KurveyGirl.com brings you the results of this weekend’s events.
Cameron Petersen won MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike Race One Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Alabama. Petersen put his Attack Performance/Progressive Yamaha YZF-R1 into the lead on lap three and rode flawlessly all the way to the checkered flag, earning the fourth Superbike victory of his career.
Petersen’s teammate Jake Gagne, the three-time and defending Champion, pressured the race leader all the way to the end but had to settle for the runner-up spot, 0.439 second back.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin came out on top of a three-way battle for third to claim his first podium finish of 2024.
Sean Dylan Kelly was third at the start of the final lap, but Herrin was able to get past the Superbike rookie, who held on to finish fourth on his TopPro Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Herrin’s teammate Loris Baz crossed the stripe right behind Kelly in fifth in his first race back since breaking his ankle at Road Atlanta three weeks ago.
Xavi Fores came home sixth in his first race filling in for injured Richie Escalante on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki GSX-R1000R.
Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW’s JD Beach slipped backward to seventh at the end of the race.
Real Steel Motorsports Honda’s Hayden Gillim (eighth), Wrench Motorcycles Yamaha’s Bobby Fong (ninth), and Fores’ teammate Brandon Paasch (10th) rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Pole-sitter Cameron Beaubier was leading the race by 1.5 seconds and pulling away on lap three when he crashed his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW. Beaubier walked away from the crash but could not continue on his damaged motorcycle.
The MotoAmerica Superbike class will race twice on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
Petersen Withstands The Pressure To Take Superbike Victory At Barber
Cameron Petersen Tops His Teammate Jake Gagne In Steel Commander Superbike Action From Barber Motorsports Park
BIRMINGHAM, AL (May 18, 2024) – Leading 17 laps of a MotoAmerica Steel Commander Superbike race is tough enough. Leading 17 laps with three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion Jake Gagne breathing down your neck is flat out daunting. But Attack Performance/Progressive/Yamaha’s Cameron Petersen was able to focus on what was ahead and not what was behind to win Saturday’s first of three Superbike races at Barber Motorsports Park.
And in doing so, the South African never put a wheel wrong to top his teammate Gagne by .438 of a second after 20 laps. Since 20 minus 17 is three, who led those opening three laps? That would be Tytlers Cycle Racing’s Cameron Beaubier on his BMW M 1000 RR, but it didn’t last. Just when it was starting to look like the five-time series champion was going to romp away to victory, it all went horribly wrong on the fourth lap when Beaubier crashed out of the lead.
That left Petersen vs. Gagne with Petersen leading and Gagne giving chase, piling on the pressure to see if Petersen would falter. He didn’t. Instead, he was mostly perfect in earning his fourth MotoAmerica Superbike victory with three of those coming at Barber Motorsports Park.
Gagne ended up second, happy for his teammate while also knowing that he’d extended his championship points lead to 20 points over his title rival Beaubier, 65-45, after the first three races of the season.
Both Petersen and Gagne acknowledged that things would have been different if Beaubier hadn’t crashed.
Warhorse HSBK Racing Ducati’s Josh Herrin came out on top of a three-rider scrap for the final podium spot. After moving past his teammate Loris Baz, Herrin disposed of impressive rookie Sean Dylan Kelly on the final lap to finish third.
TopPro Racing’s Kelly ended up .476-of-a-second behind Herrin and .502-of-a-second ahead of Baz. It was Kelly’s third top-five finish to start his rookie season of Superbike racing.
Spaniard Xavi Forés was sixth in his debut on the Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki, riding in place of the injured Richie Escalante. Forés was well back from Baz and .8 seconds ahead of seventh-placed JD Beach and his Tytlers Cycle Racing BMW M 1000 RR.
Real Steel Motorsports’ Hayden Gillim was eighth with Wrench Motorcycles’ Bobby Fong and Vision Wheel M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Brandon Paasch rounding out the top 10 finishers.
With three races in the books, Gagne leads Beaubier in the title chase, 65-45, with Petersen jumping up to third in the standings with 42 points. Kelly is fourth with 37 points, three clear of fifth-placed Herrin.
Sunday will be a busy day for the Steel Commander Superbike men with two races on the schedule.
