More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Beaubier Dominates HONOS Superbike Race One At Road Atlanta
Fourth Win Out Of Five Races For Defending Champion
BRASELTON, GA (August 1, 2020) – Cameron Beaubier won three races in a row before crashing out of the lead in race two at Road America 2, proving that no one is perfect. But he looked pretty damn close to that on a scorching hot Saturday at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, the four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion riding to his fourth victory of the season in dominating fashion.
Beaubier led off the start, but it was Jake Gagne leading the way through the esses on the opening lap. Although his lead was short lived, it still marked the first time the Monster Energy Attack Performance rider had led a Superbike race. Once his teammate Beaubier sped past, the two teammates circulated together for a few laps before Beaubier pulled away. The points leader slowing in the closing stages of the race to beat Gagne by 4.786 seconds, but said his race was by no means mistake-free.
“I had a couple mistakes in there that I was able to salvage pretty good,” Beaubier said. “They were just scary more than anything. Like Jake (Gagne) said, it was hot and greasy out there. I had a couple pretty good front-end pushes. One down into three where I had that little mistake this morning in Superpole. It was just hot and greasy. Jake got an incredible start from the second row. I knew he was going to be fast. I tried to get by him as quick as I could and just put my head down. But our gap was kind of yo-yo-ing a little bit. To be honest, going into the race I didn’t expect that. So, hats off to him. He’s riding awesome. Hats off to Matty (Scholtz). Three Yamahas up here on the box. It feels really good. It’s going to be another tough one tomorrow. I’m ready for it.”
The win was the 42nd AMA Superbike victory of Beaubier’s career and his sixth at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He now leads the championship by 14 points over Gagne, 100-86.
Gagne, meanwhile, was well clear of Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz, the South African trailing the Californian by 16.3 seconds at the end of the 19-lap race.
“That was I think one of my best starts all year, for sure,” Gagne said. “I knew I was on the second row after the Superpole, so I wanted to make sure I got off well. I knew once Cam (Beaubier) got to the top of that hill in the lead, he was going to go right from the get-go. I was behind Cam into turn one. He ran a little bit wide out there and I just got a good drive up the hill and managed to lead going down into the chicane up there. I just put my head down. I knew Cam was right on my butt. I thought Mat (Scholtz) would kind of be right there for sure. I know these Yamahas were running good. Then we put our head down. We did some 24s (1:24 lap times) out there. Cam kind of came by me down the straight into turn 10 down there. It was everything I had to try to stick with him and do a couple more 24s. I was happy. I was happy after the day we’ve had. We didn’t get a whole lot of laps today. We missed a lot of that first practice and missed a lot of that Superpole stuff. So, I’m really happy on the progress we made and how hard those guys are working. The Monster Energy Attack Yamaha is really rolling good. We’re starting to learn a lot more. It was good to get up there and race with Cam a little bit and see him for a little while there because he’s been going pretty much all year and out of sight. We learned a lot today. I’m happy. It was a little lonely out there once Cam pulled a couple seconds there, and then it was kind of just rolling around in the heat. It got tough out there. Those tires were really getting worked in that heat. Keeping the front end underneath us and the rear end underneath us, was tough out there. I’m glad we brought it home in second. Again, hats off to the guys because they’re really working hard. We had a lot of weird stuff going down this weekend, so it’s good to bring it in and pull a little bit of a holeshot and lead a little bit and run around there with Cam. Hats off to Cam and Mat. Got a couple Yamahas up there, so it’s good.”
The third-place finish was Scholtz’ second podium of the year and came at a track that he calls one of his favorites.
“After the first lap I settled into fourth behind Toni (Elias) and I could just see immediately Jake and Cam were pulling a massive gap, even after maybe five or six corners. Toni’s bike is quick, and he brakes late so I couldn’t really pass him. I was planning on something into corner 10 but coming onto the back of the straight (Kyle) Wyman passed us. Then his bike was leaking a ton of oil or something. It was spraying all over the front of the bike and my visor. So, I was just trying to miss his line where he was going. That really slowed me down. Then I maybe got about a second off of Toni and Kyle Wyman, and then I think Kyle’s bike stopped in corner 10. Then I just slowly caught up to Toni and passed him. Then I think he was there for a couple of laps after that, but once I began dipping to the mid to upper 25s, I think he was dropping off. So, I just kind of rode my own race from there. It was a little bit boring towards the end. I could see Jake was really far up front. Couldn’t see Cameron, so I was in no-man’s land. So, I was just feeling lost. Hoping in the next race we can pick up the pace and hold onto Jake and Cam.”
Elias rode his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to fourth, well clear of his teammate Bobby Fong who had crashed in the morning session at speed and injured his right hand. Fong, in turn, had a big lead over FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony, the Australian also having a lonely ride to sixth.
Disrupt Racing/CCFOffiesolutions.com’s Geoff May rode his Kawasaki ZX-10R to seventh, almost a second ahead of FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Bradley Ward. Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders and Procomps Racing Team’s Danilo Lewis rounded out the top 10.
