Hayes Scores 91st Career Victory at MotoAmerica Season Finale
Josh Hayes adds another Supersport victory to his legendary career, Karel Hanika earns a podium in his MotoAmerica debut, and Sam Drane finishes runner-up in Talent Cup at New Jersey Motorsports Park / Sep 29, 2026 /
There was plenty to celebrate for Yamaha BLU CRU riders at the MotoAmerica season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP). BPR Racing Yamaha’s Josh Hayes added another victory to his legendary career, scoring his second Supersport win of the season aboard the Yamaha YZF-R9 and his 91st career AMA road racing victory. Liberty St. Yamaha Racing’s Karel Hanika also impressed in his MotoAmerica debut, with the experienced World Championship rider earning a podium in Race 2. Strack Racing Yamaha’s Blake Davis rebounded from a Race 1 crash to finish fourth, while Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing’s Sam Drane wrapped up the season with a runner-up finish in the MotoAmerica Talent Cup and a sixth-place finish aboard the Yamaha YZF-R7 in Twins Cup.
Like Superbike, the support classes had plenty to contend with as a nor’easter brought high winds, heavy rain, and constantly changing track conditions to the 2.25-mile track in Millville, New Jersey. MotoAmerica adjusted the schedule in anticipation of worsening weather on Sunday, but ultimately the second Talent Cup and Twins Cup races were canceled.
Hayes came into the weekend with a lot of confidence, as the four-time AMA Superbike Champion is no stranger to success at NJMP. And with both of his previous wins aboard the BPR Racing Yamaha YZF-R9 coming in wet conditions, the forecast appeared to play to his strengths. In Race 1, Hayes grabbed the holeshot and led from start to finish, earning his second victory of the season and 91st career AMA road racing win.
“It’s special to get two this year, both of them in wet weather, unfortunately, but I’ll take what I can get,” said Hayes. “The BPR guys did a good job for me, but the hardest part has been the pressure stacking up. I’ve had so many good races here in New Jersey, and the three wins on this R9 have all come around wet weather. Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you got this, you got this.’
“Then I had such a good morning in practice, and it’s like, man, everything’s really starting to stack up on my shoulders, that I’m the thing that’s going to screw this up. So I’m happy that I was able to stay relaxed, ride well, finish the job, and get it done today.”
Sunday brought another challenging wet race for the Supersport field. Hayes got a good start but crashed in a puddle entering Turn 1. He rejoined the race and found himself 15th on the opening lap, but put his head down and worked his way back to 11th before another crash in Turn 1 with five laps remaining. Undeterred, he fought his way back to 11th, finishing the season fourth in the Supersport Championship with two victories and six podiums.
Filling in for the injured Dominic Doyle, Hanika made progress throughout his debut weekend in the series and with Liberty St. Yamaha Racing. Despite starting deep on the grid, the Czech rider got a good start in Race 1 and worked his way forward to finish sixth..
Hanika got another good start in Race 2 and was seventh on the opening lap. He quickly made his way through a four-rider battle for fourth, moving into the position by Lap 2. Hanika then closed the gap to the rider ahead and made the pass for third on Lap 6, where he would finish to earn his first MotoAmerica podium in just his second race aboard the Liberty St. Yamaha Racing YZF-R9.
“It was my first experience in America and in the Supersport class,” said Hanika. “For me, it was a new bike, a new team, tires, racetrack – so a lot to learn. Of course, I had some experience with the bikes, but any time you come to a new place, you have to learn quickly, especially here when you have only one free practice and qualifying.
“We did our best to prepare for both dry and wet, and every session we were improving and improving, until the end of Race 2, where we could take the podium. I had a really good start in all the races, was able to make up many positions, and my pace was good.
“I think if I could start today in a better position, not 17th, I would probably be able to fight with the top two guys for the win. But I’m still happy to take this podium, my first one here and in my second race, so I really couldn’t ask for more. Big thanks to Chuck and Greg from Liberty Yamaha Racing and all the guys who gave me this opportunity.”
It was a tough start to the weekend for Strack Racing Yamaha’s Blake Davis. After a chaotic start to Race 1 left the young Virginian back in 12th, he put his head down and worked his way to seventh by the halfway mark before unfortunately crashing out in the tricky conditions. Davis rebounded aboard his YZF-R9 in Race 2, getting a good start and running third early. He remained in the fight up front before being passed by Hanika ahead of the halfway mark and rode on to finish fourth. Davis ended the season with a top-five finish in the Supersport Championship.
Drane also ended his season on a positive note, earning a runner-up finish in the Talent Cup race and finishing sixth aboard the Yamaha BLU CRU Estenson Racing YZF-R7 in Twins Cup. With the worsening conditions on Sunday, the second race for both classes was canceled.
Despite not being 100% at the start of the season following an injury, the 15-year-old Australian finished third in both the MotoAmerica Twins Cup and Talent Cup Championships. In his debut Twins Cup season, Drane scored a victory at the season opener in Daytona and a total of four podiums. He also had a strong sophomore season in Talent Cup, earning nine podiums, including a victory at the penultimate round at COTA.
“Yeah, it was definitely a good weekend,” said Drane. “I got second in the Talent Cup and sixth on the Twin. It was my first time in the wet on the Twin, so I was struggling a little bit. I didn’t really know how much I could trust it. I was really looking forward to today. We made some big changes, and I think we were going to make a big step forward today, but unfortunately we got rained out. So I’m just looking forward to next year.”