MotoAmerica Championship Of New Jersey
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North America Road Racing Series
New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, New Jersey
September 8, 2018
Motul Superbike Race One Results (wet conditions, all on Dunlop tires):
1. Josh Herrin (Yam YZF-R1), 23 laps, Total Race Time, Fastest Lap 1:37.936
2. Mathew Scholtz (Yam YZF-R1), -37.130 seconds, 1:38.395
3. Cameron Beaubier (Yam YZF-R1), -55.802, 1:40.561
4. Roger Hayden (Suz GSX-R1000), -75.892, 1:41.037
5. Cameron Petersen (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -76.008, 1:40.913
6. Kyle Wyman (Yam YZF-R1), -1 lap, 1:42.414
7. Garrett Gerloff (Yam YZF-R1). -1 lap, 22.419 seconds, 1:43.637
8. Jake Lewis (Suz GSX-R1000), -2 laps, crash, 1:43.649
9. Max Flinders (Yam YZF-R1), -2 laps, 9.951 seconds, 1:46.746
10. Danny Eslick (BMW S1000RR), -2 laps, 50.690 seconds, 1:49.555
11. Bruno Silva (Kax ZX-10R), -3 laps, 1:53.975
12. Sam Verderico (Yam YZF-R1), -5 laps, 1:54.858
13. Bobby Fong (Hon CBR1000RR SP2), -9 laps, DNF, crash, 1:40.755
14. Toni Elias (Suz GSX-R1000), -10 laps, DNF, crash, 1:38.688
15. David Anthony (Kaw ZX-10RR), -15 laps, DNF, 1:44.608
Championship Point Standings (after 17 of 20 races):
1. Beaubier, 345 points
2. Elias, 273
3. Herrin, 253
4. Scholtz, 210
5. Gerloff, 186
6. Lewis, 174
7. Wyman, 140
8. Hayden, 131
9. Eslick, 124
10. Anthony, 82
11. Fong, 71
12. Petersen, 68
13. Silva, 56
14. TIE, Flinders/Verderico, 49
16. Sebastiao Ferreira, 44
17. Jayson Uribe, 29
18. Geoff May, 22
19. Barrett Long, 10
20. Brad Morris, 4
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Herrin Wins A Wet One At NJMP
Beach Wraps Up Supersport Title In New Jersey
MILLVILLE, NJ (September 8, 2018) – Attack Performance/Herrin Compound Yamaha’s Josh Herrin showed once again that if the conditions are iffy, he’s a difficult man to beat.
Herrin mastered the conditions today in a very wet Championship of New Jersey at New Jersey Motorsports Park, the Georgian backing up his victory from a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh with a textbook display of wet-weather riding that earned him a second Motul Superbike victory on the season. The win was the sixth of his AMA Superbike career and his first in the rain.
In typical Herrin fashion, he started quickly but was surprised after the first lap to have the lead that he did.
“I was scared,” Herrin said. “Warm-up lap, I was scared. Start of the race, I was scared. We got a really good start and I came across the start/finish line thinking I was about to get blasted by everybody. I looked back, which I never do, and saw a big lead. I was thinking, ‘well, maybe somebody is passing me on the right.’ I looked, no one was there. So it was weird. Both Pittsburgh and here were two races where at the start of the race I was sitting on the grid like a little baby complaining about having to race in the conditions that we’re racing in, and somehow I just pulled something out of my ass and go. I don’t know where it came from, but it was there and I’m not going to complain about it. I had a lot of fun. I hope it’s dry tomorrow because we had good pace on Friday. Cam (Beaubier) beat us on Friday, but I just felt so good. I want to prove that we can run up there in the dry. Richard (Stanboli, his crew chief and team owner) and all the guys at Attack have been working so hard all year. We’ve been behind the eight-ball straight from the start of the year. It just feels really good to get a win for them, even if it’s in the wet. I want to do it in the dry and just give it to them.”
