What The Teams Said: Ridge Motorsports Park

Hector Barbera rode his Tytlers Cycle BMW to a pair of fifths at Ridge Motorsports Park this past weekend.

The following is from Tytlers Cycle…

With temperatures soaring, the Tytlers Cycle Racing team were once again at the sharp end in the latest round of the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike championship. 

Fresh from their podium successes at Road America, riders Hector Barbera and PJ Jacobsen were full of confidence as the series moved towards its mid-point with the ninth and tenth races of the year. 

A strong qualifying for Hector saw him qualify on the second row, although a penalty for a rider ahead would see him promoted to the front row for Saturday’s opening race. From lights out the Spaniard gave his all, making changes to his BMW 1000 RR when the race was red flagged. At the restart, his pace was strong with Barbera crossing the line a fraction behind the fourth placed finisher. He finished fifth. Sunday’s second race brought a similar result. Setting off from row two he was soon lapping faster than in Race 1, coming out on top am intense battle for P5. 

PJ Jacobsen was racing at the 2.47-mile Ridge Motorsports Park for the very first time in what is his return to racing and whilst learning the track posed no real problem, the #66 struggled to find the optimum feeling. A spill in Race 1 added to the frustration. A determined Jacobsen dug deep on Sunday and whilst still not 100% comfortable was able to secure a top ten finish, with ninth, at the flag. 

Stock1000 title contenders Corey Alexander and Travis Wyman were also in action in the Superbike class. The pair finished seventh and eleventh respectively on Saturday, whilst Corey also secured an eighth placed finish on Sunday. 

Hector Barbera: “Race 1 was not the easiest. I expected to fight for the podium, but the track conditions were so different to this morning and with the start/stop because of the red flag we made changes and I lost a little bit confidence. The gap to the front wasn’t too bad and P5 is not so bad. The second race was much more normal as we didn’t have a red flag. I started well but lost some feeling with the rear tyre which started to spin. We are making progress, but we still need to keep working to be in the podium fight more regularly. I am not happy with another fifth position, but I am happy when I see we are getting faster. I am super motivated and looking forward to being at the front at Laguna.”

PJ Jacobsen: “The whole weekend was tough for me. I had to learn the track as it was new to me and then in the races I struggled. In Race 1 I don’t know whether it was tyre or suspension, but I didn’t have a good feeling with the front of the bike and unfortunately, I went down. Race 2 wasn’t much better. I had no confidence and it’s not what me or the team expected in terms of results. That said, we will regroup and go again at Laguna.”

The following is from Tytlers Cycle/RideHVMC Racing…

The Tytlers Cycle Ride HVMC squad continued their run of form in the 2022 MotoAmerica Stock1000 championship – the latest round of the series at The Ridge in Washington state seeing Corey Alexander romp to a double victory after smashing the lap record to claim Pole Position during qualifying. 

The winner of both races a year ago, the 2.47-mile circuit holds fond memories for Alexander who looked unbeatable as the weekend got underway on Friday. 

Saturday’s opening race was a stop start affair with a series of red flags shortening the race. Despite the stoppages, Alexander withheld the pressure in the early stages to secure the win by a convincing margin with Travis Wyman narrowly missing the podium in fourth. 

Sunday also saw a mid-race stoppage with the grid lining up for an even shorter five lap sprint for glory that saw the #23 under real pressure until the chequered flag. Initially controlling the pace out front, Alexander dropped to second with less than half a lap to go before resuming his position at the head of the pack to make it four wins on the bounce at the undulating and physically demanding circuit close to Seattle. The win saw Corey retake the lead in the championship as team mate Wyman kept his title hopes alive with a spirited ride to P2. 

Zac Schumacher, the team’s third rider was also a double points finisher. The #90 brought his BMW M1000 R home fifteenth in both races. 

All three riders head into the second half of the season which kicks off at Laguna Seca in two weeks. 

Corey Alexander: “I am happy with the results on Saturday after setting a new lap record in Q2 and backing it up with the win in Race 1. It was a big points day with our nearest rival finishing behind us and it really set us up well for the rest of the weekend, especially with another top eight in the opening Superbike race. Sunday was another amazing day. It was a much tighter battle on track than on Saturday which makes it much more exciting for the fans and a little more satisfying when you come out on top in a last lap scrap. To take both wins was amazing for us and I hope to keep the momentum going into the next one at Laguna and for the rest of the season.”

