Steel Commander Corp Is Now The Title Sponsor Of The MotoAmerica Stock 1000 Championship

This Article was not Authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
MotoAmerica Press Release Authored by Paul Carruthers, MotoAmerica Communications Manager

MotoAmerica, North America’s premier road racing racing series, is pleased to announce that Steel Commander Corp will be the title sponsor of the 2023 MotoAmerica Steel Commander Stock 1000 Championship, beginning with the May 19-21 second round of the series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

Steel Commander Corp, with its corporate headquarters in Boca Raton, Florida, is an all-American Steel Building manufacturer shipping factory-direct to all U.S. territories offering a combination of expertise, innovation, and dedication to quality and customer satisfaction. Steel Commander Corp offers a comprehensive range of solutions for the commercial, industrial, residential, garage, storage, and other industries with a combined experience of over 60 years.

In addition to being the title sponsor of the Steel Commander Stock 1000 class, the steel-building manufacturer recently announced that it will field a team in the series with former MotoAmerica Supersport class winner Gabriel Da Silva. Da Silva will compete in both the Steel Commander Stock 1000 class and the Superbike Cup division of the MotoAmerica Medallia Superbike series. Da Silva and the team will also be making their debut at Barber Motorsports Park, May 19-21.

“We are pumped to have Steel Commander Corp on board as the Stock 1000 title sponsor for 2023,” said Lance Bryson, MotoAmerica’s Director of Sponsorship. “They are true fans of the sport and are excited to be joining our series with both a team and a title sponsor. We are equally as excited to have them onboard and to have our fans learn about Steel Commander’s products. The Stock 1000 class got started at Road Atlanta a few weeks ago with two exciting races and we’re expecting more of that at every round, including Steel Commander’s first race as a sponsor at Barber.”

“We are excited to announce this new partnership between Steel Commander Corp and MotoAmerica.” said Shawn Fisher, President and CEO of Steel Commander Corp. “This is a great opportunity for the two companies to promote the 2023 MotoAmerica Championship and to showcase the incredible talent and dedication of exceptional riders like Gabriel Da Silva. We are eagerly awaiting Gabriel’s first race this weekend (May 19-21) in Alabama.”

MotoAmerica Round 1 kicked off in Braselton, GA at the iconic Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Earlier we released our coverage of the Medallia Superbike Championship race. Here we discuss the outcomes for the other classes in the championship.

Stock 1000 Ezra Beaubier Completes the Double

After a surprising race 1 win Ezra’s weekend only got better with a second win in Stock 1000. Prior to this weekend his top finish was fifth place. To have his first and second wins occur on the same weekend is a feat he will remember forever. Ezra Beaubier who is younger brother to Medallia Superbike racer Cameron Beaubier put on a clinic to secure 50 points on the season. Ezra spoke to the MotoAmerica Media after the race when asked his thoughts on the double win, “Well, I hope it becomes a habit. Honestly I woke up today just with a completely different feeling. I finally had the confidence. I can do this now. I can run with these guys. I just felt really good. We found some stuff with the bike last night and it was really positive.”

He Continued

“In warmup, I basically matched my fastest lap of the race yesterday in warmup. I wasn’t really pushing super hard, so I felt super good going into the race, super confident. I felt like I could rip off a bunch of the 1:26s in the race, and I was able to execute that. In the beginning, I tried to pull out and see if I could get a gap, and I really wasn’t able to, so I just kind of backed it down and sat there. Then towards the end of the race, tried to pick it back up again. I saw on my pit board that Kaleb was right there on me.

On the last lap on the back straight, I felt him in my draft and started almost panicking a little bit. I tried to run a defensive line. Then he ended up running off in the last turn, which is a huge bummer not to go one and two as the Orange Cat BMW’s. But it was a great race and a great weekend for me. I hope to have many more of these.”

In other news MotoAmerica and AMA veteran Geoff May Announced his retirement from the series this weekend. May had raced for 25 years professionally and has decided that now is the time to focus on family and a career beyond racing. He will be missed.

Supersport

Xavi Fores takes the double win on his debut race weekend in MotoAmerica for Warhorse HSBK Ducati. Fores got the season started off right with a dominant performance in both Supersport races to secure maximum points. Fores leads the title chase with 50 points, 17 ahead of Stafno Mesa and Tyler Scott, who are tied for second, and 18 ahead of Hayes.

There are whispers that the 2022 super sport runner up Rocco Landers may be looking for a way to get back in the mix in 2023. We will report back when details are a bit more solidified.

Twins Cup

Speaking of Rocco Landers. Landers put on a dominant showing in Twins Cup race 2. Having previously won the Twins Cup championship, Rocco was no stranger to the level of competition he would face. Landers is filling in with Rodio Racing for the injured Ben Gloddy. After a disappointing mechanical failure from 2nd place in Saturday’s race. Landers appeared to be racing with a vengeance commanding an almost 8 second lead at one point in the race.

2022 class champion and Saturday’s race winner Blake Davis crashed early in race 2 but was able to continue on his N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto Yamaha YZF-R7 to finish 11th. Leaving him third in the championship standings behind Hayden Schultz and Gus Rodio. After four points races, Rodio leads the championship with 85 points 26 points ahead of Schultz and 29 ahead of Davis.

Junior Cup

Bad boys Racing rider Avery Dreher sealed the double win taking the maximum points for the weekend. Max Van and Hayden Bicknese finished in second and third respectively in both races. When asked about his race preparation Dreher stated, “Honestly, I went into the race with the same mindset, the same strategy as yesterday. I tried to fall in line at the beginning of the race, but they caught us towards the middle, so it was the same pack as yesterday. I’m glad we were going a lot faster than yesterday. Towards the end of the race, I felt like I had some pace to break away, so I made the move into 10A. I looked back once or twice. Saw that I had a gap and just put my head down. Happy with the result. Good job to Max and Hayden. Looking forward to Barber.”

