Superbike Race Two
Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz stole the show again in The Magic City, disappearing from the field, leading all 20 laps of Sunday’s Quad Lock Superbike race two, and winning by over six seconds.
The South African took the lead from Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen in the final corner of the first lap and checked out from there, taking the first double win of his Superbike career and extending his championship lead to 34 points in dominating fashion.
Behind Scholtz, Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach quickly moved into second on lap three with Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s Cameron Beaubier and his Ducati Panigale V4 R moving into third behind him.
Beaubier worked his way past Beach for second, but it was short-lived as the Ducati rider crashed one lap later entering Charlotte’s Web, ending his bid for a second straight podium and handing the position back to the Yamaha YZF-R1 rider.
Beach capitalized to secure another podium finish in race two, propelling himself to third in the championship standings, 46 points behind the leader.
Fresh off a hard crash on Saturday, birthday boy Sean Dylan Kelly rebounded with a composed ride aboard his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR to finish third. The newly turned 24-year-old moved into the final podium position at the halfway mark and rode a calculated race to maintain second in the championship standings, 34 points behind the leader.
Richie Escalante delivered an impressive charge through the field aboard his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R to secure fourth place, marking his best finish of the season. The Mexico native started ninth and briefly dropped to 10th before methodically working his way forward on the #54 machine, while also climbing to sixth in the championship standings.
Wrench Motorcycles rider Cameron Petersen was out for redemption aboard his Ducati Panigale V4 R after a race one DNF. The South African shook off the tough Saturday, was locked in for the early mid-pack battle, and followed Escalante’s rise through the pack, but dropped from fifth to seventh in championship points.
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong put his Yamaha YZF-R1 sixth in race two and managed to hang on to fourth in the season standings.
Race two was a mixed bag for the Real Steel Honda team. On the positive side, Andrew Lee once again topped the Superbike Cup category to maintain his points lead, while teammate Hayden Gillim suffered mechanical issues with his CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP that forced the Kentuckian to retire from race two, holding him to 11th in the points standings.
Six-time Superbike champion Cameron Beaubier’s crash relegated him to a 17th-place finish, dropping him to fifth in the championship standings with 47 points.
As the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship heads next to the high-speed confines of Road America, the long straights and fast-flowing layout are expected to favor the outright horsepower of the Ducati Panigale V4 R and the high-revving Suzuki GSX-R1000R. But, after a commanding weekend in Birmingham, Scholtz and the Strack Racing Yamaha squad arrive with momentum firmly on their side, as the South African continues to show supreme confidence aboard his Yamaha YZF-R1 in the early stages of the championship fight.
Superbike Race One
The Quad Lock Superbike Championship completed race one at Barber Motorsports Park with Mathew Scholtz taking the win aboard his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R1.
Scholtz came from second on the grid and quickly jumped out front before a red flag halted his progress. On the restart, Scholtz ripped another blistering start and led the remaining eight laps of the red-flag-shortened event to take the win by over four seconds.
Cameron Beaubier started on pole and finished second aboard his Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Panigale V4 R. Before the red flag, Beaubier and Scholtz appeared to be in a class of their own, but a difficult launch on the restart dropped the six-time Superbike Champion to fourth entering turn one. Forced to fight back through traffic to reclaim second position, Beaubier lost valuable ground to Scholtz and ultimately ran out of laps to challenge for the win.
As Beaubier tried to run down Scholtz in the waning laps, the battle for the final podium spot was heating up between four riders.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing duo of JD Beach and Bobby Fong were leading a close group that included M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Richie Escalante and Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim. Beach came out on top with the final podium spot, passing his teammate Fong on the run to the checkers to put his Yamaha YZF-R1 on the podium in third position with Fong in fourth.
Richie Escalante recorded his best finish this season coming across the line fifth in race one. The Mexico native took his GSX-R1000R directly into the podium battle during the closing laps and will look to improve towards the top three spots in tomorrow’s race two.
Hayden Gillim started in eighth and brought up the tail end of the leading group, finishing 0.833 of a second behind Escalante in sixth. Gillim kept contact with the podium contending group for the entirety of the race and the Kentuckian continues to make strides toward higher finishes aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Rounding out the top finishers in Quad Lock Superbike was OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly, who rebounded from a violent crash in qualifying to finish seventh aboard his BMW M 1000 RR, salvaging valuable championship points.
Some notable riders looking to rebound in race two are Wrench Motorcycles Cam Petersen and Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen. Both riders crashed out of the race, with Jacobsen’s incident bringing out the red flag and requiring a section of the soft barriers to be replaced.
In Superbike Cup, Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee took the top spot aboard his CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, and he will try for his first double victory of the season in Sunday’s race two.
