In what was undoubtedly the best MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race of the season and one of the best in recent memorythree riders battled to the end, with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong spending many laps in the middle of the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati sandwich of Josh Herrin and Loris Baz.
Fong, however, prevailed when Herrin made a mistake on the final lap which allowed Fong the space needed to take the lead. Furthermore, he held off Baz, who wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize teammate Herrin’s race on the final lap.
The margin of victory? .419 of a second from Fong to Herrin and .619 from Fong to Baz.
The win was the fourth of Fong’s AMA Superbike career and first since winning three races in 2020. It also took him to second place in the 2024 Steel Commander Superbike championship and established him as a serious title threat.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen led the first seven laps to the finish line, before Fong took the lead for two laps before giving way to Herrin. From there the top three – Herrin, Fong and Baz – took off from the battle between Petersen and Sean Dylan Kelly, when the top five found themselves in traffic for the first time and Petersen and Kelly were put in trouble.
Herrin continued to lead until the final lap, when he succumbed to pressure from Fong. Baz, meanwhile, wasn’t about to do anything foolish and the three crossed the finish line as a trio.
EarlyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly got the better of Petersen, who set the fastest lap of the race, in the battle for fourth place, well clear of the battle for sixth.
That fight ultimately went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch by just 0.804 seconds over Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach.
Three-time reigning MotoAmerica Superbike champion Jake Gagne finished in eighth place after another race in which he battled forearm problems. The Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing rider was about two seconds behind Beach and six seconds behind Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Troy Herfoss, the three-time Australian Superbike champion who replaced the injured five-time champion Cameron Beaubier.
Max Flinders of Thrashed Bike Racing rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Paasch’s teammate, Xavi Forés, withdrew early from the race due to pain from Friday’s accident.
Gagne continues to lead the championship points standings, but now Fong is closing in: the two are separated by just eight points, 121-113. Herrin is third with 99 points and Kelly fourth with 96. Herrin is third with 99 points, while Kelly is fourth with 96 points. Beaubier, who hopes to return to action at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, drops to fifth place, but just 27 points off the top of the standings. Baz (88), Beach (69), Paasch (54) and Gillim (45) complete the top 10 ahead of tomorrow’s second race at BIR.
Superbike Race One
Photo courtesy MotoAmernica by Brian J. Nelson
