| “I’m really looking forward to racing Superbike next year,” Beach said. “It’s going to be great working with Attack again. I feel really lucky that Estenson Racing decided they wanted two irons in the fire and to run me in both American Flat Track and MotoAmerica. It’s going to be an awesome year! Also, I’m very grateful that RiCKdiculous Racing gave me their blessing to leave the team and basically told me I would be crazy to not go race Superbike.”
The multi-time road race champion with dirt track roots has shown to be competitive in both sports. In addition to his two MotoAmerica Supersport titles, Beach is the winningest rider in the series’ class and has additional road race accolades to add to his resume, both in the U.S. and abroad. In 2008, he was the first American to win the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup and in 2010, he won what was considered one of the U.S.’s championships for up-and-coming road racers – the AMA Pro East Supersport title.
While most of Beach’s focus in his professional career has been on road racing, it has not dulled his flat track skills. In just his first Twins races since 2013, he scored a podium at the 2017 season finale at the Perris Half-Mile and then backed it up with a second-place finish at the 2018 season opener at the Daytona TT. He also turned heads on an international level this past December with a resounding Superprestigio win.
Team Owner Tim Estenson has been following Beach for the past few years, and had Beach ride with the team at the final two American Flat Track races in 2018. Estenson has long felt that Beach is a top contender for a Grand National Championship title and was happy to have him join the program for next season. Estenson had not planned on venturing into road racing, but has a strong belief in giving back and helping to provide young, talented riders the opportunities that he wished he had when he was younger.
“I’m really excited about next season and to have JD as a part of our program,” Estenson said. “I met him through Kolby [Carlile] a couple of years ago and have watched him race. He’s extremely talented, both in dirt track and road racing, and I’m so happy to have him on board for 2019. It’s so rare that a rider can perform at a high level in both championships, especially in the modern era, when every discipline has become more and more specialized. So, although our original plan was just to go flat track racing with JD, I’m really happy to be able to put this together and have him ride for us both in American Flat Track and MotoAmerica. We have a great partner with Attack Performance. Richard [Stanboli] is one of the best in the business with a lot of success in the sport. I think it’s going to be a great year.”
Both Estenson and Stanboli feel that the partnership will prove to be a recipe for success. Stanboli and Attack Performance have scored multiple championships and race wins in professional road racing in the U.S. Last season, he and his team were a top contender, even against the factory teams and they look to pick up where they left off with Beach in 2019.
“Yeah, I’m super-excited,” Stanboli said. “We’re going to be on the second year of developing this motorcycle. The first year we spent basically learning the bike, learning the electronics and learning the racetracks and what the bike liked. So, I think it’s super cool that you got a guy who just came off of a championship that is hungry and is fit and has a really good work ethic that’s going to ride this motorcycle. We’ll just go out and test as much as we can with JD, and get a lot of seat time with him. We’ll take everything we learn from this year and make the bike that much better.” |
