Bobby Fong Wins His First Superbike Race Of The Year In A Thriller
BRAINERD, MN – June 16, 2024 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – In what was easily the best MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race of the season and one of the best in recent memory, three riders battled to the bitter end with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong spending a lot of laps as the meat in the middle of the Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati sandwich of Josh Herrin and Loris Baz.
Fong, however, got the last laugh when Herrin made a mistake on the final lap that allowed Fong the space he needed to forge into the lead. It also kept Baz at bay since he wasn’t going to do anything that could jeopardize teammate Herrin’s race on the final lap.
The margin of victory? .419 of a second from Fong to Herrin and .619 from Fong to Baz.
The win was the fourth AMA Superbike victory of Fong’s career and his first since he won three races in 2020. It also propelled him to second in the 2024 Steel Commander Superbike Championship and established him as a serious title threat.
Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen led the first seven laps at the start/finish line before Fong took over for two laps before giving way to Herrin. From there the top three – Herrin, Fong and Baz – pulled a gap from the Petersen and Sean Dylan Kelly battle when the top five hit traffic for the first time and Petersen and Kelly were badly baulked.
Herrin continued to lead until the final lap when he finally caved to the pressure being applied by Fong. Baz, meanwhile, wasn’t going to do anything silly and the three crossed the line as a trio.
EarlyHealthPlans.com/TopPro Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly got the better of Petersen, who set the fastest lap of the race, in their battle for fourth, well clear of the fight for sixth.
That fight ultimately went to Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch by just .804 of a second over Tytlers Cycle Racing’s JD Beach.
Three-time and defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne finished eighth after yet another race-long struggle with arm-pump. The Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha Racing rider was some two seconds behind Beach and six seconds clear of Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Troy Herfoss, the three-time Australian Superbike Champion racing in the place of injured five-time champion Cameron Beaubier.
Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Paasch’s teammate Xavi Forés pulled out of the race…
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