Kelly Extends Superbike Championship Points Lead With Series Headed To Final Round
OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly A Fighting Fourth And Third At Circuit Of The Americas To Extend Points Lead To 26; Jayson Uribe An Impressive Sixth And Seventh In Texas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OrangeCat Racing | September 15th, 2026
Photo credit: Brian J. Nelson
AUSTIN, Texas – OrangeCat Racing’s Sean Dylan Kelly showed up at the Circuit of The Americas with a 17-point lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. After two races in searing Texas heat, Kelly leaves the Lone Star State with a 26-point lead with one round and three races left in the championship.
Kelly’s teammate Jayson Uribe continued his late-season surge with sixth- and seventh-place finishes in extremely difficult conditions as near 100-degree heat swamped CoTA for the penultimate round of the 20-race MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
Kelly and the team didn’t have the easiest of weekends in Texas, but he took what he could and fought to the bitter end of both races, ending the weekend with his 13th podium of the season.
Kelly and Uribe got the weekend off to a solid start on their BMW M 1000 RRs with Kelly second and Uribe ninth in the opening practice session on Friday. Kelly slid back to third in final qualifying with Uribe improving to eighth.
Although he finished just off the podium in Saturday’s race one, the day was a hugely successful one for Kelly and the OrangeCat Racing team as two of his closest rivals in the chase for the championship failed to score any points. The first to go was Mathew Scholtz, with the South African’s motorcycle suffering a mechanical issue that took him out of the battle early. The next to lose valuable points to Kelly was JD Beach, with the Kentuckian crashing out the race just a few laps later.
When the sun set on Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, Kelly was 30 points clear of Scholtz and 35 ahead of Bobby Fong, who moved past Beach in the series points standings with his third-place finish. Kelly had arrived in Texas with a 17-point lead on Scholtz.
Uribe, meanwhile, continued his late-season charge with the Californian beating Hayden Gillim to the finish line by just .070 of a second for sixth place.
On Sunday, the heat continued and so did Kelly’s attack on the 2026 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. Kelly grabbed the holeshot on his BMW M 1000 RR, slid back to second and ultimately found himself in a battle for the final podium spot with six-time Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier.
Despite finding himself behind Beaubier with just a few laps to go, Kelly kept fighting, taking the spot from Beaubier on the 10th of 12 laps. Scholtz again had the misfortune of a mechanical DNF.
Uribe, however, continued his late-season charge, finishing seventh and scoring points for the 15th time in 17 races. His 128 points puts him sixth in the championship, and he’ll be out to defend that spot in the final three races at New Jersey Motorsports Park in two weeks.
After 17 races, Kelly leads the title chase by 26 points over Fong, the winner of race two at Circuit of The Americas, 279-253, heading to New Jersey and the three-race finale.
Jayson Uribe/No. 36
Overall, we had a pretty good weekend at COTA. We struggled with some confidence issues on the first day, but the team worked hard and gave me a package I could really push with for the races. Qualifying was a mixed bag, had some bad luck dealing with traffic but still managed P8. Had a hard-fought battle for P6 in race 1 that I was able to come out on top of and was able to check out and race with the top group for a while in race 2 before finishing P7. Huge shoutout to my mechanics and crew members for getting my bike back together after a mechanical issue in the Sunday warmup! They got the bike fired up with 15 minutes to spare and it ran perfectly. Couldn’t do it without the whole OrangeCat Racing crew!
Sean Dylan Kelly/No. 40
“Even though we had some tough races this weekend, I’m proud of the work we did. I had high expectations coming into the weekend, so my final results might not be something I’m the happiest with, but in the big picture we had an important weekend in terms of points for the championship. We head to the last round of season leading, so we’re where we want to be. Time to focus on showing up 100% ready for New Jersey! Thank you to the entire team for such a special weekend, between the hospitality and all the guests, it was incredible.”
Jeff Connors – Team Principal
“Saturday was a mixed day. Sean Dylan Kelly finished fourth. That was disappointing, because we always expect to be on the podium. He struggled for grip at both ends of the bike, especially on the edge of the tire. Jayson Uribe took sixth. It was a solid result, but we wanted a top five, and he was a long way back from fifth. We always seem to struggle when a track is hot and greasy. That is exactly what we had at COTA.
Sunday was better. Sean came home third after a tough battle with Cameron Beaubier. It was a good result, but the bike had the same problems. Jayson's day started badly with an engine failure in morning warmup. The crew swapped the motor and got him on the grid in time. He finished seventh, dealing with the same grip issues from race one. We did extend our points lead, and that is the positive. Even so, we go into the final round at New Jersey as if we are zero points ahead. We have a test before then, and we will look for grip.
The team did a great job all weekend. Beckhoff Automation was on the bike at COTA, and we hosted some of their employees and partners at the track. Thank you to Beckhoff Automation. Finally, none of this happens without BMW Motorrad and alpha Racing.
Saturday was a mixed day. Sean Dylan Kelly finished fourth. That was disappointing, because we always expect to be on the podium. He struggled for grip at both ends of the bike, especially on the edge of the tire. Jayson Uribe took sixth. It was a solid result, but we wanted a top five, and he was a long way back from fifth. We always seem to struggle when a track is hot and greasy. That is exactly what we had at COTA.
Sunday was better. Sean came home third after a tough battle with Cameron Beaubier. It was a good result, but the bike had the same problems. Jayson's day started badly with an engine failure in morning warmup. The crew swapped the motor and got him on the grid in time. He finished seventh, dealing with the same grip issues from race one. We did extend our points lead, and that is the positive. Even so, we go into the final round at New Jersey as if we are zero points ahead. We have a test before then, and we will look for grip.”
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 eighth round of the 2026 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, click Saturday (race one) and Sunday (race two).
The ninth and final round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be held at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey, September 25-27.
Photo credit: Brian J. Nelson
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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.
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.