MotoE Spain: Race 1

Just like their petrol powered counterparts, the relatively new MotoE championship for electric motorcycles, is resuming, or maybe even beginning, their 2020 campaign, here in Spain at Jerez de la Frontera, and they too, will also race here next weekend in the Andalucia Grand Prix.  These motorcycles are much like the cars of Formula E and being powered by electricity, compared to a regular motorbike, make very little noise.  Something for new fans to get used to, and yet, perhaps, a way to conserve and clean up the environment, if indeed electric motorcycle batteries are recyclable.  All riders and teams in the MotoE championship, use identically prepared electric motorcycles, supplied by Energica.  The Energica Ego Corsa.  So, this race will have a level playing field and it will all come down to rider skill. 

OK.  It's time for MotoE action, in Spain.  On the pole, is bike #51 ridden by Brazilian Eric Granado for Avintia ESponsorama Racing.  Granado looks like he has the lead going into turn one for the first time as the red lights are out and we are racing here at Jerez de la Frontera.  Granado is opening a gap on second place rider Niki Tuuli of Finland on bike #66 for Avant Ajo MotoE owned by former Moto2 racer and fellow Finn Niki Ajo.  This is a short race.  Just six laps and we're already on the last lap of this MotoE race.  There's probably only so much charge in the batteries on these motorcycles that they can only run fairly short distances compared to their petrol fueled counterparts.

But that doesn't mean the racing is any less exciting!  The stewards have dinged Alex de Angelis on bike #15 for a jumped start.  He will have to do a ride through penalty in the pit lane to redress that.  de Angelis, the Argentinian rider has raced in MotoGP and in FIM World Superbike if my memory serves me correctly, and now, he is a contender in MotoE in it's second season, albeit an abbreviated one, as we know due to the virus pandemic.  Big time action and a battle for the lead as we see Niki Tuuli challenging Eric Granado for that top spot.  It's the Finn and the Brazilian, going for it hammer and tongs at the front!

Granado maintains the lead and guess what?  He opened it up and dominated this race to the flag!  Lap six of six.  MotoE in Spain, the first go around, is done and dusted.  Eric Granado is your winner!  Celebrate your victory!  You've got it.  Matteo Ferrari and Dominique Aegerter, riders who have run classes like Moto3, World Supersport, and Moto2 in the past, round out the podium in MotoE.  Lukas Tulovic of Germany and Mattia Casadei of Italy round out the top five.  In sixth through ninth it's Jordi Torres, Alejandro Medina, Xavier Simeon, (Moto2 veteran from Belgium), and Australian World Superbike and World Endurance rider Josh Hook.

#51 Eric Granado     BRA.

That'll do it for the first race back for MotoGP in a while, and we get to do all of this again, this weekend.

Moto3: Spain, Race 1

It's time for the resumption of the season for MotoGP's junior category.  We are ready to rumble in Moto3 for the teenage riders who hope to make the big time and move into a coveted place in MotoGP, on the big bikes, in the not too distant future.  The revs are up!  We're ready to start!  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  On the front row, we have Tatsuki Suzuki from Japan on the #24 SIC58 Squadra Corse Honda and Andrea Migno from Italy on the #16 SKY Racing Team VR46 KTM.  Migno is another young talent under the tutelage of multiple MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi and his team.  We have 22 laps scheduled for the Moto3 race. 

Into the first turn for the first time, and we've got two motorcycles down in the gravel trap at the back, already.  They will not complete any laps.  Zero, zilch, nothing.  Carlos Tatay of Spain on the #99 Reale Avintia KTM and the unlucky #7 bike of Italian Dennis Foggia for Leopard (or Leo pard) Racing, are out of this one.  Trust me, folks, it's Leopard, not Leo pard.  Tatay has an expression like, "what the heck was that all about?" as he walks away.  Game over.  We watch the race unfold from overhead either via drone or helicopter.  More than likely its a drone camera.  Back on terra firma, and it's a huge pack snarling away at the front.  We're already at halfway!  Lap 11 of 22!  Tony Arbolino of Italy leads Jeremy Alcoba from Spain.  Since there's so many bikes in this one pack, here's the order.

1. #14 Tony Arbolino     ITA.  Honda

2. #52 Jeremy Alcoba    ESP.  Honda

3. #75 Albert Arenas    ESP. KTM

4. #40 Darryn Binder     RSA. KTM

5. #13 Celestino Vietti   ITA.   KTM

6. #17 John McPhee      GBR. Honda

7. #24 Tatsuki Suzuki    JPN.  Honda

8. #2 Gabriel Rodrigo   ARG. Honda

9. #16 Andrea Migno    ITA.  Honda

10. #25 Raul Fernandez ESP. KTM

There's your top ten as this race gets underway.  These younger riders, many in their teenage years, are really competitive as we see the bikes fan out three, sometimes four wide on the straightaways.  They can run at least two wide into the corners.  Albert Arenas leads this motorcycle races now from Tony Arbolino, who was leading before, and he's putting all kinds of pressure on the Spaniard.  Now we fast forward to money time.  The chips are all on the table now, with two laps remaining, here, in Spain, in Moto3.  Moto3 veteran John McPhee, is leading, after having his Honda down in sixth spot at the completion of lap one.

