Sunnyvale, Calif., August 30, 2020 – Kyle Wyman (OneCure/KWR Ducati Team) suffered a tough race weekend at round five of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington, as Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier took both race wins.
The lead Ducati protagonist in the MotoAmerica Superbike series suffered a high-speed crash during Thursday’s pre-race test session, the rebuilding process ensuring Wyman didn’t get any track time on Friday and missed Superpole.
That meant he was last on the grid for both Superbike races, and a massive turn one pile-up saw not just Wyman but a number of riders hit the deck, the crash wrecking his newly rebuilt Ducati Panigale V4 R.
As a result of the two crashes and the critical shortage of parts, Wyman and the OneCure/KWR Ducati Team decided to pull out of race two and focus on rebuilding ahead of the New Jersey Motorsports Park round in two weeks’ time.
Down pit lane in the Celtic HSBK Racing Ducati team, MotoAmerica debutant Lorenzo Zanetti made a good impression as he took the Panigale V4 R to sixth in Superpole, followed by a seventh in race one. He was running inside the top seven again in race two but was forced to retire with a mechanical issue.
The Italian former WorldSSP racer and current Ducati Corse test rider proved the competitiveness of the Panigale V4 R in largely stock racing trim and is hopeful of a series return before the 2020 season is out.
MotoAmerica Superbike Standings — Top 5
P1 — Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha) 225
P2 — Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 171
P3 — Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) 148
P4 — Bobby Fong (Suzuki) 114
P5 — Josh Herrin (BMW) 98
P6 — Kyle Wyman (Ducati) 89
Kyle Wyman (OneCure/KWR Ducati Team — Ducati #33)
“I was too far back to see it happening,” Wyman said of the race one crash, “and by the time I realized people were scattering I had my front wheel taken out. I got run over, pushed around, it was a mess down there.
We decided on Saturday night to pull the pin on racing today,” Wyman continued. “We’ve got to make sure we’re OK for the rest of the year, so we have to put ourselves in a position that we make the most of what’s left. Gridding up in last and maybe fighting for a few points, I don’t think, is worth the risk of being taken out again. We’re going to gather it up, and put together a plan for the rest of the year because the rounds are stacked up on top of each other so we have to be ready.”
Lorenzo Zanetti (Celtic HSBK Racing Ducati — #87 Ducati)
“We lost a lot of oil from the bike,” Zanetti said after recording a DNF in race two. “I’m lucky, because from the beginning (of the race) I had a bit of problem with the temperature, maybe a small engine problem. We’re not sure if it was a problem from yesterday in the race. But I continued in race one, where we got seventh, and first of the Stock 1000 guys.
“My first MotoAmerica experience was not too bad,” Zanetti continued. “I like the championship, it has quite a good atmosphere, and this is nice. The championship has good potential. Also, the team wants to make some more improvements, but they know what we need if we are to compete for the win.”
