Victory for Loris Baz on the Panigale V4 R at VIR in Quad Lock MotoAmerica Superbike

Sunnyvale, Calif., August 16, 2026 — It felt like a long time coming, but Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Ducati Flo4Law) has added a second career MotoAmerica Superbike victory to his stellar international career after the triple-header race weekend at Virginia Internation Raceway (VIR).After recording fifth and sixth place finishes in races one and two, Baz was at his dynamic best in race three at VIR. A turn one crash eliminated Bobby Fong, Cameron Petersen, Sean Dylan Kelly, Mathew Scholtz and Benjamin Smith, and Baz overhauled JD Beach, Jayson Uribe and fellow Ducati rider PJ Jacobsen to take a 0.155s win. It was the first time the factory-backed, 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R has visited Victory Lane this season.

For teammate Benjamin Smith, his weekend started well with the fourth fastest time in qualifying, but the races did not go his way with three crashes.

In the Supersport category, Darryn Binder (Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse) took the win in a spectacular race one, beating veteran Josh Hayes to the finish line with Josh Herrin third, Binder thus extending his lead in the series.

Race two was held in inclement weather and Hayes made the best of the situation to take the win, but Binder bought home a crucial second place ahead of Brendan Kettlesen and Herrin in fourth.

Binder now holds a commanding 35-point lead in the Supersport series over Herrin.

Binder's teammate, Wristin Grigg, failed to finish race one but came home with a 13th place finish in race two.

Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law team – #76)
“It's amazing to have the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R, which I believe is the best-looking bike in the world, winning here in America. I'm proud to be the first one to do it,” Baz said. “It was a hard weekend, but we kept believing after Mid-Ohio that we were improving every session. I came here thinking I could fight for the win, but this track is so different. It reminded me a lot of 2021, when the big curbs would really upset the bike and make it difficult to ride.

“I can't thank the team enough, especially my crew chief, Simone. Since Laguna, there hasn't been a single time when he hasn't made the bike better from one session to the next. We've just kept improving.

“I want to thank Ducati more than anything—Simone, Bobby and (Eraldo) Ferracci. I'm also thinking about Cameron (Beaubier) and wishing him the best recovery. I hope it takes him one week longer, though, so I can be at COTA, which is a track I really like!

“I'm glad to be racing in America for Ducati, and I just hope we can have a lot more success together.”

Benajmin Smith (Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law team – #78)
“It was definitely an interesting weekend,” Smith said. “It started off really well. We were in the top five right away, had good qualifying pace and put the bike fourth on the grid.

“In race one, we were running with the front group but I made a small mistake that took me out of the race. Then, in race two, we had almost an identical situation. It was basically cut, copy and paste, which was definitely a bummer.

“Race three started well. I felt good and we were right there. Then the red flag came out. On the restart, we got into turn one and, to be honest, I don't even know what happened. It was just chaos. I got collected in whatever the first incident was, and unfortunately that was the end of the race for us. It's all part of the learning process. On to Texas.”

Darryn Binder (Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse – #53)
“That was a crazy weekend,” Binder said. “I managed to get the pole position and had a huge battle in race one and took the win.

“Today, there was a huge spanner in the works with the rain just before the second race. I got seven minutes of track familiarization to go and spin some laps, and I opted to go out on the slick tires, but I missed the pit exit and had to start the race from the back of the grid.

“The slicks were definitely the right call. I got up to second by the finish and extended my lead in the championship, so in the end it was all good.

“I'm really looking forward to Circuit of The Americas. That's a track I know really well from my time in Grand Prix racing, so that's less more thing I have to worry about. We'll just keep trying to do more of the same and bank those points for the championship.”

The penultimate round of the 2026 Quad Lock MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be held at the world-famous Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, over the September 11-13 weekend.