MotoAmerica – Barber Motorsport Park – 2015
The Heat Is On: Hayes, Beaubier Take Barber Wins
JD Beach Gets Fifth Supersport Win Of The Year
Graves Motorsports Yamaha continued their 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)
- Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Danny Eslick (Honda)
- Chris Fillmore (KTM)
- Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
- Elena Myers (Suzuki)
- Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)
- Matthew Orange (BMW).
SUPERBIKE RACE 2
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha)
- 2. Josh Hayes (Yamaha)
- Roger Hayden (Suzuki)
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki)
- Danny Eslick (Honda)
- Chris Fillmore (KTM)
- Chris Ulrich (Suzuki)
- Elena Myers (Suzuki)
- Bernat Martinez (Yamaha)
- Mathew Orange (BMW).
SUPERSTOCK 1000 RACE 1
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Taylor Knapp (Yamaha)
- Tyler O’Hara (Yamaha)
- Mark Heckles (Yamaha)
- Shane Narbonne (Yamaha)
- Barrett Long (Ducati)
- Max Flinders (Yamaha)
- Jeremy Cook (BMW)
- Steven Zoumaras (Kawasaki).
SUPERSTOCK 1000 RACE 2
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha)
- Sheridan Morais (Aprilia)
- Taylor Knapp (Yamaha)
- Joshua Day (Yamaha)
- Mark Heckles (Yamaha)
- Barrett Long (Ducati)
- Frankie Babuska (Suzuki)
- Devon McDonough (Aprilia)
- Max Flinders (Yamaha)
- Stefan Dolipski (BMW).
SUPERSPORT RACE 2
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
- Bobby Fong (Triumph)
- Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha)
- David Anthony (Suzuki)
- Tomas Puerta (Yamaha)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Kyle Wyman (Yamaha)
- Ben Young (Yamaha)
- Hayden Gillim (MV Agusta).
BAZZAZ SUPERSTOCK 600 RACE 2
- Joe Roberts (Yamaha)
- Bryce Prince (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Yamaha)
- Jason Aguilar (Yamaha)
- Travis Wyman (Yamaha)
- Michael Gilbert (Yamaha)
- Curtis Murray (Suzuki)
- Christian Crosslin (Yamaha)
- Andy DiBrino (Yamaha)
- Nick McFadden (Suzuki).
MotoAmerica Barber Motorsports Park Saturday Report
Beach, Roberts And Mazziotto Shine At Barber
Cameron Beaubier Takes Pole For Superbike Races
Coming into the 2015 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship, JD Beach was hopeful of winning his first career race in the Supersport class. He checked that box at the very first race in Texas and ever since the Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves Motorsports Yamaha rider has proven to be the man to beat for the championship. Saturday, in scorching temperatures at Barber Motorsports Park, Beach became the first four-time winner on the season with a narrow victory over his series rival Josh Herrin.
Close racing was the theme of the day at Barber. Beach’s victory over Herrin was just .269 of a second in the first race of the day. In the second race, things were just as tight with Wheels In Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Motorsports’ Joe Roberts barely besting his championship rival Richie Escalante by a scant .284 of a second to win the Bazzaz Superstock 600 race.
In the second round of the KTM RC 390 Cup, 15-year-old Anthony Mazziotto III beat Hayden Schultz to the line in the red-flag shortened final by just .081 of a second. Championship leader Gage McAllister, meanwhile, was just .302 of a second behind Mazziotto in third place.
Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier was fast on Friday and he was fast again Saturday, the Californian earning his second Superbike pole position of the year and the fourth of his young Superbike career. Beaubier lapped at 1:25.599 to put .455 of a second between himself and Yoshimura Suzuki’s Roger Hayden going into what is expected to be two hot and tortuous 23-lap races on Sunday. Beaubier’s teammate Josh Hayes will fill the front row of the grid.
The battle for victory in the Supersport final was fought out between four riders – Beach, Herrin, Bobby Fong and Garrett Gerloff – though it looked like it would always be either Beach or Wheels In Motion/Motosport.com/Meen Motorsport’s Herrin with the upper hand. And after 21 hard-fought laps, it was Beach earning his fourth win of the year.
“It was hot out today,” Beach said. “Just like home (Kentucky) – real hot and humid. You could tell how hot it got today because these guys this morning were doing really fast laps. I think the fastest lap in the race was a 1:27.5 so the speed definitely wasn’t as fast, but Josh (Herrin) and Garrett (Gerloff) and Bobby (Fong) were all going really good. I was surprised to be up there really because I’ve struggled this weekend. My bike was working great and we definitely have some stuff we need to work on for tomorrow and hopefully tomorrow the race will be as good today for me.”
Third place went to Fong and his Latus Motors Racing Triumph, the Californian who has struggled with a shoulder injury earning his first podium of the season. Beach’s teammate Gerloff was relegated to fourth, well clear of fifth-placed Tomas Puerta on the Roadrace Factory Yamaha R6.
Heading into Sunday’s second race, Beach leads Herrin by five points, 165-160, in the title chase. Gerloff is third with 137 points.
Thus far this season the Bazzaz Supertock 600 Series has been about three men: Roberts, Escalante and Travis Wyman. Today there were two more interlopers – Bryce Prince and his Tuned Racing teammate Jason Aguilar. Prince was in a battle with Roberts when his bike expired early on, but Aguilar was able to bring glory to the team when he held on for third and his first podium of the season.
Meanwhile, at the front, Escalante gave Roberts all he could handle on the run to the flag, the Mexican fighting back to get to .284 of a second at the checkered flag. The win was Roberts’ fifth on the year and it gives him an 11-point cushion on Escalante in the title chase, 145-134. Wyman, who sits third in the series point standings, had his first non-podium finish of the year on his Kyle Wyman Racing Yamaha. Wyman ended up seventh.
“At the beginning, Bryce (Prince) got a great start and I didn’t really want to sit behind him,” Roberts said. “I wanted to get out and go. He wasn’t really dropping back like I thought he would and he tried to make a move on me going into turn 12. I kinda shut the door on him. I looked behind and he wasn’t there, but I saw Richie (Escalante) and I had a comfortable (one) second lead and I just tried to maintain that. The conditions were a little bit sketchy with how hot it was. I was just trying to maintain that gap and came across some lappers and unfortunately got held up by them. Richie started catching me and it got to the point where on the last lap he was right behind me… I knew if I messed up, Richie would have got by me. Great job by him.”
The KTM RC 390 Cup that started two weeks ago at Road America was back in action today at Barber with a different winner. While Gage McAllister was able to win both races at Road America, today it was Mazziotto’s turn to taste victory. The Jimmy Winters Motorsports rider was the rider in front when the race was red-flagged and ultimately called official because of a downed bike in the racing line. Second went to Hayden Schultz with McAllister taking third.
McAllister, however, maintains his championship lead over Jody Barry, 66-46, with Barry finishing sixth today. Schultz moves to third in the series standings with 32 points.
“I’m glad I was able to finish the race, let alone be on top of the podium,” Mazziotto said after two non-finishes in the opening round at Road America. “It was definitely a great race for me and a great race for them. I wish it would have gone the last two laps, because that would have been an insane last lap. It definitely feels a lot better to be on top of the podium now. I love racing motorcycles and it’s just a bummer when you can’t finish.”
The combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 class held its Superpole sessions on Saturday with Beaubier emerging from the 15-minute session with pole position. The factory Yamaha star will be joined on the front row by Hayden and teammate Hayes.Â
Row two will consist of the surprise of the weekend, Sheridan Morais. The South African took full advantage of his new Aprilia RSV4 to post the fourth quickest time overall and the fastest lap of the Superstock class for the HSBK Aprilia team. Morais will be joined on the second row by Yoshimura Suzuki’s Jake Lewis and his Suzuki GSX-R1000 Superbike and Roadrace Factory’s Jake Gagne, the Californian riding his back-up Superstock R1 in Superpole after his number-one bike blew up early in the session – consequently bringing out a red flag and a delay while track workers cleaned up the resulting oil spill.
TOBC Racing’s Taylor Knapp, Turbo Turtle Racing’s Danny Eslick and Yamalube/Westby Racing’s Josh Day will complete row three.
“I felt really good so far this weekend on the R1,” Beaubier said. “I struggled here really bad last year with two crashes and it was a pretty frustrating weekend. To come back here this weekend and have a good Friday practice and good qualifying and practice today, it gives me a little bit more confidence going into tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be a tough day tomorrow. I’m just going to try to put together some solid laps. These guys are ripping so it’s going to make for an interesting and really tough two races.”
SUPERSPORT RACE 1
- JD Beach (Yamaha)
- Josh Herrin (Yamaha)
- Bobby Fong (Triumph)
- Garrett Gerloff (Yamaha)
- Tomas Puerta (Yamaha)
- David Anthony (Suzuki)
- Cameron Petersen (Yamaha)
- Ben Young (Yamaha)
- Kaleb De Keyrel (Yamaha)
- Hayden Gillim (MV Agusta).
SUPERSTOCK 600 RACE 1
- Joe Roberts (Yamaha)
- Richie Escalante (Yamaha)
- Jason Aguilar (Yamaha)
- Wyatt Farris (Yamaha)
- Nick McFadden (Suzuki)
- Michael Gilbert (Yamaha)
- Travis Wyman (Yamaha)
- Curtis Murray (Suzuki)
- Ryan Jones (Kawasaki)
- Christian Crosslin (Yamaha).
KTM RC 390 CUP RACE 1
- Anthony Mazziotto
- Hayden Schultz
- Gage McAllister
- Josh Serne
- Alejandro Gutierrez Mejia
- Jody Barry
- Gabe Miller
- Mason De Keyrel
- Christopher Kosan
- Devin Husband.
SUPERBIKE/SUPERSTOCK 1000 QUALIFYING
- Cameron Beaubier (Yamaha) 1:25.599
- Roger Hayden (Suzuki) 1:26.054
- Josh Hayes (Yamaha) 1:26.159
- Sheridan Morais (Aprilia) 1:26.216
- Jake Lewis (Suzuki) 1:26.469
- Jake Gagne (Yamaha) 1:26.849
- Taylor Knapp (Yamaha) 1:26.950
- Danny Eslick (Honda) 1:27.527
- Josh Day (Yamaha) 1:27.708
- Chris Ulrich (Suzuki) 1:28.055.
