Rennie Scaysbrook | September 11, 2022
Sunday
Superbike
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci has been doing a rain dance all year, but it took until the ninth round of the 10-round 2022 MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship for his wish to come true. But when it did, he took full advantage.
Petrucci raced away in the rain at New Jersey Motorsports Park to score his fifth race win of the season and perhaps his most important. The win, combined with championship leader Jake Gagne’s third-place finish, moved the Italian to within four points of Gagne in the championship with just one round and two races left to run at Barber Motorsports Park, September 23-25
Heavy rain fell prior to the start of the 14-lap race at NJMP, leaving no doubt that the field would be using rain tires. There was also little doubt that Petrucci would be fast in the conditions as he came to the MotoAmerica with a reputation for being a rain master. And that he was. After slip-sliding around for the duration and doing so more capably than the others, Petrucci crossed the line with 6.6 seconds in hand.
Second place went to Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African also impressive after charging through the field from behind after being relegated to the back of the grid after missing the sighting lap.
Gagne was a timid third, the defending MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Champion in the unenviable position of having little to gain and plenty to lose in the tricky conditions. Gagne stayed out of trouble and gained a spot late in the race when his teammate Cameron Petersen crashed out of his battle for second with Scholtz. Gagne could also breathe a bit easier when Ashton Yates crashed the Aftercare Hayes Scheibe Racing BMW with two laps to go while hounding the Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing rider.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Hector Barbera was fourth, some 25 seconds behind Gagne and four seconds ahead of Petersen with the South African remounting and riding his Yamaha to fifth without a left handlebar.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis was sixth with fellow Kentuckian Hayden Gillim seventh on the Disrupt Racing Suzuki. ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, Triple M’s Jeremy Coffey and Altus Motorsports Brandon Paasch rounded out the top 10.
With two races remaining in the championship, Gagne leads Petrucci, 331-327. Petersen is third on 272 points, 17 points clear of Scholtz. Barbera strengthened his hold on fifth and now leads his teammate Jacobsen by 32 points.
Superbike Race 2
- Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Hector Barbera (BMW)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- David Anthony (Suzuki)
- Jeremy Coffey (Suzuki)
- Brandon Paasch (Suzuki)
Mission King Of The Baggers
The 2022 Mission King Of The Baggers Championship had its final round of the season at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and their one race on Sunday putting a fitting crescendo on what has been an exciting third season for the Harley-Davidson versus Indian race series.
Copious amounts of rain fell during the race, and the riders had to tread lightly aboard their Big Twins. Mission Foods S&S Cycle Indian Challenger Team’s Tyler O’Hara clinched the title by virtue of his second-place finish. Polesitter Kyle Wyman won the race aboard his H-D Screamin’ Eagle Road Glide Special, and Daytona Harley-Davidson/Hoban Brothers Racing’s Michael Barnes finished third. Kyle Wyman’s brother and teammate Travis had a narrow three-point lead in the championship coming into New Jersey, but he crashed in the wet conditions and ultimately finished ninth.
Yuasa Stock 1000
The 2022 Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship was also decided on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park with Corey Alexander clinching the title on the strength his fifth-place finish aboard his Tytlers Cycle RideHVMC BMW. The race was won in damp conditions by Disrupt Racing Suzuki’s Hayden Gillim, while Alexander’s teammate Travis Wyman finished second, and Altus Motorsports Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch was third.
Supersport
History was made in Supersport race two at New Jersey Motorsports Park when Squid Hunter Yamaha rider Josh Hayes won the race and tied AMA Hall of Famer Miguel Duhamel at 86 victories for the most all-time road racing wins in AMA history. Forty-seven-year-old Hayes was masterful in the rain-shortened race, which started out in the dry. On lap two, Hayes passed race leader Josh Herrin going into turn one, and Herrin went wide, which shuffled him back to 10th. From there, Hayes pulled a gap at the front, which was nearly 11 seconds at the finish line over second-place finisher Stefano Mesa abord his Mesa37 Racing Kawasaki. Completing the podium in third was North East Cycle Outlet Racing Yamaha’s Benjamin Smith.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race two concluded the weekend’s race action at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Pennsylvanian Kayla Yaakov won her third race of the season. The race was red-flagged and restarted with just a four-lap sprint, but Yaakov, aboard her Altus Motorsports Kawasaki, crossed the finish line nearly three seconds ahead of Rodio Racing Kawasaki’s Gus Rodio in second place. Alpha Omega Kawasaki rider Cody Wyman rounded out the podium in third.
