Triumph AMA/FIMNA Superbike Challenge of Alabama
MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Series
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Alabama
June 14, 2015
Provisional Superbike Race Two Results (all on Dunlop tires):
1. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha), 20 laps
2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha), -0.128 second
3. Roger Hayden (Suzuki), -8.772 seconds
4. Jake Lewis (Suzuki), -25.059
5. Danny Eslick (Honda), -31.054
6. Chris Fillmore (KTM), -31.460
7. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki), -56.953
8. Elena Myers (Suzuki), -70.614
9. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha), -86.236
10. Mathew Orange (BMW), -1 lap
11. Stefano Mesa (Honda), DNS
Championship Point Standings (after 10 of 18 races):
1. Beaubier, 201 points
2. Hayes, 195
3. Lewis, 145
4. Hayden, 137
5. Martinez, 99
6. Myers, 87
7. Ulrich, 73
8. Eslick, 72
9. Fillmore, 53
10. Mesa, 35
More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:
Beaubier Bounces Back To Win Superbike Race 2 At Barber Motorsports Park Over Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Teammate Hayes
Birmingham, AL – June 14, 2015 – At the halfway point of the 2015 MotoAmerica season, it’s fitting that Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha YZF-R1 Superbike rider Cameron Beaubier has won exactly half of the Superbike races this season and his teammate, four-time and defending Superbike Champion Josh Hayes, has won the other half of the races.
After a tipover and DNF in Sunday’s Superbike Race 1, Cameron shrugged off the adversity, got the holeshot from pole position in Race 2 and went about the business of notching win number five on the season…but it wasn’t easy. Josh gave Cameron all he could handle, and the “Mississippi Madman” took the lead a couple of times over “California Cam” as the laps wound down. A determined and talented rider, Cameron wouldn’t be denied, and he ultimately took the checkered flag with Josh close behind.
“I was pretty frustrated after (my tipover in) the first race, but it was no one’s fault except my own,” Cameron said. “I got myself cooled off, put that first race behind me and focused on the second race. I got a good start. I knew Josh was good on the brakes, and I was expecting him to be right there. And he was, throughout the whole race. I think I touched him a little bit when I went back by him to take the lead for good. It was close racing, but I knew that I needed to make my move quickly to counter his pass.”
Josh commented, “It was slippery out there with all the heat, and Cam was strong in the right areas on the track. It just came down to who could put together the best laps there at the end. It’s great that Cam and I finished 1-2 in the second race, and that our Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Superbike team won both races.”
Jake Gagne, riding the #32 RoadRace Factory/Yamaha R1, finished fourth overall and first in Superstock 1000. TOBC racing’s Taylor Knapp and Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Josh Day finished third and fourth, respectively, in Superstock 1000.
Watch Round 5 Of The MotoAmerica Championship On CBS Sports Network
MotoAmerica Round 5 from Barber Motorsports Park will air on Sunday, June 21, at 3:00 PM EST with a replay later that day at 8:00 PM EST, and a second replay on Wednesday, June 24, at 10:00 PM EST.
For the complete MotoAmerica TV broadcast schedule on CBS Sports Network, visit http://www.motoamerica.com/motoamerica-tv-schedul…
New Addition To The Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha Family
In other Monster Energy/Graves/Yamaha news, long-time team member Vittorio Bolognesi had to cut his race weekend short in order to fly back home to California to be with his wife Laurie, who was expecting a baby. Last night, Vitto and Laurie welcomed their third son, who they named Leonardo Vittorio Bolognesi. Congratulations to our beloved teammate and his beautiful family!
For more Yamaha racing news, results, photos, and videos, visit http://www.YamahaMotorsports.com/Racing Also, check out “YamahaMotorUSA” on your favorite social media site.
More, from a press release issued by MotoAmerica:
The Heat Is On: Hayes, Beaubier Take Barber Wins
JD Beach Gets Fifth Supersport Win Of The Year
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, JUNE 14 – The Monster Energy/Graves Motorsports Yamaha team continued its domination of the 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Superbike Championship at Barber Motorsports Park on Sunday, but this time it was Josh Hayes’ turn to steal back some valuable points from his teammate Cameron Beaubier. With Beaubier crashing out of the lead in race one, Hayes took full advantage to earn maximum points and basically erase the 26-point lead that Beaubier had left Road America with. In race two, Beaubier bounced back to win with Hayes second, but his 26-point lead is now just six points.
