Toye, my crew chief. They’ve really put in a lot of work. We’ve just been moving forward ever since. I’m extremely happy. We still have work to do for tomorrow, but this is just taking it in. First win of the season. Really happy. Thanks to everyone that’s watching back at home, especially my dad who I obviously wish was here, but that’s all right. I know he’s still pretty emotional back at home.”
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Supersport Race One
1. |
Sean Dylan Kelly |
(Suz) |
2. |
Richie Escalante |
(Kaw) |
3. |
Brandon Paasch |
(Yam) |
4. |
Kevin Olmedo |
(Suz) |
5. |
Jason Aguilar |
(Yam) |
Stock 1000
In Saturday’s Stock 1000 race, Ride HVMC Racing Kawasaki’s Corey Alexander notched his first MotoAmerica win. Second-place finisher Cameron Petersen hung with Alexander in the opening laps of the race, but his Altus Motorsports Tucker Hagerty Suzuki developed a technical issue, and Alexander was able to stretch his lead to nearly four seconds at the checkers. Alex Dumas, the 2018 Liqui Moly Junior Cup and 2019 Twins Cup Champion, recorded his first podium result in the Stock 1000 class with a third-place result.
“I didn’t really know what to expect going into the race,” Alexander said. “Obviously, I kind of knew about Cameron’s (Petersen) brake issue. So, I wasn’t sure if that was going to be a factor. Also, I felt like we were a little bit off so far this weekend. Just kind of hit a wall with our setup. We’ve been working really hard, the guys at Graves Motorsports, and Chuck (Graves) and my crew chief Chris (Lessing) have really been trying to get the bike to just work a little better for me. Obviously, my size and stuff aren’t the easiest. Making the bike work a little better for me. They found something going into the race that gave me a little bit more confidence to push that next step to run with Cam. Cam’s been riding really good all year. I knew it was going to be tough. Definitely been a little bit frustrated with the first two races we had. Got a good start and put my head down. I didn’t expect to get the holeshot on him. I thought I’d have to follow him for a little bit until maybe his brakes fell off. But overall, just feel really good. It’s a good confidence boost. This whole thing has been obviously tough on everybody with COVID-19 and the whole deal. Back in New York, our dealership is still open. Unfortunately, my uncle (Richie Alexander) couldn’t make it, which is a bummer because he’s been to every single one of my races, since 2008. Definitely sucks he’s not here, but I’m glad we’re racing. Glad everybody’s safe and things will hopefully turn around in the country and we’ll get to keep racing. Hats off to Alex (Dumas). I think we have to stop hanging out every day. He’s starting to pick up on everything. Every time we ride together and come back. We were out in Washington last week and he must have picked up a couple things. He was faster today. He’s been fast all weekend. Really amazing to see him progress. Hats off to these guys.”
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Stock 1000 Race One
1. |
Corey Alexander |
(Kaw) |
2. |
Cameron Petersen |
(Suz) |
3. |
Alex Dumas |
(Suz) |
4. |
Geoff May |
(Kaw) |
5. |
Stefano Mesa |
(Kaw) |
Twins Cup
The final race of the day was Twins Cup, and Kaleb De Keyrel, who has won two of the first three races of the season, was victorious again aboard his 1-833-CJKNOWS Roaring Toyz Yamaha on Saturday at Road Atlanta. Second place went to Hayden Schultz Racing Yamaha’s Hayden Schultz for his second podium in a row. Polesitter Rocco Landers had quite a ride aboard his Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com Suzuki on the final go-around of the 12-lap race. The class rookie made an aggressive move to try and catch De Keyrel, but he very nearly crashed and had to make a miraculous save to salvage a podium in third.
“I just knew that Rocco after qualifying, he laid down that super-fast lap time,” De Keyrel said. “I knew he was going to be there the whole race. I just tried to get off to a good start and just ride good, clean laps and just try and be as consistent as possible. Overall, I’m having a blast out here at Road Atlanta. Ever since we rolled the bike out of the truck, it’s been fast. Just the suspension honestly is the biggest improvement that we’ve been working on big time. We’ve been dialing in the bike more and more for me every race weekend. So, the more laps we get on the track, the better the bike is getting suspension-wise and handling-wise. It’s really starting to feel like my motorcycle. I’m really happy with my 1-833-CJKNOWS Roaring Toyz Yamaha MT07. It’s been working really good out there, so I’m happy.”
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Twins Cup Race One
1. |
Kaleb De Keyrel |
(Yam) |
2. |
Hayden Schultz |
(Yam) |
3. |
Rocco Landers |
(Suz) |
4. |
Jackson Blackmon |
(Suz) |
5. |
Toby Khamsouk |
(Suz) |
Liqui Moly Junior Cup
Defending Liqui Moly Junior Cup Champion Rocco Landers started the 2020 MotoAmerica season with three second-place finishes to Dominic Doyle, but in race number two at Road America 2, Landers finally got the win. On Saturday, Landers put in a dominant performance to record his second-consecutive victory. The Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr. Farr/Wonder CBD Kawasaki rider started from the pole, got the holeshot, and immediately started pulling a gap, which he extended to more than five seconds by the time he crossed the finish line. His pace was as hot as the temperature on Saturday at Road Atlanta, and the Oregonian broke the outright class lap record on his way to the checkers.
Current points leader Doyle got a bad start from the line and had to play catch-up aboard his BARTCON Racing Kawasaki throughout the majority of the 11-lap event. He raced hard, however, and managed to land on the podium in third. Second place went to Celtic HSBK Racing’s Sam Lochoff, the South African getting his best result of the year thus far.
