Beaubier Takes Honda Superbike Showdown Title

Beaubier Splits Wins With Josh Hayes But Wins Honda Civic

MONTEREY, CA – Monster Energy Graves Yamaha teammates Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes both came away with MotoAmerica Superbike victories on a sunny Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with Beaubier leaving the Monterey Peninsula with a 2016 Honda Civic Sedan while Hayes left with his 60th career Superbike win.

Beaubier won race one and finished second in race two and that earned him the Honda Civic as the winner of the three-race Honda Superbike Showdown that concluded on Sunday with the Honda Superbike Showdown of California. Beaubier amassed 127 points over the three-round (six-race) series to best Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias by 13 points, 127-114. Hayes ended up third with 99 points.

Hayes finished third and first in the two races at the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but lost another four points to Beaubier in the race for the 2016 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship that resumes in six weeks with the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Beaubier takes a 29-point lead over Hayes to New Jersey with Elias another six points behind in third place. Elias’ Yoshimura Suzuki teammate Hayden basically took himself out of championship contention with a crash in race one and a fourth-place finish in race two. Hayden now trails Beaubier by 59 points with 50 championship points up for grabs in New Jersey’s two races.

Meen Motorsports’ Josh Herrin, meanwhile, became the second MotoAmerica Champion of the 2016 season as he was crowned after finishing eighth in race two. Herrin now has an insurmountable 50-point lead heading to the season finale at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Both races were thrillers in front of a Sunday crowd of 22,912 spectators (a three-day crowd of 61,052 attended the race that was held in conjunction with the World Superbike Championship) with Beaubier besting Elias by just .300 of a second in race one and Hayes beating Beaubier by a scant .257 of a second in race two. Hayes was 1.8 seconds behind in third place in race one with Elias 1.6 seconds adrift in third place in race two.

“At the beginning of the race, I was getting a little nervous,” Beaubier said after taking his eighth win of the season in race one on Sunday. “I was getting a gap put on me. I almost ran into Toni Elias on the fourth lap and I dropped behind Roger (Hayden) and had to catch up. I feel like at the beginning of the race their bikes were working better with the new tires and as the race went on mine seemed better than theirs. I’m really happy with the win and big thanks to my team.”

Fourth place in race one went to Wheels in Motion/Meen Motorsports’ Josh Herrin, the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 points leader moving up two spots with both TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick and HSBK Aprilia’s Claudio Corti getting docked two positions for passing under yellow flags.

The penalties moved Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz to fifth overall and second in the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 ranks with Eslick and Corti bumped back to sixth and seventh. Quicksilver/Latus Motors Racing’s Bobby Fong, Team Rabid Transit’s Sheridan Morais and M4 Suzuki’s Jake Lewis rounded out the top 10.

In race two Hayden was fourth with Corti ending up fifth overall and first in the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 class. Scholtz was again second in class with Morais third. Herrin ended the race in eighth, but that was enough to earn him the 2016 Bazzaz Superstock 1000 title. Corti’s HSBK Aprilia team filed a protest against Herrin’s Meen Motorsports Yamaha, but the team’s Yamaha R1 was found to be legal.

Millennium Technologies/KWR’s Kyle Wyman and Lewis rounded out the top 10.

“Both races were very similar I thought and both races were a lot of fun,” Hayes said after winning race two. “This one had the end result that I was looking for in the first one so I’m really proud to win this race for my boys and to put on a show for all the fans who came out. It was an incredibly fun race. It was nerve-wracking. Like I said on the podium, I got tired of holding my breath and closing my eyes so much waiting for the Spanish Stud Missile over there. Every time I made a mistake it was like, ‘Oh no, here it comes.’ I got a bit of a surprise when it was Cam (Beaubier) going into the last turn. I knew I was pretty tight and I was like ‘He doesn’t like being down there.’ He’s a little bit smaller than me and still has a little growing to do so I was a little worried because I know he gets a good run off that last turn. So it was just getting it turned and get it pointed straight and accelerating as smoothly and as best I could. He had a pretty big one next to me so I was like, ‘Hang on little buddy.’ Even when that happened, I was still nervous that Toni was coming. I thought he was somehow going to still dive-bomb me before the finish line.”