Two of the top riders in the series, One Cure/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman and Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin, both suffered mechanical problems that knocked them out of the race.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Dominate Race One at Road Atlanta
Cameron Beaubier was back on top at Road Atlanta with another stellar performance to score his fourth MotoAmerica Superbike win of the season. His Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing teammate Jake Gagne crossed the line comfortably in second on a hot August Saturday in Braselton, Georgia.
Beaubier kept his 2020 Superpole streak alive and once again started from pole. He rocketed off the line, but Gagne also got off to a flying start from the second row of the grid and slipped past him to take the lead in turn one. The pair quickly put a gap on the rest of the competition with the defending champ right on Gagne’s heels. Beaubier didn’t wait too long to make his move, passing his teammate on the second lap going into turn eight. He put his head down and knocked down some consistent fast laps to return to the top step of the podium and expand his points lead in the championship to 14 points.
Gagne tried to stay on the back of Beaubier in the hot, greasy conditions, but the Superbike veteran was able to build a gap. He kept his fellow Californian honest throughout the 19-lap race and finished second to secure his fourth podium this season with the new team.
After another impressive double podium for the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team on Saturday, they head into tomorrow’s race two looking for another top result.
Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“The team is in a good place at the moment. Our riders and crew are continuing to gel with the equipment and each other. There are very few challenges that they cannot overcome. Today was another example of that. After a technical issue in morning warmup, the team came together and gave the riders a couple of great Yamaha R1s that they could win on. Without a doubt Cameron and Jake rode as champions should, darting away from the rest of the field. I am very proud of how the season is going.”
Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“It was a tough race, demanding physically and on the bikes! It was hot and greasy out there today. My bike worked great and I was happy with how I rode. Jake rode really good today as well, putting the pressure on me and it’s always nice to have three Yamahas up on the podium. I’ve got to keep my head down tomorrow!”
Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“We got off to a great start and it was nice to lead a few laps. Cam came by me and I tried everything I could to hang on to him, but his pace was just a bit better. Once he pulled that gap, it was a hot, lonely race but the Dunlop’s held up really well. Hats off to the crew because we’ve had to deal with a few little issues this weekend and haven’t had the laps on track that we’d like, but they are always working hard. I’m happy with how our R1 felt and we are improving the feel for me every time we go out. We’ll try to improve on a few areas for tomorrow’s race and get off to another good start!”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Westby Racing’s Scholtz Notches A Podium Finish In Superbike and Wyman Is Eighth In Junior Cup At Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
Braselton, GA – August 1, 2020 – After two rounds of the 2020 MotoAmerica Championship at Road America in Wisconsin, Westby Racing was ready to race this weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, which is a home track for the team’s Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz, team manager Chuck Giacchetto, and crew chief Ed Sullivan, who all live in the Atlanta area.
For Mathew, the “home cooking” was just what he needed as his qualified second in Saturday morning’s Superpole session, and then he crossed the finish line in third in the afternoon’s Superbike race one.
Mathew commented, “After the first lap, I settled into fourth place behind Toni (Elias), and I could see immediately that Jake (Gagne) and Cameron (Beaubier) were pulling a massive gap, even after only just five or six corners. Toni’s bike is quick, and he brakes late so I couldn’t really pass him. I was planning on something going into turn 10, but coming onto the back of the straight, (Kyle) Wyman passed us. Then his bike was leaking fluid. It was spraying all over the front of my bike and my helmet visor. So, I was just trying to stay off his race line, and that really slowed me down. Then I maybe got about a second off of Toni and Kyle, and I think Kyle’s bike stopped in turn 10. I caught up to Toni and passed him. Toni was right behind me for a couple of laps after that, but once I began dipping to the mid- to upper-25s, he started dropping off. So, I just kind of rode my own race from there. It was a little bit boring towards the end. I could see Jake pretty far ahead of me, but I couldn’t see Cameron at all, so I was in no-man’s land. I’m hoping in the tomorrow’s race that we can pick up the pace and hold onto Jake and Cam.”
Sunday’s Superbike Race 2 is at 3 PM Eastern and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and Eurosport, as well as streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
In Junior Cup, Cody Wyman’s reunion with Road Atlanta, after a five-year hiatus from a track that he really likes, netted him a third-row starting position and an eighth-place finish in Saturday’s race one. Cody was less than thrilled with the results, but he has his chin up and is determined to get a higher finish in Sunday’s race two.
“We made some changes to the front-end of the bike, and they made the handling better, but it was still a tough race for me,” Cody said. “I got a decent start and did my best to roll with the leaders, but I lost the draft and got stuck in a big battle for fifth place. It was very hot today, and the track was pretty greasy as a result, so I definitely had some moments. We all swapped positions, and I put myself in a really good spot on the final lap, with a couple bikes ahead of me that I could draft. But, turn 10a and 12 were a bit of a mess for me, and I ended up crossing the line in eighth. Thank you to my team for the support. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to try out a small change on the bike and then, we’ll see how it goes for race two.’”
Junior Cup Race 2 is at 2 PM Eastern and will be broadcast via tape-delay on FS2 (check your local listings for FS2 airtimes), in addition to being live-streamed on MotoAmerica Live+.
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