Travis Wyman: “I was running third in the early stages of Saturday’s opening race, but I started to struggle with front end grip and settled for fourth. I got a good jump at the restart and fought my way through from fourth to second. I tried to close the gap on Corey, but I was just left with too much to do. I am happy that the team was able to secure another 1-2 finish and I am now focused on Laguna where I have had good results in the past.”

Zac Schumacher: “A crash on Friday I still felt a bit rough when the lights went out on Saturday but after starting nineteenth, I was able to work my way into the points. I could have made it to P14, but I ran out of time. I made a good start in the first part of Race 2 and was battling hard with a couple of guys before the red flag came out. I got another decent launch at the restart and found myself battling for thirteenth position but on the last lap I made a mistake on the lap so settled for P15. I want to thank all my guys for putting the bike back together after the crash on Friday and I’m really looking forward to Laguna.”

The following is from Westby Racing…

Mathew Scholtz, rider of the #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, followed up his fourth-place finish in Saturday’s MotoAmerica Superbike race one with another fourth-place result in Sunday’s race two.

Finishing just off the podium in both races would be considered a pretty good weekend for most MotoAmerica Superbike teams, but it was cold comfort for Mathew and Westby Racing. They came into the weekend in second place and just 10 points behind the championship leader, but they leave the Pacific Northwest in third place and now 17 points behind the championship leader.

For whatever reason, Ridge Motorsports Park has always been a tough track for Mathew. In the three years that MotoAmerica has been going there, he’s finished second once, fourth a total of four times, and fifth once. All top-five results, but for a rider and team of Mathew’s and Westby Racing’s caliber, Ridge has been an annual challenge.

On Sunday, Mathew got a good jump off the line from fifth position, in the middle of the second row, and he overtook Hector Barbera and slotted into fourth behind Danilo Petrucci in short fashion. As the laps wound down, Mathew’s race pace closed the gap on the frontrunners, but there just weren’t enough laps left for him to improve his position.

“Another fourth place obviously wasn’t what we were looking for,” Mathew lamented. “But Ridge has always been the worst track for us as a team and for me as a rider. Yesterday’s race, we got fourth, but we weren’t even close. Today, we were fourth again, but we improved our race pace by almost a second every lap. We managed to close in on the battle for second in the latter half of the race. Overall, I think you could call it a positive day, but two fourths are not what we want or need. We most certainly have the package to be battling up front. If you had told me at the beginning of the season that, at Ridge, we would get two fourths, I would have taken it. But, considering how well everything has gone so far this year, it’s obviously a disappointment. We’ve got Vitto (Bolognesi) as our data person now, and this is our first race weekend with him, so we need to give him time to figure things out. Overall, it puts us in a really good spot for the rest of the season. The tracks we go to for the second half of the season really suit me, so I’m looking forward to those. Thank you to my Westby Racing team for working hard this weekend, and let’s get ready for Laguna.”

The Westby Racing team will be back in action for round six of the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, which takes place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, on July 8 through 10.

The following is from Ducati…

Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC) completed a near perfect weekend at the undulating 2.5-mile venue of The Ridge in Washington State, sweeping both races for the second time this year on the Ducati Panigale V2.

Herrin’s first race saw the Californian resident wrestle the lead on lap three from Suzuki’s Tyler Scott, easing away to a comfortable 2.5-second win over Yamaha’s Rocco Landers and Suzuki’s Sam Lochoff.

If that wasn’t enough, Herrin came back for seconds in the sweltering heat on Sunday by blasting the field to record a crushing 6.3-second victory over Scott and Yamaha’s Kevin Olmedo. Herrin at times looked like he was just out for a Sunday cruise, and his wins gave him a perfect 50 points to increase his lead at the top of the standings to a massive 69 points heading into the next round at Laguna Seca on July 8-10.