Y.E.S. Graves Yamaha’s JD Beach continues to pile the pressure on his Supersport Championship leading teammate Garrett Gerloff with the Kentucky resident reeling off his fifth win in a row to narrow the points lead to 14 points on the Texan with the two New Jersey races remaining. Beach was aided in his title hopes by Frenchman Valentin Debise, the M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki rider beating Gerloff to the flag for second place to take points away from the championship leader. Beach will still need some help even if he wins the final two races at New Jersey because he’d lose the title by four points if Gerloff finished second in both.

Debise’s teammate Cameron Petersen finished fourth in Sunday’s 21-lap race, the South African holding off Galfer USA/Team H35 Honda’s Benny Solis Jr. Sixth place went to Bryce Prince, the newly crowned Superstock 600 Champion beating HB Racing/Meen Motorsports’ Richie Escalante and ADR Motorsports/Fly Racing’s Nick McFadden to take his eighth class win of the season.

ModoBag/MD Racing’s Andrew Lee and Newton Racing’s Jay Newton rounded out the top 10.

Beach knows there’s work to be done, but he also knows he’s in with a shot of defending his Supersport crown.

“I still have got a lot of work to do to try and overtake Garrett in the points,” Beach said. “He still has a good gap. I still need to win the last two races, but we’re just going to keep trying. Now I owe Valentin (Debise) some money for beating Garrett because he got second. It’s a small fee now, but after the next couple of races if I can overtake the points the fee might go a bit higher. It’s kind of an incentive program for him (Debise).”

SUPERBIKE RACE 1: 1. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha); 2. Toni Elias (Suzuki); 3 Josh Hayes (Yamaha); 4. Josh Herrin (Yamaha); 5. Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha); 6. Danny Eslick (Yamaha); 7. Claudio Corti (Aprilia); 8. Bobby Fong (Kawasaki); 9. Sheridan Morais (Yamaha); 10. Jake Lewis (Suzuki).

SUPERBIKE RACE 2: 1. Josh Hayes (Yamaha); 2. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha); 3. Toni Elias (Suzuki); 4. Roger Hayden (Suzuki); 5. Claudio Corti (Aprilia); 6. Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha); 7. Sheridan Morias (Yamaha); 8. Josh Herrin (Yamaha); 9. Kyle Wyman (Yamaha); 10. Jake Lewis (Suzuki).

SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Cameron Beaubier (298/8 wins); 2. Josh Hayes (269/2 wins); 3. Toni Elias (263/5 wins); 4. Roger Hayden (239/1 win); 5. Josh Herrin (239); 6. Claudio Corti (136); 7. Bobby Fong (120); 8. Danny Eslick (94); 9. Hayden Gillim (93); 10. Jake Gagne (74).

SUPERSPORT: 1. JD Beach (Yamaha); 2. Valentin Debise (Suzuki); 3. Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha); 4. Cameron Petersen (Suzuki); 5. Benny Solis Jr. (Honda); 6. Bryce Prince (Yamaha); 7. Richie Escalante (Yamaha); 8. Nick McFadden (Yamaha); 9. Andrew Lee (Yamaha); 10. Jay Newton (Yamaha).

SUPERSPORT CHAMPIONSHP POINT STANDINGS: 1. Garrett Gerloff (286/6 wins); 2. JD Beach (272/6 wins); 3. Valentin Debise (214/1 win); 4. Cameron Petersen (178/1 win); 5. Joe Roberts (129); 6. Benny Solis Jr. (124); 7. Bryce Prince (122); 8. Travis Wyman (80); 9. Dakota Mamola (79); 10. Richie Esclanate (66). 

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Beaubier Comes Out On Top After A Fight To The Finish In Superbike Race 1 At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; Teammate Hayes Is Third

Monterey, CA – Sunday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race 1 from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca featured a world-class fight between four riders, including Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Factory Racing teammates Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes, and in the end, it was defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron who notched the dramatic win, which was his eighth victory of the 2016 season. Meanwhile, four-time AMA Superbike Champion Josh, who led the race for several laps, finished third for his 11th podium result in 2016.