Herrin beat Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz by 37.1 seconds with the South African backing off the pace at the end of the race when he saw the gap he had on Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier.
“I didn’t have the (tire) warmers on so I kind of knew the first three or four laps would be sketchy, but then I got past Cam (Beaubier) and Toni (Elias),” said Scholtz, who earned his second pole position of the season in the morning in Superpole session. “Josh (Herrin) was pretty far up. He pulled his usual trick of going out flying and he has a fire lit under his arse. So I tried to catch him. I had a few huge, huge moments. The bike just didn’t feel the same as the one in practice and in Superpole, so maybe we have to go back and look at what we did. But I’m just very happy to be back up on the podium. Kind of got to the halfway point of the season after being the top privateer guy and challenging the factory guys every single round to barely finishing in the top five, six. So I think we’ve been making the bike better suiting of the Dunlop tire, but I think that the wetter conditions suit me. I lived in Europe for four or five years and got a lot of practice there.”
Beaubier was some 18 seconds adrift of Scholtz and in championship-winning mode, which meant he wasn’t taking any chances. Especially after having a big highside crash in the wet Superpole session. With Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias crashing out of third place, Beaubier has his hands on the title with a 72-point lead and only 75 points left on the table. He will likely earn his third MotoAmerica Superbike Championship in tomorrow’s second Motul Superbike race at NJMP.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been this nervous going into a race,” Beaubier said. “The conditions are bad. I had crashed earlier and the last time I was out there I was laying on the ground in Superpole. So I just didn’t know what was going to happen in the race. My crash wasn’t a crazy crash. It wasn’t very big or nothing, but we ended up having to change the motor because the throttle got stuck wide open, just to be safe. So hats off to my guys for busting their butts and getting that changed in-between Superpole and the race, because there’s not a ton of time. Maybe a couple hours. But everything looked perfect. I felt like I got off to a decent start the first lap. I was somewhat close to (Josh) Herrin and then he pulled a pretty big gap there in the last section. I couldn’t do anything. Then Toni (Elias) came by. Then I could hang with Toni for a while, then I saw on my board I had three seconds or something like that to fourth, and that was Matty (Scholtz). I was like, ‘okay, we’re in a good spot.’ Then all of a sudden I come around the last lap and it was plus 0. I’m like, ‘what the heck?’ Matty comes blowing by both of us, and then he just left us. So, I kind of tippy-toed around from there. I was trying to go but I just couldn’t. I was sliding around. I think we made a little mistake. We went out on a tire in the race that we scrubbed in Pittsburgh. I think it might have hurt a little bit of something. I’m really not sure. I could be crazy too, I don’t know. I just didn’t have the grip I felt like I had in the first two practices, nowhere near. So, it’s definitely something that we need to keep in the back of our head, but I smell that championship, that’s for sure. We’re a few points out. I’m just going to do everything in my power to play it safe tomorrow and try to wrap this thing up.”
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden passed Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Cameron Petersen on the final lap for fourth. It was Petersen’s best finish of the year in fifth, just .116 of a second behind the Suzuki. Such was Herrin’s performance that Petersen was the last rider on the lead lap.
Cambr/KWR’s Kyle Wyman finished sixth, well clear of Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Garrett Gerloff. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis crashed, remounted and finished eight with Thrashed Bike Racing’s Max Flinders ninth. Scheibe Racing BMW’s Danny Eslick was 10th.
Beaubier now leads Elias by 72 points, 345-273, after his 15th podium finish of the season. Herrin is third, 20 points behind Elias. Scholtz is fourth, 43 points behind Herrin and 24 points ahead of fifth-placed Gerloff.
“I was pushing and catching (Mathew) Scholtz for second place,” Elias explained of his crash. “I was trying to gain extra points in the championship and ended up just pushing too hard.”
Supersport – Gillim’s Battle, Beach’s War
In Saturday’s Supersport race, Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha’s JD Beach clinched the 2018 Championship with his second-place finish and 12th podium in 13 races. For the Kentuckian, it was the second MotoAmerica Supersport Championship of his career.
