DARK HORSES
FEATURE I 2 0 2 2 M O T O A M E R I C A S U P E R B I K E C H A M P I O N S H I P P R E V I E W
P78
#85 JAKE LEWIS
VISION WHEEL M4 ECSTAR SUZUKI
Two years ago, Jake Lewis was facing
the fact his racing career was over.
The Kentuckian was out of a ride with
no real prospects on the horizon,
and the man many touted as a future
MotoAmerica Superbike Champion in
his Yoshimura Suzuki days looked set to
be just another rider that couldn't fulfill
his promise.
But to write Lewis off is to discount
his determination to make a career as a
racer. After a couple of sub-in rides in
MotoAmerica Superbike in 2020, a call
from Altus Motorsports rejuvenated his
career. Lewis hit the grind, shedding
the ex-racer weight and getting himself
primed for battle in the Stock 1000
class. He smashed all before him in
2021, taking that and the Superbike
Cup title for Stock 1000 motorcycles
in the Superbike class. And now he's
back in Superbike, and on one of the
best bikes on the grid to boot. Don't
discount the veteran pulling a few race
wins out of his hat in 2022.
#80 HECTOR BARBERA
TYTLERS CYCLE RACING
Another MotoGP refugee and former
250cc and 125cc Grand Prix race
winner, Hector Barbera is back for
a second season of MotoAmerica
Superbike after completing his rookie
year with the Scheibe Racing team on
an older model BMW S 1000 RR.
The new outfit will be far better
prepared to mount a serious assault in 2022, with Barbera
and teammate PJ Jacobsen riding brand new Alpha
Racing-spec BMW M 1000 RR machines. Barbera's
career has seen him race everything from MotoGP to BSB
to WorldSBK and now MotoAmerica, and with a year's
knowledge under his belt, will be looking to make the step
to a consistent MotoAmerica front-runner in 2022.