Josh Herrin (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC): “Two wins this weekend, so I’m super happy with how everything went,” Herrin said. “We had a feeling that the Ducati Panigale V2 would work well around this track, and we were right—it has been near perfect all weekend. Our race pace was fast, and we could get a gap in both races and pull away. This is something that hasn’t happened many times in my career, so I was happy to stay consistent and make the most of it. The team worked hard all weekend, so thanks to them and thank you also to Ducati for making this Panigale V2 such a fun bike to ride.”

The following is from Ducati…

Despite several setbacks in the boiling heat of Washington State, Danilo Petrucci showed his mettle by staying on top of the points standings for the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship after taking a third and second place finishes.

On the Italian’s first visit to the undulating 2.5-mile circuit nestled between the pine trees of Shelton, Washington, Petrucci’s third place in race one came after two red flag disruptions. Given Petrucci suffered a technical issue on Friday which curtailed much of his riding for the day, he and the team were happy with the race one result and went into Sunday’s race two determined to close the gap to the factory Yamahas.

A race-long battle with Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen ensued, Petrucci eventually getting the better of the South African to take second place.

With a week off before the next round at Laguna Seca on July 8-10, Petrucci will take rest and come back strong, determined to build on his now 11-point championship lead over Gagne.

Danilo Petrucci (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati NYC – Ducati #9): “It has been a tough weekend,” Petrucci said. “I am happy I am still leading the championship but for sure, we need to focus because now we start from zero (at Laguna Seca) as we are more or less the same points as Jake, who is riding very well. It’s a long time ago that I last won a race in Road Atlanta, and we need to recover that speed so we can continue to fight for the championship.”

The following is from Suzuki…

Suzuki Motor USA and Team Hammer closed out the Ridge Motorsports Park weekend of the 2022 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing season by adding another podium to its season tally.

While it was Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sam Lochoff who did the honors on Saturday, 16-year-old Tyler Scott took his turn in the spotlight in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Supersport contest.

Scott leaped to an early lead aboard his Suzuki GSX-R750 before settling into a race-long defense of second position. Despite facing heavy pressure on his rear wheel throughout the race, Scott kept his head and protected his racing line like a crafty veteran.

Demonstrating racecraft beyond his years, Scott managed to keep his rival corralled behind him to the checkered flag. The runner-up result was the rising star’s fourth podium finish of his rookie Supersport season.

Scott said, “All weekend we’ve been challenged with some handling issues, but we finally figured it out on the last day and made it count for the podium. I knew I had an aggressive rider on my back wheel. If I gave him an opportunity, he would have put a pass in there. The last five laps, I just put my head down and tried to keep 100% the best pace I could go.”

Unfortunately, the day wasn’t nearly so kind to Lochoff. The South African, already suffering from a painful broken ankle, crashed while running in fifth early. He remounted and returned to the pits for a quick check and adjustment before returning to the fray. Lochoff was awarded a championship point for his gritty effort with a 15th-place result.

“I felt strong on Friday and was going well on Saturday until I had the crash. Thankfully, my body was okay and the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team worked hard to get me back in the race and we were able to get tenth. The race on Sunday felt great; I was in a competitive fight for position throughout, and I feel like we made a lot of progress. I know the areas where I need to improve and I am looking forward to Laguna Seca.”

With Jake Lewis unable to ride after suffering a broken thumb, bruised hip, and banged up elbow in Saturday’s fall, Team Hammer test rider David Anthony filled in as a substitute. The Australian proceeded to put forth a steady effort to collect a tenth-place finish for the team.

Team Hammer will next head to Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California on July 8-10.

The following is from Robem Engineering…

The MotoAmerica round at The Ridge Motorsports Park didn’t prove to be the big points-paying weekend Robem Engineering riders Teagg Hobbs and Ben Gloddy had been hoping for. Yet, the pair of New Hampshirites put a downer Race 1 at the June 24-26 event behind them to end the weekend with a pair of top 10 finishes in Race 2.

Hobbs started the weekend at less than 100 percent, as he is still dealing with the broken collarbone he suffered at the Road America at the beginning of June. Gloddy, who is in his first year competing in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup, was near the front of the field in Saturday’s contest before having his race soured by a bike problem.