King of the Baggers

H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Kyle Wyman secured the double with his Harley-Davidson Road Glide.

Tyler O’Hara finished 1.830 seconds behind Wyman with Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian’s Bobby Fong third. Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson teamsters Hayden Gillim and James Rispoli finished fourth and fifth. Wyman had the following words for the MotoAmerica media.

Wyamn stated, “That’s how you want to do it, aside from the challenge was a little bit of a throwaway, but we won every session and won both races. That’s kind of how you want to do it. I kind of wheelied on the start and had to roll out of it. Didn’t quite get the launch I wanted. Went to the brakes a little bit sheepishly, I would say, for turn one and Tyler got the wheel underneath me. I haven’t ridden behind Tyler in what feels like a long time. I don’t think at all this year and maybe even towards the end of last year not so much. So, just to see that thing.

He continued…

There were a couple places where I felt like our strength in that first sector really showed. Even on the warmup lap, I felt like if I wanted to get a run over turn five, I needed to give myself a little bit of space actually because we’ve got pretty tall gearing through there. So, I kind of gave myself a little bit of space. Gave myself an opportunity to see where the strengths and weaknesses were between the two of us. I had a pretty good run on the back straightaway.

He touched the rev limiter in one of his gears and kind of got me a little bit of a run down the back straight, it seemed like. I hit my shifts pretty good, but he might have missed one and it got me alongside of him going through nine. We were kind of side-by-side going through ten. We were both fighting for the position a little bit…Went a little bit quicker today than yesterday, as did everybody I think went quicker today.”

Wyman leads the championship point standings with 75 points, eight points ahead of Rispoli and 10 points ahead of Gillim. Defending Champion Tyler O’Hara is 14 points behind in fourth place.

For more MotoAmerica news check out MotoAmerica.com

MotoAmerica weekend at Road Atlanta has come to an end. Cameron Beaubier and Jake Gagne put on a spectacle in Medallia Superbike Race 1 with back and forth action passing each other at different points around the circuit throughout the entire race. Beaubier emerged victorious in race one and would attempt the double in race 2. However, Jake Gagne had something to say about that.

The Race

Superbike race 2 will go down as one of the most exciting and event filled races in the history of the Superbike Championship. Cameron Beaubier (6), Jake Gagne (1), Cameron Petersen (45) Josh Herrin (2) and Mathew Scholtz (11) battled it out in the front pack from the start. Gagne lead the race at the start of lap 3 and Beaubier had a moment on track where he missed his racing line and almost lost the bike going into turn one over the curbing. Beaubier was able to save the bike, but Gagne had already made the pass.

As the riders progressed up the hill to turn 2 Cameron Petersen’s Yamaha R1 spontaneously burst into flames without obvious incident. Due to the quick response by the corner workers the bike did not appear to be a total loss. The fire was put out in seconds, and Petersen appeared to be unharmed.

Naturally this ended Petersen’s race. Herrin jumped up to third and tried to hold on to Gagne and Beaubier battling it out at the front 5 tenths ahead. Gagne and Beaubier exchanged a multiple position switches and by lap 7 Mat Scholtz had taken advantage of clean race lines to work his way up to within 0.2s of the leaders.

Late Stages

Herrin found some space in turn 1 and turn 10 to take the lead with 5 laps to go. However, Beaubier retook the lead by the end of the lap. The top 4 were separated by 6 tenths leaving the door open for anyone to finish strong for the win. Herrin took the lead with 2 laps to go. However, Beaubier again retook the lead at turn 10 with better exit speed than Herrin in the exchange.

At the beginning of the final lap, Gagne sat in third place. Herrin ran wide in turn 7 which seemingly knocked him out of rhythm on the back straight through the kink. Beaubier passed Herrin in the exchange. Herrin tried to recover, but made contact with Beaubier and was bumped wide in turn 9. This left the door wide open for Gagne to steal the win lead. Gagne pounced with a perfect double bike draft to take the lead which he would hold until the checkered flag. Herrin tried to recover and ended up running off track settling for 4th. Scholtz who was in tow rounded out the podium.

With Gagne and Beaubier tied atop the standings with 45 points, Herrin is third with 29 points

After the Race Thoughts

Gagne, Beaubier and Scholtz spoke with MotoAmerica after the race.

Jake Gagne, Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha

“The bike was awesome. My drives are awesome. I was still struggling on the brakes, but I think that was just because of me and after a couple laps, I was really pumped up. So, I kind of tried to just chill and relax and tried to just breathe and watch what those guys were doing a little differently and watch them battle each other. For the last lap, it was hard to really have a plan. Obviously, both of those bikes were really fast and really strong down into 10 through the kink. So, I was kind of just hoping for the best. I figured maybe they both would have a little braking battle in there and I could drive up under the bridge, but it was nuts.”

Cameron Beaubier, Tytlers Cycle Racing

“My bike was super-fast. I was trying to get to those last three laps and then put my head down and be good on the brakes and try to hold them off. Then (Josh) Herrin came by me and got in another pretty good battle with us. Man, that last lap was so hairy. I’m just super happy everyone’s safe after that one. He ran me a little wide on the straightaway, and then I went into the fast right-hander pretty tight. I went to lean in, and he was on the outside of me I just didn’t turn. I pushed the front a little bit. It was terrifying. He was right on the outside of me, and I ran him wide. I was afraid I ran him off the track. You’re doing 180 miles an hour through that corner. So, I glanced over my shoulder. Saw he was good, and then Jake and him blew by me on the brakes. There was nothing I could do to fight Jake going through the last section. Glad everyone is safe. Super stoked to get out of here with a one-two. Didn’t really even know what to expect coming into this round. Just massive thank you to the Tytlers BMW guys.”

