The following is from Ducati…
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin showed his racing maturity during a steaming hot weekend at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, taking three podium places and putting himself in the box seat to wrap up the 2024 Steel Commander MotoAmerica Superbike Championship title at New Jersey Motorsports Park at the end of September.
In a weekend where sealing the title was a distinct possibility, Herrin refused to play it safe and threw caution to the wind, engaging in three nail-biting races with Cameron Beaubier and Sean Dylan Kelly.
Resplendent in a special Fast by Ferracci livery to mark 30 years since Troy Corser sealed Ducati’s last AMA Superbike title in 1994, Herrin was at his spectacular best, sliding the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R around the expansive 3.4-mile layout and making some incredible around-the-outside moves in race three on Beaubier.
Ultimately, Herrin took second place in race one, third in race two, and a very close second in race three, leaving Texas with a 46-point title lead with one round, two races, and 50 points remaining in the 2024 championship.
For Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz, the fast Frenchman carded two fourth place finishes and a fifth at COTA, elevating himself to equal sixth in the championship standings with the absent Jake Gagne.
Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#2)
“I can’t ask for much better than what we did this weekend,” Herrin said. “They were incredibly difficult conditions—we knew Cam (Beaubier) was going to be strong this weekend, as Sean (Dylan Kelly) due to his Moto2 experience here, but I’m really happy with what myself and the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati team accomplished.
“We made lots of improvements over the weekend to the bike, and I’m happy to be going into the DRE (Ducati Ride Experience) event on Monday with all the Ducatisti after a weekend like that.
“This whole year has been great, so now we have a 46-point lead heading into New Jersey, where I’ll just ride my race and try to wrap this thing up.”
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati–#76)
“It’s been a long weekend for everyone,” Baz said in the heat of Sunday afternoon. “The results weren’t quite what we wanted, but we were strong all weekend. The pace was good, and I felt more comfortable on the bike. I was losing a lot of time on the straight, but the guys changed the engine last night, which was a bit better. However, we need to find a little more grip as well.
“I need to be a little more aggressive in the early stages, but overall, it was a good weekend for the team, which is the most important thing. Josh did a great job, and I tried to help him as much as possible, especially in qualifying. I can’t say I’m really happy, but we’re all working hard and looking forward to a great final round in a few weeks’ time.”
The following is from Rodio Racing- Powered By Robem Engineering…
It turned out to be a dream rookie campaign for Alessandro Di Mario in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup. The Kentuckian and 2022 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Race Horizon Award winner capped off his first year racing in Twins Cup with a perfect weekend – pole position, two race wins and a come-from-behind effort to capture the 2024 Twins Cup title.
Di Mario started the Sept. 13-15 round at the Circuit of the Americas with a 19-point deficit in the Twins Cup points standings, but his dominant form – along with his chief rival in the championship battle enduring several setbacks – enabled Di Mario to win the title by a 31-point margin. The title is a testament to Di Mario’s consistently strong results this season despite racing in a new class. In the 12 Twins Cup contests held in 2024, Di Mario scored three victories, six additional podium finishes and three pole positions.
The championship also marked the second Twins Cup title won by an Aprilia rider in the last four years. The Robem Engineering team won the 2021 title with rider Kaleb De Keyrel in Aprilia’s debut season in the class.
Di Mario’s teammate, Gus Rodio, also had a positive end to what turned into a challenging season. He qualified just off the front row in fourth place and earned third- and fourth-place finishes in the races on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, to finish the season fourth in the points standings.
Both Di Mario and Rodio showed strong pace from the start of the weekend. Di Mario topped the time sheets in Friday morning practice with a 2:18.270 lap time, and Rodio ended that session sixth-fastest. Di Mario’s pace improved later Friday in Qualifying 1, where he lowered his best time of the weekend to a 2:17.742 — which was 2.280 seconds faster than the next-fastest rider in the session. Rodio showed an even bigger improvement as he shaved more than two seconds off his best time from practice to provisionally qualify fourth.