Hayes won his fifth Superbike race of the season in race one under a searing heat in Alabama with Beaubier coming back from his race-one crash to win his fifth of the year in race two. The big difference was that Hayes was second and that was the difference maker. Together the pair have won all 10 of the Superbike races.
Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden finished second in race one and third in race two of the Triumph Superbike Challenge of Alabama, with his teammate Jake Lewis third in race one and fourth in race two.
In race one, Beaubier crashed out of the lead on the eighth lap, leaving Hayes and Hayden to fight for the win. Although he was close, Hayden couldn’t get past the four-time Superbike Champion on the final lap and he came up just .397 of a second short at the finish line. Third place on the track went to the impressive Jake Gagne, the Roadrace Factory rider and his Superstock-class R1 only 2.3 seconds behind and well clear of the second-best Superstock class rider, Taylor Knapp, in the red-flag shortened race.
Lewis ended up fourth overall and third in the Superbike class on the second Yoshimura Suzuki. Turbo Turtle Racing Honda’s Danny Eslick beat Knapp and his TOBC Yamaha R1 for fifth overall, giving him fourth in the Superbike class.
“Roger (Hayden) was definitely good in a couple of sections and I thought I had a couple of sections where I was good,” Hayes said after winning race one – his 75th career AMA victory spanning all the classes. “I was struggling to decide how the race was going to play out, how long I was going to be sitting there. The opportunity came up and I jumped on it. Rog and I went side by side down the front straightaway and I was just in the right place for turn one. I think the second race will be a lot of the same. The person who makes the least mistakes will be in the best position.”
Beaubier was able to rebound from his race-one crash to best Hayes in race two, the 22-year-old besting his veteran teammate by .128 of a second. Hayden was third, almost nine seconds back after nipping at the two Yamahas’ heels for most of the 20-lap race.
Gagne was again at the head of the Superstock 1000 class, beating Lewis again for fourth overall. Lewis was fifth overall and fourth in the Superbike class with Aprilia HSBK Racing’s Sheridan Moriais ending up second in the Superstock 1000 class. Eslick again got the better of Knapp for seventh overall with Knapp earning third in Superstock 1000.
“I was pretty frustrated after the first race,” Beaubier said after his eighth career Superbike win and his fifth of the season. “It was no one’s fault but my own. I got in there a little hot and tried to stay on the track and go to the curb and I was using too much rear brake and it went to the lock and pitched me off. That was pretty frustrating. I cooled off a little bit and forgot about race one. I knew it would be tough. Both of these guys are riding awesome. I went out there and finally got a good start and put my head down. I didn’t think any of us were going to break away today. It was so slick out there it was almost like a rain race. I was just trying to be consistent. I felt more comfortable in the lead then riding around in second. I just felt more comfortable trying to control the race.”
After 10 of 18 races, Beaubier leads Hayes by six points, 201-195. Lewis is still third with 145 points, but his teammate Hayden is closing in with 137. Bernat Martinez still holds down fifth in the series with 99 points.
In the Superstock Series, Gagne has 200 points – 44 points clear of Knapp. England’s Mark Heckles is now third in the series after his fourth- and fifth-place finishes. The Brit has 132 points.
As is the norm, the Supersport final was a good old-fashioned dog fight with Yamalube/Y.E.S/Graves Motorsports Yamaha’s JD Beach coming away with a sweep of the two races, again beating Wheels in Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Motorsports’s Josh Herrin and Latus Motors Triumph’s Bobby Fong in a carbon-copy of Saturday’s race.
“I’m extremely excited,” Beach said after his fifth win of the season. “All of these guys have been riding so hard. I think we took it up another level from last year and to get five wins is amazing and I’ve had a little bit of luck on my side as well. You can tell by the races that it could go either way. At every single race there has been a pack battling every time. I just worked really hard this winter and my team definitely did their part and it just makes it easier for me to spend the days outside on my bicycle when it’s 80 or 90 degrees out. I’ve just been working extremely hard and to finally have all of this work starting to pay off is awesome.”
Beach now leads Herrin by 10 points in the Supersport Championship, 190-180. Garrett Gerloff, who finished fourth in both races, is third in the series standings with 150 points.