But he has a whole snarling back of at least half a dozen riders behind him, nipping at his heels.  Blink and you'll miss something.  The top five are all in this.  John McPhee, Tony Arbolino, Albert Arenas, Xavi Vierge, and Darryn Binder.  Two laps to go now as we watch Arbolino pass McPhee for the lead!  This is intense!  Oh dear, and we have a rider down.  nIt's a chartreuse green and white bike.  Trying to see the number.  Oh my!  It's Darryn Binder on the #40 bike!  Binder is one of the riders you always expect at the front.  He tucked the front wheel and went over and out.  Well, not over, but tucking the front wheel results in a low side slide and he's in the gravel trap for good.

Game over for Darryn Binder as we reach the final lap and a mano e mano battle for the win.  It's going to be down to a fight between John McPhee and Tony Arbolino to settle this one, ladies and gentlemen.  Lap 22.  Mano e mano fight?  Not hardly!  The pack is swarming once more.  Now, the order has changed?  Where's McPhee gone?  He's third.  He's still on the podium.  But now it's the battle of the Italian vs. the Spaniard.  It's Arbolino vs. Arenas.  It looks like McPhee may not be defeated yet.  ...And, we have another fallen rider.

Someone in the middle of the pack gets clipped and loses their balance, tumbling onto the gravel trap.  Arenas in the lead and a photo finish for second between #14 Arbolino and #79 Ai Ogura of Japan!  Who is it going to be in Moto3 at Jerez?  Arenas wins it!

#14 Albert Arenas    ESP.     Rivacold Snipers Team Honda

Albert Arenas is victorious in his home race!  Ogura second, Arbolino third.  That's the podium.  Andrea Migno and Celestino Vietti round out the top five, the two Italians.  Sixth through tenth, the order is Raul Fernandez, Gabriel Rodrigo, Tatsuki Suzuki, Niccolo Antonelli, and Jaume Masia.  We get to do all of this again, next weekend, at the same circuit.  See you next week for more Moto3 action as all three divisions in MotoGP have officially resumed their seasons in style.  So long for now.  Can't wait for racing next week!

Moto2: Spain, Race 1

If you thought the action was done and dusted with MotoGP, you'd be mistaken, ladies and gentlemen.  We've got two more races to get to this weekend.  Moto2 is coming up, now, and tomorrow, right here, you will read about the Moto3 race and how it went.  Your pole sitter in Moto2 is Spaniard Jorge Martin for Red Bull KTM Ajo, on bike #88.  Red lights, out, and they're off in Moto2 at Jerez de la Frontera!  Martin is in the lead of the motorcycle race as once again, the rest of the pack is scrambling, just like we saw in the MotoGP event.  23 laps scheduled.  We've got a fallen rider straight away.  That bike, rotating on the curb, is, I can't tell.  Closer inspection confirms, two bikes have hit the deck.  That's Jorge Navarro of Spain on the #9 HDR Heldron Speed Up and #72 Marco Bezzecchi of Italy, on the Sky Racing Team VR46 Kalex.  This team is owned by Valentino Rossi, the great MotoGP champion, multiple times.  So, his name and number are quite recognizable even as a team owner.

But Rossi might not be so happy with Senore Bezzecchi hitting the tarmac so early in this race.  He might recover.  Get back in the saddle and keep on trucking, mate.  Jorge Martin leads Aron Canet and Luca Marini.  They are the top three right now.  More riders are coming for the top spot, and fast.  Marini is going for the lead around Jorge Martin.  He does it!  Bike #10 is in P1.  This is the other VR46 Sky Racing bike, the other bike owned by Valentino Rossi.  The Moto2 riders are single file on the third lap of the race.  More moves being made down the order.  A battle is ensuing for the lead of this motorcycle race between Marini and Martin.  Marini has the advantage and keeps it for now. 

Bezzecchi has his hands full with Germany's Marcel Schrotter for fifth place.  It's the Kalex vs. the Speed Up.  These bikes have different chassis brands and constructors, but the same engines.  Schrotter is demoted by the Italian.  Tetsuta Nagashima of Japan runs second on his Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex, but the battle is still on for third place between Schrotter and Bezzecchi!  Oh dear.  We've got a fallen rider, in a low side incident.  That's in turn ten and it's one of the Sky VR46 bikes.  Bezecchi!  It's Marco Bezecchi who has fallen off his motorcycle!  Thank goodness for the air fence.

The medics are on the scene to make sure he is OK.  He seems to be hurt, just a little.  Hope he's OK.  Back in the garage, he's favoring his right foot.  Turn nine now, look, and another tumble.  Who's lost it this time?  Couldn't tell who fell of there bike there.  Had no access to the world feed graphics in that replay.  Meanwhile, this race is nearly done and dusted, and it appears Luca Marini, the Italian, riding for Valntino Rossi is going to win.  Marini keeps it clean through the final turn and onto the front straightaway, and he wins Moto2 in Spain, in the first race!

