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Team Yoshimura finished 1-2 for the third time this season (Photo Brian J. Nelson)

Race 1

On Saturday, Hayden won Superpole for the second time this season, turning in a time of 2:12.864. The four-mile, 14-turn road course puts a premium on power and top speed, and the K&N-equipped 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000 again showed that it is the machine to beat in MotoAmerica.

Hayden raced strong and sprinted to an early lead. He led the most laps of any racer in Saturday’s contest, but ultimately finished the day in a close third, just 0.153 seconds out of the lead.

“Road America is usually not my strongest track, but the team gave me a great bike in qualifying and I was able to put it on the pole,” said Hayden.

Elias showed his ability to make timely passes and deal with race traffic. He started 10th on the grid and made a hard-charging run to finish second. He pulled up in the draft on the final straight, but came up short by just 5/1000ths of a second. That finish marked one the closest margins in series history.

Elias (24) and Hayden (95) racing for the podium at Road America (Photo Brian J. Nelson)

Sunday’s sunny and warm conditions combined with the promise of great racing drew a big crowd to the classic Wisconsin circuit. Hayden and Elias once again put their Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbikes up front and swapped the lead numerous times.

Unfortunately, the race was red flagged with two laps left due to a competitor’s bike spilling oil going into the first turn. Elias was leading at the time, giving him the victory. Hayden finished in the second position for the race, marking the third time that Yoshimura Suzuki has finished 1-2 this season.

“It’s not the way we like to win, but I am grateful for the victory and to build our points lead," said Elias. "Roger was very strong today and we had a good race and were trying to break away.”

The win was especially memorable for Elias since his mother and father came over from Spain to watch their first MotoAmerica event in person.

Roger Hayden showing the K&N SU-9915 filter that he runs in his 2017 GSX-R1000

Elias’ win was a series-leading fourth of the season which expanded his lead in the series standings to 14 points (160-146) over Cameron Beaubier after eight races. Hayden is a close third with 140 points.

Next up on the MotoAmerica Superbike schedule is round 5 at Utah Motorsports Complex in Tooele, Utah.

If you ride the 2017 Suzuki GSX-R1000, the K&N SU-9915 air filter is the smart performance filtration choice for your bike.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. drifts his Ford Mustang RTR along the apron at Wall Speedway

Gittin Jr. started the weekend off with a strong qualifying effort, scoring 90 points which put him in ninth position just 6 qualifying points behind his Ford Mustang RTR drift teammate Chelsea Denofa, who earned the top qualifier position. Both Mustangs were handling strong despite the huge transition from the 30-degree bank to the flat bottom track that happens after the highest speed portion of the Wall Speedway course, a testament to the BC Racing suspension that both cars utilize. Gittin Jr. was feeling confident going into the Saturday Tandem battles where he would be matched up with Kearney, a driver that Gittin Jr. has struggled to beat recently.

Vaughn Gittin Jr. finished in the Top 16 round at Formula Drift New Jersey

Vaughn Gittin Jr. practices against current points leader James Deane in practice at FD New Jersey

In the Top 16 round, Gittin Jr. would have some sort of brief loss of power shortly after initiating while following Essa, which caused him to lose drift. The car felt fine after the hiccup, and Gittin Jr. was able to make a full pass as the lead car before Essa was judged to be the winner. “Sometimes it’s just the way the cookie crumbles,” said Gittin Jr. about the brief loss of power. “I’m really proud about how everybody worked this weekend. We had a lot of unforeseen things come up, we got smashed into a few times, but we prevailed.”

Vaughn Gittin Jr. drifts the 30-degree banking at Wall Speedway in New Jersey

Vaughn Gittin Jr. awaits his top 16 tandem battle against Michael Essa in his Ford Mustang RTR

Vaughn Gittin Jr. pitches his Ford Mustang RTR into the first turn at Formula Drift NJ

Chelsea Denofa piloted his RTR Mustang to a pole qualifying position at Formula Drift New Jersey

Denofa started the weekend off feeling quite comfortable behind the Ford Mustang RTR, with changes between rounds being instantly noticeable. There’s a love/hate relationship between Denofa and the highly-banked Wall Speedway track as he has had several major crashes at the circuit over the years. Practice and qualifying went off flawlessly, with Denofa earning a 96-point run on his second pass that would take the top qualifier award, which came with a “bag of cash” from Black Magic tire care worth $500. The top qualifier also came with a bye directly into the Top 16, which turned out to be a huge stroke of luck.