Matt Scholtz, Westby Racing LLC

“To be honest, the first couple laps I was just hanging on. We made quite a few changes from the first race. I was just still feeling out what the bike was kind of doing. I felt like the strong parts of the track for me, I was really, really quick, but the weaker parts I was losing a lot of time. So, I was just literally going backwards and forwards. I really didn’t have a spot that I could kind of pass in, unless something happened, which it did, and I managed to capitalize on that. But otherwise, starting from where we were on Friday to where we ended up now, I think we made huge strides forward on the motorcycle. So, I just have to give a big shout out to the Westby Racing team.”

2023 Medallia Superbike Championship Standings

For more information on how to re-live the race check out MotoAmerica Live+.

With Q1 and Race1 complete at Road Atlanta we discuss the events of the day and how we arrived at 2 wins for the Beaubier brothers.

Superbike

Superbike favorite and reigning champion Jake Gagne delivered a crushing performance in Qualifying 1. Leading 2nd place rider and 5 time AMA Superbike Champion and Tytlers Cycle Racing rider Cameron Beaubier by almost 1 second. However, it was Beaubier that would have the last laugh. In a heated on track battle, Gagne and Beaubier pulled away from the pack within the first 3 laps. The two riders were mostly in a race of their own with P3 – P5 riders bunching up in a battle for 3rd behind led by 2022 Supersport champion and now Warhorse HSBK Ducati Superbike rider Josh Herrin.

Gagne led the race early. However a perfectly executed draft on lap 7 into the braking zone before Turn 10 saw Cameron Beaubier through to the front of the pack. Gagne held on to Beaubier for a few laps but Beaubier started to pull away in the later stages of the race. Ultimately this resulted in a 0.340s lead when the checkered flag waved. Josh Herrin was able to hold off the pack and secured third to complete the podium on his first race out on a Superbike.

Superbike Results

Stock 1000

After a self proclaimed ‘surprising’ pole position in qualifying, Orange Cat Racing rider Ezra Beaubier was able to translate his qualifying success to a win in Race 1; his first ever at the national level. Beaubier finished 2.787s ahead of the second place rider Travis Wyman.

Beaubier had the following comments to the media after the race, “A lot has changed. New team. New bike. And just a new mindset, really. Just happy with where I’m at. Everything was just clicking. Yesterday I surprised myself with pole. I definitely did not expect that at all. To go out and win today, that was another huge shocker. I did not expect it to come that easy. I know these guys are fast. Last year I left everything I had out on the track and sometimes, a lot of times, ended up on my head. My main goal for the year was I just wanted to see every checkered flag.”

Beaubier Continued

“Last year I had so many DNFs, that I just want to be there until the end. To come out of the box swinging like this, it’s a dream come true. That was the easiest race of my life, literally. Everything was clicking and working. I wanted to lead, especially coming into the lappers, just because if you’re the first guy through the lappers, you usually are able to get through them a little bit cleaner. Even when Geoff (May) passed me, I wanted to go straight back past him because I wanted to be at the front. I knew I had a little bit more in the tank if needed. I just kept hitting my marks. Everything was just clicking. It was like a dream out there. It was just butter.”

P2 finisher Travis Wyman had some electrical issues with the bike earlier this weekend but they did not appear to change the outcome of the race today. Rounding out the podium was 25 year MotoAmerica veteran Geoff May. May lead the race early but fell behind as tires started to wear.

In a post race interview, May stated that after this weekend he would be retiring from professional racing. It is with a heavy heart that the MotoAmerica fans accepts this statement. Geoff has seen the transformation of the sport during the golden years. With 25 years of dedication to the sports and multiple race wins. Geoff May will forever be remembered forever for his longevity and contributions to growing this sport.

In other news, Cameron Petersen who had a major crash yesterday appeared uninjured amounting a P4 finish in Race 1. Tomorrow we will keep an eye for any delayed issues but Petersen seemed to be comfortable on the bike.

Supersport

New Warhorse HSBK Ducati rider Xavi Fores won Race 1 today in a close battle with Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider Tyler Scott. The margin separating the two was 0.041s at the end of the race. Veteran Josh Hayes placed 3rd. There had been speculation as to whether Fores was the real deal and able perform at this level of racing. Fores finished 5th fastest in qualifying but was able to find the pace to take the win.

However, Rocco Landers did not enter the Supersport class this weekend. With Josh Herrin’s departure Landers was easily the favorite to win the class. By missing round 1 and with the class schedule changes this yea. A Landers charge for first place will be an uphill battle. We hope to see him on grid at Barber Motorsports Park.

Our rider of the day goes to Cory Ventura. Cory started in P25 and found the pace to work his way up to finish P9 in veteran like fashion. Unfortunately, Cory’s early crash coupled with early morning rain in Q2 eliminated his ability to improve his qualifying times for a higher grid spot. We are excited to see what Cory can do when he starts the race from the front. Three riders did not finish Race 1.

Twins Cup

After a commanding qualifying, substitute rider for Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering, Rocco Landers seemingly was a world ahead of the competition. However, Landers was not able to secure the win in Race 1 due to what appeared to be a major motor malfunction. A plume of blue smoke smoke-screened the bikes behind. Landers was visibly unhappy with the result after the race.

Returning in true champion fashion Blake Davis took P1 over Rodio Racing – Powered By Robem Engineering’s Gus Rodio by 0.276s. Landers was running P2 when the mechanical issue arose which promoted Rodio to P2. Jackson Blackman had a run at third place but could not mount an attack that would see Cycle Tech’s Hayden Schultz behind him. Blackman had to settle for 4th by a margin of just under 2 tenths.

