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Not so long ago, the progression in U.S. domestic professional road racing was a fairly clear one-way street. A rider started out in the lower classes, hoping to move up to Supersport, and if successful there, then on to the premier Superbike class. Now, that progression looks less like a one-way street and more like an intersection in Delhi.
Today, riders with Superbike race wins on their resumes are jumping classes in new directions, going to Mission King of the Baggers or the Motovation Supersport class. That trend gains momentum in 2025. Last year, Superbike race winners Mathew Scholtz and P.J. Jacobsen moved to the Supersport class and won 17 of the 20 races, with Scholtz taking the title. This year, the competition's even stronger, as they're joined by multi-time Superbike race winner Cameron Petersen.
And it's not just Supersport. Look at King of the Baggers.
Invented just a few years ago, King of the Baggers has advanced faster than a Pro Stock drag bike. The 2025 King of the Baggers field is relatively small but filled with some shockingly impressive resumes. Of the 13 riders on the entry list at the first KoTB round at Daytona in early March, two have MotoGP experience, one is a former Superbike champ in Australia, five have MotoAmerica Superbike experience, and five have other MotoAmerica championships to their names.
Why are Superbike riders infiltrating the lower classes? I say it's the simple result of MotoAmerica having more Superbike-level talent than solid Superbike-class rides.
With a full slate of MotoAmerica racing beginning this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, let's look at what we can expect in the top classes.
Superbike: Four veterans and two youngsters hold the top seats
In 2024, seven riders won MotoAmerica Superbike races, but I expect to see a lower number this year. Two of those winners — Petersen and Loris Baz — have moved to other classes, and it feels like six riders on four teams are going to be contenders for race wins this year.
Defending his 2024 title is Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati's Josh Herrin, whose career took a long and winding and often difficult road from his 2013 AMA Superbike championship to his second premier-class title last year on a Ducati Panigale V4 R. At 34, Herrin has never been in a better place, he said in a post-season interview posted by MotoAmerica.
"I think, right now, all of the stars are aligning for me," Herrin said. "I have the perfect team. I have the perfect bike. I've got the perfect family for me. Everything is great. I'm just riding that wave. I think that's what it takes. Everything has just got to align."
Herrin's 2024 season started off slow but finished strong, with five wins and eight podiums in the last 10 of the 20 races. And while there's no question he earned the title, his task was made a little easier when some of his competition suffered injuries and illness.
Most prominent of those were three-time Superbike champion Jake Gagne and five-time champion Cameron Beaubier. Gagne suffered throughout the season from arm pump, winning just one race in wet conditions that reduced the stress on his arms, and he sat out the last five races to get treatment when it was clear he was out of title contention. Beaubier missed four races after suffering a broken heel in a crash at Road America. He came hobbling back to the paddock as soon as possible, with determination, but couldn't catch Herrin.
Gagne will be back on the Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1, where he has recorded all 41 of his career Superbike victories, and Beaubier returns to the Tytlers Cycle Racing team and his BMW M 1000 RR. Both were at the top of the time sheets at the official preseason test in February, and if they stay healthy, they have to be considered favorites.
Another rider last year whose title run was hampered by health issues was Gagne's then-teammate, Petersen, who has moved on to Supersport and King of the Baggers for 2025. Petersen won three Superbike races despite suffering from a torn meniscus in his knee, wrist issues, and an ulcer. His ride at Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha this year is taken by Bobby Fong, who actually held the points lead for a while at mid-season last year. Richard Stanboli's Attack team is the most successful Superbike effort in the MotoAmerica paddock in recent years, and journeyman Fong is delighted to be there.
"I've been waiting for an opportunity like this my whole life, to have a factory ride in Superbike, so I'm really looking forward to the season and to do a good job for Yamaha," said Fong, who had eight podium finishes in 20 races last year and ultimately finished third in the points. Fong was also fast at the preseason test, leading most of the sessions.
Tytlers Cycle has scaled back to a one-rider team for 2025 — that's one of those good Superbike rides that went missing — and that leaves one more team that always has to be considered. While all the riders above have to be considered veterans, the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki team fields two GSX-R1000Rs ridden by young riders brimming with potential.
Former Supersport champion Richie Escalante finished fourth in the Superbike standings in 2023 but missed much of the 2024 season due to an injury suffered in a strange post-checkered-flag crash at the first round. Escalante's teammate this year is his former rival in Supersport, Sean Dylan Kelly, who made an impressive rookie debut in Superbike last year after an unsatisfying sojourn in Moto2. Last year, he finished fourth in the points with seven podiums and his first Superbike race victory at Circuit of the Americas.
One of those six riders will be 2025 MotoAmerica Superbike champion. Which one gets to wave the number-one plate at the end of the season will depend in part on who stays unhurt.
