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/1522712
ROUND 4 / JUNE 14-16, 2024 BRAINERD INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY ROAD RACE I MOTOAMERICA/FIM NORTH AMERICAN ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP P86 Vision Wheel M4 Ecstar Suzuki's Tyler Scott grabbed pole position, 0.21 of a second ahead of Scholtz, but crashed out of race one while lying fourth. He would rebound on day two to take fourth after an intense three-way battle with third-placed Corey Alexander (Rahal Ducati Moto with Roller Die + Form- ing) and fifth-placed Teagg Hobbs. Hobbs enjoyed his best round of the season on the second Vi- sion Wheel M4 Ecstar Suzuki, his fifth place in race two comple- menting his podium in third place in race one. The series points are already distilled into a two-horse race, with Jacobsen still holding has plenty of fight in it. A couple of weeks after the closest finish in the his- tory of the AMA/MotoAmerica Supersport Championship at Road America, Scholtz was in a league of his own by taking a huge 8.4-second win in race one, backing that down slightly for a 4.4-second win in race two, both times ahead of Rahal Ducati Moto with Xpel's champi - onship leader PJ Jacobsen. "Today, if I tried to push more, I was running wide, missing the corners, tucking the front," Scholtz said. "So, I just have to go back and look at the data and figure out what I was doing differently. Definitely the first couple laps, I thought that I would be gapping them, and PJ kept me honest. He definitely picked it up. I know that he's coming. It's good to see Corey [Alexander] up here, one of the two taller guys. So, that's cool. Overall, happy to be taking the double." Yamaha Racing machine. That ensured the title lead slipped from his grasp, and Gagne now trails Fong by eight points head - ing into round five at The Ridge in two weeks' time. The usual suspects, JD Beach (Tytlers Cycle BMW) and Brandon Paasch (Vision Wheel M4 Ecstar Suzuki), battled it out for top 10 honors. The ever-improving Paasch took sixth and fifth in race two, and Beach carded seventh in race one and sixth in race two. Behind them, Australian Troy Herfoss added to his growing list of bikes he's raced in 2024 by fill - ing in for Cameron Beaubier on the second Tytlers Cycle BMW. The man who currently leads the Mission King of The Baggers title on the factory Indian Challenger and sits sixth in the Australian Superbike Championship on the DesmoSport Ducati Panigale V4 R was thrown in the deep end big time at Brainerd, with no testing and no prior circuit knowledge. He acquitted himself well to the task, qualifying ninth and taking ninth in race one and eighth in race two. The championship is now wide open as the Steel Com - mander Superbikes reach the halfway point of the season, with Fong leading on 138 points. Gagne drops to second on 130, with Herrin third on 119. SUPERSPORT Much like Fong in Superbike, Mathew Scholtz (Strack Rac- ing Yamaha) was all business at Brainerd with two dominant wins, showing the next-gen rid - ers the old Yamaha YZF-R6 still (Above) History was made in race one of the Junior Cup with Avery (left) and Ella Dreher (right) being the first brother and sister on a MotoAmerica podium behind race- one winner Matthew Chapin (center). (Right) Hayden Gillim put the number-one Harley-Davidson in P1 in all three Mission King of The Baggers events. Troy Herfoss (17) still leads the points heading to Laguna Seca.