Junior Cup

Junior Cup featured some new and some familiar faces this year. Bad Boy Racings rider Avery Dreher finished on top of the table 6 tenths ahead of Max VanDenBrouck who many favored to win the race. Hayden Bicknese finished P3 behind Max Van. In 4th was Rossi Moor who had qualified P7. Rossi Moor on the sole KTM RC390R on grid found the pace and made up 3 positions in his debut race of the 2023 season.

Dreher stated after the race, “Coming into this season, I had high hopes of getting into the top three in the championship. Been working pretty hard. The race was tough. Just tried to play it smart. It sucks that we had the restart, but there was a little bit of contact in there. At the end of the race, I got shuffled back a little to fourth, and then clawed my way back up into third which was where I anticipated being. Just went by Max (Van).”

King of the Baggers

H-D Screamin’ Eagle’s Kyle Wyman won Race 1 of the Mission King Of The Baggers races at Road Atlanta this weekend. Despite the win Wyman stated in a post race interview with MotoAmerica media that he was struggling with shifting issues. he stated, “During the race, I made a really clean first lap, and then second and third lap I kind of spaced a couple things, made some mistakes. I lost a half second on the back straightaway with some weird shifting. Kind of waited too long to get a shift, got rev limiter, upshift, had to backshift and upshift again. I had to gather it up a little bit in the first two or three laps. Then just kind of settled into that kind of mid to high 30 pace.”

For full results please visit MotoAmerica

The MotoAmerica Championship lands at the iconic Road Atlanta in Brasleton, GA this weekend for an event packed 3 day schedule feature 6 classes of racing. Qualifying 1 results are in and we break down the classes here.

Superbike

Reigning champion Jake Gagne set the pace in qualifying 1 in Atlanta with a 1m23.453s nearing the lap record. 5 time Superbike champion Cameron Beaubier returns to the MotoAmerica Superbike championship on his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M1000RR. Beaubier jumped up to second fastest behind Gagne in qualifying 1. However, the deficit to Gagne is almost 1 second so some tweaks must be made if Beaubier wants to achieve a pace on par with the standing champion in qualifying 2.

Gagne spoke to the media after qualifying stating, ‘We started with a new tire and didn’t want to put another one on,” Gagne said. “Like always, the beginning of the race is important but that second half of the race and the tires being a new generation, nobody is going to know what to expect. We tried to get the best idea we could, and I had some good close calls in that session, enough so I know what’s going to happen after a couple of laps. Still, the second half of the race will be like who knows? Dunlop has done a good job, though, and I’m happy with the tires. It’s just a little different. How they wear is a little different, temperature and pressure is a little different. It’s kinda fun though, something new. We were so dialed in on the old stuff so it’s another challenge.”

Cameron Petersen, Gagne’s Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha ran 3rd fastest in qualifying but had a run off incident that appears to have cause major damage to the bike. We have not yet determined the extent of the damage. However, Petersen does not appear to have been injured in the crash. We do not currently have details on any potential injuries. The top 5 is rounded out by Westby Racing rider Mathew Scholtz and Tytlers Cycle Racing rider PJ Jacobsen.

Stock 1000

Stock 1000 was led by Orange Cat Racing rider Ezra Beaubier who bounced back from a P4 finish in FP1. Beaubier set a 1m26.993s lap to top the Stock 1000 class. MotoAmerica veteran Geoff May finished in provisional second only 0.02s behind Beaubier and Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim who finished level on points with 2022 first place finisher Cory Alexander in 2022 ran third fastest behind May 0.2s back.

Supersport

Youngster Tyler Scott dominated the Supersport qualifying session 1 finishing with a commanding provisional pole 0.526s ahead of Tytlers Cycle Racing rider Stefano Mesa. Mesa however, did find pace towards the end of the qualifying session so we expect his times to improve tomorrow. Mesa finished 0.653s ahead of third place finisher Michael Gilbert.

The Supersport class was missing 2022 second place finisher Rocco Landers in the mix. Landers was not able to make the trip for Supersport. However, he was able to secure a seat in Twins cup as a fill in. We hope to see him back out on grid at the next round at Barber Motorsports Park.

Javi Flores, Warhorse WSBK Ducati rider had some big shoes to fill having taken the place of 2022 Supersport champion Josh Herrin. Flores finished in P5 during qualifying and will have one more opportunity to claim pole in qualifying 2 tomorrow morning.

Twins Cup

Former Twins Cup champion and fill in rider for Ben Gloddy, Rocco Landers set a blistering lap to take provisional pole. There were some uncertainties regarding whether Landers would be racing in Atlanta but this past week an opportunity presented itself. We are very happy to see him in good form. We will see if he can carry the same success into qualifying 2 tomorrow morning. Defending 2022 Twins Cup champion Blake Davis ran third fastest falling short of pole by 1.3 seconds.

Junior Cup

There were a lot of new faces in the Junior Cup class on Day 1 of Road Atlanta weekend. Altus Motorsports’ Alessandro Di Mario led Junior Cup qualifying. It appears the Kawasakis are still fastest on track. This year there are two riders who opted for a bit of variability in bike manufacturer. 2022 Northern Talent Cup Championship winner and FairiumGRT- Gray Area Racing’s Rossi Moor is racing a KTM RC390R and MP13 Racing’s Aidan Sneed is racing a Yamaha-R3. The two finished P7 and P8 in qualifying 1. Tomorrow is a new day so we will see if these outlier bikes can find pace to break up the Kawasaki dominance.

King of the Baggers

Screamin’ Eagle H-D’s Kyle Wyman dropped 1.248 seconds off his lap record from a year ago in Mission King Of The Baggers qualifying 1 with a 1:30.941 to earn provisional pole. Sac Mile/SDI Racing/Roland Sands/Indian’s Bobby Fong compete the provisional front row.

For more information on the Saturday’s race schedule see below.