Supersport: The invasion of the Superbike riders
As mentioned above, last year's Supersport series was dominated by two experienced former Superbike riders, Scholtz on his Strack Racing Yamaha YZF-R6, the last of the 600 cc inline fours, and Jacobsen on his Rahal Ducati Moto Panigale V2, one of the Supersport Next Generation V-twins. Scholtz will be defending his title on the new Yamaha YZF-R9, which is another unknown variable in the class this year.
The talent pool is even deeper in Supersport this year, with the addition of Petersen on a Celtic/Economy Lube & Tire by Warhorse HSBK Ducati Panigale V2. Then there's the return of 19-year-old Tyler Scott, on a Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R750, who has finished in the top five in the series the last three years. And that's not to mention some other interesting competition, such as former Superbike racer Jake Lewis, riding for the Altus Motorsports team, also on a Yamaha YZF-R9, with none other than former MotoGP racer Jeremy McWilliams, a man with one of the longest resumes in roadracing, as crew chief. And if that's not enough, there's the winningest rider in history across all AMA Pro roadracing classes, Josh Hayes, who turns 50 this week and will race another R9 for the BPR team.
That stacked field puts some strong and experienced competition between young riders trying to advance their careers and the potential podium finishes they need — even riders on the top teams, such as Rahal Ducati Moto's Kayla Yaakov, age 17, or Blake Davis, 18, who joins Strack Racing beside the defending champ on another R9.
It used to be you had to win in Supersport so you could move up to the premier class to test yourself against Superbike riders. Now, you have to beat Superbike riders just to win in Supersport.
King of the Baggers: Even ex-MotoGP racers are on baggers
If the Supersport field is tough, look at how King of the Baggers has advanced. The bikes are faster, the manufacturer support stronger, the riders more experienced. Let's look at those three points.
The bikes: In 2021, when the series was new, Tyler O'Hara won pole position at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with a lap of 1:32.327 on his S&S Indian Challenger. Last year, at the same track, Kyle Wyman won pole with a lap of 1:28.182 on his Harley-Davidson Factory Road Glide.
The support: King of the Baggers has replaced American Flat Track as the battleground for the old Harley-Davidson versus Indian rivalry. With Indian's dominating FTR750 legislated out of American Flat Track competition and Harley-Davidson fielding only two riders on the dirt ovals, both factories have shifted their attention and money to the baggers. Both expanded their factory teams to three riders for 2025, as well as supporting independent teams.
The riders: Consider this field. The top six riders from last year are back. In the order they finished: Champ Troy Herfoss, a former Australian Superbike champion, on the factory Indian Challenger; former Superbike rider Kyle Wyman on the factory Harley-Davidson Road Glide; the RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines riders, 2023 baggers champ Hayden Gillim and rising young star Rocco Landers, who got up to speed on the big bike in his rookie year and won two races late in the season; former two-time class champion Tyler O'Hara on an Indian; and the other factory Harley-Davidson rider, James Rispoli.
Then consider the newcomers: Loris Baz, with experience in MotoGP, World Superbike, and MotoAmerica Superbike, and winner of the last Superbike race of 2024, joins the Indian Wrecking Crew, the factory team; Bradley Smith, with MotoGP and other roadracing experience, joins the Harley-Davidson factory team; and Superbike race winner Petersen joins the SDI Racing team on an Indian Challenger.
Wyman got off to a perfect start at Daytona, winning both races and opening a 22-point lead over Herfoss. Smith finished second in his first-ever baggers race and scored enough points in the second race, despite a crash, to sit third in the standings. With so many new variables in an already unpredictable class, it should be an interesting season.
Other news, how to watch
MotoAmerica will put on a total of 106 races across all classes this year, including the usual 20 Superbike races in nine rounds. The one big change is that Virginia International Raceway returns to the schedule and Brainerd International Raceway is dropped. In addition to the Baggers and Twins races at Daytona, the new MotoAmerica Talent Cup, which replaces the Junior Cup and puts riders ages 14 to 21 on spec Krämer APX-350 MA race bikes, debuted this past weekend in conjunction with the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Last year's Twins Cup champion, 16-year-old Alessandro di Mario, won race one and 14-year-old Bodie Paige from Australia won race two.
Superbike and Supersport races will be aired live on Mtrsprt1 and other classes will be shown on a delayed basis. Superbike and King of the Baggers races will be shown on tape delay on FS1 and FS2. Highlights and many complete races can be watched for free on MotoAmerica's YouTube channel.
To see all sessions and all classes live and on demand, you can subscribe to the MotoAmerica Live+ streaming service for $98.99 for the season or $12.99 per weekend event.
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