MotoAmerica Weekend at Brainerd International Raceway was an event filled with on track action. Some championship hopes dwindled while others were reignited. Here were the events as they unfolded.
Superbike
Tytlers Cycle Racing rider and championship contender Cameron Beaubier was diagnosed with a concussion after high siding in Medallia Superbike Race 1. The Tytlers Cycle Racing Team, Beaubier and track medical staff determined it was not in Beaubier’s best interest to race on Sunday due to his injury. Superbike Race 2 went on without him which opened up the door for Tytlers Cycle Racing Teammate PJ Jacobsen to earn his first win of the season. Jacobsen has finished 2nd three times this season and in Race 1 he couldn’t quite find the pace to challenge for the top spot. In race 2 that was seemingly the same story until there were 9 laps left in the race. At this point Jacobsen made a move on then race leader Jake Gagne. The move proved to be the pivotal point of the race as Jacobsen would hold on to the lead for the remainder of the race.
Jacobsen spoke with the MotoAmerica media after the race stating, “It’s just been hard work. Last year being able to even be on the podium was awesome and getting there. Then building steps this year and stuff, and with Cam (Beaubier) coming on as my teammate it was obviously a huge push because he’s a five-time AMA Superbike Champion. When he’s out there winning every weekend, first or second, it’s hard to have that as a teammate. I think just building and building and then learning some stuff from him as well in the data and everything.”
Jacobsen Continued His Thoughts on the Events in Race 2
“It’s good to finally get a dry win and actually get the job done. It feels pretty good. It was a big moment for me out there. I’ve wanted to do this. When you’re a kid coming up racing, and you’re in the paddock running around there, watching all these guys and then you want to be up here eventually with a win, like Hayes, Zemke, Duhamel, all those guys. So, it’s cool to be up here and to finally get a win in MotoAmerica.”
Of note, Mathew Scholtz missed out on completing Race 1 due to the radiator on his Westby Racing Yamaha R1 be punctured after Beaubier hit Gagne and veered into Scholtz ending his race. On day two of racing Scholtz came back to claim a P3 finish. Scholtz commented on how displeased he is with how the season has gone so far.
“This season has been pretty sh*t so far, to be honest. So, this is awesome to be back up on the podium here. Yesterday obviously passed PJ in the third corner early on. Ruined the bike. Didn’t get out from that. So, during practice, we didn’t put more than six or seven laps on the tire. So, we went out there today changing gearing settings without really knowing what was going to happen. The first three or four laps I think Jake (Gagne) and PJ (Jacobsen) had a little bit of pace, but maybe it was from lap five onwards I kind of pulled them back slightly. Then I think from the halfway point, the bike just started backing in like crazy. I started losing grip as I would crack the gas. So, the last couple laps was just surviving for me, really.”
After it was all said and done, Jake Gagne leaves the weekend in first place 68 points ahead of Herrin. Cameron Beaubier dropped down to third place leaving the weekend with 0 points.
Stock 1000
Hayden Gillim (Disrupt Racing) rode with a purpose in Race 2. After dominating in Race 1 Gillim repeated the feat in Race 1 which skyrocketed him to P2 in the standings and back into championship contention. The double win brought Gillim within 8 points of championship leader Ezra Beaubier (Orange Cat racing). Stock 1000 has one more weekend of racing so the championship will be decided at Circuit of the Americas in early September. Gillim had the following words for the MotoAmerica media.
Hayden Gillim Addresses the MotoAmerica Media After Winning Race 2
“Honestly, before this weekend I was ready to kind of call it quits on the Stock 1000 class for myself. So, this has definitely rejuvenated me a little bit and given me some more confidence going into COTA (the final round of the Steel Commander Stock 1000 series). That’s the only bad thing. That first weekend at Road Atlanta really had me down and out, and I was down a lot. With only five rounds this year for Stock 1000, I was a little nervous because I knew Road America was going to be tough. I expected Road Atlanta to be a little bit better than it was. I don’t know about COTA. We’ll see. I ran pretty quick there last year, so we’ll see. It will be interesting.”
