Aussie teenagers stay in points fight as Road Atlanta shakes up Twins Cup

Round Two – Road Atlanta

Twins Cup Race One

Hank Vossberg took victory in the MotoAmerica Twins Cup race one at Road Atlanta after a shortened contest was decided under red flag conditions.

The Robem Engineering Aprilia rider was classified the winner by 0.279s over polesitter Bodie Paige, with Speed Demon Racing powered by Ready to Ride’s Logan Cunnison completing the podium a further 4.413s adrift of the lead pair. Vossberg also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:33.424.

Paige had started from pole after a 1:33.062 in qualifying and led the opening four laps before Vossberg moved through at the completion of lap five. With the race then halted, the result was declared: Vossberg in front, Paige second.

Hank Vossberg – Robem Engineering Aprilia RS 660. Photo by Brian J. Nelson

Cunnison led the distant chasing pack to take the final step on the rostrum.  Kyle Ohnsorg finished fourth on the TAB Performance Suzuki, just 2.135s behind Cunnison, while Isaac Woodworth rounded out the top five.

Sam Drane, who is splitting duties across both Talent Cup and Twins Cup this season, finished sixth after running wide early on saw him lose touch with the leading group.

Chase Brown, Andrew Weyh, Seth Dahmer and Solly Mervis completed the top 10, while Matthew Chapin was classified 11th after qualifying among the front runners.

The result kept Vossberg’s early-season form rolling on and ensured the battle between the recent Talent Cup graduates remained a key theme in Twins Cup, with Paige again right in the mix and Drane adding more points from another busy weekend.

Twins Cup Race One Results

Twins Cup Race Two

Bodie Paige’s Sunday started with a savage warm-up crash that destroyed his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-8R and left him carrying a couple of broken fingers in his left hand, but when the field rolled out for the final Twins Cup race of the Road Atlanta weekend he was still there on pole, his crew making last-minute repairs on the grid to get the battered Suzuki to the start.

The opening attempt to race barely had time to settle before drama struck. Hank Vossberg was one of the early fallers, and Saturday podium finisher Logan Cunnison also went down, his stranded Aprilia bringing out the red flag. At the stoppage, it was Matthew Chapin who had the upper hand, leading Paige and Sam Drane, while Vossberg somehow made it back to pit lane with a heavily bent left handlebar and a visible limp after landing hard on his right side.

Chapin takes control on the restart

When the race resumed as a shortened five-lap affair, Chapin made sure there would be no repeat interruption to his momentum. The M4 ECSTAR Suzuki rider got to the front immediately and stayed there for every lap of the restart, eventually taking the chequered flag 2.624 seconds clear of the field. He also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:34.206.

Vossberg’s recovery to second was arguably the ride of the race. Despite the earlier crash damage and the clear physical discomfort, the Robem Engineering Aprilia rider tucked in behind Chapin through Turn 1 on the restart and held second for the entire five-lap dash to the flag.

Olmedo charges through late

The fight for the final podium place developed lap by lap. Paige held third through the first four laps of the restart, but Kevin Olmedo came alive late on the Karns/TST Industries Racing Suzuki. After starting sixth, Olmedo moved to fifth on lap two, fourth on lap three, and then snatched third on the final lap to finish just 0.944s behind Vossberg.

That left Paige to settle for fourth, just 0.171s shy of the podium after one of the grittier rides of the weekend.

Isaac Woodworth was fifth, Chris Parrish sixth, and Kyle Ohnsorg seventh, with only 0.849s covering fourth through seventh at the finish.

Sam Drane was close behind in eighth, while Andrew Weyh and Seth Dahmer rounded out the top 10.

A deserved breakthrough for Chapin

So after the chaos of the aborted first start, it was Chapin who turned composure into results. With Paige battered, Vossberg bruised, and Cunnison ruled out of the restart, the Suzuki rider delivered the cleanest five laps of anyone in the field and came away with a deserved first Twins Cup victory of the year.

Vossberg leads points, but Aussies stay in the hunt

Despite the drama of the Road Atlanta weekend, Hank Vossberg still leaves Georgia with a handy championship lead on 86 points, but the Aussie youngsters remain firmly in the fight. Sam Drane’s quiet consistency keeps him second on 63 points, just one ahead of the battered but defiant Bodie Paige on 62 after a bruising Sunday, while Chapin’s breakthrough win has tightened things further by lifting him to 58.

Kevin Olmedo’s late surge onto the race-two podium also moves him into the top five on 36, but for now, the title picture remains centred on Vossberg and the two young Australians refusing to let him get away.

Twins Cup Race Two Results

Twins Cup Championship Points

1. Hank Vossberg 86
2. Sam Drane 63
3. Bodie Paige 62
4. Matthew Chapin 58
5. Kevin Olmedo 36