Rounding out the podium, Tetsuta Nagashima and Jorge Martin.  Completing the top five, Sam Lowes and Aron Canet.  Sixth through tenth, Hafizh Syahrin, Remy Gardner, Lorenzo Baldassari, Enea Bastianini, and Xavi Vierge. 

#10 Luca Marini     ITA.     SKY Racing Team VR46 Kalex

The top five in points are reflected once again, by the race results, although, Moto2 did have an opening race back in March in Qatar right at the beginning of the pandemic.  Tetsuta Nagashima leads the rider's points championship ahead of Lorenzo Baldassari, Luca Marini, Enea Bastianini, and Remy Gardner, who is of course, the son of multiple 500cc World Champion, Wayne Gardner.   Moto2 in Spain, the first go around, is complete.  See you next time, at the same circuit for next weekend's Anadlucia Grand Prix.  So long, for now. 

MotoGP Round 1: Spain, Race 1

We finally are ready, to kick off the 2020 MotoGP season, after a long, long delay due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has gripped the world.  Let's try to find something positive, and go racing.  This is the first of two consecutive race weekends for MotoGP in Spain.  The first of two back to back rounds in Andalusia at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.  We race in honor of the front line healthcare workers, fighting the good fight, against the Coronavirus.  The front row sees Fabio Quartararo on pole on his #20 Petronas Yamaha, with Spain's Maverick Vinales in second on the factory Monster Energy Yamaha, bike #12, and at his elbow, Marc Marquez, the four-time MotoGP World Champion, aboard the Repsol Honda, #93. 

Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Quartararo rockets out of the starting blocks!  They stream towards turn one for the very first time!  25 laps scheduled today for the season opener, here at Jerez.  As we get a better view of the riders, we can see them stringing out, single file for the most part.  There's some double wide and triple wide racing in the back of the pack.  Maverick Vinales has taken the lead with Marc Marquez glued right to his tail.  Jack Miller, Francesco Bagnaia, and Fabio Quartararo complete the top five.  Six through ten as this race starts, we have Andrea Dovizioso, Pol Espargaro, Brad Binder, Franco Morbidelli, and in tenth, multiple World Champion Valentino Rossi.

We've got a battle for the lead right away on lap two!  Marc Marquez dives down the inside of Maverick Vinales!  Vinales has also stolen Marquez's lap record set here, last year.  Check that.  He's not set a new record.  Vinales, 1:38.445.  Marquez's 2019 record was 1:38 dead.  1:38.051.  Vinales, no wonder his first name is Maverick!  He's a real scrapper and he gives Marc Marquez a taste of his own medicine, right into the next turn, look.  Down the long straightaway on the back part of the course they come.  Marquez is not done yet.  The big dogs are scrapping right now, for P1 in this motorcycle race and we've only put two laps on the board!

Marquez does best Vinales going into the corner, for now, as a swarm forms behind these two blokes.  The other riders are just as hungry as the two in front.  They want a slice of the pie as well!  Look out!  Marquez in turn four, he's off the course!  Lap three or so and Marquez, wiggles the bike with the rear tire digging into the gravel trap!  Hang onto it, sunshine!  That motorcycle has become a bucking bronco!  Marquez is really having to steer through the skid there, and hold the bike upright so he doesn't hit the deck.  Marquez has clearly lost ground after that little mishap.  Now then, Vinales is still your leader, but there's a new challenger, look.

Jack Miller on bike #43, the Australian, aboard the Pramac Racing Ducati, is giving Maverick Vinales everything he can handle.  He's applying the blowtorch to the Spaniard who is leading at this moment.  Miller is going to get right under Vinales' rear wheel.  Going into the corner, that's the ideal passing place.  Jeepers!  Vinales looks as if he's run wide!  Check that.  Miller might have gone off the road.  Fabio Quartararo has now taken the lead of this motorcycle race and Miller in the meantime, has Vinales right on his rear wheel!  Vinales, all over Miller like the proverbial cheap suit. 

Meanwhile, down the order, battles also simmer.  This is Marc Marquez, going to the inside of Danilo Petrucci on the #9 factory Ducati.  Petrucci is teamed at Ducati this year, with fellow Italian MotoGP veteran, Andrea Dovizioso.  Marquez is hauling the mail.  He's ninth, but he's running quicker lap times than Fabio Quartararo is, in the lead.  Marquez is a tenth up on Quartararo.  1:38.745 for Quartararo, and 1:38.555 for Marquez.  Marquez is cutting through the field like a hot knife through butter, dispensing of rival and one of the kings of MotoGP, Valentino Rossi.  The leaders come through and now we see Dovizioso making a move on the #63 bike of Francesco Bagnaia, team mate to Jack Miller at Pramac Ducati.

It's a race of the Italians and of the Ducati riders.  Factory bike vs. satellite bike.  Yours truly can't read the pit board.  Makes me wonder how these boys read their information going 200 miles an hour when their mchanics stick the pit board to let them know the gaps.  Wow, chaps.  This race has flown by.  We're well past halfway, working lap 17 of 25.  From the onboard camera on the Honda, we see that the fight between Marquez and Quartararo is heating up again.  Fabio isn't giving up.  Oh dear!  It's game over for Rossi.  His Yamah is stuck in the mud with only six laps to go.  The Italian legend's race is run, with mechanical problems for his motorcycle.