Rickdiculous Racing’s Hayden Gillim notched the win on a wet NJMP track for his second victory of the season, and Quicksilver/Hudson Motorcycles’ Richie Escalante completed the Yamaha podium sweep.
“I’ve been working my butt off this year,” Beach said in reflecting on his championship year. “It’s been really good. We’ve been lucky at times and good at times. We put the whole year together. Today was stressful. One of my goals going into this year was to win in the rain. I really wanted to win the race, but once Hayden (Gillim) got by me, I knew that was out the window. So, I was just trying to finish the race. It was the longest race of my life. Being in the wet already takes forever. I was just counting out laps. We got to halfway and I was like, ‘we’ve got 10 laps to go?’ It feels amazing. We definitely still have some more racing to go. I still want to try and get some more race wins, so I’m kind of enjoying this for now but will get back to work tonight and really enjoy it after the season’s over.”
Gillim was happy with the victory, his second of the year and first since Road Atlanta in April.
“The race win at Road Atlanta was really good, and it was a win in the wet again for me today,” Gillim said. “Honestly, I want the races to be dry right now because I really want to beat these guys in the dry. The races are so good in the dry, it’s hard to not want to do that. It’s hard not to want it to rain, too. I’ve always done really well in the rain. It was a tough one today. JD (Beach) got a rocket-ship start like he always does. It’s tough to pass in the wet, especially at a track like this. It definitely was a little bit colder in the race, so the tires didn’t have as much heat, so we were slipping and sliding a whole lot more. It took some time to figure it out, but I was able to get by JD and then at that point it was just trying to stay focused. It’s so hard in the rain to stay focused. One little thing, you see a bird fly by and you get all distracted because you’re just going what feels like so slow. It was good. I was happy to get back up here for the whole Rickdiculous Racing team. It’s been a long time coming. Hopefully, we can go for it again tomorrow.”
Liqui Moly Junior Cup – Olmedo Wins Crashfest
The wet conditions played a huge factor in Saturday’s Liqui Moly Junior Cup race as the championship leaders all crashed out unhurt, including points leader Alex Dumas. The attrition started early and often as polesitter Ashton Yates also crashed his Yates Racing Kawasaki on the opening lap. KTM Orange Brigade/JP43 Training rider Dumas was in the catbird seat and in the lead group, poised to wrap up the championship based on merely finishing the race. However, the French Canadian went down in the wet and postponed his title celebration for at least another day.
Meanwhile, the MonkeyMoto/AGVSPORT racing team swept the podium aboard their Yamaha R3s, with Kevin Olmedo taking the win, Marc Edwards finishing second, and Jay Newton coming home third.
After his first-career MotoAmerica Supersport win, Olmedo, who is from El Salvador, said: “I saw that on the track it’s slippery but on every lap I saw that I feel good. I tried to carry more corner speed, and I saw that the track is good in the rain. So for my first time on this track I feel pretty good. I want to say thank you to my family, too. I want to say thank you to AGVSPORT, also Graves Motorsports, MonkeyMoto.com, and all the sponsors that gave me this opportunity to ride here.”
Twins Cup – Turner Takes It
In what was arguably the best race of the day, Saturday’s Twins Cup feature event concluded in a photo finish with Turner’s Cycle Racing’s Kris Turner edging out LWT Racing’s Brian McGlade for the win by .003 of a second, with both riders aboard Suzukis. Syndicate/AP MotoArts’ Jason Madama, who crashed early on in the 14-lap event, remounted his Yamaha and raced all the way back up to third. Championship leader Chris Parrish also crashed his Ghetto Customs Suzuki and remounted, but he only managed to finish seventh. As a result, Parrish now leads the point standings by just two points with one race left on the schedule to decide it all.
