The championship MotoAmerica takes place on nine circuits and, next weekend, the Superbike competitors already have an appointment on the seventh, in Pennsylvania.
It is in fact the Pittsburgh circuit which will welcome them to answer the nagging question "Can anyone stop Jake Gagne and his Yamaha Fresh N' Lean Attack Performance?" », the Californian surfing on 11 consecutive successes despite the opposition of Matthew Scholtz (Yamaha, Westby Racing LLC), Cameron Petersen (Suzuki, M4 Ecstar Suzuki), Josh Herrin (Yamaha, Fresh N' Lean Attack Performance), Bobby Fong (Suzuki, M4 Ecstar Suzuki) and of course Loris Baz (Ducati, Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati New York).
In any case, it will not be Josh Herrin, since the 2013 AMA Superbike champion has already missed the last round after testing positive for Covid-19 and will be absent again this weekend. The former teammate of John Zarco in Moto2 had been replaced by the winner of the 2008 Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, JD Beach, during the last round in Minnesota.
In Pittsburgh, it will be the turn of Toni Elias to ride the official Yamaha alongside the current leader. Until now the Spaniard 2 Moto2010 world champion and 2017 MotoAmerica Superbike champion, despite his 32 victories in MotoAmerica for Suzuki, was no longer full-time in the American series. In fact, it only replaced Kyle Wyman injured on the Panera Bread Ducati at Laguna Seca, finishing eighth and seventh in both races there.
This weekend, it will therefore replace Josh Herrin on the second Yamaha Fresh N' Lean Attack Performance in Pittsburgh, alongside Jake Gagne.
Toni Elias : “I am very happy to have this opportunity to test this bike and ride for this team. We have been rivals for a long time and now I have the opportunity to ride for them. Even if it's just for this weekend, it will be amazing. And then we'll see. Right now it's just for three days and that's it. Josh (Herrin) will return. I know the bike is really competitive and I'm looking forward to riding a competitive bike again because I don't think last year was as competitive as before. I still believe in my potential and I want to see that potential again with a good bike. This doesn't mean I'm going to get on the podium or win the race. I'll do my best. We'll only have three practice sessions and that's it, then race one and race two. The time will be what it will be, and I hope everything works out well and I can have fun and feel this beautiful bike. »
Time will tell if this opportunity will allow the 38-year-old Catalan to bounce back, but in any case it is a great opportunity to show his current level aboard a competitive machine...
