2022 MotoAmerica - Round 6 - Laguna Seca

Second half of the MotoAmerica season starts at Laguna Seca. MotoAmerica has officially started midseason pricing so fans can subscribe at 50% off, and catch up on missed races from 2022 and prior seasons.

Storylines:

1. Yoshimura is joining the Twins Cup grid, running a Yamaha R7 at Laguna


2. The top 3 riders (Petrucci 176, Gagne 165 and Scholtz 159) are separated by just 17 points to start the second half of the season. Superbike will have 41 entrants at Laguna Seca, all trying to qualify for the races.

3. Mat Mladin Acquitted of Child Sexual Abuse, Hints That Former Girlfriend Was Behind Accusations https://www.roadracingworld.com/news/mladin-says-he-was-a-victim-of-domestic-violence/

More Updates:

Kyle Wyman will be subbing for Lake Lewis (Visionwheel M4 Suzuki) who badly fractured his thumb at The Ridge. Wyman had one other Superbike wildcard at Road Atlanta Race 2 where he scored a 3rd place while subbing for PJ Jacobsen on the Tytlers BMW M1000RR.

Andrew Lee, two-time MotoAmerica Stock 1000 (FIM Superstock) champion, will ride a superbike in place of Michael Gilbert, who fractured his femur in Race 2 at The Ridge

Cory Ventura is subbing for Sam Lochoff aboard the Visionwheel M4 GSX-R750 in the MotoAmerica Supersport class. Lochoff has finally succumbed to his preseason injuries (broken leg, ankle) that have been reinjured continually throughout the season. Ventura currently rides a R7 in the Twins Cup. He is only 10th in the Twins Cup standings, but has scored 41 points in the last 4 races.

Herrin Claims Supersport Pole Position (timing)

Landers is close, but that's about it. Scott and Olmedo are not quite on the pace. Cory Ventura struggling to get up to speed in Sam Lochoff's spot. Herrin was a huge favorite going into this season, but it looks like he's have it clinched in another two rounds, if he scores well at Laguna

Gagne Takes Superbike Pole (timing)

Gagne and Petrucci were pushing hard and riding way over the line. Saturday and Sunday will probably depend upon who wants it more. Peterson is in 3rd, and could surprise if he finds setup. Scholtz in 4th and Jacobsen was the fastest BMW in 5th, about .8 off the pace.

The glass slipper has fallen from Kyle Wyman foot. He is in 10th place, 2.4 seconds off of the pace, and struggling to cope with the M4 Suzuki.

Superbike Race 1 Results

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

Race 1 was tame. Gagne did his disappearing act, running 1 second faster than the competition for the first 4-5 laps, then managing the gap to the end. Scholtz had electronics and setup problems. He went backwards, and didn't factor, finishing a distant 5th place, barely finishing ahead of Barbera. Escalante had an excellent 4th place. The sole source of entertainment at the front was Cam Peterson vs Danilo Petrucci in the battle for second and third. Danilo was on a visually stunning chrome-version of the Panigale, and he followed Cam nearly the entire race. On the final lap Danilo launched a crazy dive bomb at the corkscrew. It knocked Cam slightly wide as they flicked right down the hill. Peterson kept it upright and stayed in front of Petrucci for 2nd place.


Supersport Race 1 Results

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntOw3ID-z3A

Josh Herrin took first place comfortably. He led basically from flag to flag, riding his chrome Panigale V2 flawlessly in the California sunshine. Ty Scott finished second, doing an awesome job of keeping Herrin honest for the first 10 laps. Herrin let Scott by at the corkscrew on Lap 11 before passing him back on the main straight, and then toying with him the rest of the way, and then taunting him at the finish line (typical Herrin). It was an interesting battle to watch a veteran and supersport specialist battle a 16-year-old newcomer. Rocco Landers finished third in the usual way, losing 3-4 positions at the start and then fighting back to the podium. Landers is the Vinales of MotoAmerica. Kevin Olmedo finished 4th, just behind Landers. Ben Smith notched his 3rd top-5 of the season by finishing 5th.


Twins Cup Race Results

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNTWsJWNO8E

Twins Cup race was a barn-burner, with 7-8 guys battling for the win. It was spoiled when Hayden Schultz, who was running in third place, launched himself over the highside, which let Cory Ventura and Blake Davis open a 1.5 second gap. Despite the two Yamaha R7-runner breaking away, reigning champ, Kaleb deKeyrel, wringed the neck of his Aprilia and caught the leaders. The three of them chopped and changed the entire way before they ran out of laps. Cory Ventura finished first with the likeable aww-shucks 15-year-old, Blake Davis, tucked under his tail section. DeKeyrel was just a couple tenths back in 3rd place. Ben Gloddy finished 4th, and James Rispoli in 5th place. Anthony Mazziotto finished a disappointing 6th place, he was perhaps the biggest loser when Hayden Schultz highsided. Ari Henning finished an excellent 13th for the Yoshimura experimental Yoshimura R7 project.

Jody Berry did not score 0_0 and his seemingly insurmountable championship lead has evaporated.

Superbike Race 2 Results

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=877mGAEbqb0

Race 2 results were similar to Race 1. Gagne cleared off at the front. This time, Petrucci tried to go with him, but every little bobble and offline moment by the Duacti-rider was exploited by Gagne as he slowly pulled away over the first half of the race, and then managed the gap. Cam Peterson had a good ride in 3rd, though his gremlins continued to haunt him. He is excellent at chasing people down, but by his own admission he struggles to get by and exploit his pace. Race 2 was the same. He caught Petrucci with 5 to go, but had nothing for Danilo, who put on a masterclass of defensive riding over the final 5 laps. Richie Escalante had another excellent 4th, and showed off some awesome bike control at the top of the corkscrew. Hector Barbera finished in a lonely 5th place because Mathew Scholtz scored a DNF after a mechanical caused a runoff and tipover or maybe he just went off on his own. Unclear, and I haven't read the race reports.

Ride of the race goes to David Anthony, imo. He made a mistake that sent him out of the points, but somehow managed to finish 10th after clawing back about 20 seconds of lost time. Not bad for an older guy who runs his own team.


Supersport Race 2 Results

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiQPbI6FRpk

The Supersport Race 2 results look roughly the same as Race 1, but the results don't tell the full story. Unlike Race 1, the second race was quite dramatic. Herrin got in front early, and nearly led the entire race, but there was carnage happening just behind him the entire race. Rocco Landers actually managed to get a good start, and stayed at the front, nearly the entire way before he was caught by Ben Smith and Tyler Scott. Tyler finished in 2nd and Rocco in 3rd, after Ben Smith DNF-ed on the final lap and Rocco caught lap traffic. Landers was visually animated after the race, and gave an (overly) emotional podium interview complaining about lap traffic. Wasn't a great look, but he's under a lot of pressure, and finally got a good start, only to finish 3rd again. Kevin Olmedo finished 4th. Ride of the day went to Cory Ventura in 5th place. He struggled in Supersport Race 1. Then he won the Twins Cup race, and he used his confidence to stay at the front of the race, even briefly (very briefly) passing Herrin for the lead in turn 11. Unfortunately, he lost touch with the front runners, and since he is not a regular supersport rider, he didn't have a natural feel for the lines, and he started to drift backward a bit. Still an awesome weekend for him, and he can be proud of finishing in 5th for the injured Sam Lochoff.

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