Check out our preview article here. For more information on how to watch the races from home be sure to check out MotoAmerica Live+

The MotoAmerica Championship series kicked off this year at Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 200 back in March. The Mission King of the Baggers and the REV’ IT Twins Cup served as support series’ for the Daytona 200. Both classes were awarded season championship points for finishes in their respective races. The Daytona 200 featured Supersport bikes but no points were awarded for those finishes. However, for Superbike, Stock 1000, Supersport and Junior cup, Road Atlanta will be the first opportunity to score championship points to kick off the 2023 season.

Medallia Superbike Championship

The Medallia Superbike Championship was a heated battle until the final race of the 2022 season. Jake Gagne, defending champion, returns to defend his title while his main competition Danilo Petrucci who raced for HSBK Warhorse Ducati in 2022 has moved on to WSBK. This has left many question marks as to who in the Superbike class will rise to the occasion to challenge Gagne. Given the amount of riders shuffling through the class. It’s anyone’s guess who will emerge dominant. It is yet to be determined if Yamaha will be able to maintain the momentum they had last season. Gagne’s Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha teammate Cameron Petersen will be coming off of a thrilling podium finish in Daytona; a race Gagne did not attend. Petersen finished third in the championship last year and thinks this is the year he can win the championship.

2022 Supersport champion Josh Herrin has made the move back to Superbike. He replaces Petrucci at WSBK Warhorse Ducati for the 2023 MotoAmerica season. After winning in the Daytona 200 earlier this year. Herrin will be looking to translate that success to round 1 in Atlanta. His replacement, Spaniard Xavi Forés will assume the mantle for the Panigale V2 program in Supersport. Forés has big shoes to fill if WSBK Warhorse Ducati wishes to retain the title in 2023.

MotoAmerica Supersport Championship

The Supersport Championship is seeming wide open. Due to a variety of issues/conflicts 4 of the top 5 riders from 2022 have not registered to compete in Atlanta. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, is the sole top 5 finisher from 2022 that is racing in Atlanta. Scott will be back on the same Suzuki GSX-R750 with Team Hammer and will start the championship as a favorite due to his early career success in the class.

In other record setting news. Seasoned Supersport veteran Josh Hayes will be racing for a place in the record books. Hayes is one win away from the AMA road racing record for most race wins at 87. His legacy in the sport will never be forgotten but you can be assured that assuming the mantle of the most winning racer in AMA history would be a monumental achievement.

Stock 1000

MotoAmerica received 41 entries for the Stock 1000 class. Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gilliam who finished level on points with champion Corey Alexander in 2022 but lost out on the championship due to a tie breaker is the heavy favorite. Corey Alexander will be focusing mainly on Superbike this year. A number of riders have shuffled around to new teams but the field looks healthy for the series kickoff in 2023.

One rider whom we are hoping has a speedy recovery is Brandon Paasch. In pre season training, Paasch suffered a back injury that will keep him away from training for at least 6- 8 weeks. The 2 time Daytona 200 winner had his sights on making a Championship run in 2023. With no timeline for return Paasch’s place with Altus Motorsports Suzuki has been substituted by Anthony Norton.

Junior Cup

There are a number of new faces in Junior Cup this year. One of the most exciting is that of FairiumGRT- Gray Area Racing’s Rossi Moor. Moor won the 2022 Northern Talent Cup Championship and now has focused his efforts on the Junior Cup competition. He will be racing a KTM RC390R which makes him one of two riders not conforming to the popular Kawasaki 400 programs that account for 92% of the Junior Cup field. The other rider is MP13 Racing’s Aidan Sneed who will race a Yamaha-R3.

With many new faces in the class, class veteran Max VanDenBrouck returns as the favorite. Top 5 finishers Joseph LiMandri, Gus Rodio, Cody Wyman and Kayla Yaakov have all moved to the Twins Cups class. We are excited to see the youngsters get thing kicked off this weekend.

REV’IT Twins Cup

The Twins cup finished off in large numbers last year at the season closer at Barber Motorsports Park. For Road Atlanta this weekend there are 38 entries for the class. It will be a packed field to start the season. Our eyes will be on the above mentioned riders who have made the jump to Twins Cup. Unfortunately, exciting young talent Kayla Yaakov is recovering from an injury and will have to miss Road Atlanta. She is pushing to make it to the next round at Barber Motorsports Park in May 2023.

Mission King of the Baggers

The Mission King of the Baggers season started in Daytona early this year during the MotoAmerica Dayton 200 weekend. 19 riders have entered the competition in Atlanta. Given the limited number of point scoring opportunities for the class every race has implications for the championship. On top of the class is Vance Hines James Rispoli who had a near catastrophic incident on track in Daytona but was able save the bike and steer it to a win. teammate Hayden Gilliam who will also be racing Superbike and Stock 1000 sits in second place at the moment.

The series is the ultimate clash between the two juggernauts in the bagger world. Indian Motorcycle and Harley Davidson have rich legacies in the history of motorsports. The fan turnout in Atlanta for this class is a special one. in 2022 fans attended in record numbers and we expect nothing less for support of this class.

Where to Watch

You can check out the MotoAmerica action at MotoAmerica Live + coverage information is below.

You can find the complete rider entry list here:

Mallory Dobbs is a Pacific Northwest (PNW) professional motorcycle racer who competes in the MotoAmerica Championship series as well as the Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycle Association and PNW local Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association and Washington Motorcycle Road Racing Association championships. Mallory is no stranger to the challenges of privateer racing but in the wake of those challenges she has forged her path to the premier racing series in America. We sat down with Mallory for an interview to talk a little bit about her background and her upcoming 2023 season:

Q) For those who might not know you give us an introduction about you and your experiences in racing.

