America’s Best Racing? Superbikes and Baggers at Road America

It’s getting harder to describe MotoAmerica at Road America as “family friendly” in dollar terms. A $366 starting bill for 48 hours of camping for two plus race spectating is a lot of grocery money. While some racetracks make money by getting people into the gift shop, so to speak, Road America starts its CRM (Customer Relationship Management) push early. We were “invited” to reserve camping spots with a credit card in November.

But every year brings improvements in infrastructure, amenities, and pavement. Though the steep price of entry made few customers at Road America’s growing number of concession stands, it’s a reminder that it’s all about trying to outdo last year’s grilling, feasting, and light festivities. Yeti coolers and Piggly Wiggly grocery stores exist for a reason. If you come to party, remember to bring the party. Don’t believe us? Read last year’s report during the Motorcycle Racing at Road America 2023 article.

Attendance figures haven’t been released, but it certainly beat last year’s 41,081. Credit goes to the King of the Baggers series for the growing draw and visibility into what MotoAmerica brings each year to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. And there are more spots to view the action. New bleachers and gravel watched on high over the turn 11 kink and main straight heading to the flag. New jumbotrons proliferated, with the camping area along the western side of the interior straight after turn 3 finally connecting to the inside of turn 5, creating a wonderful path for pitbikes.

Despite rising costs, those of us who hail from the Badger State have a hard time saying no to Road America. It’s an obvious point of pride having a world-class racetrack with history in our backyard. Road America’s long 4.050-mile length and ample camping area is an ode to Wisconsin’s appetite for living well, enjoying encased meats, and washing everything down with the finest beer made in America.

To start, let’s save some time and words by getting the sponsorship nomenclature out of the way. The official names of the racing contests at the MotoAmerica Superbikes and Vintage MotoFest were:

Everything was fine until about 11 a.m. or so. Then came the downpour. But for the brave, the rain riding clinic was in session. Hard braking after the straights separated guts from gut-wrenching. With near-zero grip, rear tires and chassis swung like hinges on fully planted front tires.

Notable victims? James Rispoli went down hard in Saturday’s Bagger race in a scary high-side in turn 1. Sean Dylan Kelly on the TopPro Racing Team BMW led the opening lap into turn 5 before going wide, a cautionary tale for the field behind him. Josh Herrin’s Warhorse HSBK Ducati did the same, ending a promising charge up the field. Rispoli’s get-off was the lone incident in the Baggers’ Saturday contest. Despite no rider aids of any sort, they had one solution for good rain grip—a roughly 620 lb. curb weight.

Racers navigated the glasslike track, sending shards of mist behind them. As they muscled wet leathers and visors through the spray, racing got simple: Follow the taillight and rely on muscle memory. Racing lines were temporary. For 15 seconds or so, every racer produced a somewhat dry 5-inch-wide path through standing water. But rain quickly reclaimed it. In any case, the Dunlop rain tires stuck well despite the low-60-degree temperatures. Until suddenly they didn’t. Turn 5 harvested more than its usual share of the over-ambitious. The lucky ones recovered, shedding mud and grass while charging up to turn 6.

The new (since late 2022) pavement handled the rain well, with little pooling to be seen, except the turn 3 exit. But the lack of pooling made the track one giant shallow puddle. Loris Baz on the Warhorse HSBK Ducati noted he was aquaplaning in sixth gear heading into Kettle Bottoms in practice. As for drafting, the rain complicated things. Racers could probably follow the required taillights fine, but gallons of watery spray mitigated the slipstream advantage. Having slingshotted around their quarry, putting power to water-logged pavement was hard.

P.J. Jacobsen’s Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL Ducati didn’t bother drafting Matthew Scholtz’ Strack Racing Yamaha in turn 14 on the last lap of the Supersport race. Instead, he took a wide line, sat the bike up quickly, and out-motored Scholtz for a 0.040 second margin of victory. Sunday’s finish made this seem like an eternity, more on that later.

Related: Top 5 Features About Harley-Davidson’s Bagger Racebike

The lack of visibility wasn’t all bad. Racers probably didn’t notice the empty stands by turn 7. Spectators huddled under a tree or umbrella within sight of jumbotrons. Or for the brave, making do with $18 rain ponchos from the gift shop or custom-made garbage bag ponchos. Despite empty stands, plenty followed the action on the MotoAmerica Live+ app, safely huddled in trailers and tents. Being Wisconsin, the rain stopped just as the final Twins Cup race ended. Just in time to grill some brats and start up the fire pits.

While “Big Show” races get the headlines, seasoned fans know the Junior Cup, Twins Cup, and Royal Enfield BTR series are the future. In Junior Cup, defending champ Avery Dreher of Bartcon Racing crashed out of third place on the last lap of Saturday’s contest, taking second place BPM Team rider Isaac Woodworth with him. This gave his sister, Ella Dreher of Bad Boys Racing, her first podium ever, for third place. Matthew Chapin, also of Bartcon Racing, took the checkered aboard the class-standard Kawasaki Z400.

The Twins Cup saw Dominic Doyle of Giaccmoto Yamaha Racing take first by 10.443 seconds over an Aprilia and Suzuki. Point leader Gus Rodio of Rodio Racing - Powered by Robem Engineering withdrew with mechanical issues, allowing the series’ dark horses to inch up in the points.

Twins Cup rookie (and 2023 Royal Enfield BTR champ) Mikayla Moore crashed in her practice debut, leaving her unable to start Saturday’s Royal Enfield BTR race. This led to an opportunity for Cassie Creer to claim her first Royal Enfield BTR win. Having never raced in rain before, she held on for a 0.225 second win over Emma Betters. What was it like? “It was terrifying.” Fear can be a great motivator.

It would be a stretch to call Sunday “summer.” But the sun broke through and dried track and fans alike. While Cameron Petersen and Jake Gagne put in matching 2:33 best lap times aboard their Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Superbike machines on Saturday, Sunday saw lap times drop back to 2:10 and 2:11 for Herrin’s Warhorse HSBK Ducati Superbike and Bobby Fong’s Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha, respectively. While Petersen’s margin of victory was just 0.004 second over Gagne on Saturday, Herrin beat Fong by 9 seconds on Sunday.

Troy Herfoss’ S&S Indian Challenger dominated KOTB on Saturday, beating Kyle Wyman by 5.254 seconds after leading by as much as 9 seconds. But Sunday belonged to Wyman’s Harley-Davidson Factory Road King, beating Herfoss in a drag race to the flag by just 0.039 second. Sometimes raw power carries the day. The Motor Company brass were no doubt happy, as was Willie G. himself, said to be in attendance. No matter who you root for, America is a better place with two American marques duking it out on the track.

Saturday’s Superstock race saw the closest finish in MotoAmerica’s 10-year history. Tyler Scott’s Vision Wheel M4 Ecstar Suzuki caught both Scholtz and Jacobsen napping, nipping both at the line by 0.001 second, the measurement limit of Road America’s timing and scoring capabilities. As MotoAmerica’s Sean Bice noted, Scott’s estimated 2-inch advantage at the finish line at roughly 160 mph equates to an estimated 0.0007 second margin of victory. More or less, anyway.

Twins Cup spectators saw double on Sunday as the Aprilia of rookie Alessandro Di Mario of Rodio Racing - Powered by Robem Engineering netted second again. Don’t you get points for getting the same position in wet and dry? Rocco Landers, aboard the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki, eked out first place by just 0.154 second over Alessandro, adding a nice bookend to a third place finish Saturday.

Junior Cup usually owns close racing and multiple lead changes, but everyone decided to copy them this year. Nonetheless, Chapin of Bartcon Racing followed up his Saturday luck with a decisive 0.346 second win over Logan Cunnison’s Speed Demon Racing machine. Number of lead changes? Eight by our count, in six laps.

Mikayla Moore shook off a thigh contusion from Saturday’s Twins Cup practice crash to regain her form on Sunday, taking first by 23.937 seconds over Aubrey Credaroli in the Royal Enfield BTR race. Saturday’s winner, Cassie Creer, netted third place for a second trip to the podium.

American Honda must finally be delivering Navis in decent numbers, as its $1,807 machines finally showed up in full force. Several examples with trick exhausts and deleted rear fenders were present. Honda CRF110s and Yamaha TT-R110s were everywhere, as usual. But vintage Honda Trail C70s were scarce, with older Kawasaki KV75s barely seen. But in their place, newer Honda Trail 125s were all over the place. As were vintage Honda Passports, some in heavily modified form. Custom trellis swingarm with a new 125cc crate motor with VM24 carbs? There’s your Passport to fun-ville.

A lovely pair of matching 1985 Suzuki FA50 Shuttle “Nopeds” showed up. It’s not a rule, but you probably get 50 Road America points for matching pitbikes. Pull-start Coleman-type minibikes were the choice of troublemakers unable to rent golf carts after “incidents” last year. One old Honda CR500 was spotted, as were countless Yamaha 175 two-stroke dirt bikes, all making shortcuts (and occasional burnout circles) through the wet Saturday grass. Conditions made motocrossers of everyone, unless you were in a golf cart. That didn’t stop multiple drivers from channeling their inner Ken Block, oversteering passengers into opposite lock slides over green grass. Harmless fun, unless you repair golf carts for a living.

Saturday’s rain kept car-spotting to a minimum. But a few notables showed up, if for no other reason than to show off their wax and finish skills. A black 1968 Pontiac GTO had the turn 1 outfield to itself on Saturday, but Sunday saw vintage machines out in force, with a gorgeous mid-’60s Alfa Romeo Sprint GTA and a bone-stock 1968 Pontiac Firebird, complete with rare, base 3.8-liter inline six-cylinder and single Rochester carburetor. The owner made a point of buying it before he shipped off to Vietnam and has owned it ever since.

Kei trucks were out in force, but tuk-tuks seemed less popular than in past years. Cycle World Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer showed up in a personal golf cart, said to be on loan from a friend. It sported knobbies, a stereo, trick suspension, and a distinctive No. 34 on the side. That’s roadrace champion Kevin Schwantz’ old number. No word at press time regarding the identity of the golf cart’s true owner.

At some point, the carnival is over. Strike the tents, hitch the trailer, and make sure and stop one last time on the way out of Wisconsin for both dry and wet goods. And start processing the crushing realization that you probably have a job to go to tomorrow. For transitioning back to real life, the Brat Stop in Kenosha is fine, as is Mars Cheese Castle further south. But for those in the know, Sobelman’s in Milwaukee makes a fine coda to a Road America weekend. And for those following the circus, the next stop is Brainerd, Minnesota, for the MotoAmerica Superbikes at Brainerd contest on June 14–16. But for now, so long from Elkhart Lake and the center of the Midwest racing universe.

Enjoy the pictures.