This weekend’s results are brought to you by 6D Helmets.
20_9_BARBER_SBK_PTS_points_after R2
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Beaubier Wins Again At Barber Motorsports Park
13 HONOS Superbike Wins On The Season Thus Far For Series Champ
BIRMINGHAM, AL (September 20, 2020) – Between races Cameron Beaubier has to keep pinching himself to see if all of this is real. That’s what happens when you win 13 races, have six more left in the season and you know that, barring an issue, you will probably end the year with 19 wins.
Such is life for the four-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion in 2020.
Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s Beaubier won his 13th race of the year on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, a day after winning his 12th of the season and the 50th of his stellar AMA Superbike career. Today’s was similar to the other 12 wins with Beaubier jumping out front off the line, storming away at an unmatchable pace, and then maintaining that lead to the finish. At the line he was 5.125 seconds clear of second-placed Mathew Scholtz.
“Obviously, my game right now is just to try to get out front early and try to take advantage of the good rubber and try to manage my gap if I have one,” Beaubier said. “There towards midway I had a pretty good, I don’t know if they showed it or not, but I had a pretty good (front end) tuck. I almost crashed out of Charlotte’s Webb. The wind was kind of gusting. Some laps you’d go in there and you’d have a pretty big push, other laps you’d brake early. The wind was pretty tricky for me. I don’t know about these guys, but I was definitely getting blown around out there more than I was yesterday. After that happened, I just tried to kind of settle down. My gap started going down and Matty (Scholtz) started catching me a little bit. I just kept trucking along and brought it home. It’s been amazing. It’s just crazy. It’s crazy the year I’ve been having and just how fun and how hard the team is working. It’s so good to come in at the end of the session and you debrief with your guys and you take it seriously and all that, but then when they’re loading up the truck and leaving everyone’s just joking around. As a rider it’s so good to see those guys having a good time and enjoying their job like I am. It’s been an incredible year so far.”
Westby Racing’s Scholtz earned his 10th podium of the season and moved to just one point behind Beaubier’s teammate Jake Gagne in the battle for second in the HONOS Superbike title chase. Gagne was in the battle early but ran into clutch trouble that slowed him to an eventual fifth-place finish.
“It was pretty good,” Scholtz said of his race. “I don’t really know what happened with the start. I got shuffled back to fourth or fifth place and I had to make a sketchy move to get up to second. I knew that Cam (Beaubier) had a really good pace. Jake (Gagne) passed me and with his warm-up time I knew he would be quick too. So, I didn’t really try to fight him too much. I was hoping I would go with him and try to maybe get up to Cam. But then I saw something happen to Jake’s bike, which was unfortunate. Then I kind of put in a few decent laps. I saw that the gap back to third was actually getting bigger so I kind of started chilling out. Then I noticed that Bobby (Fong) was sort of catching me at a pretty drastic pace, so I had to stir things back up. I will definitely take the second place. I think we have our work cut out for us, but we made pretty decent steps forward today.”
Bobby Fong rode his M4 ECSTAR Suzuki to third place, the Californian getting back on the podium after a three-race hiatus from the top three. Fong closed on Scholtz at the end of the race, eventually finishing less than a second behind the South African.
“It was good,” Fong said. “We were struggling a little bit this weekend. Yesterday we had a little mishap with the motorcycle, but we bounced back today. I wish I was there at the beginning of the race. I don’t know what I was doing. I felt like I lost a few seconds in the first beginning laps, but once we got the momentum, we started clicking off some pretty good times at the end. I could see Matty (Scholtz). I was gaining on him a little bit at the end. Toni (Elias) kept me honest, for sure. It was plus zero for most of the race. I gained two seconds and then he got it back down to one. So, he was definitely keeping me honest out there and making sure I hit my marks. We’re happy to get back on the podium and looking forward to increasing our pace in the beginning of the race.”
Fong’s teammate Toni Elias ended up fourth, some 10 seconds ahead of the struggling Gagne, who in turn was some 22 seconds ahead of Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin. Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander was seventh with FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ David Anthony ending up eighth.
Travis Wyman Racing’s Travis Wyman was ninth, one spot better than his brother Kyle, on the KATO Fastening/KWR Ducati. Kyle Wyman was running fifth when he had an off-track excursion.
More, form a press release issued by Yamaha:
Beaubier’s Superb MotoAmerica Superbike Season Continues with Barber Sweep
Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Beaubier went unchallenged in Sunday’s MotoAmerica Superbike race two to complete a perfect weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. Teammate Jake Gagne had a technical issue early but fought back to finish fifth and hold on to his runner-up position in the championship.
Beaubier rode a flawless race. He grabbed the holeshot and then laid down some fast times to ride his Yamaha R1 off into the distance and cross the finish line with a comfortable five-second gap. The four-time Superbike Champion’s 13th win of the season capped off another stellar weekend as he continued to break more track records, topped Superpole, and took two commanding victories. Beaubier heads into The Brickyard triple-header in Indianapolis with a 103 point advantage over his teammate with 150 points available, moving him closer to clinching his fifth premier class title.
Gagne got off to a good start from the front row and quickly moved into third. He moved his way to second in the right-hander before the final corner and set after his teammate. Unfortunately, a technical issue on the second lap had him dropping back to fourth. He tried to maintain the position but found himself back in eighth a lap later. Not willing to throw in the towel, Gagne was able to fight his way back to fifth. Although not what he was hoping for, his efforts maintained his second-place position in the standings by a point over fellow Yamaha rider, Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz.
The Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team gets a break before heading to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the penultimate round of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship on October 9-11.
Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“Today was a mix of results. Cameron rode a flawless race and secured yet another victory. His R1 was the best as it has been all weekend. Jake also showed very good pace but unfortunately, a technical issue caused him to slow and he had to make some rider adjustments to regain his momentum. We were very happy to see our fans at Barber and are looking forward to seeing them again at Indy.”
Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“I can’t even believe it. We’ve been on such a roll this season. I’m so grateful for the team that I have. My bike has been working awesome all year. It’s been on rails around this place. I’ve been having so much fun this weekend riding this thing around here in front of all of the fans. It’s been great weather all weekend. Normally when we come here it’s not like that, it’s 100 degrees and 100% humidity. So it’s been such an amazing weekend. Hats off to all my Monster Attack Yamaha guys. They’ve been working so hard and I’m having a lot of fun with them this year. I’m ready to move onto Indianapolis. It’s definitely time to start thinking about the championship.”
Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing
“We made some great improvements to the bike in morning warm-up so I was really excited for race two today. Unfortunately, I messed up my start and it caused us to fall back, but I kept at it to make sure I brought it home. I’m bummed for the whole crew because they’ve really worked hard to get a great bike underneath me and today would have been a killer race for us. On to Indy!”
More, from a press release issued by Ducati North America:
Kyle Wyman retains sixth place in MotoAmerica Championship standings after Barber Motorsports Park race
Sunnyvale, Calif., September 20, 2020 – Kyle Wyman and the OneCure/KWR Ducati Team pushed through another trying weekend of racing America’s elite Superbike riders at Barber Motorsports Park, carding seventh and tenth place finishes on the Ducati Panigale V4 R with Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier taking both wins.
Wyman had to endure slipping tires in race one, dropping him down to seventh at the flag. The Arizona resident was confident of a better showing in race two, but a mishap at the notorious Charlotte’s Web hairpin put him out of contention for a podium position early in the event.
Regardless, Wyman showed his tenacity by fighting back from fourteenth to tenth place to save his sixth place in the championship leading into the Indianapolis round on October 9-11.
Kyle Wyman (OneCure/KWR Ducati Team – Ducati #33)
“We were a little bit quicker in the beginning of the race than yesterday and I felt like we were in a good spot, a bit faster than yesterday in the first laps, but then we ran into some chatter issues,” Wyman said after race two. “We were in fifth but I ended up running off the track at the Charlotte’s Web hairpin.
“ I actually crashed. I got in the wall as I couldn’t slow it down enough in the gravel, so I ended up doing the rest of the race with a busted screen. But I came back on in fourteenth and worked back up to tenth, which I was happy about.
“We made some headway with the rear as that’s been a problem for us, but it created a problem with the front. We just need to be a little closer to the front.
“More than anything, we need to test. At this point, we’re testing during the races, so we need to get some private laps down to throw some different settings at the bike and see what works. Indianapolis should be a great track for our bike. It’s got some long straights so we’ll be able to really let it stretch its legs, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
More, from a press release issued by Westby Racing:
Scholtz Double-Podiums In Superbike For Westby Racing; Wyman Gets Caught In Charlotte’s Web In Junior Cup
Birmingham, AL – September 20, 2020 – The fate of Westby Racing’s two-rider team went in opposite directions on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park as Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz rode his #11 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1 to a runner-up result after finishing third on Saturday. Meanwhile, the team’s Junior Cup rider Cody Wyman had a tipover aboard his #34 Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R3 on lap one of Sunday’s race, which unfortunately ended his day.
Mathew, who’s had a series of really good starts over the past few rounds, did not get off the line as quickly as he hoped on Sunday, but he fought his way forward in the early going and worked his way into second. After things settled down a bit, Mathew got passed by Jake Gagne, who then had a technical problem with his Superbike, which enabled Mathew to get back around him and secure second place behind Sunday’s race winner and championship leader Cameron Beaubier.
It was Mathew’s 10th podium of the season, which moved him to just one single championship point behind Jake Gagne in the battle for second in the MotoAmerica Superbike title chase.
Evaluating his race, Mathew said, “It was pretty good. I don’t really know what happened with the start. I got shuffled back to fourth or fifth place and I had to make a sketchy move to get up to second. I knew that Cam (Beaubier) had a really good pace. Jake (Gagne) passed me and, with his (morning) warm up time, I knew he would be quick, too. So, I didn’t really try to fight him too much. I was hoping I would go with him and try to maybe get up to Cam. But then, I saw something happen to Jake’s bike, which was unfortunate. Then I kind of put in a few decent laps. I saw that the gap back to third was actually getting bigger so I kind of started chilling out. Then I noticed that Bobby (Fong) was sort of catching me at a pretty drastic pace, so I had to stir things back up. I will definitely take the second place. I think we have our work cut out for us, but we made pretty decent steps forward today.”
Cody, who qualified 12th and on the outside of the fourth row, knew that he needed to get a good start in Sunday’s race and move forward in the pack as quickly as possible to not lose sight of the frontrunners. He went into turn five (also known as “Charlotte’s Web”) on the opening lap amongst a pack of riders who were closely bunched together, and he was struck by another rider, which put him on the ground. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured, but he was unable to rejoin the race.
“I felt really good this morning and was within a second of the leaders for almost all of the session. It was the most comfortable I’ve been all year, so I was confident going into the race. Unfortunately, on the first lap, I got collected in a wreck in turn five and got hit by another rider. I’m pretty sore, but no serious injuries. It’s a real bummer because I thought we’d have had solid pace today.
“Now, on to Indianapolis. Luckily, I’ve been there in the past, and I’ve actually given riding instruction on that track configuration before. I’m really looking forward to getting to the racing capital of the world and building off the momentum from this morning.”
Next up for Westby Racing is round eight of the MotoAmerica Championship, which will take place at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 9 through 11.