Seven laps to go now, and the battle is hot as Marc Marquez is putting a move on the #88 bike, that's the factory Red Bull KTM in the hands of Miguel Oliveira from Portugal.  We saw Oliveira over the years racing in Moto3 and Moto2, but now he's in the big league.  Andrea Dovizioso is the next rider on Marquez's shopping list as he makes up ground.  We know the Ducati rider is tough.  But will he be able to take the heat from the four-time world champ?  Quartararo leads Miller leads Marquez leads Oliveira.  The Honda pit crew cheering Marquez on.  His team mate, and younger brother, Alex Marquez on the #73 Repsol Honda, we've not seen today so far.

Six laps left in the opening MotoGP race of the season.  The Red Bull Grand Premio de Espana is coming to a close, quickly.  Jack Miller is putting a move on Marc Marquez on the outside.  Will he make it stick?  They're wheel to wheel, look.  Marquez says "no you don't sunshine", and slams the door in Miller's face.  Or does he?  Miller keeps the door open just a shade.  Marquez is having none of it, and now it's door slam time.  Marquez is now chasing Vinales.  Oh!  No, no, no!  Marquez loses it, and has a hard spill onto the pavement!  Ouch!  It looks like the rear tire just got out from under the bike and Marc Marquez was launched over the handlebars and into orbit.

Thank God for the leathers, a built in airbag, and a back protector to keep these riders safe.  Marquez tumbling in the gravel, separated from the motorcycle, thankfully.  Yes.  Yes.  From the onboard camera, he low sided that bike and got pitched off big style!  The bike careers into the gravel, riderless.  The Repsol Honda team can't believe it!  Marquez looks to be OK, communicating with the course marshals.  So thankful for the men and women around the world who wear the white uniforms and keep athletes on two and four wheels alike, safe. 

Vinales leads.  From the helicopter shot, or drone shot, we can see the gap tightening between the top three riders.  Two laps left now.  Miller and Andrea Dovizioso look to be in a battle and the Italian is harrying the Australian for position as we get closer and closer to the end of this opening encounter of MotoGP 2020.  Dovizioso makes the move.  But two into one won't go and Miller shuts off the rider directly behind.  But, it's Fabio Quartararo winning on debut in MotoGP!  He does a celebratory wheelie and deservedly so!

#20 Fabio Quartararo     FRA.   Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha

Congratulations all around for Fabio Quartararo as Maverick Vinales and Andrea Dovizioso complete the podium, here at Jerez.  Fabio Quartararo is now the leader of the points championship, earning 25 points for his race win ahead of Vinales, Dovizioso and Miller, the top five.  The race results today will reflect how the points look as the season begins.  Quartararo still can't believe he won.  He says he will realize it as he watches the replay of the race with his team.  He's elated.  Circuit Angel Nieto hosts another MotoGP race next weekend.  Join us, for all the action.

MotoAmerica Superbike Road America #2: Race 2

It is time for the second and final race of the weekend for MotoAmerica Superbike, in the second round of the championship, at Road America.  We have had three events here, at Road America, and this is the fourth and final race, before we move on to more great race tracks throughout the remainder of the 2020 season.  Cameron Beaubier, has had a perfect season.  Can his rivals step up to the plate and challenge him for a win?  Can Beaubier fend off this challenge?  We're about to find out, as the fans join us, here at Road America.  Beaubier is 3-0 right now with a perfect batting average, if he were a baseball player.  Bobby Fong was pushing, pushing, pushing in yesterday's race, but Beaubier is the chap who has the edge.  The man is fast.  His fellow riders will have to step up and go toe to toe with the factory Yamaha rider.

Jake Gagne, Beaubier's team mate has also been taking the fight to Beaubier.  Toni Elias and Kyle Wyman are two of the riders who can possibly catch the Yamaha pilot.  There is a championship for the young kids who are learning how to ride motorcycles, and they too, have had their time in the spotlight here at Road America.  Now, as we spoke of yesterday, Road America is such a fabulous, legendary course.  Turn one is the first hot spot.  You fly in there and the same is true for turn five.  Turn eight is slightly slower and then, the Carousel, you make or lose time in there.  If the bike is a handful there, you are in trouble.  Another long straight into a tight right hander at Canada corner.  Then, it's uphill to the start/finish line.  Bobby Fong has been very consistent.  He was second in yesterday's race, and second in the morning warmup. 

He wants to fly today, to try and beat Cameron Beaubier.  Kyle Wyman was on the podium, watching a tape of yesterday's race, twice, to improve his race craft for today's event.  He says he and his team are finally in the zone with their Ducati Panigale.  It's nearly go time.  We will fire the engines and get set to get underway for a second time, here at Road America.  On the grid, the riders prepare for the task at hand.  We have picture perfect, Chamber of Commerce weather at Road America this afternoon with sunny, blue skies on a late June summer day. 

