The following is from Travis Wyman Racing…
The Travis Wyman Racing BMW team is still coming to grips with its latest-generation BMW S 1000 RR, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the results sheet. Though the team encountered more troubles with its motorcycle’s engine during the Sept. 11-13 MotoAmerica Superbikes at New Jersey event, rider Travis Wyman still found a way to score his fifth top-five finish in Stock 1000 competition and his sixth top-10 Superbike finish of the 2020 season.
Despite the team’s lack of off-season testing aboard its new bike and having endured several mechanical woes with the new package, Wyman has demonstrated a proper mix of determination and race craft and has enjoyed a steady improvement in his race results as the season has progressed. With several of his championship rivals not in action at the New Jersey round, Wyman was able to jump to fourth place in the Stock 1000 Class standings, as well as maintain his hold on second place in the Superbike Cup points.
Wyman qualified third for the weekend’s lone Stock 1000 race, but the team’s BMW began experiencing a lack of acceleration as the last qualifying session came to a close. In the Saturday Stock 1000 contest, Wyman pushed the bike as hard as he thought he could and claimed a fourth-place finish. The weekend’s Superbike races saw Wyman score an 11th-place finish on Saturday and a 10th place on Sunday as he continued to manage the motorcycle’s engine issue.
With the MotoAmerica series back in action next weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala., the team will work quickly at its East Coast base of operations in Macedon, N.Y., to repair its BMW S 1000 RR before it heads to next round.
Travis Wyman / #10
“New Jersey Motorsports Park is a track we struggled to find an ideal set up on the old bike, but this 2020 BMW S 1000 RR felt like it was on rails all weekend. We collected a good amount of points in both Stock 1000 and the Superbike Cup, and next weekend we will be at another track that has been a challenge for us. We’ll have the bike fixed this week, and I think we will be at the front of the Stock 1000 field at Barber. I cannot say enough about how much my crew of Steve Weir and Alex Torres contributed to my good results at New Jersey.”
The following is from Suzuki…
Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. and Team Hammer continued their winning ways with another successful MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Once again, it was M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly who provided the exclamation point with a thrilling race win in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Supersport contest from the pole position.
After salvaging third place on Saturday despite being hindered by a technical issue, ‘SDK’ was motivated to demonstrate his full potential in Sunday’s rematch. The Floridian did exactly that, showcasing a full complement of eye-opening overtaking maneuvers and defensive tactics on his nimble GSX-R600, winning out in a three-rider dogfight for the victory by a scant 0.011 seconds at the checkered flag.
Sunday’s triumph marked Kelly’s 11th consecutive podium — all but Saturday’s third being either a win or runner-up result.
He said, “First of all, I have to give it up to my whole M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team. We had a little bit of an issue with the bike yesterday so we weren’t able to fight the way we wanted to. But we did our homework, and my guys really made it happen. We made a big step and the bike was amazing today. It just shows that even after a tough Saturday, we can come back strong on Sunday.
“It was a proper race today. I think we put on a really good show for the fans. I’m really happy about the great battle and super happy to get the 25 points.”
It was also an important weekend for 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike champion Toni Elias in premier-class duty. Elias finally broke through to secure his first podium of the ‘20 season as he and his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki crew at last reaped the rewards for their tireless efforts to improve the connection between the talented Spaniard and his fire-breathing GSX-R1000.
“It feels great to get back on the podium,” Elias said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but this is the first step. Thanks to my team for all the support. Let’s continue like this and, sooner or later, we will arrive back on the top step of the podium.”
Elias and teammate Bobby Fong scored double top-five finishes on the weekend; Fong ran fifth on Saturday and fourth on Sunday while Elias completed his weekend with a ride to fifth.
Also, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Lucas Silva put together another consistent weekend, which has proven to be his trademark in 2020. After picking up his first-career podium last time out at the Ridge Motorsports Park, the fast teenager Silva notched up a pair of seventh-place finishes in New Jersey, keeping his perfect season record of top tens intact.
Meanwhile, SportbikeTrackGear.com RoadracingWorld.com Suzuki’s Rocco Landers and Altus Motorsports Suzuki’s Cam Petersen took significant steps forward to claiming their respective class championships with dominant outings.