Saturday
Superbike
Fresh N’ Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne took a big step towards a second MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike Championship on Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park with the defending champion stretching his advantage in the title chase from one point to 13 points.
Gagne won his 11th Medallia Superbike race of the year and the 28th of his career on a sunny afternoon in New Jersey. With his latest victory, Gagne moved into a tie on the all-time AMA Superbike win list with former AMA and World Superbike Champion Ben Spies. Not bad company, especially considering that Gagne didn’t win his first race until last year.
Gagne bested his teammate Cameron Petersen by 4.88 seconds with Mathew Scholtz coming out second best in his battle with countryman Petersen, the Westby Racing rider finishing less than half a second behind Petersen in third place.
The podium finish was Petersen’s 10th on the year with Scholtz landing on the podium for a ninth time in 2022.
Gagne’s championship rival Danilo Petrucci was fourth on the Warhorse HSBK Ducati NYC Panigale V4 R, with the Italian finishing off the podium for just the second time all season. Petrucci came into NJMP trailing Gagne by just a point, but his title chase took a hit with Saturday’s result, and he now trails by 13 with three races remaining.
Pole sitter PJ Jacobsen was fifth after losing out on his race-long battle with Petrucci, finishing just .051 of a second behind the Ducati at the finish line.
Jacobsen’s teammate Hector Barbera was sixth, some 10 seconds behind his teammate and just 1.2 seconds ahead of Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim.
Aftercare Hayes Scheibe Racing’s Ashton Yates was eighth with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis and Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing’s Travis Wyman rounding out the top 10.
There were seven non-finishers, including Vision Wheel M4 Suzuki’s Richie Escalante with his GSXR-1000 suffering a mechanical failure.
Superbike Race 1
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
- Danilo Petrucci (Ducati)
- PJ Jacobsen (BMW)
- Hector Barbera (BMW)
- Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
- Ashton Yates (BMW)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Travis Wyman (BMW)
Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race
The ladies of the Royal Enfield Build. Train. Race. program held their penultimate round at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and they kicked off Saturday with their feature race. Crystal Martinez was the fastest rider in Saturday morning’s Practice 2, and it portended things to come for the Californian, who also earned the pole position for the race. Martinez had her hands full in the race, and it looked like Illinois rider Chloe Peterson was going to get the victory.
However, on the final lap, Martinez took advantage of a missed shift by Peterson and overtook her right before the finish line. Washington-based rider Jennifer Chancellor completed the podium in third.
Supersport – Hayes’ Day, Herrin’s Year
In Supersport race one, two Joshes had memorable days. First of all, four-time Superbike Champion Josh Hayes won the battle when he took the victory aboard his Squid Hunter Yamaha. But it was, appropriately, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC rider Josh Herrin who won the war. Aboard his Ducati Panigale V2, Herrin clinched the 2022 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship, the third AMA-sanctioned professional road racing title of his career.
Herrin did what he needed to do, which was to finish ahead of Landers Racing Yamaha’s Rocco Landers. While Hayes pulled a gap at the front to win by a little over four-and-a-half seconds, Herrin and Landers diced back and forth until Herrin got in front of Landers for good and cemented his title with a second-place finish, while Landers came home in third.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup
Home-track advantage definitely came into play in SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup race one as the podium was made up of riders who are all from the Northeast and consider New Jersey Motorsports Park their local track. Hammonton, New Jersey’s Gus Rodio prevailed with the victory aboard his Rodio Racing Kawasaki, while Bauce Racing/JL62 Team Kawasaki’s Joseph LiMandri Jr., who hails from Garden City, New York, was second. Third place went to new BARTCON Racing Kawasaki team member Spencer Humphreys, who is from Easton, Pennsylvania.
There was a lot of dicing for the lead, as is usually the case with MotoAmerica’s class of entry-level road racers, but on the final run to the checkers, Rodio had a clear path to the front, and he took advantage of it to win the race by just .016 of a second.
REV’IT! Twins Cup
The day concluded with the REV’IT! Twins Cup class’s one race of the weekend, and it was a good one. Blake Davis notched his third win of the season aboard his N2 Racing/and he did so in a surprisingly dominant fashion.