Yesterday, Toni Elias finished third, but was docked a place, relegated to fourth by not seeing a yellow flag.  There was a rider who went off the road at Canada Corner.  If you watched this race, yesterday, either on Fox Sports 1 on television, or on MotoAmerica Live Plus on a mobile device, you saw that kerfuffle.  Toni Elias wanted to outbrake Kyle Wyman into Canada Corner.  He didn't see the yellow flag and saw a picture that showed evidence of the yellow flag.  He's sure to not make the same mistake in today's race. 

The motorcycles and riders are on the grid, preparinhg for thr warm up lap, and the start.  P.J. Jacobsen will not start.  He had something happen this morning and burned himself, not sure how.  Get well soon, P.J.  The riders set off on their warmup lap, the formation lap, heating the tires.  The long backstretch out of turn three is a major drafting spot.  Watch for action there.  The Westby team has a new engine, but they were getting less performance out of it.  Matthew Scholz is happier with the old motor that was reinstalled back into the motorcycle.  Bobby Fong and Cameron Beaubier might be the two blokes who move ahead but there are other riders in mid pack, that will push just as hard.

We've had six different riders on the podium in three races so far.  Much will develop in this race.  The track temperature is a tad cooler than in race one yesterday.  The Yamaha Monster Energy Attack team has changed to super soft Dunlop tires for Cameron Beaubier and Jake Gagne, both.  Don't burn up the tires before we see the checkers in this one, unless you really want to take chances.  It's time to race, now.  Red lights on.  Red lights, out.  Away we go!  Tjeu scream down towards turn one as this race of a dozen laps begins.  Beaubier leads Toni Elias and Bobby Fong.  Kyle Wyman did a wheelie and he's bogged down by Matt Scholz and Kyle Wyman.  Into turn five for the first time and Fong is applying the blowtorch.

Someone went off the road brieflybut they are back on track.  Toni Elias runs third.  Jake Gagne wants by Toni Elias and Gagne makes the pass on the second Monster Energy Attack Yamaha on the Ecstar Suzuki in the hands of Toni Elias, the M4 Ecstar Suzuki.  That is the GSXR1000 of course.  Jake Gagne is third, moving ahead from sixth spot.  Onto the front straight to complete lap one, and Fong is putting his body into a tucked down position for aerodynamic efficiency.  Jake Gagne is now chasing Bobby Fong in the draft to try and pass.  Cameron Beaubier is whistling off into the distance once more.

Matthew Scholz has fallen behind Kyle Wyman for some reason.  Elias and Wyman scrapped in a big way yesterday.  This is chapter two of their story.  Cameron Beaubier is in control into the chicane.  Kyle Wyman takes his foot off the foot peg on the left side.  He is a dirt track oval motorcycle racer from years ago and so his technique comes from that discipline of riding.  Up the hill they come, with ten laps remaining.  The gap has ballooned in a large way between Beaubier and Elias.  Meantime, David Anthony on a Superbike, and Cameron Petersen on a Stock 1000 bike.  Now, if you want to hear about the Stock 1000 race, stay tuned as that's coming soon.

Josh Herrin is pressing towards moving by Matt Scholz.  Herrin on the BMW S1000RR.  Toni Elias, using the wheelie control.  Meantime, Kyle Wyman blocks Toni Elias and they almost touch!  Yikes!  Wyman is on the limit.  Reviewing yesterday's race has helped Wyman with his confidence.  He's got to be grinning like a stuck possum.  Oh no!  Cameron Beaubier has crashed!  From the lead, he hits the bump in turn one and loses the bike in a low side crash!  Deary me!  Poor old Beaubier.  It's game over for him.  We have a new race leader.  Bobby Fong leads Jake Gagne now.  Both of them, will be in contention.

OK.  It isn't game over for Beaubier.  He's getting back on the motorcycle, but he's going to have to pick up the pieces after the smash.  One lap to halfway as Bobby Fong is your new leader.  He's in P1 right now.  Jake Gagne is in Fong's draft.  Fong, like Toni Elias, is on an Ecstar Suzuki, the team mate, to Elias.  Cameron Beaubier had a 29 point lead before he crashed.  He has to score at least one point by finishing 15th.  Beaubier will perhaps have just a four point edge in the championship points as Matthew Scholz is moving back into the picture. 

I don't know if Cameron Beaubier has gone through.  He's pulling into pit lane, retiring the motorcycle.  It is game over for Beaubier.  Goodnight.  M4 Ecstar took over the Suzuki program late in the off season from Yoshimura.  The right handlebar on Beaubier's Yamaha YZF R1 is busted up.  Bobby Fong backs the motorcycle into turn six.  Be careful, sunshine.  Don't lose the front tire.  Fong is working well in his riding today.  Jake Gagne was in World Superbike on a lesser team and now, he's back in MotoAmerica.  Cameron Beaubier says "I'm pretty bummed.  I got a good start and went with a different front tire that worked out.  The track is greasy.  I hit a bump and tucked the front end of the bike." 