Quotes
Cameron Petersen – Winner
“It feels good. I think this is three wins at this track. Got one in the dry, but honestly it feels so good. I know a lot of people know what I’ve gone through in the off-season and after the surgery. It’s been a tough off-season. The wrist is starting to feel really good on the bike. It just feels so good to get this monkey off my back. It’s been a questioning game, wondering if I did the right thing with the surgery. But it’s starting to pay off. Like Jake said, we had a really tough Friday. We were all kind of scratching our heads, and the boys did an incredible job. We definitely took a step forward today. We had a good race bike. We kind of got gifted that one a little bit. Cam had some incredible pace in the beginning there. He was starting to check out. For the rest of the race, I just tried to hit my marks. I knew if I do that and I was good on the brakes and didn’t make any mistakes, I kind of knew that I would have a good opportunity at it. So, just put my head down and did everything I could. With about five laps to go, I was just like, nobody is taking this thing from me. We’re too close to the end. I’ve led this whole thing. I just wanted it super bad. Congrats to the guys up here next to me. It’s always fun racing against them. Look forward to two races tomorrow.”
Jake Gagne – Second Place
“It was awesome. Cam (Petersen) rode a great race. He didn’t put a wheel wrong. I was sitting there kind of waiting for a mistake. He was good on the brakes everywhere, so there was not a whole lot I could do unless I really tried to stuff it in there. I was going to see if I could try to make a move somewhere on those last couple laps. Then it started sprinkling, so in the back it was getting dark. I just figured there was nothing I could do unless he made a mistake, and he didn’t. He wanted that one. Congrats to Cam. He earned it. Congrats to the team, to go one-two after our pretty rough day yesterday, actually. So, it was good to see the consistency there. Fun race, riding around with Cam. Obviously, my teammate and one of my great friends. So, congrats to him. But we got some work to do. See if we can improve some things tomorrow. (Cameron) Beaubier was unreal those first couple laps. I didn’t see what happened, but I hope he’s okay. Everybody is going to be going faster tomorrow, so we got to do our job.”
Josh Herrin – Third Place
“We kind of just went back to what we had on Friday and tried something small from that. We’ve been here three times now on this bike. We came here for the race last year, a track day earlier in the year, and then now. I’m just stuck at the time that I’m at. I just can’t do anything better. Having Baz here, it helped because for me, mentally knowing that it wasn’t just me, this is just a difficult track for us. The bike feels great, but I just can’t go any faster on it. It’s weird because I feel like I’m going really good, but then those guys are going quicker. So, I’ve just got to keep plugging away here and keep trying to get better, but just know that there’s better days ahead. We got Road America coming up next. It’s a hard pill to swallow, knowing that this is a three-race round. But the most important thing to me, as much as I love the guy, is to beat Baz. So, it was good motivation. I had a good battle with Sean at the end. It was just a really fun race. Huge thanks to my team for just the nonstop effort, trying to get it better. I don’t know if it’s something that we need to improve on the bike or if it’s just me not being comfortable. Historically, this is a good track for me, so it’s hard to understand. But, if you would have asked me yesterday or this morning, if I’d be happy with third, I’d be stoked. Especially after Atlanta. We had arguably the best race of my career, but it just didn’t look like it on paper. But catching those guys as much as I did and feeling as good as I did on the bike, I got a really good on my head shoulders mentally going into the next couple rounds. I’m happy, and just hoping that tomorrow is better or maybe it rains and then maybe it helps us out. I don’t know.”
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A.:
Petersen Scores Emotional MotoAmerica Superbike Victory at Barber
Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen returns to the top, while Jake Gagne claims MotoAmerica Superbike Championship lead with a runner-up finish in Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park
MARIETTA, Ga. – May 19, 2024 – After a tough off-season making a comeback from injury, Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing’s Cameron Petersen celebrated victory yesterday and led a stellar 1-2 finish for the team at Round 2 of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park. His teammate Jake Gagne secured second to make championship gains with a 20-point lead after Race 1 of the weekend’s Superbike tripleheader at the 2.38-mile circuit in Leeds, Alabama.
