Formula 1 has the weekend off, after the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last weekend. The World Endurance Championship raced the 6 Hours of Monza, IMSA was in Canada and MotoAmerica ran a Superbike triple-header at Laguna Seca. Race coverage follows.

This weekend there is open wheel action in Toronto and Rome from INDYCAR and Formula E, with the Superbike World Championship at Imola for the Italian Round. Also, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway in Jolly Old. Read on for previews.

J. Wood and Company's Don Miller Estate auction did very well, with the 1930 Henderson KJ Four hammering for $87,000! Check out the auction results at J. WOOD AND CO.

If you'd like to get the word out and advertise on anything that you think our diverse readership would appreciate knowing about, simply reply to this mailing for ad rates.

For more on your favorite series, visit the homepage of SARNIMOTORSPORTS.

Jay Geils Memorial TV Links:

Saturday, July 15th: Formula E - Rome Round 13 8:30 AM ET CBSSN

Sunday, July 16th: Formula E - Rome Round 14 8:30 AM ET CBSSN

WorldSBK - Italian Round 2:00 PM ET CNBC

FORMULA 1 - Lando Norris gave McLaren and British race fans something to cheer about in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last weekend. But in the end, it was Red Bull's Max Verstappen who took his sixth consecutive win of the season and kept his team undefeated in an extraordinary streak of 11 straight wins.

Norris got the holeshot as the lights went out and led the first lap of the race accompanied by a soundtrack of elation. Verstappen slotted into second, with Lando's McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in P3. Using DRS on Lap 5, Verstappen muted the cheers from the UK faithful, getting by Norris into the lead.

From that point forward, Verstappen managed the race, as he does, even through a late Safety Car caused by Kevin Magnussen's grenaded Haas. Most of the leaders opted for Soft tires, with Norris going with Hard compound tires. The choice saw him come under fire towards the race's end from the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who had passed Piastri.

Norris was able to hold off Hamilton and the Brits were placated by having two home heroes on the podium behind the King of England, Max Verstappen. George Russell finished behind Piastri, making it three British drivers in the top five.

Sergio Perez finished P6 after his latest qualifying woes, coming in ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Williams’ Alex Albon and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.

TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver Pascal Wehrlein was able to maintain a lead in the standings across multiple races from Round 2 in Diriyah and the German was again on top going into the USA race the last time out. But consistent performances from Dennis and Cassidy have kept them in touch at the top, and Wehrlein’s one-point advantage over Dennis pre-Portland was overhauled when he could only finish eighth.

Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans has fought doggedly to stay in contention in fourth place, despite some friendly fire mishaps twice forcing him out of races and costing critical championship points. However, the Kiwi managed a stunning win-double in Rome last season so cannot be overlooked in the hunt for the world title.

Formula E’s only double champion, Jean-Éric Vergne (DS PENSKE) has just about kept himself in-touch in fifth, 57 points from the top. Teammate and reigning World Champion Stoffel Vandoorne (DS PENSKE) sits 11th in the standings, more than 112 points back and guaranteeing no retention of the title and a probable first-time Formula E champion unless the Roman gods favor JEV.

Maserati MSG Racing drivers Maximilian Günther and Edoardo Mortara will be certain of passionate support in the grandstands this weekend as the iconic Italian automotive racing brand competes at home in single-seater world championship Motorsport for the first time in 65 years since returning with Formula E this season.

In the Teams’ World Championship standings, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team have clung on to their long-time lead but only six points separate them from Envision Racing in second place. Jaguar TCS Racing is just behind Envision, their customer team, in third place.

The Hankook Rome E-Prix doubleheader race weekend is Saturday, July 15th and Sunday, July 16th – Rounds 13 and 14 in the 16-race season. Live broadcasts each morning can be seen on CBS Sports Network at 8:30 AM Eastern.

WEC - When Audi was making their swan song appearance at Sebring, prior to Don Panoz selling the property and ALMS race series to NASCAR, we asked head of Audi Sport Dr. Ullrich where he would like to see the WEC race in the future. Without hesitation Wolfgang said; "we must go to Monza." Ten years later the good Doctor got his wish. And was he right!

