Saturday
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin won the second AMA Superbike Championship of his career on Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park, and he did so with the flair of a champion. Simply put, he won when he didn’t need to.
Herrin worked his way forward after crossing the line in fifth place on the opening lap and most expected him to stay there. After all, it would have been the easy way to wrap up the title But it wasn’t Herrin’s way. He kept pushing: Fourth on lap six, third on lap seven, second on lap nine and the lead on lap 11. But he was being hounded by Wrench Motorcycle’s Bobby Fong, who made a move on Herrin to take the lead for the first time on lap 15 of 20. Okay, so now Herrin would chill and take the title with a second-place finish.
Or not.
Herrin re-passed a feisty Fong with two laps to go and rode to a .403 of a second victory – his sixth of the year and the 16th AMA Superbike win of his career. And, more importantly, it resulted in his second Superbike title – 11 years after his first. The championship also ended a winless drought for Ducati that goes back 30 years to when Australian Troy Corser won the title on a Fast By Ferracci Ducati in 1994.
Fong held on for second, .190 of a second ahead of Herrin’s teammate and wingman Loris Baz, with the Frenchman earning his third podium of the season after leading seven laps of the race.
Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier ran in the lead foursome but ultimately had to settle for fourth as he suffered with a lack of corner-entry grip. He crossed the line 1.7 seconds behind race-winner Herrin.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante emerged from a five-rider battle to finish fifth, 1.8 seconds ahead of Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen.
EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly was seventh, hot on Petersen’s rear wheel and just .104 of a second behind the South African. Kelly, meanwhile, was just a fraction of a second ahead of Petersen’s fill-in teammate Xavi Forés, who in turn was just a tick over half a second ahead of FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith in his best ride of the season.
Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10.
Notable non-finishers were Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach with both riders crashing out in separate incidents.
With just Sunday’s race two left in the season, Herrin has an insurmountable points lead of 58 over Beaubier, 325-267. Fong is third with Kelly fourth and Baz fifth. Kelly leads Baz by just nine points, and Baz leads Petersen by just three points.
In the Superbike Cup, Danilo Lewis’ crash cost him the championship points lead with Yates now leading the Brazilian by 15 points going into tomorrow’s finale and the battle for the $25,000 winner’s check.
Superbike Race 1
Josh Herrin – Winner
“At the beginning, it was getting hectic. Everybody was all over the place. I was just trying to be relaxed and calm, like I talked about. Like (Cameron) Beaubier did. Just trying to learn from that over the years and just be calm at the beginning, even when things aren’t going your way. I was able to do that today and then put my head down and start picking them away. I just felt so comfortable, and it looked like everybody else was so uncomfortable. When I was in the lead, I saw Bobby (Fong) behind me, and I just didn’t want to take any chances with him being there. So, I let him go by on the straight. I thought he was going by on the left, but he went by on the right. Then the last three laps I saw I had pace. So, I just wanted to get by with two to go and put my head down and see what I could, and we were able to get it done. I didn’t think this would ever happen. I thought I’d be finishing eighth or ninth today, for sure. I wanted to leave COTA by winning and win the championship by winning with Beaubier healthy there. I was able to do it today at a track that has never suited me on a Superbike. I believe this is my first Superbike win here when it wasn’t raining. It’s probably besides Barber the track that I have the least confidence at. So, for us to pull the win off here with the championship race is huge. To now have I think what should be a 62-point lead is crazy to me. Thank you to Loris (Baz) for honestly being the best teammate I’ve ever had, and for the team being the best team, and Joyce for always cooking us lunch and making sure that we’re taken care of, and Rachel for always taking care of crazy little Griffin whenever I’m at the races. I’m so happy that they were here to celebrate with us. Thank you to the whole Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati North America team. Ducati Corse, KYT helmets, Only Fans, Good Boy Vodka, GoPro, Alpinestars. The list goes on and on and on. Everybody that supports the team. Thank you so much. Thank you to MotoAmerica and everybody involved.”
Third Place – Loris Baz
“Well, at the beginning I was comfortable. I was trying to understand what were the grip conditions first time with the dry conditions. So, we went out, and, unfortunately, I had a bad start. I could see everyone struggling in entry a lot. Beaubier almost highsided, (Cameron) Petersen, (Xavi) Forés. I was like, ‘that’s something strange.’ I was trying to figure it out but then I wanted to be in the lead and try to not go too fast and too hard on the rear tire because I didn’t know what to expect from the tire life. That race went on quick, to be honest. Then I saw Josh (Herrin) coming by, and I was like, okay, now things change. I wanted to stay behind him and (Bobby) Fong, but Fong was really close to him. I was just trying not to think too much but at the same time thinking a lot. I could see him looking behind. I was like, ‘he’s just trying to think as much as me.’ But then four laps to the end, five laps to the end, I look behind and I never do that. I thought it was Beaubier, so I just tried. I know it’s not someone crazy that’s going to dive-bomb and make three guys crash, but I was like, let’s just try to give us a small gap to Fong so he doesn’t dive to go for Josh. The last few laps I pushed again just so I was not in a position to be attacked. I was not going to try anything crazy on Josh, to be honest. I’m so happy and so proud of him. I never thought I could be happy for a teammate winning a championship and kicking my ass like this all season, but I’m really happy and proud of him.”