After his win, Cameron, who hails from nearby Roseville, said. “At the beginning of the race, I was getting a little nervous because I thought they were getting away from me a little bit. I had to work to catch back up to them, and as the race went on, I felt more comfortable, and I think I managed my tires pretty well, so I would have something in the end. I was able to pick up the pace at the end. I’m really happy to get this win at my home track.”

Josh commented, “It was a fun race to be a part of, and I was glad to lead it. I knew it was going to come down to a battle at the end. My pace was pretty good throughout the race, so I’m really happy with that. We’ll see what we can do to get the win in in this second race later today.”

For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing

Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on your favorite social media site.

More, from a press release issued by KTM North America:

ASHTON YATES TOPS ROUND 8 OF THE MOTOAMERICA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA

Round 7 – MotoAmerica KTM RC Cup – July 11, 2016

MONTEREY, Calif. – Round 7 of the KTM RC Cup Series took place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca over the weekend in conjunction with Round 8 of the MotoAmerica Championship Series. With the addition of the World Superbike Championship to the weekend schedule, KTM RC Cup racing took place solely on Saturday and it was Ashton Yates who made the most out of the one-race format as he emerged victorious for his second-straight win this season.

Yates proved his dominance early on as he qualified on pole position after two sessions of timed qualifying. Yates jumped into the lead at the start but the race was red flagged due to a big pileup on the opening lap. The pileup included front-runner Jody Barry, Benjamin Smith, Daniel Costilla, Nolan Lamkin and Brandon Paasch.

The riders lined back up on the grid for a restart, which then became an 8-lap race instead of 12. Paasch was able to re-grid but unfortunately the other riders were not able to continue.

Yates shot right back to the front immediately after the start, where he led the first few laps of the race. Paasch jumped into the 2nd place position early on, with Josh Serne, Anthony Mazziotto III and Alejandro Gutierrez close in tow.

Mazziotto interjected himself into the lead around the halfway point as he and Yates battled back-and-forth for the top position. Paasch joined the battle for the final laps of the race and it was once again a three-way showdown to the finish between Yates, Mazziotto and Paasch. On the final lap, Mazziotto put himself into a favorable position out front, with Paasch in 2nd and Yates in 3rd. However, Paasch made a mistake exiting the last corner, which allowed Yates to draft by for 2nd. Yates capitalized on a good line choice that allowed him to catch Mazziotto and the two drag-raced to the finish line.

In the end, Yates was able to gain the upper hand to secure his third race-win of the season in California.

“I knew it was going to be a battle to the finish,” Yates said. “Coming into the last lap that wasn’t where I wanted to be, I made a little mistake and they pulled a gap but I was able to make that up in the final corner and get by Brandon and clean up Anthony’s mistake, so I got a little lucky there, but I’m happy with the way it ended up.”

Paasch bested Mazziotto in the final moments, giving the points leader a 2nd place finish at Round 7.

Mazziotto finished 3rd, where he holds a strong 2nd place position in the championship standings.

“I had no idea how close they were to me so I rode a little bit defensive in the last corner,” Mazziotto said. “After I realized how early I apexed the turn, I knew where I was going, so I just committed and tried to make the best out of my situation but it didn’t go our way.”

Following a great start, Gutierrez rode a solid race to ultimately finish 4th behind Mazziotto, with Serne also putting in a good ride for 5th place and Cory Ventura in 6th. In only his second MotoAmerica appearance of the season, Ruben Casarez captured a season-best 7th place, followed by Jaret Nassaney with a season-best 8th place finish. Draik Beauchamp and Ezra Beaubier rounded out the top ten with 9th and 10th place, respectively, at Round 7.

The MotoAmerica Series will now take a small break before returning to action in September for the KTM RC Cup final in New Jersey.

