2022 MotoAmerica - Round 5 - The Ridge

MotoAmerica is racing at The Ridge in Shelton, Washington this weekend. Weather is set to be hot and dry so we should get to see everyone in the best conditions.






Superbike Standings:
1. Danilo Petrucci - Ducati - 140
2. Mathew Scholtz - Yamaha - 133
3. Jake Gagne - Yamaha - 115
4. Cameron Peterson - Yamaha - 103
5. Hector Barbera - BMW - 79


Supersport Standings:
1. Josh Herrin - Ducati - 124
2. Rocco Landers - Yamaha - 73
3. Tyler Scott - Suzuki - 72
4. Sam Lochoff - Suzuki - 66
5. Luke Power - Suzuki - 60

Gagne is taking a wrecking ball to the field. He's .7 clear after QP1. Danilo is struggling in 5th place, behind Barbera, and about 1.5 seconds off of the pace.

Petrucci also looks rattled. At the end of QP1, Scholtz and Flinders stopped on track for practice starts. They were about a bike's width apart. A couple of seconds later, Petrucci rolled between the two of them, colliding gently with Flinders. As Danilo rode away, he gave them both the middle finger. Neither Scholtz nor Flinders seemed to have any idea what was going on.

More drama surrounding Petrucci this weekend.

https://youtube.com/shorts/s7OGhbyZtPU?feature=share

Here’s the incident. YouTube shorts don’t embed.

Mick D said:

That was weird/odd... dieing to know what's going on behind the curtain...

Click to expand...

Me too. So far no one has been brave enough to point a mic in danilo’s direction (that I’ve seen). Rumor was he felt Scholtz was following him around and not giving him space during qualifying.

Overall, I don’t think Danilo likes being in the US. He’s probably not making enough to sample the benefits of the US, and the New World is too gritty and dangerous for his liking, on and off track.

Some publications are claiming that Ducati are keeping him in MotoA for 2023. There was no honeymoon phase in the US (beyond COTA) so I’m not sure how he will survive.

Superbike Race 1 Results
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-medallia-superbike-race-one-results-from-ridge/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKUn-HyjyE0

Gagne smoked the field and Cameron was the perfect wing man, relegating Petrucci to third. Scholtz had a bad start, but was bailed out by a red flag, only to make a mediocre start and get pushed back to 4th by Petrucci. Barbera had Scholtz in his sights but ran out of laps.



Supersport Race 1 Results
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-supersport-race-one-results-from-ridge/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vx2VYBj0fk

Herrin crushed the field. Wasn’t even close. Made the pass for the lead on lap 2-3 and then played around with the gap before performing his signature standup wheelie. Rocco Landers continues to be the Vinales of supersport by starting poorly and then closing late. He finished 2nd. Lochoff 3rd with Olmedo 4th and Scott in 5th. Scott was the most entertaining rider of race 1, despite dropping from 1st to 5th. He was riding Haga lines, and doing on awesome job keeping Herrin behind him for a few laps. He’s only 16. We’ll see what the future holds for him.

Mick D said:

Yaakov won her first race (well 2nd really, but first was taken by race direction). I am loving watching her ride. Would like to see her get a shot at redbull cup or any rookie series in Europe.

Click to expand...

An amazing achievement to be sure. She joins Elena Myers as the only two women to win an AMA sanctioned sprint road race, and Kayla is the first female to win in MotoAmerica competition.

I look forward to watching her race in the Twins Cup or Supersport classes in the coming years.

Superbike Race 2 Results:
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-medallia-superbike-race-two-results-from-ridge/



Gagne continued his domination of the Superbike races at The Ridge. Wasn't even close. He was in complete control and just playing around with his lines and lap times. Danilo improved one spot by relegating Cam Peterson to 3rd place. Cam stayed with Danilo for quite a while, but in the closing laps Danilo used his superior race craft or maybe Cam tightened up a bit. Regardless, Danilo finished in 2nd comfortably. Scholtz finished in a lonely 4th place. Despite his lack of form at the Ridge, his results were better this year than last year and the South African said he is satisfied with his weekend. Barbera and Escalante had an awesome battle for 5th during the second half of the race, and they enjoyed considerable camera time. Ultimately, Barbera kept Escalante behind him, but it looked like Escalante had better pace.


Supersport Race 2 Results:
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-supersport-race-two-results-from-ridge-2/

Josh Herrin was not challenged in either Supersport race at The Ridge, and he took Race 2 comfortably with a 6 second cushion. The battle for 2nd and 3rd was great to watch. Ty Scott and Kevin Olmedo were wheel to wheel, with Ty riding Haga-esque lines (again) to keep Olmedo behind him for at least 10 laps. Scott was able to finish 2nd, and it was amazing to see a 16-year-old ride that long without leaving the door open a single time. Rocco Landers finished a somewhat disappointing 4th, after recovering from another poor start. Luke Power completed the top 5.

Alright time to talk about my favorite support class, Twins Cup. It's a burgeoning formula, based on BoP, and featuring middleweight twin-cylinder supersport bikes with about 100hp in race trim. The bikes have just enough pace to be visually interesting, but they are Kaleb de Keyrel is the reigning champion, but his teammate, Jody Barry, has dominated this season on his Aprilia RS660. Barry had nearly a 50 point lead over Anthony Mazziotto in 2nd place, after Barry won 4 races straight, but all hell broke loose this weekend.


Twins Cup Race 1 Results:
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-twins-cup-race-one-results-from-ridge/




Anthony Mazziotto got the holeshot with Ben Gloddy in tow. Barry bogged the start and was carving his way through the midpack when a crazy near-highside in Turn 5 (IIRC) derailed his race. Mazziotto pulled away from the field, as de Keyrel and Schultz caught Gloddy from behind. Gloddy fought hard, including an awesome por fuera at Turn 1 to maintain second place, but ultimately he succumbed to the pressure from both riders. Schultz and de Keyrel put their heads down and caught Mazziotto quickly, creating a nice 3 way battle for the lead, but the battle with cut short by a red flag from a crash involving Ben Gloddy. Mazziotto 1st, de Keyrel 2nd, Schultz 3rd. Barry struggled home in 4th.


Twins Cup Race 2 Results:
https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/motoamerica-twins-cup-race-two-results-from-ridge-2/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK9p6XX1TEg

Race 2 was a different story. Kaleb de Keyrel broke away from the start, setting lap records on his RS660, and leaving Mazziotto, Schultz, and Barry in the dust. On lap 5 Jody Barry suffered a broken shifter, and pulled into the pits. He managed to finish the race, but not in a points paying position. Barry scored only 13 points at The Ridge. Unfortunately for the Veloce Racing team, de Keyrel chucked it down the road with 5 laps to go, promoting Hayden Schultz to the lead with Anthony Mazziotto in close tow. Schultz looked poised to win Race 2, but Mazziotto made a big lunge (clean) at the top of the hill and fended off Schultz for the last few turns.

After the dust settled at The Ridge, Anthony Mazziotto had doubled and cut Barry's points lead to just 14. The Twins Cup championship is once again a two-horse-race.

Superbike Race 1:



Superbike Race 2: