MotoAmerica: Race One Abbreviated After Opening Lap Drama; Fong Continues VIR Winning Streak As Championship Tightens
Bobby Fong battled scorching temperatures and slick track conditions to claim a commanding victory in Saturday’s Quad Lock Superbike Race 1 at VIRginia International Raceway. Riding his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing machine, Fong continued a winning streak he started last year, now securing his third straight at VIR, having won both races in 2025.
In the first of the three races this weekend, Fong weathered a race-long challenge from Mathew Scholtz to win the abbreviated 10-lap sprint by 1.078 seconds. OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly rounded out the podium in third, while setting the race’s fastest lap (1:25.128) along the way.
The afternoon’s drama began before an official lap was completed. On the opening lap Real Steel Honda’s Hayden Gillim suffered a high-speed crash which ended in the air fence, disabling a segment, bringing out an immediate red flag. While Gillim was unfortunately unable to rejoin for the restart, Benjamin Smith (Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law’s), who had qualified fourth, had separate opening-lap crash and saw his team pull off a heroic pit-lane repair effort that allowed him to restart from the back of the grid.
The race was restarted and shortened to 10 laps. Pole sitter Scholtz jumped out to the early lead on his Strack Racing Yamaha, setting the pace for the opening four laps. However, Fong, who had focused on race pace with used tires throughout the weekend, made his move on lap five, pushing past Scholtz and never looking back. Scholtz fought hard to stay close but ultimately had to settle for second, while SDK brought his OrangeCat Racing BMW home in third.
Richie Escalante delivered a strong ride to bring his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki home in fourth, just over four seconds behind Fong. Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law) rounded out the top five, followed closely by Fong’s teammate JD Beach (Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing) in sixth. Rahal Ducati Moto with XPEL’s PJ Jacobsen, Wrench Motorcycles’ Cameron Petersen, and OrangeCat Racing’s Jayson Uribe finished seventh, eighth, and ninth, respectively, just ahead of the charging Smith who finished 10th.
The results of Race 1 tighten the Quad Lock Superbike Championship as SDK (233 points) now leads Scholtz (213 points) by 20 points, with Beach (195 points) 38 points back and Fong (187 points) 46 points behind the leader. 50 points are still up for grabs this weekend in Sunday’s double-header.
Superbike Cup – VIRginia A Battleground As Campbell Triumphs In Race 1
In the Superbike Cup, Deion Campbell put on a display of grit and race management. Riding his BPR Racing Yamaha, Campbell finished 14th overall to take the top step on today’s Cup podium. Campbell engaged in a race-long duel, running alongside Superbike competitors while keeping a hard-charging pack of Hondas at bay.
In an incredibly tight Cup finish, Campbell crossed the line just 0.534 seconds ahead of championship leader Andrew Lee, who brought his Real Steel Honda home in 15th overall (second in Cup). Danilo Lewis completed the podium on his Team Brazil Honda, finishing 16th overall (third in Cup) and just 0.065 seconds behind Lee.
With this victory, Campbell improved the gap in the championship chase, though Andrew Lee continues to hold a commanding lead in the standings with 285 points to Campbell’s 192.
Quad Lock Superbike Race 1 Results
1. Bobby Fong (Yamaha)
2. Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
3. Sean Dylan Kelly (BMW)
4. Richie Escalante (Suzuki)
5. Loris Baz (Ducati)
6. JD Beach (Yamaha)
7. PJ Jacobsen (Ducati)
8. Cameron Petersen (Ducati)
9. Jayson Uribe (BMW)
10. Benjamin Smith (Ducati)
Superbike Cup Results
1. Deion Campbell (Yamaha)
2. Andrew Lee (Honda)
3. Danilo Lewis (Honda)
The following quote is from Quad Lock Race 1 Winner Bobby Fong: “The race was good. We worked a lot on race pace throughout the weekend, on used tire stuff. It was a hot and slippery race, and the team made it easy on me at the end of the race. The bike felt really good and it felt extra good with slippery, slippery conditions. So, we’re just going to try to improve some stuff where we’re getting gapped a little bit from some of the competitors and I think we can improve that. Some of the places where we can, that we got gapped, I think it’ll be a lot better tomorrow. We could just run a consistent fast race, but we got two long hot races to do it. So, we’re just gonna keep working and try to improve.”
The following quote is from Superbike Cup Race 1 Winner Deion Campbell: “The race started off really strong. I was hanging in there with a lot of the superbike guys. I put myself in a good position and just kept trying to pick off laps right there with (Brandon) Paasch, but I was kind of struggling in certain sections, and he was riding really well. And yeah, came home with a Superbike Cup win, and I’m super stoked because we’re making big progress this weekend, and that was a long race, and a really hot, hot day. So, we have 40 more laps to do tomorrow, 20 in each race, so it should be good.”
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