Strong Performance but Unfortunate Ending for Team Yamaha MGM in Schleiz

With top riders and top results Team Yamaha MGM struck back at the sixth round of the Superbike*IDM championship at Schleizer Dreieck.

After the setback of both permanent riders Max Neukirchner and Damian Cudlin being forced to sit out the sixth round of the Superbike*IDM International German Championship, Team Yamaha MGM entered the Schleizer Dreieck track last weekend armed with two international top riders.

Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier, who is currently leading the MotoAmerica Superbike class, and Kev Coghlan, who holds fifth place in the FIM European Superstock 1000 Cup, stepped in as replacement riders at the popular natural circuit.

Beaubier quickly adapted to the 3.805 km track in Thuringia and was able to secure a spot in the important Superpole with a 1’24.869. In the short session the former 125cc World Championship rider rode with qualifying tyres for the first time and secured fifth place on the starting grid for both races on Sunday.

In the first encounter the 22 year old from California had a great start and was able to move up to fourth position after riding a 1’29.507 in the opening lap, the best lap time of the whole field. He went away with the top guys and had his eyes set on a podium finish, but his sprint ended when in the third lap he hit a curb and lost the front. Without too much damage to the man or the machine he was able to return to the garage and go out again in the middle of the race and gain important experience.

After his crash Beaubier approached the first laps of the second race more cautiously, but was able to hold fifth place after completing the first lap. In lap twelve of eighteen the talented American rider fought his way past European championship rider Ondrej Jezek to fourth position and started to catch up to the podium positions, before his tyre started to drop and Beaubier had to settle for a strong fourth position.

Like Beaubier, Teammate Coghlan had never ridden at Schleiz before, yet gave a great performance in qualifying. He secured eighth position with a best lap of 1’25.485, allowing him to take part in the all important Superpole on Saturday. Despite a crash during the Superpole session the 27 year old was still able to hold on to eighth spot on the grid.

After a cautious start the Scotsman was able to work his way through the field from eleventh position and move up to eighth position at the middle of the first race. He tried to attack his rivals while fighting for sixth place. A few laps before the end Coghlan was able to push through to the front of his group, but a small mistake during the last lap cost him two positions and he crossed the line in fifth place.

In the second encounter Coghlan had a strong start and was clearly closer to the front group, but the momentum wasn’t to last. The Yamaha rider suffered a heavy crash going into the first corner of the second lap and was transferred to the Uniklinikum Jena hospital for an immediate check up. He received his first surgery on Monday to stabilize one of five broken thoracic vertebra and will start physiotherapy after a second small surgery on Wednesday in order to make his return to racing as soon as possible.

Cameron Beaubier

race 1 – DNC, race 2 – P4

“In the first race I felt really good at the beginning, it was the best I felt all weekend. I had a really good pace and I felt like I could go with Reiterberger and Fores for a little while, but I tucked the front in turn five, so that was the end of my race, which was kind of a bummer, because I was doing my best times and had my best race going so far here. In race two I went out and I wanted to do a similar pace at the beginning, but I didn’t get the best start and I kind of struggled with my confidence the first laps after the crash. I saw Fores and Reiterberger were gone, but I could still see Lanzi. I tried to put some solid laps together and didn’t go too crazy, just to keep a good pace to the finish. Obviously I would’ve liked to be on the podium, but I’m glad I rode a smart race. I just really want to thank Team Yamaha MGM for giving me this opportunity. It’s been a really fun weekend and I learned a lot; a new track, new tyres, the Yamaha MGM version of the YZF-R1 and I just had a ton of fun this weekend. Obviously I would like to have gotten some better results, but I couldn’t expect too much coming here without knowing the track and the level in IDM is very high. I don’t think people understand how high the level really is here. It was a really cool experience for me and I hope to do it again.”

Michael Galinski – Team Yamaha MGM Team Manager

“In general the weekend was very good, but unfortunately it had a bad aftertaste. Cameron did a really good job as he has never been in Schleiz before. In the first race he was directly a part of the front group. He just hit a curb and had a small slide. It was unfortunate, but a really solid performance. Kev was fighting well too. Normally he would have been fighting for a top position, but just a little mistake on the brakes made him lose two places. In the second race the rear tyre decreased a bit for Cameron and then there was the severe crash of Kev. All the team wishes him to get well soon. In general we were really satisfied with both of them, we immediately had a great relationship and were able to work perfectly together, but unfortunately with a poor ending.”