MotoAmerica Superbikes at Road America

MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series

Road America

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

May 31, 2020

HONOS Superbike Race Two Results (all on Dunlop tires):

1. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), 12 laps, Total Race Time 26 minutes 33.271 seconds, Average Race Speed 109.758 mph, Best Lap Time 2:11.033
2. Jake Gagne (Yam YZF-R1), -13.430 seconds, 2:11.689
3. Josh Herrin (BMW S1000RR), -19.817, 2:13.375
4. Kyle Wyman (Duc Panigale V4 R), -19.828, 2:13.037
5. PJ Jacobsen (Duc Panigale V4 R), -22.101, 2:13.421*
6. David Anthony (Suz GSX-R1000R), -37.545, 2:14.615
7. Cameron Petersen (Suz GSX-R1000R), -50.248, 2:15.036*
8. Corey Alexander (Kaw ZX-10R), -73.940, 2:17.416*
9. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), -78.889, 2:18.230
10. Bradley Ward (Kaw ZX-10R), -79.224, 2:17.984
11. Danilo Lewis (BMW S1000RR), -95.141, 2:19.311*
12. Joseph Giannotto (Kaw ZX-10R), -101.693, 2:19.602*
13. Jeremy Coffey (BMW S1000RR), -110.833, 2:19.506
14. Ashton Yates (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -110.962, 2:20.317
15. Travis Wyman (BMW S1000RR), -114.374, 2:17.527*
16. Sam Verderico (Yam YZF-R1), -127.744, 2:20.382
17. Jake Lewis (BMW S1000RR), -4 laps, DNF, 2:14.661
18. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), -6 laps, DNF, crash, 2:11.773
19. Bobby Fong (Suz GSX-R1000R), -6 laps, DNF, crash, 2:11.485
20. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000R), -8 laps, DNF, crash, 2:11.692

*Stock 1000/Superbike Cup entry

Championship Point Standings (after 2 of 20 races):

1. Beaubier, 50 points
2. Gagne, 36
3. Herrin, 26
4. Kyle Wyman, 24
5. Scholtz, 20
6. Jacobsen, 20
7. Anthony, 18
8. Fong, 13
9. Alexander, 12
10. Flinders, 12
11. Petersen, 10
12. Ward, 8
13. Danilo Lewis, 8
14. Jake Lewis, 7
15. Travis Wyman, 7
16. Giannotto, 4
17. Coffey, 3
18. Yates, 2
19. Elias, 0
20. Verderico, 0

More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Beaubier Social Distances Himself With Two Wins At Road America

Four-Time Champion Is Perfect In Round One

ELKHART LAKE, WI (May 31, 2020) – Apparently, Cameron Beaubier is taking this social distancing thing to the utmost degree, the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha rider making sure his competition never got close as he completed the double win at Road America today.

Beaubier followed up yesterday’s 7.8-second win with an even more impressive outing, the four-time defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion winning again on Sunday – this time by 13.4 seconds – to leave round one of the HONAS Superbike Series with a perfect-points haul of 50.

“I can’t ask for a better start to the year,” Beaubier. “Being able to get pole and both race wins. If you look at my track record, that’s not really how my seasons start. I’m normally trying to crawl back points throughout the year. Plain and simple, I just got to give it up to Richard (Stanboli) and Keith (McCarty) for putting this amazing program together – Monster Attack Yamaha. My bike, I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been this comfortable on a motorcycle. Just the track back home at Buttonwillow, just my feeling with the bike, with the 2020 R1. I’m able to get under the bubble a little bit better, pick up some mile an hour on the straightaway and with the electronics that they’ve been working on, I’ve been able to get off the corner. The bike’s just easier to ride. I’m just having pure fun on the thing. It’s really nice to have one and two up (Yamahas) here. I just want to not get too excited yet. Just keep the ball rolling and keep going. Obviously, some of our competitors went down today, and it’s going to be a long season. I’m just so happy we’re back racing and want some more.

Second place today went to Beaubier’s teammate Jake Gagne, the laid-back Californian bettering his third place from Saturday by a spot. Gagne was in a battle for the spot early on with Saturday’s runner-up Mathew Scholtz and Bobby Fong when the two came together in turn five and crashed. That left Gagne free and clear to ride to a lonely second, 13.4 seconds behind Beaubier and some six seconds clear of an intense battle for the final podium spot.

“We’re leaving our first round with this Yamaha Attack team with a couple podiums, so I’m happy,” Gagne said. “We made some changes overnight. This morning in warmup, I was actually feeling pretty good about the bike. A couple things changed in the race. We had a little more heat on the track. I felt like we had a good bike for a couple laps, but I really, really was struggling there after a couple more laps once I got a little tire wear going. Cam was on rails today. He was flying. It just shows these Yamahas really are running good. Obviously, Mat (Scholtz) was right up in there. Right when Bobby (Fong) got by me, and then I was going into three behind Mat, and then down the straightaway to five. Bobby drafted me, he drafted Mat, so he got a big, old double draft from us and got in there hot. Mat’s getting in there deep. Bobby’s in there deep. I saw it from a while back. I let up and I saw Bobby getting sucked in. I think he just fixated and just rammed right into the back of him (Scholtz). I feel for Mat because those Westby guys work really hard and it would be nice to get another Yamaha up here, but that’s racing. You got to look ahead.”