Rising star Landers registered the double victory in Twins Cup action with a pair of breakaway wins. Saturday’s masterclass earned him the title lead while Sunday’s blowout provided some padding heading into the stretch run as he now boasts a 19-point advantage.
South African Petersen proved unstoppable in Stock 1000 action on his GSX-R1000, running away with the category’s sole race on the weekend by more than six seconds. As a result, Petersen also leads his title fight enjoying a comfortable 17-point margin.
Team Hammer and the rest of the Suzuki-mounted riders will have only a moment to catch their breath as the 2020 MotoAmerica season resumes next weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 18-20.
The following is from Jason Aguilar Racing…
Jason Aguilar leaves New Jersey with a ninth and eighth place finish in the latest round of the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship.
A spill in Qualifying 2 put the #96 on the back foot but in true Aguilar fashion, Jason dug deep and together with his team worked hard to rebuild the bike for the weekend’s two races.
Sunday was a much better day than Saturday, Jason able to rebuild confidence and whilst he was unable to run the pace of the top six, he was able to secure another solid result, ensuring that he heads to Barber Motorsports Park this coming weekend confident of being back at the sharp end!
He remains fourth overall in the 2020 MotoAmerica Supersport standings with three rounds (six races) left to go.
Jason Aguilar: “I didn’t go out on Friday in FP1 because the track was wet and with it looking like it was going to be dry for the rest of the weekend, I didn’t want to risk anything. The second session I didn’t really push, I was just trying to get a feel for track conditions ahead of Saturday’s on track sessions and the opening race. Saturday in Q2 I was really wanting to lay down a good time, the track was dry, but on my first flying lap I went into Turn 1 with no brakes. Luckily, I was able to pump the lever and the brakes came back but by that time it was too late, and I went down. There’s no runoff, so I laid it down which was annoying. The team did a great job to rebuild the bike but with only ten minutes of dry track time all weekend, it was always going to be tough. Race 1 was a case of getting as much data as possible to be ready for Sunday. Ninth was ok but frustrating. Sunday wasn’t the best of races for us. I got off to a decent start but right from the get-go I lost touch with the leading group. I was consistent with my lap times, my fastest lap was lap nineteen which showed I was getting faster, we just lost too much time earlier in the weekend. I was pushing hard but I ran off track because of the lappers on the last lap or I think maybe we could have been a place higher. I was feeling sore this morning after the crash, but we did what we had to do, I didn’t crash again, and we took a double points finish. We move on to Alabama for the next round and we will try to be back in the lead fight there!”
The following is from Yamaha…
Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Beaubier capped off his stellar weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park with another victory in Sunday’s race two to further extend his points lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. Teammate Jake Gagne rebounded from a tough weekend in Millville, New Jersey, to take the runner-up spot by .014 of a second.
Beaubier got off to a great start from pole position with his teammate slotted right behind him going into Turn 1. Unfortunately, the race was red-flagged due to a crash further back in the final corner on the first lap. The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing duo lined up on the front row for a complete restart of a shortened 14-lap race. On his second try, Beaubier got off to an even better start, leaving everyone in his dust with a commanding holeshot. Although the four-time Superbike Champion didn’t have as big of a margin on his fellow Yamaha riders in Sunday’s race, he was able to steadily increase his gap towards the end of the race and score his 11th victory of the season. With three rounds remaining and 200 points on the table, Beaubier has a healthy 84-point lead in the championship.
After a tough start to the weekend with a crash on Friday and in Saturday’s race one, Gagne was once again second on the restart with fellow Yamaha rider Matthew Scholtz on his heels. With five laps to go, Scholtz passed him in Turn 1. Gagne patiently waited for his opportunity to retake the position, which came on the final lap. The Californian got a good drive out of the final corner and was able to slip past the Westby Yamaha rider and cross the line second for a photo finish. Gagne’s efforts allowed him to keep his runner-up spot in the standings and extend his gap to six points over Scholtz.
The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team heads south to Leeds, Alabama, for Round 7 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park, on September 18-20.
Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“It was a great result today. Cameron had a perfect weekend, and it was a good recovery for Jake after the crash he had yesterday. That closed the gap between second and third in the points, but he picked up some today with his second-place finish. As I said to him, it’s important to maintain a nice second-place spot in the championship. Everyone’s been riding great: Cameron, Jake, and (Mathew) Scholtz on the Westby Yamaha for another Yamaha 1-2-3. The Yamaha R1 is such a great platform and we have been working hard to give our guys the best bikes out there. I also want to thank Dunlop for helping us make the right decisions on the tires this weekend. We’re looking forward to being back at it next weekend at Barber.”
Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“It was an incredible weekend. I was pretty excited coming into this round because I knew how fast JD (Beach) was here last year on the Attack R1. He was giving us fits here both days. I knew that the bike was pretty dialed in, and he was riding good, so I was excited to try it myself. Our bike was incredible this weekend around this place. I had a lot of fun. The weather wasn’t great on Friday, but then Saturday and Sunday it was perfect conditions. I’m happy that we were able to make the harder option tire work in both races. Everything is going really well right now. I don’t want to get too excited, so we’ve got to keep trucking along. We’ve got three rounds left, and I just want to finish strong.”
Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“This was one of the toughest weekends I’ve had in a while. We had a big crash on Friday and got a little banged up, and then another crash yesterday on the first lap of the race, which was a bummer. We missed out on learning from race one, but we rebounded today. I got off to a good start and had a pretty decent pace. Cam had some pace on us, but Mat (Scholtz) and I had a good little battle there. I’m glad we brought it down to the last lap. I was strong in the last turn, so I knew if I could get the perfect run, get the perfect draft, we might be able to get it, and we were just able to sneak by. It was cool to have a photo finish and a Yamaha 1-2-3.”
The following is from Westby Racing…
Westby Racing’s two-rider team came away from round six of the MotoAmerica Championship with a pair of podium results and a pair of top tens at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz raced his #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 to a third-place finish in Sunday’s race two as an encore to his second-place result in Saturday’s race one. He very nearly got his second runner-up result in as many days, but he was baulked by a backmarker on the final lap of the red-flag-shortened race, which enabled Jake Gagne to catch back up to Mathew and set up for a pass in the final turn before the finish line. At the stripe, Mathew missed out on second place by just .014 of a second. Mathew now trails Jake by just six points for second place in the season championship.
Mathew commented, “There were certain sections of the track that I was struggling with and where Jake (Gagne) was faster. On the final lap, I kind of got stuck behind Sam (Verderico). Jake definitely beat me. Hats off to him. But, in the back of my mind, I always kind of have that, if I didn’t catch Sam at that point. But it is what it is. I’m just very thankful to be up here on the podium after crashing in morning warmup. Well done to (race winner) Cam (Beaubier). He’s absolutely flying. I’m kind of happy that we weren’t so far back behind Cam. Just really looking forward to Barber next week. It’s definitely the strongest track for me. I know Cam and Jake both go well there too, so let’s do some more battles.”
Junior Cup rider Cody Wyman, who pilots the #34 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R3, started in the middle of the third row for Sunday’s race two, and he rode a consistent race among a pack of other riders, which has been his lot this entire season. With his competitors and him dicing back and forth, Cody enjoys the competition, but he also knows that his results depend somewhat on the luck of the draw and the timing of where he is among that pack when he crosses the finish line. His result was a good one since he finished the race in eighth place, which is exactly the position he started from on the grid.
“I’ve never felt so satisfied with an eighth-place finish as I was today, Cody said. “Yesterday, I felt pretty rough on the bike, so I was glad to be in the battle for a top-five position today. About halfway through the race, I got held up and lost touch with the group by a couple of seconds, but I was able to put my head down and run my fastest lap of the race on my own to catch back up and eventually lead the group. I ended up getting nipped at the line by a thousandth of a second, but I felt way better with the changes that we made to the bike after Saturday’s race one. We’re still not where I want to be, but we have a few more opportunities to get that podium position that I’m hoping for. Thank you to my team, family, and friends for supporting me. And, now we’ll make a quick turnaround to race again next weekend.
Next up for Westby Racing is round seven of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on September 18 through 20.