That's very disappointing.  Meantime, Kyle Wyman is pushing hard.  Bobby "The Bulldog" Fong is doing everything he must in order to stay in P1.  Jake Gagne wants a shot at him.  These two blokes are giving it everything.  Five laps now remain.  We are past halfway.  These races go by fast.  Jake Gagne had an air bubble in the brake line on his motorcycle.  He now has the confidence in today's race that he can press Bobby Fong before this motorcycle race is over.  If a brake feels mushy, that's a rider's biggest fear.  No brakes on a bike.  He adjusted the lever all the way out.  But it was still mushy and not working.  As fast as the motorcycles go at Road America, you have to check for brake fade so you don't wipe out.  Matthew Scholz is desperately making up time and using a different engine in the motorcycle.

Scholz wants by Elias and no dice, but then, Scholz slams the door and Elias is down!  Inton the chicane, Elias is tipping in, and then, boom.  Elias is in the dust!  Toni Elias is back in the saddle.  He's upset, but he has to salvage some points to make up the deficit to Cameron Beaubier who is out of this motorcycle race.  Elias is eighth in the running order right now.  He has to move past Cameron Petersen.  Petersen will be the next bike on his shopping list.  Four laps, 16 miles remain.  Toni Elias spent 18 seconds on the floor before saying "OK, I have to get back in the race." 

Jake Gagne has work to do to reel in Bobby Fong.  Fong has the handling through Canada Corner.  Jake Gagne loses daylight to Fong from turn eight to the Carousel.  2:12.9 for Fong.  They are in the 2:12 bracket.  Kyle Wyman is third and Matthew Scholz is back there.  Wyman could have a legitimate podium today.  He's thrown his hat in the ring on the Ducati.  He wants good results and to get into the race and he's doing that right now.  He's not putting a wheel wrong.  Wyman just has to push.  He is maturing as a rider and doesn't have to give all the credit to a good motorbike.

Wyman has picked up three seconds.  He's lost a tad of time, about a half a second to the leaders.  He is not just a rider, but a team owner.  The team stripped the bike down to nothing and checked the refinement, going through the motorcycle with a fine tooth comb.  The Ducati Panigale he is riding, is really a heavily modified road bike.  The Ducati's top speed is 195 miles per hour plus.  Matthew Scholz's new motor helped a bit, but the backup motor from the first race at Road America is a better lump.  The lump, is the engine, in British English by the way.

Meanwhile, it's the white flag lap.  One lap to go.  Bobby Fong vs. Jake Gagne.  Gagne wants a win.  So does Bobby Fong.  He won the 600cc Supersport championship trophy, last year, in 2019.  Who wants it more?  Gagne is closing.  His drive off the corner is the crucial part between turns six, seven, and eight.  Into the Carousel for the final time.  Gagne opens the entry to the corner, and Fong takes a tighter line.  he has the power on the exit.  Gagne has more lean angle earlier into the corner.  Focus forward, through the forest, into Canada Corner.  Two turns remain before the uphill blast.  Fong has to keep it clean.  Too much daylight between the two rdiers.  Bobby Fong wins this motorcycle race for M4 Ecstar Suzuki!

Jake Gagne second, and a second consecutive podium for Kyle Wyman.  Matt Scholz fourth, Josh Herrin in fifth on the BMW.  David Anthony is next up followed by Toni Elias and Cory Alexander who will finish in the top ten after a star crossed event in the Superstock 1000 race.  Bradley Ward next up, followed by Travis Wyman with a bad arm that will be operated on this coming week.  Danilo Lewis and Jeremy Coffey are next up down in the teens as far as positions. 

#50 Bobby Fong     Suzuki GSXR1000

The 2019 600cc Supersport champion, now has a Superbike victory.  He was working as a motorcycle manufacturer sales representative, but is now a top rider on the MotoAmerica circuit.  Fong didn't put a wheel wrong.  He's proven his critics wrong.  Kyle Wyman is on the podium as well.  Bobby Fong was in the 2:11 lap time range for most of this motorcycle race.  Suzuki wins their first 2020 Superbike race in MotoAmerica and Bobby Fong wins his first race.  He credits team owners John and Chris Ullrich and his team, for making everything work out so well.  Keep it on two wheels and keep the ball rolling.

In second spot, Jake Gagne.  He has a step on the podium and says he's very confident in his team.  He and his team pushed the reset button after the first event at Road America.  He credits winner Bobby Fong and third place finisher Kyle Wyman, for a good race.  Riders are glad to see the fans back at the track as well.  Kyle Wyman is third once again.  No surprise for him today like it was yesterday.  He was being pressured by Matt Scholz.  He again, is thankful to his pit crew who repaired the motorcycle after he crashed his Ducati.

He wants to make the Ducati faithful, the Ducatisti, happy.  We'll see you, the first weekend in August, for round three of MotoAmerica at Road Atlanta, in the red clay hills of north Georgia, just outside Atlanta, in a month or so, with those races, slated to be run between July 31st and August 2nd.  In the meantime, stay tuned for reports on some of the other races that have happened from Road America, here, on 2 Wheelin'.  So long for now, everybody.  Take care.

MotoAmerica Superbike Road America #2: Race 1

We are set, to race for a second time in about a month, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, today.  There will be another race, coming up tomorrow.  Cameron Beaubier is the man who is being chased by the competition.  Everyone has to go for it, and step up to the plate.  It's time to race, now.  Let's go motorcycle road racing!  Next!

