Cycle News Staff | May 14, 2017
Hayes moves closer to the all time winner’s record with VIR victory
Every time Josh Hayes climbs to the top of the podium he either breaks or gets close to breaking a record. With his victory today in the Championship of Virginia at VIRginia International Raceway, the 41-year-old Monster Energy/Yamalube/Yamaha Factory R1-mounted Hayes moved out of a tie with Mat Mladin for second on the all-time list of AMA victories across all classes with his 83rdcareer win – just three shy of Miguel Duhamel’s 86 career victories. It was also Hayes’ 61st Superbike victory.
Hayes led the race early and he led it again when his teammate Cameron Beaubier ran off track in turn one on the seventh lap, a mistake that dropped the defending MotoAmerica Superbike Champion back to seventh. From there Hayes took control of the 23-lap race, monitoring his lead and finishing with 4.4 seconds in hand over Yoshimura Suzuki’s Toni Elias, the Spaniard spending the majority of his race battling teammate Roger Hayden.
“About a half hour before the race I didn’t feel comfortable, however, I just kept telling myself positive things and that I needed to be relentless by making everyone ride the pace that I’m capable of,” Hayes said. “It took me a little while to get going the first five or six laps, despite having really good grip. Once Cameron (Beaubier) got around me I went into a little bit of a panic until he made the mistake and went off of the track. I was able to regroup a few laps later, pick the pace back up with a few really good laps, and manage the rest of the race.”
Hayden made things easier for Elias when he ran off the track at the start of the last lap. But it wasn’t totally comfortable as Beaubier had, for the second straight day, charged through the pack after his mistake to finish just .084 of a second behind the Suzuki.
Beaubier was upset with himself after the race for making the crucial error in turn one for a second successive day.
“I’m pretty disappointed in myself, I felt like I was riding well all weekend and had the pace to win at least one of these races,” Beaubier said. “To make the mistake once yesterday is one thing, but to do it twice is dumb and pretty frustrating.”
Hayden, meanwhile, recovered to finish sixth.
With Beaubier charging through to third, fourth place went to Quicksilver Latus Motors Kawasaki’s Bobby Fong, the Californian taking the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 class win for the second straight day and fourth time on the season.
Kyle Wyman rode his Excelsius Solutions/Lucas Oils/KWR Yamaha R1 to fifth, some three seconds ahead of Hayden. Genuine Broaster Chicken Honda’s Jake Gagne ended up seventh, well clear of eighth placed Mathew Scholtz, the Yamalube Westby Racing rider earning second in the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 class in the process. M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Jake Lewis was ninth overall and third in the Superstock class – just .395 of a second behind the South African.
Cycle World Suzuki’s Hayden Gillim rounded out the top 10 on his Superstock-spec Suzuki GSX-R1000.
Elias, who failed to score points on Saturday after crashing, still leads the championship points chase with 115 points, 10 more than Beaubier and 11 more than Hayden. Hayes jumps to fourth with 69 points, four more than Fong, who leads the Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Championship standings by 15 points over Scholtz.
Beach in a Supersport thriller
For the second straight day, the Supersport final ended up being a two-rider battle between Monster Energy/Yamalube/Y.E.S./Graves Yamaha’s JD Beach and yesterday’s winner Garrett Gerloff with Beach turning the tables on his teammate with his second victory of the season.
Team H35 Honda’s Benny Solis ended up third for the second straight day with M4 ECSTAR Suzuki’s Valentin Debise crashing out of the race for a second day in a row.
Three rounds and five races in the Supersport class, Gerloff leads Beach by just four points, 106-102. Solis takes over third from Debise with 69 points to the Frenchman’s 65.
Gilbert doubles up in Superstock 600
Team MG55’s Michael Gilbert won the Superstock 600 class for the second straight day, the 20-year-old Californian in dominant form this weekend. Gilbert beat Aguilar Racing’s Jason Aguilar by 3.1 seconds with Nick McFadden third on the M4 medAge Suzuki.
With his two wins this weekend, Gilbert takes over the championship points lead from Road Atlanta winner McFadden, 86-77. Aguilar is third in the title chase with 69 points.
A day after finishing on the podium for the first time in his KTM RC Cup career, 15-year-old Jackson Blackmon went one better to take the win from over Canadian Alex Dumas, the JP43 Junior Team rider finishing some three seconds clear of third-placed Toby Khamsouk.
2017 MotoAmerica VIR Sunday Results
Motul Superbike
- Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Ms., Yamaha
- Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki
- Cameron Beaubier, Roseville, Calif., Yamaha
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki
- Kyle Wyman, Macedon, N.Y., Yamaha
- Roger Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Jake Gagne, San Diego, Calif., Honda
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Hayden Gillim, Philpot, Ky., Suzuki
Motul Superbike Championship Standings
- Toni Elias, Barcelona, Spain, Suzuki – 115
- Cameron Beaubier, Roseville, Calif., Yamaha – 105
- Roger Hayden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 104
- Josh Hayes, Gulfport, Ms., Yamaha – 69
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki – 65
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha – 51
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 51
- Josh Herrin, Dublin, Ga., Yamaha – 49
- Kyle Wyman, Macedon, N.Y., 45
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha – 40
Bazzaz Superstock 1000
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Hayden Gillim, Philipot, Ky., Suzuki
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha
- Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha
- Frankie Babuska, Pelham, N.Y., Yamaha
- Anthony Kosinski, Crumstown, In., Yamaha
- Max Flinders, Preston, England, Yamaha
Bazzaz Superstock 1000 Championship Standings
- Bobby Fong, Stockton, Calif., Kawasaki – 120
- Mathew Scholtz, Durban, South Africa, Yamaha – 105
- Jake Lewis, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 102
- Danny Eslick, Tulsa, Okla., Yamaha – 86
- Hayden Gillim, Philipot, Ky., Suzuki – 68
- Bryce Prince, Bakersfield, Calif., Yamaha – 56
- Max Flinders, Preston, England, Yamaha – 50
- Anthony Kosinski, Crumstown, In., Yamaha – 37
- Frankie Babuska, Pelham, N.Y., Yamaha – 17
- Tyler O’Hara, Petaluma, Calif., Yamaha – 17
Supersport
- JD Beach, Owensboro, Ky., Yamaha
- Garrett Gerloff, New Waverly, Tx., Yamaha
- Benny Solis Jr., North Hollywood, Calif., Honda
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Connor Blevins, Oklahoma City, Ok., Kawasaki
- Anthony Mazziotto III, Hammonton, N.J., Yamaha
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Yamaha
- JC Camacho, Deer Park, Tx., Suzuki
Supersport Championship Standings
- Garrett Gerloff, New Waverly, Tx., Yamaha – 106
- JD Beach, Owensboro, Ky., Yamaha – 102
- Benny Solis Jr., North Hollywood, Calif., Honda – 69
- Valentin Debise, Albi, France, Suzuki – 65
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha – 43
- Brandon Paasch, Freehold, N.J., Suzuki – 43
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 38
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha – 37
- Daytona Anderson, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha – 28
- Conner Blevins, Oklahoma City, Ok., Kawasaki – 26
Superstock 600
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki
- Conner Blevins, Oklahoma City, Okla., Kawasaki
- Anthony Mazziotto III, Hammonton, N.J., Yamaha
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Yamaha
- JC Camacho, Deer Park, Texas, Suzuki
- Brandon Cleland, Fort Worth, Texas, Suzuki
- Andrew Lee, Clovis, Calif., Yamaha
- Ashton Yates, Milledgeville, Ga., Yamaha
Superstock 600 Championship Standings
- Michael Gilbert, Santa Ana, Calif., Yamaha – 86
- Nick McFadden, Owensboro, Ky., Suzuki – 77
- Jason Aguilar, Placentia, Calif., Yamaha – 69
- JC Camacho, Deer Park, Texas, Suzuki – 46
- Conner Blevins, Oklahoma City, Okla., Kawasaki – 46
- Anthony Mazziotto III, Hammonton, NJ, Yamaha – 39
- Braeden Ortt, Calgary, Alberta, Yamaha – 37
- Shane Richardson, Wellington, New Zealand, Kawasaki – 31
- Ryan Christian, Clearwater, Fla., Yamaha – 22
- Brandon Cleland, Fort Worth, Texas, Suzuki – 21
KTM RC Cup
- Jackson Blackmon, Rock Hill, S.C., KTM
- Alex Dumas, Quebec, Canada, KTM
- Toby Khamsouk, Banning, Calif., KTM
- Sergio Rodriguez II, Oxnard, Calif., KTM
- Trevor Standish, Roswell, Ga., KTM
- Dylan Deutschlander, Lake Jackson, Texas, KTM
- Setin West, Decatur, Il., KTM
- Jamie Astudillo, Gilbertsville, Pa., KTM
KTM RC Cup Championship Standings
- Benjamin Smith, Glenmoore, Pa., KTM – 66
- Draik Beauchamp, Knoxville, Tenn., KTM – 65
- Alex Dumas, Quebec, Canada, KTM – 60
- Jackson Blackmon, Rock Hill, S.C., KTM – 45
- Toby Khamsouk, Banning, Calif., KTM – 43
- Trevor Standish, Roswell, Ga., KTM – 35
- Tyler Wissel, Medina, Ohio, KTM – 27
- Cory Ventura, Union City, Calif., KTM – 27
- Sergio Rodriguez II, Oxnard, Calif., KTM – 27
- Jake Leahey, Hammonton, N.J., KTM – 26