Qualifying wrapped up Saturday morning with Di Mario having claimed pole position. He went more than half a second faster than in Qualifying 1 to take pole by 0.812 seconds. Rodio lowered his best lap time of the weekend to a 2:20.827, which was good enough for fourth place on the starting grid for the round’s two Twins Cup contests.
Later Saturday in Race 1, Di Mario didn’t get the best jump off the line but quickly made his way to the front before the field had reached Turn 1. Di Mario was in firm control of the race lead when the race was stopped on Lap 4 due to a crash. When racing resumed with five laps to go, Di Mario again led the field at the end of Lap 1 – and every lap thereafter. He went on to take the win by almost seven seconds – his second victory of the season – and assumed the points lead for the first time in his Twins Cup career. Rodio also had a very good race, as he joined his teammate on the podium with a third-place finish.
Sunday afternoon’s Race 2 had Di Mario’s dominant form on full, uninterrupted display as he capped off his title-winning season on the top step of the podium. Di Mario and his chief rival raced each other hard for the first few corners of the opening lap, but Di Mario’s fast and consistent pace allowed him to gradually pull away and build a large gap to the rest of the field. Di Mario’s margin of victory was more than 6.5 seconds, and a technical problem for his chief rival’s motorcycle allowed Di Mario to finish the season with a 31-point advantage in the championship standings.
Alessandro Di Mario / No. 27
“I am extremely happy to have won the championship. I couldn’t have done it without all my sponsors and my amazing team. Thank you everyone!”
Gus Rodio / No. 96
“I had a great day on my Aprilia RS 660 on Saturday. We missed a lot of track time earlier in the weekend, so we were super happy to get a podium finish. We struggled very hard this weekend, but it was so nice to get my bike back to feeling like one with it. I’m also happy with the season overall. It was one of those seasons that makes you appreciate when everything goes smooth that much more. I’m excited for what the future holds, and I want to thank the whole Robem team and my Rodio side of the team. I know Robem will be in my corner with anything I need for the rest of my career, and I’m so thankful to have built such a strong relationship with the team.”
Rodio Racing – Powered by Robem Engineering’s technical partners for the 2024 season include Spellcaster Productions, Luxestar VIP, Geoscape Solar, MAR Contractors, Blud Lubricants, Spiegler Performance, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag Performance Wheels, Millennium Technologies, Sprint Filter, Dunlop, SC Project, MVR Endeavor, GRG Designs, REB Graphics, NGK Spark Plugs, EvolveGT, Bitubo Suspension and N2 Racing.
The following is from Suzuki…
The official MotoAmerica entries of Suzuki Motor USA (Suzuki) collected some serious trophy hardware at Circuit of the Americas this weekend, scoring podium finishes across all three of its classes.
It didn’t take long for Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Superbike ace Richie Escalante to return to peak form after missing the bulk of the ‘24 campaign due to an injury suffered in the season opener. The Mexican raced near the front aboard his GSX-R1000R all weekend long, highlighted by a third-place finish in Race 1 that marked his second-career MotoAmerica Superbike podium. While he crashed out of fifth in Race 2, Escalante finished out the weekend with an excellent run to fourth in Race 3.
“I’m super happy to finish on the podium – especially this season where I wasn’t expecting to be able to do it,” Escalante said. “My goal was just to get back out there and race these final three weekends to prepare for next year. I love this track, and my bike and crew worked so well this weekend.”
Escalante’s premier-class teammate, Brandon Paasch, rounded out an all-around strong weekend for the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Superbike crew, stringing together finishes of seventh, sixth, and sixth aboard his GSX-R1000R.
“The second race on Sunday was really nice, running at the front end of the field,” said Paasch. “I didn’t have a lot left in the tank the last couple of laps, but I felt confident being up there. The bike felt good, and they weren’t getting away. That’s the closest I have been to the winner in a Superbike race although not the best result. We have one more event at my home track and maybe we can build on this.”