2020 Road Atlanta MotoAmerica Results—Twins Cup Race One
1. |
Rocco Landers |
(Kaw) |
2. |
Samuel Lochoff |
(Kaw) |
3. |
Dominic Doyle |
(Kaw) |
4. |
Benjamin Gloddy |
(Kaw) |
5. |
Jack Roach |
(Kaw) |
Friday
BRASELTON, GA (July 31, 2020) – The second of two HONOS Superbike sessions on Friday afternoon at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta was a stop-and-start affair with rain for round two of the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship, lightning and finally more rain bringing a premature end to the day. That meant the quickest lap of the day was set in the dry morning session with defending four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier leading the way on the opening day in Georgia.
Beaubier, who had mechanical issues early in the morning session, didn’t waste much time in getting to the top of the timesheets when he returned to the track. It was on his 10th lap that he did his best time, a 1:25.380. That put him .346 of a second ahead of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African a similar difference ahead of Beaubier’s Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha teammate Jake Gagne. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias and Bobby Fong ended the morning session fourth and fifth.
Scholtz was fastest in the wet session, though Beaubier and Gagne didn’t bother going out in the wet conditions.
HONOS Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante, the only rider who remains undefeated in the MotoAmerica Series thus far in 2020, picked up where he left off from Road America – at the top. Escalante led the qualifying session on Friday, besting M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly by .122 of a second. Altus Motorsports’ Kevin Olmedo ended the day third, .883 of a second behind Escalante.
Rocco Landers dropped under his own lap record in the Liqui Moly Junior Cup class, the talented youngster riding his Norton Motorsports/Ninja400R/Dr. Farr/Wonder C-backed Kawasaki Ninja 400 to a best lap of 1:41.901. That earned Landers a new lap record but very little breathing room as BARTCON Racing’s Dominic Doyle was nipping at his heels and just .035 of a second behind his rival. Celtic HSBK Racing’s Samuel Lochoff was third fastest, besting Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Gloddy and Blake Davis Racing’s Blake Davis, the just-turned-14-year-old Davis making his MotoAmerica debut.
Altus Motorsports’ Cameron Petersen rode his Suzuki GSX-R1000 to the fastest lap of the day in the Stock 1000 class, the South African ripping off a 1:27.777 to lead Disrupt Racing/CCFOfficesolutions.com’s Geoff May, who was making his 2020 debut in the MotoAmerica Series. Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander ended the day third.
With the second session wet, 1-833-CJKNOWS Accident & Injury Law’s Kaleb De Keyrel led the dry Twins Cup Practice 1 session, the Minnesotan leading Roadracing World Young Guns/Sportbiketrackgear.com’s Rocco Landers by .430 of a second. Brittenum Construction/Hayden Schultz Racing’s Hayden Schultz ended the session with the third fastest time.
Superbike Practice 1
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha) 1:25.380
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) 1:25.726
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 1:25.771
- Toni Elias (Suzuki) 1:26.351
- Bobby Fong (Suzuki) 1:26.544
- David Anthony (Suzuki) 1:27.612
- Kyle Wyman (Ducati) 1:27.873
- Josh Herrin (BMW) 1:28.827
- Bradley Ward (Kawasaki) 1:28.916
- Max Flinders (Yamaha) 1:31.580
Supersport Qualifying 1
- Richie Escalante (Kawasaki) 1:29.475
- Sean Dylan Kelly (Suzuki) 1:29.597
- Kevin Olmedo (Suzuki) 1:30.358
- Jason Aguilar (Yamaha) 1:30.523
- Brandon Paasch (Yamaha) 1:30.718
- Benjamin Smith (Yamaha) 1:31.114
- Lucas Silva (Suzuki) 1:31.130
- Max Angeles Fernandez (Yamaha) 1:31.427
- Xavier Zayat (Yamaha) 1:31.846
- Nolan Lamkin (Yamaha) 1:31.847
Stock 1000 Qualifying Practice 2
- Cameron Petersen (Suzuki) 1:27.777
- Geoff May (Kawasaki) 1:28.019
- Corey Alexander (Kawasaki) 1:28.168
- Alex Dumas (Suzuki) 1:28.429
- Stefano Mesa (Kawasaki) 1:28.747
- Michael Gilbert (Kawasaki) 1:28.766
- Travis Wyman (BMW) 1:29.390
- Christian Crosslin (Kawasaki) 1:30.030
- Ashton Yates (Honda) 1:30.082
- Danilo Lewis (BMW) 1:30.301
Twins Cup Practice 1
- Kaleb De Keyrel (Yamaha) 1:35.570
- Rocco Landers (Suzuki) 1:36.000
- Hayden Schultz (Yamaha) 1:36.588
- Jackson Blackmon (Suzuki) 1:37.008
- Toby Khamsouk (Suzuki) 1:37.361
- Teagg Hobbs (Suzuki) 1:37.406
- Chris Parrish (Yamaha) 1:37.829
- Cooper McDonald (Yamaha) 1:38.565
- Jason Madama (Yamaha) 1:39.041
- Joseph Blasius (Suzuki) 1:39.238
Liqui Moly Junior Cup Qualifying 1
- Rocco Landers (Kawasaki) 1:41.901
- Dominic Doyle (Kawasaki) 1:41.936
- Samuel Lochoff (Kawasaki) 1:42.685
- Benjamin Gloddy (Kawasaki) 1:43.170
- Blake Davis (Kawasaki) 1:43.576
- Isaiah Burleson (Kawasaki) 1:44.006
- Gus Rodio (Kawasaki) 1:44.241
- Cody Wyman (Yamaha) 1:44.268
- Liam Grant (Kawasaki) 1:44.414
- Joseph LiMandri Jr. (Kawasaki) 1:45.049