Henny Ray Abrams | May 16, 2010
SONOMA, CA, MAY 16: For the second day in a row the SuperSport race was red-flagged, but this time the red flag didn’t decide the race. Instead, the red flag merely interrupted Cameron Beaubier’s run to victory in the 18-lap main, held on a sunny afternoon at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California.Beaubier, riding a Yamaha R6 with backing from Mazda Technologies, was in the wrong place at the wrong time on Saturday. Having dominated the early part of the race, Beaubier watched as his lead evaporated with the first of two red flags. Beaubier didn’t gate well on the re-start and was working his way up to the front when the race was stopped for the second and final time.At the time he was in second, which was where he’d finish, behind the history-making 16-year-old winner, Elena Myers.Saturday’s race was stopped halfway into the 18-lap race with Beaubier holding an 8.257 secs. lead and again it was Joey Pascarella causing the red flag. This time the DNA Energy Drink Ducati rider crashed exiting the final turn, his Ducati spinning onto the racing line and forcing the race stoppage. And again Myers caught a break. Early on the ninth lap she’d run wide in turn seven and had dropped well down the order. With scoring reverting one lap, she started second on the grid.Beaubier jetted into the lead on the re-start and, after a few corners of opposition, began to pull away. Lap after lap he grew his lead until he crossed the finish line with 5.255 secs. in hand. LTD Racing’s Huntley Nash (Yam) was second and Tyler O’Hara (Yam), Saturday’s third place finisher, was third, but not without drama.Myers was third on the final lap when she came together with Austin DeHaven (Yam) entering the hard braking turn nine. That also slowed DeHaven, who then went on to misjudge the final corner, allowing O’Hara to make it a fight. O’Hara won the drag race to the line, with DeHaven fourth and Myers fifth.Having caused the red flag, Pascarella was forced to the back of the grid for the re-start. But he made a fine recovery to finish eighth. That keeps him in the championship lead with 137 points to 92 for Myers.
Results:
1. Cameron Baubier (Yamaha)
2. Huntley Nash (Yamaha)
3. Tyler O’Hara (Yamaha)
4. Austin DeHaven (Yamaha)
5. Elena Myers (Suzuki)
6. Travis Ohge (Yamaha)
7. Matthew Sadowski (Suzuki)
8. Joey Pascarella (Ducati)
9. Robert Tinagero (Kawasaki)
10. Michael Corbino (Yamaha)
Henny Ray Abrams | Contributing Editor
Abrams is the longest-serving contributor at Cycle News. Over the course of his 35-some years of writing and shooting photos, he’s covered events from MotoGP to the Motocross World Championship - and everything in between.