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki Supersport ace Tyler Scott took a starring role this weekend himself, qualifying second quick aboard the next-generation Suzuki GSX-R750 and then tussling for the podium in both outings. He came up just short of a top-three on Saturday, finishing fourth in what was a five-rider melee for second. Scott got his revenge on Sunday, successfully defending his position over a tense final few laps to hold on for second.
Scott said, “I wasn’t really happy with fourth – we’re trying to be on the top of the box, but today was a lot better. I have to give thanks to the whole Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team for all the hard work they put in over the second half of the season to get the bike dialed in. I couldn’t ask much more out of the bike today – I had a great feeling on it.”
Scott’s Supersport teammate, Teagg Hobbs, found the going considerably more difficult in Texas. Hobbs finished 16th on Saturday and then suffered a DNF on Sunday.
“We were having a problem slowing down the bike in both races,” Hobbs said. “I couldn’t slow down going into the corners, and I pulled in about halfway. I wasn’t able to ride around it, and we weren’t getting good data. We will work hard to get it fixed for the next race.”
The squad’s third Supersport pilot, Joel Ohman, continued to accumulate experience, twice improving upon his qualifying position in the races.
Ohman said, “I went 1.8 seconds faster than last year, and my race pace was better. We are still working on setup, and I didn’t feel I could fully battle with the bike yet. But we are improving and the lap times are the real story. We have a strong idea of what to address for New Jersey so we can still keep making more solid progress.”
Vision Wheel M4 Suzuki’s Rossi Moor showed serious grit, determination and speed aboard the Suzuki GSX-8R in Twins Cup action. Moor’s race on Saturday ended in prematurely due to a terrifying highside crash suffered while holding down second position. Undaunted, the young gun came back out on Sunday to earn a runner-up result. Doing so secured him fifth in the class’ final championship standings on the strength of four podiums.
“I’m still a little banged and bruised, but nothing ever stopped me,” Moor said. “It was a great race – it was definitely a hot one. I’m glad to be on the podium, and I can’t thank my team enough. It’s been a great year developing this bike. It’s been a bit up and down, but looking back on it, it was worth all the hard work we put in, especially finishing up with a second-place finish.”
Suzuki congratulates Jake Lewis and Altus Motorsports on their Supersport Race 1 victory. Lewis was able to capitalize on his great start and finished out front with a near three second lead on his GSX-R750.
RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines star Rocco Landers had a similarly difficult Saturday but was less fortunate in his hopes of a successful rebound on Sunday. Landers crashed twice in Saturday’s race, resulting in a DNF, while Sunday’s rematch saw him forced to retire due to mechanical issues. Despite the disappointing Twins Cup finale, Landers wrapped up the season ranked second in the points with four victories and seven total podiums.
“I had a small mistake in Race 1 that cost me a good finish, and we had a mechanical in Race 2. The team was great all weekend, anything that went wrong was on me. It was a great season, and the bike performed way better than I expected. It’s the most fun twin I have ever ridden. I learned a lot of great lessons this year and am looking forward to what the future holds.”
While the Twins Cup season is now complete, the official Suzuki Superbike and Supersport runners will conclude their season at the 2024 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season finale, which will be waged at New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 27-29.
The following is from Yamaha…
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen scored a pair of top-10 finishes, crossing the line seventh and 10th, respectively, in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 2 and Race 3 at the Circuit of The Americas. Fill-in rider Xavi Forés battled in the tricky conditions and finished eighth in the first race of the day, but unfortunately had to withdraw from the final race of the weekend.
It was another hot day making for challenging conditions on the newly resurfaced track in Austin, Texas. After a tough start to the tripleheader weekend, Petersen had a much better start from the fourth row of the grid in Race 2 and was ninth on the opening lap. He then passed his teammate on the following lap to move to eighth and gained another position when a rider ahead crashed. From there it was a four-rider battle for sixth, with riders jockeying for position. On the final lap, Petersen made the move to seventh, where he would finish.