Sunday’s Bazzaz Superstock 600 race was all about Wheels in Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Motorsports’ Joe Roberts, the youngster earning his sixth win of the season with 6.5 seconds in hand. This time it wasn’t his rival Richie Escalante in second place, with the runner-up spot instead going to Tuned Racing’s Bryce Prince, the Californian rewarded with a podium after one was snatched away from him in Saturday’s race when his motorcycle let him down. Escalante was third after a bad opening lap left him in seventh place.
Roberts now leads Escalante by 20 points, 170-150. Travis Wyman is third with 133 points.
“I tried to be consistent in the low 29s,” Roberts said. “We were a bit off the qualifying pace, but it’s so hot out and the tires weren’t really hooking up as they were in the qualifying so low 29s I thought was a good pace. I just held out and brought it home for the victory.”
Gage McAllister won his third KTM RC 390 Cup race of the season in round two of the new series, the Californian besting Saturday’s winner Anthony Mazziotto III by .162 of a second in another hotly contested KTM final. Hayden Schultz was a shadow third.
McAllister, who won both races in the opening round at Road America, leads the title chase by 43 points over Shultz. Jody Barry is third with 46 points – just one more than Mazziotto.
“Today was good,” McAllister said. “I tried to keep myself toward the front a little bit further during the race so I could be across the line in a better position just in case the red flag did come out again. I got a good drive out of the last turn and was surprisingly not drafted by the line so it was a good race and I’m really happy with my performance.”
SUPERBIKE RACE 1: Josh Hayes (Yamaha); 2. Roger Hayden (Suzuki); 3. Jake Lewis (Suzuki); 4. Danny Eslick (Honda); 5. Chris Fillmore (KTM); 6. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki); 7. Elena Myers (Suzuki); 8. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha); 9. Matthew Orange (BMW).
SUPERBIKE RACE 2: 1. Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha); 2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha); 3. Roger Hayden (Suzuki); 4. Jake Lewis (Suzuki); 5. Danny Eslick (Honda); 6. Chris Fillmore (KTM); 7. Chris Ulrich (Suzuki); 8. Elena Myers (Suzuki); 9. Bernat Martinez (Yamaha) 10. Mathew Orange (BMW).
SUPERSTOCK 1000 RACE 1: 1. Jake Gagne (Yamaha); 2. Taylor Knapp (Yamaha); 3. Tyler O’Hara (Yamaha); 4. Mark Heckles (Yamaha); 5. Shane Narbonne (Yamaha); 6. Barrett Long (Ducati); 7. Max Flinders (Yamaha); 8. Jeremy Cook (BMW); 9. Steven Zoumaras (Kawasaki).
SUPERSTOCK 1000 RACE 2: 1. Jake Gagne (Yamaha); 2. Sheridan Morais (Aprilia); 3. Taylor Knapp (Yamaha); 4. Joshua Day (Yamaha); 5. Mark Heckles (Yamaha); 6. Barrett Long (Ducati); 7. Frankie Babuska (Suzuki); 8. Devon McDonough (Aprilia); 9. Max Flinders (Yamaha); 10. Stefan Dolipski (BMW).
SUPERSPORT RACE 2: 1. JD Beach (Yamaha); 2. Josh Herrin (Yamaha); 3. Bobby Fong (Triumph); 4. Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha); 5. David Anthony (Suzuki); 6. Tomas Puerta (Yamaha); 7. Cameron Petersen (Yamaha); 8. Kyle Wyman (Yamaha); 9. Ben Young (Yamaha); 10. Hayden Gillim (MV Agusta).
BAZZAZ SUPERSTOCK 600 RACE 2: 1. Joe Roberts (Yamaha); 2. Bryce Prince (Yamaha); 3. Richie Escalante (Yamaha); 4. Jason Aguilar (Yamaha); 5. Travis Wyman (Yamaha); 6. Michael Gilbert (Yamaha); 7. Curtis Murray (Suzuki); 8. Christian Crosslin (Yamaha); 9. Andy DiBrino (Yamaha); 10. Nick McFadden (Suzuki).
KTM RC CUP RACE 2: 1. Gage McAllister; 2. Anthony Mazziotto III; 3. Hayden Schultz; 4. Braeden Ortt; 5. Josh Serne; 6. Alejandro Gutierrez Mejia; 7. Justin McWilliams; 8. Grayson Gerloff; 9. Ruben Casarez; 10. Nick Doolan.