MotoAmerica: More From WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca...

Herrin Wins Superbike Race Two, Builds On Championship Lead At WeatherTech Raceway
Josh Herrin Wins A Thriller Over Cameron Beaubier And Sean Dylan Kelly
MONTEREY, CA (July 14, 2024) – A day after Ducati North America inked a five-year extension with the Warhorse HSBK Ducati Racing team to continue as its factory-supported team in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, Josh Herrin further enforced that they made the right decision with a victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
Herrin and his Ducati Panigale V4 R withstood 20 laps of pressure from five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier and EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly to win his third Steel Commander Superbike race of the season at the perfect time as it gives Herrin a 15-point lead heading into the break before the series resumes at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August.
Herrin took over the lead from Beaubier on the third lap and he led every lap after that, defending all of Beaubier’s probes. Kelly also had a go at Herrin, but that didn’t stick, either.
At the finish line the margin of victory was .244 of a second with Beaubier on Herrin’s rear wheel and just ahead of Kelly, who unsuccessfully tried a late-braking move on Beaubier in the final corner.

Bobby Fong (50) finished fourth with Jake Gagne (1) fifth on Sunday. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong was also in the mix, finishing fourth and less than a second behind Herrin.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Jake Gagne was fifth with a slight improvement in his arm-pump problem. The three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion was some seven seconds behind Fong and some two seconds ahead of Herrin’s Warhorse HSBK Ducati teammate Loris Baz.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Xavi Forés barely beat Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach to the finish line for seventh with Superbike Cup winner Danilo Lewis ninth on the Team Brazil BMW M 1000 RR. FLO4LAW’s Benjamin Smith rounded out the top 10.

Xavi Forés (34) barely beat JD Beach (95) for seventh in a battle that went the distance. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Notable non-finishers included Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen who suffered another mechanical failure just when he’d clawed himself back into the championship fight. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch also failed to finish after crashing out of the race early.
Superbike Race 2

1. Josh Herrin (Ducati)
Cameron Beaubier (BMW)
Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
Loris Baz (Ducati)
Xavi Forés (Suzuki)
JD Beach (BMW)
Danilo Lewis (BMW)
Benjamin Smith (Yamaha)

Josh Herrin – Winner
“Yeah, super stressful. Who knows how it would have ended up, but with Sean (Dylan Kelly) being there it kind of helped me a little bit because it got Cam a little bit distracted, or probably got his heart rate racing a little bit. He couldn’t just calm down and think about where he wanted to get me because he has to think about who’s behind him also. So, it probably helped me a little bit. I could hear him every lap kind of just testing – I would assume testing where he was going to be able to get me. I tried my hardest on the last lap to protect the lines but also not make the mistake of overprotecting and losing drives. I obviously don’t know what happened behind me, but obviously it worked out. I’m just super happy to get this because it’s huge for the championship. We’ve clawed our way back from a long ways. The team really deserves this. We talked about it yesterday. It’s been 30 years since Ducati has won a championship. That just got me super motivated, especially because (Eraldo) Ferracci is here. I don’t even know how that guy is still going as strong as he is. It’s insane. It’s a huge motivation for me to try to get this win this year for him. Yesterday was like a reset. Like I just got this championship reset. We’re back at square one and I just got to take advantage of it. We have three rounds to go, which seems insane. Just a huge thank you to the entire team. It was just an amazing weekend. I’m really happy.”
Cameron Beaubier – Second Place
“I didn’t quite have the pace I did yesterday at the beginning. We went with the five front today because the three yesterday was moving around a little bit. I felt like that was the better option today. I didn’t quite have the bite I wanted to on the edge of the tire. Regardless, I had a good bike. I just couldn’t pass this guy (Josh Herrin) anywhere. He was super good on the brakes. He was getting out of the last corner really good. One spot I felt really good was going down into two, but I was never close enough to do anything. So, there for a little bit, I was biding my time thinking of where I could get him as the laps went down. He was setting a good pace at the front. Then Sean came by me, and then I had to try to figure out a way around him. Once I got back on Herrin’s wheel, I couldn’t do anything without taking a big lunge and maybe taking us both out. I’m stoked, even though the win was right there. I’m stoked with how I rode this weekend, how my heel felt. I definitely need to go get my butt back in shape. But congrats to these guys. Sean (Dylan Kelly) was riding incredible. Josh was riding incredible all weekend, setting the pace. It’s going to be a tight fight the rest of the year.”
Sean Dylan Kelly – Third Place
“Much better day. I was pretty frustrated with myself after that jump start yesterday. First time I’ve ever jumped a start. I just got eaten up at the start. First lap was really far back. It was a really good day yesterday. Just understanding that I do have the pace to be up front, but you still got to make it happen. I was really focused today on just hitting the marks and getting everything together. I made not the best start, but I made some passes up really early on. Just wanted to be there. I didn’t really want to get stuck with the problems here and there with how I was feeling. I just wanted to be there. I’m really pumped with how I felt on the bike. Finally feel like I’m starting to connect truly how I want to with this BMW. Obviously still so much to learn, but I’m just super pumped, first of all, that I’m up here on the podium with these two guys who obviously have so much experience. I’ve been looking up to these guys for a long time, so to be up here is definitely a dream come true, especially at Laguna. I think it’s obviously just the beginning for me, so I want to keep on building on this. Just thank my whole TopPro Racing team. Thank my sponsors, Only Fans, Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation. Just my whole crew, my family, everyone that’s out here. I’m super pumped to bring this podium to them.”