“I came out of turn nine, and I was in the lead, and I was like, there’s no way that they’re going to be able to pass me to the finish line from here,” Turner said. “I went into the last turn, and I thought, ‘We’re gold, there’s no way.’ I was so excited and then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him and I was like, ‘You’ve gotta be kidding?’ We were looking at each other after the finish line and thinking, ‘Who won?’ I’m not in the points chase. I’ve got nothing to lose. I kind of got a bad start, and I saw the other guys go down in the first turn, so I just kind of put my head down and I came through the second turn in third place. I almost crashed four or five times, and it wasn’t skill that saved those crashes. It was all luck. I had a lot of fun, though. It’s been a long time since I last raced in the rain. I want to thank my dad. I wouldn’t be here without my dad.”
Motul Superbike
1.Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
2.Mathew Scholtz (Yamaha)
3.Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
4.Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
5.Cameron Petersen (Honda)
Supersport
1.Hayden Gillim (Yamaha)
2.JD Beach (Yamaha)
3.Richie Escalante (Yamaha)
4.Anthony Mazziotto III (Yamaha)
5.Nick McFadden (Suzuki)
Liqui Moly Junior Cup
1.Kevin Olmedo (Yamaha)
2.Marc Edwards (Yamaha)
3.Jay Newton (Yamaha)
4.Damian Jigalov (Kawasaki)
5.Joseph Blasius (Yamaha)
Twins Cup
1.Kris Turner (Suzuki)
2.Brian McGlade (Suzuki)
3.Jason Madama (Yamaha)
4.Bart DeFrancesco (Suzuki)
5.Tyler Humphreys (Suzuki)
More, from a press release issued by Yamalube/Westby Racing:
Polesitter Mathew Scholtz Finishes Second In Saturday’s MotoAmerica Superbike Race At New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, NJ – September 8, 2018 – Mathew Scholtz and the Yamalube/Westby Racing team awoke to threatening skies in New Jersey as rain moved into the area. The wet track conditions at New Jersey Motorsports did not dampen Mathew’s or the team’s spirits, though, as the “Durban Dynamo” won the morning Superpole qualifying session, then went on to finish second in the afternoon’s race.
Aboard the #11 Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha YZF-R1, Mathew put his talent and racecraft on full display as he expertly negotiated NJMP’s wet and tricky Thunderbolt race course. He picked up his pace as the laps wound down and started catching up to race leader Josh Herrin. Ultimately, Mathew settled into second place rather than risk going down on the slippery track.
“I didn’t have the (tire) warmers on, so I kind of knew the first three or four laps would be sketchy,” commented Mathew. But then, I got past Cam (Beaubier) and Toni (Elias). Josh (Herrin) was pretty far up. He pulled his usual trick of going out flying, so I tried to catch him. I had a few huge, huge moments. The bike just didn’t feel the same as the one in practice and in Superpole, so maybe we have to go back and look at what we did. But I’m just very happy to be back up on the podium. Kind of got to the halfway point of the season after being the top privateer guy and challenging the factory guys every single round to barely finishing in the top five or six. So, I think we’ve been making the bike better-suited with the Dunlop tire, and I also think that the wetter conditions suit me. I lived in Europe for four or five years and got a lot of practice in the wet there.”
Superbike Race 2 is set to go green at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Sunday at 3:30 PM Eastern Time.
For more updates about Yamalube/Westby Racing, including news, photos, and videos, visit http://www.WestbyRacing.com
Also, follow “Westby Racing” on your favorite social media sites.
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
JD Beach Crowned 2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Champion
Yamaha bLU cRU Riders Sweep Superbike, Supersport and Junior Cup Race 1 Podiums at New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, N.J. – September 8, 2018 – The 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship saw an exciting conclusion to the Supersport Championship on Saturday as Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha’s JD Beach wrapped up his second-career title with a second-place finish in Race 1 from New Jersey Motorsports Park. Beach contributed to an all-Yamaha podium sweep in the class with Yamaha bLU cRU rider Hayden Gillim at the helm, and Richie Escalante rounding out the top three.
Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing’s Cameron Beaubier moved 16-points closer to solidifying his third-career title on Saturday with a solid third-place finish in Superbike Race 1. Beaubier rounded out another all-Yamaha podium sweep alongside Yamaha bLU cRU riders Josh Herrin and Mathew Scholtz, who prevailed through the wet and slick conditions to take the top two positions.
Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing Superbike Team
Beaubier started the weekend off well by claiming the fastest overall lap time on Friday, setting himself up for a strong Saturday ride. With rain and wet conditions factoring into the morning’s warm-up session, traction became increasingly limited and Beaubier went down hard during his Superpole run later in the day. Nonetheless, a solid lap time from Beaubier and an immense amount of hard work from the team placed the #6 Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing R1 on the front row in the third grid position.
As the green flag waved to start Superbike Race 1, Beaubier launched from the starting line to claim a second-place position in turn one. With rain contributing to tricky surface conditions, Beaubier rode smart, slowing a bit from the pace of the leaders while keeping himself in a top-five position for the first half of the race. The two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion gained momentum as the race progressed, though, and moved into a podium position just after the halfway point. From there, he kept a conservative pace to bring home a solid third and take a big step closer to the 2018 title. With three races remaining, Beaubier now holds a 72-point lead in the Superbike Championship.
Meanwhile, Garrett Gerloff worked to adapt to the slick conditions on his R1, battling inside the top-ten riders throughout the race. With nine laps to go, Gerloff passed his way into seventh place and rode a strong pace to the finish line.
Cameron Beaubier – #6 YZF-R1
“I crashed in qualifying and hurt my confidence and the bike pretty good. My team did a great job getting it back together and putting a new motor in. Honestly, I struggled pretty good early on in the race I couldn’t do the times I did earlier on in the day and saw the guys in front of me riding away. But, I just kept it consistent and did what I could and ended up third. We have a chance to wrap the title up tomorrow and it makes me so happy just saying this! It was a crazy day, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there on my R1 tomorrow.”
Garrett Gerloff – #31 YZF-R1
“I really struggled today with the conditions we had, the track seemed to be getting worse with every wet session we had. My R1 is good but I’m lacking some experience in the wet in general and feeling in the rain. We have some improvements to make and some ideas to work through, so that’s what we’ll be doing tomorrow morning!”
Tom Halverson – Team Manager
“First of all, congratulations to JD and all the Graves crew for winning the 2018 Supersport Championship! Today, Cameron did a great job managing risk in the wet and slick conditions. I think that has been one of his strong points this season. The podium today puts him just three points away from his third Superbike Championship, so we look forward to tomorrow. Garrett didn’t feel confident with the grip he had today, so tomorrow, if it’s wet, we will make some changes and for sure improve.”
Superbike Race 2 will go green tomorrow (Sunday) at 3:30 p.m. EST.
2018 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings – 17 of 20 Series Races Completed
Pos.Rider Points
1Cameron Beaubier – Yamaha 345
2 Toni Elias – Suzuki 273
3 Josh Herrin – Yamaha 253
4 Mathew Scholtz – Yamaha 210
5 Garrett Gerloff – Yamaha 186
7 Kyle Wyman – Yamaha 140
Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha Supersport Team
It’s been a dominant 2018 season for the newly crowned Supersport Champion, JD Beach, who has raced his YZF-R6 to an impressive total of ten victories in 14 races, while finishing on the podium three times and claiming Superpole twice throughout the season.
Championship number two wasn’t an easy feat for Beach by any means, as he battled stiff competition with a field of talented Supersport racers all season long. The Kentucky native held strong, week in and week out, to fight his way to a second-career Supersport title and he will continue to vie for race-wins in the final three races.