That ultimately went to Scheibe Racing BMW’s Josh Herrin, the Georgian earning a podium spot in this first weekend on the BMW S 1000 RR by just .011 of a second over Inde Motorsports Ranch/KWR Ducati’s Kyle Wyman. Herrin’s effort earned the Scheibe BMW team its first HONOS Superbike podium.

“We definitely had a little luck fall in our hands but being on the podium is being on the podium,” Herrin said. “So there was some very hard fighting with Kyle. Me and him haven’t really got along super well in the past, so it was almost like a Danny Eslick feeling for me. I just saw red. I was so mad. I just wanted to get behind him so bad. I had arm pump for the first time in a long time this weekend, so I just wanted to get in front of him and if I had to slow up the pace I could. That way it could help my arm out a little bit. That actually ended up working out. But seeing those guys fall, seeing Toni (Elias) fall was a bummer. I was like, ‘okay. I at least got a sixth again.’ I saw Scholtz and Bobby fall and I was like, ‘oh, s^%$. This is a podium spot right here.’ Then immediately I starting thinking, ‘man, if Scheibe got a podium…’ And that made me want to push that little bit extra. I’m just happy we could be up here and get some of that BMW contingency, which I really need this year. It’s nice. I don’t know if this is BMW’s first Superbike podium in the States or not, but it just feels good to get it up there. I can definitely say, no disrespect to the team, that I don’t think that bike has the potential right now to be getting on the podium without everybody made mistakes like they did today. Like I said earlier, we got lucky, but we’ve also been doing our work this weekend. I did four practice starts on my bike this morning just to try and get a little bit better launch off the line today. Just stoked to be up here. Congrats to these guys. Definitely didn’t expect this today, so thank you to the Scheibe Racing BMW team and all my sponsors.”

Just a few seconds behind Wyman came Celtic HSBK Racing’s PJ Jacobsen, the New Yorker racing his Ducati Panigale V4R to fifth and well clear of sixth-placed David Anthony on the FLY Racing ADR Motorsports Suzuki GSX-R1000.

Cameron Petersen rode his Altus Motorsports Suzuki to a lonely seventh with Ride HVMC Racing’s Corey Alexander ending up eighth. Trashed Bike Racing LLC’s Max Flinders and FLY Racing ADR Motorsports’ Bradley Ward rounded out the top 10.

For the second day in a row, M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias failed to finish. This time it was a crash on the third lap that knocked the Spaniard out of the race and he leaves round one with zero points after his mechanical non-finish in race one.

Beaubier is free and clear at the top of the championship standings with 50 points, 14 points clear of Gagne with Herrin 24 points behind Gagne in third. Wyman is fourth in the title chase with 24 points, four points clear of Scholtz.

MotoAmerica will return to Road America for its second round, June 26-28, and it will do so with fans in attendance after this successful weekend of racing without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

More, from another press release issued by MotoAmerica:

Three Riders Double Down At Road America

Win Once, Win Twice In MotoAmerica Series Opener

ELKHART LAKE, WI (May 31, 2020) – It was a weekend of doubles at Road America in the opening round of the 2020 MotoAmerica Series with Richie Escalante, Kaleb De Keyrel, and Dominic Doyle winning both races in their respective classes.

Escalante won for the second straight day in the Supersport class; De Keyrel doubled up on Sunday in the Twins Cup race; and Dominic Doyle barely bested Rocco Landers for the second straight day by the slimmest of margins.

Supersport: Escalante Doubles Up

In Sunday’s Supersport race two, HONOS Kawasaki’s Richie Escalante absolutely dominated the field to take his second race victory of the weekend, the Mexican rider winning by nearly eight seconds at the checkers. Brandon Paasch finished second in the race, but his Celtic HSBK Racing Yamaha was found to be underweight in the post-race inspection, and he was disqualified. That moved M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Sean Dylan Kelly up to second, and RiderzLaw Aguilar Racing’s Jason Aguilar moved up to third.

“I’m really happy,” said Escalante. “It’s my first time to double win in the MotoAmerica Championship, so I am really happy about that. In the race, I did not start very well again. Then I had a mistake in turn six. I lost the brake point and almost crashed. The ZX-6R Kawasaki is amazing. I’m very happy. My team is working really good. I’m very comfortable right now, so I’m ready for Road America two next month.”

Twins Cup: De Keyrel Again!

In Twins Cup, which was the first race of the day, 1833CJKNOWS Yamaha rider Kaleb De Keyrel and American Racing/SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki’s Rocco Landers had another battle as they did in Saturday’s race. But on Sunday, Robem Engineering Suzuki rider Jackson Blackmon also joined the eight-lap fray. The three riders stuck together in a tight pack at the front, and in the end, De Keyrel took the checkers by .081 of a second for his second victory of the weekend. Landers and Blackmon crossed the stripe in a photo finish, with Blackmon nipping Landers for second place by .001 of a second.

