ESCALANTE RETURNS TO THE TOP IN PITTSBURGH
Wampum, Pennsylvania ( August 18th, 2021 ) – This past weekend the HONOS HVMC Racing team returned east to the beautiful Pittsburgh International Race Complex. On Saturday Richie Escalante would lead the team to his first win in five races followed by a second place finish yet again with the narrowest of margins on Sunday. Corey Alexander earned himself an uncharacteristic finish just inside the top ten during the sole Stock 1000cc race with two top 12 finishes in the HONOS Superbike class.
Escalante arrived to Pennsylvania feeling mostly recovered from lingering injuries. Initially the #54 Graves-Spec ZX-6R battled some adversities during Friday practice and qualifying 1 but Richie quickly rebounded to qualify in second position Saturday morning. Some additional adjustments prior to Saturdays race Escalante gained the confidence needed to make some aggressive maneuvers to take the lead just after half race distance. He would go on to open up a small margin over his championship rival crossing the line on the final lap 0.144 ahead to earn the victory.
Race two proved to be a similar battle royale with Richie swapping positions for the lead numerous times in a series of close passes. After what seemed like would be win #2 of the weekend, Richie lost the lead on the final lap and was unable to counter prior to the line finishing 0.064 behind his championship rival. This marks another one of several finishes this season separating the duo by under one tenth-of-a second.
Richie Escalante. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of HONOS HVMC Racing.
Richie commented: “It was another great weekend with a win and a second place. Now our goal is to be faster starting on Friday so we can better manage our set up prior to the races. If we can accomplish this then the only thing we have left to do is to go out and win. None of this would be possible without the support of my great team. I can’t wait for the final 2 rounds in a few weeks”.
After 1-2 finishes this weekend Richie maintains second place in the standings with a 61 point deficit to the championship leader. Richie’s personal sponsors include Fresh N’ Lean, HJC Helmets, Vircos Leathers, Alpinestars Boots & Gloves, and Hidalgo.
Corey Alexander again struggled to come to grips with his 2021 Graves-Spec ZX-10RR despite showing glimpses of speed after qualifying third for the weekends single Stock 1000cc race. During the weekends HONOS Superbike races the #23 earned an 11th place finish followed by a 12th for Sunday’s race 2.
The Stock 1000cc race would end up being delayed due to a red flag after a brief two lap start. After being pushed to the end of Sunday the race would see a full restart. Corey struggled to hold his third place starting position drifting back to a lonely 9th place finish by the races end.
Corey commented: “This weekend didn’t go to plan and I’m not very pleased with my performance on the bike. My guys worked so hard to give me a better setup all weekend and I couldn’t find the feeling I was searching for in order to consistently run the pace needed. With that said, I’m optimistic we will find some speed for our home race at NJMP in a few weeks time!”.
Corey’s 9th place finish places him 20 points behind but still 2nd in the Stock 1000cc championship. He maintains third place in the Superbike Cup points race. Corey’s personal sponsors include: Arai Helmets, Alpinestars, Sals Pizza & Pasta, Ikoniqa, Four3 Performance Lab, Redshift, Gemini, Tucker, and Prestige Services Group.
The HONOS HVMC Racing team heads to it’s home round at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ for round 8 of the MotoAmerica Championship, September 10-12th. You can purchase tickets to the event via MotoAmerica.com or in person at the race track.
About WE ARE HONOS®
Founded in 2018, HONOS is a Los Angeles based performance gear and fashion apparel brand that promotes talent within the adrenaline sports realm. With worldwide partnerships ranging from the American Racing team in Moto2 to title sponsorship of the HONOS Superbike class in MotoAmerica, HONOS has heavily invested its brand into motorsports. Follow @wearehonos or visit wearehonos.com to shop for team gear now.
About Hudson Valley Motorcycles
Hudson Valley Motorcycles (HVMC) is a family owned and operated motorcycle dealership that has been serving New York’s Hudson Valley and Westchester County as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New England region. HVMC has offered Kawasaki, Ducati, Scrambler Ducati, Suzuki, Energica and ATV, motorcycle or UTV Sales, Parts, and Service for over 50 years. For more info visit hudsonvalleymotorcycles.com, call (914)-762-2722 or follow @hvmotorcycles on social media.
More, from a press release issued by Bradley Ward Racing:
Career best MotoAmerica Superbike result for Bradley Ward in second race back
Bradley Ward was back in action and on the pace at Pittsburgh International Race Complex this past weekend in the latest round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Qualifying on the third row of the grid, the #57 rider rode superbly in Saturday’s opening race, crossing the line in seventh. He was running strongly on Sunday before a small mistake saw him run off track and failing to finish.
Despite Sunday’s DNF, Bradley’s speed in the last two races, following his crash last season has been impressive and he heads to the penultimate round of the series in New Jersey in a few weeks confident of another good showing.
Bradley Ward (57). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Bradley Ward Racing.
