Tytlers Cycle Racing competitive at COTA
PJ Jacobsen and Hector Barbera powered the all new Tytlers Racing BMW M1000 RR to a brace of top six finishes in the opening round of the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at the Circuit of the Americas this past weekend. The pair, who spearhead the team’s assault on the title were in fine form throughout the event that ran alongside the latest round of MotoGP.
© Brian J Nelson Photography
Hector, who is in his sophomore MotoAmerica season, has previous racing experience of COTA and revelled at being back on track in Texas. A strong qualifying performance ensured the Spaniard was in the mix from lights out, the #80 crossing the line less than a second behind his team mate PJ Jacobsen. Barbera also fought hard in the second encounter of the weekend narrowly missing out his second top six of the event. He crossed the line seventh.
For PJ Jacobsen there was plenty to smile about. His racing return on Saturday saw him romp to a strong fourth place finish. A technical problem in Race 2 prevented what could have easily been an even better performance for the #99, who made a brilliant start and was in podium contention for the first half lap.
Travis Wyman and Corey Alexander, the team’s two Stock1000 challengers when the series kicks off at Road Atlanta in a fortnight, were also in action. Wyman raced to pair of ninth place finishes whilst Alexander finished tenth and thirteenth in the two fourteen lap encounters.
All things considered it was a successful first round of MotoAmerica for the all-new squad and the entire Tytlers Racing team is now even more motivated and excited for the season ahead after showing that the BMW M1000 RR, which makes its debut in the US national series this year, is competitive.
© Brian J Nelson Photography
PJ Jacobsen: “After not racing for two years to get P4 in my first race bike with this new team was really good. I was pumped and excited when I was sitting on the grid to get the first race going. The team did a fantastic job and Saturday’s result is for them., for all their hard work to get us ready to go racing. We had no warm up session on Sunday, so we had to go straight into Race 2 on Sunday. We made some changes and even on the sighting lap to the grid it felt pretty good. My plan was to try to stay at the front longer. I was in the top three into Turn 1 and as we got onto the back straight, I was with the leaders, but we had a small issue and that put me out of the race. To come away with a fourth in race one and to feel as good as I do on the bike is positive for the rest of the year.”
© Brian J Nelson Photography
Hector Barbera:“My first race with the new BMW M1000 RR was positive even if I started losing grip in the rear lap by lap. It became a harder to push and my lap times started to get slower. That said, for the first race it was not so bad. I am happy with how race two went because we were able to improve the setting with the bike. My feeling, especially in the first five laps was much better. For sure we need to find a way to be consistently fast later in the race, but I am confident that we will get there. The bike is very fast, and I feel like it will be possible to battle for the victory this year.”
© Brian J Nelson Photography
Travis Wyman:“After missing FP1 on Friday I felt like I was a little behind. I qualified fourteenth and was just hoping to get a good start and be able to hang with the group when the lights went out. The second half of the race the settings we had came to me and I was able to progress forward and ended up fighting for the top eight. I eventually came home ninth which was a great start for me and for the team in our first race together. Race two was just as fulfilling as Saturday’s. I got off to a way better start and was able to feel much more comfortable on the bike. We improved our package but there is still a lot to learn. I am excited to start our championship season at Road Atlanta in a couple of weeks.”
© Brian J Nelson Photography
Corey Alexander:“It was good to get the first race of the season out of the way. Sunday was another productive day. I learned more about the bike, and we were able to make progress in understanding more things. Overall, it was a positive weekend for the team with no major technical issues which is encouraging for our first outing together as a four-rider team. I am looking forward to a more normal weekend in terms of timetable so we can keep moving forward. See you in Atlanta!”
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