In Race 3, Petersen got a great start in fifth, but unfortunately the race was redflagged after the opening lap with oil on track leading into the first turn. After the complete restart of the shortened 10-lap race, the South African was eighth and advanced to seventh, but was struggling with grip and shuffled to 13th on the following lap. Petersen continued to fight despite the challenges and made his way back to 10th, salvaging points on a tough weekend.
Forés had another good start in Race 2, slotting into the top five, but found himself eighth on that opening lap after running wide in the greasy track conditions. He then found himself further back in ninth, but the Spaniard regrouped and made his way to eighth before the halfway mark. In that four-rider battle for sixth, Forés exchanged positions and moved to sixth with two laps to go, but would ultimately cross the line eighth. After the complete restart of the final race of the weekend, Forés was ninth. He did what he could to maintain the position despite dealing with a technical issue but had to withdraw from the race with four laps remaining.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team heads to Millville, New Jersey, in two weeks’ time for the MotoAmerica season finale at the New Jersey Motorsports Park on September 27-29.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It was an unfortunate situation at COTA. We did the best we could with the cards that we were dealt. We’re moving on to New Jersey and look to finish the season strong.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“It was a challenging weekend for the team. We did everything we could to make the most out of what we had, but just couldn’t make it work. We will bounce back for Jersey.”
Xavi Forés – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #34
“It was a pretty tough weekend for all the Yamahas out there. The maximum we could do is fight for a top six. We struggled a lot with grip, especially in Race 3 where we had an issue and had to retire. It wasn’t what we were expecting before the weekend, but it is what it is. I want to say thanks to the team because they worked so hard to give me the best bike possible today. I’m looking forward to New Jersey, which I think is a track that will suit our bike better, and I will try to make some improvements on myself now that I am more familiar with the bike.”
The following is from Altus Motorsports…
Jake Lewis brought home a win for the Altus Motorsports team. He qualified with the 4th fastest Supersport time on his GSX-R750. Jake took the lead on lap 1 of Saturday’s race and never looked back. The win was a great reward for Lewis and the team after a challenging season. In Race 2, he crossed the finish line in 5th, just a tenth of a second out of 4th place.
Jake Lewis: “It felt so good to win my first Supersport race in 10 years. The team has worked so hard all year, and the bike felt really good. In Race 2, the pace was faster, and it was my 5th race of the weekend in the brutal heat. Halfway through, I just got physically exhausted, which was a bit of a bummer. We’re still 3rd in points with just the finale left, so it’ll be time to give it my all again at New Jersey.”
Coming into the weekend, the team decided to change the suspension hardware on Jaret Nassaney’s GSX-R750 to match the setup that Lewis is running. With that, they also consolidated the setup decisions within the team. This created more parity and allowed for better data sharing between teammates. The changes worked for Jaret. He leaves Texas with a 15th on Saturday and a 14th on Sunday. While not where he wants to be, he goes to New Jersey with confidence.
Jaret Nassaney: “Really happy with the direction we are headed and looking forward to carrying it forward to New Jersey. I love that track and can’t wait to apply the progress we made at COTA.”
Torin Collins qualified 17th in the crowded Supersport class, which featured 32 riders. In Race 1, he fought his way to an impressive 9th-place finish. During Race 2, Collins engaged in a tight three-bike battle for 7th place but ultimately finished in 9th.
Torin Collins: “Very fun weekend. We didn’t get the top 5 I wanted, but I can’t complain with two top-ten finishes after starting 17th. We are definitely on the right path, and I’m looking forward to ending the season strong.”
George Nassaney: “This year has been tough, but we finally had a weekend where everything clicked. All our riders performed exceptionally well, and the crew is truly coming together as a team. We’re celebrating Jake’s win and are excited to carry this momentum into New Jersey to close out the season on a high note. It was also great to have our sponsors Buy A Jet From Steve Main, SBS, and Moto Liberty/ RS Taichi spend the weekend with our team.”
