Cameron Beaubier scored a pair of seconds this weekend at Road America to help close the points gap on the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship leader to just nine points. His teammate Garrett Gerloff crossed the line behind him in both races, making it the fourth double podium this season for the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team.
Saturday’s race one was met with varying conditions. Rain flags came out before the half-way mark, but it was not enough to come in to exchange slicks for rain tires. This closed the gap between the competition, making it both a challenge for position, as well as a challenge keeping it on two wheels. Ultimately the race came down to the wire with four riders left in the fight. After a competitor’s mistake, both Beaubier and Gerloff were able to advance to podium finishes. The reigning Superbike Champion wanted more though, and made one last push to draft up the hill for the lead, but unfortunately was .253 of a second short.
On Sunday, Mother Nature was more cooperative with sunny weather, which made for a hot pace. Both Beaubier and Gerloff were part of the four-rider lead group who were able to gap the field. The Texan made an attempt to move up towards the front, but ultimately was shuffled back to fourth. He then lost the draft and got dropped from the lead group.
Beaubier waited patiently, had a few attempts towards the front, but was unable to make it stick. In the heat of the battle on the final lap, his championship rival made an error that put him in the gravel, resulting in another double podium for Beaubier and Gerloff on their Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team YZF-R1s.
Up next on the schedule for the team is round five of MotoAmerica at Utah Motorsports Campus, June 15-16.
Cameron Beaubier
Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing
“I was expecting more from this weekend based on the record that we’ve had here in the past, but all in all I’m happy with two second-place finishes because I gave everything I had both days. The championship is tightened back up and I’m looking forward to the west coast rounds.
Garrett Gerloff
Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing
“We made some changes to the bike today that I really liked in warm up and they also felt pretty good in the race today. I felt good in the beginning. I was right there battling it up. We were doing some good times. In the middle of the race the pace kind of slowed up a little bit, and then on lap nine they started to really drop the pace again. I was a little caught off guard, and made a few mistakes. Then they kind of pulled a little bit of a gap on the straightaway and I lost the draft. I tried to make that up and ended up making another little mistake.
“It’s really frustrating because I know that I can be right there until the end, but today just wasn’t the day. As far as the overall weekend, it wasn’t too bad. It’s a difficult track, this one. Sometimes it can be hard to be precise and find the right kind of setup, but I think we did a pretty decent job and considering all the weather conditions and changes and things like that. Two podiums, two thirds. Not necessarily what I want, but I’ll take it. We’ll move on to Utah which will be pretty exciting with a different layout. I’m looking forward to it.
2019 MotoAmerica Superbike VIR Race One Results
1. Toni Elias
2. Cameron Beaubier
3. Garrett Gerloff
4. Josh Herrin
5. Mathew Scholtz
6. Cameron Petersen
7. JD Beach
8. Jake Gagne
9. David Anthony
10. Jake Lewis
2019 MotoAmerica Superbike VIR Race Two Results
1. Josh Herrin
2. Cameron Beaubier
3. Garrett Gerloff
4. JD Beach
5. Mathew Scholtz
6. Kyle Wyman
7. Jake Gagne
8. Jake Lewis
9. Cameron Petersen
10. Sam Verderico
2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Toni Elias 151
2. Cameron Beaubier 142
3. Garrett Gerloff 104
4. JD Beach 100
9. Josh Herrin 96
6. Mathew Scholtz 80
7. Jake Lewis 76
8. Cameron Petersen 65
9. David Anthony 59
10. Kyle Wyman 48
Tom Halverson
Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager