Sunnyvale, Calif., September 19, 2021 – The Barber Motorsports Park round of MotoAmerica 2021 was held in torrential conditions, with Ducati duo Loris Baz and Kyle Wyman fighting the elements to get home safely.
Baz suffered a massive crash on Friday and was uncertain on his participation for this weekend, but the gritty Frenchman came away with three podiums in third, second and third, despite crashing in two of the three races and the nation’s best struggled to get to the finish.
Wyman, in the final Ducati ride of his MotoAmerica career, failed to finish race one’s drenching but came back for seventh in race two and sixth in race three.
Baz ends the 2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in fourth place behind champion Jake Gagne, with Wyman signing off in ninth, marking the first time in nearly two decades two Ducatis have finished in the top 10 in AMA Superbike competition.
2021 MotoAmerica Superbike Standing – Top 5
P1 – Jake Gage (Yamaha) 445
P2 – Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha) 357
P3 – Cameron Petersen (Suzuki) 264
P4 – Loris Baz (Ducati) 238
P5 – Bobby Fong (Suzuki) 207
P9 – Kyle Wyman (Ducati) 111
Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York – Ducati #76)
“It’s been a crazy weekend after a massive crash on Friday,” Baz said. “I was 90 percent sure on Friday I was not going to be racing this weekend and I started last because I missed Q1 and was in third, crashed again and started ninth with a completely broke bike—broke handlebars, everything—and got a podium in P3. This morning was a bit easier. The pain was less and I went P2, but it’s not a condition I like, when it’s drying. I had better hopes for this weekend and this afternoon but Jake (Gagne) pulled a gap straight away on lap one and I couldn’t, crashed again and finished third. But three podiums to finish the season with two crashes in the races and three over the three days. I want to thank the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York team, all my mechanics, all the guys on the team who got me out on the track. Also, team managers Bobby and Lewis because they wanted me to go home and rest and I was the one who told them I wanted to race. They didn’t need to do that. I am really proud to race for this team, and we ended the season with three podiums. Thanks to all the Ducati fans and we’ll see what the future brings.”
Kyle Wyman (Panera Bread Ducati – Ducati #33)
“Today went better than Saturday,” said Wyman. “We finished in seventh and sixth place. We ran up there pretty close to the front in the beginning but we struggled in finding the confidence in the bike that we had yesterday. Definitely it was a grueling weekend, being three rain races. It’s a lot on the equipment and the riders. We grounded through and finished up pretty well. I want to say a huge thank you to my team and everything they have done for this year. It’s been a trying season after coming back from injury and trying to get the results. I can’t thank the sponsors enough—Ducati Richmond, our Ducati dealer partner north of the border—they have been a huge supporter through these three years with Ducati and while this is my last day on the Ducati I am super thankful to the Ducatisti and Ducati North America, everyone who has supported this effort in bringing the Panigale V4 R to America to race against the country’s best. I also want to thank the KW Army, who rallied around this effort and helped me get this program off the ground. Every one of the members played a huge role in that. I look forward to what the future holds, but I’ll look back on a lot of fun memories with this platform and the results we had. Thanks to everyone.”
