Four-time Superbike World Champion Jonathan Rea will be off his factory Kawasaki ZX-10RR less than two months this winter between his last test at Jerez at the end of November until his next test at Jerez and Portimao in January, which will be followed shortly after by his first race of 2019 at Phillip Island in February.

Most of the MotoGP riders also tested at Jerez in late November and most of them will resume testing again at Sepang during the first week of February, which will be followed by more testing and their first race of the year at Qatar in early March.

MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier, by comparison, finished his 2018 season with a test on September 25 at Barber Motorsports Park and won’t ride his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike again until mid-January 2019. That’s four months without riding his Superbike, and he won’t race it again until mid-April.

“Yeah, it’s not too busy right now, honestly,” Beaubier told Roadracingworld.com in a telephone interview from his home outside of Sacramento, California. “I wish we rode close to as much as those [World Championship] guys ride. They are constantly riding, constantly going. Honestly, it’s kind of nice to have a little break after the season, but you get through a month of the break and you want to get going again.”

Beaubier says that even if he can’t test on his Superbike he is continuing to work on his fitness during the off-season.

“For me, I like to ride dirt bikes,” said Beaubier. “I have a little play track in my backyard, and my buddies come over and ride with me and my brother [Ezra Beaubier]. So I’m still riding and riding my bicycle to stay fit, but I definitely wish we were able to ride [the Superbike] a little bit more.

“This off-season has been a little different than the past couple. Last year we had a couple of tests following the season before going into the winter, but this off-season we’re not riding until mid-January. It’s nice to have a little break and spend time with my family, but I’m definitely ready to get riding, that’s for sure.”

Three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Cameron Beaubier (6). – Photo by Brian J. Nelson.

In some sports, young, well-compensated professional athletes have been known to lose focus and get themselves into trouble during their down time, but that isn’t the case with 26-year-old Beaubier.

“I think what’s good about my lifestyle is I’m really into motorcycles and training and riding bicycles,” said Beaubier. “That’s my life. I’m not saying I don’t have a beer here and there (laughs), but riding and training is what my life’s about and a lot of my friends are into the same things. I think that’s good for me.”

Asked if his training program during a long break is different than during other times of the year, Beaubier said, “Yeah, it’s quite a bit different. Since the season ended I haven’t been eating the best and I haven’t been training super hard. I’ve just been maintaining the fitness I’ve built up throughout the years.

“One thing I’ve changed in the last few years is I’ve been riding more, a lot more mini-bikes, a lot more motocross, and I think that’s been helping my racing. I’m going to pick my training up here after the holidays to be ready for testing, and as the season approaches I’ll get more regimented about my stuff and be a little more structured. The race season doesn’t start until April, but I want to be fit for when we start testing.

“I think we have like four or five tests lined up pretty close to each other before the season gets rolling, before we go to Road Atlanta, and I think that’s going to be really good for us. It’s going to be a fun season. I know JD [Beach] is moving up to Superbike. My teammate Garrett [Gerloff] is going to be stronger after getting a year under his belt on the 1000. Toni [Elias] is obviously going to be coming back really hungry, and rumors are that Josh Herrin is going to get the Yoshimura Suzuki seat. He’s going to be really fast on that thing.”

Further evidence that Beaubier is on the right track with his personal life, when asked if he got anything for himself as a reward for winning his third MotoAmerica Superbike Championship, Beaubier said, “I got a puppy. I got a little golden retriever puppy.”

Cameron Beaubier’s new golden retriever Dixie.