Dramatic Action And Wicked Weather Highlight Saturday At The MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup National Final

Leading Contenders Take Each Other Out In Wild GP 190 Battle At
Road America’s Briggs & Strattan Motorplex

ELKHART LAKE, WI – August 10, 2025 – (Motor Sports NewsWire) – The first day of racing at the second annual MotoAmerica Mission Mini Cup National Final took place on Saturday at Road America’s Briggs & Strattan Motorplex. The day featured intense racing and a stunning turn of events in the premier GP 190 class. Mother Nature also intervened, with a storm delaying action for several hours before most of the second round ran in wet-to-drying conditions.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came in GP 190. Defending class champ Mahdi Salem spent much of both races running up front, but it was archrival Kensei Matsudaira who made a dramatic last-lap pass in race one to score a mild-upset victory over Salem.

“I saw that he was taking a defensive line, so I formulated a plan on the last lap,” said Matsudaira. “Then I just rode as hard as I could after I took the lead. It was a great race with a lot of strategy and a lot of good riding from everybody in the lead group.”

In the second GP 190 race, once again, it was Salem and Matsudaira trading the lead for most of the way. But then late in the contest the duo collided and both hit the deck. Salem was quicker to his feet and recovered to finish third. Matsudaira, meanwhile, had trouble restarting his Ohvale and had to settle for eighth.

The crash between the top two GP 190 contenders presented an opportunity for Connor Raymond, who came home winner of the second race, just ahead of Jase Dill. Raymond finished third in race one, so he and Salem are locked in a tight battle atop the GP 190 standings with Sunday’s races remaining.

Dill is one of the riders turning double duty, racing two classes. Dill hopped off his GP 190 machine and went out to score the win in the first GP 160 class in dominating fashion. He then passed Zaal Farhand late to win race two.

Farhand, just a week removed from winning an Ohvale Supercup event in China, shook off any jetlag he might be experiencing to sweep Saturday’s GP 110 class.

In one of the other close races of the day it was Cooper Jazikoff holding off Marcus Su by .107 of a second to earn victory in Stock 50 class race one. Cooper’s big brother Chase Jazikoff had a similar style win in the Stock 110 class, beating Christian Berlowitz to the flag by .329 of a second. Chase won the second wet Stock 110 race was well over Mason McIntire. Cruise Texter dominated the second Stock 50 race, winning by over nine seconds.

Bodie Paige used an off weekend from MotoAmerica Talent Cup to keep sharp by racing the Street GP class. Paige ran off and hid in both races, winning by over 30 seconds in race one and by 13.387 seconds in the wet race two.

Sunday’s final day of racing kicks off at 12:45 p.m. (Central Time) with the first GP 190 race, followed by a full slate of action, wrapping up with GP 110 Race 2 at 4:40 p.m. Riders will race a different track configuration on Sunday at the Briggs & Stratton Motorplex.

The races will be featured on MotoAmerica Live+ with live streaming and video on-demand with expert commentary from the MotoAmerica Live+ team of Roger Hayden and Jamie Howe. MotoAmerica Live+ will begin streaming at 1:00 p.m. (Central Time) on Sunday and will conclude at 4:30 p.m. (Central Time).

Kensei Matsudaira (74) made a dramatic last-lap pass on Mahdi Salem (10) to win the first GP190 race on Saturday. The two crashed together in race two, opening the way for Connor Raymond (44) to take the victory. Photo by Larry Lawrence

Chase Jazikoff leads Christian Berlowitz in the Stock 110 class race one on Saturday. It was one of the closest finishes of the day with Jazikoff taking the win. Photo by Larry Lawrence

In an off-weekend from the MotoAmerica Talent Cup, Bodie Paige (65) raced during the Mini Cup National Finals weekend to stay sharp. He ran off and hid in the first SteetGP class race. Photo by Larry Lawrence

Chase Dill (97) was dominant in the first GP160 race, winning over Zaal Farhand (98) by over nine seconds. Photo by Larry Lawrence

Cooper Jazikoff (423) leads Cruise Texter (26), Marcus Su (66), and Chip Lampley (41) early in the first Stock 50 class. Jazikoff went on to win in a close late-race battle with Su. Photo by Larry Lawrence

Zaal Farhand scored victory in the first GP110 race on Saturday. One week ago, Farhand won an Ohvale Supercup event in China. Photo by Larry Lawrence

Saturday images can be found HERE

Complete practice, qualifying and race results are available HERE

For complete 2025 MotoAmerica Media Resources please visit – 2025 MotoAmerica Media 

About MotoAmerica

MotoAmerica is North America’s premier motorcycle road racing series. Established in 2014, MotoAmerica is home to the AMA Superbike Championship as well as additional classes including Supersport, Stock 1000, Twins Cup, Talent Cup, Super Hooligan National Championship, and King Of The Baggers. MotoAmerica is an affiliate of KRAVE Group LLC, a partnership including three-time 500cc World Champion, two-time AMA Superbike Champion, and AMA Hall of Famer Wayne Rainey; ex-racer and former manager of Team Roberts Chuck Aksland; motorsports marketing executive Terry Karges; and businessman Richard Varner. For more information, please visit www.MotoAmerica.com, and MotoAmerica’s social platforms on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. To watch all things MotoAmerica, subscribe to MotoAmerica’s live streaming and video on-demand service, MotoAmerica Live+

Source: MotoAmerica

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