STEAM CORNERS, Ohio — The championship points payout between first and second in the MotoAmerica Championship is five. The difference between Josh Herrin and Bobby Fong in the 2025 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship is five points. Bring on Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Herrin will arrive at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this week leading Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Bobby Fong by five points. At this point in the season, that’s basically nothing.
Herrin got himself in this position with a crash on the second lap of the second race at Virginia International Raceway two weeks ago. It was the first mistake he had made since his crash at the Barber Motorsports Park round over a year ago, but this one changed everything.
Going into race two at VIR, Herrin was coming off a third-place finish in race one behind race-winner Fong and Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier. When the points were tallied after Saturday’s race, Herrin led Beaubier by 27 points and Fong by 28.
What a difference a day makes.
With Fong racing off to his fourth win in a row while Herrin managed to score just two points with a 14th-place finish, the points lead was for all intents and purposes… gone. And Herrin also tossed a bone to Beaubier, who, with his close fourth-place finish, is now only 16 points behind Herrin and 11 behind Fong.
The winning in the Superbike class this year goes in streaks. Herrin won five in a row from race one at Road America to race one at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Currently, Fong is the man with the hot hand as he has won four in a row and will be going for five in a row this weekend at Mid-Ohio.
Beaubier, meanwhile, is still hunting his 90th career AMA road race victory – a mark that will make him the winningest rider in AMA road racing history. Beaubier won two Superbike races in a row way back in May at Road Atlanta but is winless ever since. However, with five MotoAmerica Superbike Championships in his pocket, Beaubier isn’t a racer you should give too many free passes to. Herrin’s crash has brought Beaubier right back into this title fight.
Fong’s teammate Jake Gagne is technically still in the conversation. He trails Herrin by 55 points and desperately needs some victories. The problem remains Gagne’s effort to get the strength back in his arms, but his battles of late show that things are improving.
Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante is coming off a dramatic third-place finish in race two at VIR in what was arguably his best Superbike ride to date. He narrowly missed out on second place to his teammate Sean Dylan Kelly, with the Floridian turning around what has been a horrible case of bad luck. Kelly’s fourth -and second-place finishes vaulted him to sixth in the title chase, but the two Suzuki men are too far behind to make any sort of title challenge. The duo can certainly mix things up, however.
Real Steel Honda’s JD Beach is one point behind Kelly in the Superbike Championship, but more important to his pocketbook is the 66 points he holds over Jason Waters in the battle for the MotoAmerica Superbike Cup, which pays $25,000 to the rider who finishes the highest on their Stock 1000-spec motorcycle.
Beach’s teammate Hayden Gillim, BPR Racing Yamaha’s Bryce Kornbau, and Aftercare Scheibe Racing’s Danilo Lewis round out the top 10.