This is round two of the championship as the state of Wisconsin is in phase two of reopening, despite the Coronavirus.  Social distancing, as always, is a major deal.  In FP1 on Friday, Cameron Beaubier broke his own lap record.  He dominates, but last time out, Toni Elia broke a chain in race one and had more worries in race two.  Bobby Fong and Matthew Scholz crashed last time out and they are in a hole in the points standings right now.  So, they will have a lot of work to do as we get set for another race today.  It's going to be mega, ladies and gentlemen.  You don't want to miss a moment.  Stay tuned.

Cameron Beaubier has won this race at Road America eight times and in dozen events here in MotoAmerica, he has finished on the podium, and he has a new exercise and training program, that has really helped him become a much better rider.  Beaubier says his knee is 100%.  He has set a new track record.  He's confident in himself and in his Yamaha R1 motorcycle.  This track is four miles long with 14 corners, built back in 1955.  Turns one, five, eight, nine (The Carousel), and 12 (Canada Corner), are the most vital spots for overtaking on this track.  So is the uphill to the start/finish line.  Matthew Scholz is one rider looking to go for the win today.  Can he do it?  We're about to find out.  Hold on to your seats.  This is going to be some motorcycle race.

The weather at Road America is beautiful.  Travis Wyman broke his arm on a mountain bike.  He has a chipped bone someplace.  He'll have to get through this weekend.  Now, the bikes are coming to the grid.  Bobby Fong has had adjustments made to his motorcycle.  He is running the Super Soft Dunlop front tire.  We're set to race.  Red lights, on.  Red lights, out!  Away we go!  Bobby Fong has a launch and here comes Cameron Beaubier.  Kyle Wyman also gets a jump and into turn one for the first time, the battles begin.  Beaubier, Wyman, Fong, and Toni Elias.  Ouch!  Joe Gionato is down and out.  He's trying to restart the motorcycle but to no avail.

Into turn six for the fiurst time, Bobby Fong goes by Kyle Wyman.  Yamaha, Suzuki, Ducati run 1-2-3.  Toni Elias is beginning to move up.  Jake Gagne is pushing Elias here and now, right away.  As the tires begin to fade, and the fuel load decreases, Fong will be able to find out how his bike is handling.  Toni Elias and Jake Gagne are starting to make their moves.  Gagne dives inside for fourth on Toni Elias.  The Spaniard makes the pass back on Gagne, look.  Bobby Fong has Cameron Beaubier in sight.  Toni Elias is turning early into the corner, and may not be as confident as he wants to be. 

But under braking, Elias is bish bash boshing it at the moment, trying to go after Fong, his Suzuki Ecstar team mate.  Through the Carousel they go.  Into the chicane and now, Josh Herrin and Matthew Scholz are going at it hammer and tongs.  Poor old Matt Scholz botched the start.  He is not a happy bloke at the moment.  A dozen laps scheduled in this race, working lap three as Josh Herrin on the BMW S1000RR for Scheibe Racing is fending off the challenge from Scholz.  Gagne has a new Attack Performance swing arm on the bike, the same part Cameron Beaubier is using.

Josh Herrin has a Suter swingarm on his bike, and we have Jake Gagne is all sorts of trouble!  He overshoots the chicane, but he had a smassive issue.  He has a shift linkage that's gone bang.  He's got trouble with the motorcycle.  He's into thhe turn, but the bike isn't shifting.  He's blipping the throttle, but poor old Jake Gagne will be headed for the pit lane?  Maybe not.  Is it game over for Gagne?  Let's hope not.  But Cameron Beaubier is whistling off into the distance.  Elias, Wyman, Scholz, and more, chasing.  Josh Herrin, Jake Gagne, P.J. Jacobsen, David Anthony, and Cameron Petersen, round out the top ten.

The Yamaha R1 has been improved in aerodynamics between 2019 and 2020.  The Westby Racing Team has been working on aerodynamics.  Former rider, Dane Westby, is the owner of the team.  The best laps are in the 2:12-2:13 bracket right now.  Cameron Beaubier is really going for it.  The bike was refined at the team's shop, according to crew chief Richard Stamboli.  The Monster Energy Attack Yamaha team has reduced the oil level inside the sump so the bike won't smoke under braking.  The oil sloshes to the front of the tank, spraying oil into the air box.  But the problem is solved.  P.J. Jacobsen, on the Celtic HSVK bike on a Stock 1000 class Ducati Panigale, is going well, even with more weight on the Ducati motorcycle.

If you buy a Ducati street bike, HSVK can modify it for you.  Meantime, David Anthony is on the Suzuki GSXR1000, after running for many years on a Kawasaki ZX10R.  He has had a red, uncomfortable, watering eye in his left eye.  That's troublesome for going racing, however, he's really fast.  He wants more power out of the engine.  He's been racing for a long time with his own program and has been doing it for years.  Danilo Lewis, Max Flinders, and Bradley Ward are in a train, racing against each other.  Bradley Ward used to race a motocross bike.