Hayden Gillim secured 50 points in the Stock 1000 Championship points standings putting him in second place 8 points behind. Photo by Ramon Jones/Chroma Visual
Gillim Continued
“I know these guys will be running for it. It’s a tight race at the top right now, so it’s coming down to the wire. Unfortunately, I’ve been in a lot of these situations where it’s come down to the wire and almost every time, I’ve come out the loser. I’m hoping to do a little bit better than last year (when I) tied for the championship at the end of it but getting second place because he (Corey Alexander) had more race wins. So, trying to get those race wins right now just in case. But this was a really good weekend to do it. I knew coming in that this one and Barber I knew for sure were going to be the ones where I had to do the job and get it done.”
Supersport
It appears that the competition has found a chink in Xavi Fores’ (Warhorse HSBK Ducati) absolute dominance up until this round at Brainerd. After Fores won 8 races straight the Spaniard left the weekend at Brainerd with 0 wins and his lowest points finish of the season. After Josh Hayes won Race 1 Tyler Scott moved up the ranks after a late red flag and race restart provided him with the opportunity to run away with the win. Scott stated, “I felt great on the restart. Got the holeshot and never looked back. I made one mistake in turn four that kind of scared me. I ran decently wide, but I was able to pull it back on the racing line and get the win in the end.”
Until the win in Race 2 at Brainerd International Raceway. Scott had not won a race since last season. He will look to continue this for the remain rounds this season.
Junior Cup
Junior Cup Race 2 was full of on track action. After winning Race 1 from pole position Rossi Moor looked to double this result in Race 2. However, he would be robbed of the opportunity due to a transmission failure and a missed braking zone with 4 laps to go that saw him drop to P5. He was able to climb back to P2 despite not being able to shift beyond 3rd gear. Jayden Fernandez finished P3. Race 2 winner Levi Badie won the race by a margin of 0.087 seconds after a hard fought race starting from P8. He stated the following to the media after the race, “I came from eighth, so it was a little struggle to get back (to the front). I was there the whole time, just struggling to pass a lot of guys because it’s a difficult track to pass. The competitors are very strong.”
Levi Badie wins Junior Cup Race 2 at Brainerd International Raceway. Photo by Ramon Jones/Chroma Visual
“Once I came in first, I kind of missed my braking mark a little bit. Then going into the corner, I was like in dirt, like flat tracking. I kept it open. I came out and I saw that they weren’t too far away, so just head down and tried to catch them because they were fighting. So, I knew when they’re fighting, they’re not going their top speed, so I just did everything I could, and I caught them. That was like two laps more. I was like, just go for it and try to pass every corner, try to pass someone. It worked. Last lap I just took the chance, tried to pass Rossi and it worked and just go. I’m very happy for first place.”
King of the Baggers
Bobby Fong (Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian) bounces back on day two to secure the win in King of the Baggers Race 2. Fong took off in this race and never really looking back. Hayden Gillim (Vance & Hines/Mission/Harley-Davidson) who won Race 1 received a grid penalty for Race 2 related to a fluid leak discovered after the race. Gillim finished second and attributed his inability to catch Fong to the penalty. Fong spoke highly of his competition in the post race interview.
Fong said, “We’ve all been working hard. These guys are smart. Racing with these guys [referring to Gillim and Tyler O’Hara], they think a lot and I can tell riding with these guys. They’re always thinking. They’re always trying different things. Like I said, the competition is stacked. We’ve just got to keep working and see what we can do at COTA in a month or two. I’m happy to be up here. Good pay day for us, as well. Looking forward to spending at the wedding in a year or so.”
Royal Enfield BTR
Mikayla Moore wins again bringing her one step closer to a perfect season in the program. There was only on race for the BTR program at Brainerd. Moore once again dominated and never really looked back. Sonya Lloyd finished in second and Crystal Martinez secured a hard fought third. Lloyd secured pole position but was not able to capitalize on the track position. Mikayla Moore only needs to score 4 points in Race 1 at Pitt Race to mathematically secure the championship. As we all know this is racing and anything can happen. The top 6 riders in class all have the opportunity to shake up the season finish for second and third place.