In Race 1, Beach got off to a great start aboard his Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha R6 and he engaged in an early battle for the lead with Yamaha bLU cRU rider Hayden Gillim. With the bigger picture in mind, Beach maintained his pace without pushing the limits to race his R6 to a championship-winning performance in second.
JD Beach – #95 YZF-R6
“Man, today was a crazy and stressful race. Looking at the weather last night, we thought it was going to be a dry race but Mother Nature had a different plan. My Monster Energy/Yamaha Extended Service/Graves/Yamaha R6 felt great in the rain from the first laps this morning. We knew we didn’t have to win the race to wrap up the title but I still wanted to do battle. Leading the race in the rain felt great and we were able to dice it up a bit with Hayden [Gillim]. Once he got a gap and I was running second, it was all about bringing it home. The last ten laps were the longest race of my life!
It feels so amazing to win this title again – maybe even better than in 2015. I’ve worked so hard to get this title back and haven’t stopped thinking about it since I lost in here at NJMP at the end of 2016. I’m so thankful to my team and crew, I just can’t thank them enough!”
Chuck Graves – Team Owner
“Four-straight 600cc Championships is no small accomplishment and it couldn’t be done without all of our partners and the team. I would like to thank JD Beach, the crew and all of the partners for their hard work and support this season. Thank you all.”
2018 MotoAmerica Supersport Standings – 14 of 17 Series Races Completed
Pos.RiderPoints
1JD Beach – Yamaha323
2 Hayden Gillim – Yamaha 230
3 Valentin Debise – Suzuki 150
4 Bryce Prince – Yamaha 144
Supersport Race 2 will go green tomorrow (Sunday) at 2:30 p.m. EST.
Additional Yamaha bLU cRU Rider Notes
Attack Performance/Herrin Compound/Yamaha’s Josh Herrin dominated the Superbike competition on Saturday to claim an impressive 37-second victory in Race 1. Herrin powered his R1 to the front on lap one and from there he never looked back, successfully navigating his way through the wet and slick conditions to earn his second win in the last two rounds.
Superbike pole-sitter, Mathew Scholtz, put forth a solid performance in Race 1 as he piloted his Yamalube/Westby Racing R1 to a second-place finish. Although he wasn’t able to catch Herrin out front, Scholtz was able to ride a consistently fast pace.
In Supersport action, pole-sitter Hayden Gillim sealed the deal on his second victory of the season after leading all but three laps of Saturday’s Race 1. Gillim rode his Rickdiculous Racing R6 into the lead on lap four, and from there he was able to hold off 2018 Supersport Champion JD Beach for the remainder of the race, finishing with almost 14 seconds to spare.
Quicksilver/Hudson Motorcycles’ Richie Escalante rounded out the all-Yamaha Supersport podium with an impressive performance in third.
In Twins Cup racing, Yamaha bLU cRU racer Jason Madama rode his Syndicate/AP Motoarts-backed MT-07 to a second-straight podium finish on Saturday with third place in the class. Madama now sits in second place in the Twins Cup Championship, with only two points separating him from the lead position.
It was a Yamaha bLU cRU podium sweep for Race 1 of the MotoAmerica Junior Cup as Graves/Yamaha R3 Support Program riders captured all three of the top positions on Saturday. Chuck Graves assisted riders with technical settings in the wet conditions, while Yamaha bLU cRU Riding Coach Josh Hayes helped the young riders conquer the slick conditions. MonkeyMoto/AGVSPORT’s Kevin Olmedo rode his R3 to the top of the podium, with his teammates Marc Edwards and Jay Newton completing the podium sweep in second and third, respectively.
“Today was a breakthrough moment for the R3, sweeping all of the available podium positions,” commented Chuck Graves. “It’s moments like this that validate the effort put forth by everyone who contributed.”
The Yamaha bLU cRU riders return on Sunday for day two of racing from Millville, New Jersey for Round 9 of the 2018 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship series at New Jersey Motorsports Park. For complete schedule details, visit http://motoamerica.com/.
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing
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