“I helped myself out quite a bit today with getting a way better start,” De Keyrel said. “I think at one point yesterday I was back in fourth or fifth. So, I definitely knew today that Rocco was going to try and do the same thing and get a gap because obviously at Road America you get that gap and then everybody else is pulling you backwards and that guy out front is running away with it. So, I knew I had to try to be that guy as much as I possibly could. I definitely focused on the start. It was such a weird race because I was faster than Rocco in some sections, and he was faster than me in others. So, we were kind of yo-yoing throughout the lap. It was just an interesting race. I had a blast out there. I love racing with MotoAmerica. It’s always a great time. I’m just really thankful to be out here racing and having fun.”

Liqui Moly Junior Cup: Doyle By The Skin Of His Teeth

The Liqui Moly Junior Cup class joined Superbike and Supersport in also having a double race winner at Road America as BARTCON Racing Kawasaki’s Dominic Doyle prevailed again in another razor-close finish over Landers Racing Kawasaki’s Rocco Landers. The pair put on quite a show at the front as they passed each other back and forth for the lead. Doyle’s margin of victory over Landers was .007 of a second.

In an equally exciting battle for third place, a tightly bunched group of eight riders were all in the hunt for a podium result. In the end, Quarterley Racing/On Track Development Kawasaki rider Benjamin Gloddy completed the podium in third.

“Today, I didn’t really know what to expect going into the race,” Doyle said. “Rocco was quick in warmup this morning. We were close all race. I knew that it was just going to come down to the last lap. The mistake, I thought actually it would hurt me. I thought he would come by. I guess it kind of worked in my favor, so I’m happy about it.”

More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Beaubier and Gagne Score Double Podium in Race Two at Road America

Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha riders Cameron Beaubier and Jake Gagne scored a dominant 1-2 finish on Sunday, May 31, in race two of the opening MotoAmerica round in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.

Lining up in their Saturday qualifying positions of pole position and second, both riders got off the line well but Beaubier missed the holeshot and was passed into Turn 1. Fighting back immediately he forced his way back in the lead in the next turn and built a gap of three seconds by the fifth lap.

Behind Beaubier, teammate Gagne was engaged in a repeat of Saturday’s thrilling three-way podium battle. Swapping positions in a hard-fought race, Gagne was chasing in fourth until a crash involving two riders ahead on lap seven promoted him to second. From there he ran strongly to the checkered flag to take his second podium for the team.

Ahead of Gagne, Beaubier made the most of Sunday’s warmer weather to set a blistering pace and broke the outright lap record on just his second tour with an incredible 2’11.033. Lapping consistently in the 2’11 and 2’12s, the four-time Superbike champ cruised to the finish line 13 seconds ahead of Gagne to score a second win and wrap up a perfect start to 2020.

Sunday’s double podium puts the Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing team in an excellent position at the start of the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike season. With a 50-point lead, reigning champion Beaubier and teammate Gagne will be back in action in just under a month when MotoAmerica returns to Road America for the second round.

Richard Stanboli – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing Team Manager

“We keep trying to mess Cameron up but he won’t let us. We keep making the challenge higher and he keeps stepping up to it. We had an issue in morning warm up, but we were able to get it fixed and it was great it didn’t happen in the race. We’ll go back to the shop and just cross our T’s and dot our I’s and go on to the next one.

“We’re pretty happy with the result. We were real close to that 10 (2’10) that I think we’re all kind of shooting for. Cameron’s kind of racing himself right now more than racing anyone else, but I’m sure everyone will get caught up. They all had a long time off. They’re all rusty. So we’ll see how it goes. Jake’s really doing well. I think it’s just a matter of time. He’s going to be giving Cameron some grief for sure.”

Cameron Beaubier – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“It’s been an incredible weekend. I haven’t started off my season like this since I was on a 600. I just really got to give it up to the team. My bike has been so good all weekend. We had a couple little problems here and there in practice where we didn’t get as many laps as we wanted, but the thing just gives me so much confidence. When I lined up in the race I was ready to go, even with limited amount of laps. It just goes to show how hard those guys are working. It’s been great. Like I said yesterday, I don’t want to get too excited. I’ll go home and keep working. We’re coming back here in a month, so will try and keep the momentum rolling.”

Jake Gagne – Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Racing

“I’m happy to be leaving the first round with a couple podiums, a second and third. Our number one goal is to get in some good, solid races with no mistakes, finish the race and get on the podium. We made some changes after yesterday to get the bike working better on new tires, and I was feeling better for sure going into race two. I went faster in the beginning, but I really started struggling a lot more than yesterday once the tires started wearing off a little bit, so it kind of flip-flopped. happy to bring it home in second. That was a bummer when Bobby (Fong) hit Mat (Scholtz) like that. I think we were in store for another good battle like yesterday, but that’s how it goes. We learned a lot this weekend and made a lot of progress. I’m happy with the crew. I can’t wait for the next one.”