Photo: UltimateMotorcycling.com
Rain ruined some of the "four miles of fun" this weekend in Wisconsin at Road America for Round 4 of the 2015 MotoAmerica series as riders dealt with wet conditions through Saturday but got a dry race day for Sunday.
It was the second time this season rain turned into a secondary player as the round in Atlanta provided some treacherous conditions last month. All classes in the series competed in the fourth round of the year but for the Superstock 600, Road America represented Round 3 since their season missed the opener in Austin.
MotoSport rider Andy DiBrino brought home two Top 10 finishes but he wasn't overly happy with the results. Practice on Friday was held in the rain but let up for qualifying where he finished 11th. It was his first time at Road America which he said hurt him a bit since most of his competition had raced there before.
The rain continued for the second qualifier on Saturday so DiBrino was unable to improve on his position. It continued to rain right up until Race 1 that afternoon and though the clouds finally abated the pavement was soaked.
"Everyone was going nuts on the start, and I was trying to keep it upright and out of the carnage knowing there would be some guys crashing out and it was a long race," DiBrino said.
As he closed in on eighth-place on the last lap he rode into some wet curbing and almost crashed which dropped him back a spot. He then eyed a chance to pass both riders in front when JC Camacho, in ninth, nearly crashed, pushing DiBrino briefly off the track so he settled for 10th.
Sunday was a great day for racing as the rain stopped and the track was dry. DiBrino got a good start, something he's been working on, but got pinched in Turn 1, made contact with another rider and had to put on the brakes.
"It killed my drive and I fell back to 16th or so," he said. "I put my head down and started charging."
He cut his position in half and finished eighth after a last lap pass of Kyle Ohnsorg but the early brakes ended any chance of catching the leaders. He's hoping some changes to the bike for the next round will give him that competitive edge and keep him comfortable in the seat.
"It wasn't a bad weekend but it's not where I want to be. I'm more than capable of being a consistent Top 5 guy, and I don't want to settle for anything less at Barber Motorsports Park in less than two weeks," he said.
Elsewhere, MotoSport rider Joe Roberts took second in Race 1 after battling with Travis Wyman who secured his first victory of the season. Roberts came back to claim his fourth win of the season in Race 2 and with it the points lead. He's got four victories on the season the most of any rider. DiBrino held on to his sixth-place spot and he's now eight points behind Nick McFadden.
The next round is June 12-14 at Barber Motosports Park in Birmingham, AL.
Superstock 600 Race 1 Results for Road America
- Travis Wyman
- Joe Roberts - MotoSport rider
- Richie Esclanate
- Wyatt Farris
- Carl Soltisz
- Cody Wyman
- Nick McFadden
- Darren James
- JC Camacho
- Andy DiBrino - MotoSport rider
Superstock 600 Race 2 Results for Road America
- Joe Roberts - MotoSport rider
- Richie Escalante
- Travis Wyman
- Nick McFadden
- Wyatt Farris
- Conner Blevins
- Jason Aguilar
- Andy DiBrino - MotoSport rider
- Kyle Ohnsorg
- Michael Gilbert
MotoAmerica Superstock 600 Standings
- Joe Roberts (120) - MotoSport rider
- Richie Escalante (114)
- Travis Wyman (113)
- Wyatt Farris (80)
- Nick McFadden (56)
- Andy DiBrino (48) - MotoSport rider
- Bryce Prince (42)
- Michael Gilbert (30)
- Jason Aguilar (28)
- JC Camacho (27)