With the 2024 MotoAmerica season having come to a close, and as we get ready for the start of the 2025 season, many of our riders, both past and present, are continuing to race in other series, and even in other countries. Here’s a report on where they raced, who raced, and how they did, this past weekend:
Estoril, Portugal
Former MotoAmerica Superbike rider Garrett Gerloff, who currently competes in the FIM Superbike World Championship was aboard his Bonovo Action BMW M 1000 RR, and the Texan continues to deliver good results for his team, who will disband after the WorldSBK season concludes this weekend at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. At Estoril this past weekend, Gerloff was sixth in Race 1 and 11th in the Superpole Race, but he DNF Race 2 this past Sunday due to a technical issue with his bike.
“It has been a bit of a disappointing day today,” Gerloff said on Sunday. “I tried to do my best again to get into the top nine in the Superpole Race to give me a better start position for Race 2. I had a good race with (teammate) Scott (Redding) and (fellow BMW rider) Michael (van der Mark) but, in the end, none of us finished in the top nine, so I had to start from the back again. I had a really good start, I felt really good but then, I had a technical problem and wasn’t able to finish the race. It was unfortunate because I think it could have been a good day points-wise. But anyway, I only have a couple of days to prepare for the next one, and I feel good.”
Also racing in Estoril was Mallory Dobbs, who is nearing the conclusion of her first world championship season. The Washington state resident has been competing aboard a Yamaha YZF-R7 in the FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship (WorldWCR). Dobbs finished eighth in Race 1 and improved to seventh in Race 2 for a very respectable weekend in Portugal.
“Estoril, you are a weekend to remember!” Dobbs commented. “Steady improvement throughout the weekend and two solid top-10 finishes. This season has been far from easy, and I know y’all have seen that, but a top 5 has been the goal, and I can finally say we are sooooo close! We are also now tied in 12th for the overall championship. Thank you to everyone that has helped me get here. I couldn’t do this without you all. Next stop, Jerez this weekend for the last round!”
Dobbs will be joined in Jerez by fellow MotoAmerica rider Sonya Lloyd, who will make her FIM WorldWCR debut this weekend.
Aragón, Spain
As we already reported in a previous story, MotoAmerica rider Rossi Moor participated in his first-ever FIM JuniorGP Moto2 World Championship event at MotorLand in Aragón, Spain, this past weekend.
Also competing in JuniorGP Moto2 in Aragón was Max Toth, who races a Kalex for the AGR Racing Team. Toth finished 16th in Race 1 and improved to 14th in Race 2 and said about his weekend in Spain, “Our pace after the midway point was really, really good compared with the front guys. We just lacked that jump at the start. I had a shifter glitch in Race 1, which set me back to dead-last, and I couldn’t get my rhythm initially, but I just had to keep a consistent pace, which brought me back to nearly within reach of the points.
“We have to be happy because these are the best races we’ve had all year. So, it’s not a bad way to come back after five months of not racing (Editor’s Note: Toth was injured earlier in the season and was unable to race for several rounds.). It was very tough physically but we will focus on continuing our conditioning to be in the best shape possible for Valencia.”
Two-time MotoAmerica Mini Cup Champion Mikey Lou Sanchez qualified on the second row for the FIM JuniorGP European Talent Cup races at Aragón. The youngest rider on the grid, Sanchez finished 10th in Race 1, which was only his third race in the Championship, and then, he followed that up with a P15 in Race 2.
American Kristian Daniel Jr., who also raced in the FIM JuniorGP European Talent Cup at Aragón, notched his best-ever qualifying result. Daniel Jr. was fastest in his qualifying group, which put him second on the grid for Sunday’s two races. The 15-year-old finished seventh in Race 1 and eighth in Race 2.
Birmingham, Alabama
The 19th Annual Barber Vintage Festival was held this past weekend, which included a vast number of MotoAmerica riders, who competed in a variety of races on the Barber Motorsports Park road course.
With three-time 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Kenny Roberts serving as Grand Marshal for the event, the “King” got things off to a rousing start as he did some fast laps aboard his 1980 Yamaha YZR500 0W48 GP racer.
Among the MotoAmerica riders who competed were Stefano Mesa, who earned the pole for the AHRMA Pro Challenge race aboard his Boulder Motor Sports Pierobon X80R equipped with a Ducati 1198cc V-Twin Superbike engine and won the 11-lap sprint over Hayden Gillim, who was aboard a Vesrah Suzuki GSX-R750. Tyler Scott finished third on his Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, followed by Danny Eslick on a TOBC Racing Triumph 765 in fourth, Gus Rodio on a Ducati Panigale V2 in fifth, and Kyle Ohnsorg on a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750 in sixth. Other MotoAmerica riders who competed in the AHRMA Pro Challenge race included Eli Block, Nate Kern, and Kole King.
MotoAmerica riders who won races this past weekend at the Barber Vintage Festival included Nate Kern (Battle of the Twins 1 905cc-Open and Sound of Thunder 2), Gus Rodio (Sound of Thunder 1), and Jayson Uribe (Formula Thunder). Also, a special shout-out goes to former Graves Yamaha, Yoshimura Suzuki, and Westby Racing crew chief and technician Olly Hutchinson, who won the Open Two-Stroke race aboard his 2007 Yamaha TZ250.
In addition to the racers mentioned above, other MotoAmerica riders who competed at the 19th Annual Barber Vintage Festival included Paul Canale, Holly Varey, Emma Betters, Mikayla Moore, Kayla Theisler, Robert Fisher, Chloe Maddrill, Michael Butler, Rob McLendon, Ricky Orlando, Shawn Veisz, and Bob Robbins.