The 16-year-old stretched out a gap of more than three seconds by the time he took the checkered flag. Meanwhile, Robem Engineering Aprilia teammates Ben Gloddy and Teagg Hobbs finished second and third, respectively.
Friday
Superbike
With five minutes left in Q1 at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Friday, normalcy returned to the timing sheet in the MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike class with the top two in the championship – Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne and Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Danilo Petrucci – moving up to first and second, respectively. Or so it appeared.
Prior to the five-minute mark, it was Tytlers Cycle Racing’s PJ Jacobsen with the fastest lap time. Then, with just five minutes left, Gagne and Petrucci threw in their fast laps and moved to the front. But then – with less than a minute to go in the session – Jacobsen showed that he means business this weekend and shot back to the top with his 1:20.365, which put him just half a second from Cameron Beaubier’s Superbike lap record at NJMP.
Jacobsen’s flyer left the two championship protagonists, Gagne and Petrucci, scratching their heads and hoping to restore order in tomorrow morning’s Q2 session.
So, the provisional front row is Jacobsen, Gagne, Petrucci as Friday ended.
“I think we’re putting in the work that we have to be,” Jacobsen said. “We’re on provisional pole right now and we’ll get the qualifying tires tomorrow. I think the lap times can be quite fast, maybe low 19s.”
Jacobsen’s teammate Hector Barbera ended the day in fourth, .491 of a second behind but ahead of Gagne’s teammate Cameron Petersen. Petersen is the last rider on the same second as Jacobsen. Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz completed the session in sixth.
Supersport
Four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh Hayes was back onboard his personal Squid Hunter Yamaha YZF-R6 at NJMP after spending a few races as a fill-in rider for Kevin Olmedo on the N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto R6.
Apparently, he found his comfort zone as he ripped off a 1:23.001 on Friday afternoon to lead Warhorse HSBK Racing’s Josh Herrin, Hayes’ former Yamaha Superbike teammate on the verge of earning his first MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
Landers Racing’s Rocco Landers, the only person mathematically still alive in the championship posted the third quickest time in Qualifying 1. The top seven riders ended the session on the same second as Hayes with the returning-from-injury Sam Lochoff ending up seventh on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki.
Stock 1000
Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim may have seen his championship aspirations disappear at the past round, but he’s not giving up and is out to finish the season with two strong finishes in the Yuasa Stock 1000 class. Gillim got his NJMP round off to a good start with provisional pole position coming his way on Friday afternoon.
Gillim lapped at 1:21.823 to best Mesa37 Racing’s Stefano Mesa by .261 of a second with champion-elect Corey Alexander third on the Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing BMW third fastest in Q1.
REV’IT! Twins Cup
Veloce Racing’s Jody Barry has been on the struggle bus of late, finishing off the podium in six straight races. This after ripping off four wins in a row early in the season. Well, Barry seems to have found his groove again at NJMP as he flew to provisional pole with a recood-setting best lap of 1:24.929.
Robem Engineering’s Teagg Hobbs ended the session second with Cycle Tech’s Hayden Schultz third. The top two in the championship were fourth and fifth with Anthony Mazziotto fourth and Blake Davis fifth. N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Davis leads Rodio Racing’s Mazziotto by just a single point with three races left in the series.
SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup
Rodio Racing’s Gus Rodio needs to win this weekend’s two SportbikeTrackGear.com Junior Cup races to have any chance of catching Cody Wyman in the championship. So why not start the weekend on the right track by earning provisional pole position on Friday afternoon?
It was Wyman and his Alpha Omega Kawasaki Ninja 400 who ended up second on the day with Max Van surviving a near crash on his SportbikeTrackGear.com Kawasaki to end up third. Altus Motorsports’ Kayla Yaakov finished the day in fourth.
Mission King Of The Baggers
If the battle for the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship were a prizefight, then H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Travis Wyman has won the first two rounds after leading the way in both Friday’s morning’s practice session and the afternoon’s Q2 session.
Wyman led Q1 with his 1:25.713 to lead his brother and teammate Kyle, the defending series champion just .047 behind his younger brother. Travis Wyman’s championship rival Tyler O’Hara was third and .673 of a second off Wyman’s best on his Mission Foods/S&S Cycle/Indian Challenger.
Roland Sands Design’s Bobby Fong was fourth fastest, riding wingman to O’Hara. Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson’s James Rispoli ended the session fifth fastest.
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