Brandon Paasch And Ashton Yates Capture Victories At Road America KTM RC Cup

It was Illinois native Jody Barry who proved to be the fastest during the combined qualifying sessions, assuming pole position for the weekend. However, following a slight rainfall beforeSaturday’s race, Barry’s pit crew was unable to put rain tires on in time so the pole sitter was forced to race a slick track on DOT tires.

The Championship points leader Brandon Paasch got off to a great start, alongside his biggest competitor Anthony Mazziotto III, who joined Paasch in a big pack of leaders at the beginning of the race. With Paasch at the helm, the lead group consisted of Alejandro Gutierrez, Mazziotto, Josh Serne, Renzo Ferreira, Mason DeKeyrel and Ezra Beaubier.

Most of the action took place in the final two laps as the lead pack finally separated from one another. DeKeyrel and Beaubier each dropped off the pack due to crashes, while the leaders went to battle for the top position. With Mazziotto out front, Paasch and Gutierrez close behind, the trip drag-raced to the end. Paasch passed Mazziotto at the end of Canada Corner, but Mazziotto got him back soon after. Paasch made the final pass on Mazziotto to take over the lead at the end of race, and then Gutierrez jumped into 2nd, with Mazziotto finishing 3rd.

In race two, the lead pack was similar to the first as Ashton Yates led a fast group of riders close behind: Barry, Paasch, Mazziotto, Ferreira and Benjamin Smith. Yates, Paasch and Mazziotto swapped the lead back and forth several times throughout the race, and toward the end Jody Barry inserted himself into the battle.

Heading into the last corner, it was Yates out front with Paasch and Mazziotto close behind. Yates made the decision to allow Paasch and Mazziotto by with only moments left to go and the strategy seemed to pay off as the two leaders went at it for the lead position, while Yates jumped back to the front. Barry followed suit and passed his way into 2nd, with Paasch edging out Mazziotto for the 3rd and final podium position. Mazziotto finished 4th in race two, despite a hard-fought battle for the lead.

Yates went on to capture his first-ever MotoAmerica race victory, a big feat for the young rider from Georgia.

“I didn’t want to be the first one coming out of the final corner because I knew I was going to get used,” Yates said. “I had to think a little bit and that’s what I did. I checked up in Canada Corner a little bit and in the final corner I checked up a lot and let them both by. Then I made my pass.”

Next Event: Barber Motorsports Park / June 10-12, 2016

Race 1 Results –