Loris Baz and Benjamin Smith Achieve the Best Weekend of the Season So Far at Laguna Seca The Quad Lock MotoAmerica Superbike field rolled into the historic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the fifth round of the 2026 series, with Loris Baz and Benjamin Smith carrying the charge for the Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law team on the Monterey Peninsula. Part of MotoAmerica’s season-long salute to ’50 Years of Superbike Racing,’ and coming fresh off the nation’s 250th-anniversary celebrations, the return to the world-renowned 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course known for its infamous Corkscrew. In race one, Baz went to work in a 20-lap fight with Bobby Fong and Jayson Uribe, coming out on top of the trio to take fifth by 0.32s over Fong. Smith, meanwhile, finished eighth after a scrap with Hayden Gillim and Richie Escalante. Race two produced another Baz-versus-Fong duel, the roles reversed this time as Baz crossed the line sixth, just 0.32s behind Fong. Smith stayed glued to his teammate all the way to the flag, taking seventh a further 0.125s back, the pair’s strongest combined result of the campaign. Also of note was Wrench Motorcycles Ducati’s Cameron Petersen, who secured second in both races. Baz reported that the Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law squad spent the weekend battling electronics issues on the Panigale V4R, with the bike short on grip through some of Laguna Seca’s flatter corners but noticeably stronger through the cambered sections. Heading into round six of nine at Mid-Ohio, Baz sits 17th in the standings with 21 points, and Smith 13th with 46. In the Supersport class, rookie sensation Darryn Binder (Celtic/Economy Lube + Tire/Warhorse) continued his dominant run, claiming pole position and converting it into the race-one win ahead of fellow Ducati riders Josh Herrin (Rahal Ducati Moto) by 2.394s and Kayla Yaakov (Rahal Ducati Moto) by 11.384s. Binder led the opening 10 laps of race two but, under sustained pressure from Herrin, ran wide through the Corkscrew and was pitched into the gravel trap. He kept the Ducati upright but rejoined to finish 11th. Despite the race-two mishap, Binder continues to lead the Supersport title chase after six rounds, with 223 points and nine clear of Herrin. Loris Baz (Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law – #76) “After a tough start, this was our first proper run on the bike in the dry. We’ve been chipping away since Friday. Our feeling wasn’t ideal at the start of the weekend, so we took a lot of baby steps and improved the bike every time we went out. I’m starting to understand what we need to do to make this beast work here. “We did good stuff, and I’m proud of the team and happy with the group. It’s great to have a clean weekend like that behind us and to roll on to the next one with that data and this confidence. I’m really happy, and I’m looking forward to Mid-Ohio.” Benjamin Smith (Warhorse HSBK Ducati FLo4Law – #78) “Overall, it was definitely a positive weekend,” Smith said. “This West Coast swing has been really refreshing for me and the team, and we finally got some good, solid results in and built my confidence step by step. I was happy with the pace we had today and was fighting up toward the front early on, with some really good lap times in those first couple of laps before I settled in. We brought it home in seventh, right behind Loris. “The team is working their butts off to give me the best bike possible and doing a phenomenal job — I can’t thank those guys enough. The bike keeps getting better and better, and the package is phenomenal. Now I’ll get back to training hard. We’ve got a couple of weeks until Mid-Ohio, a place I usually like and tend to go well at, so I’m going to keep my nose to the grindstone and keep chipping away — we’re getting closer to the front and to where I want to be.” Round six of the 2026 Quad Lock MotoAmerica Superbike Championship will be held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 31-August 1, 2026. The post Loris Baz and Benjamin Smith Achieve the Best Weekend of the Season appeared first on Bikernet.com - Online Biker Magazine.