We’re three laps into the race for the first event of
MotoAmerica 2020. This is race one for
MotoAmerica Supersport at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Three of eleven laps are done and dusted,
watching the lead battle between Richie Escalante, Sean Dylan Kelly, and
numerous others racing through the top ten.
Brandon Paasch is the man trying to catch the two leaders as they scream
through The Carousel. Into the chicane,
Escalante is pushing, pushing, pushing.
His Kawasaki ZX6R accelerates extremely wel.=l. He must watch the chatter in the front
tire. The Kawasaki can get wobbly in the
front end, as a rider, that unnerves you.
He’s adjusting the brakes as they heat up.
Sean Dylan Kelly is right on Escalante’s gearbox. The Suzuki GSX-R 600 of Kelly is closing in, fast. The lap here is really long at 2:20 average. A shorter track means that you have less time to oplan your moves. Escalkante, makes a bug mistake at Canada Corner. Slow the bike, and turn. Don’t lose your rolling momentum. That’s a steep exit in the turn. Kelly is waiting, watching for Escalante to make a mistake. This lead scrap is the battle worth watching ojnh the road at the moment. Back straightaway again,.and Sean Dylan Kelly wants it. “SDK” did very well in the 2019 season.
Another fastest lap for Escalante and these two blokes are
cutting laps in the 2:19 range. This
whole race has really been between these two leaders, coming back towards
Canada Corner. The motorcycle gets
really choppy over the bumps, and Sean Dylan Kelly falls off the bike! He’s lost it!
It dug in and he high sided, tumbling into the gravel, trap. He hits the downshift, caught a false neutral,
and high sides the motorcycle, big style!
That’s a huge wreck! Brandon
Paasch and Kevin Olmedo move up.
Let’s hope that Sean Dylan Kelly is OK. He broke his leg rearlier on. The majority of the riders wear earplugs to protect their hearing on these high revving motorcycles. Sea Dylan Kelly is OK. RRichie Escal,ante has four laps remaining. REscalante cuts a 2:19.7,l just two hundredths of a second off huis best lap. Someone is getting the meatball flag, the mechanical black flag with the red dot. The marshals in pit lane will look ovrr the bike. Jason Aguilar on the #96 motorcycle, running fourth. He has smoke emanating from the motorcycle. His engine must be very smoky indeed. It’s not pouring out, and there’s no oil. But could it be something broken internally in the motor?
Game over for Aguilar. Richie Escalante, the rider from Mexico, he is flying. A few years back he broke his knee, tibia, and fibula in one leg. So he has to ride more, using his arms. Escalante has ridden the Yamaha YZF R6 before. He has changed to Suzuki and the GSXR600, having help with the bike from Valentin Debise, the French rider. Escalante needed a change. He wants to win. Can he? He has the pace right nown ahd just has to hold on for two more laps. Kevin Olmato is in his first season of Supersport, after racing Junior Cup last year. Olmato has not been able to train during the pandemic. So, coming to Road America, it is easier to race because of the long, fast sections on the track.
Brandon Paasch, meanwhile, on the Yamaha R6, he tested with
his team and has come back from England to the United States, to race. The white flag is out and we are into the
final lap of this motorcycle race, and we see Richie Escalante, he is about to
maybe get the checkers. He goes sideways,
and up the hill. He is cruising. Poor old Sean Dylan Kelly is out of the
race. Richie Escalante has half of the
track to navigate before he can celebrate.
Stay on the bike, sunshine. Team
boss, Chuck Graves, back at the shop, must be very happy right now. Sending it into the final turn, twisting the
grip on the handlebars, and RichieEscalante wins his first MotoAmerica Supersport
race! Brandon Paasch in second. Kevin Olmedo, third, on the podium.
Nate Minster, and others have successful results. Thhere is a race tomorrow and then, more racing coming up at Road America in jusrt three weeks or so. Sean Dylan Kelly, he will be checked by the doctors for concussion protocol, and if he’s not too sore, he can get back into racing, for tomorrow, on these 600cc street bikes. So, the Supesport race, is now done and dusted, and we will be ready for race one for Superbike. Stay tuned for that.
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