Supersport Race Two
In MotoAmerica’s middleweight class, Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov, who earned the pole on Saturday and also set a new class record aboard her #19 Ducati Panigale V2, got the holeshot in Sunday’s race two, and she immediately built a pretty good lead over the rest of the field. Unfortunately, Ryder Davis crashed out, and his bike was left in the middle of the track, which brought out the red flag. Since the crash was in a turn after a blind rise, Ella Dreher had no time to avoid making contact with the downed motorcycle. She was injured in the incident, but thankfully, her condition is stable and not serious.
On the restart, Yaakov got off the line well again and led the field for the opening lap until she was overtaken by Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse Ducati’s Darryn Binder. The South African rider held the lead position for two laps, and a very determined Yaakov retook the lead, albeit briefly.
Binder got past Yaakov again, and this time, he made it stick. The pair of Ducati riders crossed the finish line with Binder notching the win and Yaakov finishing second and less than two one-thousands of a second behind the South African.
The battle for the third spot on the podium went right down to the finish line with M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott narrowly beating Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila’s Josh Herrin in a photo finish.
Talent Cup Race Two
Former MotoAmerica Mini Cup rider Nathan Gouker had Barber Motorsports Park dialed in this weekend in Talent Cup aboard his Quarterley Racing Krämer APX-350 MA. The 14-year-old set a new lap record while he earned the pole position for the weekend’s two races, and then, he won both of them in dominant fashion.
Finishing second in Sunday’s race two, just as he did in Saturday’s race one, was Team Roberts rider Kensei Matsudaira. Interestingly, Gouker and Matsudaira have identical results so far this season: three race wins, two runner-up results, and one third-place finish. That makes them tied for the lead in the points standings.
Third place in Sunday’s race two was the second-place finisher from Saturday’s race one, Jake Paige, who competes for Team Hammer. The Australian youngster overcame a couple of pretty big crashes on Friday, and his crew did excellent work to get his bike ready to race. Paige did his part with a pair of podium finishes.
Twins Cup Race Two
Saturday’s Twins Cup race two was red-flagged by two incidents involving Weyh Racing’s Andrew Weyh and Vestment Realty’s Rodney Vest. Due to scheduling commitments, the race had to be restarted later in the day.
Robem Engineering’s 15-year-old phenom, Hank Vossberg, who won Saturday’s race one, started from the pole and led all 12-laps in race two on Sunday, ultimately winning aboard his Aprilia by nearly a full 10 seconds.
Second place went to Karns/TST Industries Racing Suzuki rider Isaac Woodworth, and Speed Demon Racing powered by Ready to Ride’s Logan Cunnison brought his Aprilia across the line in third.
Super Hooligans Race Two
Rodio Racing’s Gus Rodio is glad that he decided to return to the MotoAmerica paddock. The New Jerseyan, who formerly raced in Junior Cup, then Twins Cup, and also in Supersport took the latter half of last year to reset his priorities. One of them was racing, so he made a comeback this year and raced in the Daytona 200 and in Super Hooligan.
On Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, Rodio, who set a new Super Hooligan lap record on Saturday on his way to the win in race one, did the double-double. He once again set a new Super Hooligan lap record while winning race two, as well. But it wasn’t easy.
Rodio was in a battle for the win with OrangeCat Racing’s Josh Herrin, who was aboard the Lightfighter V3-RH electric bike. Herrin’s runner-up finish is only the second time an EV bike has reached the podium in an AMA/MotoAmerica road race (Stefano Mesa put the Energica Eva Ribelle RS on the podium at Circuit of The Americas in 2023).
Third place went to Saddlemen Race Development’s James Rispoli, with the 2025 Super Hooligan Champion putting the Harley-Davidson Pan America on the podium after working through the balancing measures that MotoAmerica mandated for the H-D Pan Ams this season.
Supersport Race One
After becoming the first female rider to earn an AMA/MotoAmerica Supersport podium, Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight rider Kayla Yaakov liked it so much that she did it again at Barber Motorsports Park while also setting a new lap record in Supersport at Barber.
Yaakov got the holeshot and held the lead in the beginning of the race until she was overtaken by her teammate Josh Herrin aboard the Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila Panigale V2.
The race was red-flagged after Horney Racing’s Kevin Horney crashed, and then, it was red-flagged a second time right after the restart when Shane Maggs Racing’s Shane Maggs was involved in an incident with Superbike Supply rider Hayden Diedrich.
On the second restart, Herrin got the holeshot, but Darryn Binder quickly took the lead aboard his Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse Ducati. Yaakov got a good start and slotted in behind Binder. She then made a deft pass on the South African and put herself back in the lead.