More, from another press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Gillim Takes Mission King Of The Baggers Win At WeatherTech Raceway
Jacobsen Repeats In Supersport, Yates Gets His First In Stock 1000 and West Dominates Super Hooligan

Hayden Gillim (1) battled with and beat Kyle Wyman (33) to win the Mission King Of The Baggers race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca on Sunday. Bobby Fong (50) suffered a mechanical DNF. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

MONTEREY, CA (July 14, 2024) – Mission King Of The Baggers is a uniquely American race class pitting teams riding Harley-Davidson Road Glides against teams riding Indian Motorcycle Challengers. At WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, The Motor Company claimed full bragging rights by sweeping the podium in both of the weekend’s two feature races. Not only that, but the same three riders and same two teams finished in the top three on both days.
Sunday’s race two winner was defending Mission King Of The Baggers Champion Hayden Gillim who took the checkered flag aboard his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson. Gillim battled it out with polesitter and current points leader Kyle Wyman, who got the holeshot and led the first two laps until Gillim overtook him on lap three. Wyman retook the lead again on lap six, but Gillim once again got by Wyman and held the position to the finish line.
Gillim’s teammate and King Of The Baggers rookie Rocco Landers made another charge to the front like he did on Saturday. Starting back in seventh on the grid, he methodically passed riders as the laps wound down and overtook S&S/Indian Motorcycle’s Troy Herfoss on the final lap to complete the podium and notch a 1-3 finish for RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson.
“Whenever we get on any bike, it’s all or nothing,” said Gillim. “That’s why we’re on these things. That’s why we’re on the teams that we’re on. Nobody is coming out here to just show up. Everybody is coming out here to win. That’s how we are, too. That’s why not winning or not even being able to really fight for the win yesterday was so frustrating for me. Now we’re getting back to where we should have been at the beginning of the season. I’m able to actually fight and be there with these guys. It’s been challenging. We’ve had some ups and downs. It’s good. This is the first time I’ve had to fight for the win. I’m really happy about it. This is the first time I’ve had to battle and actually take a win from somebody. At Brainerd, I was feeling really good and was able to kind of get away. It’s nice to have those wins, but these are a lot of fun. I’m really happy. The whole team is just working their butts off trying everything they can possibly do on the off weekends. I’m really grateful to be here and to be able to ride multiple classes and to be at the front in most of the classes I’m in. It’s going really good. I got some sleep last night, so I’m a little happier today.”

Ashton Yates (27) won his first career Stock 1000 race with a victory over Jayson Uribe (360). Andrew Lee (140) finished fourth. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Stock 1000 – Yates Gets His First
A happy Ashton Yates won his first career Stock 1000 race on Sunday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the young Georgian definitely earned it with a near-perfect race on his Jones Honda CBR1000RR-R SP.
Yates grabbed the lead on the second lap from pole-sitter Jayson Uribe and his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR and he led the rest of the race, though with constant pressure from Uribe. At the finish line it was Yates by .354 of a second over Uribe, who thought he had one more lap and was surprised by the checkered flag.
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim ended up third, despite dropping back as far as seventh after getting into turn two in second place on the opening lap. Gillim fought back, however, and worked his way up to third two laps from the end.
A close fourth for the second day in a row went to Motorsport Exotica’s Andrew Lee with the Californian having his best race weekend thus far in 2024.
Team Brazil’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top five.
With just two races left to run in the series finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Gillim leads Uribe by seven points.