The 6 Hours of Monza produced a fantastic race. The results may have not been what the tifosi or Ferrari AF Corse were hoping for in Round 5 of FIA WEC. Before the race, the FIA and ACO decided to tilt the Balance of Power pendulum away from the Ferrari 499P. There were no second-place celebrations for the team and nobody was available to the media, which was clearly a message to the French sanctioning body.

Toyota's Mike Conway, Jose-Maria Lopez and Kamui Kobayashi crossed the finish line in the No. 7 Toyota GR010 Hybrid 16.250 seconds ahead of the No. 50 AF Corse Ferrari 499P Hypercar driven by Antonio Fuoco, Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina. It was the second win of the season for the No. 7 Toyota and sees Toyota extend its lead in the overall standings over Ferrari by 26 points.

The No. 93 Peugeot 9X8 driven by Jean-Eric Vergne, Paul Di Resta and Mikkel Jensen finished on the same lap and enjoyed their best WEC outing since their return to the series.

Further souring the mood in Monza, the No. 51 Ferrari was given a late race drive-through penalty for exceeding track limits during a pass for position. The infringement demoted the 24 Hours of Le Mans winning Ferrari to fifth, 32.9 seconds adrift of the Porsche. 

Fourth place was inherited by the No. 5 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 driven by Dane Cameron, Michael Christensen and Frederic Makowiecki. The No. 8 Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota GR010 Hybrid of Brendon Hartley, Sebastien Buemi and Ryo Hirakawa ended the race sixth, after taking two penalties for early on track incidents including contact with the No. 51 Ferrari and the No. 777 D’Station LMGTE Am entry. Following the race, the team also received a 50 second penalty for exceeding maximum allocated power.

The No. 6 Porsche Penske was penalized with a drive-through penalty on the penultimate lap as the Porsche 963 driven by Kevin Estre, Andre Lotterer and Laurens Vanthoor finished the race seventh.

Glickenhaus Racing took a solid P8, after running as high as fourth. Hertz Team Jota Porsche 963 recovered from electronic issue associated with steering to finish in ninth position ahead of the No. 2 Cadillac Racing entry driven by Alex Lynn, Earl Bamber and Richard Westbrook, who gave up track position after an emergency pitstop for fuel.

Proton Competition had a strong debut race with their customer Porsche 963, but retired after stopping on track in the race’s fifth hour. The team briefly led the Hypercar category two times during the race.

In LMGTE Am, the No. 77 Dempsey Proton Porsche 911 RSR-19 rose to the top, making one fewer pitstops than the No. 60 Iron Lynx Porsche of Matteo Cressoni, Alessio Picariello and Claudio Schiavoni who finished 11.184 seconds behind the winners.

The GR Racing Porsche 911 RSR-19 of Michael Wainwright, Riccardo Pera and Ben Barker made it a Porsche podium sweep in class. They led at stages of the race, as did the Iron Dame Porsche squad of Michelle Gatting, Rahel Frey and Sarah Bovy.

But the big GT news in Monza, was the fourth placed No. 33 Corvette Racing team of Ben Keating, Nicolas Varrone and Nicky Catsburg, who clinched the LMGTE Am season title with two races remaining. The title saw Ben Keating become the first American driver to become a double champion in WEC history.

Ben Keating:  “I’ve said it over and over, but in this championship and in each one of the five races we’ve had, it has been a true team performance overall. You win as a team and you lose as a team, but we’ve also been lucky in quite a lot of places. It’s just been a magical season. Everyone kept talking about us needing to finish first or second in order to clinch the championship here. I kept saying it was more about where the 25 and 85 finished rather than where we finished. We weren’t really racing for that. We were racing to be as far up in the order as we possibly could be. We had a really good race. It’s been an amazing season. I keep on joking that because we’ve finished fourth, we get to lose 10 kilograms in success ballast! Now we can really start pushing hard because we don’t have to be conservative. Just kidding! It’s been a great season. I’m really proud of everyone on the Corvette Racing team.”

It is too bad that the WEC is dropping the LMP2 class, because it has produced some of the most competitive racing in the series and Monza was no exception. David Heinemeier Hansson, Pietro Fittipaldi and Oliver Rasmussen took their first victory of the year in the No. 28 JOTA. Fittipaldi had to hold off Robin Frijns in the Team WRT entry, until the Dutch driver had to pit with a mechanical issue in the last hour. From there to the finish, Fittipaldi was unchallenged at the front.