Both riders were a little off the front-running pace to start the weekend. Gloddy was the faster of the two riders in Friday practice, finishing the session in sixth. Hobbs finished practice in eighth and was less than half a second off Gloddy’s pace. Both riders dropped more than second off their best lap times in Friday afternoon’s Qualifying 1, with Hobbs wrapping up the session seventh fastest and Gloddy eighth fastest. Qualifying concluded Saturday morning with Gloddy having secured fifth place on the Twins Cup starting grid. Hobbs qualified in ninth.

Later Saturday, Gloddy got a great start in the Twins Cup race and was right behind the leader at the first set of corners. He finished the first lap in second place, while he teammate Hobbs slipped down the running order to 11th place on the first lap. Gloddy held onto second place on Laps 2-4, though he slid back to third on Lap 5 and fourth on Laps 6 and 7. On Lap 7, Gloddy’s motorcycle unfortunately endured a mechanical failure that caused him to run off track and crash at Turn 6. Hobbs’ had moved into the top 10 for Laps 2 and 3 before he his race ended with a crash on Lap 4.

In Sunday’s Race 2, both riders got good starts and Gloddy and Hobbs finished the first lap in seventh and tenth place respectively. Hobbs fell as far back as 11th on Laps 2 and 3 before working his way up the running order to a seventh-place finish. Gloddy moved up from seventh to sixth on Lap 4 but wasn’t able to make any additional progress and had to settle for a sixth-place finish.

Gloddy and Hobbs will have a chance to bounce back to their usual frontrunning form in two weeks time at the next MotoAmerica round, which is scheduled for July 8-10 at the popular WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Ben Gloddy / No. 72
“Overall, I had a good weekend at The Ridge. I felt really good in practice and qualifying. In Race 1, I got a really good start and me and another rider pulled a small gap in the first couple laps. Then my pace started to drop off. And then my bike had a mechanical failure that put me on the ground – which unfortunately ended my race. I didn’t get as good a start in Race 2 but was able to run with the leaders for a little bit. But the pain in my shoulder started to get worse and I wasn’t able to keep up with them.”

Teagg Hobbs / No. 79
“I was very happy to be able to ride so soon after my injury. The weekend didn’t go as smooth as we had hoped but we made steady progress. I am very excited to take a few weeks of rest before the next round at Laguna Seca. The team worked around the clock this weekend, and I can’t thank them enough for their amazing effort at The Ridge.”

Robem Engineering’s technical partners for 2022 include Aprilia Racing, Piaggio Group Americas, The Center for Plastic Surgery, Synchrony, Velocity Calibrations, Bitubo Suspension, Dunlop, Woodcraft Technologies, Dymag, Vesrah, Sprint Filter, DID, Magura USA, Sara Chappell Photos, NGK/NTK, Blud Lubricants, Millennium Technologies, Motovation USA and SC-Project.

The following is from Pure Attitude Racing…

Pure Attitude Racing raced into the Top Ten of the 2022 MotoAmerica Twins Cup championship, and the Top 6 of the Junior Cup series at The Ridge Motorsports Park this weekend.

With temperatures skyrocketing the youngest member of the team, Chase Black, improved in final qualifying to secure a second-row grid slot in the Junior Cup category before putting himself in the leading group when the lights went out in Saturday’s opening race. Unfortunately, a crash put him out of contention. Buoyed but his pace on Saturday, Black was able to improve further on Sunday, running confidently throughout to take a well-deserved P6 aboard his Kawasaki at the flag, at the end of Race 2.

Twins Cup riders Liam MacDonald and Trevor Standish both made another significant step towards the front aboard their Yamaha R7 machines, the pair running much closer to the leaders during their first race on Saturday. A red flag following an engine blow up cut short the race and what should have been a double top ten for the duo. Trevor fell victim to oil on the track, along with a number of riders – a bitter blow for the #16 who was looking to build on season’s best to date. Liam MacDonald was able to avoid the carnage, crossing the line in ninth to record the team’s best result of the year, a feat he replicated on Sunday. Despite the best efforts of the team, Trevor was unable to take part in Sunday’s race.

Chase Black: “Overall it was good first race. I was running with the front group and could see the podium fight just ahead. I was pushing hard and was trying to get ahead of the guys around me but unfortunately, I hit the bumps and went down. It’s frustrating as I had podium pace. It was a solid second race. I didn’t make the best of starts but I dug deep and ran top six the entire race. We had a small issue towards the end of the race but after the crash on Saturday it’s a confidence building top six ahead of the next race in California.”