Joe Roberts (far left) handed out the trophies to Mathew Scholtz (second from left), PJ Jacobsen (center) and Blake Davis (far right) on the Supersport podium at Laguna Seca. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Supersport – Nearly Identical
Sunday’s Supersport race was a near carbon copy of Saturday’s race with PJ Jacobsen hounding Mathew Scholtz for nearly the duration only to find a way past the championship leader and win for the second straight day.
For the second straight day, Jacobsen’s pass for the victory came in a place not known for passing. On Saturday it was in turn six. On Sunday, it was in turn 10 on the final lap and it caught Scholtz by surprise as Jacobsen shot up the inside after a great drive out of Rainey Curve. By then it was over.
Jacobsen’s two wins pulled him closer to Scholtz in the championship with a gain of 10 points. He now trails Scholtz by 18 points.
For the second straight day, Blake Davis finished third on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R6. Rahal Ducati Moto’s Corey Alexander was fourth with Stefano Mesa finishing fifth on his Tytlers Cycle Racing Kawasaki ZX6R.
“This racing thing, when two riders have the pace and they’re so similar with each other, you got to find a lot of spots that that person, you can overtake them,” Jacobsen said. “So yesterday when I overtook him in turn six, I felt like that was a good pass and that was a weak point for him. I feel like when you sit behind somebody for so long, you end up studying them. You sit there and study, and study, and study. No offense to (Mathew) Scholtz, but last year he had a massive highside in that corner and he almost lost it again this year. So, I kind of knew that he was a bit weak there. Going over that rise, I just knew I had more pace sitting behind him and it was going to allow me to go into (turn) 10 with a more aggressive move. So, that’s what I ended up doing after studying like that. So, I’m not dumb. I feel like I made the pass in the right section that I had to, after watching him the whole race.

Cory West (13) dropped the hammer at the start of the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship race on Sunday and was never headed. Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

Mission Super Hooligan National Championship – West Dominates
The MotoAmerica Superbike Speedfest concluded with race two of the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship, and it was a fitting way to wrap up an exciting weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Super Hooligan is an eclectic race class with 10 different makes of motorcycles making up the grid. However, like the Mission King Of The Baggers Championship, Super Hooligan has evolved into an epic battle between Indian Motorcycle and Harley-Davidson.
On Sunday, it was The Motor Company that prevailed with Saddlemen/ Harley-Davidson rider Cory West getting the victory that eluded him in Saturday’s race. The win was a dominant one for West, who started from the pole and led every one of the eight laps to take the checkered flag.
The second step on the podium was occupied by West’s teammate Jake Lewis. For West and Lewis, they were joyous about giving their Saddlemen/Harley-Davidson team a one-two finish. Third place went to Saturday’s winner Tyler O’Hara, with the S&S/Indian Motorcycle rider coming into Laguna, and also leaving Laguna, with the points lead.
“Yesterday getting second, that one stung, West said. “It was a little bit of a mistake on my part coming out of the front straightaway. We made a little change to the bike this morning that made it feel a lot better. This is my first time ever starting on pole position, and I just wanted to make the most of it. Put my head down, got a good start, and just had clear track and tried to get into a rhythm. I have a tendency to look back a lot, and I just told myself, just don’t look back. Hammered out a few laps. Looked at my lap timer once and saw 28.9 and was just like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s just keep this going.’ Was clicking off low 29’s consistent. Couldn’t help myself. About four or five laps in, I took a little peek back out of turn four and there was nobody there. I about crapped myself. I was like, ‘Okay, here we go!’ Just tried to stay consistent. Was starting to get a little bit of front-end movement down into two. Was just trying to keep the rhythm, keep going, try not to worry. The white flag was flying, and I got down into two, and I totally tucked the front and chattered it real hard and saved it. I was just like, ‘If you crash this thing on the last lap, you’re an idiot.’ I just hit my marks. I was already into traffic. So, I just wanted to be the first one to them. Got through it all right. Came out onto the front straightaway, and it was smooth sailing. Big shout out to the Saddlemen guys. Those dudes have really, really long days when they’re here at the racetrack. They put together some great bikes. We’ve got a bunch of good sponsors on board this year. It’s just awesome to get another win.”
The post MotoAmerica: More From WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

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