Cameron Beaubier took the SBK double at Sonoma – while Gerloff did the same in Supersport
Cameron Beaubier put together a dream weekend for himself in the MotoAmerica Championship at Sonoma Raceway, the two-time defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion sweeping both Motul Superbike races at his home track for his first double-win of the season.
Superbike Race 1
Cameron Beaubier put together the best performance of his season in the MotoAmerica Championship at Sonoma Raceway, the two-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion riding his Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing R1 to a 6.1-second win in a race that was never in doubt.
Beaubier, who lives just 90 minutes away from Sonoma Raceway, was fast from the get-go as he led every session on Friday and Saturday, earning pole position this morning in Superpole. In the race he was dominant from the beginning, leading off the start and never letting up. By the end of the race he was over six seconds clear of his rival Toni Elias as he stormed his third Motul Superbike win of the season.
Yoshimura Factory Suzuki’s Elias had a rougher road to the front as he got bunched up off the start and found himself well back in the pack while he watched Beaubier streak away at the front.
The Motul Superbike Championship leader didn’t panic and instead methodically picked his way through the field on a march to the podium. Late in the race he moved around M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis to take over second spot and he held that to the finish for his 12th podium in 13 races.
Elias was rewarded for his efforts with 20 points and he goes into Sunday’s race two with a 60-point lead over his Yoshimura Factory Suzuki teammate Roger Hayden, as Hayden was taken out of the race on the opening lap when Josh Herrin crashed into him in the Carousel.
Combine Hayden’s non-finish with Elias’s second place and the Spaniard now leads the title chase by 60 points, 280-220, over Hayden. Beaubier is third in points, 75 behind Elias with 205.
Third place went to Beaubier’s Yamaha teammate Josh Hayes, the four-time Superbike Champion also having to fight his way through the pack to score his fourth podium finish of the season at a racetrack where he’s won Superbike races five times in his career. Hayes passed Lewis on the final lap to take the last podium spot.
Lewis had the best race of his season, the Kentuckian holding down second for most of the race before being passed by Elias and Hayes after getting a bad run through lapped traffic. Although he slipped to fourth in the Superbike class, he won the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 class for the third time in the 2017 season.
Fifth-place went to Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Championship leader Mathew Scholtz, the Yamalube/Westby Racing Yamaha rider taking second in class to minimize any attacks on his championship points lead. Scholtz now leads the championship by 46 points over Lewis with Bobby Fong, the unluckiest of the championship hopefuls as he crashed out of second place on the Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki.
Sylvain Barrier had his best outing of the season, the Frenchman riding his Brixx Performance BMW to sixth place after narrowly beating TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick. Eslick, however, was third in the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 class.
Kyle Wyman rode his Décor Brilliance/Lucas Oils/KWR Yamaha R1 Superbike to eighth with Cycle World Suzuki’s Hayden Gillim and Team WD-40/Scheibe Racing’s Jason DiSalvo rounding out the top 10.
Motul Superbike Race 1
- Cameron Beaubier, Roseville, Calif., Yamaha
- Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki
- Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Yamaha
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha
- Sylvain Barrier, Oynnax, France, BMW
- Danny Eslic, Tulsa, Ok, Yamaha
- Kyle Wyman, Macedon, N.Y., Yamaha
- Hayden Gillim, Philpot, Ky., Suzuki
- Jason DiSalvo, Tiladega, Al, BMW
Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Race 1
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki
- Mathew Scholtz, Dublin, South Africa, Yamaha
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha
- Hayden Gillim, Philpot, Ky., Suzuki
- Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha
- Tyler O’Hara, Petaluma, Calif., Yamaha
- Wyatt Farris, Calistoga, Calif., Kawasaki
- Sebastiao Ferreira, Parauna Goias, Brazil, Yamaha
- Jeremy Coffey, Vancouver, Wa., Kawasaki
- Sam Verderico, Wenatchee, Wa., Yamaha
Superbike Race 2
After storming to victory in Saturday’s Motul Superbike race, Beaubier came back to the track in Northern California’s wine country with aspirations of doing the same thing. And that he did, the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory Racing-backed Beaubier winning Sunday’s race by 7.2 seconds for the 23rd AMA Superbike win of his career.