P2 in class was the No. 36 Alpine ELF Team car driven by Charles Milesi, Matthieu Vaxiviere and Julien Canal. Rounding out the LMP2 podium was the other WRT entry; the No. 41 of Louis Deletraz, Robert Kubica and Rui Andrade. Deletraz hunted down and overtook Oliver Jarvis in No. 23 United Autosport entry in the final laps to snatch the final podium position.

Round 6 of the FIA World Endurance Championship is just under two months away. The 6 Hours of Fuji is on Sunday, September 10th.

Alboreto: Gasoline in the Veins - The story about the man who grew up to realize his childhood dream of driving a Formula 1 car for Enzo Ferrari is now available once more in the United States.

Listen to that interview HERE. 

There is also a Facebook page for the book HERE.

IMSA WTSC - The Chevrolet Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park was neutralized with five minutes to go on the clock, when Renger van der Zande’s No. 01 Cadillac Racing Cadillac V-Series.R went off at high speed, straight into the safety barrier. That brought out a full course caution and a sigh of relief from Colin Braun, who was light on fuel and leading in the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura ARX-06. 

The race finished behind the Safety Car and Braun and co-driver Tom Blomqvist took the win in front of the No. 10 Konica Minolta Racing Acura ARX-06 of Filipe Albuquerque when the final caution flew. Albuquerque and co-driver Ricky Taylor finished second, while the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8 shared by Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly earned a fourth podium finish in the last five races to close within 10 points of the GTP championship lead.

Porsche claimed positions 4-6 at CTMP, with the customer No. 5 JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 customer car driven by Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm besting the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport entries.

Coiln Braun: “I love a fast corner and it’s always been a place that’s clicked for me. I’ve just always loved this place and it’s got a great rhythm to it. When you kind of get that confidence that it’s going well, you can go out and attack straight away, and when it works, it keeps the confidence high.

“Everybody did a great job. The Acura cars have been fast all week, and our team specifically worked hard. Those yellows played into our favor and I still had a bit of fuel to save, but I knew if I could get a good jump and kind of push hard and build a gap for a lap or two, I could settle in and hit the fuel number. It was a lot of fun.”

After clinching the WEC title earlier in the day in Italy, Corvette Racing was victorious in GTD PRO in Canada. Antonio Garcia and Jordan Taylor came from behind in the No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R GTD to take the team's first IMSA win since March of 2022.

Taylor pitted from fourth place just 33 minutes into the race. Garcia replaced him and drove the No. 3 car up to second place in just 10 minutes and into the lead shortly after that. The two combined to hold the lead to the finish of the two-hour, 40-minute race.

The No. 9 Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R, co-driven by Patrick Pilet and Klaus Bachler, finished second on the team’s home soil as the race ended under caution. 

Daniel Juncadella and Jules Gounon brought the No. 79 WeatherTech Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 home in third place to keep the GTD PRO points pressure on the No. 14 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 co-driven by Ben Barnicoat and Jack Hawksworth, who put the car on pole Saturday but finished fourth Sunday.

Barnicoat and Hawksworth continue to lead the WeatherTech Championship GTD PRO standings with 2,110 points. Juncadella and Gounon are currently second, 96 points behind, while Garcia and Taylor closed to within 109 points of the lead with five races still remaining on the calendar.

In GTD,  Paul Miller Racing's Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers got the team’s No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 into the lead early and finished the job. P1 again for No. 1 for the third time this season.

Sellers and Snow now have 1,974 points, holding a 212-point lead over No. 27 Heart of Racing Team Aston Martin Vantage GT3 co-drivers Roman De Angelis and Marco Sorensen, and a 219-point advantage over Aaron Telitz and Frankie Montecalvo in the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3.

In a "who can keep track of the classes in IMSA scenario", LMP2 was absent last weekend. In LMP3,

Felipe Fraga and Gar Robinson took the win in the No. 74 Riley Ligier JS P320. The duo had led early, but lost the lead to the No. 30 Jr III Racing Ligier driven by Garett Grist.

With under 10 minutes to go Fraga got under Grist heading into the 90-degree right-hander, side-to-side contact ensued and Fraga regained the lead as Grist slid wide into the grass. Race control reviewed the incident but determined that no action was necessary. When the fourth full-course caution came out a minute later, that’s the way it ended.

The next IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship appearance for the GTP class is the IMSA SportsCar Weekend at Road America on August 6th.

SUN SPECIALTIES - Sun Specialties is the official promotional products supplier of Sarni Motorsports. Sun Specialties has over 35 years of experience, providing quality and service on wearables and all imprinted products. Whether you are looking for Team Gear, Corporate Awards, or Specialty Advertising Products, we want to share our longstanding relationship with this great company with you. We encourage you to take advantage of special savings.

Call Sharon Walsh for a quote on your next order. 978-851-5110 x14.

Or email at sharon@sunspecialties.com

GOODWOOD FESTIVAL OF SPEED - One of the truly great Motorsports lifestyle events of the year is now underway - The Goodwood Festival of Speed.

In celebration of their 60th anniversary, McLaren Racing is presenting an awe-inspiring lineup of cars from its iconic past. Today's lineup featured the Austin 7, driven by Neil Oatley, M7C-01, driven by James Hanson, M8D-01, driven by Emma Gilmour, M23-05, driven by Emerson Fittipaldi, M26-02, driven by Warren Hughes, MP4/2A-02, driven by Tanner Foust and the MP4/4-04, driven by Rob Garofall.

Friday's lineup includes the M16C-05, driven by Gil de Ferran, M26-02, driven by Warren Hughes

MP4/2A-02, driven by Tanner Foust and Martin Brundle, MP4/2B-03, driven by Emanuele Pirro, MP4/6-10, driven by Rob Garofall and the MP4/4-04, driven by Bruno Senna.

On Saturday, Zak Brown drives the Austin 7, M7C-01, M8D-01, driven by Emma Gilmour, M23-05, driven by Emerson Fittipaldi, M16C-05, driven by Gil de Ferran, M26-02, driven by Lando Norris, MP4/2A-02, driven by Tanner Foust and Martin Brundle, MP4/2B-03, driven by Emanuele Pirro, MP4/6-10, driven by Rob Garofall, MP4/4-04, driven by Bruno Senna, MP4/14A-04, driven by Mika Häkkinen and the MP4/23A-05, driven by JJ Letho.

Sunday's lineup: Austin 7, driven by Neil Oatley, M7C-01, driven by James Hanson, M8D-01, driven by Emma Gilmour, M23-05, driven by Emerson Fittipaldi, M16C-05, driven by Gil de Ferran, M26-02, driven by Oscar Piastri, MP4/2A-02, driven by Tanner Foust, MP4/2B-03, driven by Emanuele Pirro

MP4/6-10, driven by Rob Garofall, MP4/4-04, driven by Rob, Garofall and Bruno Senna, MP4/14A-04, driven by Mika Häkkinen and the MP4/23A-05, driven by JJ Letho.

There is a livestream of the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Access that HERE.

As mentioned last week, many in MotoGP are spending their summer break on the hill at Goodwood. On Day 1 Thursday, Pol Espargaro threw his leg over a bike for the first time since his injuries. He was joined by test rider and wildcard extraordinaire Michele Pirro out for Ducati Lenovo Team, Mika Kallio representing for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Lorenzo Savadori on the Aprilia Racing RS-GP, fresh from his own wildcard at the TT Circuit Assen.

Kenny Roberts Jr. headed up The Hill, joined by compatriot and fellow MotoGP Legend Randy Mamola. The two finished the run side-by-side, or almost, as Mamola kept it pinned to just pip past the fellow Suzuki at the finish line. Dakota Mamola made it a family affair too, at the helm of an LCR Honda Castrol-liveried Honda.

Kenny Roberts Jr.: "It's my first year here, me and my family arrived in England yesterday and drove down last night. It's my first time here today, and I didn't look at any videos or google it... so we arrived, and it's amazing! I couldn't have imagined how big it is, and how involved it is. I know, for my two kids and my wife to come with me is a lot, but I couldn't have imagined all this, to have to organize it!