Next Event: New Jersey Motorsports Park / Sept. 9-11, 2016

Race 1 Results –

1. Ashton Yates

2. Brandon Paasch

3. Anthony Mazziotto III

4. Alejandro Gutierrez

5. Josh Serne

6. Cory Ventura

7. Ruben Casarez

8. Jaret Nassaney

9. Draik Beauchamp

10. Ezra Beaubier

Championship Point Standings –

1. Brandon Paasch – 266

2. Anthony Mazziotto – 247

3. Ashton Yates – 210

4. Jody Barry – 150

5. Alejandro Gutierrez – 142

More, from a press release issued by Yoshimura Suzuki:

A POLE AND TWO ROSTRUM FINISHES FOR YOSHIMURA SUZUKI AT LAGUNA

Chino, CA (July 11, 2016) – Toni Elias won the pole and scored a pair of podium finishes Sunday in MotoAmerica Superbike at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. Elias finished second aboard his No. 24 Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 in race one and followed that up with third in race two. Teammate Roger Hayden finished fourth in race two after crashing in the first leg.

Elias earned his second successive MotoAmerica Superbike pole position and the second of his debut season in the series aboard his speedy Yoshimura Suzuki GSX-R1000 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during qualifying on Saturday.

“I’m happy because we try to make a good job all weekend, working for the race, but every time we put a new tire on I found traffic,” Elias said. “I knew this wouldn’t happen on the Superpole because there are only 10 riders on the track. It was a shame that I make a mistake in the Corkscrew and in the last corner because I feel that was one of my best laps in my career. But finally it was enough to have the pole and I didn’t expect that.”

Hayden showed good speed all weekend on his Suzuki GSX-R1000, including qualifying on the front row, but the fall in race one ended his quest to win this year’s championship.

Both Superbike of Sunday’s races were thrillers with Elias getting nipped out by just .300 of a second in race one and then battling for the lead nearly the entire way in race two as well.

“It was one of the hardest races of the season,” Elias said. “At the start I tried to go, but everybody followed me and then I understood it was going to be a group race. I tried maximum every lap. I was pushing 120% and risking a lot. Now I can say I’m happy. I’m happy because I gave all I had and tried very hard the last few laps. We’ll keep working.”

Hayden mixed it up in the battle up front in race one and actually held the lead at one point before taking a tumble on lap 14 of the 20-lap race. In race two Hayden ran fourth the entire distance.

“In race one I made a mistake going into turn one,” Hayden explained. “In the second race I ended up fourth. It’s not what we wanted, but sometimes that’s how racing goes. I wish we didn’t have to wait so long for New Jersey to have another go at it. I thank the whole Yoshimura Suzuki team and my crew for everything they do and the great GSX-R they give me every weekend. We’ll be ready to go for New Jersey.”

Elias currently sits third in the championship, 35 points out the series lead, but technically still in the championship hunt going into the final round. The MotoAmerica Superbike Championship series heads back to New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, New Jersey for the finale on September 9-11th.

Team Yoshimura Suzuki is grateful for the support of their sponsors: Yoshimura R&D, Suzuki Motor of America, Motorex, Dunlop, Parts Unlimited, Shorai, Sunstar, K&N Performance Filters, NGK Spark Plugs, RK Racing Chain, Kushitani, Zeta and Chicken Hawk Racing.

About Yoshimura R&D of America: Yoshimura is “The Leader in Performance” and has been for more than 55 years. With unmatched skills, knowledge, and passion for racing, Yoshimura is on the forefront of the aftermarket exhaust industry. Yoshimura pipes are race bred and feature the same legendary performance, fit and quality that has been their trademark for more than five decades. To learn more about Yoshimura and view their wide variety of performance products, visit www.yoshimura-rd.com.

About Suzuki: Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. (SMAI) distributes Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Outboard Motors and Automotive Parts and Accessories via an extensive dealer network throughout 49 states. SMAI’s supplier, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), based in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a diversified worldwide manufacturer of Motorcycles, ATVs, Scooters, Automobiles and Outboard Motors. Founded in 1909 and incorporated in 1920, SMC has 147 distributors in 201 countries. For more information, visit www.suzuki.com.