Altus Motorsports is supported by a great family of sponsors, including WPS, Firepower, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Buy A Jet From Steve Main, Barnett, Evol Technology, Maxima Oils, Hot Bodies Racing, M4 Exhausts, Vortex EK, Motion Pro, SBS Brakes, BrakeTech USA, Pit Bull Products, GB Racing, Ohlins, K-Tech, Puig Racing, RS Taichi, Arai, Core Moto, Pro Bolt, Chicken Hawk Tire Warmers, Law Tigers Oklahoma, and Altus Factory Racing.
The following is from Tytlers Cycle Racing…
Tytlers Cycle Racing are still in with a shot of lifting the 2024 MotoAmerica Superbike title thanks to Cameron Beaubier’s double win and second place finish in the penultimate round of the series at the Circuit of the Americas.
Dominating practice, the #6 BMW M1000RR rider broke the outright circuit record in qualifying to take pole position for all three races, his team mate JD Beach also riding well to secure a third row of the grid start in eighth.
Saturday’s opening race saw Beaubier locked in an incredible battle with his closest rival for the title Josh Herrin and Sean Dylan Kelly. Trading fastest laps the race became a two-rider affair following SDK’s retirement with Cameron pulling away in the closing stages to claim victory.
Race two was an equally thrilling affair with the same three riders swapping positions several times a lap. Cameron crossed the line second but importantly ahead of Herrin to keep the pressure on in terms of the championship fight.
In temperatures of almost one hundred degrees, race three was for many the highlight of the weekend with the three aforementioned riders once again covered by the narrowest of margins from start to finish. At the flag Beaubier got the nod taking his second win of the weekend to ensure the title fight goes to the final round in New Jersey in a fortnight.
JD Beach produced solid results crossing the line fifth, ninth and seventh in three races respectively, leaving COTA eighth overall in the championship.
The team’s other rider Stefano Mesa was also back in action in both Supersport and Super Hooligans. The #37 races to seventh and eighth place finishes aboard his Kawasaki in Supersport, whilst on the Energica in the Hooligans class he crossed the line eleventh and ninth.
Cameron Beaubier: “It was good to ride COTA again on a superbike, especially on the BMW M1000 RR. The team got the bike working good around the place and they made progress with the setup every race.in all three races we had good battles, and it felt good going 1-2-1. It was a hot one. The championship is out of sight now but with what I have been through this year I am content. We will give it our all at jersey!”
JD Beach: “COTA race weekend was a hot one, but I always love going there. The track is a lot of fun and we had to work hard since there were three superbike races. Friday was a rough day with a mechanical problem, starting our weekend on the backfoot. My crew worked hard and gave me a great bike for first qualifying. We didn’t have our best qualifying, but we got some good data going into Saturday. For race one I got a great start and was able to latch onto the leaders and up my pace a bit. After a race long battle with Loris Baz, we were able to get a fifth. Races two and three weren’t as good for us. Picking up a ninth and seventh. I know the crew and I gave it our all, but we just couldn’t get the job done. We are not done yet and I am looking forward to NJMP.”
Stefano Mesa: “Cota was a hot one this past weekend. It started on a positive note and the team worked hard to give me the best bikes possible. The hooligan weekend on the Energica was all progress every session out. We found some time and figured out the bike a bit more. I was able to go three seconds faster than last year by Q2 and we got closer to the pack of factory bikes. Both races were good. We had solid races running in P7 for the whole race, but unfortunately the heat was so bad we had to slow down on the last lap just a bit to finish the races. We ended race one P11 and P9 in race two. It’s the end of the season for this class and we sure will miss it. We did solid steps forward at every round and the class keeps getting more stacked. Big thanks to the Tytlers & Energica boys for making all this work out and hopefully we will be back next year for some more. It was the first time around COTA on a Supersport bike for me. We made some good times through FP and Q1 on Friday. For Q2 we did a big chassis change to see if we could go quicker but unfortunately, we went backwards so we ended up racing on what we knew would work. Race one we got a good start, and I was able to run with the front pack for a few laps. I ended up in a good battle for the podium with six other riders an ended up P7 at the flag. In race two we struggled a bit and fell back off the start, but we kept working and passed a few guys. It was another good battle, and we ended up P8.”
