Sunnyvale, Calif., August 15, 2021 – The lush green surrounds of the Pittsburgh International Race Complex saw Ducati duo Loris Baz Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York) and Kyle Wyman go into battle against America’s best in what was ultimately a trying weekend for the two.
Baz put the #76 Ducati in third on the grid for race one but crashed out on lap three while lying third, pushing him back to a fourth row start for race two. Suffering acute pain in his left hand following the crash, Baz put on a brave face and charged home to an impressive fifth with Yamaha’s Jake Gagne taking both wins.
For Wyman, his first full race meeting back on the Panera Bread Ducati Panigale saw him get steadily faster across the weekend, culminating in an incredible battle with former MotoGP rider, Hector Barbera. Wyman and the Spaniard pushed each other to the limit, with Barbera just getting the better of Wyman at the flag. Regardless, it was a solid performance from the Arizona resident, who carded sixth and eighth place finishes in Pittsburgh.
2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Standing – Top 5
P1 – Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 325
P2 – Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) 232
P3 – Cameron Petersen (Suzuki) 184
P4 – Bobby Fong (Suzuki) 165
P5 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 149
P10 – Kyle Wyman 67
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“It’s been a rough weekend,” Baz said. “We started with P3 in qualifying. I knew we didn’t have the pace to match Jake, but I tried hard and I don’t regret it (the crash). I gave it my best but it was not enough. I lost the front and crashed and hurt my finger a little on the left side, but it was OK. Fortunately, the bike wasn’t too badly damaged. I apologized to my team and said we are in the position where we have to try and stay with Jake, rather than settle for third or fourth. Today, we started from P11 and it was pretty warm, so I just tried to come back as soon as I could. I went to P5 but I struggled a lot with pain in my hand. I was screaming in my helmet for 20 laps. Now, we have three weeks off so I will go back home to France and I have an appointment with the hospital tomorrow to see what I can do with the hand. We’ll regroup and come back in New Jersey. I leave my heart on the bike and I give everything, just like all the guys in the team and I’m proud to work with them.”
Kyle Wyman (Panera Bread Ducati – Ducati #33)
“Today went quite a bit better,” Wyman said after race two. “We are still a little off where we’d expect to be, here at Pittsburgh, but we made some progress with the bike. The elbow was hanging in there and I made it through the weekend physically, so that’s a plus, considering I haven’t been on a bike in a while. We made some positive changes and I had a really good battle with Hector Barbera. I think we passed each other about 20 times throughout the race, and it felt good to be in a battle and to fight again. Sixth and eighth is not where we know we can be but we have some time off now to get focused on what we need to do for New Jersey and then to finish off the year at Barber, but we’ll be trying our best to finish the season with the Ducati on a high note.”