"I was trying to find neutral and first and second, we're going to make some changes. You know every rider, we have to make changes and blame everything on the bike! But the the gearing we're going to make a little shorter, and tomorrow I know the direction a bit so it'll be a little more fun! I just hope the weather's nice."

Other legends slated to blast up the hill include: Giacomo Agostini, Mick Doohan, Freddie Spencer, Casey Stoner, Kevin Schwantz, Wayne Gardner and Alex Crivillé.

MotoGP’s hillclimb action is live streamed making sure fans around the world can get involved in this unique celebration of the sport. There's also a selection of photos and round-ups of the action each day of the festival. Check out MotoGP's Goodwood appearance at MOTOGP.

Lamborghini's all-new SC63 was revealed at Goodwood Festival of Speed today (Thursday) and will begin testing in the next few weeks. Lamborghini has partnered with experienced WEC team Iron Lynx to run the car in international competition which includes both WEC and IMSA.

The SC63 features an all-new 3.8 liter twin turbo V8 engine that has been developed by Lamborghini engineers specifically for the racing program. Under the skin, Lamborghini engineers have been able to exert their influence over all aspects of the car. Although the gearbox is standard across all LMDh cars, there is still freedom to customize it to a brand’s requirements including the selection of the gear ratios and the slip of the mechanical differential.

Starting in 2024, one car will compete in the full FIA WEC season. The second car will race in IMSA. The Iron Lynx team, presented as a partner at the 2022 Lamborghini Grand Finals, will run the cars in both series, and the driving lineup will include Bortolotti, Caldarelli, Grosjean and Kvyat. Other drivers will be confirmed later in 2023.

The cars will be dressed in a familiar livery, in keeping with the branding seen on the Huracán GT3 challenger. The SC63s will run in Verde Mantis green, with a black Nero Noctis strip over the cabin, front hood, carbon diffuser, rear fin and wing. The cars will also feature green, white and red Italian Tricolore colors, and will carry the branding of long-time partner of Lamborghini, Swiss watch manufacturer Roger Dubuis.

MOTOGP - It's been an exciting, record-breaking and history-making start to 2023. Before MotoGP returns to action for the Monster Energy British Grand Prix at the iconic Silverstone circuit to kick off the next part of the season, here is a look through the first eight Grands Prix of the year.

So far, 12 riders – more than half of the full-time grid – have been on the Grand Prix podium as the golden era of close competition continues. This is the second highest number in the MotoGP era behind only 2020, which saw 13 riders take podiums across the first eight Grands Prix.

The riders who have been on the Grand Prix podium and not the Sprint podium are Johann Zarco, Maverick Viñales, Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro. The only rider who has been on the podium on Saturday and not Sunday is Marc Marquez. Marquez hasn’t scored in a Grand Prix race since his P7 in Malaysia last year.

In the first eight events, Ducati have taken seven GP wins: four with Bagnaia, two with Bezzecchi and one with Martin. Honda is the only other manufacturer with at least one win, thanks to Rins’ Americas GP victory.

As they’d already done it in the first five, it remains true that every manufacturer has been on the Grand Prix podium so far in 2023. One achievement already ticked off for the whole season.

There have been four wins for Independent Teams so far in 2023 – two for Mooney VR46 Racing Team's Marco Bezzecchi and one each for LCR Honda's Prima Pramac Racing's Alex Rins and Jorge Martin. In the MotoGP era, the only other seasons that have been able to match that after the first eight race weekends are 2003, 2004 and 2020 – the latter of which had five.

Before 2023, there also had only been two events in the MotoGP era where Independent Teams locked out the GP podium: Qatar 2004 and Portugal 2020. This season, it’s already happened twice. Argentina saw Bezzecchi wins from Zarco and Alex Marquez, and the French GP was also won by Bezzecchi, this time ahead of Martin and Zarco.

With Francesco Bagnaia and Bezzecchi, it’s the first time there are six wins for Italian riders in the opening eight races since 2006 when Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi and Marco Melandri split six wins between them.

Reigning Champion Bagnaia can become the rider with the most victories for Ducati. He is currently second with 15 wins, behind Casey Stoner on 23.

The 2023 MotoGP World Championship returns for Round 9 at Silverstone on August 5th and 6th.