Bradley Ward: “After my racing return in Brainerd where I struggled a lot with a bad blister, I have been battling an infection on antibiotics to try to be ready for Pittsburgh. I didn’t know if I would be able to ride. It’s not like me to moan about a bit of pain given what’s happened to me in the last twelve months, but it wasn’t pleasant. I did a bit of home surgery and cut the infection out and we were good to go. We made some changes to make me more comfortable on the bike. The first session was decent, and we weren’t too far from where we were. I was happy to be honest. I managed to find a bit more time in Q2 when we put the qualifying tire in and was able to make my best lap time at Pitt Race. I made a good start in Race 1 and was running inside the top ten and not too far behind Jake Lewis who is always a good benchmark. I enjoyed the race and was able to finish P7 which was my career best result to boot. We didn’t make too many changes for Sunday’s race, but I pushed a bit too hard and went down. I was carrying a bit more speed and lost the front. It wasn’t the way I wanted to end the weekend, but you must take the highs with the lows. It was my first crash since the big one last year so at least that’s out of the way and I can go to New Jersey confident.”
For more information go to bradleywardracing.com
More, from a press release issued by Landers Racing:
The battle for the Sportbiketrackgear.com Junior Cup Championship heated up over the weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex as Ben Gloddy was able to decrease his points deficit after finishing first in race one, followed by a very close second in race two by a mere . 061 after recording the fastest lap of the weekend for the Junior Cup Class at 1:54.435. The lap record was previously set by Gloddy’s teammate, Rocco Landers, back in 2019 at 1:53.969.
Ben Gloddy (72) took the win in Junior Cup Race One. Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy of Landers Racing.
Gloddy had this to say: “We came into Pitt prepared to work hard and looking to close the gap a bit in the championship points battle; we were able to do that this weekend and now heading into New Jersey we are down nine points instead of sixteen. I am having a ton of fun battling on the track. I’m not going to lie, I get frustrated with myself when I’m not able to pull off a win. We are all here for the same thing though and it is fun dicing it up out there with my buddies. I can’t thank Landers Racing and all of my supporters enough for all the hard work that goes into the race weekends and leading up to the weekends. I couldn’t do this without you all.”
Landers Racing team owner, Stoney Landers, added: “This past weekend proved to be a very solid and productive weekend for young Ben Gloddy aboard his Ninja 400R. He set the pace from the beginning, qualifying P1, then going on to win race 1. He came up half a bike length short in race 2 to get P2, but still salvaged some valuable points. We continue to learn every weekend and will go into New Jersey ready to rock! Thanks so much to Tarl Kuhn, Will Eikenberry, Cameron Jones, Jaime Landers, Eric Lingis, and of course our suspension/setup guru, Barry Wressell with Ohlins and KFG Motorsports, for all their help, tireless efforts and support.”
Thank you to: Stoney, Tarl, Will, Boyd, Jamie, Lee’s Cycle Service, Ohlins USA, KFG Motorsports, CJR Performance, Evol Technology, The Big S, Freedom Cycle, American Supercamp, Penguin Racing, REB Graphics, Innovative Motorsports, Atlantic Cruising Yachts, Arai Helmets, Dunlop, Scott Stump, Roche Realty Group, Sportbike Track Gear, Fast by Ferracci, Barnett Clutches and Cables, Beringer Brakes, SBS, Vortex, EK Chains, Tyrant Designs CNC and all of Ben’s team and personal sponsors for all of the support, as well as his parents, family, friends, and fans!
More, from a press release issued by Hayden Bicknese Racing:
Double points finish for Hayden Bicknese in latest MotoAmerica Junior Cup round
Fifteen-year-old Hayden Bicknese may be in his first season of MotoAmerica Junior Cup competition, but the talented teen is already showing signs that he will be one to watch as he further honors his racing skills.
Named after Nicky Hayden, and sporting the 2006 MotoGP champion’s iconic #69, Bicknese currently sits twelfth overall in the 2021 MotoAmerica Junior Cup standings, a mere five points from ninth, with a brace of seventh places under his belt.
He was backing in action at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex last weekend, where he once again made big strides, finishing P11 and P12 in the two ten lap encounters, narrowly missing the top ten on both occasions. Importantly was his pace on Sunday compared to Saturday. His best lap improving by almost two seconds, in line with those at the front.
With just two rounds and four races remaining, Hayden is looking forward to ending the year strong – his aim to bag a top six finish by the time the 2021 season draws to a close.
Hayden Bicknese (69). Photo by Brian J. Nelson, courtesy Hayden Bicknese Racing.
Hayden Bicknese: “Race one went ok. I was struggling a little bit with rear grip, but I was able to pass someone on the line on the final lap. Overnight we discovered something with the front forks, and I was able to gain two seconds in warm up. I was battling with a huge group once again on Sunday and it was a fun race. We were all pushing each other, and the pace was much faster that in Race one. I was also able to pass someone right on the line again. I had a new mechanic this weekend who understands me and I think it is going to be a great end to the season now.”
