BRASELTON, Ga. – Cameron Beaubier completed a perfect weekend for him and his Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha team at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta as the four-time defending MotoAmerica Superbike champion rode to his second victory in two days Sunday afternoon.
On Sunday, the HONOS Superbike podium was an exact replica of Saturday’s with Beaubier’s teammate Jake Gagne finishing second and Westby Racing’s Mathew Scholtz third again. It was also the second straight podium sweep for the Yamaha YZF-R1.
For Beaubier it was his fifth win in six races and his seventh career AMA Superbike win at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Additionally, the win was Beaubier’s 43rd career victory in the premier class.
For those who have watched Beaubier since he first started riding a Superbike, it’s obvious that this is as comfortable as he’s ever looked on a motorcycle. And it’s a point he agrees with.
“I definitely feel really good on this thing,” Beaubier said. “It’s confidence-inspiring the way Richard (Stanboli) has the electronics set up and just the way the bike works with me. I’m just really enjoying riding right now. I’m just having fun. I saw Toni (Elias)… he got the holeshot. For a second I thought it was Jake (Gagne). I was like, ‘oh, man. I’ve got to try to get in front of him as quick as I can.’ But it ended up being Toni. I just pinned it up into the second corner and made sure I was leading into the chicane. I knew how fast Jake went this morning. He’s progressed throughout the whole weekend and he’s gotten faster and faster. I knew I just had to put my head down. I know Toni’s pretty hard to pass. I knew he was in second and I just gave everything I had for the first half of the race and then put it in management mode. It was really good.
“We didn’t change too much on the bike this weekend, but a couple of the small changes just made it more comfortable to ride. As a rider, I’m sure these guys all say the same thing. This track is pretty physical. You could be a foot off going into the chicane or coming down hard on the brakes into the last section and screw up the next three corners. I think that’s just a testament to how comfortable Richard has us on these things. Like Jake said, it’s just good to have three Yamahas up on the podium each day. Looking forward to going to the next one.”
The race was red-flagged early when Danilo Lewis crashed in turn seven. It was restarted shortly thereafter and with similar results. Although he didn’t get the holeshot, Beaubier was at the head of the field when they hit the esses for the first time and he instantly gapped the field with Gagne getting baulked slightly by M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Toni Elias.
Soon Gagne was past the Spaniard after passing him around the outside, but he didn’t have the pace of his teammate. Ditto for Scholtz, who also made his way around Elias before trying unsuccessfully to catch Gagne. Both riders, however, ended up closer to the race winner at the conclusion of the race, though Beaubier obviously slowed his pace toward the end.
Fourth place went to M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Bobby Fong, the winner of race two at Road America 2 hounding Scholtz for most of the race. He ended up less than a second behind the South African at the finish and 2.4 seconds ahead of his teammate Elias.