Cameron Beaubier
“I’m just really happy with how the whole weekend went. We made a few changes here and there to get a bit more comfortable but I think we made a good step fine tuning the electronics, which we had been struggling with a bit this year. All in all it was a really successful weekend for us. Today’s race was quite a bit tougher than yesterday. Yesterday when Josh (Herrin) and Roger (Hayden) went down I think that made the race. It made the race a little easier midway. When I went to settle down I had about a 4.3-second gap and I started calming down a little bit to not make any big mistakes. I didn’t want to go throw it down the road and then Toni (Elias) shrunk the gap so I just kept my head down, kept pushing the whole way and tried to keep that gap the same. We were able to hold on, he (Toni) was riding really good, and I’m just happy I can get this done for Yamaha. I know how hard they work and they want to win real bad. I’m ready to go win in Pittsburgh.”
For the second straight day, Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias finished second to Beaubier. This time the Motul Superbike Championship points leader got to second place quicker than yesterday after again starting from ninth on the grid.
Once he got to second, the Spaniard was able to chip away a little bit at Beaubier’s lead, but the Yamaha rider responded in kind to pull back away. Elias, with a 70-point lead in the championship, didn’t keep up the fight and faded to finish a tick over seven seconds behind. It was Elias’ 13th podium finish in 14 races.
Toni Elias
“After yesterday’s race I felt there was nothing left to lose so we tried the super soft (Dunlop) tire, not the extra soft like yesterday. What we calculated was perfect. I did a good start and quickly passed some riders and soon I was in second. We tried to keep that pace (with Beaubier) without making any mistakes, but he did an incredible job. He maintained that pace and was so strong. Of course, I wanted to win but I tried with all my horses and second was only so good. Sorry again for Roger (Hayden), it’s not good, but races are like this. We would like to continue like this (in the championship) and to win races. When that’s impossible, like today, then second is enough. A big thanks to my team, they always work hard and give me the best bike possible.”
Elias’ points lead didn’t suffer this weekend as his closest rival coming into Sonoma Raceway failed to finish either race. Roger Hayden was taken out of yesterday’s race by Helmet Sounds/Western Services/Meen Racing’s Josh Herrin on the opening lap. Today, Hayden crashed by himself on the third lap, leaving Northern California with no points gained in the two races. Hayden’s bad luck allowed Beaubier to move into second, 70 points behind Elias, 300-230. Hayden is third with 220 points.
Beaubier’s teammate Josh Hayes put himself on the podium for the second straight day, the four-time Superbike Champion finishing third again.
Josh Hayes
“Today at the beginning of the race it was a little bit cleaner and everybody got through a little bit better so I had some more work to do during the race. It took me a little while to get through everybody and I had to pick my spots a little more carefully. I had what felt like a little bit better pace than yesterday and overall felt like I had a little bit better motorcycle. Overall, I felt like it was a more solid day. The work I did on the bike this weekend felt like an improvement so hopefully I can carry that through to Pittsburgh and the rest of the series and be a little bit more of a permanent fixture closer to the front.”
Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz finished fourth and with that earned his sixth Bazzaz Superstock 1000 victory of the year, the South African suffering from arm pump but still holding off M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis and Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki’s Bobby Fong in the final laps.
Mathew Scholtz
“Yesterday was a really difficult race, after the Friday practice I felt like I had the pace to battle with these Superbike guys and take the Superstock win, but it just didn’t seem to work out like that. Jake Lewis was phenomenal, he made me look silly. We went back to the drawing board last night and changed the bike slightly and that definitely seemed to help me out, but I had some serious arm pump. I’m really happy to take the Superstock win and open up the championship lead, that’s why we’re here. Next we head into Pittsburgh and that’s where I had a really good test and I’m hoping I can just carry on taking some more wins and take the championship. That’s the ultimate goal for us.”
Herrin ended up seventh on his Superbike-spec Yamaha R1, the Georgian some 16 seconds behind Fong and three seconds ahead of Brixx Performance’s Sylvain Barrier. Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Jake Gagne and TOBC Racing’s Danny Eslick rounded out the top 10 finishers.
Motul Superbike Race 2
- Cameron Beaubier, Roseville, Calif., Yamaha
- Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki
- Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Yamaha
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki
- Josh Herrin, Dublin, Ga., Yamaha
- Sylvain Barrier, Oynnax, France, BMW
- Jake Gagne, San Diego, Calif., Honda
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Ok, Yamaha
Motul Superbike Championship Standings
- Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki – 300
- Cameron Beaubier, Roseville, Calif., Yamaha – 230
- Roger Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 220
- Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Miss., Yamaha – 156
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha – 136
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki – 117
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki – 116
- Josh Herrin, Dublin, Ga., Yamaha – 114
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha – 97
- Kyle Wyman, Macedon, N.Y., Yamaha – 88
Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Race 2
- Mathew Scholtz, Dublin, South Africa, Yamaha
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky, Suzuki
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha
- David Anthony, Melbourne, Australia, Kawasaki
- Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha
- Tyler O’Hara, Petaluma, Calif., Yamaha
- Wyatt Farris, Calistoga, Calif., Kawasaki
- Jeremy Coffey, Vancouver, Wa., Kawasaki
- Sam Verderico, Wenatchee, Wa., Yamaha
Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Championship Standings
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha – 286
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 235
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki – 214
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha – 194
- Hayden Gillim, Philpot, Ky., Suzuki – 151
- Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha – 147
- Max Flinders, Preston, England, Yamaha – 108
- David Anthony, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki – 58
- Tyler O’Hara, Petaluma, Calif., Kawasaki – 54
- Anthony Kosinski, Crumstown, Ind., Yamaha – 37
Supersport Race 1
Garrett Gerloff’s fifth win of the season in Supersport was equally as impressive as Beaubier’s, the Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha rider beating his teammate JD Beach by 6.2 seconds after also dominating every session in practice and qualifying.
Gerloff took off from the start and was never headed, though Beach kept him honest in the opening laps. With Gerloff gone at the front, Beach found himself with his hands full in the closing laps as M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise closed in. At the finish Beach was just .4 of a second ahead of the Frenchman.
With his fifth win of the season, Gerloff opens up a nine-point lead on Beach heading into tomorrow’s second race in the class. Debise, meanwhile, moved into a tie for third in the series standing with Team H35 Honda’s Benny Solis, the CBR600RR rider finishing fourth today.
The Superstock 600 class win went to Tuned Racing’s Braeden Ortt, the Canadian finishing fifth overall and holding off a tightly knit group of five behind him in winning for the first time in the class.
Ortt topped Superstock 600 points leader Jason Aguilar and his Riderz Law/Aguilar Racing Yamaha, Palmetto Motorsports Team New Zealand’s Shane Richardson, Team MG55’s Michael Gilbert and Deion Campbell Racing’s Deion Campbell. Jayson Uribe rounded out the top 10 on his Supersport-spec Rickdiculous Racing Yamaha.
Aguilar further increased his championship lead over Gilbert, 180-152. Connor Blevins is third in the series standings.
Supersport Race 1
- Garrett Gerloff, New Waverly, Texas, Yamaha
- JD Beach, Owensboro, Ky., Yamaha
- Valentin Debise, Albi, France, Suzuki
- Benny Solis, North Hollywood, Calif., Honda
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Yamaha
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha
- Deion Campbell, San Jose, Calif., Yamaha
- Jayson Uribe, Napa, Calif., Yamaha
Superstock 600 Race 1
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Yamaha
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha
- Deion Campbell, San Jose, Calif., Yamaha
- Andrew Lee, Clovis, Calif., Yamaha
- Ashton Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Yamaha
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Andy DiBrino, Tualatin, Or., Yamaha
- Brandon Cleland, Fort Worth, Tx., Suzuki
Supersport Race 2
The start wasn’t an exact repeat of Saturday’s Supersport race at Sonoma Raceway, but the outcome was the same as Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./ Graves Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff won again, this time by 8.004 seconds over his teammate and championship rival JD Beach.
While Gerloff streaked away at the start of yesterday’s race, today he got off to a fourth-place start while Beach tried to make a break at the front. But before two laps were complete, Gerloff was out front. From there he methodically pulled away, a 10th of a second here, a 10th there until the gap at the finish was just a tick over eight seconds.
Beach managed to limit the damage to as little as possible, the Owensboro, Kentucky resident finishing second and losing five more points to his teammate Gerloff, who now leads the series standings by 14 points, 246-232, with three rounds (six races) remaining in the series.
Garrett Gerloff
“It feels good after a month off to come back and feel good on the bike and feel comfortable. I felt a lot better in that race – just everything was clicking real nice. We made some changes to our bike yesterday because I knew there were a few things to improve for consistency and it definitely helped today. It’s nice to win again, to get the double, I haven’t done that all year and I’ve been wanting that. It’s a good track for me and we have a couple of tracks coming up that are good for me too so we’re going to go there (Pittsburgh) and try my best to get some more wins.
M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise finished third, matching his effort from Saturday. Team H35 Honda’s Benny Solis again had a lonely ride to fourth.
The battle for fifth overall was fought out until the very end with Team MG55’s Michael Gilbert getting the spot and victory in the Superstock 600 race, Presented by Riderz Law. The win was Gilbert’s third of the year and it allowed him to gain some points on championship leader Jason Aguilar. Aguilar ended up fifth in the Superstock 600 class on Sunday at Sonoma and he leads the standings by 14 points, 191-177.
Andrew Lee Racing/Tri-County Power Sports’ Andrew Lee and Palmetto Motorsports Team New Zealand’s Shane Richardson finished sixth and seventh overall and second and third in Superstock 600, respectively.
Supersport Race 2
- Garrett Gerloff, New Waverly, Texas, Yamaha
- JD Beach, Owensboro, Ky., Yamaha
- Valentin Debise, Albi, France, Suzuki
- Benny Solis, North Hollywood, Calif., Honda
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha
- Andrew Lee, Clovis, Calif., Yamaha
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Yamaha
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha
- Jayson Uribe, Napa, Calif., Yamaha
Supersport Championship Standings
- Garrett Gerloff, New Waverly, Texas, Yamaha – 246
- JD Beach, Owensboro, Ky., Yamaha – 232
- Valentin Debise, Albi, France, Suzuki – 156
- Benny Solis, North Hollywood, Calif., Honda – 153
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha – 95
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha – 89
- Daytona Anderson, Riverside, Calif., Suzuki – 79
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 79
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki – 75
- Connor Blevins, Oklahoma City, Okla., Kawasaki – 73
Superstock 600 Race 2
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha
- Andrew Lee, Clovis, Calif., Yamaha
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Yamaha
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Deion Campbell, San Jose, Calif., Yamaha
- Ashton Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Yamaha
- Andy DiBrino, Tualatin, Or., Yamaha
- Conner Blevins, Oklahoma City, Okla., Kawasaki
Superstock 600 Championship Standings
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha – 191
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha – 177
- Conner Blevins, Oklahoma City, Okla., Kawasaki – 147
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki – 144
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 138
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Yamaha – 121
- JC Camacho, Deer Park, Texas, Suzuki – 99
- Andrew Lee, Clovis, Calif., Yamaha – 91
- Anthony Mazziotto III, Hammonton, N.J., Yamaha – 65
- Ashton Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Yamaha – 58
RC Cup Race 1
Runaway victories in the KTM RC Cup are rare. Wins with an 11.9-second margin of victory are unheard of, but that’s what Quarterley Racing/On Track Development’s Benjamin Smith did to the competition on a sunny Saturday at Sonoma Raceway.