Sunday
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Loris Baz became the first Frenchman to win an AMA Superbike race on Sunday at New Jersey Motorsports Park with a thrilling victory in a race that featured five riders finishing within a second of Baz and his Ducati Panigale V4 R.
In winning his first MotoAmerica Superbike race, Baz became the 68th rider in AMA Superbike history to taste victory. He was also the seventh rider to win a MotoAmerica Superbike race in 2024, with the previous high being five different winners in a season.
Second place went to EasyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly with the Floridian fighting his way through the pack to emerge as the one to give Baz the most fits in the final few laps. Kelly came up just .151 of a second short in earning his seventh podium of the season, which includes his first Superbike win a few weeks ago in Texas.
Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong earned his second podium finish of the weekend as he was hot on Kelly’s rear wheel in third place, ending up .140 of a second adrift of the BMW.
Fourth place, for the second straight day, went to Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier with the five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion just a tick over half a second behind Baz and only .127 of a second behind Fong. Right on Beaubier’s rear wheel was fifth-placed Richie Escalante on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki in what turned out to be one of the best Superbike races of the season.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin, meanwhile, wrapped up his second AMA Superbike Championship yesterday with an impressive ride to victory, but today he was playing wingman to Baz in a role reversal. Herrin followed Baz for 90 percent of the race, but suddenly there were four riders on the attack. At that point, Herrin tapped out and he cruised home to sixth place, some three seconds behind his teammate Baz.
With his win on Saturday, Herrin tied Wayne Rainey on the all-time Superbike win list for 10th with his 16th victory. He is now one victory behind Nicky Hayden for ninth on the win list.
Seventh place went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch, who was well clear of FLO4LAW Racing’s Benjamin Smith. MD Motorsport RK Racing’s Richard Kerr and Jones Honda’s Ashton Yates rounded out the top 10.
After nine rounds and 18 races, Herrin ended the season 55 points ahead of Beaubier, 335-280, with Fong finishing third and the top-ranked Yamaha rider. Just 12 points behind Fong came Superbike rookie Kelly.
Baz’s second season of MotoAmerica Superbike racing netted him fifth in the title chase, just four points behind Kelly and 28 points ahead of Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen with the South African unfortunately finishing his season with another mechanical DNF.
Superbike Race 2
Loris Baz – Winner
“The guys did a good job because since Austin I’ve been struggling a lot with my start. We had some problem with my clutch. They found some parts that were not nice after Austin, so they changed it. But yesterday I had a bad start again and had a really strange feeling going into the warmup lap, so I was scared going to the race. But I had a good start. I can manage to go first and finally able to be aggressive again like I was in ’21. That has been the biggest problem for me this year. Not being able to be aggressive and overtake guys, for many reasons in the setup. I was first, and because we didn’t have many dry sessions this year, only two and it was the two races, I didn’t know what to expect from the rear tire drop at the end. So, I knew I had Josh (Herrin) and one guy, and then they just showed me there was Josh. So, I tried to slow down the pace, not use my tire, and then I was watching Josh’s pit board and it was plus 1.5, plus 1, plus 0.5. I was like, ‘whoa, they’re coming back.’ But then I was just instead of trying to push and kill the tire, I tried to close the line. Josh showed me his wheel. I overtook him again. I think he made my life easier. I think he had something more all season than everyone, and especially today. I saw in the warmup how his bike reacted. But we did some changes. We went in this direction. We changed the lean of the bike between the warmup and the race, so big thanks to the crew for that, and I felt good. It’s cool that we worked together all year and it’s paying off, especially for the team. It’s so cool to end up like this. It’s the home race for the whole team and we’re going to celebrate at the Mount Airy Casino tonight, which is a sponsor of the team. So, it’s cool. My dad is here. It’s the first time he came to a race in America. He’s going to come every race next year. Coming back to the race, last lap I knew there were many guys behind. I could hear that it was not Josh anymore. I thought it was Cam (Beaubier). I just tried to close the line. Going into that last lap, Hayden Gillim moved yesterday going in. I was like, should I close the door, or should I just try to go in fast and see what happens? I’m just happy it worked out. Sometimes just a tiny bit that makes you a hero or zero. But I’m proud of what I did and what all the guys did in HSBK this weekend.”