After a tough first day of qualifying, both of the team’s riders had a much better day two, with Petersen improving to fourth in the combined times. From there he got a great start in third behind his teammate and quickly made the pass to the runner-up spot. The South African rode his own race and advanced to the lead after the frontrunner crashed in the opening laps. He continued to hit his marks, kept cool under pressure with Gagne on his heels, and rode his Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing R1 to victory. After an uncertain return with a wrist injury, it was a great comeback and emotional victory for Petersen, which also marked his fourth-career Superbike win and third at Barber Motorsports Park.
Gagne qualified third and got a great start from the front row in second, and was passed by his teammate shortly after. The defending three-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion rode a calculated race in third and advanced to the runner-up spot after his title rival crashed on Lap 3. He closed the gap on his teammate a couple of laps before the halfway mark and kept the pressure on. In the final laps, the weather loomed closer and light rain started to fall on parts of the track. Gagne rode on to cross the line second, keeping his podium streak rolling and claiming a 20-point lead in the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
The Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing team looks forward to an action-packed Sunday with Race 2 and 3 of the MotoAmerica Superbike tripleheader today at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama.
Richard Stanboli – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing Team Manager
“We came from Atlanta with a particular setup that we have been working on all winter, and it didn’t work here. So the guys were struggling on the first day, but we kept working all the way up to the race, and it showed. (Cameron) Beaubier gave us a little something, but that’s racing. If you pressure the guy in front of you, sometimes mistakes happen. We’re happy with the 1-2 finish and looking to do it again tomorrow.”
Cameron Petersen – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #45
“This one feels good. It’s been a tough off-season coming back from the surgery I had. I didn’t know if I was going to race a motorcycle again and was questioning whether I did the right thing with the surgery, but it’s paid off. It feels good to get this monkey off my back and get the win. I’m stoked for the team to get that 1-2 after a difficult Friday. We were all kind of scratching our heads, but the guys did a great job, and we definitely took a step forward today. We had some incredible race bikes. I just tried to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. With about five laps to go, I wasn’t letting anyone take it from me. I just wanted to win this thing.”
Jake Gagne – Attack Performance Progressive Yamaha Racing #1
“It was a good day for the team. Congrats to Cam. It was great to see him win one. He rode a great race, didn’t put a wheel wrong, and it would have been tough to get by him. Yesterday was kind of a rough day for us both. The team did a great job making improvements to the setup, and we both felt a little better today. With (Cameron) Beaubier going down, the smart thing to do was to bring it home on the podium. We’re going to be even more confident tomorrow and look to step it up.”
About Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.
Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A. (YMUS), is a recognized leader in the outdoor recreation industry. The company’s ever-expanding product offerings include Motorcycles and Scooters, ATV and Side-by-Side vehicles, Snowmobiles, Personal Watercraft, Boats, Outboard Motors, Outdoor Power Equipment, Power Assist Bicycles, Golf Cars (sold, serviced, and distributed by Yamaha Golf-Car Company), Power Assist Wheelchair Systems, Surface Mount Technology (SMT) and Robotic Machines, Unmanned Helicopters, Accessories, Apparel, Yamalube products, and much more. YMUS products are sold through a nationwide network of distributors and dealers in the United States.
YMUS has a corporate office in California, three corporate offices in Georgia, as well as facilities in Wisconsin and Alabama. YMUS subsidiaries YMMC, based in Georgia, and YJBM based in Tennessee, each assemble and manufacture selected Yamaha brand products. Additional U.S.-based subsidiaries include Yamaha Marine Systems Company, Inc. (YMSC) with subsidiary Siren Marine and divisions Bennett Marine (Florida), Yamaha Marine Rotational Molders (Wisconsin) and Yamaha Precision Propeller Inc. (Indiana), and Skeeter Boats (Texas) with its division G3 Boats (Missouri).
Yamaha Motor Finance Corporation, U.S.A. (Yamaha Financial Services), an affiliate of Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A., offers financing solutions to support Yamaha Dealers and loyal Yamaha Customers nationwide. Yamaha Financial Services provides retail and commercial financing for the diverse line of Yamaha brand motor products based out of Cypress, CA and Marietta, GA.
