Wyman earns two top-5 finishes to start the season at Road America

ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. (June 1) -- Kyle Wyman battled in Wisconsin for two top-5 finishes at Road America this past weekend in the MotoAmerica season opener. The Inde Motorsports Ranch/KWR Ducati rider scored 5th place in Saturday's race one and narrowly missed out on a podium result in race two on Sunday for a strong 4th place finish. 


Wyman got off to a strong start on Friday, posting the fourth fastest time of the day on his Ducati Panigale V4 R Superbike. Wyman credited his hard working crew and numerous pre-season training laps at Inde Motorsports Ranch for the jump toward the top of the time sheets.  


"Friday we got going and up to speed quick," Wyman said. "After spending time at Inde preparing the race hauler, riding laps and getting ready for the season to start, I felt like I was already in the racing element far before I showed up in Wisconsin. The guys prepared the bike beautifully. I was just ready to go and being 4th fastest to start the weekend was a good boost for us going into qualifying on Saturday."


Wyman came up short of expectations in Superpole, the New Yorker posting up only the 8th fastest time on the soft Dunlop qualifying tire, which would lock in a third-row grid position for both races on the weekend. In race one, Wyman got off to a strong start but eventually settled into a lonely race while unable to keep the pace for the podium fight. A 5th place finish would suffice to start the year on a good note.


"Race one was pretty uneventful, after a good start I just didn't have the confidence with the bike to go with the podium battle," Wyman said. "I pushed until the end to hold on to 5th with a decent gap, but truthfully was disappointed with the result and not being in the battle after running the pace we did on Friday."


The KWR team made changes to the Panigale V4 R for Sunday morning, and a pre-race chassis change before race two would prove beneficial as Wyman would run a much hotter pace, and find himself in a battle for the final step on the podium. 


"Race two I got almost the exact same good start as Saturday," Wyman said. "The front guys dropped the hammer and I couldn't quite hold onto them once again, as we all went faster. But a couple guys got together and crashed in the lead group, and I found myself in a battle for third with Herrin."


Wyman swapped positions in the waning laps of the race with Josh Herrin, as the two riders passed and re-passed each other numerous times. On the final lap the two came across the line just .011 seconds apart - with the edge going to Herrin, and the final step on the Superbike podium. Wyman would finish in 4th place by the narrowest of margins. 


"I passed (Herrin) before the start/finish line multiple times in the race," Wyman said. "He was struggling with the wheelie coming up the hill and I had his number, but on the last lap we both got a really great drive off the final corner. I was in the slipstream and pulling out as we came up the hill. His bike didn't wheelie on that last lap, and it really just came down to the last 5 feet. I didn't know which one of us got it until I could see the big screen they had in turn three. I was gutted, man, missing out on the podium like that." 


Wyman sits 4th in the championship standings after 2 of 20 rounds, his best start to a season to date. The MotoAmerica Series will return to Road America once again for round two, June 26-28 where teams will be prepared with fresh data and experience from this past weekend's event. 


Visit www.indemotorsports.com to learn more about Inde Motorsports Ranch, Arizona's Motorsports Oasis.