The 2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship was won by Monster
Energy/Yamaube Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier, who wrestled the title away from 2017
MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Toni Elias even though Elias won the most races in 2018.

Considering Beaubier and Elias are both returning in 2019
with the same motorcycles, teams, crews, and very few new elements in their
programs, Roadracingworld.com asked Elias what he needed to do differently in
order to beat Beaubier and win the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.

“I am super happy to continue with Yoshimura Suzuki because
we have experience behind us,” said Elias. “The continuing is very important to
me. I don’t have this in the past. Now I have it and it’s the most valuable
thing for me.

“We have been focused since last year on improving our weak
points, my weak points, weak points in the battle. We’ve focused on improving
that, but after all of the work we have done this winter we arrive here and we
don’t know anything. 

“We don’t know how is Cam [Beaubier]. We don’t know how is
[Garrett] Gerloff. We don’t know exactly how is [Elias’ new Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Josh]
Herrin, because still I don’t know [even though] I’ve been there close to him
and watching him. But he will be good.”

Asked for the specific weak points he wants to improve on,
Elias said, “We’ve been fast, but after some laps we were sliding too much.
Then Cam [Beaubier] was able to do fast laps in the last part of the race. Even
though we were able to beat him sometimes it was difficult. But even if I was
focused on leading or playing my strategy or close the doors on the last lap,
he was able to be there or arrive from three seconds from behind or to do the
fastest lap of the race on the last lap.

“Man, I don’t like these things. We have to work here.”