Toni Elias has his hands full with Kyle Wyman at the moment.  Down the back straight, he will draft the Suzuki of Elias.  This is the KWR Ducati.  It's Kyle Wyman's own team.  He is getting assistance from the folks at Ducati in Italy.  We're past halfway.  Wyman and his team have actually been getting assistance from the World Superbike Ducati team to figure out how the bike is working out.  Wyman ditched the motorcycle yesterday and missed a whole session.  But he's running very well at the moment.  The M4 Ecstar Suzuki squad has gambled on their setup.  They tried something in Super Pole, but it didn't work as well.  He has a wobble in the bike and did so with another team he was with on a Suzuki, years ago, with the Yoshimura team. 

Elias' bike is all over the shop as the fuel load decreases.  He will have to be so, so careful to avoid a tank slapper.  Dragging the brakes after a tank slapper, is a way to get out of it, but Elias will need to be very careful.  Four laps left as Ashton Yates is in the pit lane on the lone Honda.  His Honda CBR1000RR is busted at the moment.  There's something mechanically wrong for Ashton Yates.  It's game over.  We have another Superbike race tomorrow and a race for Stock 1000.  You will hear more about that Stock 1000 race, soon.  Stay tuned.  Four laps to go.  Every pound is seven horsepower.  Ballast will equalize the bike.  The handling and getting the feel for the motorcycle is the big deal.

Elias and Wyman are fighting hammer and tongs for the final spot on the podium.  Again, we just have four laps left in the motorcycle race.  These two chaps have the extra soft Dunlop tires on both.  We have an inline 4 cylinder for the Suzuki and V4 for the Ducati that Wyman rides compared to the Suzuki.  Wyman is three miles an hour faster than the Spaniard.  183 miles an hour for Wyman, on a bike!  Yikes!  Has Toni Elias broken Kyle Wyman's resolve?  The Ducati has a better turning radius than the Suzuki.  Elias is using the wheelie control on the Suzuki to turn the bike. 

Toni Elias admitted that he made mistakes in the most recent race here at Road America.  Kyle Wyman is a whisker away from the podium.  But Cameron Beaubier has dominated.  He's just 4.7 seconds up the road, though.  The last time we raced here, he won by 13 seconds.  Bobby Fong has closed the gap which is giving him boatloads of confidence.  The plot thickens in the scrap between Gagne and Herrin.  Jake Gagne expected so much more out of this race than what he's received.  It's got to be quite frustrating.  Stay in the saddle.  Keep going.

It's the final lap of the motorcycle race.  Four miles to go for Cameron Beaubier who has cut consistent laps all day long.  The third place scrap is on.  What does Kyle Wyman have left in the locker to fight Toni Elias?  Wyman has to push in sector three.  Toni Elias runs wide.  Here comes Wyman!  He looks inside.  No.  Toni Elias goes early into the corner.  His bike is loose in the Carousel.  He knows he needs to work on the setup, and Kyle makes his move for third into the chicane.  Toni Elias wants a run going into Canada Corner.  Cameron Beaubier has dominated this race!  He wins Road America, again!  For third, it's Toni Elias taking third over Kyle Wyman.  Matt Scholz, Jake Gagne, Josh Herrin, and David Anthony round out the place up to eighth.

P.J. Jacobsen and Cameron Petersen round out the top ten.

#1 Cameron Beaubier     Yamaha YZF R1

We have race two coming up tomorrow, and there will be lots more racing action to talk about, when yours truly has the opportunity to take a look at it.  So, look for more MotoAmerica content, more race reports, in the not too distant future.  Cameron Beaubier, Toni Elias, and Bobby Fong are your podium finishers in race one at Road America.  We will hear from our podium finishers, coming up.  Once again, we have racing for Stock 1000 coming up tomorrow.  Hoping to write about it when it's available.  Stay tuned for plenty more MotoAmerica action here, on 2 Wheelin'.

Before we go, there's a penalty for something it seems.  It's the Wyman and Elias scrap.  Was there a yellow flag?  Was their a bike off the road?  It could have been.  Cameron Beaubier says he is so, so happy about his motorcycle and being able to race in front of fans for a change.  He's very thankful and very happy, as any racer would be.  Bobby Fong explains that the track was greasy.  He's happy with second spot, and he's adapting to the bike, looking forward to the race tomorrow.  We await to hear from our third place finisher.  Kyle Wyman has been moved to third.  Toni Elias has been docked.  He passed under a local yellow.

Kyle Wyman gets his first podium since 2017, and as a team owner and rider, he's over the moon!  He beleives in the Ducati as a motorcycle and in his pit crew.  He's extremely happy.  So, we've heard from the top three.  It's time for the racers to celebrate their achievement after today's contest.  Cameron Beaubier increases his points lead.  Go to www.motoamerica.com to take a look at the points standings.  See your tomorrow, for more motorcycle racing at Road America, America's National Park of Speed.  So long for now, everyone.

Motorbike Test Day at Zolder

From Belgian-Motorsport on YouTube, the Zolder motorcycle test day at Circuit Park Zolder in Belgium.  Zolder is located on or near the Belgium/Holland border.