WORLDSBK - Round 7 of the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship takes place at Imola for the Prometeon Italian Round. Ahead of this weekends's action, Ducati and Kawasaki rev limits have been updated; Ducati sees a decrease and Kawasaki gets a boost.

Following the latest analysis of the relative performance of the machines over the last three rounds, the maximum rev limit for Ducati will be decreased by 250 rpm - as per article 2.4.2.2-3* of the regulations.

Ahead of Round 7 in Italy, Kawasaki has elected to use five concession points to benefit from a 250-rpm rev limit increase as per article 2.4.3.3 of the regulations.

*The rev limit may be updated (according to Art. 2.4.2.3) at the end of every 3rd event provided at least 3 events remain in the season.

As WorldSBK makes its return to Imola and the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari for the Prometeon Italian Round, several riders including Phillip Oettl (Team GoEleven), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), Niccolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP), Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha), and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha) had the opportunity to showcase their culinary skills.

They participated in a cooking challenge with renowned Italian Michelin Star chef Max Mascia from the iconic Ristorante San Domenico. Out of this special WorldSBK cooking panel, Petrucci's skills were rated the highest as he emerged as the winner.

Danilo Petrucci: “It’s really special because I haven’t been to Imola since 2011. However, I was already with Barni Racing and I have good memories. I can’t wait to ride again on the track again, because it’s one of the most beautiful around the world. Nothing is chosen about my future; as I said at Donington Park and at the start of 2023, I want to win a race here. I am here to do that. With Alvaro, Toprak and Jonny and others, it’s difficult. Maybe I need one more year to try and win and be more consistent in the Championship. After the podium at Donington Park, we want to repeat that performance but we will see because both at Donington Park and Misano, we had a new track surface. This time, we’ll have something a bit more normal, so it’s a good test for us to see if we can fight for the podium regularly. It would be a dream to get a podium here.”

Alvaro Bautista: “It’s another important round for Ducati because it’s their second home round. It’s an important weekend for me as I don’t have a lot of experience in this track. I just raced here once, in 2019, and it was hard because we had to cancel Race 2 due to the weather. I have good memories of the track; the layout is really nice. There are no expectations because we have to build up the references and the feeling with the bike at this track. It was the same as I said at Donington. I think Donington, Imola and Most are the three most difficult races for us. We have to be thinking step by step. It’s difficult to make some expectations because it’s like we start from zero. The important thing is to find the feeling that I had at Donington or other tracks. I’m sure that if we can get that feeling, I can be competitive. This is a track that we saw many battles in the past. The only expectation that we can have for this weekend are battles. I don’t know whether it’ll be for the win or the podium or other positions but there will be battles because there are a lot of points for overtaking. The way to approach the weekend is basically the same. We must be more careful with the gearing because, in the end, it’s the most critical. We have to try to understand which areas we lose more in and try to work more in those areas.”

Michael Ruben Rinaldi: “It was a hard crash at Donington Park but this morning, we decided with the doctors to at least try and ride the bike. I feel pretty good; last week, I didn’t feel too good, so we have done more examinations, especially with the head. It’s the hardest part to check and to make sure it’s in the right way for racing bikes. I feel good with the head now, the ankle is still not so good but it’s not broken, so I’ll try my best to ride the bike and get good results. I love this track and it deserves to stay on the calendar; it’s unbelievable to ride here. My best memory was when I won the STK1000 race after a strange race with two red flags, three starts and on the last one, my mechanics had to change the clutch! It was tough as they finished changing it when the pitlane was open and we only 50 seconds to exit the pitlane! About my future, I hope that there will be updates, but for the moment, the focus is to get back on the bike with a good feeling.”

The Prometeon Italian Round is Round 7, Frdiay July 14th - Sunday the 16th at Imola. CNBC will show highlights and Race 2 at 2:00 PM Eastern Sunday afternoon.

MOTOAMERICA - The Laguna Seca Round featured three Meadlia Superbike Championship races. After suffering a DNF on Saturday, Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier turned his weekend around big time on Sunday.

Saturday's Race 1 started with a frightening crash on the exit of Turn 2 on the opening lap, which took out pole sitter Cameron Beaubier and Cameron Petersen. Prior to the restart, Richie Escalante – the third fastest qualifier – had a brake issue and missed the sighting lap and was put to the back of the grid.