Liam MacDonald: “I am so happy with how this weekend has gone. Finally, things came together, and I was able to bring it home for the team inside the top ten not once but twice. All season we have pushed and worked hard to close the gap to the leaders and whilst we still have a lot to do, this result means so much to me. It was so hot out there on both days, but Sunday was insane, and my times were a little slower than the day before. The next race is at Laguna Seca, a track that I really enjoy, and I am keen to keep this momentum going there. A big thanks to the whole Pure Attitude Racing crew – this is just the beginning.”

Trevor Standish: “We were having a really solid race until through no fault of my own I crashed. We made several changes and really started to go in the right direction. I made a decent start and was not too far behind my team mate when the lights went out. The nature of the class means that everyone is pushing for that little bit extra and one of our rivals blew up, dumping oil that claimed me and several others. It would have been nice to finish tenth which is where I was running when I went down but it is what it is. The team did an excellent job fixing the bike but unfortunately, I was unable to race on Sunday after I was sidelined with a recurring issue that I thought we had fixed before Saturday’s crash. I am disappointed to leave The Ridge with no points but that’s racing, and I am going to Laguna looking to build some momentum for the second half of the season.”

The following is from Luke Power Racing…

Aussie teenager Luke Power bounced back from a high-speed crash whilst in contention for another MotoAmerica Supersport podium at The Ridge Motorsports Park on Saturday, to secure a fifth-place finish on Sunday.

Luke, fresh from a maiden podium at Road America earlier in the month once again learned the 2.47mile circuit quickly in the opening session of the weekend before a small technical issue limited his running ahead of Race 1. Nevertheless the #68 put his 3D Motorsports Suzuki on the third row of the grid.

A rapid start soon saw him in contention for the podium in the opening laps on Saturday, before a small mistake saw him crash at speed, thankfully without injury.

A late night for the team, who rebuilt the bike for Sunday, were rewarded with a spirited ride to P5, a result that consolidates Luke’s position in the championship ahead of the next round of the series which takes place at the iconic Laguna Seca circuit in a fortnight.

Luke Power: “It was a pretty disappointing Saturday, and I don’t really know what to say. We had an electronics issue which meant I couldn’t complete the full session in Q2. We made a change for the race, and I made a good start and felt really good and had good pace. I made a mistake downshifting and it bit me. The bike was a mess, and I was pretty banged up and I wasn’t sure I’d be on the grid on Sunday. Race 2 was pretty good considering what happened on Saturday. The team did a great job, working until 2am to give me a bike after I sent it into the trees, so I can’t thank them enough. I struggled a lot as the race progressed. My tyre dropped which affected my lap times in the final part of the race, but I was fortunate to be able to take advantage of a mistake ahead of me and was able to take another Top 5. It was damage limitation, and it could have been a lot worse. I am already looking forward to Laguna Seca, a track that I have always wanted to ride, and I hope to be able to put on a good show for the fans.”

The following is from Levi Badie Racing…

Levi Badie leaves The Ridge Motorsport Park with a double top top finish in the latest round of the MotoAmerica Junior Cup Championship, the Belgian teenager once again riding strongly at another new circuit.

Running a strong second on Friday, Levi chased a better set-up all weekend, but with temperatures close to triple figures he was unable, when the lights went out, to improve over his qualifying position.

P7 and P9 this weekend see Levi move to within one point of the top ten in the overall standings, a more than respectable position for the #71 in his debut season of MotoAmerica competition, especially when you consider three events when he was unable to finish.

The series moves to the undulating Laguna Seca circuit in California in a fortnight, a circuit that should suit Levi, and one that he is excited to race at given its iconic status.

Levi Badie: “I made a decent start in Saturday’s race, but the bike was sliding everywhere. I had no confidence and just did what I could not to crash. The bike was better in Race 2, but I still didn’t have the feeling I had had in previous rounds. I did the best I could and whilst I am disappointed not to be higher in the results, I am taking the positives and looking ahead to Laguna Seca.”

The post What The Teams Said: Ridge Motorsports Park appeared first on MotoAmerica.