ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — The MotoAmerica Championship makes its annual stop in Wisconsin for the highly anticipated Road America round on May 29-31.
Last year’s MotoAmerica Superbikes at Road America event was the most-attended motorcycle road racing weekend in the track’s 71-year history, and “America’s National Park of Speed” is ready to break attendance records once again.
The iconic 4.048-mile circuit will showcase the world-class talent and breathtaking performance of MotoAmerica’s Superbike riders and their machines as they reach top speeds of nearly 200 mph.
Road America is a brutal, unrelenting gauntlet of pure horsepower, heavy braking zones, and long asphalt straightaways. Success requires machines with maximum top-end speed and riders with the absolute grit to hold the throttle open until the last possible millisecond before Canada Corner. It is a track that demands mechanical muscle and a solid braking game.
The track layout throws a massive challenge directly at current championship points leader, Strack Racing Yamaha’s Mathew Scholtz. While the Yamaha YZF-R1 is known for superb handling, it lacks the raw top-end power of its rivals. To succeed, Scholtz and the other Yamaha riders must perfectly nail their corner exits and use precise drafting tactics just to stay within striking distance.
Much like Scholtz, Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing teammates JD Beach and Bobby Fong will also need to lean on their impeccable braking skills to maximize corner entry and use the Yamaha’s razor-sharp agility to nail every apex in order to be in the hunt on the long Wisconsin straights.
For others, the power-hungry layout heavily favors bikes with top-end speed like that of OrangeCat Racing BMW’s Sean Dylan Kelly. The Floridian and his BMW M 1000 RR possess the outright skill and machine speed necessary to slice through the draft and challenge for the win, and has hit the podium at least once in each of the first two Superbike rounds, showing a solid connection to his new “Beemer Screamer.”
Meanwhile, the Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law Ducati Panigale V4 R sitting underneath six-time champion Cameron Beaubier will be eager to stretch its legs at Road America. The 33-year-old Californian has the added confidence of 11 career wins at Road America, the most of any Superbike rider in history, and he is still hunting for his first double-podium of the season.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki riders Richie Escalante and Brandon Paasch bring their high-revving Suzuki GSX-R1000Rs into the Badger State. Both riders look to use the shrieking inline-four cylinder to their advantage on the long straights and claw closer to the leading pack.
Early season top-five contenders are looking to improve their consistency in Wisconsin and finish in the points for both races. This group includes Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R, OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe on his BMW M 1000 RR, and Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim on his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
In the Superbike Cup category, Andrew Lee and his Real Steel Honda team face a high-speed test of their own. Lee is heavily focused on using the strong engine platform of the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP to extend his championship lead.