As the three Ducati riders battled for position, Herrin also got around Binder. Then, with three laps to go, the order shuffled again, putting Herrin in the lead over Binder, and Yaakov was relegated to third.
Binder overtook Herrin in the Museum Corner and was in the lead until Herrin regained the lead. Meanwhile, Yaakov came under pressure from M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, who passed her, but it was short-lived as Yaakov retook third place.
Herrin ultimately clinched the win, with Binder finishing as runner-up, and Yaakov completed the all-Ducati podium.
Talent Cup Race One
Coming into Barber, Kensei Matsudaira had put together a three-race winning streak, and he was poised to continue it at a track that really suits the lightweight, corner-speed-favoring Kramer APA-350 MA.
Nathan Gouker, who won the first Talent Cup race of the season, had other ideas.
Matsudaira ran off track and didn’t crash, but it shuffled him back in the order and he spent the rest of the race trying to get back towards the front.
Gouker was absolutely dominant, however, and he never put a wheel wrong as he pressed his advantage and stretched his lead all the way to the checkered flag, taking the victory by nearly four seconds over second-place finisher Jake Paige aboard his Team Hammer machine.
Matsudaira put in a huge effort and advanced all the way up to third to extend his podium-finishing streak to five consecutive races. Gouker, who has also podiumed in all five Talent Cup races thus far, is now just five points behind Matsudaira in the championship, while Paige is currently third and 37 points back.
Twins Cup Race One
Fifteen-year-old Wisconsin rider Hank Vossberg’s rapid rise in MotoAmerica continued with the win in Saturday’s race one aboard his Robem Engineering Aprilia. Vossberg, who became age-eligible to race in MotoAmerica just last year, started from the pole and led every lap of the eight-lap event to take the ninth race victory of his young career in dominant fashion.
A little more than five seconds adrift of Vossberg was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Matthew Chapin, who has carded three podium finishes so far this season, including a win in race two at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this past week.
Karns/TST Industries Racing Suzuki rider Kevin Olmedo finished third, with the always-smiling El Salvadoran continuing his remarkable comeback from debilitating Guillain-Barré Syndrome.
Super Hooligans Race One
The high-handlebar heroes in the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship raced on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park for the first time in the series’ history, and Rodio Racing’s Gus Rodio, aboard his Ducati Streetfighter V2, notched the win by a margin of just under five seconds over BPR Racing Yamaha MT-09 SP rider Bryce Kornbau.
COATZYMOTO LATINWE rider Robertino Pietri, who is backed by internationally acclaimed actress and entrepreneur Sofía Vergara, raced his Yamaha XSR900 to a solid third-place result.
One of the surprises of the race was that the Saddlemen Race Development Harley-Davidson Pan America riders did not display the same dominance as they did last season when the three-rider team went one-two-three in the season championship, or this past March at Daytona when they swept the podium in both races.
Friday Superbike
The Quad Lock Superbike Championship finished the first day at Barber Motorsports Park, with OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly at the top of Timed Practice aboard his BMW M 1000 RR.
The Floridian was fastest in both sessions today. He led the morning’s Free Practice with a fastest lap of 1:23.372, and he was the only rider to make it into the minute-22’s in the afternoon’s Timed Practice with a lap of 1:22.908 around the 17-turn, 2.38-mile circuit.
Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law rider Cameron Beaubier improved his fastest lap from the morning’s Free Practice by nearly a second in the afternoon’s Timed Practice. The six-time and defending Superbike Champion ended Timed Practice in second with a lap of 1:23.082. Beaubier continues to find pace out of his Ducati Panigale V4 R and will be a threat for pole position in tomorrow’s 15-minute Qualifying session.
Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz missed most of Free Practice due to a mechanical issue. The South African was able to join the session with about 10 minutes left and quickly put his #11 Yamaha YZF-R1 in the top three. In the afternoon’s Timed Practice, Scholtz put down a 1:23.144 lap time for third-fastest.
The biggest jump from Free Practice to Timed Practice Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim. The Kentucky native finished Free Practice in eighth position but shaved another 1.1 seconds off that time to end the more important Timed Practice in fourth with a 1:23.917 lap time.
Wrench Motorcycles rider Cam Petersen is the final racer in the minute-23 range. The South African sits fifth, 1.025 seconds off the leader’s pace.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante is sixth, seventh position is held by OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe, Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL rider PJ Jacobsen is eighth, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch is ninth, and Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s JD Beach completed the top 10.
In Superbike Cup qualifying, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Deion Campbell holds provisional pole, with Real Steel Honda’s Andrew Lee just 0.157 of a second behind.