Sean Dylan Kelly – Second Place
“Definitely a pretty amazing way to finish off the season. Obviously, we always want to finish off strong. I didn’t win today, but I think that was definitely one of my two strongest races of the whole season. The other one being obviously when I won. This one, I came from a ways back and both Ducatis got up really strong at the beginning. I was able to get through the pack. Obviously qualifying seventh was not ideal, so I had to make some moves, make some passes. Straight out of the gate I felt way better than yesterday. Not too much to say. Up until today, it was a very strange weekend. Obviously, it was strange for everyone with the weather, but even just how I felt on the bike, some issues we were having, some things that we were running into and some silly mistakes we were making within the team, too. Like Q1 when I qualified seventh, that was first on me and then on the team. We didn’t do the right strategy. We definitely messed some things up today, but we are a rookie rider, rookie team. I think we didn’t make as many as we thought we should have this season in general, so it’s okay to get it in. Maybe we relaxed a bit too much after a win a couple weeks ago. We got it together today. I felt amazing. I saw Cam (Beaubier) struggling a little bit, so I got by him and it seemed like he got some pace while being behind me and he got in front of me. He made fastest lap, and then he made a mistake. I got by. I learned a little bit from him that fast lap. I feel like once he did that, I just kept on repeating the lap time. I just put my head down and I was just committed to getting to these guys. Got by Josh with a few laps to go. I definitely tried it on (Loris) Baz, but it was going to be way, way too dirty. He was braking really strong. Obviously, I was also a bit toasted up from coming a couple seconds back. I’m pretty stoked for him. I didn’t realize it was his first-ever win here, so that’s pretty badass that we did it two weekends in a row. It’s a pleasure to be racing with these dudes.”
Supersport
It was a bit of a numbers game in the second-to-last race of the 2024 Supersport Championship as Strack Racing’s Mathew Scholtz came into the weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park with a 39-point lead over Rahal Ducati Moto’s PJ Jacobsen.
For Jacobsen, his mission was to win the race, which would yield him maximum points and possibly keep his title hopes alive till Sunday’s final race. N2 Racing/BobbleHeadMoto’s Blake Davis had other plans, and he was out to win the first MotoAmerica Supersport race of his young career.
With Davis starting 18th on the grid, he began a spirited march towards the front until a red flag stopped his progress. No matter, because, on the restart, the 18-year-old from Tennessee picked up right where he left off and put his Yamaha YZF-R6 in the lead.
With Jacobsen in second and not quite able to match Davis’ pace, Jacobsen’s teammate Corey Alexander took over second, relegating Jacobsen to third. Meanwhile, championship leader Scholtz was riding a controlled race and keeping himself in position to clinch the title.
At the checkered flag, it was Davis winning his first-career Supersport race with Alexander finishing as runner-up and Jacobsen completing the podium. Scholtz maintained fifth position all the way to the finish line, and that was enough for the 2017 MotoAmerica Superstock 1000 Champion to clinch his second MotoAmerica title, this time in Supersport.
“At first, when the red flag came out, I was a little disappointed,” said race winner Davis. “I just put in a lot of work. I came from 18th up to third. Once I realized I’d be starting from third and had a better shot at it, I was happy that these guys were going to be a lot closer to me and not the big gap that they had. I got one of my best starts of the season. I’ve struggled launching the R6 all year, so got up in front of Corey (Alexander). I thought I had a little bit better pace than I did after the red flag. I struggled with some rear grip, but I was able to do what I needed to do, put in some fast laps, and kind of just rode a little bit of defense on that last lap and was able to take the win.
“Tomorrow, I’m starting from 18th again. Hopefully, I’ll have even better pace than I did today and can maybe get a little bit closer to these guys, not expecting a red flag. I would like to thank N2, Yamaha, BobbleHeadMoto, KYT, Dainese, Sunstar, SBS, and everybody that helps me out. Shiloh and Chris. It’s been four years on their team, and it’s been amazing. Thank you a lot.”
For newly crowned Supersport Champion Scholtz, it was a feeling of relief.
“This race was weird for me,” Scholtz said. “I just didn’t have a good feeling from the first corner. I nearly highsided. Tipped into corner two and nearly highsided again, so I just did not have a good feeling. The first part of the race, PJ (Jacobsen) and Corey (Alexander) left me. I had nothing for them. Fifth place was probably the best I could have done today. I wasn’t riding around in fifth place because I was just chilling. I was riding as quick as I could. So, I definitely have to figure out something for tomorrow. But, overall, it’s just a big deal getting this championship. There’s been pressure the past couple of rounds and there’s been crashes and rain and red flags, and this and that. Now I’m just happy that I can go into Sunday’s race and just focus on going as quick as I can.”
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