Mallory: My name is Mallory Dobbs and I am a female professional road racer from Olympia Washington. I bought my first motorcycle in 2016 and started my racing career in 2017 on the Washington Motorcycle Road Race Association (WMRRA) circuit with a 2003 Yamaha R6. After only half a season of racing as a novice, I was able to petition to race with the experts in Formula Female and Clubman Qualifier as well. Over the past 5 years I have continued to expand my participation in additional racing organizations including the Oregon Road Racing Association (OMRRA), the Chuckwalla Valley Motorcycle Association (CVMA) down in southern California and more recently MotoAmerica, the premier North American Road Racing Championship 

In 2019 I became a volunteer with 2 Fast Track Days, a local track day organization in Washington State and in 2022 I became a volunteer with Apex Assassins down in Southern California as well. Here I was given the opportunity to apply my skills as a control rider and an instructor teaching newer riders proper technique. I absolutely love to give back to the sport and seeing the excitement that riding on two wheels can give to others.

I am also heavily involved with WMRRA as the Secretary and Contingency Representative since 2019 and a Novice Mentor since 2018. This involvement has helped me build relationships and become a well-known positive influence within the racing community.

Over the past year, I have shifted my goals to go above and beyond local organizations. In 2020, the national competitive league known as MotoAmerica came to Shelton Washington for the first time. By adding a local Washington track to the series, it was much more attainable to race at the national level. Prior to racing motorcycles, I had shown horses all across the United States since the age of 11 and competed at the national level in Tulsa Oklahoma at the age of 18, where I won the title of World Champion. Knowing what it takes to compete at a high level, I am pursuing my passion for motorcycle racing and working towards competing at the national level.

In 2022, I competed in my first MotoAmerica races at both The Ridge Motorsports Park and Laguna Seca. I had never ridden at Laguna Seca before and used this opportunity to explore my ability to race and compete at the national level at new tracks. I qualified and finished in the top 15 in two out of the four races between the two rounds!

I have had amazing opportunities throughout my racing career so far such as being featured in Magazines, on national podcasts, and even on the local news channels. I have worked with prestigious coaches such as Jason Pridmore as well. I cannot wait to see what 2023 brings me as I work to compete across the county in both the Superhooligans class and the Supersport class at MotoAmerica.

Q) Tell us a little bit more about the good news some of us have heard about regarding a new partnership with Ducati Richmond.  

Mallory: It still feels like a dream, but I have been sponsored by Doreen Walmsley the owner of Ducati Richmond in Richmond BC Canada. With her help, we will be racing a 2022 Ducati Hypermotard for the 4 rounds of the Super Hooligan series with MotoAmerica. Her and her crew at Ducati Richmond are truly wonderful people that have gone above and beyond to make sure that my program for the Super Hooligans season is off to a great start! Also on-board for this season is Chris and Sara at CW Moto. They will be helping me with the development of the bike throughout the season. And finally, Nat from SoSo Cycles Tacoma will be my track side mechanic for all of the Super Hooligans rounds! I am truly grateful for the awesome team that we have been able to put together so far!

I am also excited to officially announce that I will be racing the full Supersport series of MotoAmerica for 2023! CW Moto is going to be helping me build my 2022 Kawasaki ZX-6R as well. As a privateer working to self-fund and self-manage Mallory Dobbs Racing team it is going to be a challenging season and I will be constantly working to bring in more potential partners and sponsors throughout the year to make it happen.

3) What kind of new challenges do you face with competing in a new series (Superhooligans) on a new style of bike?

When I started talking to Chris and Doreen about the Super Hooligans program, I was STOKED! My racing dream is to make a full season of MotoAmerica but I never thought I could do it on my own. Being given this amazing opportunity feels like I am seriously dreaming. There hasn’t been a lot of development with these bikes on the road course, and I haven’t ridden naked bikes much. The riding style and height of the bike are definitely going to be a challenge since I am only 5’5”. It will take some time to adjust to riding the more upright higher center of gravity bike, but it has two wheels and the throttle is on the right, so I am sure I can figure it! Regardless of the outcome of the races and the results on-track, this is truly a once in a lifetime experience and I am going to enjoy every moment of it!

Privateer racers are always looking for mutually beneficial marketing opportunities so if you have a business or product line and want national exposure contact Mallory at the links below for more information.  Help keep racing alive!

Contact Information

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MalloryDobbsRacing

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MalDobbs126/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/MalloryDobbsRacing

Press Release from MotoAmerica by Paul Carruthers. This article was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Thirteen years ago, a young Josh Herrin won the Daytona 200. Unfortunately, back then it was the pole sitter who was awarded the Rolex and Herrin didn’t start the race from pole. Thus, no Rolex. When it changed to the race winner getting the Rolex, Herrin started getting poles but not wins. Today he got it right, winning the 81^st running of the Daytona 200, sponsored in part by Pirelli and Bridgestone, and earning his second 200 victory. And this time he got his Rolex.

The 13 years between wins for Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC’s Herrin is the longest gap between Daytona wins in the history of the race. The previous longest timespan between wins was seven years for Eddie Lawson, who won the race in 1986 and not again until 1993.

Herrin was at or near the front of the lead pack for the duration of the 200 and with nine laps to go it looked like a two-rider shootout between Herrin and his Ducati Panigale V2 and the Suzuki GSX-R750 of Mission M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante. Those two had seemingly broken the spirit of the rest and there was a gap back to third-placed Josh Hayes and the Squid Hunter Racing Yamaha YZF-R6.

A lap later, however, and Escalante was on the ground in turn one and out of the race after the pair came together. That left Herrin alone at the front, but with five laps to go the red flag came out on the 52^nd lap when Teagg Hobbs and Jason Waters crashed together in the International Horseshoe.

The Daytona 200 rulebook states: “For the Daytona 200, the number of laps of the second race will be the number of laps required to complete the original race distance of fifty-seven (57) laps but shall not be less than ten (10) laps.” Thus, the race would end up being 62 laps and 217.62 miles.

Herrin, meanwhile, had been penalized six spots on the grid of the restart because of his altercation with Escalante.

The 10-lap sprint after the restart featured a horde of seven riders at the front, but it was Herrin at the pointy end when it mattered as he won the drafting war to beat Hayes by .070 of a second. Attack Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen was third, .140 behind, for a complete turnaround of how his day had gone with a clutch issue thwarting his progress in the early stages of the race. The clutch problem translated to Petersen being forced to pit three times, but he didn’t give up and it paid dividends at the completion of the 10-lap sprint.

Fourth place went to Disrupt Racing’s Hayden Gillim, who would later protest the results believing that Petersen didn’t actually finish third. His protest was denied. Gillim had fought back after crashing with 20 laps to go and remounting.

Celtic/Tytlers Cycle/TSE Racing’s PJ Jacobsen finished fifth and just .439 of a second behind Herrin. Jacobsen also got new life thanks to the restart after crashing and remounting on the 31^st lap.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Hobbs was sixth after his team rebuilt his crashed bike. Disrupt Racing’s Geoff May, TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick, TSE/Truelove Brothers Racing’s Matt Truelove and Farrell Performance’s Jason Farrell rounded out the top 10.

Two-time and defending Daytona 200 winner Brandon Paasch was 12^th after being penalized 15 seconds at the end of the race for a pit lane speed violation. Biothermal/Blake Davis Racing’s Blake Davis suffered a similar fate and was dropped to 11^th in the final standings. Both riders raced at the front of the pack in the restarted portion of the race, but their penalties were applied at the completion of the race, per the rulebook.

Herrin’s victory on the Ducati Panigale V2 was the Italian marque’s second win in the 200 with Jason DiSalvo winning on a Team Latus Ducati 848 EVO.

Daytona 200 Results

1. Josh Herrin (Ducati)
2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
3. Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
4. Hayden Gillim (Suzuki)
5. PJ Jacobsen (Yamaha)
6. Teagg Hobbs (Suzuki)
7. Geoff May (Suzuki)
8. Danny Eslick (Triumph)
9. Matt Truelove (Yamaha)
10. Jason Farell (Kawasaki)

Daytona 200 Quotes

Josh Herrin – Winner

“We were on I think after the final pitstop, and I had been seeing just different spots that I could overtake if I needed to,” Herrin explained of his run-in with Richie Escalante. “His bike was a missile, especially the first banking. I had to get a really good run out to get him into the chicane because he was really good coming out of the chicane. So, in my head I’m thinking, ‘All right, I’m going to struggle to do it if he puts in a good lap.’ That was one of the spots where I thought would be a possibility and it would kind of throw him off of his rhythm. With the last however many laps to go, I just saw an opening and wanted to try it. As far as I was concerned, I was there and had the line. I felt the contact and looked back. I didn’t see him, but I wasn’t positive if he had gone down or not. So, I kept putting my head down. When I came around the next time, I saw him out there flipping me off. So, I figured that something had happened.”

“I was freaking out,” Herrin said when asked about the race being red flagged and restarted. “My neck was destroyed just from sitting on the banking for that long. We didn’t put a pad, which we should have. I didn’t think about it. After 57 laps, your neck just sitting there holding it up the whole time, I was wrecked. When they added five laps I was panicking because at that point I knew it was going to be a sprint to the finish, and I didn’t think I had the legs to get the win. They told me Cam (Petersen) was a lap down. They told me Brandon (Paasch) had a 20-second penalty. I thought that I had lapped Blake Davis at one point, but it must have been somebody else. I was just super confused. I didn’t know if I needed to try to beat Cam or if I needed to try to beat Brandon. I didn’t know what was going on. I just had a lap where I said, “You know what? It doesn’t matter. I need to just try to win, no matter who’s there.” Because if for some reason the guys in the pit were wrong, then I’d be screwed.”

Josh Hayes – Second Place

“Honestly, I had some pace in the infield and in the second and third sectors I was just hanging on,” Hayes said. “I needed them to be able to do it. Two or three laps there, and maybe consecutive, I think I got two where they would get somebody on the entrance to the chicane, and I couldn’t get in the position to do it. So, I’d have to follow a few people through and then I was just kind of hung out there on my own. It was a gap of what you can see in the tri-oval. They were going into one and I was still coming into the tri-oval. I pushed as hard as I could for a while, and I could see I was kind of maintaining. I did the pit stop and came back out and I was kind of in the same position. I might have lost a second to them, but I was relatively in the same position. I fought, and fought, and fought. I finally got what the gap was behind me. I kind of settled in and then I saw Richie (Escalante) on the ground and saw P2. I said, ‘Well, I’m just going to kind of bring her home clean right now.’ Actually, it kind of worked in my favor because I took it pretty easy on the tire at that point, which ended up giving me some tire at the end.”

Cameron Petersen – Third Place

“Something happened with the clutch from lap one,” Petersen said of his early race woes. “The rear chatter when doing downshifts was just incredible. I couldn’t get on the brakes. I couldn’t tip it into the corners. I was really struggling through the infield. The lead group got a little bit of a gap on me and that was pretty much it. We were forced to do three pit stops this race, which kind of put us a lap down. Lucky enough, my tires were pretty fresh. I think the lap the red flag came out, I was able to un-lap myself. So again, I got super lucky. But I don’t really know. Going into those last 10 laps, I had no idea where I was. Nobody told me anything. So, I just put my head down and tried to ride as fast as I could. Once again, I just got beat to the line.”

Vance and Hines: This article was not written by Speed Trap Magazine Staff

Vance & Hines today announced its 2023 season contingency support programs for motorcycle racers. The contingency sponsorships, offered in partnership with five, race-sanctioning bodies, has the potential to put over $170,000 in the hands of motorcycle racers in 2023.