On the restart, Jake Gagne was the only rider on the front row while the second row also lacked Petersen who, like Beaubier, was unable to make the restart. The crash happened when Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Petersen took the holeshot from the second row, he led the field through Turn 2, but highsided on the exit. Beaubier had nowhere to go, and he slammed into Petersen’s crashed Yamaha YZF-R1 and also went down. At that point the race was stopped.

On the restart, Gagne wasn’t challenged, and he led every one of the 19 laps, eventually crossing the finish line 5.3 seconds clear of second place. The victory was the fifth of the year for the championship points leader and the 34th of his career.

 

A beat up Josh Herrin finished second on the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, besting a fast-closing PJ Jacobsen on the Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR. Jacobsen finished just .368 of a second behind the Ducati.

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante continued to show progress, as he carved his way through the field to latch on to the back of the Jacobsen/Mathew Scholtz battle for third. When Scholtz crashed out of the race with two laps to go, Escalante inherited fourth place. Escalante’s Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki teammate Brandon Paasch finished an impressive fifth in his debut on the factory Suzuki GSX-R1000R. It was also Paasch’s comeback ride after he suffered a broken back in an off-season motocross crash.

Sunday was a day of retribution for Beaubier and he took full advantage of it to make up for the points he failed to score the day before.

Beaubier had similar battles in both of the Medallia Superbike races but with different foes. In Sunday's Race 1, he hunted Jake Gagne for 15 of the 20 laps before making a pass and pulling away to a 2.423-second win over the defending two-time champion. Three hours later, Beaubier did it again only this time it was Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin leading until the very last lap only to get passed by Beaubier, who won his second race on the day – this time by .620 of a second.

 

Beaubier’s two wins were his fourth and fifth of the season and the 58th and 59th of his AMA Superbike career. Herrin, who is still nursing the injuries suffered in his Q2 crash at Ridge Motorsports Park two weeks ago, was third and second in the two races on Sunday.

Gagne, the championship points leader, was second in Race 1 on Sunday and although he finished second in Race 2, he was given a two-second penalty for exceeding track limits and that penalty dropped him to third behind Herrin.

 

Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Richie Escalante scored two fourth-place finishes on Sunday, beating Fresh N Lean Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen in both races by 7.9 and 1.4 seconds. Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch, meanwhile, had a weekend he will always remember as he concluded his factory Suzuki debut weekend with eighth- and seventh-place finishes a day after finishing fifth.

After five rounds and 11 races, Gagne and Beaubier each have five wins, but Gagne has a 34-point lead on his former teammate, 217-183. Herrin, with one victory on the year, is third with 178 points. Escalante and his 127 points are eight better than Scholtz, who slips to fifth in the championship points chase.

Cameron Beaubier: “They were both tough in their own way. I think this afternoon I was struggling more than I did earlier today. I felt like when I could put my head down earlier today my bike was working really good and I felt hooked up. Here this afternoon, I felt like every time I tried to put my head down, even when Josh (Herrin) would pull me in a little bit and I would try to get back to him in the next section, the rear end would come around on the entry. That’s not very confidence inspiring. Especially down Rainey, the rear end was coming around and I hadn’t really had that all weekend, other than when the track was really green. I’m not sure why. I think obviously that’s the hottest the track temp has been for us all week, so maybe that’s a little bit has to do with it. Anyway, Josh rode incredible. He was so good on the brakes. I was kind of like earlier today, I was sniffing here and there, but I couldn’t really commit to anything. I saw his tire starting to shred and I was able to get out of the second-to-last corner before the last corner a little bit better than him. So, I was trying to make that work where he passed me earlier in the race. After that, I just put my head down. I saw my gap just shrinking. I knew Jake (Gagne) was coming and I really didn’t want to be in second with Jake behind me going into the last lap. So, today was an amazing day. After a really tough day yesterday, and just shout out to the Tytlers guys. Good to wrap it up good here.”

Next up the series travels to Minnesota for MotoAmerica Superbikes at Brainerd on July 28th - 30th.

Follow the link to make a donation to the ROADRACING WORLD ACTION FUND.