It was a positive weekend for the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team, with Garrett Gerloff taking a thrilling victory in race one, and Cameron Beaubier scoring a pair of podiums at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex, on August 24-25.
The team got off to a flying start at round eight of the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship. Gerloff topped the timesheets in qualifying and Beaubier earned pole position in Saturday’s Superpole. When it came time to race, the intensity level was at a fever pitch as the season begins to wind down. In race one, Gerloff got out front early and was able to build a healthy gap while his teammate battled for second. On lap three, the 24-year-old ran off the track and found himself in third and locked in a three-way battle, undoing all of his hard work. Beaubier then moved into the lead, with Gerloff into second. From there on out, it was a fight to the finish between the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team YZF-R1 riders.
Around the halfway mark, Beaubier made an error in the chicane, allowing his younger teammate through. They exchanged the lead a few more times with Gerloff coming out on top and crossing the line .326 of a second ahead of the reigning Superbike champ.
On Sunday, it looked to be more of the same for the Texan who has been on a hot streak in the latter half of his Sophomore Superbike season, taking three wins in four races. He got off to another flying start taking the holeshot and leading the first lap. Unfortunately, a technical issue ended his race early in turn three.
Meanwhile Beaubier was shuffled back and got caught up in an early-race battle. The three-time Superbike champ was able to take the lead by lap five and worked on building a gap on the competition. After the halfway mark, his championship rival caught him and they battled for the lead. As the race neared the end, an error in the chicane had the reigning Superbike Champion going off track and seeing his competitor stretch off in the distance. Fired up and not wanting to give up the win, or the five championship points, Beaubier put his head down and put in some flying laps. He closed the gap on the leader for another thrilling finish. The Californian took one last shot at the lead in the final corners of the race, but he came up short of the win by a little over three-tenths of a second.
Up next on the schedule for the Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing team is the penultimate round of the 2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship at New Jersey Motorsports Park, September 23-25. Beaubier sits second in the standings, 35 points adrift of the leader while Gerloff is in third and trails by 56 points.
Cameron Beaubier
Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing
“Two second places at Pitt. I had everything I needed to win race two today, but I made a mistake with a few laps to go. I went into the little chicane, and I think I just knifed the brakes pretty hard and the rear end, I don’t know if it slipped or what, but I was in just way too deep. I didn’t want to cut the track because I knew I would have had to give up a position. But I made it worse. I jumped a curb, went through the grass, ended up going a second back or whatever I was. I was just so mad. Just put my head down and rode as hard as I possibly could to try to do something. But it was too late.
“Coming up short twice stings when you’re trying to claw back up in the points, but that’s racing. We got two rounds left. I really enjoy the last two tracks, New Jersey and Barber. I’m just gonna keep pushing forward!”
Garrett Gerloff
Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing
“The weekend started off well. We pulled the bike out of the truck and everything was working perfect right from the start. We did makes some big changes to the bike setup, but in the end both setups worked really well and we knew we had something strong for the races. In the first race, man, it kind of sucked because I blew a two-second lead on the third lap by running off the track. I came back on in third place and I had to fight and give it all I had to race with Toni and Cameron and still take home the win. But luckily the Yamaha R1 was awesome and I was able to get the win at the end of the day.
“Today everything felt good in warmup. I felt like I had a really good bike. We made a few changes that I felt helped. Then during the race, I actually got a really good start. I was leading into the first corner, led the first lap and felt really good. Going into the third corner, the bike just kind of gave out on me. That’s racing sometimes. I’ll be back. I’ll be stronger for the next one. I’m super motivated for the rest of the season and to finish off the year the best that I can.”
2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Pittsburgh Race One Results
1. Garrett Gerloff
2. Cameron Beaubier
3. Toni Elias
4. Jake Gagne
5. Mathew Scholtz
6. JD Beach
7. Josh Herrin
8. Cameron Petersen
9. Max Flinders
10. Sam Verderico
2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Pittsburgh Race Two Results
1. Toni Elias
2. Cameron Beaubier
3. Josh Herrin
4. Jake Lewis
5. Mathew Scholtz
6. JD Beach
7. Jake Gagne
8. Kyle Wyman
9. David Anthony
10. Cameron Petersen
DNF. Garrett Gerloff
2019 MotoAmerica Superbike Standings
1. Toni Elias 307
2. Cameron Beaubier 272
3. Garrett Gerloff 251
4. JD Beach 179
5. Josh Herrin 173
6. Mathew Scholtz 161
7. Jake Lewis 139
8. Jake Gagne 105
9. Cameron Petersen 104
10. David Anthony 91
Tom Halverson
Monster Energy Yamalube Yamaha Factory Racing Team Manager