The program offers contingency payout funds to riders in NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle, MotoAmerica King of the Baggers and Twins Cup, American Flat Track, XDA drag racing as well as the Bagger Racing League. Contingency funds are offered to riders who are top finishers in races or series championships, and who qualify by using Vance & Hines products and services. The total value of the contingency sponsorship program for 2023 is $173,250.

“Racing is the ethos of the Vance & Hines brand,” said Vance & Hines President Mike Kennedy. “These contingency programs are just one of the ways we support racers who compete using our performance products.”

In NHRA Drag Racing, racers who finish first or runner-up using a Vance & Hines four-valve Suzuki motor in each Pro Stock Motorcycle (PSM) race earn payouts, and a shot at a $10,000 bonus for winning the championship. Riders using a Vance & Hines exhaust for their Suzuki motorcycle in PSM also earn a payout for a first or runner-up finish at each event. Total potential payout for NHRA is $34,000. Vance & Hines factory race team riders are not eligible for these contingency payments.

MotoAmerica, the country’s premier motorcycle road racing series, has expanded its slate of King of the Baggers (KOTB) races to seven, double-header events and also includes Twins Cup double-header rounds at seven of their events. Vance & Hines will offer payouts to the top five finishers in each KOTB and Twins Cup race and offers a $5,000 series Championship Bonus in each class as well. Total available payout in MotoAmerica racing is $60,400.

In American Flat Track, Vance & Hines offers funds to the top ten finishers in every SuperTwins and Singles class race. In addition, a $5,000 Championship Bonus is offered in each of these classes. With 18 races on the 2023 schedule, the total potential payout in AFT is $63,100.

The Xtreme Drag Racing Association (XDA) series offers ten classes of racing at five events which run from April through September 2023. Contingency payouts are offered to the top two finishers in each class of each race for using a Vance & Hines exhaust or for head work done by the Vance & Hines Racing Development Center. Potential payout at XDA races is $7,500.

The Bagger Racing League (BRL) has six classes for a variety of production v-twin motorcycles and will host five races at three venues in 2023. Contingency payouts are offered to the top three finishers in each of the six classes for using a Vance & Hines exhaust, air intake or FP4 tuner. Potential payout at BRL races is $8,250.

Specific requirements for earning contingency payouts are managed by each sanctioning body.

MotoAmerica: This press release was not authored by Speed Trap Magazine Staff
By Sean Bice

Pacific Northwesterner Andy DiBrino is bringing the legendary MV Agusta brand back into the MotoAmerica paddock. DiBrino, who finished on the podium multiple times last year in both the Yuasa Stock 1000 Championship and the Mission Super Hooligan National Championship, will race a Competition Werkes MV Agusta F3RR at select rounds of the 2023 MotoAmerica Supersport Championship. The project is a new collaboration between DiBrino Racing and Oregon-based Competition Werkes MV Agusta, with technical support provided by EDR Performance, which is also located in Oregon.

The MV Agusta F3RR is part of the FIM’s and MotoAmerica’s “Supersport Next Generation.” Photo courtesy of DiBrino Racing.

Homologated as part of the FIM’s and MotoAmerica’s “Supersport Next Generation,” the MV Agusta F3RR is a 798cc, 147-horsepower (at the crankshaft), three-cylinder motorcycle that won an FIM Supersport World Championship race last year and is expected to be a competitive machine in MotoAmerica’s Supersport class.

DiBrino and Competition Werkes MV Agusta plan to race the F3RR at the following MotoAmerica rounds:

• Road America, WI, June 2-4

• Ridge Motorsports Park, WA, June 23-25

• WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, CA, July 7-9

• Circuit of The Americas, TX, September 8-10

• New Jersey Motorsports Park, NJ, September 22-24

“I’m so excited about this opportunity to race the MV Agusta and very thankful for the support of everyone involved,” DiBrino said. “When news dropped towards the end of 2022 that KTM had acquired a majority stake in MV Agusta, it was MotoAmerica boardcast announcer Greg White who immediately pitched the idea to me about racing the F3RR in Supersport. I was looking for a change for 2023, and it was the perfect storm for this to all happen on such short notice. If all goes well, I think we could be testing the bike at the end of April. I’ve ridden an F3 that EDR Performance built in the past and loved it, so I am dying to get on the new bike and get after it! I think it’s going to be a fun change for me moving into the Supersport class this year representing Competition Werkes and MV Agusta!”

Follow Andy DiBrino on social media: @andy_dibrino on Instagram, Andy DiBrino Racing on Facebook, and Andy DiBrino on YouTube.

For sponsorship inquiries, contact dibrinoracing.com

About Andy DiBrino

Andy DiBrino is a 28-year-old professional motorcycle racer from Tualatin, Oregon, who holds track records all over the West Coast and is a three-time Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) #1 plate holder. In the MotoAmerica series, he has multiple podiums to his name in Yuasa Stock 1000, Superstock 600, and Mission Super Hooligan, including a win in the 2022 season-opening Super Hooligan race at Daytona. DiBrino is well-known for being one of the most versatile racers in the country, competing in road racing, motocross, flat track, Supermoto and even Red Bull Straight Rhythm.

About Competition Werkes

Competition Werkes is based out of Sutherlin, Oregon. They are known for high-quality aftermarket motorcycle accessories and slip-on exhausts. Each exhaust is hand-welded at their shop in Oregon. For more information about Competition Werkes, visit competitionwerkes.com

About EDR Performance

EDR Performance is a motorcycle repair and performance shop in Beaverton, Oregon, that is known worldwide for their attention to detail in service. For over 24 years, EDR Performance has brought to the market top-name brands, proven service and the highest-quality items for riders and racers of all kinds. For more information about EDR Performance, visit edrperformance.com