Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1014374
ROAD RACE ROUND 7 / AUGUST 10-12, 2018 SONOMA RACEWAY / SONOMA, CALIFORNIA P86 MOTOAMERICA ROAD RACING CHAMPIONSHIP DAVE ANTHONY RACES DAVE ANTHONY Australian Dave Anthony experi- enced something of a novelty at Sonoma Raceway, filling in for the absent Bobby Fong on the Quick- silver/Latus/Hudson Motorcycles Yamaha YZF-R1. Anthony was thus competing against his own team— ADR Fly Street Racing—until he wasn't. Fill-in rider, fellow Austra- lian and ASBK regular Alex Phillis was unable to make the start after a series of mechanical issues saw him pull out of the weekend prior to Saturday's race one. WHO WILL GET THE DREAM RIDE? The retirement of Roger Hayden at the end of the 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship means there's one of the most prized seats in racing up for grabs in the Yoshimura Suzuki team. Depend- ing on who you talk to, riders from the MotoAmerica, WorldSBK and MotoGP paddock have all been in touch. Current factory MotoGP riders Scott Redding and Bradley Smith have been rumored as pos- sible candidates, however, the word is the place will be filled by a rider already in the MotoAmerica pad- dock. Of those, current Supersport title leader JD Beach is a strong possibility, as are South African Mathew Scholtz and M4 Suzuki's Jake Lewis. There was also buzz in the media center that Hawk Hayes, Josh Hayes' son, would be in line for the ride. However, as he's under one year old, would likely find it difficult to obtain the required race license by MotoAmerica. FONG BACK FOR HONDA Bobby Fong's unhappy divorce from the Quicksilver/Latus/Hud- son Motorcycles Yamaha Team in Utah has seen him land well and truly on his feet, with news he will replace Jayson Uribe on the second Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda CBR1000RR SP2 from the Pittsburg round onwards. "The Honda has seemed to make a lot of progress this season so I'm pretty excited to get on the bike and see what I can do," Fong said. "This is a new challenge for me as the Honda is completely unknown to me, so that gives me a lot of mo- tivation to learn the bike and finish this season strong." ALEX PHILLIS BACK IN THE PADDOCK Australian journeyman Alex Phillis, son of former Kawasaki WorldSBK legend Robbie, was back in the MotoAmerica pad- dock in a one-off ride for the ADR Fly Street team run by compatriot Dave Anthony. It was an unhappy time for the current Australian Superbike contender, however, with mechanical gremlins on his Kawasaki ZX-10R forcing him out of the weekend before race one. Still, the Victorian remained upbeat in the hopes of landing a full time ride here for next year. "I've been here before (he raced an MV Agusta in Supersport last season) and it's a great paddock to be a part of," Phillis said. "If there's a way to do a full year here I'd love to make it happen." Briefly... Garrett Gerloff (31) and Mathew Scholtz (11) hard at it in race two. Gerloff would hold on for fourth place.