With the top three separated by just 0.236 of a second and the top five all within 1 second of each other, tomorrow’s 15-minute Qualifying session will be a fight for the front row. Riders will have to balance risk and reward in the short session, where any mistake could mean the difference between a front-row start and a mid-pack push off.
Supersport
Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight’s Kayla Yaakov continues her upward trajectory aboard the Ducati Panigale V2, grabbing the provisional pole at her favorite racetrack on the calendar. The 18-year-old female phenom put down a lightning-fast lap time of 1:25.750 to take day one’s top spot.
The only other rider to break into the minute-25’s was Rahal Ducati Moto with Desnuda Organic Tequila’s Josh Herrin. The 2022 Supersport champion was just 0.133 of a second behind his teammate at the top.
Holding third place after Qualifying 1 is Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse rider Darryn Binder aboard a Ducati Panigale V2. Binder steadily progressed in both sessions and ended the day with a solid time of 1:26.284, half a second off the leader’s quickest time.
Supersport rookie and last year’s Twins Cup and Talent Cup Champion, Alessandro Di Mario, finished Qualifying 1 in fourth position. The Rahal Ducati Moto with Roller Die + Forming rider put up a 1:26.598 aboard his Ducati Panigale V2, 0.848 of a second behind the top spot.
Rounding out the top five was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott aboard the Suzuki GSX-R750.
Talent Cup
The Talent Cup riders completed Qualifying 1 this afternoon, with Quarterley Racing’s Nathan Gouker taking the top spot by almost a full second. The North Carolina teenager set the pace as the only rider in the minute-34’s, claiming provisional pole with a time of 1:34.475 and establishing a new lap record in the process.
Team Roberts rider Kensei Matsudaira finds himself second behind Gouker after submitting a 1:35.430 lap time. The current points leader looks to close the gap in tomorrow’s Qualifying 2 and get back to the top spot.
Third-fastest after Qualifying 1 was Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane. The Aussie teenager lapped the Alabama circuit with a fastest lap of 1:35.708 towards the end of the session. Drane looks to close the gap even more tomorrow.
Bettencourt Racing’s Nathan Bettencourt provisionally qualified fourth while Team Hammer’s Jake Paige completed the top five.
Twins Cup
In Twins Cup Qualifying 1, the top three are all on Aprilia RS 660’s and are separated by 0.6 of a second and in age by 34 years. Below the Aprilia riders are four Suzuki GSX-8R riders, all within one second of the lead.
Robem Engineering’s Hank Vossberg sits atop the provisional standings with a qualifying time of 1:29.586. The 15-year-old points leader from Wisconsin leads by just .383 of a second heading into tomorrow’s final Q2.
Speed Demon Racing Powered By Ready To Ride’s Logan Cunnison holds second for the time being. After a breakout podium at last month’s round in Atlanta, the 17-year-old looks like he is finding his groove.
Third place after qualifying one is inaugural Twins Cup Champion and Ghetto Customs rider Chris Parrish. The 49-year-old Tennessean has held his own this season against riders half his age and is only 0.625 of a second off the leader’s pace.
In fourth is Karns/TST Industries Racing Suzuki’s Isaac Woodworth. The Floridian is just 0.727 of a second behind the leader and is followed closely by M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bodie Paige.
In sixth is Woodworth’s Karns/TST Industries Racing Suzuki teammate, Kevin Olmedo, and one second out of the lead is Paige’s M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Matthew Chapin.
Mission Super Hooligan National Championship
Rodio Racing’s Gus Rodio slotted himself onto the provisional pole during Friday’s Q1 session. The Garden State native looked extremely comfortable aboard his #95 Ducati Streetfighter V2, and did a celebratory slide into Charlotte’s Web, with a complementary wheelie at the exit after setting his 1:27.762 lap time.
Just half a second behind Rodio is OrangeCat Racing’s Josh Herrin aboard the Lightfighter V3-RH. Herrin found speed early in the session aboard the battery-powered machine, putting down a fastest lap of 1:28.312.
Jason Waters provisionally qualified third on his TopPro Motorsports/Edge Racing Ducati Streetfighter V2, completing the front-row Ducati bookends on either side of Herrin. The Georgian sits just 0.674 of a second off the pace with another chance to push closer to the top in tomorrow’s Q2 session.
Venezuelan Robertino Pietri provisionally holds fourth aboard his COATZYMOTO LATINWE Yamaha XSR900. Pietri is 0.852 of a second off the lead, and is followed closely by BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau aboard his Yamaha MT-09 SP.
Saddlemen Race Development’s Jake Lewis is 1.093 seconds off the lead and represents the first of the Harley-Davidson Pan Americas in the order.
