Baz Gets His First MotoAmerica Superbike Win At NJMP

Loris Baz of Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati made history by becoming the first Frenchman to win an AMA Superbike race at New Jersey Motorsports Park. In a close race, Baz secured his first MotoAmerica Superbike win, finishing just .151 seconds ahead of Sean Dylan Kelly, who took second place. Bobby Fong finished third, only .140 seconds behind Kelly.

Josh Herrin, who won the championship the day before, played a supportive role in this race, finishing sixth after following Baz for most of the race. Baz's win placed him fifth overall in the championship standings, just four points behind Kelly.

Loris Baz – Winner “The guys did a good job because since Austin I’ve been struggling a lot with my start. We had some problem with my clutch. They found some parts that were not nice after Austin, so they changed it. But yesterday I had a bad start again and had a really strange feeling going into the warmup lap, so I was scared going to the race. But I had a good start. I can manage to go first and finally able to be aggressive again like I was in ’21. That has been the biggest problem for me this year. Not being able to be aggressive and overtake guys, for many reasons in the setup. I was first, and because we didn’t have many dry sessions this year, only two and it was the two races, I didn’t know what to expect from the rear tire drop at the end. So, I knew I had Josh (Herrin) and one guy, and then they just showed me there was Josh. So, I tried to slow down the pace, not use my tire, and then I was watching Josh’s pit board and it was plus 1.5, plus 1, plus 0.5. I was like, ‘whoa, they’re coming back.’ But then I was just instead of trying to push and kill the tire, I tried to close the line. Josh showed me his wheel. I overtook him again. I think he made my life easier. I think he had something more all season than everyone, and especially today. I saw in the warmup how his bike reacted. But we did some changes. We went in this direction. We changed the lean of the bike between the warmup and the race, so big thanks to the crew for that, and I felt good. It’s cool that we worked together all year and it’s paying off, especially for the team. It’s so cool to end up like this. It’s the home race for the whole team and we’re going to celebrate at the Mount Airy Casino tonight, which is a sponsor of the team. So, it’s cool. My dad is here. It’s the first time he came to a race in America. He’s going to come every race next year. Coming back to the race, last lap I knew there were many guys behind. I could hear that it was not Josh anymore. I thought it was Cam (Beaubier). I just tried to close the line. Going into that last lap, Hayden Gillim moved yesterday going in. I was like, should I close the door, or should I just try to go in fast and see what happens? I’m just happy it worked out. Sometimes just a tiny bit that makes you a hero or zero. But I’m proud of what I did and what all the guys did in HSBK this weekend.”