Two Podiums for Kelly and a Top Five for Uribe in Superbike Season Opener at Road Atlanta
Sean Dylan Kelly makes his debut with OrangeCat Racing a memorable one with a pair of podium finishes; Jayson Uribe starts strong finishing fifth in race one, eleventh in race two.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Paul Carruthers for OrangeCat Racing | April 19, 2025
Sean Dylan Kelly secures second place in his first Superbike race with OrangeCat Racing, putting the BMW M 1000 RR straight onto the podium. Photo credit: Brian J. Nelson
BRASELTON, Georgia – OrangeCat Racing, the first official BMW Motorrad Motorsport team in MotoAmerica Superbike, left its first race weekend with two podiums, and riders in second and eighth in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship standings.
Sean Dylan Kelly’s debut with OrangeCat Racing was a competitive start with the Floridian scoring a second-place finish in Saturday’s race one and a third in Sunday’s race two at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on his BMW M 1000 RR.
Kelly’s incumbent teammate Jayson Uribe bounced back from a high-speed crash in a Friday practice to finish a fifth in race one and a fighting eleventh in race two.
The team started the weekend with Kelly putting his BMW on the front row with the third-fastest qualifying time, –0.149 seconds from pole position. Uribe put his OrangeCat Racing BMW on row three, despite losing track time with a Friday crash.
In Saturday’s race one, Kelly matched his qualifying position on the opening lap of the race, which was scheduled for 19 laps. Kelly moved up a spot on the sixth lap, and shortly thereafter the race was stopped due to a red flag.
The race was restarted with 12 laps to go, and Kelly again started third, but moved up a spot to second with five laps to go. Uribe was in a heated fight, battling for sixth place. That would turn out to be a battle for fifth, and it went to Uribe, putting his OrangeCat Racing BMW M 1000 RR in the top five in the first race of the season.
Although he dropped a spot to third in race two, Kelly was closer to the lead than he was in race one, matching the pace of the two riders ahead of him until starting to struggle with arm pump. Still, Kelly held on for third, his second podium of the weekend.
Uribe was again in a race-long battle for position in race two, running in eighth place until dropping a few spots in the final laps to finish the 19-lap race in eleventh. At the finish line, Uribe was just .774 of a second from eighth. The Californian also had the seventh fastest lap of the race, almost half a second faster than his best from Saturday’s race one.
Jeff Connors — Team Principal
“I am proud of the team and how we handled the weekend. Going into our first season of Superbike has been a journey and it is nice to come out of Road Atlanta with some solid results. We had a few setbacks, but these things happen in racing. With the support of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, alpha racing, and our talented team members, we will push to be even stronger at Barber. Great start to the season.”
Jayson Uribe — No. 36
“Saturday was an incredible day for the entire race team and I felt great about ending race one in P5 despite riding with a fractured wrist from a crash on Friday. I gave it everything I possibly could in race two – and our pace was on par with the top five – but the last couple laps were tough. I’m going to heal up, get better, and will be back at it for Barber.”
Sean Dylan Kelly — No. 40
“I’m really pumped about this weekend. Had a strong start on Saturday with a P2, and even though I landed in P3 for race two, I felt a lot more competitive and was much closer to the win. It was awesome to start my journey with the OrangeCat Racing team with two podiums: I’m feeling really good and looking forward to making another step at Barber.”
OrangeCat Racing’s promotional and technical partners for the 2026 MotoAmerica season include BMW Motorrad Motorsport, Lightfighter, Motoworks Chicago, Ohlins USA, Farasis, and alpha Racing.
For full results of the opening round of the 2026 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, click Saturday (race one) and Sunday (race two).
The second round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be held at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, May 15-17.
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About OrangeCat Racing
OrangeCat Racing is a professional motorcycle racing team based in Chicago, competing at the national level in MotoAmerica. OrangeCat Racing thrives on competition, on challenging itself, and on learning and growing together. The team is dedicated to expanding the reach of motorcycle racing, sharing the experience of it, and creating an environment where riders can fully focus on their craft.
For 2026, OrangeCat Racing is competing for MotoAmerica’s Superbike class as a BMW Motorrad Motorsport official team. They’re also competing in the MotoAmerica Super Hooligan class aboard the electric Lightfighter motorcycle. For more information about OrangeCat Racing, visit www.orangecatracing.com.
Jayson Uribe #36 charges through the esses at Road Atlanta as Cameron Beaubier #1 claws his way forward. Photo credit: Brian J. Nelson
Sean Dylan Kelly #40 fires out of the turn, holding off a hard-charging JD Beach #95. Photo credit: Brian J. Nelson