Smith destroyed the competition in the first of two KTM RC Cup presented by Riderz Law races, besting CSVMoto’s Cory Ventura by 11.9 seconds. Third place went to first-time MotoAmerica podium finisher Brett Voorhees with Smith’s teammate Jackson Blackmon finishing fourth. Roadracing World Wild Card Team’s Tyler Linders rounded out the top five.
Smith now leads the title chase by 41 points over Blackmon going into tomorrow’s race two.
KTM RC Cup Race 1
- Benjamin Smith, Glenmoore, Pa., KTM
- Cory Ventura, Union City, Calif., KTM
- Brett Voorhees, Placerville, Calif., KTM
- Jackson Blackmon, Rock Hill, SC, KTM
- Tyler Linders, Mission Viejo, Calif., KTM
- Draik Beauchamp, Knoxville, Tn., KTM
- Alex Dumas, Quebec, Canada, KTM
- Nate Minster, Oak Grove, Minn., KTM
- Toby Khamsouk, Banning, Calif., KTM
- Trevor Standish, Roswell, Ga., KTM
KTM RC Cup Championship Standings
- Benjamin Smith, Glenmoore, Pa., KTM – 172
- Jackson Blackmon, Rock Hill, SC, KTM – 131
- Cory Ventura, Union City, Calif., KTM – 130
- Draik Beauchamp, Knoxville, Tn., KTM- 125
- Alex Dumas, Quebec, Canada, KTM – 110
- Toby Khamsouk, Banning, Calif., KTM – 96
- Trevor Standish, Roswell, Ga., KTM – 83
- Gavin Anthony, Hillard, Oh., KTM – 74
- Sergio Rodriguez, Oxnard, Calif., KTM – 63
- Jake Leahey, Hammondton, NJ – 54
RC Cup Race 2
A day after getting beat up by Benjamin Smith in the first of two KTM RC Cup Presented by Riderz Law races at Sonoma Raceway, CSVMoto’s Cory Ventura turned the tables on the Quarterley Racing/On Track Development rider by beating him to the flag by .394 of a second to win his third KTM race of the season.
On Saturday, Smith won the race by over 11 seconds but Ventura was having none of that on Sunday, the resident of nearby Union City, California, catching Smith before the Pennsylvanian could get away and eventually passing him for victory.
Ventura not only scored the victory, but the win also propelled him into second in the championship standings. He now trails Smith, 192-155.
KTM RC Cup Race 2
1. Cory Ventura, Union City, Calif., KTM
2. Benjamin Smith, Glenmoore, Pa., KTM
3. Draik Beauchamp, Knoxville, Tn., KTM
4. Alex Dumas, Quebec, Canada, KTM
5. Tyler Linders, Mission Viejo, Calif., KTM
6. Brett Voorhees, Placerville, Calif., KTM
7. Gavin Anthony, Hillard, Oh., KTM
8. Trevor Standish, Roswell, Ga., KTM
9. Nate Minster, Oak Grove, Minn., KTM
10. Toby Khamsouk, Banning, Calif., KTM
KTM RC Cup Championship Standings
1. Benjamin Smith, Glenmoore, Pa., KTM – 192
2. Cory Ventura, Union City, Calif., KTM – 155
3. Draik Beauchamp, Knoxville, Tn., KTM- 141
4. Jackson Blackmon, Rock Hill, SC, KTM – 136
5. Alex Dumas, Quebec, Canada, KTM – 123
6. Toby Khamsouk, Banning, Calif., KTM – 102
7. Trevor Standish, Roswell, Ga., KTM – 91
8. Gavin Anthony, Hillard, Oh., KTM – 83
9. Sergio Rodriguez, Oxnard, Calif., KTM – 63
10. Nate Minster, Oak Grove, Minn., KTM – 60