Chelsea Denofa pitches his Ford Mustang RTR hard into the first turn at Formula Drift New Jersey

In his Top 16 battle, Denofa was paired with 2011 Formula Drift champion Dai Yoshihara. Denofa lead the first run, putting down a great run with plenty of steering angle and tire smoke. Unfortunately, on the second run, Denofa would over-rotate in the same location as his practice crash incident, but thankfully would emerge from the spin unscathed as he was in the chase position. Yoshihara would earn the win, while Denofa knew he had a car that could have earned a stronger finish.

Chelsea Denofa transitioning off the bank at Wall Speedway in New Jersey

The next round of the Formula Drift series will take place at Autodrome St. Eustache just outside of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Chelsea Denofa and the Ford Mustang RTR drift team proudly use K&N air and oil filters on their drift cars.

Denofa chases down eventual event winner Odi Bakchis during practice at Formula Drift New Jersey

Chelsea Denofa anxiously awaits to take his qualifying pass, which would put him on pole for FDNJ

Ford Fiesta R5 2wd rally car, being driven by Rene Mandel

At the Sulinger Rally, Mandel snaked his turbocharged 2WD Fiesta R5 down the narrow lanes inside of a massive disused military depot located between Liebenau and Steyerberg. Covering roughly 2,223 acres, this site features a 52-mile maze of narrow roads that can challenge even the most experienced rally drivers. The 25-year-old Mandel however, only started his rally career in 2015. Nevertheless, his experience as an FIA & German autocross champion helped him to beat out the crowded field and secure his first-ever DRM victory.

The K&N 63-2587 Intake will boost performance in your own Ford Fiesta ST

That confidence certainly spilled over into the AvD Sachsen Rallye, where Mandel and Zenz claimed second place amid stiff competition. After 77 miles of intense action, the pair were narrowly beaten by Fabian Kreim and Frank Christian in their Skoda Fabia R5. However, this young K&N rally driver still wound up with 71 points in the DRM Championship race. 11 more than Kreim, who currently sits in second place.

Next up on Rene Mandel's DRM schedule is the Rallye Stemweder Berg, Lübbecke. This is sure to be an exciting rally, and K&N is proud to be a part of this young driver's quest for the DRM championship. "It's awesome for us to get the best product which helps our performance a lot. The support from K&N is for us, the only way to make racing happen. I'm really thankful for that."

Gage Schoenherr will take his immense water-related talents to the Coast Guard

Jason Newby of Team Faith Racing Ministry said that the team decided to put Schoenherr on a familiar racing platform for round two of the Pro Watercross schedule.

“We basically decided to give him the same package he raced at the Championships since that was the last Sport boat he had ridden,” Newby said.

In the Pro show, Schoenherr got a fantastic start in a stacked field of 17 Pro Sport GP riders. Moto 1 proved to be a race of attrition in the rough conditions. Many of the favorites like Johnny Smith, Bill Dearman, and Andrew Bezan either had boat issues or crashed out of the moto. Schoenherr finished the challenging moto with an impressive 2nd place.

Sunday saw much different conditions. The seas had calmed and the wind subsided. There were relatively flat conditions with the exception of a few breaking wave sets on the front straight before the finish line. In Pro Sport GP Moto 2, Schoenherr finished just off the podium with a hard-charging 4th place finish.

Sunday's racing in Panama City Beach brought calmer waters

“Gage kept him honest coming in 2nd for a 2-4-2 score for the weekend, which easily gave him the overall win and the championship points lead,” said Newby.

Schoenherr's success in round 2 of the Pro Watercross World Championships is bitter sweet for Team Faith as it will be the last race of the season for the talented rider.

“Our fill-in rider and points leader Gage Schoenherr will not be with us for the rest of the season as he is going into the Coast Guard Academy,” said Newby. “We are very proud of Gage for being one of only 300 people in the US to be accepted to this prestigious institution and we support him fully in his decision to pursue further education and (a) career serving our country in the US Coast Guard. Congratulations Gage on the tremendous honor and opportunity and for going out on top of the Pro Watercross Pro Sport points! God Bless you!”

Team Faith is having huge success on a relatively stock boat

“We have the top scoring watercraft in the class, yet we're still running a stock hull!” says Newby. “That's definitely something we are pretty proud of!"

"Most of the guys winning are on $20k+ machines with lightweight aftermarket hulls," Newby continued. "That's unfortunately something we just can't afford. Our goal, as always, is to be competitive - to show the people we minister to that we are just like them! Yet, we want to be good stewards of the finances that our sponsors and contributors provide us with.”